Module 45 · Advanced · 9 min read

Controls, approvals and the month-end close

You will be able to: Describe how project postings are guarded; State the approval rules and name record types that need approval; Run the month-end close checklist.

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Zeyto Construction & Contracting keeps one ledger. Project and item tags on each posting are what make project reports possible, and a guard refuses postings that would corrupt them. The common refusals are: the item is not a leaf, it belongs to another project, the posting has no project, the project is closed, or the cost is locked.

Approvals

  • Approvals run on one engine. The approvals inbox under Home lists documents and project records together, and each form shows the position: pending, approved or rejected, the step and who decides next.
  • The person who created a record never approves it. Budget revisions and transfers need two different approvers by default; a company can relax this to one.
  • A rejection needs a reason. Nothing is approved automatically.
  • A rule by amount, project, department or item of work can change who approves.
The Approvals inbox listing documents and project records that wait for a decision.

Approvals: one inbox for every record.

Approvals: one inbox for every record.

The record types include timesheet, petty cash voucher and replenishment, budget revision and transfer, retention release, material request, requisition, subcontract activation, variation order, progress entry, progress bill, RFQ award, inspection decision, advance invoice, liquidated damages or back-charge, final account billing and subcontract bill.

Roles are assigned by default: project manager, site engineer, storekeeper, procurement officer, accountant, QS or estimator, director, HSE officer, foreman and client viewer. A role limits what a person can start and approve; it is not a substitute for the rules above.

The month-end close

  1. Enter the period (for example 2026-10) and start the checklist.
  2. Run the automatic checks. Drafts left in the month, bills waiting for approval, missing revenue runs or WIP snapshots, and retention that does not tie to the general ledger fail the check.
  3. Fix the cause, or waive a task with a reason. Tick the manual tasks.
  4. Sign off; at least one sign-off is needed. Then close the period.
The Month-end close tab of the Finance Hub with the checklist and the automatic checks.

Finance Hub, Month-end close.

Finance Hub, Month-end close.

Closing locks the books and the cost of every live project up to the end of the month. A later posting to a locked project returns the cost-locked refusal. Reopening needs a reason and is logged. A single project can also be locked to a date, and lowering that date needs the close permission and a reason.

A close that failsOn 2 November the accountant runs the checks for October. They fail: two supplier bills are still waiting for approval, and project P-014 has no revenue run for October, so the WIP snapshot is missing. The bills are approved, the run is posted with an approved estimate at completion, the checks pass, the accountant and the director sign, and the period closes. A late October invoice posted afterwards is refused until the period is reopened with a reason.
Watch outDo not close a month with a revenue run on an unapproved or stale estimate at completion. The lock then freezes the wrong profit.

Walk it through

  1. List the approval steps for a progress bill and a budget transfer in your company.
  2. Write the close checklist you would use and who signs it.
  3. In the demo, open Approvals and Controls and the Finance Hub month-end close tab.
Open the live demo

Public demo company, sign in as admin / demoAdmin123. Data refreshes nightly.

Key takeaways
  • One ledger with guards: leaf item, right project, project open, cost not locked.
  • The creator never approves; rejections need a reason; nothing auto-approves.
  • The close checks drafts, approvals, revenue runs, WIP and retention, then locks.

Check yourself

4 questions on this lesson. Not timed, not the exam, and you can try again. Score 60% or more, and read the lesson, to complete it.

1. The person who created a record may approve it if they hold the right role.

2. A budget revision is approved by default by:

3. Which of these fail the automatic month-end checks?

Select all that apply.

4. Which are true of the close in Zeyto Construction & Contracting?

Select all that apply.

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Practice questions for this module · Printable study sheet