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close-packet-format.md

127 lines · small-business/skills/month-end-prep/reference/close-packet-format.md at 2574e29

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1# Close Packet Format Reference

3The close packet is two files: an xlsx workbook and a one-page PDF summary.

Close Packet Format Reference

The close packet is two files: an xlsx workbook and a one-page PDF summary.

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5## File naming

7```

8close-packet-2024-03.xlsx

9close-packet-2024-03-summary.pdf

10```

12Use ISO 8601 year-month (`YYYY-MM`) in the filename. Default save location is the

13Desktop; use the user's preferred path if specified.

15---

File naming

close-packet-2024-03.xlsx
close-packet-2024-03-summary.pdf

Use ISO 8601 year-month (YYYY-MM) in the filename. Default save location is the Desktop; use the user's preferred path if specified.

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17## xlsx workbook — three sheets

xlsx workbook — three sheets

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19### Sheet 1: P&L

21A formatted copy of the ledger's P&L for the target month. Two-column layout:

22**Category** and **Amount**.

24Required rows (in order):

251. Revenue subtotal

262. COGS subtotal

273. **Gross Profit** (bold)

284. **Gross Margin %** (bold, formatted as %)

295. Operating expenses by category (each on its own row)

306. Total Operating Expenses

317. **Net Income** (bold)

33Include a MoM comparison column if prior-month data is available. Format amounts as

34currency using the business's ISO code, never a bare symbol: `"AUD "#,##0.00`,

35`"GBP "#,##0.00`, `"USD "#,##0.00` (`../../../shared/currency-and-locale.md`).

36Negative values in red.

Sheet 1: P&L

A formatted copy of the ledger's P&L for the target month. Two-column layout: Category and Amount.

Required rows (in order):

Revenue subtotal
COGS subtotal
Gross Profit (bold)
Gross Margin % (bold, formatted as %)
Operating expenses by category (each on its own row)
Total Operating Expenses
Net Income (bold)

Include a MoM comparison column if prior-month data is available. Format amounts as currency using the business's ISO code, never a bare symbol: "AUD "#,##0.00, "GBP "#,##0.00, "USD "#,##0.00 (../../../shared/currency-and-locale.md). Negative values in red.

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38### Sheet 2: Reconciliation

40Side-by-side comparison of ledger deposits vs. processor settlements.

42Columns:

43| Column | Source |

44|---|---|

45| Date (Ledger) | Ledger deposit date |

46| Amount (Ledger) | Ledger deposit amount |

47| Processor | PayPal / Shopify / Square / Stripe |

48| Date (Processor) | Processor arrival date |

49| Amount (Processor) | Processor net payout |

50| Delta | Ledger amount minus processor amount |

51| Status | RECONCILED / MISSING_IN_LEDGER / UNMATCHED_DEPOSIT / DATE_MISMATCH / UNRECONCILED_IN_LEDGER |

53`UNRECONCILED_IN_LEDGER` is the bank-feed case: the payout is a ledger line that has

54not yet been matched to a document (the usual Xero shape).

56Color-code the Status column:

57- RECONCILED → green fill

58- DATE_MISMATCH or UNRECONCILED_IN_LEDGER → yellow fill

59- MISSING_IN_LEDGER or UNMATCHED_DEPOSIT → red fill

Sheet 2: Reconciliation

Side-by-side comparison of ledger deposits vs. processor settlements.

Columns:

Column	Source
Date (Ledger)	Ledger deposit date
Amount (Ledger)	Ledger deposit amount
Processor	PayPal / Shopify / Square / Stripe
Date (Processor)	Processor arrival date
Amount (Processor)	Processor net payout
Delta	Ledger amount minus processor amount
Status	RECONCILED / MISSING_IN_LEDGER / UNMATCHED_DEPOSIT / DATE_MISMATCH / UNRECONCILED_IN_LEDGER

UNRECONCILED_IN_LEDGER is the bank-feed case: the payout is a ledger line that has not yet been matched to a document (the usual Xero shape).

Color-code the Status column:

RECONCILED → green fill
DATE_MISMATCH or UNRECONCILED_IN_LEDGER → yellow fill
MISSING_IN_LEDGER or UNMATCHED_DEPOSIT → red fill

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61### Sheet 3: Action Items

63Any open flags from the checklist. Columns:

64| Column | Notes |

65|---|---|

66| Category | Needs Attention (uncategorized or unreconciled) / Missing Receipt / Duplicate / Reconciliation Flag |

67| Date | Transaction date |

68| Amount | Amount, in the business's currency |

69| Vendor / Customer | Name |

70| Description | What's wrong and what to do |

72If there are no open items, show a single row: "No open action items — books are clean."

