---
title: Month-End Close Checklist | Shopware Community Hub
description: >-
  Run the same monthly close steps every period with assigned owners and
  Merchant Dashboard exports as the payment source of truth.
canonical_url: 'https://hub.shopware.com/learn/unit/month-end-close-checklist'
---

# Month-End Close Checklist

<LearningObjectives>

- **Follow** a **repeatable monthly close** in the same order every period without inventing new steps.
- **Use** **Merchant Dashboard** exports as the payment source of truth for month-end numbers.
- **Assign** owners to close steps so finance, commerce, and support know who validates each layer.
- **Define** what "done" means for a close and when to escalate using **Common reporting pitfalls** in this course.

</LearningObjectives>

# Unit 4: Month-End Close Checklist

The value of a month-end close process is not sophistication — it is consistency. A clean close is mostly doing the same steps in the same order every month. When something does not match, it is almost always one of the failure modes in Unit 5, not a platform defect.

**Strum & Co.** struggled with month-end for their first two periods because different team members ran the close differently each time. In month three, the finance lead wrote down the steps, assigned owners, and defined what "done" meant. Month four took half the time of month two.

This unit is that written-down process.

---

## Before You Start — Assign Owners Once

Before running the checklist, confirm who owns each step. For a small team like **Strum & Co.**, one person often owns the full process — but even then, write it down so anyone can cover during leave or peak season.

| Step | Typical owner |
|------|--------------|
| Closing the period and capturing pending shipments | Operations or commerce lead |
| Pulling reports from the Merchant Dashboard | Finance lead |
| Matching transactions to orders | Finance lead or accounting tool connector |
| Booking refunds, chargebacks, FX | Finance lead |
| Exporting to accounting system | Finance lead |
| Sign-off | Accountant or owner |

---

## The Monthly Close Steps

Work through these in order. Adapt tool names to your setup — the sequence is what matters.

**Step 1 — Close the period in the shop**
Capture any pending shipments before closing so nothing slips between months. This is especially important if you use **manual capture** — an uncaptured authorization from the last day of the month can cause a timing gap that confuses the next period's reconciliation.

**Step 2 — Pull period reports from the PayPal Merchant Dashboard**
Download the **monthly statement** and the detailed **Activity Report** for the period from **Activity → All Reports**. Export the order list from **Shopware administration** for the same date range.

**Step 3 — Match transactions to orders**
Use the **Transaction ID** as the join key. Each captured order should have a corresponding transaction row in the Activity Report. Flag any unmatched rows — they need an explanation before you close.

**Step 4 — Reconcile fee totals**
Sum the fee column in the **Activity Report**. Cross-check against the fee figure in the **monthly statement**. If they differ, look for refund transactions or chargebacks that carry fee adjustments.

**Step 5 — Book refunds and chargebacks**
Identify all refund and chargeback transactions in the **Activity Report** for the period. Note which relate to prior-period orders — these reduce the current payout but do not correspond to a current-period order. Book to the correct accounting period per your revenue recognition policy.

**Step 6 — Post FX gain or loss**
If you operate in multiple currencies, the settlement rate may differ from the order rate. The difference is FX gain or loss — not a reconciliation error. Book it explicitly rather than forcing order currency to match bank currency line by line.

**Step 7 — Export to the accounting system**
Export the reconciled data. If you use an accounting tool connector, confirm it has synced all transactions for the period before exporting — check the last sync date.

**Step 8 — Hand off for sign-off**
Hand off to your accountant with any unresolved gaps listed by transaction ID and amount. Unresolved items should have an owner and a next action — not be hidden in a spreadsheet tab.

---

## What "Done" Looks Like

A clean close means three things — not just a reconciled spreadsheet:

**Every Activity row for the period is matched or explained**
Each transaction row in the **Activity Report** maps to an order, a refund, a fee, or a dispute movement. Any row without a match has an explanation noted.

**Payout lines on the bank statement tie to Merchant Dashboard payout batches**
The bank deposit for each payout matches the batch total in **Money / Payouts** when you drill into the batch detail.

**Unexplained deltas are listed with an owner and next action**
Not hidden. Not deferred indefinitely. Every gap has someone responsible for resolving it and a date by which it will be resolved.

> **For Strum & Co.:** "done" means the finance lead can answer the owner's question — "did April close cleanly?" — with a one-paragraph summary: total captures, total fees, total refunds, net payout, bank deposit confirmed, two open items with owners. That is a clean close.

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## Summary

- Same steps, same order, every month — consistency is the discipline
- Assign owners before you need them — not during a busy close
- "Done" means every row is matched or explained, every payout ties to the bank, and every gap has an owner

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The close checklist has a diagnostic companion covering the six failure modes behind most reconciliation escalations and the sanity checks to run before contacting support.