# Month-end close checklist prompt: free ChatGPT template > Turn your rough month-end close notes into an ordered, day-by-day checklist with an owner and a "done when" for every step. No steps added by the AI. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/month-end-close-checklist-prompt · Updated 2026-10-01 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) [SOPs and operations](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#job-sops-and-operations) · [Finance](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#industry-finance) · [Accounting](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#industry-accounting) · [Operations](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#industry-operations) · Works in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot Updated October 1, 2026 · By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) Use this when your month-end close lives in one person's head or in a messy note, and you want a checklist anyone could follow. The AI is good at putting steps in order and making each one specific. It is also tempted to add textbook accounting steps you don't do, which makes the list look complete and quietly wrong. This prompt keeps it to your steps, flags gaps as questions, and marks any step with no owner. ## The prompt Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every `[BLANK]` with your own details. It uses the four parts from [Prompt Writing 101](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-writing-101-role-context-task-format): Role, Context, Task and Format. Copy prompt ```text Role: You are an operations assistant helping [BUSINESS] turn its month-end close into a checklist someone can follow without asking questions. Context: Our close steps, in rough notes: [CLOSE NOTES]. Who does what: [PEOPLE]. The books must be closed by [CLOSE DEADLINE]. Use only the steps in my notes. Don't add accounting steps of your own; if a step looks missing or out of order, list it as a question instead. If a step has no owner, write "Owner: Not stated." Task: Turn the notes into an ordered checklist grouped by day of the close, with an owner for each step and what "done" looks like. Format: Headings "Day 1," "Day 2" and so on. Under each, numbered steps, one line each: the action, then "Owner:", then "Done when:". End with "Questions for the team." Plain text that pastes cleanly into a doc or task tool. ``` ## Fill in the blanks **`[BUSINESS]`** Your business name and what it does, so the steps use the right words. **`[CLOSE NOTES]`** Every close step you can think of, in any order and any shorthand. Messy is fine. **`[PEOPLE]`** Who handles which kind of task, including an outside bookkeeper or accountant. **`[CLOSE DEADLINE]`** When the month must be closed, such as "the 5th business day." ## Example, filled in **A made-up example** from the free lesson [Build an AI Vendor Follow-Up Agent in n8n](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-vendor-follow-up-agent-n8n). Ridgeline Supply Co. is the made-up warehouse and distribution business in the vendor follow-up lesson. Its office manager wants the close written down before her vacation. Copy example ```text Role: You are an operations assistant helping Ridgeline Supply Co., a small warehouse and distribution business, turn its month-end close into a checklist someone can follow without asking questions. Context: Our close steps, in rough notes: download bank and card statements. Match vendor bills to POs and receiving slips (Tallpine, Corrugo, Northwind). Check every shipment went out with an invoice. Inventory count vs. system. Reconcile checking and the card. Record unpaid vendor bills. Send the receivables aging report to Mike. Lock the month in the accounting software. Who does what: Dee (office manager) does statements, POs, invoices and the aging report. Ray (outside bookkeeper) does reconciliations, unpaid bills and the lock. Mike (owner) reviews. The books must be closed by the 5th business day. Use only the steps in my notes. Don't add accounting steps of your own; if a step looks missing or out of order, list it as a question instead. If a step has no owner, write "Owner: Not stated." Task: Turn the notes into an ordered checklist grouped by day of the close, with an owner for each step and what "done" looks like. Format: Headings "Day 1," "Day 2" and so on. Under each, numbered steps, one line each: the action, then "Owner:", then "Done when:". End with "Questions for the team." Plain text that pastes cleanly into a doc or task tool. ``` ## What a good answer looks like - Eight steps, matching the eight in your notes, with nothing new slipped in. - "Owner: Not stated" on the inventory count, since no one was named for it. - Concrete "Done when" lines, such as "every PO for the month is matched or listed as an exception." - Questions like "Who does the inventory count?" and "Does Mike's review come before or after the lock?" ## How to check it before you use it An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the [Reply Faster lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-reply-to-customer-emails): check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out. - Count the steps against your notes. Anything extra is the AI's idea, not your process. - Walk through it as the person covering. Could they do each step from the line alone? - Answer the questions and fix the owners before you share it. - Have your bookkeeper or accountant read it once, since they know what the close must include. ## Why this prompt works The Context draws a hard line between organizing your steps and inventing new ones, and "Not stated" turns a gap into something you can see. The result is a small [SOP](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/sop). To turn a longer procedure into one, see the [SOP writer prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/sop-writer-prompt) or the [AI SOP Writer](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-sop-writer-custom-gpt-operations) lesson. ## Practice it in the free lesson **[Turn a Client Meeting into Action Items and a Follow-Up Email (Accounting Firms)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-client-meeting-recap-accounting-firm)**: Turn the transcript of a client's quarterly review into the decisions, an action items table with owners and due dates, and a follow-up email to the client. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Start the free lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/accounting-meeting-summary) ## Terms used here [Standard operating procedure (SOP)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/sop) · [Action items](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/action-items) · [Purchase order](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/purchase-order) ## Related prompts - [Checklist from SOP prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/checklist-from-sop-prompt): Turn a written SOP into a short check-box list people tick while they work, with every safety step and number kept exactly as… - [SOP writer prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/sop-writer-prompt): Turn a manager's rough notes into a numbered SOP with real roles, real numbers, safety steps first, a Check line, and CONFIRM… - [Expense categorization prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/expense-categorization-prompt): Sort a batch of expenses into your own categories, with a short note each and a Needs Review bucket for anything unclear… - [Budget variance explanation prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/budget-variance-explanation-prompt): Turn a budget-versus-actual report into a plain-English explanation of what moved and why, using only the reasons you give, plus… [All free prompt templates](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts) · [AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary)