The Financial Close Process: A Complete Guide

August 25, 2025
Jason Berwanger
Finance

Get practical tips to streamline your financial close process, improve accuracy, and reduce stress with proven best practices for finance teams.

Financial close process with laptop and organized binders.

The end of the month often brings a familiar sense of dread for finance teams. It’s a frantic race against the clock, filled with manual data entry, endless spreadsheets, and the mounting pressure to get the numbers right. This chaotic cycle can feel like an unavoidable part of doing business, but it doesn’t have to be. A well-structured financial close process transforms that last-minute scramble into a smooth, predictable, and even stress-free operation. This guide is your roadmap to making that change. We'll walk through how to build a system that not only closes the books faster but also improves accuracy, giving you reliable financial insights without the late nights.

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Key Takeaways

  • Standardize Your Workflow for Consistency: A smooth financial close relies on a clear, documented process. By creating a detailed checklist, defining specific roles, and establishing a realistic calendar, you eliminate confusion and ensure every close is predictable and efficient.
  • Leverage Technology for Strategic Insight: Shift your team's focus from manual data entry to high-value analysis by automating repetitive tasks. Integrated systems and automation tools reduce errors, speed up reconciliations, and provide the real-time data needed for smarter business decisions.
  • Adopt a Cycle of Continuous Improvement: Your close process isn't static; it should evolve. Regularly track key performance indicators (KPIs) and hold post-close reviews to identify what worked and what didn't, allowing you to refine your approach for a faster, more accurate close next month.

What Is the Financial Close Process?

Let's start with the basics. The financial close process is the series of steps your accounting team takes at the end of a period—like a month, quarter, or year—to wrap up the books. Think of it as a final check-up for your finances. The goal is to review and finalize all transactions, making sure every number is accurate and accounted for before officially closing that period. This isn't just about ticking boxes; it's about creating a reliable snapshot of your company's financial health. A solid close process ensures that the financial statements you generate are trustworthy, giving you a clear picture of where your business stands and empowering you to make smarter decisions.

The Core Components

The close process follows a pretty standard playbook to make sure nothing gets missed. It starts with recording every single transaction and posting it to the general ledger. From there, your team will reconcile accounts—like bank statements and credit cards—to hunt down any discrepancies. After making necessary adjustments for things like accrued expenses, they'll generate an adjusted trial balance and, finally, the key financial statements. Each step builds on the last, creating a clear and accurate trail that transforms raw transaction data into meaningful financial insights. This systematic approach is what ensures your final reports are solid and dependable.

The Key Players

The financial close isn't just an internal accounting task; a lot of people are counting on the results. Inside your company, the management team uses these reports to gauge business performance, track progress toward goals, and make critical strategic decisions. Are we profitable? Where can we cut costs? Should we invest in that new project? The answers are in these numbers. Externally, stakeholders like investors, lenders, and regulatory bodies rely on your financial statements to assess the company's stability and potential. The accuracy and timeliness of your close directly impact their confidence and willingness to engage with your business.

Why It Matters for Your Business

So, why is a smooth financial close so important? It all comes down to trust and clarity. The main goal is to produce accurate financial reports that truly reflect your company's performance. These reports are the foundation for smart decision-making, giving leaders the data they need to communicate with investors and plan for the future. A well-run close process minimizes errors, which in turn improves the quality of your financial planning. By streamlining these steps, you not only get faster, more accurate reports but also improve your overall operational efficiency and build a stronger foundation for sustainable growth.

The 5 Key Steps of the Financial Close Process

The financial close process can feel like a huge undertaking, but it’s much more manageable when you break it down into a clear sequence. Think of it as a recurring project with five distinct phases. Each step builds on the last, turning raw transaction data into the clear financial reports you need to make smart business decisions. By understanding this workflow, you can pinpoint exactly where your team is spending the most time and find opportunities to create a more efficient, accurate, and less stressful close.

