The short answer
Closing the month means checking that every day has its sales, every bill and delivery is in, and labour is entered, then locking the month so its numbers stop changing. A closed month gives your accountant and your franchisor figures that match what you reported, and makes next month’s comparison fair.
Why close a month at all
Until a month is closed, anyone can still add a late bill or change a day’s sales, and the profit you reported last week quietly becomes a different number. Closing draws a line: the figures your accountant, your bank or your franchisor saw are the figures that stay.
The checks, in order
- Every day has its sales. Including the days you were closed, entered as zero, so a missing day is never mistaken for a quiet one.
- Every delivery and bill is in. Look for invoices still in the office, and for bills paid by card that never made it into the books.
- Deliveries match food cost. The food deliveries you received should match the food cost booked as expenses. A gap usually means a delivery was not counted, or counted twice.
- Labour and payroll are entered, including payroll taxes and benefits.
- Each day was signed off, or you know why it was not.
- Then lock it, and send the numbers on.
Example: closing October
This is an example of a month with two things to fix.
- October 14 has no sales. The store was closed that day for a repair, so the manager enters it as zero.
- Deliveries for the month come to CA$9,840, and food cost booked as expenses to CA$9,315. The CA$525 gap is one produce delivery saved without counting it as food cost. The manager books it, and the two match.
- Two days were not signed off. The owner reads the notes, accepts them, and closes October.
After it is closed
Treat a closed month as finished. If something really was wrong, reopen it on purpose, fix it, and close it again, so there is a record that it changed. Do not quietly edit last month’s numbers.
How Mezbano helps
The Close the month page lists what is left for the month. Must fix items stop the close: the month is not over yet, nothing is recorded, or a day has no sales. Check items are worth a look but do not stop you: days not signed off, no food cost or labour entered, or deliveries that do not match the food cost booked. Store owners and admins close a month. Closing locks its sales, expenses, deliveries and hours in the database, and only the store owner can reopen it.
What Mezbano does not do here
- Accruals, inventory adjustments or journal entries: closing locks what was recorded.
- Sending the books to accounting software: files download as CSV.
- Certifying that the accounts are complete or correct.
Questions owners ask
What should I check before closing the month?
That every day has its sales, with closed days entered as zero, that deliveries match the food cost booked as expenses, that labour and payroll are in, and that each day was signed off.
Who can close a month in Mezbano?
Store owners and admins. Only the store owner can reopen a closed month.
What happens when a month is closed?
Its sales, expenses, deliveries and hours are locked in the database, so a change is refused until the store owner reopens the month.
Can I close a month with warnings?
Yes. Items marked Check are worth a look but do not stop you; closing records your decision. Items marked Must fix, such as a day with no sales entered, have to be done first.