Update the beginning balance to reconcile. It's wrong.

Why won't QuickBooks Online let me fix a wrong beginning balance when I reconcile, and how do I correct it?

The right fix depends on whether your account has an opening balance entry that is simply wrong, whether no opening balance entry exists at all, or if all previous months have reconciled correctly but a beginning balance issue still appears. First, a quick definition so the steps below make sense. The opening balance is the starting amount when you begin tracking the account in QuickBooks. The beginning balance is the amount shown at the start of each reconciliation, and it equals the ending balance of the last month you reconciled. A wrong beginning balance is almost always caused by an incorrect or missing opening balance, so start there.

If this is the first time you are reconciling the account

When you first connect to a bank or credit card account, QuickBooks sets the opening balance using the real-world account balance from the day you choose to start tracking transactions. To review and correct it, you will need a copy of your bank or credit card statement for the period and access to the Chart of Accounts. To fix the opening balance: 

1. Go to All apps, then Accounting, then Chart of accounts.
2. Find the account on the list and select View register to get more details. 
3. Search for the opening balance entry. It should have Opening Balance Equity in the Account column.
4. Select the Opening balance equity entry to expand the view. 
5. In the Deposit column, edit the balance so it matches your bank records, then select Save.

When you reconcile an account for the first time, the opening balance is the only entry that is reconciled, and no other transactions should be reconciled. To check this, in the checkmark column there should be an R on the opening balance entry, while the checkmark column on other transactions should either be blank or have a C. If there is an R on any other transaction, select the transaction to expand the view and remove it. 

If you have reconciled this account before

First, gather bank statements for the bank and date range you want to reconcile. You will need admin rights to view and edit reconciliations, and awareness of any changes recently made to transactions such as edits, deletions, or manual reconciliations. Then: 

1. Go to All apps, then Accounting, then Bank transactions, and ensure that all transactions from that period have been matched, categorized, posted, or excluded. 
2. Go to All apps, then Accounting, then Reconcile, and choose the account from the "Which account do you want to Reconcile" dropdown. If you have multiple accounts at the same bank or more than one account of the same type, make sure you are reconciling the right one. 
3. If the beginning balance is off, select the "We can help you fix it" link in the alert to open the discrepancy report.

Then review each transaction in the report and make edits based on the message in the Change Type column. Amount changed means someone edited a reconciled transaction or moved it to another account. To fix it, select the transaction to expand the view, then select Edit to open the form and adjust the total or change the account as needed. After you review everything on the discrepancy report, the Total Discrepancy Difference should be $0.00. 

Check the beginning balance again in QuickBooks. It should match the beginning balance on your bank statement. Select Resume reconciling to continue. 

If you never entered an opening balance

If you forgot to enter an opening balance when you created the account, you can go back later and create a journal entry to record it. First confirm you do not already have one. Go to All apps, then Accounting, then Chart of accounts, find the account and select View register, then search for an opening balance entry. In the Payee Account column it should say Opening Balance Equity, and in the Memo column it should say Opening Balance. If you don't see one, write down the date and amount of the oldest transaction in the account. Then create the journal entry:

1. Select + Create, then select Journal entry.
2. Enter a date that comes before the oldest transaction in the account. This will be the opening balance date.
3. On the first row of the Account column, choose the account you want to enter the opening balance for, and add a note in the Description field.
4. On the second row of the Account column, choose Opening Balance Equity.
5. Use your bank statements to enter the balance, entering both a debit and a credit. For asset accounts like savings and checking, enter the opening balance in the Debit column on the first row, then the same amount in the Credit column on the second row.
6. Select Save and close.

Finally, mark the entry as reconciled so it will not appear on a future reconciliation. In the account register, find the journal entry, select it to expand the view, then select the box in the checkmark column until you see an R, and select Save. Once done, the opening balance is reconciled and QuickBooks won't count it in future reconciliations, so you can follow the usual steps to reconcile the account.

Helpful resources

• First-time reconciliation issues: "Fix issues the first time you reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online"
• Previously reconciled accounts: "Fix issues for accounts you've reconciled in the past in QuickBooks Online"
• Enter or edit the starting amount: Enter an opening balance for an account in QuickBooks Online
• No opening balance entered: What to do if you didn't enter an opening balance in QuickBooks Online: