We believe that with the right processes in place, even the largest companies can close month end by the 15th of the following month. The key is having and sticking to these processes. Aspire Software provides a detailed End of Month checklist that ensures you cover all your bases. However, we know that even with the checklist, closing the month can be a daunting task. In addition to the EOM checklist, you should have specific processes to ensure the following areas are being managed throughout the month, which minimized month-end chaos.
Work Ticket’s
At a high level, work tickets need to be accurately scheduled and completed throughout the month. To do this, you may create work ticket dials that allow your Operations or Account Manager review open tickets that need to be scheduled or completed. In addition to dials, it is best practice that Time Approval is performed daily. This ensures that hours put towards tickets are reviewed consistently, and the tickets can be marked “Complete” during this time. The goal here is to eliminate duplicate data entry by reviewing and competing tickets at the same time.
Purchase Receipt’s
It is easy to fall into the habit of not creating purchase receipts prior to the purchase being made. This is a dangerous pattern to be in, as it removes the opportunity to catch missing receipts every month. If you implement a standard that all purchases must have a Purchase Receipt created prior to the purchase, you will have a log of all purchases in Aspire, already tied to the appropriate work tickets. This allows for receipts to be reviewed and received quicker. If there are open PR’s at the end of the month, you are able to analyze the information and confirm a receipt did not go missing.
Accounts Receivables – Invoicing, Payment, and Deposits
What is most important for invoicing is ensuring that invoices are consistently sent within the contract dates. Outside of this, you should also have a process to confirm invoices are sent quickly once a job is complete, but not too quickly that it is sent before the job is officially done. To assist with this, we provide work order checklists to streamline the process from signature to final invoice.
Most companies are quick to receive payments into Aspire. What is important is that the payments are accurately entered, and situations such as bounced checks are handled appropriately.
Inventory
If you are utilizing the Branch Inventory function of Aspire, it is important to take monthly inventory counts to compare what is actually on hand, to what is in Aspire. Variances will occur if materials are not accurately purchased or allocated through Aspire. This process can be simple, if done correctly and consistently.
In addition to helping companies determine and implement processes, Two Twelve Advisors provides month end support. This includes training on the checklist and being available to work with your company through any challenges that arise. Closing the month accurately ensures for accurate date in your accounting system. If this is an area you know your company needs support in, reach out to us to schedule a consultation.
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