A close that lands on a date, not when someone gets to it
Most reporting problems are not math problems. They are calendar problems. The books close late, numbers move after the statements go out, and by the time the P&L arrives the month it describes is three weeks gone. We treat the close as a scheduled production run with a hard cutoff, a named owner for every task, and a delivery date you can put on your own calendar.
We close on US GAAP accrual basis and keep a cash basis view alongside it when you need one for tax planning or for a lender who asks. The work happens inside your general ledger, not in a private spreadsheet we keep on our side. We work in QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Xero, NetSuite and Sage Intacct, with Bill.com for payables, Ramp and Expensify for card and expense capture, Gusto, ADP or Paychex for payroll journal entries, and direct US bank and credit card feeds for transaction detail.
Every statement is backed by a supporting schedule. Bank and credit card reconciliations, AR and AP aging that ties to the balance sheet, fixed asset and depreciation rollforwards, prepaid and accrual schedules, inventory or work in process support, deferred revenue detail, and a debt schedule with interest accrued through period end. When a number gets questioned, the backup is already built.
How the month-end close runs, day by day
A typical close finishes 5 to 10 business days after period end. Transaction volume, entity count and how fast third-party statements arrive decide where you land in that range. We publish your dates before the first close, then hold them.
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Business days 1 and 2: cutoff and capture
The prior period is locked to new entries. We pull bank, credit card and merchant processor activity, import the payroll journal entry from Gusto, ADP or Paychex, post approved bills from Bill.com, and bring in coded card spend from Ramp or Expensify.
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Business days 2 to 4: reconciliations
Every bank, credit card, loan and merchant clearing account is reconciled to the statement. AR and AP subledgers are tied to the general ledger. Undeposited funds and payroll clearing are cleared to zero or explained in writing.
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Business days 4 to 6: accruals, adjustments and allocations
Accrued payroll, accrued expenses, prepaid amortization, depreciation, deferred revenue recognition, intercompany entries, and allocation of shared overhead to the departments, locations, classes or jobs that earned it.
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Business days 6 to 8: review and variance analysis
The preparer and the reviewer are two different people. The balance sheet is reviewed account by account against its schedule. The P&L is compared to prior month, prior year and budget, and every line past your variance threshold gets written commentary.
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Business days 8 to 10: delivery and the close call
You get the package in PDF and Excel, plus a 30 minute call to walk the statements, flag anything that needs a decision, and set follow up items for the next close.
The month-end close checklist
Nothing gets signed off from memory. The same checklist runs every period and is archived with the close file, so you can see who did what and when.
- Period locked and prior period rolled forward in the GLNo back-dated entries into a closed month without a documented reopen and a note in the close file.
- All bank, credit card and merchant accounts reconciled to statementsReconciliation reports saved with the statement attached, outstanding items listed and aged.
- AR aging agreed to the balance sheetCustomer detail ties to the control account, with credits applied and collection notes on anything past 60 days.
- AP aging agreed to the balance sheetVendor detail ties to the control account, and goods or services received but not yet billed are accrued.
- Payroll posted and liabilities agreed to filingsWages, employer taxes and benefit withholdings tie to the payroll register and to Form 941 and state filings for the quarter.
- Fixed assets capitalized and depreciation postedAdditions and disposals recorded per your capitalization policy, with the depreciation rollforward updated.
- Prepaids, accruals and deferred revenue schedules updatedEach schedule ties to its balance sheet account and shows the next twelve months of amortization or recognition.
- Inventory or work in process tied to count or job cost detailCost of goods sold reviewed for margin swings, and job level detail agreed to the GL for construction and trades.
- Sales tax liability agreed to filed returnsAccrued liability reconciled to what was filed and paid in each state where you have nexus.
- Intercompany balances eliminated and in balanceDue to and due from accounts net to zero across entities before the consolidation is produced.
What is in your monthly reporting package
Delivered as a bookmarked PDF for reading and an Excel workbook for anyone who wants to pull the numbers apart.
Income statement
Current month and year to date, with prior year and prior month comparatives, presented on your chart of accounts rather than a generic template.
Balance sheet
Comparative to prior month and prior year end, every account supported by a schedule that ties to the penny.
Statement of cash flows
Indirect method, reconciling net income to the change in cash, with operating, investing and financing activity separated.
Department, location and class P&Ls
Per unit reporting for multi-unit operators, including allocated overhead, contribution by location, and a side by side ranking of every unit.
Budget vs actual and variance commentary
Month and year to date against budget or forecast, with written explanations on every line that breaks your dollar or percentage threshold.
KPI dashboard
The operating metrics that matter for your model, such as gross margin by revenue stream, labor as a percent of sales, days sales outstanding, days payable outstanding and current cash runway.
