Table of Contents
- Why a month-end close checklist matters in NetSuite
- Your NetSuite month-end close checklist: key steps to follow
- Optimizing your month-end close in NetSuite
- Streamlining your close with Paystand
Key Takeaways
- A NetSuite month-end close checklist ensures control, accuracy, and strategic insight across finance operations.
- Following key steps, like validating subledgers, reconciling accounts, and locking periods, helps produce audit-ready financials.
- Optimizing NetSuite close processes means automating repetitive tasks and integrating tools to reduce manual work.
- Common pain points like manual matching, outdated reconciliations, and disconnected workflows slow teams down.
Closing the books each month shouldn’t feel like a sprint through a maze of spreadsheets. However, for many finance teams, the month-end close is still bogged down by manual processes, reconciliation headaches, and inconsistent data. If you're using NetSuite, you're one step ahead (if you know how to leverage it).
The month-end close isn’t just an operational task; it’s the point where the past month’s performance becomes measurable, actionable, and reportable. And if you’re not using every tool, including the advanced functionality available in the NetSuite marketplace and powerful integrations like Paystand, you’re leaving time, accuracy, and strategic insight on the table.
This guide will walk you through a NetSuite month-end close checklist, share best practices, and show you how to optimize your NetSuite month-end close using tools that enhance speed, accuracy, and visibility.
Why a Month-End Close Checklist Matters in NetSuite
Before proceeding with the steps, it’s worth asking why a month-end close checklist is important in NetSuite.
A month-end checklist focuses on control, accountability, and insight. In fast-paced finance, where data changes quickly and decisions depend on real-time information, a standardized checklist ensures consistency across teams, timelines, and subsidiaries. It prevents errors and delays, especially in multi-entity operations or audits.
When used correctly, a checklist helps finance teams:
- Maintain compliance with internal controls and external regulations
- Avoid missed entries and timing differences that create reporting inconsistencies
- Improve collaboration across finance, operations, and leadership teams
- Maximize the ROI of your NetSuite instance by utilizing its best-in-class features
A month-end checklist is a performance tool. It changes the close from reactive reporting to a proactive chance for strategic alignment, risk mitigation, and continuous improvement.
When paired with tools that automate and integrate processes, like an automated cash application in NetSuite or NetSuite integrated payments, your checklist becomes more than a to-do list. It becomes a blueprint for operational excellence.
Your NetSuite Month-End Close Checklist: Key Steps to Follow
If you're wondering if you can provide a month-end close checklist for NetSuite, you're in the right place. Here’s a foundational checklist that reflects NetSuite best practices and addresses common NetSuite accounting gaps:
1. Validate Subledger to General Ledger Balances
- Ensure the AR, AP, fixed assets, and inventory sub-ledgers match your general ledger. Run reconciliation reports and flag discrepancies.
2. Review and Post All Transactions
- Approve and post all journal entries, invoices, vendor bills, and expense reports. Ensure all transactions have correct dates and are assigned to the appropriate accounting periods.
3. Reconcile Bank and Credit Card Accounts
- Use NetSuite’s reconciliation tools or connect with a solution for automated cash application in NetSuite. Match deposits, payments, and withdrawals with bank statements.
4. Accrue Expenses and Revenue
- Review accrued liabilities and deferred revenue. Ensure month-end accruals reflect any unposted but earned income or incurred expenses.
5. Eliminate Intercompany Transactions
- Identify and eliminate intercompany transactions for consolidated reporting.
6. Close Subsidiary Books (if applicable)
- Verify that local books are closed correctly and reflect all regional transactions.
7. Review Financial Statements
- Run P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow reports to verify accuracy. Investigate and resolve anomalies before finalizing.
8. Lock the Accounting Period
- Prevent post-close changes by locking the accounting period once the close is verified.
9. Archive Documentation
- Save supporting documents, reconciliations, and approval trails.
10. Conduct Post-Close Review
- Hold a debrief with the finance team to review what went well and identify areas for improvement.
These are the essential components of a NetSuite month-end close checklist, and while they may seem routine, each one plays a critical role in ensuring your books are audit-ready and management has reliable insights.
Optimizing Your Month-End Close in NetSuite
Now for the golden question: How can I optimize my NetSuite month-end close checklist? The short answer is to automate what slows you down and standardize what causes confusion.
While NetSuite offers robust functionality, many finance teams still rely heavily on manual processes that undercut their efforts. Common pitfalls include manual data entry, outdated reconciliation methods, and disconnected payment workflows that require hours of administrative follow-up.
Optimization starts with evaluating where time is lost:
- Are your AR and AP teams manually matching transactions?
- Are you using spreadsheets to track payment statuses instead of real-time dashboards?
- Are you stuck waiting for checks to clear or paying high fees on credit card transactions?
Improving your month-end close doesn’t mean starting from scratch, but building on NetSuite best practices and addressing known NetSuite accounting gaps with modern solutions. Automating repetitive steps, like collections, reconciliation, and report generation, can dramatically reduce close time and increase confidence in your numbers.
Add calendar reminders for your team, streamline approvals with NetSuite’s roles and permissions, and ensure your close process integrates with your tech stack. With your checklist as part of an automation strategy, you’ll spend less time checking boxes and more time delivering insights.
Streamlining Your Close with Paystand
Paystand is built to solve the finance team’s biggest month-end headaches, all from inside your NetSuite environment. Here’s how it transforms your process:
- Automated payment processing: Manual collections drag your team into endless follow-ups and data entry. Paystand automates invoicing, collections, and payment flows within NetSuite, minimizing errors and freeing up your team for higher-level work.
- Real-time reconciliation: Paystand provides real-time reconciliation by instantly syncing payments with invoices in NetSuite. This eliminates manual matching, reduces discrepancies, and accelerates your close.
- Zero-fee, digital payments: Credit card fees and paper checks are relics of the past. Paystand's blockchain-based payment network enables digital payments with no transaction fees, helping your team reduce costs while improving cash flow.
- Comprehensive reporting and visibility: Finance leaders need insights on demand. Paystand delivers real-time dashboards and reports within NetSuite, so you can track receivables, monitor trends, and always stay close-ready.
The Future of Finance Starts with a Better Close
The month-end close shouldn’t be a fire drill. It should be a strategic checkpoint, a moment to measure, reflect, and prepare. With Paystand, NetSuite users gain the tools to turn a traditionally reactive process into a proactive advantage. If you’re still stuck chasing payments, manually reconciling data, and relying on outdated methods, it’s time to upgrade your month-end with automation, efficiency, and control.
Just ask Juxto. By automating manual processes with Paystand, they saved 208 hours per year. Ready to trade busywork for better outcomes? Let Paystand help you close faster, smarter, and with zero transaction fees.