Earn, tidy up, then close (4)
I believe the answer is:
near
'close' is the definition.
(I know that close can be written as near)
'earn tidy up' is the wordplay.
'tidy up' indicates anagramming the letters (I've seen 'tidying up' mean this (Tidying up is rearranging)).
'earn' is an anagram of 'NEAR'.
'then' is the link.
(Other definitions for near that I've seen before include "Close at hand" , "Close, not far away" , "unlikely to spend much?" , "Miserly and proximate" , "A short distance away" .)