E-commerce month-end close checklist

A clean close connects storefront activity, processor balances, accounting records and bank cash. Work through the sequence below before handing the books to your accountant.

Use one cut-off date and one currency at a time. Most avoidable reconciliation problems begin when reports use different periods or combine balances that settle separately.

1. Lock the source period

Confirm the month and time zone used by Shopify and each processor.
Confirm that all orders, cancellations and refunds for the period are present.
Download or retain the relevant payout and balance reports.
Separate each payout currency.

2. Review sales-channel activity

Reconcile Shopify gross sales, discounts, shipping and refunds.
Review taxes collected and any marketplace-collected taxes.
Review gift-card sales and redemptions separately from revenue.
Confirm that cancelled, test and duplicate orders are treated correctly.

3. Reconcile payment processors

Match every Shopify Payments payout to its detailed activity.
Match Stripe automatic payouts to their settlement batches.
Reconcile PayPal payments, refunds, fees, holds and transfers.
Review disputes, reversals, reserves and failed payouts.
Explain each processor's ending balance as unsettled activity or a specific exception.

4. Match bank cash

Match processor transfers to the exact bank deposits.
Do not add a deposit as new revenue if the underlying sales were already recorded.
Investigate deposits or withdrawals without a source record.
Reconcile the bank account to the statement ending balance.

5. Review accounting quality

Confirm fees, refunds, shipping, taxes and chargebacks use the intended accounts.
Review uncategorized and automatically categorized exceptions.
Check clearing accounts for unexplained old balances.
Compare sales and processor totals with prior months for unusual changes.
Save the reports and notes supporting resolved differences.

6. Hand off for professional review

Your accountant may still need to review inventory, cost of goods sold, accruals, foreign exchange, sales-tax liabilities and other period-end adjustments. A reconciled payout workflow gives them a reliable starting point.

Want the repetitive reconciliation steps configured once and validated? See the e-commerce bookkeeping automation service.

Want to automate the repetitive steps?

Tell us which platforms you use and where month-end gets stuck. We will review the workflow and identify the best candidates for automation.

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Official references

This checklist is general educational information, not accounting or tax advice.

Frequently asked questions

What is the month-end financial close process for an e-commerce business?

It connects storefront activity, payment-processor balances, accounting records and bank cash for one period: lock the source period, reconcile sales channels, match each processor payout, tie deposits to the bank, review account quality, then hand off for professional review.

How long should an e-commerce month-end close take?

Once payout reconciliation is automated and mappings are stable, a single-store close is usually a short review of exceptions rather than a full manual rebuild. The checklist is designed to surface only the items that still need a person.

What should be reconciled before handing the books to an accountant?

Sales, fees, refunds, taxes, chargebacks and every processor payout should already tie to bank deposits, so the accountant can focus on inventory, cost of goods, accruals, foreign exchange and sales-tax adjustments.