Month-end EDF preparation checklist for a small team

A repeatable review of invoices, missing details, currencies and open bank questions before preparing the monthly bundle.

A monthly routine should expose missing information early. It should not become a last-minute exercise in copying numbers from screenshots. This checklist is designed for a small team that wants one clear working bundle and a recorded review before using its authority’s official process.

Reconcile the invoice list before preparing forms

Compare the working schedule with the invoice system and identify cancelled, revised or duplicate references. Check that each customer is attached to the correct invoice and that currency is present on every row. Place late discoveries in an exception list with an owner. Keep prior-period invoices separate so reviewers can see whether an item is new, corrected or outstanding.

Assign a reviewer and an action owner

One person can prepare the information and another can check names, amounts and receipt links. Where only one person is available, review the draft again against originals after a break. Record who will ask the bank about unresolved questions and when to follow up. The end of the routine should produce a reviewed bundle and a short exception list, not a false claim that every entry is closed.

Reconcile completeness before checking arithmetic

A perfect total can still omit an entire invoice. Compare the working schedule against the invoice register or numbering sequence and investigate gaps. Check cancelled and revised items explicitly instead of assuming a missing number means there was no transaction. Record the reason an item is excluded, including the source document supporting that decision.

Then review the population by customer, period and currency. Look for duplicate references, blank currencies and unusually large or small amounts. These are review prompts rather than proof of an error. Return to the original invoice before changing a value. Keeping a short exception log prevents a reviewer from correcting the same uncertain item differently in several versions of the bundle.

Use a handover checklist with clear ownership

Divide the close into preparation, review, official-channel action and follow-up. For each stage, identify the person and the evidence of completion. Prepared might mean the schedule is assembled; reviewed means it was checked against originals; sent means it used the agreed channel. A later bank status requires its own evidence and should not be inferred from the team’s internal sign-off.

If one person performs all stages, use separate dated checks rather than a single blanket tick. Write down unresolved questions and a follow-up date. Make the handover understandable when someone is absent. A good close package contains accurate information and visible exceptions, not merely a large folder that the next person must interpret from scratch.

Carry forward open items without double-counting them

Use a separate outstanding-items view for prior periods. Link each item to its original invoice and current balance, including receipts or corrections occurring this month. Do not recreate the full historical invoice as a fresh export each time it remains unpaid. Keep a clear distinction between new invoices and new events affecting old invoices.

At the next close, compare the previous exception list with current evidence. Mark an item resolved only when the necessary fact or response exists. If the reason for a delay changed, update the note while preserving the earlier chronology. This gives the team a usable monthly record and helps prevent old problems from disappearing merely because a new file was created.

A fictional example

A two-person studio finds one repeated invoice row and one missing customer country during review. It resolves the duplicate, asks the customer for the missing detail and marks that item unresolved before preparing the bank enquiry.

Preparation checklist

Compare counts as well as totals.
Keep currency totals separate.
Assign every exception a next action and date.

Does a completed checklist mean the bank accepted the EDF?

No. It records your preparation review. Keep the authority’s acknowledgement and any final status confirmation separately.

FICTIONAL WALKTHROUGH

A monthly review catches three different issues

A fictional team compares its schedule with the invoice register and finds one missing reference, one duplicate row and one payment linked only by a similar amount. The reviewer logs each as a different issue instead of trying to solve them by adjusting the total.
The preparer retrieves the missing invoice, removes the confirmed duplicate from the working schedule and requests evidence for the uncertain receipt. The outstanding item remains separate from the month’s new invoices. The corrected row count and currency totals are reviewed again.
The final package includes the reviewed schedule, source index and unresolved receipt question. The next-action owner tracks the bank response. At the following close, the team checks that specific exception rather than treating the new month as a fresh start with no history.

Your next step

Organise your invoices

Sources and scope

Sources reviewed 9 October 2026. The routines and fictional examples are editorial preparation suggestions. They do not confirm your bank’s acceptance, classification or transaction status.