What cron expression runs on the last day of every month?

Use 0 0 L * * if your scheduler supports L in day-of-month. Standard 5-field cron usually does not support L, so you need a fallback strategy.

How do I schedule month-end jobs on cron systems without L support?

Run on days 28-31 and guard in application code so only the actual month-end date executes the job logic.

What is the safest fallback for last-day cron scheduling?

Schedule daily near midnight in a fixed timezone and check isLastDayOfMonth before running side effects. Keep the task idempotent for retries.

Cron for the last day of month

Month-end schedules are tricky because cron support differs by platform. Some engines support L for "last day", while standard 5-field cron often does not.

Common month-end patterns

0 0 L * * → last day at 00:00 (only if your scheduler supports L)
0 0 28-31 * * + guard clause → portable fallback across basic cron engines
0 23 28-31 * * + timezone pinning → safer for end-of-day reporting windows

Portable fallback strategy

Schedule on days 28-31 at your desired time.
Pin scheduler timezone explicitly (UTC or your business timezone).
In code, run only when today is the actual month-end date.
Keep the job idempotent so retries do not duplicate side effects.

Quick check: test February (including leap years), 30-day months, and 31-day months before shipping month-end automations.

If your runtime supports calendar-aware scheduling (instead of plain cron), prefer it for billing and financial cutoffs. Otherwise, the 28-31 + guard approach is the most reliable cross-platform option.

Continue with related guides

Browse the full guides hub or open the Cron scheduler tool.