Hi, our bank account has never been reconciled in Quickbooks since 2021 - how do I change the start date to this tax year?

Hello Liza-careandcomp, you will have to create a journal to change the start date. if you are unsure on how to enter the journal for this we advise you speak to your accountant. 

Can anyone offer any advice as to what to post in the journal to amend the start date for the bank reconciliation?  Thanks

Hi @liza-careandcomp, if you're reconciling the account for the first time, the start date and amount should be the balance of your real-life bank account on the day you decided to start tracking transactions in QuickBooks.

If you connected your bank account in QuickBooks, this usually automatically downloads transactions and enters the opening balance for you. If this wasn't automatically downloaded and you forgot to enter an opening balance in the past, you can create a journal entry posting to the bank account and the Opening Balance Equity or Retained profit balance forward account. For the full steps on recording an opening balance in QuickBooks Online, click here. Thanks!

I don't have a beginning balance, I just have an ending balance and an ending date - is it possible to enter a beginning balance at the start of this tax year (23/24) rather than when we started our bank account in 2021?

Thanks

Hello there, liza.

Yes, it is possible to enter a beginning balance at the start of the tax year. You can simply enter the ending balance as the beginning balance for the new tax year and proceed with your financial records from there.

Step 1: Create a journal entry. 
 

1. Click on the +New  button.
2. Choose Journal Entry from the options.
3.  Input a date that precedes the oldest transaction in the account. This will serve as the opening balance date.
4.  Fill in the required details and then save the entry.

Step 2: Mark the journal entry as reconciled.

1. Go to Transactions and select Chart of Accounts.
2. Find the account and select Account History from the Action column.
3. Search for the journal entry you created and select it to see more details.
4. Look for a box in the tick column and click it until you see an R. This reconciles the journal entry.
5. Once you're finished, select Save.

For more details, you can check this article: Enter an opening balance.

Lastly, you can use this article when reconciling your accounts: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.

Please let me know if you have more concerns about concerns about QuickBooks. I'll be around to help.