How it runs for retail stores
A LedgerBPO team runs those steps on a CloseTrack checklist for each store, reconciles every account, and releases the package only after a second accountant reviews it.
What is month-end close outsourcing?
Month-end close outsourcing means an external accounting team performs the steps that turn a month of transactions into finished financial statements: reconciling every account, posting accruals, prepaids and depreciation, checking cut-off, reviewing and locking the period. You keep your software and your accountant. The provider runs the checklist on an agreed calendar and hands you reviewed statements.
What we handle for retail stores
- Sales cut-off at the final Z-report with returns in the correct period
- Stock received but not invoiced accrued to cost of goods
- Count adjustments and shrink booked when you supply the count
- Sales-tax liability reconciled to the POS tax report by jurisdiction
- Gift-card redemptions released to revenue and the liability rolled forward
The KPI that matters here
Close completed and store P&L released by business day 5 each month.
Retail compliance notes
Sales tax collection and remittance
Sales tax collected at the register belongs to the state and, in many places, to a city or county too, each with its own rate and filing frequency. We reconcile the tax collected in your POS to the liability in the ledger every month and prepare the workings for each jurisdiction. Your registered preparer or your Avalara or TaxJar subscription files the return; we prepare, we do not file.
Economic nexus for online sales
Since the Wayfair decision in 2018, a store selling online can owe sales tax in states where it has no premises once it passes that state's threshold, commonly $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions. We track sales by ship-to state from Shopify or your marketplace reports and flag when a threshold is near so you and your advisor can register in time.
Inventory shrinkage and counts
Shrink from theft, damage, miscounts and vendor errors reduces gross margin and, if unrecorded, overstates both inventory on the balance sheet and profit. We book count adjustments when you supply cycle or full counts, separate known write-offs such as damaged goods from unexplained variance, and report shrink as a percentage of sales each period.
Gift cards and unclaimed property
Gift-card sales are recorded as a liability and released to revenue on redemption, with breakage recognized only under the method your CPA sets. Several states treat unredeemed balances as unclaimed property after a dormancy period. We keep a card-level liability schedule so the annual unclaimed-property review is a report, not a reconstruction.
Retail software we work in
- Shopify
- Square
- QuickBooks Online
- Xero
- Avalara
- TaxJar
- Dext
- Lightspeed
- Clover
- All 50 platforms
More for retail stores
Other services for retail
Frequently asked questions
What is different about a retail month-end close?
Three things: cost of goods sold must be matched to the month's sales through receiving accruals and count adjustments; the sales-tax liability must reconcile to the register, not just the bank; and gift-card, layaway and store-credit liabilities must be rolled forward. The rest is standard: reconciliations, payroll accruals, prepaids, depreciation and a second-accountant review.
Can you close monthly if I only count inventory once a year?
Yes, we accrue purchases and record cost of goods on a periodic basis with an estimated margin agreed with your CPA, then true up at the annual count. Monthly cycle counts of high-value categories give a better picture and we book them as you supply them. The choice of method is yours and your CPA's.
How do you handle the sales-tax reconciliation at close?
The tax collected per the POS report is compared to the liability account in the ledger for each store and jurisdiction, and any difference is traced to returns, exempt sales or posting errors before the return workings are prepared. Your preparer, Avalara or TaxJar then files. The monthly financial reporting service for retail stores shows the liability by state on the balance sheet.
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