- Collect invoices, receipts and bank statements before recording the month's transactions.
- Reconcile every bank and card account monthly to catch missing or duplicate entries.
- Check payroll, CPF and GST obligations against their respective deadlines.
- Keep accounting records for at least five years and back up monthly reports and supporting documents.
A month-end bookkeeping checklist for a Singapore company should cover eight steps: gather invoices and receipts, record transactions, reconcile bank accounts, review unpaid invoices and bills, process payroll and CPF, check GST if registered, review financial reports, and back up records. Keep accounting records for at least five years and check that CPF contributions meet their monthly deadlines. This guide explains how to complete each step yourself, when to review your numbers, and when to outsource the work to Sleek’s bookkeeping services in Singapore.
What is a month-end bookkeeping checklist?
A month-end bookkeeping checklist for a Singapore company has eight steps: collect source documents, record transactions, reconcile bank and card accounts, review invoices and bills, run payroll and CPF, check GST if registered, review the month’s numbers, and file and back up records. Keep records for at least five years, and pay employer CPF by the last day of the month, with enforcement if unpaid by the 14th of the next month.
This month end closing checklist small business Singapore owners can follow is the short, ordered version of the longer accounting guides. It is the core of DIY bookkeeping Singapore founders can keep up themselves, and it shows how to close the books each month without guessing what comes next.
It covers bookkeeping, not accounting, and our guide to the difference between accounting and bookkeeping explains where one ends and the other begins.
Step 1: Which source documents should you gather?
Gather every document that shows money moving in or out of the business for the month. A gap here shows up as a mismatch in step 3, so find it now.
- Bank statements for every business account
- Credit card and payment platform statements
- Sales invoices you issued
- Supplier bills and receipts, including photos of paper ones
- Payroll reports for the month
Why: a missing statement or receipt blocks every later step, so gaps are cheapest to fix at the start.
Done when: every account has a statement for the full month, and every payment on those statements has a document or a note explaining it.
Step 2: How do you record and categorise every transaction?
Enter each transaction in your accounting software or spreadsheet and give it a category, such as sales, software, travel or salaries. If your software pulls in a bank feed, check the categories it suggests instead of accepting them blindly.
Why: categories decide what appears in your profit and loss, so one wrong label quietly changes your numbers.
Done when: nothing sits in an uncategorised or suspense account, and every sale and expense for the month is entered.
Step 3: How do you reconcile your bank and card accounts?
Reconciling means matching the balance in your books to the balance on the statement, line by line. Work through this bank reconciliation checklist for each account.
- Check that the opening balance matches last month’s closing balance.
- Tick off each transaction that appears in both your records and the statement.
- Investigate anything left unticked: a missing entry, a duplicate or a timing difference.
- Compare the closing balance in your books with the closing balance on the statement.
Why: reconciliation catches missed payments, double entries and typing errors before they pile up.
Done when: the difference between your books and the statement is zero, or each remaining difference, such as a payment that has not yet cleared, is listed and explained.
Step 4: What invoices and bills need chasing or paying?
List every customer invoice still unpaid and every supplier bill you have received but not paid. Chase customers whose invoices are overdue, and schedule payment for bills coming due.
Why: unpaid invoices and bills explain why your profit and your cash balance do not match, and chasing late payers early protects your cash.
Done when: you have a current list of what customers owe you and what you owe suppliers, with a due date and an action beside each item.
Step 5: How do you handle payroll and CPF?
If you have employees, confirm payroll ran for the month and that each payslip matches your payroll report. CPF contributions are due on the last day of the calendar month, and the CPF Board takes enforcement action against employers who have not paid by the 14th of the following month. Late payment interest is charged at 1.5% per month from the first day after the due date.
Our guide to employer CPF contributions covers the rates, and our payroll services can run the monthly cycle for you. With no employees yet, skip this step.
Why: CPF is a date-driven duty, and interest starts the day after the due date.
Done when: payroll totals agree with your payroll report, and CPF is paid or confirmed as scheduled by the due date.
Step 6: Do you need to check GST?
Only if you are GST-registered, check that the GST you charged on sales and the GST you paid on purchases match your records for the period. Compulsory registration applies once taxable turnover exceeds S$1 million at the end of any calendar year, or is reasonably expected to in the next 12 months, according to ACRA. If you are below that line and not registered, move on to step 7.
GST return filing and payment dates depend on your accounting period, so confirm your due date on the IRAS website instead of counting from the calendar.
Why: a GST return built on unreconciled books is a return built on guesses, which is why this check comes after steps 2 to 4.
Done when: your GST figures agree with your records, and the return is ready to file or already filed by the date IRAS shows for your accounting period.
Step 7: How do you review your numbers for the month?
Run three reports and read each with one question in mind: does anything look odd?
- Profit and loss: income and costs for the month, compared with last month.
- Balance sheet: what you own and owe, including bank balances, unpaid invoices and unpaid bills.
