Overview
This reference describes each module in the EOM Checklist and what to look for during your month-end review.
For step-by-step instructions, visit Create and complete an EOM Checklist.
Things to know
Modules are scoped to the selected accounting period.
Embedded lists can be filtered using standard list controls.
Completion applies to the entire checklist instance for the selected accounting period.
Close Month in Aspire locks accounting records across all branches for the selected accounting period.
Note: Module availability may vary depending on system configuration, enabled features, or user permissions.
Modules
Purchase Receipts — Tasks #1–4
Control focus: Vendor bill reconciliation
Review new, received, and approved purchase receipts, and clean up Purchasing Assistant as needed. Specifically:
New receipts: Ensure only ordered items not yet received appear on the list by month-end. Delete invalid purchase receipts and receive items as materials arrive.
Received receipts: Approve purchase receipts for accounting once the vendor invoice is received. Aim to approve received receipts in the same month whenever possible.
Approved receipts: Verify that total approved receipts in Aspire match total vendor bills in your accounting system.
Purchasing Assistant clean-up: Review completed work tickets in the Purchasing Assistant. For items with remaining quantities, allocate them if used or remove them if they won't be used. Ensure no outstanding orders remain for closed projects.
Work Tickets — Tasks #6–11, #17–18
Control focus: Cost allocation and gross margin
Manage open, scheduled, and completed work tickets. Process pending approvals and invoicing. Key review areas:
Open tickets: Determine if tickets need scheduling or processing. Adjust Anticipated Start Date if needed.
Scheduled tickets: Confirm status is correct and compare estimated vs. actual hours and costs to identify overages.
Pending approval: Review completed last-month work tickets awaiting approval. Confirm all costs are applied and review gross margin percentage (GM%) for accuracy before approving.
Completed last month: Verify GM% calculations and cost allocation. Review breakdowns of material, equipment, subcontractor, and other costs.
Completed tickets with purchase receipts in New status: Drill into Material Costs and check the Com Qty column. Open the purchase receipt and receive items if they were received, or delete the PR if they won't be received.
Completed past contract end date: Apply the custom formula filter Complete After Opp End Date > 0. If the contract is canceled, update the Complete Date to fall before the contract end date. If active, confirm the correct work tickets were used.
Not invoiced: Ensure all completed work tickets have been invoiced promptly.
Overhead/internal: Ensure all Overhead/Internal work tickets are completed at month-end.
Opportunity — Task #19 (Optional)
Control focus: Contract lifecycle accuracy
Check for contracts that have ended but are not yet marked complete. To review:
Add filters: Job Status = Production and In Process After End Date > 0.
Identify why work tickets have not been completed for ended contracts.
Update Opportunity Status to Complete for contracts that have ended.
Leaving ended contracts in an open state can distort earned revenue reporting.
Inventory Review — Tasks #20–22
Control focus: Inventory valuation accuracy
Review and update inventory balances, verify variances, and correct inaccuracies. This module has three subtasks:
Review Inventory Balances: Access the inventory location list to verify balances. Consider:
Did you enter your beginning inventory?
Are inventory counts being taken monthly?
Are there negative balances that need to be resolved?
Are dump or disposal fee balances accounted for?
Are any quantity balances unusually high or not being allocated?
Have chemical mixtures been adjusted?
Does the total inventory value look accurate?
Review Inventory Variances: Ensure variance entries in Purchase Receipts are accurate. Identify frequently mispriced items and adjust pricing if needed. Investigate high-value discrepancies that may indicate errors.
Review Job Inventory: Verify job inventory accuracy. Remove items from job inventory for completed work tickets and ensure no job inventory remains for completed tickets.
Over/Under — Task #24
Control focus: Revenue reconciliation
Review work orders and contracts to ensure earned revenue and invoiced revenue are aligned for the period. Verify that all completed work orders and contracts show a $0 Over/Under balance. Review Revenue Variance for fixed payment invoice types.
Profit and Loss Report — Task #26
Control focus: Financial accuracy
Review profit and loss reports to validate gross margins and drill into division-level performance. Review GM% against benchmark expectations and investigate divisions where margins appear out of line, as these may indicate miscategorized costs or unprocessed work tickets.
