Chase the unpaid invoices
Start with money owed to you. List every open invoice by customer, with its due date, and work through the overdue ones with the usual routine: a reminder, then a call, then a statement. Agree a new payment date with each customer and write it down. Any customer who has paid but still shows as owing is a matching problem to fix before the month is closed.
Send each customer with an open balance a statement that lists their invoices and credit notes, so both sides look at the same figure. If a customer disagrees with a line, find out now whether the fix is a credit note, and issue it before the month closes so that the balance is right.
Check the supplier bills
Next, look at what you owe. Make sure every supplier bill received this month has been entered, and compare each with its purchase order or delivery. Check the supplier's TRN and the VAT amount on each bill, and ask suppliers for any missing document now rather than at the next VAT return. Then list what falls due next, so that nothing is paid late by oversight.
Review the credit notes
Go through every credit note issued this month. Each should be linked to its original invoice, carry a written reason and have been approved by the right person. A few credit notes are normal; a pattern, such as many for one product or one customer, is worth a conversation. Make sure no issued invoice was edited instead of being corrected with a credit note.
Reconcile cash and card takings
If you sell over a counter, compare the month's takings with what actually arrived. Add up the daily cash counts and card terminal totals, and compare them with the sales shown in the system and with your bank statement. Differences that were noted on the day are easy to explain; those found only now take longer. Write down what you cannot explain and ask your accountant.
Match each payment type separately instead of as one lump total: cash against the drawer counts, card against the terminal totals, and any other method against its own record. A match in total can hide two opposite errors, so matching line by line catches more. If you sell at a counter every day, this month-end check is quick when the daily closings were done properly.
Review the VAT summary with your accountant
Share the month's VAT summary with your accountant: the 5% VAT charged on sales, the VAT on purchases and the effect of credit notes. Go through unusual items line by line, such as a large credit, a missing TRN or a supplier bill with no VAT shown. The accountant decides what goes into the return; which dates apply is for the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) and your accountant to confirm.
The review is quicker when everything comes from one source. TAQNIX ERP keeps invoices with 5% VAT, credit notes, purchase orders and payment status together, so the lists in this checklist can be read from the system instead of being rebuilt, and your accountant is not handed a pile of separate files to match up.
Back up your data and close the month
Finish by taking a backup of your data. Ask whoever hosts or supports your system how backups are made and how often, and test that a copy can actually be opened, because an untested backup is only a hope. Keep a copy away from the computer that holds the original. Then note what was done this month, so that next month starts from a clean list.
- Open invoices chased and new payment dates noted
- Supplier bills entered, checked and scheduled
- Credit notes linked, explained and approved
- Cash and card takings matched, differences noted
- VAT summary reviewed with your accountant, backup tested
General information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm rules with the authority or your accountant.
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