1. Record and Post Transactions

This is the foundation of your entire financial close. The first step involves gathering and recording every single financial transaction that occurred during the period—every sale, purchase, payment, and expense. This data flows from various sources like your sales platform, bank accounts, and payroll system into your general ledger. The goal is to ensure every transaction is accurately captured and posted to the correct account. A clean and complete set of initial data is non-negotiable; without it, you’ll be chasing down errors and discrepancies for the rest of the month.

2. Reconcile Your Accounts

Once all transactions are posted, it’s time to play detective. Account reconciliation is the process of verifying the accuracy of your general ledger accounts by comparing them against independent, external sources. For example, you’ll match the cash account in your ledger with your actual bank statements to ensure they line up perfectly. This step is crucial for catching errors, identifying fraudulent activity, and confirming that your financial records are a true reflection of reality. Having seamless integrations between your systems can dramatically speed up this matching process, reducing the manual effort required.

3. Review and Adjust Entries

No set of books is perfect after the initial recording. This step is where your accounting team’s expertise comes into play. They’ll make adjusting entries for items that aren’t represented in daily transactions, such as accrued expenses (bills you’ve incurred but haven’t paid yet) or deferred revenue. This is also the stage where you correct any errors discovered during reconciliation and ensure everything aligns with accounting principles. For many businesses, this includes applying complex revenue recognition rules like ASC 606, which dictates how and when you can report revenue from customer contracts.

4. Generate Financial Statements

With all your accounts reconciled and adjusted, you can now generate your core financial statements. This is where all your hard work transforms into actionable business intelligence. The three primary reports are the income statement, which shows your profitability over the period; the balance sheet, which provides a snapshot of your assets, liabilities, and equity at a specific point in time; and the cash flow statement, which details how cash moved in and out of the business. These reports are the ultimate output of the close process, providing leadership with the critical data needed for strategic planning.

5. Close the Books

The final step is to formally close the books for the period. This means finalizing the numbers and preventing any further changes to the closed period’s transactions. Your net income or loss from the income statement is transferred to the retained earnings account on the balance sheet, and the temporary accounts (revenue, expenses) are zeroed out to prepare for the next accounting period. A successful close doesn't just mean you've finished the work; it means your team is confident in the numbers and ready to start the next cycle on solid ground. If you're looking to automate your close process, having the right tools can make this final step feel less like a finish line and more like a smooth transition.

Common Roadblocks in the Financial Close (And How to Clear Them)

Even with a solid plan, the financial close process can feel like an obstacle course. Unexpected issues pop up, delays happen, and pressure mounts. The good news is that most of these challenges are common and, more importantly, solvable. By understanding what might get in your way, you can build a process that’s prepared for anything. Let’s walk through some of the most frequent roadblocks and discuss practical ways to clear the path for a smoother close.

Wrangling Disparate Data

One of the biggest headaches during the close is dealing with data that lives in different places and speaks different languages. Your sales data is in the CRM, billing is in another system, and expenses are somewhere else entirely. When information is scattered like this, just gathering and organizing it becomes a monumental task. This fragmentation doesn't just slow you down; it opens the door for errors and inconsistencies. The key to clearing this roadblock is to create a single source of truth. Implementing a system with seamless integrations connects your disparate data sources, ensuring everything flows into one place for a clean, consolidated view.

Breaking Through Manual Bottlenecks

Are you still relying on spreadsheets and manual data entry for key parts of your close? These manual processes are classic bottlenecks. Not only do they take a significant amount of time, but they are also highly susceptible to human error. A single typo can throw off your numbers and force you to spend hours hunting down the mistake. Automating repetitive tasks is the most effective way to break through these jams. By letting software handle things like data reconciliation and report generation, you speed up the entire process, improve accuracy, and free up your team to focus on analysis and strategy instead of tedious data entry.

Racing Against the Clock

The end of the month often feels like a sprint to the finish line. Finance teams are under immense pressure to meet tight deadlines, but delays are common when data is incomplete or overly complicated. Without a clear roadmap, it’s easy for tasks to fall through the cracks, causing a domino effect of delays. To stop racing the clock, you need to manage it. Establishing a structured timeline with clear steps and deadlines for each task is crucial. This creates accountability and gives everyone visibility into the process, helping to identify potential delays before they derail your entire schedule.

