Finance & Accounting Templates
Financial processes that are applied inconsistently produce records that are hard to audit, closes that overrun and controls that fail at the wrong moment. CheckFlow’s finance and accounting checklist templates give each process a documented, repeatable structure, with every step owned, scheduled and signed off.
The library covers twenty-one processes in four groups: the close and reconciliations, payables, receivables and billing, planning, reporting and finance systems, and payroll and tax. Most of them recur weekly, monthly or yearly, and CheckFlow starts each run on schedule. Browse the templates below, or open any one for its full process guide.
Close & Reconciliation
Payables & Receivables
Planning, Reporting & Systems
Explore Our Finance & Accounting Templates
Every template comes with a detailed process guide: what each phase involves, who should own it, and where the rules differ between accounting frameworks and jurisdictions. Click any template to read the full guide.
Close & Reconciliation
- Month-End Close Checklist — Cut-off, balance sheet reconciliations, accruals, management accounts and sign-off, on a fixed close timetable.
- Quarter-End Close Checklist — The quarterly layer on top of month three: true-ups, the interim tax provision, covenant tests, CFO-approved reporting and the 10-Q.
- Year-End Close Checklist — The annual layer on top of the final close: counts and confirmations, year-end estimates, the audit hand-off and statutory filing.
- Bank Reconciliation Checklist — Match, investigate and clear reconciling items for every account, with an independent review and an escalation path for suspected fraud.
- Journal Entry Review & Approval Checklist — Prove the journal population is complete, check preparer and approver separation and support, and flag high-risk entries before sign-off.
- Monthly Bookkeeping Checklist — Weekly upkeep and a monthly reconcile-and-report routine for small businesses and bookkeeping firms.
- Fixed Asset Register Review Checklist — Reconcile the register to the ledger, review additions, disposals and depreciation, and verify assets once a year.
Payables & Receivables
- Accounts Payable Process Checklist — Vendor set-up, invoice capture, three-way matching, approval, payment and the AP reconciliation.
- Invoice Approval Workflow Checklist — Route each supplier invoice to the right approver by amount and cost centre before anything is paid.
- Expense Reimbursement Checklist — Claims with receipts, policy checks, manager and finance approval, and payment.
- Accounts Receivable & Collections Checklist — A weekly cycle of cash application, ageing review and customer contact, with approvals for escalations and write-offs.
- Monthly Invoicing & Billing Run Checklist — Cut-off, contract changes, draft invoice review, approved credit notes, sending, posting and reconciliation, every month.
Planning, Reporting & Systems
- Annual Budget Planning Checklist — From kick-off and planning assumptions to department submissions and a finance, CFO, CEO and board approval chain.
- Weekly Cash Flow Forecast Checklist — Roll a 13-week cash forecast forward every week, explain the variances and act before a shortfall.
- Monthly Management Reporting Pack Checklist — KPIs, variance analysis, budget-holder commentary and the reforecast, approved by the FD and distributed every month.
- ERP & Accounting Software Implementation Checklist — Map the chart of accounts, migrate and reconcile balances, test, get a go/no-go and run the first close on the new system.
Payroll & Tax
- Payroll Processing SOP Checklist — Collect changes, calculate, approve, submit and pay, then file the statutory returns, every pay run.
- Payroll Year-End Checklist — Reconcile and approve the year, then file W-2s, 941 and 940 in the US or the final FPS, P60s and P11Ds in the UK.
- Tax Preparation Checklist — Year-round records, income and deduction documentation, the adviser hand-off, filing and payment.
- VAT Return Checklist — A UK Making Tax Digital return: digital records, reverse charges and import VAT, an independent review, submission and payment.
- 1099 Year-End Filing Checklist — W-9s and TIN matching, the ,000 threshold, an approved 1099 list, then filing through IRIS and furnishing on time.
Why Teams Use CheckFlow for Finance & Accounting
Financial controls applied consistently — not variably
An invoice approval process that is followed rigorously when the finance manager is present and bypassed when they are away is not a control — it is a suggestion. CheckFlow assigns every approval step to the appropriate role, requires completion before the process can advance, and creates a dated record of who approved what and when — regardless of who is in the office.
Month-end close completed on time — every month
A month-end close that overruns because one reconciliation was missed, one accrual was forgotten, or the review sign-off was not chased delays management reporting and compounds into a quarter-end problem. CheckFlow's month-end close checklist sequences every task in the right order, assigns each to the right person, and tracks the close against its deadline in real time.
A complete financial process record for audit
External auditors require evidence that financial controls were applied — not just assurances. Every CheckFlow financial process run creates a dated, attributed record: who processed which invoice, who approved which expense, which accounts were reconciled and by whom. The audit trail builds automatically as the process runs.
Finance & Accounting Templates — Frequently Asked Questions
Which finance and accounting templates does CheckFlow offer?
Twenty-one templates in four groups. Close and reconciliation: month-end close, quarter-end close, year-end close, bank reconciliation, journal entry review, monthly bookkeeping and the fixed asset register review. Payables and receivables: accounts payable, invoice approval, expense reimbursement, accounts receivable and collections, and the monthly billing run. Planning, reporting and systems: the annual budget, the weekly 13-week cash flow forecast, the monthly management reporting pack and ERP implementation. Payroll and tax: payroll processing, payroll year-end, tax preparation, the UK VAT return and 1099 year-end filing. Each one has a free, editable template and a live example.
What should a month-end close checklist include?
A month-end close checklist covers five phases: transaction cut-off (ensuring all transactions for the month are captured and no prior-period items are included), reconciliations (bank accounts, credit cards, balance sheet accounts and intercompany accounts reconciled to supporting documentation), accruals and prepayments, management account production, and review and sign-off by the finance manager or CFO. The most commonly missed close tasks are balance sheet reconciliations for non-cash accounts. Run the bank reconciliation as its own checklist for each account, review manual journals with the journal entry review checklist, and use the quarter-end and year-end close checklists for the work that sits on top of the last close of each quarter and year.
What is the difference between monthly bookkeeping and a month-end close?
Monthly bookkeeping keeps a small business’s records complete, categorised and reconciled so the owner knows where they stand and the tax returns can be filed. A month-end close is a larger finance team’s timed process of cut-off, accruals, full balance sheet reconciliation, journal approval and a management reporting pack. Use the monthly bookkeeping checklist for the first and the month-end close checklist for the second.
Can finance checklists run on a schedule and include approvals?
Yes. Most finance processes recur: collections and the cash flow forecast weekly; bank reconciliations, bookkeeping, the billing run, journal review and the management pack monthly; the quarter-end close, VAT returns and the fixed asset review quarterly; and the budget, year-end close, payroll year-end and 1099s annually. CheckFlow starts each run on schedule and assigns every step to its owner. Approval steps, such as a reviewer signing off a reconciliation, a controller approving manual journals, a CFO approving the forecast or a board approving the budget, are assigned to a named person and recorded with the date, so preparer and approver stay separate.
Can CheckFlow’s finance templates be customised for different accounting software?
Every CheckFlow template is fully customisable regardless of the accounting software in use. Add system-specific steps (the Xero, QuickBooks, Sage or NetSuite actions required at each stage), adjust the approval thresholds and routing to match your authority matrix, and add the reconciliation accounts specific to your chart of accounts. Templates can also be run separately for each entity or cost centre in multi-entity finance teams.