Automate month-end close across every client's QuickBooks file
Stepwork opens each client's QuickBooks, Sage, or Xero file, pulls what's uncategorized or unreconciled, and sends each client one list of questions every month.
- Industry
- Month-end close and document intake for bookkeeping and CPA firmsAccounting firms
- Best for
- Managing Partner, Bookkeeping Manager, Staff Accountant
- Applications used
QuickBooks Desktop
Outlook
ExcelKarbon
- Business outcome
- Close checks done on day one for every client
The problem
Forty client files. The same checklist in every one.
At month end, staff open each client's company file, look for uncategorized transactions, check which accounts haven't been reconciled, and email the client their questions. Then they do it again for the next client.
The work isn't hard, but it's forty times the same clicks in the busiest week of the month. Some clients are on QuickBooks Desktop, some on Online, a few on Sage or Xero, so it never quite becomes routine.
The math
What the manual version costs a firm
Example volumes for a firm with 40 monthly bookkeeping clients. Swap in yours.
| The manual task | Times a week | Minutes each | Hours a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Run a client's month-end checks | 10 | 45 | 7.5 |
| Email a client their open questions | 10 | 10 | 1.7 |
| File a statement in the right client folder | 40 | 3 | 2 |
- Hours a week
- 11
- Hours a year
- 558
- Of one full-time person
- 28%
Systems
Works in every client's books, whatever they run
Your clients don't all use the same software, and they won't switch for you. Stepwork works in each one's screens with your firm's access, so one procedure covers all of them.
Client accounting
- QuickBooks Desktop
- QuickBooks Online
Sage 50
Xero
Practice and tax
CCH Axcess
UltraTax CS
Drake Tax
Files and email
- Outlook
- Excel
- SharePoint
Example procedures
Two procedures from the close calendar
One repeats for every client file and branches on whether anything is open. One branches on whether a statement matches a client. Swap in your clients' software and the steps stay the same.
Month-end checks across every client's QuickBooks Desktop file
- Excel
- QuickBooks Desktop
- Outlook
Read the client list for this close
Scheduled · first business day
Extracted variables
- client_name
- company_file
- client_email
Pull open items from the client's QuickBooks Desktop file
Input variables
- company_file
Extracted variables
- uncategorized
- unreconciled_accounts
Is anything open?
Input variables
- uncategorized
- unreconciled_accounts
Paths
- If there are uncategorized transactions or unreconciled accountsThen: Email the client their questions
- OtherwiseThen: Mark the client ready in Karbon
Email the client their questions
Input variables
- client_email
- uncategorized
- unreconciled_accounts
Output
- questions_sent
Mark the client ready in Karbon
Input variables
- client_name
Sum up the close for the partner
Input variables
- questions_sent
Drag to explore · pinch to zoom
Step by step
- The client list comes inStepwork reads this close's client list from the Excel sheet your firm keeps: the client, their company file, and their email. Each row is one pass through the loop.
- Each file gets checkedInside the solid frame, Stepwork opens the client's QuickBooks Desktop file and counts uncategorized transactions and accounts that haven't been reconciled.Repeats: For each client file · 40 clients
- The rule sorts themAnything open takes the top path. Clean files go straight to ready.
- If items are openEmail the client their questions
- If it's cleanMark the client ready in Karbon
Repeats: For each client file · 40 clients - Clients get one emailOnly when something is open: the client gets a single email listing the transactions and accounts to answer, instead of a thread of one-off questions.Only on this path: If items are openRepeats: For each client file · 40 clients
- Clean files get marked readyFiles with nothing open get marked ready for review in Karbon.Only on this path: If it's cleanRepeats: For each client file · 40 clients
- The partner gets the pictureAfter the last client, the Summary card lists who's waiting on answers and who's ready.
Watch it run
Field map
| From | To |
|---|---|
| ExcelClient list: company file | QuickBooks DesktopCompany file to open |
| QuickBooks DesktopUncategorized transactions | OutlookClient email: questions |
| QuickBooks DesktopAccounts not reconciled | OutlookClient email: accounts to confirm |
Client bank statements into the right folder and task
- Outlook
- SharePoint
Step by step
- A statement comes inA client forwards their bank statement to the documents inbox. That email starts the run.
- AI reads itThe AI card reads the bank, the last four digits of the account, and the statement period.
- It finds the clientStepwork looks the account up in Karbon to find which client it belongs to.
- The rule checks the matchNo match takes the top path. A match goes on to filing.
- If no matchSend it to staff in Microsoft Teams
- If matchedFile it and open the reconciliation task
- Unknown accounts go to staffOnly when nothing matches: staff get the statement in Microsoft Teams to sort out by hand.Only on this path: If no match
- It's filed with a taskThe statement is saved to the client's folder for that period and a reconciliation task is opened, so nothing sits in the inbox until month end.Only on this path: If matched
Watch it run
Flows
The flows behind these procedures
Each flow is one job recorded once in one system, on your own screens.
- QuickBooks Desktop
Open a client's company file
Opens a client's file from the firm's list and confirms it loaded. - QuickBooks Desktop
Pull uncategorized transactions
Reads transactions still in uncategorized income or expense. - Karbon
Mark a client ready for review
Moves a client's month-end work item to ready for review. - SharePoint
File a statement
Saves a statement to the client's folder for its period.
Why Stepwork
One checklist, every client, every month
Stepwork runs the same close checks in every client's books, whether they're on QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online, Sage, or Xero. Clients get one email of questions instead of a dozen, and every run records what was open in each file and when it was checked.
FAQ