A clear, repeatable month-end close in Factorial removes surprises and speeds up posting to your accounting system. Below you have a short quick checklist to run each month, followed by detailed steps, recommended exports, reconciliation checks, common fixes, and sign-off items.
Quick checklist - one page view
- Set submission cutoff date for the period and communicate it.
- Ensure all expenses in the period have been submitted.
- Approve or request changes for any pending approvals.
- Confirm all receipts are attached and legible.
- Reconcile card transactions with Spending entries.
- Review out-of-policy expenses and exceptions.
- Apply missing accounting codes or project/cost center tags.
- Generate advanced expenses export for the period.
- Export General ledger from Accounting for posting to ERP.
- Generate payment files if you run reimbursements from Factorial (SEPA etc.).
- Import files into ERP, post journals, and reconcile totals.
- Archive exports and attach month-end notes to the close.
- Sign off the month and publish a short close summary.
Detailed month-end steps
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Pre-close - set the rules
- Announce a submission cutoff date - after this date expenses roll to next period.
- Remind employees to submit outstanding expenses and attach receipts.
- Remind approvers to clear pending requests before close.
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Verify approvals and statuses
- Go to Spending > Employee Expenses.
- Filter by transaction date for the closing period and by status (pending, changes requested, approved).
- For each pending expense, either approve or request changes. Do not leave items pending.
- For “changes requested” items, confirm the employee has updated them.
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Confirm receipts and documentation
- Make sure receipts are attached for all expenses above your receipt threshold.
- Spot-check a sample of receipts for legibility and matching amounts.
- For missing receipts, request them or follow your exception policy.
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Reconcile card transactions
- Use the card transactions feed in Spending - Factorial-issued cards should sync automatically.
- Compare card transactions to bank/card statements - match by amount, date, and card_last4 or transaction id.
- Investigate unmatched card items and tag disputes or refunds where needed.
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Handle exceptions and out-of-policy items
- Filter the expenses view for out-of-policy and exceptions.
- For each exception, either approve with justification, request more info, or mark for manual adjustment.
- Log any exceptions you allow - include reason and approver in the expense comments for audit.
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Apply accounting codes and cost centers
- Ensure every approved expense that needs posting has an accounting_account_code, project_code or cost_center assigned.
- Use bulk edits when possible, or ask teams to fill missing fields before the close.
- If your integration expects specific labels, verify exported column labels match ERP field names.
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Accruals and cut-off adjustments
- Identify expenses incurred in the period but billed or submitted late.
- Create manual accrual journal entries in your ERP or in an interim ledger if necessary.
- Document accrual logic and amounts for audit trail.
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Exporting data for posting
- Export required expense and ledger data:
- For transaction-level detail use Spending > Employee Expenses - either Export view after using Edit columns, or use Advanced export for custom columns, labels, and filters (three-dot menu top-right of the table).
- For accounting-ready rows use Accounting > General ledger and its Export option - same advanced options as above.
- For recurring or complex extracts consider a scheduled SQL Analytics report or the Public API to pull the data programmatically.
- Choose file format your ERP supports - CSV UTF-8 or XLSX recommended.
- Export required expense and ledger data:
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Generate payment files
- If you run reimbursements from Factorial, generate SEPA or bank payment files as configured.
- Validate the payment file against bank format requirements before upload.
- Record payment references in Factorial where applicable.
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Post to ERP and reconcile totals
- Import the General ledger export or the expense export into your ERP.
- Post journals or supplier payments as required.
- Reconcile total posted amounts with Factorial totals - compare base currency totals and individual account totals.
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Post-close checks and audit trail
- Re-run the Spending export for the period to confirm no late edits were made.
- Save all exports and store them in your month-end folder - include a short close note explaining any manual adjustments or accruals.
- Keep an audit log of who approved exceptions and why.
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Sign-off and report
- Finance manager signs off the close for the legal entity.
- Publish a short close summary to stakeholders - totals, key exceptions, and any items carried forward.
Recommended exports and sample CSV header
Which export to use
- Quick list matching UI - use Export view after Edit columns in Spending > Employee Expenses.
- Accounting import - use Accounting > General ledger export for journal-ready rows.
- Complex or scheduled reporting - use SQL Analytics or the Public API.
Include both transaction currency and base currency (base_amount) for ERP reconciliation.
Use the export label editor (Advanced export) to rename columns to match ERP field names exactly.
Controls and reconciliation checks to run
- Total check - sum of exported expenses equals total posted in ERP for the period.
- Per-account check - amounts by accounting_account_code in Factorial match ERP postings.
- Card reconciliation - card statement totals match Factorial card transaction totals.
- Duplicate detection - check for identical amounts, dates, merchant and employee to catch duplicates.
- Missing accounting codes - list of approved expenses without accounting_account_code.
- Outstanding approvals - zero pending approvals in the period.
Permissions required
- Finance or Administration access to Spending and Accounting modules to run exports and view all details.
- Access to approval flows to test or reassign approvers where needed.
- API credentials if you automate exports.
Common issues and fixes
- Large export times out - narrow the date range or request a scheduled SQL Analytics extract.
- Encoding or special characters - export as UTF-8 CSV, import using the ERP import wizard that supports UTF-8.
- Missing receipts - generate a report of approved expenses without receipts, follow exception policy.
- Currency mismatch - ensure exchange_rate and base_amount columns are included and match your FX policy.
- Incorrect account mapping - check the export label editor or request a custom SQL export with exact ERP field names.
- Payment file rejected by bank - validate SEPA format and mandatory fields, then re-generate.
Sign-off and retention
- Keep a month-end folder with: final exports, payment files, a short close note describing manual adjustments, and approval evidence for exceptions.
- Retention - follow your company or legal requirement for financial records retention. Common practice is 7 years, but confirm with local legal.