Invoicing — Tasks #28–32
Control focus: Revenue timing
Ensure invoices match contract dates, review pending batches, and validate monthly invoiced totals and deposits. Key tasks:
Review Fixed Payment bill types for invoices outside the contract period and adjust dates as needed.
Process any remaining invoices through the Invoicing Assistant before month-end close.
Complete all pending Invoice Batches.
Compare Invoices Last Month to the EOM Revenue report and investigate discrepancies.
Compare deposits in Aspire with deposits sent to the accounting system.
Accounting System P&L — Task #33 (Optional)
Control focus: External financial alignment
Compare Aspire's profit and loss details with your accounting system for accuracy. Verify revenue and cost of goods sold (COGS) before making end-of-month journal entries. Identify discrepancies between the two systems.
Note: If you use SAS (Simple Accounting) EOM export for expenses, Aspire's P&L will not match the accounting system.
Update Inventory — Task #35 (Optional)
Control focus: Inventory accuracy
Adjust on-hand quantities after finalizing the EOM checklist. Use the inventory location list to review and update on-hand quantities directly.
Revenue Variance — Task #36 (Optional)
Control focus: Earned revenue correction
Review revenue variance details to ensure earned revenue aligns with closed periods. If a revenue variance exists: enter the amount and set the EOM date in Aspire, drill into Over/Under details to verify they match the entered variance, and confirm that Over/Under balances for closed periods are now $0 with the correct variance reflected.
For a full explanation of how revenue variance adjustments work, visit Revenue Variance.
Close Month in Aspire — Task #37
Control focus: Period control
Complete all month-end tasks in Aspire before recording entries in your accounting system. Use the Close Month modal to select Last Month Closed and Accounting Period to Close. Ensure all accounting records — time entries, materials, receipts, deposits — are accurate up to the selected period.
Important: All accounting records up to and including the selected month's last day will be locked system-wide across all branches. This cannot be edited or reversed after the close.
Update Accounting System — Tasks #38–40
Control focus: Accounting synchronization
Record end-of-month journal entries for revenue, expenses, and inventory in your connected accounting system. You can export these entries from Aspire as a .csv file for import or manual entry. For setup and export instructions, visit EOM Accounting Export for Manual Entries or EOM Accounting Export with Transaction Pro.
Revenue and expenses: Record journal entry reports for end-of-month revenue and expenses.
Inventory variance: Record necessary journal entries for inventory adjustments.
Inventory additional costs: Export the report to Excel. Investigate Work Ticket #0 to verify cost discrepancies. Adjust inventory costs using the following journal entry:
Debit: COGS – Materials
Credit: Inventory Holding
Review Balance Sheet — Tasks #41–42, #44–47
Control focus: Balance validation
Validate that Aspire's account balances and variances align with your accounting system. Key reconciliation areas:
Accounts Receivable: Compare Aspire's A/R balance with the accounting system's A/R balance. Verify that Aspire's A/R aging balance matches the customer balance in the accounting system. Fields to review: A/R balance (accounting system), A/R balance (Aspire), Difference, Payments this month, and Difference between Aspire deposits and payments.
Inventory Holding Accounts: Reconcile all inventory holding accounts — balances should equal $0. Supporting reports: #A7 Inventory reconciliation, #R1 PR received not sent to accounting, #R2 Approved and received date PR after EOM closing, #R3 PR invoice date in EOM with received date outside EOM.
Revenue Variance: Reconcile revenue variance to ensure calculations are accurate.
Over/Under: Ensure the Over/Under balance on the balance sheet matches the Over/Under balance in Aspire for the entire period since Aspire go-live. Always date EOM from the Aspire go-live date to the closing month.
Compare P&L: Compare the profit and loss report in your accounting system with Aspire's P&L. Review revenue per division and COGS for materials, equipment rental, subcontractor, and other costs.
Over/Under Analysis: Verify completed work orders show $0, completed fixed-payment contracts show $0 or an expected revenue variance after close, and canceled contracts are reviewed.
Branch filtering note
Branch-level filtering is not supported directly within the EOM Checklist. As a workaround, you can add branch filters when creating a new saved list. Checklist completion and Close Month apply to the entire accounting period across all branches.