A Month-End Close Checklist for Chiropractic Practices

Most chiropractors look at their books when something feels off or when taxes are due. That is a bit like checking your vehicle's oil only after the engine warning light comes on. A consistent monthly close takes a few hours and turns your bookkeeping from a record of the past into a tool you can steer with.

Reconcile every account first

Start with the bank and credit card accounts, and tie them to the statements. Then reconcile your card processor, since processors typically deposit net of fees, and the difference between gross collections and the deposit is a real expense that needs a home. Skipping this step is how fees quietly vanish from the books, which we touched on in our post on common bookkeeping myths.

Check receivables by payer

Pull the aging report from your practice management software and compare it with what your books show. Look for claims past 60 or 90 days and decide which to chase and which to write off cleanly. The payer-level view we describe in insurance vs. cash pay makes this review quick.

Handle prepaid care and payroll

If you sell packages or plans, move the earned portion out of deferred revenue and into income, as we explain in our prepaid care post. Confirm payroll entries match the payroll reports, and accrue any wages earned but not yet paid at month end.

Review the reports, then act

Once the books are clean, read the profit and loss and balance sheet side by side with last month and the same month last year. Ask three questions. What moved the most? Is there a category that looks wrong? What does cash look like for the next 60 days? Write down one decision from each close, even a small one. That habit is where the value shows up.

Set a deadline

Aim to finish by the tenth of the following month. A close that drags into the third week is stale by the time you read it. If your bookkeeping runs behind, say so, and set a plan to catch up rather than carrying the backlog forward.

The bottom line

A monthly close is a short routine: reconcile accounts, review receivables, adjust for prepaid care and payroll, read the reports, and make one decision. Do it every month and the books stop being a source of dread and start being a source of answers.

911 Bookkeepers works with chiropractic and cash-pay medical practices across the Baton Rouge metro and surrounding parishes, closing the books on time so owners see real numbers every month.