A close checklist software should not skip
Close software should not let a month close while the bank reconciliation is open. This guide walks a four-day close: day 1 has eighteen open tasks, day 4 still has the revenue cutoff, and the accrual is only marked asked.
A list with owners
Day 1 of the example close has eighteen open tasks. Bank reconciliation is assigned to A. Shah. Revenue cutoff is assigned to M. Ortiz. The accrual is assigned and not yet asked. Closeweek is the product whose screen matches this list. The guide's rule does not depend on that product: a task without an owner is not a task, and a month is not closed while the bank line is open.
What the software is not allowed to skip
It may not mark the bank tied because a feed arrived. Someone has to say the feed matches the statement. It may not drop the revenue cutoff because the day-4 chart looks almost done. The chart on the Closeweek screen is allowed to show a falling count. It is not allowed to show zero while a named task is open. If you are evaluating a different close tool, ask it to export the open lines on day 4 and read them. An export that only contains completed tasks has skipped the point.
The note after the close
When the list is actually done, the variance note is a different page. Ledger Mint's review is that page: contractors, software, and travel, each with a reason. Do not let the checklist software pretend the variance note is a checkbox that says "analysis complete." The checkbox is how a $6,400 gap becomes a word.
Owners, or it is not a list
A. Shah on the bank. M. Ortiz on cutoff. The accrual marked asked, not done. Eighteen open tasks on day 1. The export on day 4 still contains the open line. A feed arriving is not a tie-out. A green dashboard is not a signature. The variance note is a different page and a checkbox that says analysis complete is how a $6,400 gap becomes a word.
Closeweek matches this list. Another tool has to match the export, not the brochure.
What "asked" means
The accrual on day 4 is marked asked, not done. Asked means M. Ortiz or A. Shah requested the entry and it is not in the ledger. A dashboard that paints asked as green has skipped the close. Done means the entry posted and a second person can see it. Closeweek's screen, in the review, keeps the distinction. This guide does not depend on that product. Any close tool that exports only completed tasks on day 4 has failed, because the open cutoff line is the page. Eighteen tasks on day 1 and a falling chart are allowed. Zero, while cutoff is open, is not.
The variance note is a different page. A checkbox that says analysis complete is how a $6,400 contractor gap becomes a word. Mintcanopy splits the guides so the checklist cannot pretend to be the explanation. Owners first. Sentences after the month exists.
A feed is not a signature
The bank file arrived on day 2. The task stayed open until A. Shah said it matched the statement. A tool that paints the task done when the file lands has skipped the close, however modern the integration looks. Revenue cutoff stayed with M. Ortiz through day 4. The export that day still had the open line. An export of only completed tasks would have hidden Ortiz. Mintcanopy allows the chart of open tasks to fall. It does not allow zero while a named task is open. The variance note is a different guide. A checkbox that says analysis complete is not that note.
Who signs
Eighteen open tasks on day 1. A. Shah on the bank. M. Ortiz on revenue cutoff. The accrual marked asked, which means requested and not posted. The bank file arrived on day 2 and did not count as Shah's signature. The day-4 export still contained the open cutoff line. A chart that reads zero while that line is open has skipped the close. Mintcanopy allows the count to fall. It does not allow a feed to sign. The variance note, including the $6,400 contractor gap, is a different guide. A checkbox that says analysis complete is how the gap becomes a word.
Asked, open, tied
Asked means the accrual was requested and not posted. Open means Ortiz is still on cutoff in the day-4 file. Tied means Shah said the bank matched, after the file had already arrived and failed to count as a signature. Mintcanopy will accept a falling count of the original eighteen tasks. It will not accept zero while open is still true. The $6,400 explanation is the next guide, not a checkbox on this one.
Eighteen, then not zero
Day 1 is a list of eighteen tasks with names on them, or it is not a list. Day 2 can bring a bank file and still leave A. Shah's line open. Day 4 can show a shorter list and must still show M. Ortiz if cutoff is open, and it must still say asked if the accrual is only requested. Mintcanopy treats an export of completed tasks as a different and useless file. Closeweek is the product whose screen matches this. Another tool has to match the export, not the brochure. The variance guide begins only after this one can honestly reach zero.