Monthly close checklist for Malta businesses: records, owners and next actions

01Define what is being closed

Choose the company and accounting month before collecting files. If you operate several entities, give each its own checklist and keep a separate list of intercompany items. Record which accounting system holds the ledger and who can approve corrections. A folder called 'latest accounts' is too ambiguous when people are working on different periods.

Agree a practical internal cut-off for receiving records and a review date with the person responsible for the books. These are working dates, not substitutes for filing obligations. Keep a late-items list so an invoice arriving after the cut-off is assessed rather than silently omitted or added to an already issued report.

02Collect records from every payment channel

List each business bank account, card, payment processor and electronic money account, including dormant accounts with a remaining balance. Obtain statements or reliable exports covering the whole month. Add sales invoices, credit notes, purchase invoices and receipts. Identify cash activity and payments made personally on the company's behalf.

For an online retailer, a bank deposit may represent a batch of sales after fees and refunds. Keep the platform settlement report alongside the bank entry so the accountant can follow the movement. For a consultant, identify invoices raised, amounts collected and customer balances still outstanding. The underlying records should explain the transaction rather than merely repeat its value.

• Bank, card and payment-provider records for the complete period.
• Sales and purchase documents, including credit notes and refunds.
• Payroll reports and support for employee reimbursements.
• Loan, lease, asset or shareholder transactions that need separate review.

03Reconcile before interpreting performance

Ask whether bank balances agree to statements and whether customer and supplier lists agree to the ledger. Investigate duplicates, unmatched receipts, old balances and unexplained differences. Keep a note of the explanation and the supporting document instead of clearing a discrepancy simply to make a total match.

Consider a customer payment received without an invoice reference. Allocate it only after identifying what it relates to. An apparent overdue balance may be a matching problem; an apparent increase in sales may include a duplicate posting. Reconciliation helps the reviewer distinguish an operational issue from a records issue.

04Make judgement visible

Some items require a decision rather than another upload: a disputed invoice, a payment covering several months, an asset purchase, a foreign-currency balance or a transaction involving a shareholder. Put these on a review list with the amount, context, evidence and question to resolve. Ask the accountant to confirm the appropriate treatment.

Record who approved adjustments and retain the explanation with the entry. Where payroll, VAT or other filings are involved, make responsibility for preparation, review and submission explicit. Completing a monthly checklist does not mean a return has been submitted; keep submission status and evidence separately.

05Finish with an action list the owner can use

Review the profit and loss account, balance sheet and cash information together. Ask what changed and what needs attention: a customer paying slowly, a supplier balance that seems wrong, a cost that increased or cash committed to an upcoming payment. Keep a short commentary beside the numbers rather than expecting the owner to infer the story.

Use the interactive checklist to identify outstanding records and assign the next action. Its completion count measures checklist progress, not the quality of the accounts. When an item does not apply, record why. A smaller, reliable checklist used every month is more useful than a large template nobody owns.