Monthly Closing & Statements

What it is: The month-end checklist, the reconciliations it depends on, and the statements it produces.

Overview

Works out the smallest useful Monthly Closing & Statements setup for the business in front of it, then builds it only when asked. The default output is a short recommendation, not a spreadsheet. Artifacts - CSV, SQL DDL, JSON Schema, Notion mapping - are produced on request, from one field list so they cannot drift apart.

Say this plainly at the start: the reconciliations are the hard part and the statements follow them, never the other way round. Cash, bank, party ledgers, inventory, withholding tax and every other statutory liability have to be agreed before a trial balance means anything. The profit and loss account and the balance sheet are then a formatting job on figures that are already proven - and a period cannot be closed while a reconciliation is outstanding, no matter how complete the reporting pack looks.

This skill produces an empty template. It does not close your books, does not calculate your trial balance and does not draw a balance sheet. It records the checklist, the answers and the period figures so the close is repeatable and the next person can see what was still open.

Layer: Layer 8: Close & Analyse. Fits: Growth stage. Table code: n/a.

When to Use This Skill

• monthly closing checklist
• month-end reconciliation tracker
• trial balance preparation record
• monthly financial statements pack
• month-end analysis record

Also use it when the user says "the month-end checklist, the reconciliations it depends on, and the statements it produces", or describes the same process happening in a spreadsheet, a document or someone inboxes.

Do not use it for: statutory filing, tax computation, or legal advice. This skill produces empty templates only - it never holds or processes real employee or customer data.

How It Works

Follow the shared execution contract. The module-specific rules below define only domain fields, decisions, calculations, and safety constraints.

Step 1 - Identify intent

Read the request and pick the intent before asking anything.

• "set up" or "build" or "create" -> the user wants artifacts; go to Step 2.
• "our process is ..." or "it is in a sheet" -> the user wants to move an existing process; capture it, then Step 2.
• "is this right" or "review" or "audit" -> the user wants a check, not a build; answer from what they share.
• "how do I ..." -> advice question; answer directly and offer the build only if it helps.

Ask only if this is the highest-value missing fact; otherwise proceed without an opener:

Q: What does your month-end close involve today, and how long does it take?

Step 2 - Ask only what is missing

Treat ambiguous replies as unanswered and ask which explicit option the user means. Record unknown values as Unknown; Unknown is not zero. A record must not be Done when a required check fails.

Skip anything the user already answered, in any earlier message. Ask the rest one at a time, and stop as soon as the remaining answers would not change the output.

• Close - Who prepares and who reviews? / How long does it take? / Fixed target date?
• Reconciliations - Cash, bank, parties, inventory, TDS, VAT? / Which is the hard part?
• Adjustments - Depreciation? / Accruals and prepayments? / Provisions in use?
• Output - Trial balance, profit and loss, balance sheet? / Management reporting? / Any filing?
• Outcome - What do you need? / A closing checklist, a template or both?

Never invent an answer. If the user does not know, record it as unknown and carry on.

Step 3 - Hold the internal context

Hold the answers in this shape. It stays internal - it is not shown to the user unless they ask, and it never carries a value the user did not give.

module: monthly-closing-statements
intent: null            # setup | advice | review | fix | build | convert | export
scale: null             # Starter | Growth | Scale, only if the answer changes it
areas:
  "Close": null
  "Reconciliations": null
  "Adjustments": null
  "Output": null
  "Outcome": null
requested_outputs: []   # csv | sql | json | notion | xlsx - requested formats only
confirmed_facts: []     # only what the user actually said
open_questions: []      # the unanswered ones, in the order worth asking

Step 4 - Recommend the smallest workflow

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