Month-end close
A close checklist that knows which tasks are already done.
Orion opens each period's checklist from your template and gives every task its owner, its reviewer and its close day. Because it reads the records Atlas, Apex and Cortex already hold, a task whose evidence is in (the bank tied, receivables agreeing to the GL, revenue schedules run) shows as ready for review on its own. Your team sees what is left, who owns it and what it waits on.
How a period runs
Open, prepare, review, close.
- 01
Open
The period's checklist is copied from your template, each task dated by close day, anything still open carried forward.
- 02
Prepare
Owners work their tasks. Evidence attaches from the foundation: bank lines, subledgers, schedules, journals.
- 03
Review
A reviewer other than the preparer signs each task, with the evidence they saw recorded.
- 04
Close
When every task is signed, the period goes to sign-off and the lock.
Where the evidence comes from
The tick comes from the records, not from a cell.
| Task | A spreadsheet close | Orion |
|---|---|---|
| Cash tied to the bank | Exported, matched by hand, a tick pasted in | Bank lines matched to Atlas receipts, Cortex payments and the GL as they arrive |
| Receivables to the GL | An aging report beside a trial balance | Atlas's open invoices and unapplied cash against the AR control account |
| Payables and accruals | A list of what came in without a bill | Cortex's open bills and received-not-billed, by PO, against the GL |
| Deferred revenue | A schedule someone rolls forward | Apex's revenue schedules against the deferred revenue account |
| Payroll | A journal keyed from the register | The payroll journal drafted from the run, by department |
The period board
Every entity's close, side by side.
One checklist per entity in the period, and one board across them. Intercompany tasks are paired across the entities they touch, so neither side can be signed while the other is open.
- By close day
- Day 1 to Day 5 against your own calendar, with what is late in red.
- Dependencies
- A task that waits on another says which one, and who owns it.
Your close, as it runs today
Built from your template, not ours.
Your tasks
Every task, owner, reviewer and close day, set up with you at onboarding.
Your calendar
Business days, holidays and your own close days, by entity.
Your thresholds
What counts as material for a reconciliation or a movement, by account type.
Your entities
One checklist each, consolidated on one board.
What Orion works out, and what is yours
Orion does the arithmetic. People sign.
Orion opens the period, attaches evidence and marks what is ready for review on its own. Every review, sign-off and the lock are a person's.
Orion matches, ties and calculates on its own, from the records already in your foundation. Every journal posted, every difference written off, every reconciliation signed off and every period locked is a person's decision, recorded with their name. Orion never moves money.
Orion works it out
- Opens each period's checklist from your template
- Dates every task by close day and assigns its owner and reviewer
- Attaches evidence from Atlas, Apex, Cortex, the bank and the GL
- Marks a task ready for review once its evidence is in
Always a person
- Every review and sign-off
- Changes to the checklist template
- Reopening a task after sign-off
- Locking the period
FAQ
Month-end close, run end to end.
How does Orion build the close checklist each month?
From your own template, set up with you at onboarding: every task, its close day, its owner and its reviewer. Orion copies it into each new period, dates each task against your close calendar, and carries forward anything still open from the period before.
How does Orion know a task is ready for review?
For a task with evidence in the records, it checks the evidence: the bank account tied, receivables from Atlas agreeing to the GL, Cortex's received-not-billed list matching the accrual, Apex's revenue schedules run. Those tasks show as ready on their own. A task with no record to check is marked by its owner. Every task is reviewed by a person.
Who can sign off a task?
The reviewer your team assigns, and never the person who prepared it. Each sign-off records who signed, when, and the evidence they saw.
Does Orion handle more than one entity?
Yes. Each entity has its own checklist in the period, the board shows every entity side by side, and intercompany tasks are paired across the entities they touch.
Do we need Atlas, Apex and Cortex to run the close in Orion?
No. Orion reads your GL, subledgers, bank and payroll on the same foundation. Where your company also runs Atlas, Apex or Cortex, Orion reads what they already hold, so their records count as evidence without being copied.
How long does it take to go live?
Under 12 weeks to a first close run in Orion, starting with one entity: your template, your ERP connection checked on your own records, and last month's close run beside your team first. Most of that time is the template and the connection, which is why the first conversation is about your current close.
Related in Orion
- ReconciliationsBank, balance sheet and intercompany reconciliations in one workspace, each with its preparer, reviewer and evidence.View
- Period close and sign-offA period closes when the checks pass and the people your company names sign it, and then it is locked.View
- Flux and varianceEvery account's movement against last period, last year and budget, with the transactions behind it and a reason for each one over threshold.View
- CFO overviewCash, receivables, payables, revenue, the close and budget in one view, read from the records each product already holds.View
See the close checklist work on your own close.
Bring last month's close: the checklist, the reconciliations and the trial balance. We run it through Orion beside your team and show you where it would have tied, and give you an honest answer if the close is slow for a reason upstream that you should fix first.
Your close calendar, chart of accounts, thresholds, reviewers and sign-off order are yours, and they stay yours. Orion is configured to the way your team closes. You are not handing over a playbook or fitting into a template.