Month-End Checklist for Small Business Finances

Collect and attach receipts

Under the Bookkeeping Act every transaction needs a supporting document, and since 2024 a digital copy is enough, so photograph paper receipts and let the originals go. Most systems match a photographed receipt to the card transaction automatically. Work through the month's transactions in the bank feed and stop at each one without a document. Ask staff for their receipts before the month closes, not after, and record what each expense was for in one line, especially for meals and travel, where Skatteverket expects the purpose and the participants to be noted.

Send and follow up invoices

Unbilled work is the most common hidden loss in a service business. Before closing the month, check that every delivered job, hour or order has an invoice, with the details Swedish law requires: your organisation number, F-tax note, VAT rate and amount, invoice date and number. Then look at the overdue list. A friendly reminder on the first day after due date, a formal reminder with the statutory reminder fee after a week or two, and a call after that recovers most late payments. Interest and a collection fee are permitted under Swedish law when the terms say so; use them consistently rather than as a threat.

1. Invoice every delivery from the month, with correct VAT and payment terms.
2. Send reminders for everything overdue, with the reminder fee your terms allow.
3. Call customers who are more than thirty days late; email alone rarely works.
4. Note disputed invoices separately so the accountant does not chase them twice.

Reconcile bank and payment accounts

Reconciliation means confirming that what the bookkeeping system thinks is in each account matches what the bank, Swish, the card acquirer and any platform such as Stripe, Klarna or Shopify Payments actually hold. Differences are usually fees deducted before payout, refunds, or a payout that spans two months. Reconcile every account you receive money through, not only the main bank account, because payment platforms are where fees and refunds hide. When the balances match, the month is closed in a way that survives an audit; when they do not, the difference is a task for you or your accountant, and it is far easier to find within a week than within a year.

Check supplier invoices

Supplier invoices deserve a five-minute review before they are approved: is the amount what was agreed, has this invoice already been paid under another number, is the VAT correctly stated, and does the invoice carry the supplier's details and your reference? Subscriptions are the usual place for waste; a monthly glance at the recurring charges catches the tool nobody uses any more. If you receive invoices by email, forward them to the bookkeeping system's inbox so they are captured without retyping, and if suppliers can send e-invoices, ask for them.

Notes for your accountant

End the routine with a short note: anything unusual this month, such as a private purchase on the company card, an asset bought, a customer that will not pay, a new subscription or a change in how you invoice. Your accountant's hours are then spent on the questions that need judgement rather than on guessing what a transaction was. If the routine itself is what you lack time for, bookkeeping and finance admin support can run the monthly entry, matching and reminders on an hourly basis; the rate is on our pricing page. Our guide on preparing material for your accountant describes the handover in detail.

When you do not need this: if you have a handful of transactions a month and no employees, a quarterly version of this list is enough, timed to your VAT return period. If an accounting firm already runs your bookkeeping from the bank feed and your role is only to send receipts, your routine is the first step alone. If you are somewhere in between and the month-end keeps slipping, book a short call and we will look at what could be delegated.

Frequently asked questions