Staying on Top of Compliance

The ultimate goal of the financial close is to produce accurate reports that reflect your company’s true financial position. These reports are vital for investors, lenders, and other key stakeholders. Ensuring they comply with accounting standards like ASC 606 can be a major source of stress, especially if your processes aren't built for it. Falling out of compliance can have serious consequences. The best way to handle this is with a system designed for ASC 606 & 944 compliance. Implementing robust review processes and using tools that automatically enforce compliance rules helps maintain accuracy and ensures your financial statements are always audit-ready.

Bridging Communication Gaps

When multiple people and departments are involved in the close, communication can easily break down. Unclear roles can lead to duplicated work, while disagreements over data can cause significant delays. If everyone isn’t on the same page, you end up with confusion and wasted effort. To clear this hurdle, focus on streamlining communication and clarifying responsibilities. Assigning specific tasks to each team member and establishing a central channel for updates and questions can reduce misunderstandings. A well-defined workflow ensures everyone knows what they need to do and when, fostering better collaboration and a more efficient close.

How to Streamline Your Financial Close

A chaotic month-end close can feel like an unavoidable part of doing business, but it doesn’t have to be. Shifting from a frantic scramble to a smooth, predictable process is entirely possible with the right strategies. Streamlining your financial close isn't just about closing the books faster; it's about improving accuracy, reducing stress on your team, and freeing up valuable time for strategic analysis that can actually move your business forward. When your close process is efficient, you get the financial insights you need sooner, allowing you to make smarter, more agile decisions.

Think of it as creating a well-oiled machine. Instead of reinventing the wheel every month, you’ll have a reliable system that runs efficiently with minimal friction. This involves creating clear, repeatable steps, leveraging technology to handle the heavy lifting, and fostering a collaborative environment where everyone knows their role. By implementing a few key practices, you can transform your close from a source of dread into a seamless operation that produces timely, trustworthy financial reports. Let's walk through five practical ways you can make that happen.

Standardize Your Procedures

The first step toward a smoother close is creating a clear, documented process. When everyone on your team knows exactly who is responsible for what and when, you eliminate confusion and reduce the chance of tasks falling through the cracks. Start by mapping out every single step of your close, from initial data entry to the final review. Create a detailed checklist that outlines each task, the person assigned to it, and its due date. This not only ensures consistency month after month but also makes it much easier to train new team members. As you build this process, look for any steps that don't add real value and get rid of them. A leaner process is a faster process.

Automate Repetitive Tasks

If your team is still manually entering data or reconciling accounts in spreadsheets, you’re losing valuable time to tasks that are prime for automation. The best way to make your financial close faster and more accurate is to use financial technology. Automated revenue recognition software, for example, can handle complex calculations in seconds, eliminating the risk of human error and ensuring compliance. By automating these repetitive, low-value tasks, you free up your finance professionals to focus on what they do best: analyzing the data and providing strategic insights. This shift from data entry to data analysis is what helps your business grow smarter.

Set Clear Deadlines

A successful financial close runs on a well-defined schedule. Simply having a final deadline isn't enough; you need to set clear deadlines for every task along the way. Work backward from your final reporting date to create a close calendar with specific milestones. For example, when should all invoices be processed? When should bank reconciliations be complete? Communicating these deadlines ensures everyone stays on track and helps you identify potential bottlenecks before they derail the entire process. Just as importantly, make sure all team members have the information and resources they need to meet their deadlines without any last-minute scrambling.

Establish Quality Controls

A fast close is useless if the numbers aren't accurate. That’s why building quality control checks into your process is so important. This goes beyond a quick final glance. Implement a system of reviews at various stages, such as having a manager review journal entries before they are posted or performing a variance analysis to spot unusual fluctuations early on. A final review by a supervisor before the books are officially closed is your last line of defense to catch any mistakes. These checks and balances build confidence in your financial data and ensure the reports you generate are reliable for decision-making.

