An accounts payable cutoff checklist for month end

Start accounts payable cutoff by writing what the support role prepares and what the business decides. The bookkeeper can gather records, follow the documented process, update the accounting system, and explain an exception. The owner, controller, or CPA should retain approval, payment release, accounting judgment, and policy exceptions.

List the source records, expected timing, format, account or period reference, and the evidence needed for accounts payable cutoff. If an item arrives through an unusual channel, record it and move it to a hold queue. Clear intake rules expose missing information before it becomes rework.

Break accounts payable cutoff into receive, check, record, compare, document, and hand off. Each step needs one expected output and one stop condition. Do not silently resolve an unfamiliar exception. Record what was checked, what is missing, and which named owner must decide.

For each cutoff item, retain the invoice or receiving record, purchase-order reference, service or receipt date, ledger posting, and any accrual calculation. Use the IRS recordkeeping guidance when the business sets its evidence-retention rules.

Give the bookkeeper enough access to complete accounts payable cutoff without giving the same person authority to approve their own work. Define the reviewer, deadline, review questions, and close event. Use named accounts and multifactor authentication for system access.

Route invoices received after cutoff, unmatched receipts, duplicate bill candidates, and disputed service dates to an AP exception log. The preparer records the vendor, amount, affected period, missing proof, and next action; the controller or designated approver decides whether an accrual or correction is appropriate.

Test the checklist first on recurring utilities, inventory receipts, and services spanning month end. Compare the resulting open-invoice and accrual lists with subsequent invoices, and widen the preparer's remit only after late captures and unsupported entries are visible to the reviewer.

At close, hand over an AP cutoff summary that identifies invoices posted, receipts awaiting invoices, proposed accruals, excluded items, and the person responsible for each unresolved balance. The operations support service and reporting and QA service provide related workflow context.