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AR balance on the Chart of Accounts does not match AR balance on reports

by Intuit• Updated 6 months ago

Is the Accounts Receivable (A/R) balance on your Chart of Accounts (COA) different from the AR balance on your AR reports? Here are some possible reasons and recommended solutions to help you resolve it!

The difference in the (A/R) balance in the COA, Open Invoices, and other reports may be caused by one of the following:

  • Different settings in the report/s and on the COA.
  • Rebuilt names
  • Damaged links or data
  • Transactions with no Customer:Job name

In this article, you'll learn about the following possible solutions:



Update report settings

  1. Run the A/R Aging Detail report:
    1. From the Reports menu, select Customers & Receivables, then choose A/R Aging Detail.
    2. Set the Dates to All.
    3. Choose Customize Report, and under the Display tab, select the Advanced button, then Report Date.
  2. Run the Open Invoices report:
    1. From the Reports menu, select Customers & Receivables, then Open Invoices.
    2. Set the Dates to All.
    3. Choose the Customize Report button and under the Display tab, select Advanced, then change the Open Balance/Aging option to Report Date.
  3. Compare the two reports:
    1. From the View menu, select Multiple Windows.
    2. From the Window menu, select Tile Vertically.

If the reports still do not agree with the COA, proceed to the next solution.



Correct rebuilt names

  1. Re-sort the Primary Names List, the Chart of Accounts and the Item List. For detailed steps, see Re-sort lists in QuickBooks Desktop.
  2. Check for rebuilt names:
    1. From the Lists menu, select Other Names List.
    2. If you see a number, followed by [Rebuilt], it is a rebuilt name. Determine the type of name it is by running a QuickReport.
    3. Move the name to the appropriate list. For help with this, open QuickBooks Help, and type "changing name type" in the search field.

Check the reports again. If they still do not agree with the COA, proceed to the next solution.



Repair damaged links or data

Try to resolve data damage on your company file. If the verification detects no problem, run the reports again. If they still don't agree with the COA, proceed to the next solution.



Find and fix transactions that do not have a Customer/Job name

Step 1: Find the year when the difference started

  1. Run the Balance Sheet Standard report on Accrual Basis.
  2. Modify the report to total by year.
    1. Select the Customize Report button.
    2. From the Dates dropdown, choose All.
    3. Change the Display Columns by dropdown field to Year in the Columns section.
    4. Go to the Header/Footer tab, then edit the Report Title to Balance Sheet by Year.
    5. Choose the OK button.
    6. Select the Memorize button at the top of the report, then choose the OK. (You may need this report again later.)
    7. Note the ending balance for Accounts Receivable for each year.
  3. Open the A/R Aging Summary report and change its date to the first year ending date of the Balance Sheet by Year report.
    Note: Summary reports may require additional permissions for the A/R Role to display all the data. These can include access to Journal Entries, Bank Registers, and Deposits.
  4. Compare the total from the A/R Aging Summary report to the Balance Sheet to determine if the discrepancy started that year. If the totals match then move the date forward one year on the A/R Aging report until you get to a year that doesn't match the A/R Balance Sheet total for that year.

When you have determined year when the discrepancy started, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: Locate transactions in Accounts Receivable that cause the discrepancy

  1. Double click the Accounts Receivable total on the Balance Sheet by Year report for the year the discrepancy started. This will bring up a Transactions by Account report.
  2. Change the Total by to Customer.
  1. Scroll to the end of the report and look for a total under No Name.
    1. If you see any transactions under the No Name section, you need to determine which Customer/Job these should be assigned to and edit the transactions accordingly.
    2. You can edit these transactions by double clicking them from the report.
    3. After you have edited these transactions, you may have to re-link payments to invoices. Go to the Customers menu and select Receive Payments then apply available credits to the open invoices.
  2. Refresh your A/R Aging Summary report and Balance Sheet by Year report and compare the totals. If the totals on these reports match, you have corrected the issue. You can verify the totals for all dates as well.

If there is still a discrepancy, proceed to Step 3.

Step 3: Compare A/R transaction detail to the Open Invoices report

  1. From the Window menu, select Close All.
  2. Open the Balance Sheet by Year report that you memorized in Step 1:
    1. From the Reports menu, select Memorized Reports, then choose Balance Sheet by Year.
    2. Double click the A/R total for the year when the discrepancy started to bring up the Transactions by Account report.
    3. Change the Total by to Customer.
  3. Minimize the Transactions by Account report then close the Balance Sheet by Year report.
  4. Run the Open Invoices report.
    1. From the Reports menu, select Customers & Receivables, then choose Open Invoices.
    2. Change the report date to the same year as the Transactions by Account report.
    3. Select Customize Report.
    4. Go to the Display tab and choose Advanced, then change the Open Balance/Aging option to Report Date.
    5. Select OK.
  5. From the Window menu, select Tile Horizontally to display the Transactions by Account report alongside the Open Invoices report.
  6. Compare the two reports. Look for Customers with balances in the Transactions by Account report that do not match or do not appear on the Open Invoices report. For example, Acme Customer shows a $1,000.00 total on Transactions by Account report but only shows $200.00 on the Open Invoices report or Beta Customer does not appear on the Open Invoices report but shows a balance on the Transactions by Account report.
  7. Double click transactions from the Transactions by Account for customers that don't appear on the Open Invoices report.
  8. Enter the missing Customer/Job on the transaction. You may need to re-link payments to invoices after adding the Customer/Job. You can view the link between payments and invoices by clicking the History button at the top of the Invoice or Customer Payment window.
  9. Repeat steps g and h for each discrepancy transaction you find on the the Transactions by Account report.