Encourage Team Collaboration

The financial close is a team sport. It often requires information and input from departments outside of finance, like sales and operations. Fostering open communication and collaboration is key to keeping things moving smoothly. Schedule brief, regular check-in meetings to discuss progress and address any roadblocks. Using a shared platform or project management tool can also help keep everyone on the same page. When your accounting and finance teams can communicate effectively, problems get solved faster, and the entire process becomes more efficient and less siloed.

The Right Tech for a Faster, Smarter Close

Relying on spreadsheets and manual data entry for your financial close is like trying to win a race on a tricycle. It’s slow, prone to errors, and simply can’t keep up. The right technology stack isn’t just a luxury; it’s the engine that powers a fast, accurate, and strategic close process. By embracing the right tools, you can transform your month-end from a frantic data-wrangling exercise into a smooth, predictable workflow. These systems handle the heavy lifting, so your team can focus on analysis and insights, not just ticking boxes. Let’s look at the key pieces of technology that make a modern financial close possible.

Cloud-Based Financial Software

Think of cloud-based software as your financial headquarters, accessible anytime, anywhere. Unlike traditional on-premise systems, these platforms host your data securely online, allowing your team to collaborate in real-time, whether they’re in the office or working remotely. This constant access means you can move away from a month-end crunch and adopt a "continuous close" model, where tasks are managed throughout the period. Modern cloud solutions are often more affordable and scalable than you might think, with flexible pricing information that can grow with your business. This makes powerful financial technology accessible to companies of all sizes.

Automation and RPA Tools

Automation is your secret weapon against the most tedious parts of the financial close. Tools for automated revenue recognition and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can take over repetitive, rule-based tasks like data entry, transaction matching, and account reconciliations. By letting software handle these manual jobs, you dramatically reduce the risk of human error and free up your team’s valuable time. Instead of spending hours copying and pasting data, your accountants can focus on investigating anomalies and providing strategic advice. This allows you to close the books faster and with much greater confidence in your numbers.

Business Intelligence (BI) Platforms

How can you tell if your company is on track? Business Intelligence (BI) platforms answer that question by transforming raw financial data into clear, interactive dashboards and reports. These tools help you monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) in real-time, giving you an immediate pulse on business health. During the close, a BI platform makes it easy to spot unusual variances or trends that need a closer look, long before they become major issues. This shifts your team from being reactive data gatherers to proactive analysts who can provide valuable insights. When you can visualize your data clearly, you can make smarter, faster decisions.

Integrated ERP Systems

Your financial data doesn’t live in a vacuum. It’s connected to sales, operations, and every other part of your business. An integrated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system acts as the central nervous system for your company, creating a single source of truth for all your data. When your accounting software seamlessly connects with your other business systems, you eliminate data silos and manual reconciliations between departments. This ensures everyone is working from the same numbers, which is critical for an accurate and efficient close. Having strong integrations means data flows automatically, saving time and preventing costly errors.

Essential Data Security

As you adopt more powerful and connected technologies, protecting your financial data becomes paramount. Strong data security isn't just an IT issue; it's a core component of a trustworthy financial process. Your tech stack should include robust security measures like role-based access controls, data encryption, and regular backups. This ensures that sensitive information is only accessible to authorized personnel and is protected from threats. While automated systems make the close faster and more accurate, they must be managed by skilled professionals who prioritize security. This builds trust with stakeholders and is essential for passing audits smoothly.

Best Practices for a Flawless Financial Close

Putting the right systems in place can transform your financial close from a frantic scramble into a smooth, predictable process. It’s not about finding a magic bullet, but about building a foundation of smart habits and clear procedures. When you focus on consistency and clarity, you create a closing process that is not only faster but also far more accurate. These practices will help your team work more efficiently, reduce stress, and deliver reliable financial reports every single time. Let’s walk through the key habits that make the biggest difference.

