Close the Books
Reusable 45-minute monthly close for freelancers
About Close the Books
Close the Books is a digital month-end pack for US freelancers and independent contractors who run one-person businesses and keep their own records. It offers a timed monthly checklist covering invoices, expenses, mileage, receipts and a monthly summary, along with four copy-paste client email scripts for sending invoices, nudging late payers and pausing work until paid.
The pack includes a letter-size PDF guide, an Excel workbook with formulas, CSV templates for Numbers or Google Sheets, and a one-page W-9 and 1099 reminder calendar. It is meant to be run the same way every month, so the close takes about 45 minutes instead of an afternoon.
It does not calculate taxes, estimated payments or a dollar amount of tax owed, and it is not tax or legal advice. It tells users to look up current IRS mileage rates and due dates themselves. It works alongside invoicing tools such as Stripe, HoneyBook or Wave rather than replacing them.
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