What are the steps in a month-end close?

Typically: reconcile accounts, post journal entries, review variances, run and review the financial reports, then lock the period. The exact checklist depends on your business and accounting system.

How do I document a month-end close quickly?

Record one real close as the accountant runs it, then generate the SOP and process map from the recording. This captures the order, the reconciliations, and the sign-offs that a memory-based checklist usually misses.

Why does the close slow down?

Mostly because of serial dependencies, where one task waits on another. Capturing per-step timing shows which dependency is the real bottleneck rather than which task simply feels busy.

Can Ledgerium document a close that spans several systems?

Yes. A single recording captures the steps across each browser-based system in the close, the accounting system, bank portals, and reporting, so the SOP reflects the full process.

What can be automated in the close?

Common candidates are auto-reconciling high-volume accounts, drafting recurring journal entries, and alerting on tasks trending late. Ledgerium scores these from the recorded close.

Workflow

How to document a month-end close workflow

To document a month-end close, record the real close as the accountant runs it, from reconciliations to locking the period, then generate a step-by-step SOP and a process map from the recording. The close is a long checklist spread across the accounting system, spreadsheets, and bank portals, which is why a written-from-memory version always misses steps. Ledgerium records the actual close in the browser, captures the order and the handoffs, and generates the SOP, the process map, and a report that shows which close tasks take the longest.

Capture this workflow once See how it works

Who uses this workflow

Staff and senior accountants, the controller who owns the close calendar, and the CFO who signs off. Auditors review it when testing the close process.

Systems involved: Accounting system or ERP, Spreadsheets, Bank and payment portals.

The old way

The close checklist lives in one person’s head or a stale spreadsheet. When that person is out, the close slips, because nobody else knows the exact order, the reconciliations, and the sign-offs.

With Ledgerium

Record one real close. Ledgerium captures the reconciliations, journal entries, and review steps in order, and generates the SOP, the process map, and a report that highlights the slowest close tasks.

Sample workflow steps

1
Reconcile accounts
Reconcile bank, cash, and key balance-sheet accounts against statements.
2
Post journal entries
Record accruals, prepaids, and adjusting entries for the period.
3
Review variances
Compare actuals to budget and prior period and investigate variances.
4
Run and review reports
Generate the financial statements and review them for errors.
5
Lock the period
Sign off and lock the period so no further changes are posted.

See this in a real workflow recording

What Ledgerium generates from this

Workflow intelligence report generated from a recorded workflow, showing step timing and process health

Metrics Ledgerium can reveal

Days to close: Period end to locked period, broken down by task.
Task wait time: How long each close task waits on an upstream dependency.
Rework rate: Share of entries corrected after first posting.

Common mistakes

Documenting the close as one task instead of an ordered, dependency-driven checklist
Leaving the reconciliation sources and sign-off owners undocumented
Not capturing which close tasks consistently run late

AI and automation opportunities

Auto-reconcile high-volume accounts and flag only the exceptions
Draft recurring journal entries from prior-period patterns for review
Detect close tasks trending late and alert the controller early

How Ledgerium captures this

1. Install the extension

Add the Ledgerium recorder to Chrome. No screenshots and no keystrokes are ever captured.

2. Record the real workflow

Perform the process once. Ledgerium captures the structured steps, timing, and system context.

3. Get the output

Receive an SOP, a process map, and a workflow intelligence report generated from the real work.

Worth knowing

Steps performed in desktop spreadsheets outside the browser are not captured directly. Ledgerium records the browser-based close steps; offline spreadsheet work needs a linked note.

Frequently asked questions

: Typically: reconcile accounts, post journal entries, review variances, run and review the financial reports, then lock the period. The exact checklist depends on your business and accounting system.
: Record one real close as the accountant runs it, then generate the SOP and process map from the recording. This captures the order, the reconciliations, and the sign-offs that a memory-based checklist usually misses.
: Mostly because of serial dependencies, where one task waits on another. Capturing per-step timing shows which dependency is the real bottleneck rather than which task simply feels busy.
: Yes. A single recording captures the steps across each browser-based system in the close, the accounting system, bank portals, and reporting, so the SOP reflects the full process.
: Common candidates are auto-reconciling high-volume accounts, drafting recurring journal entries, and alerting on tasks trending late. Ledgerium scores these from the recorded close.

Capture this workflow once

Record the real process and turn it into an SOP, a process map, and an AI opportunity report, generated from how the work actually happens.

Start free See how it works

Free plan includes 5 documented workflows per month. No screenshots ever captured.