Monthly Closing – Checklist for Restaurant Owners

The monthly closing is the month's most important financial ritual. Miss it and your books become a disorganized pile of receipts your accountant has to pay to sort. Follow a good checklist and it takes 2 hours – and you get a finished report showing whether your restaurant is doing well or needs action.

This guide is written for the restaurant owner, not the accountant. The accountant has their own detailed checklists for VAT, accruals and year-end closing. You just need to ensure the Vendion data is complete and correct before exporting it.

Deadline:

The last day of the month following the one you're closing. Example: close April no later than 31 May. Your accountant needs data by the 5th day of the following month to file VAT on time (the last days are for VAT, not for new events).

Preparation (day before):

Check everything works:

• Internet at the till works
• Control box (CCA) responds
• Printers have paper/ink
• Bank cards for Swish/Card are active
• Fortnox/Visma logins work
• You have SIE export permission in Vendion

Day 1 – Last day of month:

1. Close the day with Z-report

Go to /admin/bokforing and check that all days of the month have a Z-report. If any day is missing (e.g. weekend without sales that was forgotten to close):

• Open the missing day
• Click "Close Z-report" retroactively
• Confirm the system creates the voucher

Why important: Without a Z-report there's no voucher. No voucher = books have "gaps" = your accountant can't balance the month.

2. Check cash reconciliation

For each day:

• Physical cash counted and noted
• Discrepancy < 50 SEK (otherwise investigate – theft or miss?)
• Float carried over from day to day (deducted)
• Penny rounding under 20 SEK per month

Large cash discrepancy? Back up – look at split bills, voids, returns.

3. VAT spot-check

Open /admin/bokforing → Vouchers. Click into the latest Z-report and verify:

• 25% VAT (output) sums correctly on 2610
• 12% VAT sums correctly on 2620
• 6% VAT (if used) on 2630
• Output VAT is positive (you owe Skatteverket)
• No negative VAT amounts (bug indicator)

Sanity check: VAT should be ~15-20% of turnover (depending on alcohol/food mix).

Day 2 – First day of new month:

4. Check all orders are closed

Go to the order list. Filter on "Pending" or "Preparing" with date PREVIOUS month:

• If 0 orders – good, move on
• If 1+ orders – investigate. Either: void (if false) or close manually

Old pending orders block the Z-report and end up in the wrong period in accounting.

5. Gift cards – reconciliation

Go to /admin/presentkort (or /chain/:slug/presentkort for chain):

• Sum of gift cards issued this month – matches the balance on 2421 in the SIE file?
• Expired gift cards this month – booked against 3960 (Forfeited income)?
• Redeemed gift cards – VAT correct?
• Chain gift cards (if applicable) – intercompany transactions generated?

6. Loyalty and stamp cards – reconciliation

Go to /admin/lojalitet:

• Total points issued this month
• Total points redeemed this month
• Discounts correctly booked (as revenue reduction, not as cost)

Stamp cards:

• Number of stamps made
• Free coffee redeemed
• Free coffee cost shows as reduced revenue

Day 2-3 – Invoices and receivables:

7. Export invoice bases

Go to /admin/fakturering:

• Filter on this month's invoiceable orders (status = pending)
• Click "Export bases" (SIE or CSV)
• Upload to Fortnox/Visma
• Your accountant creates invoices and marks as "sent_to_accounting" in Vendion

8. Check accounts receivable (1510)

In Fortnox:

• List unpaid invoices > 30 days
• Send reminder to all (free)
• List unpaid invoices > 60 days
• Second reminder with fee
• List unpaid invoices > 90 days
• Consider debt collection or write-off (see article on customer loss)

9. Intercompany (only for chain)

If you're part of a chain:

• Go to /chain/:slug/bokforing → Intercompany tab
• List pending transactions for the month
• Verify the sum matches (A's receivable from HQ = HQ's payable to A)
• Initiate bank transfers for settlement
• Mark as "reconciled" after bank match

Day 3-4 – SIE export and handover:

10. Generate SIE file for the whole month

In /admin/bokforing → Voucher tab:

• Choose date range (1-30/31 of the month)
• Click "Export SIE"
• File downloads as restaurant-XX-042026.se
• Open in text editor and verify it's not empty (at least 10+ rows)

11. Check sums

Open the SIE file and find the KONTO entries. Verify:

• Sum 3001+3002+3003 (revenue) > 0
• Sum 2610+2620 (VAT) > 0
• Sum 1580+1910+1581 (bank+cash+swish) matches revenue + VAT
• Sum 2421 (gift card liability) = outstanding liability at month-end

12. Send to accountant

• Email the SIE file (or share in Drive/Dropbox)
• Attach notes about deviations (e.g. "3 cash discrepancies investigated, total −78 SEK")
• Clearly state the month in the filename
• Get confirmation the file opened and imported

13. Backup and documentation

• Save SIE file locally in the month's folder (bokforing/2026-04/)
• Save any images of cash counts, receipts
• Save bank statements from all business accounts (SEB, Handelsbanken, etc.)
• Save Swish report

Day 4-6 – Accountant works:

During these days your accountant does:

• VAT reconciliation (2610/2620 → monthly report)
• Accruals (rent, electricity, insurance)
• Personnel costs (wages, employer contributions)
• Purchases (supplier invoices)
• Payroll booking
• VAT declaration to Skatteverket
• Result and balance report to you

14. Review result report

When the accountant is done you get:

• Result report (revenue, costs, result)
• Balance report (assets, liabilities, equity)
• VAT reconciliation (signed by accountant)
• Notes on deviations

Review:

• Revenue matches Vendion Z-reports within 1%
• Personnel costs reasonable (30-40% of revenue)
• Food costs reasonable (25-35% of revenue)
• Pre-tax result reasonable (positive margin)

15. Action list for coming month

Based on the report:

• 3 specific actions for next month (e.g. "Raise drink prices", "Cut personnel cost on Mon-Tue", "Follow up receivable XX")
• Put reminders in calendar
• Share with partner/co-owner

Total time:

Accountant prices (April 2026, Sweden):

• Solo restaurant, à la carte: 3,500-5,500 SEK/month
• Mid-sized (2-3 employees): 5,500-8,500 SEK/month
• Large (>5 employees): 8,500-15,000 SEK/month
• Chain (per unit): -20% discount

What happens if you skip the monthly closing?

• Month 1: Your accountant complains
• Month 2: Balance doesn't match, extra 3 hours investigation
• Month 3: VAT declaration delayed → 625 SEK in fine
• Month 4-6: Skatteverket wonders, letter arrives
• Month 7+: Bookkeeping crime (fines + risk of business ban)

Closing words:

Do not do the monthly closing yourself if you're not a systems scientist or authorized accountant. Use an authorized accounting firm – they have professional liability insurance and know the 400 exceptions the Bookkeeping Act has.

Vendion is your collection and export system. Your accountant is your interpreting professional. Together = a functioning financial pair.

Read more: Chain Accounting – Multiple Legal Entities, Invoicing in Vendion – How It Works, Common Accounting Mistakes Restaurant Owners Make.