In-depth guides to closing the books on Xero, plus quick how-tos for the app itself.
A practical, ACA-written month-end close checklist for Xero: cut-off, bank, the balance sheet line by line, VAT, lock and sign-off - plus the step most miss.
Read the guide →A line-by-line guide to reconciling the balance sheet in Xero - proofs vs movement schedules, and what to do when a line won’t tie.
Read the guide →The two adjustments that trip people up at month-end, made simple. What prepayments and accruals are, worked examples, and how to handle them in Xero.
Read the guide →Where Xero’s lock dates live, the difference between the two lock levels, who can set them, and the one thing locking doesn’t do - told from the month-end chair.
Read the guide →Month-end and year-end close share a backbone but differ in depth and stakes. What changes at year-end, and why post-sign-off changes matter once accounts are filed.
Read the guide →What to include in management accounts from Xero, how to make them reliable, and why the numbers must hold after you present them.
Read the guide →A “locked” Xero period can still change - backdated bills, lifted locks, integrations. How to spot a post-close change, fix it cleanly, and stop it happening.
Read the guide →A backdated journal is any entry dated into a period you’ve already closed. Why it quietly breaks reported numbers, and how to catch and control it in Xero.
Read the guide →Set a Xero lock date and a number still changed? What lock dates actually control, why they don’t flag every change, and how to know when a signed-off number moves.
Read the guide →Close drift is any change to a balance after its period was signed off. What causes it, why it matters, and how to measure it.
Read the guide →The VAT control account moves with every filing. How to reconcile VAT in Xero at month-end, and what a leftover balance usually means.
Read the guide →How to reconcile fixed assets at month-end in Xero: cost, accumulated depreciation and NBV, and tying the register to the ledger.
Read the guide →The director’s loan account is a catch-all that drifts fast. How to reconcile it in Xero, and why a written explanation matters more than a schedule.
Read the guide →Reconciling the bank feed isn’t a month-end bank reconciliation. How to tie the ledger to the statement, and what a difference tells you.
Read the guide →What accrued and deferred income are, worked examples, and how to schedule them in Xero so revenue lands in the right month.
Read the guide →A suspense account is a temporary home for entries you can’t yet classify. Why it should be nil at month-end, and how to clear it in Xero.
Read the guide →Connect Xero read-only and check your last 6 closed months in one pass. Prefer to look around first? The demo company needs no sign-up either.