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January 25, 2021
Question

Checking account

  • January 25, 2021
  • 1 reply
  • 2 views

I did not do a good job of entering all my transactions last year so I  am way out of balance on my account and wanted to start fresh Jan 1. What's the best way to do this ? Start a new checking account / close books for last year ect?  Thanks in advance

1 reply

MichelleBh
Level 8
January 26, 2021

Hi there, @lougabriel.

 

I'm here to guide you on how to resolve your balance, so you can start fresh in QuickBooks Online. 

 

The best practice that I can think of right now is to close the books. By doing this locks your books to ensures everything stays the way you want it. 

 

Before doing that, make sure the following: 

 

 

Once confirmed, please follow the steps below. 

 

  1. Go to the Gear icon, then choose Accounts and Settings
  2. Select Advanced, then click the Edit icon perpendicular to Accounting
  3. Pick Close the books checkbox, then enter a closing date. 
  4. Select the Allow changes after viewing a warning and entering a password option from the drop-down menu to add a password. 
  5. Tap Save and close

 

In case you want to edit or change the password, you may check out this article for the detailed steps: Edit your closed books

 

However, I'd still suggest consulting an accountant to confirmed or ask for other suggestions to handle this. They can also guide you with the whole process to ensure your books are accurate.

 

You can also visit these articles about the various tasks for closing the books and handling a chart of accounts. 

 

 

Let me know if you have follow-up questions about this matter. I'm always here for you. Keep safe!

January 26, 2021

Once I do this will I ever be able to go back and update last year if I wanted? Also will I be able to set a new start date of Jan 1 2021 and will Quickbooks only pick up bank transactions from this date forward or will it still show older unentered transactions?