Document Your Processes

The first step toward a smoother close is getting everything out of your team’s heads and onto paper. Create a clear, step-by-step guide that outlines your entire closing process. This document should detail who is responsible for each task, list all the necessary steps, and include built-in checks to catch errors early. Think of it as your team’s playbook. It ensures everyone follows the same procedure, which is crucial for consistency and accuracy. Plus, having a documented process makes it much easier to train new team members and identify any steps that aren't adding value and can be removed.

Define Roles and Responsibilities

A successful financial close depends on teamwork, and great teamwork starts with clarity. Clearly define who is responsible for what. When team members have specific, well-understood tasks, there’s no confusion over ownership, which prevents things from falling through the cracks. This also helps avoid having too many people involved in a single task, which can slow things down. A simple RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) chart can be a great tool for mapping out these roles. When everyone knows their part and trusts their colleagues to handle theirs, the entire process runs more efficiently.

Implement a Review System

Before you officially close the books, it’s essential to have a final check. Implementing a formal review system where a supervisor or another qualified team member reviews the work is your last line of defense against mistakes. This isn’t about micromanaging; it’s a critical quality control step that provides a fresh perspective to catch anything that might have been missed. This final sign-off ensures the accuracy of your financial statements and builds confidence in your numbers before they are shared with stakeholders. It’s a simple but powerful way to maintain data integrity.

Establish Clear Communication

You can have the best processes in the world, but they won’t work without strong communication. Good communication among your accounting and finance team is what keeps the close moving forward without delays. Instead of relying on scattered email threads, consider a centralized channel like Slack or Microsoft Teams for close-related updates. A quick daily check-in during the closing period can also help everyone stay aligned and quickly address any roadblocks. When your team can communicate seamlessly, they can solve problems faster and keep the entire process on track.

Conduct a Post-Close Analysis

The work isn’t over once the books are closed. The best finance teams take time to reflect on the process. After each close, hold a brief meeting to review what happened. Discuss what went well, what challenges came up, and what you can do differently next time. This practice of continuous improvement is what turns a good closing process into a great one. It helps you refine your checklist, adjust timelines, and anticipate future issues. These post-close Insights are invaluable for making each subsequent close faster and more accurate than the last.

How to Build a Realistic Close Calendar

A close calendar is your roadmap for a smooth and predictable financial close. Think of it less as a rigid set of deadlines and more as a strategic guide that brings everyone onto the same page. When you have a realistic calendar, you replace last-minute scrambles with a clear, step-by-step process. This isn't just about hitting a date; it's about creating a sustainable workflow that reduces stress, improves accuracy, and gives your team the clarity it needs to perform at its best. A well-structured calendar helps you anticipate bottlenecks, manage workloads, and ensure every task is completed on time, turning the month-end close from a dreaded event into a routine operation.

Map Out Your Timeline

The first step is to lay out your entire close process from start to finish. Work backward from your final reporting deadline to set milestones for each major phase. Creating a financial calendar helps you plan when you'll collect reports, record transactions, and close the books. Be specific about due dates for tasks like bank reconciliations, accounts payable processing, and revenue recognition entries. Setting these clear deadlines for everyone involved ensures a smooth financial close process and eliminates any guesswork about when things are due. This timeline becomes the backbone of your close, providing a single source of truth for the entire team.

Identify Task Dependencies

Many steps in the financial close can't begin until others are complete. You can't reconcile cash until all transactions are posted, for example. Your calendar needs to reflect these relationships. Start by listing every single task, then decide who is responsible for what and set up checks to prevent errors. This is also a great opportunity to streamline your workflow. Take a hard look at your current process and ask if every step adds value. Removing redundant tasks can significantly speed things up. Having clear integrations between your systems can also make these dependencies much easier to manage.

Track Progress in Real-Time

A calendar is only effective if you can see where you stand. Instead of relying on manual check-ins and endless email chains, use technology to monitor progress. Automated systems can make the process faster and more accurate by reducing manual work and providing instant visibility into task status. This allows managers to spot potential delays before they become major problems and reallocate resources as needed. Regularly checking and updating your company's internal rules for handling money is also crucial for maintaining accuracy throughout the close. Real-time tracking transforms your calendar from a static document into a dynamic management tool.

