The checklist
1. Set your Close Books date
Enter the new date into Garde for each closing period. Use the last day of your period. When: Update this at least a few days before your period ends. Don’t set it retroactively. Where: Accounting > Close Books. How to close books in Garde.2. Review the New Item Review report
The integrity of your product database is the foundation for all Garde reporting. If products aren’t correctly assigned or conversions are off, you could see incorrect inventory valuations or costs hitting the wrong GL codes. When: Daily is ideal. Stretched for time? At minimum, review once a week or before an inventory count, so your conversions and valuations are correct.3. Approve invoices (if using Invoice Approval)
Approving invoices is the last step before they’re available for reporting and exporting. If invoices are sitting in approval, they’re not going anywhere. When: At least weekly, ideally daily. You don’t want a backlog of unapproved invoices blocking your close.4. Export data
Make sure your accounting system has all invoices processed through Garde, plus all sales entries, transfers, and commissary orders. When:- Auto-export: Review weekly for any errors. Keep an eye on your Weekly Snapshot email.
- Manual export: Review daily.
5. Close out commissary orders (mark as shipped)
Do this on the day items arrive at the restaurant. There’s no way to bulk-change dates to backdate deliveries later. (Ask us if you want to enable auto-ship on these orders.) When: Daily. Timely management here keeps your cost reporting accurate.6. Post inventory adjustment
Review all reports to make sure counts are correct before posting:- Review Inventory Summary
- Review Usage Report
- Review Theoreticals (if set up)
7. Close books
The final step. Before you close, confirm:- All commissary orders have been shipped (on the correct date)
- All invoices, sales, transfers, and commissary orders have been exported
- Inventories have been closed and posted to accounting