Many finance teams accept an 8–10 business day close as “standard.” Consero’s Ashley Honeyman and Hisham Alwafi showcase how they compressed the month-end close process to three business days, without sacrificing accuracy, by rethinking calendars, approvals, and revenue timing, and by leaning on a right-sized tech stack.
Why Faster Closes Matter Now
Faster closes aren’t just about speed – they enable earlier insights, quicker pivots, and competitive advantage.
Boards and executives increasingly expect near-real-time visibility. Late closes push corrective action into the next month, compounding risk.
“From our 2025 CFO Survey, only 7% of companies said their books close in under three days.”
RafterOne’s Starting Point
RafterOne (formed through acquisitions of founder-led companies) began with disparate systems and, in some cases, cash-basis accounting.
The initial mandate was modernization: GAAP conversion, scalable processes, and a cloud ERP—not speed.
“The focus was not on a faster close. It was just on accurate financials so the rest of the business could operate.”
For a deeper dive into how this transformation unfolded, explore the full case study that includes implementation steps, timelines, and outcomes: How PixelMEDIA (RafterOne) Integrated Two Acquisitions in One Year.
The Trigger: A Mandated 3-Day Close
During diligence, the public acquirer required a 3-day close before closing the deal. That external constraint reframed priorities overnight and created urgency to redesign the close.
“We won’t acquire you until we see that you can do it.”
Work-Back Planning & Calendar Discipline
A clear day-by-day plan, worked backward from BD3, exposed bottlenecks and enabled reallocation of tasks.
Streamlining approvals and sequencing reconciliations prevented task pileups and last-minute surprises.
“We already had a detailed daily close calendar… the next step was really working it backwards.”
The Big Shift: Accrual Mindset for Revenue
For a services business with T&M and percent-complete revenue, waiting on final hours kills speed.
The team locked the first three weeks, projected the last week, accrued revenue, and trued up next month.
Consistent, documented methodology kept auditors comfortable; variances were small.
“If you want a three-day close, you have to get comfortable with some level of accruals.”
Decoupling Rev-Rec from Invoicing
Separating these workflows reduced the early-month crunch, improved invoice accuracy, and freed up capacity – an unexpected (but meaningful) benefit.
“By pushing revenue recognition up, the last week became rev-rec and the first week became invoicing.”
Results & Runway Gained
Beyond meeting the acquisition condition, the team won back weeks for analysis, forecasting, and strategic work.
Faster reporting improved spend control (ex. marketing), while audits and diligence moved faster with organized, timely data.
“The first month we hit five days; the second month it was three.”
Tools & Integration Stack That Helped
A modern ERP (like Sage Intacct) integrated with CRM/billing, AP automation (like BILL), and close-management software reduced manual handoffs and standardized reconciliations across entities.
Consero’s SIMPL platform brings these components together into a single interface—consolidating workflows, approvals, reconciliations, and reporting in one place—so teams spend less time context switching and more time analyzing results.
Common Roadblocks to Sub-3-Day Closes
The main barriers are cultural, not technical: discomfort with accruals, extra approval layers, and the belief that a faster close isn’t needed.
With strong process design and documentation, these barriers can be overcome on most tech stacks.
“People aren’t comfortable with accruals… they want actuals.”
Change Management That Sticks
Collaboration across finance and operations is critical. Start with a stress-test month, learn where it broke, refine, and document.
Maintain open communication so occasional delays don’t derail the calendar. Importantly, don’t cut the review step, accuracy beats artificial speed.
“Pilot, iterate, and then codify with process flows and standard procedures.”
Rapidly Accelerate Your Month-end Close Process
A three-day close is achievable with a work-back calendar, disciplined approvals, and an accrual-first approach to revenue timing—especially in services businesses.
The payoff isn’t just speed; it’s confidence, capacity, and sharper decision-making for the rest of the month.
If you’re ready to compress month-end close from 10 days to 3 without compromising quality, Consero can help you design the plan, implement the tech, and guide the change management to make it stick.
Get in touch to blueprint your 30–90 day path to a faster close.
