How to do the month-end close and bank matching with AI
Use the assistant to find what is left open: deposits not matched to a tenant, bills not coded, accounts not reconciled. You confirm each match and you close the month. A close tells everyone the numbers for that month are final, so a person signs off, after checking the bank balance against the books.
What a close is for
Closing the month means you have matched every bank line to something, coded every bill, checked that the books agree with the bank statement and locked the month so later edits do not change reported results. The full routine is in the month-end close checklist and bank reconciliation guide. AI helps with the reading and the sorting, which is most of the time spent.
Matching deposits to tenants
A deposit matches a tenant when you can say which lease it paid. The signals, strongest first, are a payment reference that names the unit and tenant, an exact amount that only one tenant owes, and a sender name you have seen before. An assistant is good at proposing matches from those signals and at explaining why it is unsure.
| Signal | What it looks like | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Reference | The memo reads 12B SMITH | High |
| Exact amount | A deposit of $1,250.37 when only one lease owes that | Good |
| Known sender | The same name and bank as last month | Moderate |
| Round amount, no memo | A $1,250.00 deposit with several leases at that rent | Low, ask the tenant |
Example a made-up building has three units at $1,250 rent. A deposit of $1,250.00 arrives with no memo. The assistant should not guess which unit. It should list the three units that owe $1,250.00 and tell you to ask. Unique amounts with cents, such as $1,250.37, prevent this.
A close routine with an assistant
- Ask for all deposits not matched to a lease, oldest first, with the assistant's suggested match for each and the signal behind it.
- Confirm or reject each suggestion yourself.
- Ask for bills still waiting for coding or confirmation. Confirm the account on each.
- Compare the statement balance for each bank account with the books at month end. Do not accept "they match" without seeing both numbers.
- Ask what is still open: unreconciled accounts, unmatched lines, bills in review.
- When the list is empty, close the month.
If the numbers do not agree, the difference is usually a missed deposit, a bill booked twice or a transfer between your own accounts counted as income. Ask the assistant to list the lines that add up to the gap.
What must stay a human sign-off
- Confirming a match. A wrong match tells a tenant they are paid when they are not.
- Recording a payment that came in another way, such as cash or a check.
- Closing and reopening a month. Reopening closed books changes reported numbers.
- Anything that moves money.
How DoorKeeping handles it
DoorKeeping reads your bank feed and matches deposits to leases using the reference, the exact amount and the sender. Through the connector your assistant can list the deposits still unmatched with its suggestions and the signals behind them. Recording a match shows you a draft first and acts only when you say yes. Closing a month is an owner action, and it checks that each bank and card account is reconciled, no bank line is left unmatched and no bill is waiting in review. Rent and payments stay in your own bank accounts. DoorKeeping never holds your money and sends a payment only when you approve it.
Sources
- DoorKeeping: Connect Claude or ChatGPT (steps and tools list), read Oct 30, 2026
- Model Context Protocol: Architecture overview (tools, resources, prompts), read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- Can ChatGPT reconcile my bank account?
- It can compare two lists you give it and point out differences. The reconciliation is only done when the books and the statement show the same balance and you have checked it.
- How should a tenant label a rent payment?
- A reference with the unit and last name, such as 12B SMITH, plus an exact amount with its own cents, makes matching easy.
- Should AI confirm rent payments on its own?
- No. Show a draft and let the owner confirm, because a wrong match changes what a tenant is told they owe.
- What if the bank and the books differ by a small amount?
- Find the cause. Do not close the month until the difference is explained.