Month End Close

Automation

Orchestrate and validate the full month-end close for a QBO client. Reads client SOP, runs automated close checks, scores each item, proposes journal entries, tracks CDC progress, and outputs a controller-ready Excel workbook. Use when running monthly close for any QBO-connected client. NOT for P&L variance analysis, bank reconciliation only, or budget vs. actual comparisons.

Install

openclaw skills install month-end-close

Month-End Close Checklist — SKILL.md

Orchestrates and validates the full month-end close for a QBO client. Reads clients/{slug}/sop.md to determine which checks apply, runs automated close checks against QBO, scores each item, proposes journal entries for missing items, tracks progress with CDC, and outputs a controller-ready Excel workbook.

Trigger

Use this skill when:

User says "run close", "month-end close", "close checklist", or "close [client] for [month]"
Monthly close workflow is needed for any QBO-connected client
Re-running close to check if open items have been resolved

Do NOT use for:

P&L variance analysis → use pl-quick-compare or pl-deep-analysis
Bank reconciliation only → use bank-reconciliation
Budget vs. actual → use budget-vs-actual

Script Location

scripts/pipelines/month-end-close.py

Usage

# Standard close run
python3 scripts/pipelines/month-end-close.py --slug sb-paulson --month 2026-03

# Skip GL drill (faster; prepaid/depr/payroll checks have limited data)
python3 scripts/pipelines/month-end-close.py --slug willo-salons --month 2026-02 --skip-gl

# Re-run as items get resolved (CDC tracks progress between runs)
python3 scripts/pipelines/month-end-close.py --slug glowlabs --month 2026-03

# Force fresh QBO pulls (ignore CDC cache)
python3 scripts/pipelines/month-end-close.py --slug sb-paulson --month 2026-03 --rerun

# Custom output directory
python3 scripts/pipelines/month-end-close.py --slug sb-paulson --month 2026-03 --out ~/Desktop/close

# QBO Sandbox
python3 scripts/pipelines/month-end-close.py --slug sb-paulson --month 2026-03 --sandbox

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description
`--slug`	✅	Company slug (must match qbo-client connection)
`--month`	✅	Close period in YYYY-MM format (e.g. `2026-03`)
`--skip-gl`	❌	Skip GL pull — faster but prepaid/depr/payroll checks limited
`--rerun`	❌	Force all checks fresh — ignores CDC state for check selection
`--out`	❌	Output directory (default: `~/Desktop`)
`--sandbox`	❌	Use QBO sandbox environment

Close Checks

Check	ID	Default	SOP Override
Bank Reconciliation	`bank_recon`	✅	Disable: `bank reconciliation: ❌`
Trial Balance (D=C)	`trial_balance`	✅	Always enabled
AP Aging	`ap_aging`	✅	Disable: `ap aging: ❌`
AR Aging	`ar_aging`	✅	Auto-disabled if SOP says no AR/POS
Prepaid Amortization	`prepaid_amortization`	✅	Disable: `prepaid: ❌`
Depreciation	`depreciation`	✅	Disable: `no fixed assets`
Payroll Reconciliation	`payroll_recon`	✅	Disable: `payroll: ❌`
Revenue Recognition	`revenue_recognition`	✅	Disable: `deferred revenue: ❌`
Accrued Expenses	`accrued_expenses`	✅	Disable: `accruals: ❌`
Intercompany Eliminations	`intercompany`	❌ OFF	Enable: `multi-entity` or `intercompany: ✅`

SOP Integration

The pipeline reads clients/{slug}/sop.md and parses it for:

AR Aging — auto-disabled if SOP contains: no accounts receivable, POS collection, AR aging: ❌, or AR: Not applicable
Intercompany — disabled by default; enabled if SOP contains: multi-entity, intercompany: ✅, or consolidated
Watch notes — special SOP signals become tab notes in Excel (e.g. interest expense, cash burn, deferred revenue, SAFE)

