Month-end close (Australia)

What it does

Closes last month's books so the P&L, cash forecast and next BAS rest on reconciled numbers. It works through a checklist, stops for the owner at each gate, flags problems without silently fixing them, and ends with a summary for the bookkeeper or accountant.

When to use it

• "Close the month", "reconcile the books", "month-end", "why did margin drop last month?".
• The month just ended is the last month of your BAS period, so the BAS is next.

What you need

• The month to close (default: last calendar month).
• Your BAS cadence (monthly or quarterly) and GST accounting basis (cash or accruals).
• From your software: profit and loss for the month, balance sheet at month end, bank reconciliation status, transaction list with tax codes, aged receivables and payables, and payroll reports for pays in the month.
• Payout reports from Stripe, Square, PayPal or Shopify if you use them.
• Optional connectors: Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks; Google Drive or OneDrive for receipts. CSV exports also work.

Steps for Claude

1. Agree the month and confirm cadence and basis. Work out whether this month ends a BAS period: monthly reporters lodge and pay by the 21st of the next month; quarterly reporters by 28 October, 28 February, 28 April and 28 July (agents may have later dates).
2. Bank reconciliation. Every bank, card and loan account reconciled to the month-end statement balance; list unreconciled lines.
3. Payment processors. Match each net payout to its bank deposit (comparing gross sales to deposits makes every line look wrong by the fee). Flag payouts with no deposit and deposits with no payout.
4. Uncategorised and tax codes. List uncategorised lines. Check the GST code on every income and expense line against the categories in the ATO Simpler BAS bookkeeping guide: taxable, GST-free or input-taxed sales; purchases with or without GST; mixed purchases; and items not reported on the BAS for GST. Wrong codes flow straight into the BAS.
5. Duplicates. Flag pairs with the same amount, same contact and dates within 5 days. The owner decides; never delete one.
6. Tax invoices and receipts. For purchases over $82.50 including GST, check a tax invoice is attached, because the GST credit depends on it. List the gaps.
7. Payroll and super cross-check (totals only, no names or rates): gross wages expense against payroll reports; PAYG withholding liability against tax withheld; super liability against contributions paid. Under Payday Super, contributions must reach each fund within 7 business days after payday (20 business days for a new employee's first contribution), so a super liability that is still open weeks after a payday is a flag.
8. Receivables and payables. Review aged lists for old items and credits; offer au-cash-flow-and-invoice-chase for overdue invoices.
9. Accruals only: ask about unentered bills and uninvoiced work.
10. GST control check. The GST accounts should reflect GST on sales less GST on purchases for the period. Explain any difference.
11. Sign-off gate. Show the summary below and ask the owner to confirm before writing the narrative. Suggest locking the period in the software after sign-off.
12. P&L narrative in 150 to 250 plain words: revenue, gross margin, the three biggest expense moves and anything unusual, against last month and the same month last year.
13. BAS readiness. If this month ends a BAS period, say whether the books are ready and hand over to au-bas-gst-prep.

Output format

Unreconciled or uncategorised:   X of X resolved
Processor payouts matched:       X of X
GST code issues:                 X flagged
Suspected duplicates:            X flagged, X cleared
Missing tax invoices:            X outstanding
Payroll and super cross-check:   matched / difference / not run
BAS readiness:                   ready / not ready (reasons)

Then the flags table, the P&L narrative and an open-items list for the bookkeeper.

Australian rules and sources (checked 27 September 2026)

• BAS due dates: https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/preparing-lodging-and-paying/business-activity-statements-bas/due-dates-for-lodging-and-paying-your-bas
• Cash or accruals for GST: https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/gst-excise-and-indirect-taxes/gst/accounting-for-gst-in-your-business/choosing-an-accounting-method
• When you need a tax invoice: https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/gst-excise-and-indirect-taxes/gst/claiming-gst-credits/when-you-can-claim-a-gst-credit
• Simpler BAS bookkeeping guide: https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/preparing-lodging-and-paying/business-activity-statements-bas/goods-and-services-tax-gst/simpler-bas-gst-bookkeeping-guide
• Correcting GST errors: https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/gst-excise-and-indirect-taxes/gst/completing-your-bas-for-gst/correcting-gst-errors
• Payday Super deadlines: https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/super-for-employers/paying-super-on-payday/payment-deadlines-for-payday-super
• Record keeping (most business records kept for 5 years): https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/preparing-lodging-and-paying/record-keeping-for-business/overview-of-record-keeping-rules-for-business
• Fair Work record-keeping (time and wages records kept for 7 years): https://www.fairwork.gov.au/pay-and-wages/paying-wages/record-keeping

Limits

This is not financial or tax advice. Claude does not post journals, void transactions, change tax codes or lock periods; it recommends and the owner or bookkeeper acts. Errors found in an earlier, already-lodged period go to the BAS or tax agent, using the ATO rules on correcting GST errors.

Example requests

• "Close August for me. Here are the Xero reports and the Stripe payout export."
• "It's the end of September and we report quarterly. Close the month and tell me if we're ready for the BAS."
• "Why did our gross margin drop from 42% to 35% last month? Check the coding before you explain it."