An accounts receivable month-end checklist for QuickBooks Online

Receivables is the part of the month-end close that clients look at hardest and bookkeepers check least. The number matters because it drives the owner's decisions: who to chase, whether to hire, whether to take that job. If it is wrong, every decision after it is slightly wrong too.

Here is a close routine you can run on each QuickBooks Online book in under half an hour once it is clean. The first month will take longer. That is the cleanup you were going to have to do anyway.

1. Get the cash in first

Reconcile the bank and card accounts before you look at receivables. Money that has arrived but is not matched is the single biggest source of fake overdue invoices. If the books are behind on the bank, say so in your notes and treat the receivables number as provisional.

2. Clear unmatched money

Look for payments and credit memos that are not applied to an invoice. We cover this in detail in unapplied payments and credit memos. A customer who paid but still shows as owing is the item most likely to embarrass your client.

3. Check the oldest items

Run the aged receivables report and read the oldest bucket first. For each invoice in it, put it in one of four boxes:

• **Real and chasing.** The customer owes it and has been asked.
• **Real and disputed.** There is a disagreement. Move it to the owner.
• **Probably paid.** Money arrived and has not been matched. Go back to step 2.
• **Probably dead.** The customer has gone, or the owner has given up.

The last box is a decision for the owner and, where tax is involved, for their accountant. We cover the stopping point in when to stop chasing and write off.

4. Look for invoices that were never sent

An invoice created but left in draft, or never emailed, will age without anyone noticing. Filter for invoices that were not sent. Nothing makes a customer less likely to pay than never having been asked.

5. Read the totals, not just the rows

Compare this month's total overdue with last month's. You are not looking for a target. You are looking for a change you cannot explain. A jump usually means one large invoice went overdue. A fall usually means a lump sum was matched.

6. Note who needs a person, not an email

A short list for the owner: the two or three customers where a phone call will do more than another reminder. Common reasons are a large balance, a long-standing relationship, or a customer who has replied but not paid.

7. Write the one-page summary

For each client, a few lines: total overdue, what was paid since last month, what is disputed, who you suggest the owner calls. If you offer follow-up as a service, this page is the proof the service is working. It can be as plain as an email.

A checklist to copy

• [ ] Bank and card feeds reconciled
• [ ] Unapplied payments and credit memos cleared or queried
• [ ] Oldest bucket sorted into the four boxes
• [ ] Draft and unsent invoices checked
• [ ] Month on month change explained
• [ ] Short list of people to ring
• [ ] Summary sent

Where Mugavi fits, and where it does not

The routine above works with QuickBooks alone. Mugavi helps with the step after it: it drafts reminders for what is genuinely overdue in each client book and waits for you to approve them. There is a client books view that shows outstanding and overdue amounts for every book you belong to, with the books that need a person first. It shows counts only: there is no combined inbox and no combined approvals, so you still open each book to act. The QuickBooks connection is in beta, so check its numbers against your own report for the first month.

If you want to see how that fits a practice, read the bookkeeper page.