Month-end bank statement checklist for bookkeepers
The statement side of the month-end close, for a firm that keeps books for many clients: what to collect, how to check it, and what to clear before you close. Use it as it is, or get the printable PDF with a tracking sheet for each client.
Get the printable PDF
The checklist plus a one-page tracking sheet (client, account, month, received, reconciled, notes). Enter your work email and the download opens right away.
Before the 1st
- List every client account that needs a statement: checking, savings, credit cards, lines of credit, PayPal and merchant accounts.
- Note the last month each account was reconciled in QuickBooks Online, so you know how far back you need statements.
- Send each client the exact list of what's missing (account name, last four digits, month), not a general request.
As statements arrive
- Check that the statement is the right account and the right period, and that it starts where last month's ended.
- Check the statement adds up: opening balance plus every line equals the ending balance.
- File it by client, account and month, so anyone on the team can find it.
Reconcile
- Compare every statement line with QuickBooks Online: what's matched, what's missing from the books, and what's in the books but not on the statement.
- Add what's missing with the right payee and category; match what's already there instead of adding it twice.
- Finish the reconciliation in QuickBooks Online so the ending balance and the cleared items agree with the statement.
Before you close the month
- Clear Uncategorized Income, Uncategorized Expense and Ask My Accountant, or note what you're waiting on from the client.
- Check bank feeds are still connected, and look for duplicates from feeds and manual entries.
- Set the closing date in QuickBooks Online so reconciled periods can't change silently.
- Write down any balance difference you couldn't explain, with what you need from the client to resolve it.
For the full close, beyond statements, see the month-end close checklist for firms with many clients, and for chasing the statements themselves, how to get bank statements from clients (with email templates).
Frequently asked questions
When should bank statements arrive for a month-end close?
Many firms ask for them by the 5th to 10th of the following month. Statements are usually available a few days after the statement date, and a fixed deadline gives clients something clear to meet.
Which accounts need a monthly statement?
Every account that appears in the client's books with real transactions: bank accounts, credit cards, lines of credit, loans with monthly activity, and payment accounts such as PayPal or a merchant processor.
What if a client says there's no statement for a month?
Some accounts don't issue a statement in a month with no activity, and closed accounts stop. Note it on the checklist so you stop asking, and confirm in QuickBooks that the account's balance hasn't moved.