Allocate Your Resources

Finally, make sure you have the right people assigned to the right tasks. A successful close depends on having a clear team with specific responsibilities. While it might seem helpful to have all hands on deck, having too many people involved can lead to confusion, duplicated effort, and slower progress. Define who is accountable for each step in the calendar and ensure they have the training and tools necessary to complete their work efficiently. This clarity empowers your team members, reduces bottlenecks, and creates a more accountable and effective financial close process.

How to Measure Your Financial Close Performance

If you can’t measure your financial close process, you can’t improve it. Moving from a gut feeling that things could be faster to a data-backed improvement plan requires a clear look at your performance. By tracking specific metrics, you can identify bottlenecks, celebrate wins, and build a more efficient and accurate close cycle over time. This isn’t about adding more work to your team’s plate; it’s about working smarter by understanding exactly where your efforts will have the most impact. A well-measured process gives you the insights needed to make strategic changes that stick.

Define Your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The first step is to decide what success looks like for your team. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the specific, measurable values that show how effectively you’re achieving your financial close objectives. Think of them as your process’s vital signs. Having formal governance around which metrics you track helps establish clear procedures for improvement as you scale. Common KPIs for the financial close include the time it takes to close the books, the number of manual journal entries, the percentage of accounts reconciled on time, and the number of post-close adjustments. Choose a handful of KPIs that align directly with your business goals, whether that’s speed, accuracy, or team efficiency.

Track the Right Metrics

Once you’ve defined your KPIs, you need a reliable way to track them. Consistently gathering data on these metrics is what turns them from abstract goals into actionable insights. By focusing on specific accounting metrics and balance sheet KPIs, finance teams can streamline the financial close, improve accuracy, and provide timely information to stakeholders. For example, if you notice the time spent on intercompany reconciliations is creeping up each month, you know exactly where to focus your problem-solving efforts. Using software that automatically pulls data from your various systems makes this process much easier than trying to wrangle spreadsheets manually.

Benchmark Your Efficiency

Metrics are most powerful when they have context. A five-day close might be a huge achievement for your team or standard practice, but you won’t know without a benchmark. The key to improvement is a thoughtful approach where teams create benchmarks and goals to help them track the efficiency of their close process over time. Start by benchmarking against your own past performance. Is your close getting faster and more accurate each quarter? Once you have a solid internal baseline, you can look at industry standards to see how you compare. This helps you set realistic, ambitious goals that push your team forward without causing burnout.

Strategies for Continuous Improvement

Measurement is only half the battle; the other half is using that information to get better. When you make it a goal to improve the accuracy and speed of the month-end close, get everyone on board early. Schedule a brief post-close meeting to review your KPIs. What went well? Where did you get stuck? This isn’t about placing blame but about collaborative problem-solving. When your team understands the data and has a voice in creating solutions, they become active participants in the improvement process. If your metrics consistently point to manual data entry as a major bottleneck, it might be time to explore an automated solution.

Staying Compliant During the Financial Close

A fast close is great, but an accurate and compliant close is non-negotiable. Staying on top of accounting standards and being prepared for audits isn't just about checking boxes—it's about building a financially sound and trustworthy business. Think of compliance not as a hurdle, but as the guardrails that keep your financial processes on the right track. It protects your company, builds investor confidence, and ultimately saves you from major headaches down the road. Let's walk through the key areas of compliance to focus on during your close.

Understanding ASC 606 & 944

If you’ve heard accountants mention ASC 606, they’re referring to the core standard for recognizing revenue from customer contracts. Along with ASC 944 for insurance, these standards are crucial for compliant and consistent financial reporting. Understanding them helps you accurately report performance and maintain transparency. This can be especially tricky for high-volume businesses with complex revenue streams. Many teams use automated solutions to maintain ASC 606 & 944 compliance without slowing the close. You can find more helpful articles on financial topics in our HubiFi blog.

