Marking a month complete should mean the Business has reviewed the records that exist, identified the records that are missing and assigned every unresolved item. It should never mean that the software silently decided the accounting treatment.

Use one consistent checklist and preserve the exact review period.

Confirm the period and Business

Verify the month, year, Business and reporting currency before reviewing totals. If more than one Business is managed in the same account, switch deliberately and complete a separate review for each.

Use monthly review as the control point for the process.

Review income and customer invoices

Check that income entries have dates, amounts and sources. Compare customer invoices with recorded payments and open balances. Investigate unmatched deposits, partial payments, credits and refunds.

Do not record the same sale once as an invoice and again as standalone income. Keep payment evidence linked to the correct transaction.

Review expenses and receipts

Check that every expense belongs to this Business and month and has a clear supplier, amount, date and business purpose. Open each attached image to confirm it is readable and supports the record.

Use receipt capture to resolve missing evidence. Do not mark an item complete merely because a file exists; it must be the right file.

Reconcile bank and card activity

Compare imported or entered transactions with statements. Confirm opening and closing dates, investigate unmatched lines and separate transfers from income or expenses.

Bank statement matching should explain existing records without creating duplicates.

Check owner and team activity

Review owner-paid expenses, contributions and repayments. A repayment should reduce the amount owed to the owner rather than creating a new expense. Confirm contractor bills and payment evidence, and review any accountant requests or team notes.

Review trips and vehicles

Confirm each business trip has the date, purpose, distance and correct vehicle. Look for implausible distances, duplicate trips or personal travel recorded as business use. Keep locations generic when exact addresses are unnecessary.

Record exceptions before closing

A month can be operationally reviewed while still containing open exceptions. List each unresolved item with:

1. the issue;

2. available evidence;

3. responsible person;

4. next action;

5. target review date.

Do not delete or alter a record only to remove it from the checklist. Preserve the history.

Capture a completion record

Record who performed the review, when it was completed and which exceptions remained. Later transactions should keep their actual dates and should not rewrite the earlier review evidence.

The CRA says businesses must keep transaction records and source documents, including sales invoices, receipts, bank statements and other proof. See Business records and its overview of Keeping records.

Frequently asked questions

Does complete mean reconciled with no open questions?

Not necessarily. It should mean every material area was reviewed and unresolved questions are visible, owned and dated.

Can I reopen a completed month?

A correction may be necessary, but it should be traceable. Preserve who changed what, why and when rather than erasing the original review.

Should I estimate a missing amount to finish the month?

Do not guess. Record the evidence gap and obtain the source document or professional guidance.

Does SilaTrail approve categories or tax claims?

No. SilaTrail supports the review workflow. It does not certify categories, calculate tax payable or replace an accountant's judgment.