Learn moreWhat we send, how often, and who reads it
| Deliverable | Cadence | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Flash report on cash, sales and payroll | Weekly | Owner and operations |
| Full financial statement package | Monthly, 5 to 10 business days after period end | Owner, controller, CFO |
| Department, location or class P&L | Monthly | Unit and regional managers |
| Budget vs actual with written variance commentary | Monthly and year to date | Owner and board |
| Consolidated statements with eliminations | Monthly or quarterly | Parent company and investors |
| Lender package with covenant calculations | Per your credit agreement | Bank or lender |
| Board reporting package | Ahead of each board meeting | Board and investors |
| Audit or review support schedules | Annual, plus interim periods | Your outside CPA firm |
Scroll the table sideways on a small screen.
Consolidations, lender and board reporting, audit preparation
- Multi-entity consolidationWe maintain the entity structure, post intercompany activity, and eliminate intercompany receivables, payables, revenue and management fees. You get consolidated statements plus a consolidation worksheet showing every entity in a column and every elimination on its own line, so the total is auditable instead of asserted.
- Multi-unit and segment reportingClasses, locations, departments or jobs, structured once in the chart of accounts and then reported consistently. For restaurant and retail groups that means unit level contribution, prime cost, labor percentage and same store comparisons where history supports them. For construction it means job cost, committed cost and work in process.
- Lender and covenant reportingCompliance certificates, fixed charge coverage, debt service coverage, leverage ratios and adjusted EBITDA computed the way your credit agreement defines them, plus borrowing base certificates supported by AR aging and inventory detail, delivered on the deadline in the agreement.
- Board and investor packagesStatements, variance commentary, a KPI page, a thirteen week cash forecast and a one page executive summary written in plain language, assembled in the order your board reads it and delivered before the meeting rather than during it.
- Audit, review and compilation preparationWe build the tie-out binder and lead schedules, respond to the prepared by client list, pull the invoices and contracts the auditor samples, prepare rollforwards and confirmation support, and answer questions during fieldwork. Your CPA firm performs and signs the engagement. We prepare what they ask for.
- Year-end close and CPA handoffA clean trial balance, adjusting journal entries booked back into the GL, fixed asset detail for depreciation, 1099-NEC vendor tracking built from collected W-9s, and a workpaper set your tax preparer can use without starting over in January.
Frequently asked questions
How long will our close take?
Plan on 5 to 10 business days after period end. The drivers are transaction volume, number of entities and bank accounts, how quickly approvals come back, and whether third-party statements arrive on time. If daily bookkeeping and bank rules are already in place, a tighter close is realistic. We will tell you what your file can support before we commit to a date.
Do you work in our accounting system or move us to yours?
Yours. We work inside QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Xero, NetSuite and Sage Intacct, and we connect to Bill.com, Gusto, ADP, Paychex, Ramp and Expensify. If you want to migrate platforms we can plan and run that project, but nothing about this service requires you to switch.
Accrual or cash basis?
We close on US GAAP accrual basis because that is what lenders, boards and auditors expect. We can produce a cash basis view in parallel for tax planning conversations, and we prepare the tax basis trial balance your CPA needs at year-end.
Can you report by location, department or class?
Yes. It usually requires cleaning up the chart of accounts and setting a consistent dimension structure first, including a written policy for how shared overhead is allocated. We do that restructuring during onboarding, so segment reporting is comparable from the first month forward.
Will you talk to our lender, board or auditor directly?
Yes. We join lender calls, prepare covenant calculations, present the package on board calls, and work directly with your audit or review team during fieldwork. One limit worth stating plainly: we prepare financial statements and supporting schedules, and we do not issue audit, review or assurance opinions. That work belongs to your independent CPA firm.
Our books are several months behind. Can you still start?
Yes. We scope a catch-up project first, reconcile the open periods, correct misposted activity, and produce the missing statements. Once history is current we move you onto the monthly close calendar. Catch-up is quoted separately from the ongoing monthly fee so you can see exactly what each part costs.
What does financial reporting cost?
A fixed monthly fee, quoted after a short call and a look at your file. Pricing follows transaction volume, number of entities and accounts to reconcile, reporting depth, and whether you need consolidations or lender packages. Most clients run their back office for 40-60% less than a comparable in-house team.
What do you need from us to get started?
Access to your general ledger, read-only bank and credit card feeds, payroll portal access, the last filed tax return or prior year financials, your current chart of accounts, and your budget if you have one. Onboarding typically takes two to four weeks before the first close runs on calendar.
Get a free consultation and a no-cost quote
Call (209) 456-5966 or email info@yfgconsultants.com for a free consultation. We will look at your current close, tell you what it takes to get on a fixed calendar, and send a no-cost quote with the scope and monthly fee on one page.