Preparing for a Smooth Audit

The word “audit” can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. A well-organized financial close is your best preparation for a smooth audit. By maintaining accurate records and clear documentation throughout each closing period, you build a clean, easy-to-follow trail for auditors. Every number on your financial statements should have clear support that ties back to its source transaction. Making audit readiness a part of your regular process means you can face any review with confidence and facilitate a much smoother, faster experience for everyone involved.

Managing Financial Risk

Your financial close is more than a reporting exercise; it’s a regular health check-up for your company. An effective close helps you identify and mitigate financial risks before they escalate. By regularly reconciling accounts and ensuring accuracy, you reduce the likelihood of errors that lead to financial discrepancies. This is your chance to spot unusual transactions, identify cash flow issues, or flag inconsistencies that could indicate bigger problems. When your financial data is unified through seamless system integrations, you gain the visibility needed to spot anomalies and make proactive decisions.

Organizing Compliance Documentation

Strong compliance relies on strong documentation. Organizing all your records is essential for a successful financial close. This means maintaining accessible digital files of all financial transactions, reconciliations, and adjustments made during the close. Having this documentation ready ensures it’s available for review by managers or auditors at a moment's notice. Instead of digging through spreadsheets, an automated system keeps everything in one place. If your team spends too much time hunting for documents, it might be time to see how a centralized platform can help. You can schedule a demo to see it in action.

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Frequently Asked Questions

My team is small. Do we really need a formal financial close process? Absolutely. A formal close process isn't just for large corporations; it's about creating financial discipline and clarity, no matter your company's size. Even for a small team, a structured process ensures your financial reports are reliable, which is crucial for making smart decisions about cash flow, budgeting, and growth. Think of it as building a strong foundation. It helps you catch errors early, understand your profitability, and be prepared for anything, whether it's applying for a loan or bringing on an investor.

We use spreadsheets for everything. Isn't that enough for our financial close? Spreadsheets can be a great starting point, but they often become a major bottleneck as your business grows. They are prone to human error—a single broken formula or typo can throw off your entire report—and they make collaboration difficult. Relying on them means your team spends more time on manual data entry and less time on strategic analysis. The real cost of spreadsheets is the time lost hunting for mistakes and the risk of making critical decisions based on inaccurate information.

How can we actually make our financial close faster without sacrificing accuracy? The key is to shift your focus from manual work to smart systems. Start by creating a standardized checklist so everyone knows their role and deadlines. Then, identify the most repetitive, time-consuming tasks—like reconciling transactions or calculating revenue—and find ways to automate them. Using technology to handle these tasks not only speeds up the process but also dramatically reduces the risk of errors. This frees your team to focus on reviewing the numbers and analyzing what they mean for the business.

What's the single most important first step to improve our current close process? The best place to start is by documenting your current process, step by step. Get your team together and map out everything you do from the first day of the close to the last. This simple exercise will immediately highlight redundancies, bottlenecks, and areas of confusion. Once you have a clear picture of your existing workflow, you can begin to standardize it and identify the biggest opportunities for improvement, whether that's clarifying roles or automating a specific task.

Our data is spread across different systems. How does that impact our close? When your financial data lives in different, disconnected systems—like your CRM, billing platform, and bank accounts—it forces your team to spend a huge amount of time manually gathering and piecing everything together. This not only slows down the close but also creates a high risk of errors and inconsistencies. A fragmented data landscape makes it nearly impossible to get a clear, real-time view of your business's financial health, which is the ultimate goal of the close process.

Jason Berwanger

Former Root, EVP of Finance/Data at multiple FinTech startups

Jason Kyle Berwanger: An accomplished two-time entrepreneur, polyglot in finance, data & tech with 15 years of expertise. Builder, practitioner, leader—pioneering multiple ERP implementations and data solutions. Catalyst behind a 6% gross margin improvement with a sub-90-day IPO at Root insurance, powered by his vision & platform. Having held virtually every role from accountant to finance systems to finance exec, he brings a rare and noteworthy perspective in rethinking the finance tooling landscape.