Sheet 3: Action Items

Any open flags from the checklist. Columns:

Column	Notes
Category	Needs Attention (uncategorized or unreconciled) / Missing Receipt / Duplicate / Reconciliation Flag
Date	Transaction date
Amount	Amount, in the business's currency
Vendor / Customer	Name
Description	What's wrong and what to do

If there are no open items, show a single row: "No open action items — books are clean."

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74### Sheet 4: Payroll (only when a payroll connector is connected)

76The Step 5a totals beside what the ledger recorded. One row per payroll run

77plus a contractor row and a total row. Columns:

79| Column | Source |

80|---|---|

81| Run | Check date, or "Contractors" for the contractor-payments row |

82| Gross pay | Payroll connector `totals.gross_pay` |

83| Employer taxes | `totals.employer_taxes` |

84| Employee taxes | `totals.employee_taxes` |

85| Net pay | `totals.net_pay`; contractor row uses `total.wages` |

86| Ledger payroll expense | The month's payroll expense lines from the ledger, matched by date |

87| Delta | Ledger minus (net pay + employer taxes), flagged above 0.50 |

89Totals only. No employee names or per-person amounts on this sheet — the run

90count and the month totals are what an accountant needs. Footnote when Gusto

91supplied the contractor row: "Contractor payments cover US contractors only."

93---

Sheet 4: Payroll (only when a payroll connector is connected)

The Step 5a totals beside what the ledger recorded. One row per payroll run plus a contractor row and a total row. Columns:

Column	Source
Run	Check date, or "Contractors" for the contractor-payments row
Gross pay	Payroll connector `totals.gross_pay`
Employer taxes	`totals.employer_taxes`
Employee taxes	`totals.employee_taxes`
Net pay	`totals.net_pay`; contractor row uses `total.wages`
Ledger payroll expense	The month's payroll expense lines from the ledger, matched by date
Delta	Ledger minus (net pay + employer taxes), flagged above 0.50

Totals only. No employee names or per-person amounts on this sheet — the run count and the month totals are what an accountant needs. Footnote when Gusto supplied the contractor row: "Contractor payments cover US contractors only."

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95## PDF summary — one page

97Layout (top to bottom):

99```

100[Business Name] Close Packet — [Month Year]

101────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

102

103KEY FIGURES

104Revenue AUD XX,XXX

105Gross Margin XX%

106Net Income AUD XX,XXX

107Payroll AUD XX,XXX (X runs) [only when a payroll connector is connected]

108

109P&L SUMMARY

110[150–250 word plain-English narrative from Step 7]

111

112ACTION ITEMS

113X items needing attention · X missing receipts · X open flags

114[or "Books are clean — no open items." if all clear]

115

116────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

117Prepared [Date] · Powered by Claude

118```

119

120Use a clean sans-serif font (Helvetica or equivalent). No logo required. Keep

121margins ≥ 0.75 in on all sides so it prints cleanly. The currency code in the key

122figures is the business's own (`AUD` above is an example).

123

124**Generating the PDF:** Use the `xlsxwriter` or `reportlab` Python library if running

125a script, or instruct Claude to render the content and export via the Desktop

126connector's print-to-PDF capability. The user can also print the PDF from the xlsx

127P&L sheet if a script isn't available.

PDF summary — one page

Layout (top to bottom):

[Business Name]                    Close Packet — [Month Year]
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

KEY FIGURES
Revenue        AUD XX,XXX
Gross Margin   XX%
Net Income     AUD XX,XXX
Payroll        AUD XX,XXX (X runs)     [only when a payroll connector is connected]

P&L SUMMARY
[150–250 word plain-English narrative from Step 7]

ACTION ITEMS
X items needing attention · X missing receipts · X open flags
[or "Books are clean — no open items." if all clear]

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Prepared [Date] · Powered by Claude

Use a clean sans-serif font (Helvetica or equivalent). No logo required. Keep margins ≥ 0.75 in on all sides so it prints cleanly. The currency code in the key figures is the business's own (AUD above is an example).

Generating the PDF: Use the xlsxwriter or reportlab Python library if running a script, or instruct Claude to render the content and export via the Desktop connector's print-to-PDF capability. The user can also print the PDF from the xlsx P&L sheet if a script isn't available.

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