End-of-Month (EOM) Close Processes for Finance teams

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Hello Community! I’m Asia from the TeamBoard team 👋

I’d like to share our latest article on the topic: "How Finance teams can manage month-end close using Jira and TeamBoard ProScheduler". Let's explore now! 😊

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End-of-month close is a recurring, high-pressure process for Finance teams. Tasks such as reconciliations, allocations, approvals, and reporting must be completed accurately and on time—every month. Managing this work with manual checklists or spreadsheets increases the risk of missed steps, bottlenecks, and audit issues.

This article outlines how Finance teams can leverage the combination of Jira and TeamBoard ProScheduler to replace manual processes with automated, visual, and audit-ready workflows.

Phase 1: Build the EOM Close Process in Jira

Before planning timelines and capacity, you need a clear and repeatable close structure in Jira. This phase focuses on defining workflows, standardizing issues, and assigning ownership so all close activities are consistently tracked and execution-ready.

Step 1: Create a new project

• Start by creating a Jira project dedicated to the end-of-month close. From the Jira home screen, select Projects → Create project
• Choose Blank Project to build your process from scratch or select a relevant template from the Finance category if it matches your team’s workflow.
• Configure board columns that reflect real close stages, such as: To Do → In Progress → Ready for Review → Approved → Done

Step 2: Define your project structure

Organize your month-end close work in Jira using a clear and consistent structure so every activity is easy to track and report on.

• Group work by phase or type: Use Epics to categorize tasks by close phase or workstream (e.g., Reconcile Accounts, Review Financial Statements, Final Adjustments).
• Add main close tasks: Create Tasks for major close activities (e.g., Prepare financial statements, Review budget variances, Post accruals).
• Break work into detailed subtasks: Divide each Task into Subtasks for checklist-level steps (e.g., Gather statements, Match transactions, Investigate variances, Complete final review).

Step 3: Add custom fields

Enhance your Jira project with custom fields so Finance teams can track the information that matters most during month-end close.

• Add essential fields: Ensure each close task includes key fields such as Priority, Due date, and Status to make critical details easy to see and report on.
• Track Finance-specific information: Create additional custom fields to capture Finance-related context (e.g., Close phase, Entity or business unit, Approval required).

Step 4: Automate routine processes with Jira Automation

Month-end close repeats every month, so your setup should too. Wherever possible, let automation handle repetitive work using Jira’s no-code Automation rules.

Use Jira Automation to:

• Automatically clone the EOM Epic at the start of each month
• Retain the same Tasks, Subtasks, and workflows
• Auto-assign owners based on labels or components
• Send reminders for upcoming deadlines and overdue approvals
• Notify teams via connected tools such as Microsoft Teams or Slack

Automation reduces manual setup and ensures every close cycle follows the same consistent process.

Phase 2: Leveraging ProScheduler for Monitoring and Reporting on Progress

TeamBoard ProScheduler enhances Jira by providing advanced, visual tools for monitoring and reporting on month-end close progress, addressing limitations in native Jira regarding timeline visualization, dependency management, and real-time workload balancing.

After setting up the month-end close structure in Jira, Finance teams move to ProScheduler to continue planning, monitoring, and managing the close using advanced scheduling and reporting features.

Step 5: Open Gantt to visualize the full close plan

Open TeamBoard ProScheduler in Jira and select the Gantt tab. Load your month-end close project or apply a specific board filter to focus only on close-related work.

• View the full hierarchy

Review the timeline to confirm that all work is displayed using Jira’s issue hierarchy (for example, Epics → Tasks → Subtasks). This helps Finance teams understand how detailed close activities roll up to higher-level phases and milestones.

• Use flexible WBS-based planning

Drag and drop tasks to group, reorder, or restructure work based on how the close is actually executed. This allows you to organize tasks by close phase, entity, or workstream—independent of Jira’s default hierarchy.

Step 6: Assign tasks and plan timelines

• Assign ownership and timelines to all close work so execution is clear and predictable.
• Set start and due dates for Tasks and Subtasks to align work with the close calendar.
• You can keep tasks simple or add more detail with attachments, priorities, labels, and comments, depending on how granular your team prefers to work.

Step 7: Add dependencies so task order is explicit

Month-end close follows a strict sequence, where many tasks cannot begin until others are completed. TeamBoard ProScheduler makes this order visible and enforceable.

ProScheduler supports four types of dependencies, giving Finance teams the flexibility to model real-world close scenarios: Finish-to-Start (FS), Start-to-Start (SS), Finish-to-Finish (FF), and Start-to-Finish (SF).

By visualizing dependencies on the Gantt, Finance teams can prevent premature work, identify potential bottlenecks early, and keep the close moving in the correct order.

Step 8. Track Progress and Identify Risk Early

TeamBoard ProScheduler enhances Jira for month-end close by moving beyond binary status updates (e.g., To Do vs. Done) to granular, percentage-based progress tracking. 

This functionality allows finance teams to identify risks early by visualizing how close a task is to completion, rather than waiting for it to be officially marked "Done"

• Visual Percentage Tracking: Finance teams can update task progress directly on the Gantt chart using a drag-and-drop progress slider (for example, 20%, 50%, or 80% complete).
• Automatic Progress Roll-Up: Task progress can automatically roll up from subtasks to parent tasks. This ensures that high-level close activities—such as reconciliations or reporting—accurately reflect the completion status of their underlying finance tasks.
• Auto-Progress Calculation: You can calculate progress automatically by comparing logged time against scheduled time.

Step 9: Manage capacity and prevent overload

With TeamBoard ProScheduler’s resource and workload visibility, Finance teams can proactively manage capacity:

• Review workload distribution: Use the Schedule Board to see how tasks are distributed across individuals over time, making it easier to understand who is responsible for what—and when.
• Detect overload early: Toggle the Workload view to identify team members who are overallocated before bottlenecks or delays occur.
• Rebalance work without disruption: When overload is identified, teams can reassign tasks or adjust schedules directly in ProScheduler, without breaking task dependencies or close deadlines.

By managing capacity proactively, Finance teams reduce burnout, prevent approval delays, and keep the month-end close running smoothly and predictably.

Step 10: Identify risk using Critical Path

Not all tasks in the month-end close have the same impact on the final close date. Some tasks can slip without consequences, while others will delay the entire close if they are late.

With TeamBoard ProScheduler, Finance teams can use Critical Path to automatically identify the sequence of tasks that directly determines when the close will finish.

Step 11: Integrate with the TimePlanner your team already uses

Finance teams often already use time-planning or cost-tracking tools to understand effort and cost during month-end close. TeamBoard ProScheduler integrates with tools like TimePlanner, allowing teams to connect scheduling with time and cost insights.

Step 12: Use ProScheduler for stakeholder-ready visibility

By combining dashboards, reports, and Gantt exports, Finance teams can communicate status clearly while reducing manual reporting.

• Dashboards and reports provide at-a-glance visibility into progress, milestones, risks, and critical path activities.
• Gantt export makes it easy to share timelines with stakeholders who don’t have Jira access, including auditors and leadership.

Final Thoughts

End-of-month close doesn’t have to be stressful or opaque. By combining Jira’s execution tracking with TeamBoard ProScheduler’s visual planning, Finance teams gain clarity, control, and confidence throughout the entire close process.

If your Finance team already works in Jira, TeamBoard ProScheduler helps you turn month-end close into a structured, repeatable workflow—delivered on time, every time.