Close package, cover sheet
- Cover memo and executive summaryDraft
- Trial balance and account mappingNeeds review
- Revenue and deferred revenue supportApproved
- Flux commentary by departmentNeeds review
- Exceptions and open itemsDraft
Package status: not final until the controller approves.
Agent use case / Finance
A month-end close package your controller can review section by section
ZeroTwo binds reconciliations, variance commentary, KPI snapshots and an exceptions log into one package, with an owner and a sign-off status on every section. It drafts. Your accountants post entries and your controller approves.
Why packages fail
The numbers are rarely the problem
Most close packages break in assembly: the narrative, the versions and the approvals.
The story is missing
A reviewer opens a 40-tab workbook and finds tied-out balances with no thread between them. Why did marketing spend jump? Is the revenue gap timing or demand? Commentary has to name the driver and point to the supporting tab, or the package raises more questions than it answers.
Versions drift
Accruals get adjusted after the first draft and the bridge table is updated but the executive summary is not. By review day three versions of the truth sit in one folder.
Sign-off trickles in
Section owners reply to chat messages over several days and nobody can say which sections are approved and which are pending.
The totals tie, the package still is not credible
You reconciled revenue and fixed the misclassified expenses, yet the board deck shows a different bridge than the workbook because a tab was copied on a Tuesday night. A close package is a defensible story, not only correct totals.
A hypothetical to size your own version: if a three-day close is followed by two days of packaging, that is 24 packaging days a year. Time your own close before trusting any estimate, including this one.
What is in the package
One matrix: section, source, owner, evidence
Owners shown are a sensible default. Name the real person for each section in your prompt, and keep the approvals log with the package.
| Section | Built from | Suggested owner | Evidence kept |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover memo and executive summary | Every other section | Controller | Key risks ranked by materiality; open items with an owner and target date |
| Trial balance and account mapping | QuickBooks, or an exported trial balance | Accounting lead | Snapshot date; new GL codes shown as proposed mappings |
| Revenue and deferred revenue support | Stripe revenue, invoice and refund detail | Revenue accountant | Source, time pulled and reconciliation reference per figure |
| Flux commentary by department | Budgets in Google Sheets against actuals | Department head | Driver named per variance, linked to the detail tab |
| Exceptions and open items | Reconciliation results and reviewer notes | Controller | Each exception, who raised it, and whether the fix is proposed or posted |
| Approvals log | Section owners | Controller | Preparer, reviewer and date per section; change log between drafts |
Proposed versus posted
ZeroTwo drafts. People post and approve.
Keep the line between a suggested entry and a posted one visible in the file. It is the line an auditor will look for.
ZeroTwo drafts
- Maps new GL accounts to reporting lines and flags each mapping as proposed
- Writes variance commentary and the executive summary from source data
- Lists suggested journal entries in the exceptions log, marked proposed
- Regenerates affected sections when source numbers change
Your team decides
- Approves or corrects every mapping
- Posts journal entries in the ledger, in the accounting system
- Signs off each section and the package as a whole
- Decides what leaves the company, and to whom
This is not audit assurance and not a SOX control. If auditors need an evidence trail, agree with them what the appendix must show. For the checks that come first, see the month-end close workflow.
How it assembles
Five steps after the core close tasks finish
Set the run day in the prompt. Many teams run it a day or two after month-end; the package is a draft until section owners confirm.
- 01
QuickBooks
Snapshots the trial balance and maps accounts
New GL codes get suggested mappings from account names and past patterns. The controller approves rather than builds.
- 02
Stripe
Attaches revenue and refund detail
Deferred revenue movement, invoice-level detail and refunds are formatted for the revenue section so it can be defended in one place.
- 03
Google Sheets
Overlays actuals on departmental budgets
Budget-to-actual tables and bridges update when actuals are revised, and the commentary is regenerated to match.
- 04
Slack
Asks each section owner to confirm
Each owner gets a request for their section only. Status per section (pending, approved, changed since approval) is a field in the package.
- 05
Google
Writes the summary, risks and open items
The leadership readout is drafted last, from the confirmed sections, with risks ranked by materiality and open items assigned.
Manual versus package workflow
What changes, and what does not
| Dimension | By hand | Package workflow |
|---|---|---|
| Assembly | Controllers merge workbooks by hand the night before review. | A package in a fixed structure is generated on a schedule you set. |
| Narrative | Variance commentary is rewritten from scratch each month. | Drivers are drafted from source data and link to the supporting tab. |
| Audit support | Auditors ask for exports that get rebuilt under pressure. | An appendix you specify lists source, time pulled and reconciliation reference. |
| Ownership | FP&A and accounting argue over which file is authoritative. | One package with an owner named on every section. |
Descriptions of a workflow, not measured results. Judge it on your own closed month.
Get started
Run it on a month you already closed
After month-end close, compile a package with a cover memo, trial balance, flux analysis by department, cash bridge and an exceptions log. List every suggested journal entry as proposed, never post anything, and show which owner has signed off on each section.
Have ready
- A closed month to test on, with its final package for comparison
- Account mapping from your GL to management reporting lines
- The list of sections your board or lenders expect
- A named preparer and reviewer for each section
- Redaction rules, if an outside version is needed
Scope
Historical evidence here; neighbors elsewhere
- Month-end closeReconciliation and anomaly checks that come before the package.
- Cash flow forecastingForward-looking 13-week cash view, separate from the historical close.
- AI for accountantsWhere ZeroTwo fits in professional accounting work, and the review controls to keep.
- Revenue variance analysisDaily revenue-versus-plan checks that feed the revenue section.
FAQ
What controllers ask before they trust it
How does this relate to the Month-End Close workflow?
Month-End Close focuses on reconciliation and anomaly detection. The close package is the publishing layer: it takes numbers that have been validated and produces the file executives and auditors read. It does not replace the reconciliation work.
Does ZeroTwo post journal entries?
The recommended setup is read-only toward your ledger. ZeroTwo lists suggested entries in the exceptions log as proposed, and your accountants post them in the accounting system. Say so in the prompt so the behaviour is explicit.
Can we enforce SOX-style controls?
ZeroTwo can record a preparer and reviewer per section and keep dated versions with a change log. It is not a controls system, and using it does not make a close SOX-compliant. Keep your controls repository as the system of record and file the approved package there.
What if we use NetSuite or Xero instead of QuickBooks?
Xero is on ZeroTwo's connectors list. For NetSuite or any other system, export the trial balance and GL detail to a sheet or CSV and ZeroTwo works from that. The mapping defines how GL accounts roll up into management views.
Can it handle multiple entities?
You can ask for one package per entity plus a consolidated rollup. Intercompany eliminations and currency translation are accounting judgments, so supply the entries or rules and have an accountant verify the consolidated result.
Can investors receive a redacted version?
You can define rules for a second version with sensitive rows removed. Review it by hand before it leaves the company, because a rule that misses one row is a disclosure.
How long does setup take?
It depends on how clean your account mapping is. The main work is mapping GL accounts to reporting lines and choosing the sections. Run the workflow on a month you have already closed and compare it with the package you shipped.
What happens when accruals arrive after the first draft?
Rerun the workflow and the affected sections regenerate from the updated sources. Ask for a change log between drafts, and re-request approval on any section that changed after it was signed off.
Can we customize which sections appear?
Yes. Sections are defined in your prompt, so you can add, remove or reorder them. Common additions are a SaaS metrics appendix, a cash bridge, a headcount summary and departmental P&L.
Draft last month's package and compare it with the one you shipped
Free starts with 100 credits and needs no card. Compare plans on the pricing page.