> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cfo.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Update your plan after you close the month

> A routine for each month-end close: bring the closed month in from your books, move Last close, check the month against your books, compare actuals with your plan, update assumptions, and get your board Pages ready. Then put it on a schedule.

Use this routine each month after your books close. It brings the closed month into cfo.ai as Actuals, checks it against your books, updates your Forecast with what you learned, and gets your board Pages ready to share. Each step is a request you can type to Ari, with a link to the guide that has the details.

**1. Bring in the closed month**

Integrations such as QuickBooks refresh once a day on their own. To bring the month in now, ask Ari:

> Refresh QuickBooks and tell me when the import has finished.

QuickBooks Online re-reads only the last three months each night. If you corrected an older month, ask Ari to re-import the full history. See [Refresh data or change when it refreshes](/guides/refresh-data.md).

**2. Move Last close**

Last close does not move on its own. Until you move it, the closed month stays in the Forecast.

> We finished closing September. Set Last close to September 30, 2026.

See [Set Last close and date defaults](/guides/set-dates-and-last-close.md).

**3. Check the month against your books**

> Compare September's Actuals with QuickBooks and list every account that differs.

See [Check that your numbers match your books](/guides/check-imported-data.md).

**4. Compare the month with your plan**

> Compare last month's Actuals with the Forecast and explain the three biggest differences.

See [Build a budget and compare it with actuals](/guides/budget-vs-actuals.md).

**5. Update the assumptions that turned out wrong**

> Update the assumptions behind those differences so the Forecast reflects what we now know. Show me each change.

Every change Ari makes is in version history, so you can take any of them back. See [Undo a change or restore an earlier version](/guides/undo-changes.md).

**6. Get the board Pages ready**

> Review the Board summary Page. Flag any number that looks stale or inconsistent.

Then share the Page or export it; see [Share a Page outside your workspace](/guides/share-a-page.md) and [Export a Page to Excel](/guides/download-a-spreadsheet.md). To keep this month's plan exactly as it is before next month's changes, [save a Snapshot](/guides/save-a-snapshot.md).

## Read the month before it closes

To see how the current month is going before your books close, use the built-in **Flash report** Skill. It compares the month so far with your plan. See [Turn on a built-in Skill](/guides/turn-on-built-in-skills.md).

## Put the routine on a schedule

To have Ari do part of the routine each month, schedule a Trigger. For example:

> On the 5th of every month at 9 AM, move Last close to the end of the previous month, compare that month's Actuals with the Forecast, and email me the three biggest differences.

See [Schedule a recurring report with a Trigger](/guides/schedule-a-trigger.md). After your first month, list what you still do by hand and ask Ari which of those steps it can take over as a Skill or a Trigger.

## Related

* [Actuals, Forecast, and Last close](/concepts/actuals-and-forecast.md)
* [Get your P\&L, balance sheet, and cash flow statement](/guides/build-financial-statements.md)
* [Get better answers from Ari](/guides/get-better-answers.md)


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