Once you have completed these steps, you can compare the Balance Sheet Standard and A/R Aging or Open Invoices reports to verify whether these totals now match. If you still find a discrepancy between the reports, use the Balance Sheet by Year and Aging Summary to determine the next year of the discrepancy and repeat Steps 1 and 2 to find and edit the other transactions that are causing the discrepancy.



Compare Open Invoices reports

  1. Run an Open Invoices report:
    1. From the Reports menu, select Customers & Receivables, then choose Open Invoices.
    2. Select the Customize Report button.
    3. Go to the Display tab:
      1. Select the Dates dropdown arrow, then select All.
      2. In the Columns list, select Type, Date, Num, and Open Balance.
      3. Choose the Advanced button, then select Current (faster).
      4. Select OK to return to the Modify Report: Open Invoices window.
    4. Go to the Header/Footer tab, then add the word "Current" to the Report Title.
    5. Select OK to return to the modified report.
  2. Open a second Open Invoices report.
    1. From the Reports menu, select Customers & Receivables, then choose Open Invoices.
    2. Select the Customize Report button.
    3. Go to the Display tab:
      1. Select the Dates dropdown arrow, then select All.
      2. In the Columns list, select Type, Date, Num, and Open Balance.
      3. Select the Advanced button, then choose Report Date.
    4. Go to the Header/Footer tab, then add the word "Report Date" to the Report Title.
    5. Select OK to return to the modified report.
  3. Compare the two reports.
    1. If the totals are the same, these reports are not identifying the damaged links or transactions.
    2. If the totals are not the same, compare the reports line by line. If any transactions do not match, they are damaged.
  4. For damaged transactions:
    1. Memorize the damaged transaction using the date and document number:
      1. In either one of the reports, double-click the transaction to open the form.
      2. From the Edit menu, select Memorize Invoice.
      3. In the Name field, enter the original transaction date and document number, then select OK.
    2. Delete the damaged transaction:
      1. If the transaction is not open, double-click it from the report to open it.
      2. From the Edit menu, select Delete [transaction type]. If a confirmation message appears, choose OK.
    3. Create a new entry from the memorized transaction:
      1. From the Lists menu, select Memorized Transaction List, select the transaction you memorized, then choose Enter Transaction. The form opens pre-filled with the transaction information.
      2. Edit the Date and document number on the new transaction to match the information used to name the memorized transaction. The Memorized Transaction List displays this information in the Transaction Name column.
      3. Choose Save & Close to save the new transaction.
    4. Re-link the transaction: Re-link Invoices to Payments or re-link Payments to Invoices.
      1. If the item was a paid invoice, go to the Customers menu, then choose Receive Payments.
      2. From the Received From dropdown arrow choose the customer name.
      3. In the Applied To: area, select the reentered invoice, then choose Set Credits.
      4. Select the credit amount, then choose Done to apply the original payment to the recreated invoice.
      5. Select Save & Close to complete re-linking the entry.
    5. Repeat the steps for each damaged transaction.
    6. If the two Open Invoices reports match but do not match the COA balance, leave one of the reports open.


Compare the Open Invoice Report to the Customer Balance Summary

  1. From the Reports menu, select Customers & Receivables, then Customer Balance Summary.
  2. Choose Customize Report, and on the Modify Report window:
    1. Set the Dates to All.
    2. Select the Advanced button.
    3. Under Display Rows, choose the Active option.
    4. Select OK.
  3. Select OK to return to the report.
  4. Compare the totals for each customer on the Customer Balance Summary with those on Open Invoices. If the amounts do not match:
    1. In the Customer Balance Summary report, double-click the amount to open the Customer Balance Detail report.
    2. Select the Customize Report button.
    3. On the Display tab, in the Columns list, select Open Balance, then choose OK.
    4. Compare the amounts in the Open Balance column with those in the Amount column.
    5. Any transactions that are different are damaged. Memorize, delete, reenter the damaged transactions and re-link them. See step g in "Compare Open Invoice Reports" for instructions.

If the A/R Aging Detail and the Open Invoices report still do not agree with the COA, try to resolve a Balance Sheet out of balance.

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