Saudi month-end close checklist: ten steps in order, with the dates that sit on top
A month-end close for a Saudi SME means cutting off the month, reconciling every bank and payment account, clearing receivables and payables, booking accruals and payroll, tying the ledger to VAT, and having someone review and lock the period. Do it in the first five working days. The VAT return and the VAT payment for the period are both due by the last day of the following month, so the close is the deadline's first half.
The ten steps
The order matters. Each step feeds the next, and a VAT figure built on an unreconciled bank account is a figure you will redo.
- Cut off sales: every invoice and POS day dated in the month, none from the next.
- Cut off purchases: bills received after month end but for goods or services used in it become accruals.
- Reconcile every bank account to the statement, to the halala.
- Reconcile payment platforms, card processors, BNPL and delivery apps: gross sales against net payout, fees booked.
- Clear receivables: apply payments, chase old items, list anything you doubt.
- Clear payables: match bills to payments and look for duplicates.
- Book payroll, GOSI and end of service accruals.
- Book depreciation, prepayments and other accruals.
- Tie output and input VAT in the ledger to the figures the return will use.
- Review the pack, post what is approved, lock the period.
The Saudi dates that sit on top of the close
VAT-registered persons with annual revenue above SAR 40 million file monthly. Everyone else files quarterly. In both cases the return must be completed and the net VAT paid no later than the last day of the month after the tax period ends.
If you paid a non-resident for something sourced in Saudi Arabia, withholding tax is due within the first 10 days of the following month, and ZATCA's guideline sets a delay penalty of 1% of the unpaid tax for every 30 days.
GOSI says employer contributions should be paid within the first fifteen days of the month. The payroll step in your close is what produces that number.
What a reviewer needs to see
ZATCA's invoicing guideline says input tax can only be deducted if you hold a tax invoice, and that records must be kept for at least six years from the end of the related tax period. So the pack should carry evidence, not just totals: the bank statement behind each reconciliation, the invoice behind each VAT figure, a list of open items with ages.
The person who reviews it should be your own licensed accountant. They approve or reject entries. Nothing in a close should post because a tool decided it was probably right.
Where ProCul fits
ProCul does the mechanical half while the month is still open: it matches bank lines and payouts to their sources, drafts the journal entries, ties VAT to the ledger and assembles the close pack. Every entry stays a draft until your accountant approves it. ProCul is software, not an accounting firm, and it does not approve anything itself.
Common questions
- How long should a month-end close take?
- For a small company, the first five working days is a sensible target. It is a target, not a rule. The real limit is the VAT date, which is the last day of the following month.
- When is the VAT return due?
- By the last day of the month after the tax period ends, with the net VAT paid by the same date. Quarterly filers have three-month periods, and monthly filers are those with annual revenue above SAR 40 million.
- Who owns each step?
- Sales cut-off belongs to whoever issues invoices, bank and platform reconciliations to bookkeeping, accrual judgements to the finance manager, and approval to your licensed accountant. Write the name next to each step once and keep it.
- What if a supplier invoice arrives after I have locked the month?
- Accrue it if you know the cost belongs to the closed month and the amount is material. Otherwise book it in the open month. ZATCA's guideline lets input tax be claimed in a later period once you hold the invoice, so a late invoice does not lose the deduction.
- Do I need software to close the month?
- No. A spreadsheet and discipline will do it. Software earns its place when the number of payouts, bank lines and platform statements grows past what one person can match by hand in five days.
Start with a free books health check
One read of your ledger, findings counted and priced, yours to keep. About ten minutes of your time.
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