Client SOP Quick Reference

Client	AR?	Interco?	Notes
`willo-salons`	❌ No	❌ No	POS/cash — no AR
`glowlabs`	❌ No	❌ No	Gaming/Web3; high burn
`sb-paulson`	✅ Verify	❌ No	Advisory; watch interest expense
`opdo`	Check SOP	❌ No	Review SOP

Outputs

Excel Workbook

Saved to ~/Desktop/MonthEndClose_{slug}_{YYYY-MM}_Run{N}.xlsx

Tab	Contents
Close Checklist	Dashboard — PASS/FAIL/ACTION per item + completion % + proposed JE count
Trial Balance	Full TB with debit/credit validation, per-account rows, totals
Proposed Entries	All JEs needed for missing/flagged items, sorted HIGH→MEDIUM→LOW
CDC Log	Status changes between runs — tracks close progress over time

Completion Score

Completion % = (PASS + N/A) / Total × 100
Close is "READY" when FAIL = 0 and ACTION = 0

Proposed JE Format

Each proposed entry has:

Debit Account
Credit Account
Amount (Decimal; "TBD" if unknown)
Memo / basis
Urgency: HIGH | MEDIUM | LOW

CDC (Change Data Capture)

Cache file: .cache/month-end-close/{slug}-{YYYY-MM}.json

First run: full snapshot saved, no delta
Subsequent runs: shows status changes (FAIL→PASS = "Resolved ✅", PASS→FAIL = "Regressed ⚠️")
Re-run the pipeline as items are resolved — CDC tracks progress automatically
Use --rerun to force fresh QBO pulls without clearing CDC history

Check Logic Summary

Bank Recon

Checks .cache/bank-reconciliation/{slug}.json for a completed reconciliation matching the close period end date. If found and is_reconciled: true → PASS. If different period or missing → ACTION NEEDED with command to run.

Trial Balance

Pulls QBO TB report via qbo report tb, sums all debit and credit columns, validates |debits - credits| < $0.02. OUT OF BALANCE → FAIL with proposed suspense entry.

AP / AR Aging

Scans QBO Balance Sheet for AP/AR account balances. Flags material balances ≥ $500 as ACTION NEEDED. Proposes accrual entry for largest outstanding item > $2,500.

Prepaid Amortization

Compares prior-month BS prepaid balances to current. If prior balance > $0 and no GL activity or balance reduction → ACTION NEEDED with estimated monthly amort entry (straight-line over 12 months as placeholder).

Depreciation

Checks fixed asset accounts on BS + scans GL for depreciation/journal entries to accumulated depreciation accounts. No activity on period with known fixed assets → ACTION NEEDED.

Payroll Reconciliation

Sums payroll GL accounts for current period, compares to prior P&L payroll total. Flags if variance > $500 or > 15% month-over-month.

Revenue Recognition

Checks deferred revenue BS balance for movement. No change with known balance → ACTION NEEDED with estimated recognition entry (straight-line over 12 months as placeholder).

Accrued Expenses

Compares accrual account balances prior-vs-current. Flags individual account changes ≥ $1,000 or near-zero reversal from significant balance.

Intercompany

Only runs if enabled by SOP. Checks for non-zero intercompany/due-to/due-from balances. Net balance ≠ $0.02 → ACTION NEEDED with elimination entry.

Dependencies

Python 3.10+ with openpyxl (pip install openpyxl)
Node.js QBO client with valid auth tokens
Client SOP at clients/{slug}/sop.md (optional but recommended)
Completed bank-recon run for bank_recon check to PASS

Related Pipelines

Pipeline	Script	Use
P&L Quick Compare	`pl-quick-compare.py`	Revenue/expense variance
P&L Deep Analysis	`pl-deep-analysis.py`	GL drill-down + accrual proposals
Bank Reconciliation	`bank-reconciliation.py`	Must complete before close PASS

Bank Recon must be run first — month-end-close reads its CDC cache to verify completion.

Notes

All financial math uses Python Decimal for precision
Proposed JE amounts marked "TBD" when determination requires human review (e.g. depreciation schedule)
SOP parsing is additive: missing SOP = all checks enabled with defaults
Run multiple times freely — CDC log accumulates close progress history