- Cash: money in and out, using a cash flow statement or a simple cash summary.
Why: a number that looks wrong may be an error in the books, and finding it now is cheaper than finding it at year-end.
Done when: you have read all three reports, explained every large movement, and saved a copy for the month.
Step 8: How do you file, back up and keep your records?
Save the month’s statements, invoices, receipts, reconciliations and reports in one folder named by month, and keep a second copy somewhere separate. ACRA says to keep accounting records for at least five years after the end of the financial year in which the transactions were completed. IRAS also sets a five-year minimum for company records, and for GST-registered businesses to support their GST declarations.
Why: records are what you rely on if ACRA or IRAS asks questions later, and a tidy folder turns a long search into a quick answer.
Done when: the month’s folder is complete, backed up in a second place, and marked with the date you closed the month.
Which dates should you diarise?
Six dates and thresholds belong in your calendar, and each should be checked against its source before you rely on it.
| Item | When | Source |
|---|---|---|
| CPF contributions | Due on the last day of the calendar month | CPF Board |
| CPF enforcement and interest | Enforcement action if unpaid by the 14th of the following month; late interest of 1.5% per month from the first day after the due date | CPF Board |
| ECI filing | Generally within 3 months from the end of the financial year | IRAS |
| GST registration check | Taxable turnover above S$1 million at the end of any calendar year, or expected within the next 12 months | ACRA |
| GST return and payment | Confirm the due date for your accounting period on the IRAS website | IRAS |
| Record keeping | At least 5 years; ACRA counts from the end of the financial year in which the transactions were completed | ACRA, IRAS |
ECI is easier to prepare when your books are already up to date. Your financial year-end sets that clock, so know the date before it arrives.
How long does month-end take?
The time these monthly bookkeeping tasks Singapore companies run take grows with the number of bank accounts, invoices, bills and employees you have, so no single figure fits every company.
Time your first two runs of this month end closing checklist small business Singapore owners can follow, and write the number at the top. It tells you whether the routine fits your month or crowds out the work you started the company to do.
Who does the accounting side if I do the bookkeeping?
Someone still has to turn your books into year-end financial statements and tax filings, and that can be you or an accountant. Bookkeeping records and reconciles transactions, while accounting prepares the statements and filings built on them.
You can keep the bookkeeping and hand the filings to an accountant, or hand over both. Either way, knowing how to close the books each month makes the accountant’s work faster and cleaner.
Which accounting software should I use?
Use any cloud accounting software that pulls in your bank feed, handles GST if you are registered and exports reports your accountant can open. A spreadsheet can work for very few transactions, but it gets harder to check as they grow.
The right choice depends on your size and budget, and our guide to accounting software for Singapore businesses sets out the options.
When should you hand month-end over?
Hand it over when the routine stops fitting your month, and three signs tell you.
- The checklist keeps slipping, and your bank reconciliation checklist is a month behind.
- Filings are going in late, whether that is CPF, GST or your ECI.
- You are mixing personal and business spending, so every statement needs sorting before it can be reconciled.
DIY bookkeeping Singapore founders do is a fine choice while the routine holds, and handing over is not a failure. Whether it costs more or less than your own time depends on your volume, so compare before you decide.
How Sleek helps with month-end bookkeeping
Our bookkeeping services in Singapore cover entries and reconciliations, with a dedicated bookkeeper and monthly management reports on the Accounting Essentials and Accounting Premium plans. The monthly bookkeeping tasks Singapore companies carry, from reconciliation to record-keeping, are what that team runs.
If you also want the year-end side handled, accounting for your Singapore company covers tax filing, GST returns and financial reporting, and our hub on accounting and tax for Singapore companies shows how the services fit together.
You do not have to outsource all of it, because the checklist above works whether you run it, share it or hand it over.
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FAQs on month end bookkeeping checklist singapore
What if I miss a month?
Start with the oldest month you have not closed and work forward, doing the bank reconciliation first because it shows what is missing. Statutory dates do not move while you catch up, so check your CPF, GST and ECI dates before anything else. If the backlog is large, a bookkeeper can help you clear it.
When in the month should I run the checklist?
Run it once the month’s bank and card statements are available, which means the first working days of the following month. Put it in your calendar as a recurring appointment, and run payroll and CPF before the month ends because CPF is due on its last day.
Do I still run month-end if nothing happened this month?
Yes, but it will be short. Check each bank statement for the month and confirm the balance matches your books, since a quiet month can still hold bank charges, subscriptions or a payment you forgot. A quiet month is also different from being dormant, which means no accounting transactions at all during a financial period.
What should I do if I find a mistake from an earlier month?
Fix it with a correcting entry rather than deleting the original, and note what changed and why so the trail is clear. Re-run the reconciliation for the affected month to check it still balances. If the mistake touches a GST return or tax filing you have already submitted, speak to your accountant before changing anything.
