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Fix issues with your beginning balance for accounts you've reconciled before

by Intuit•26• Updated 1 week ago

Each time you start reconciling an account, you review the beginning balance in QuickBooks. It's the amount in the account at the beginning of the time period you're reviewing. Think of it as a checkpoint. It lets you know if you're starting with accurate numbers.

If the beginning balance doesn’t match, QuickBooks can help you find and fix the issues.

Learn what causes beginning balance issues

Entered an incorrect opening balance when they created the account in QuickBooks.
Added transactions that are older than the opening balance, but didn't edit the original opening balance entry to reflect the change.
Edited, deleted, moved, or unreconciled an already reconciled transaction. This changes the ending balance of your last reconciliation, which impacts the beginning balance of the next one.
Manually reconciled a transaction, so it didn't show up on the next reconciliation.

Troubleshooting Tips:

If you've never reconciled this account before, don't follow these steps. Here's what to do‌ the first time.

If you're new to the entire process, start with our guide.

The beginning balance amount should match what's on your bank statement for the same start day. If it doesn't, don’t worry. QuickBooks lets you know what changes you might need to make. Here's how to fix beginning balance issues so you can start reconciling.

Prerequisites

Access to the account’s bank statements.
Admin rights to view and edit reconciliations in QuickBooks Online.
Awareness of any changes recently made to transactions (edits, deletions, manual reconciliations).

Find the Issues

Gather bank statements for the bank and date range you want to reconcile.
Access the Bank Transactions section in QuickBooks Online, and ensure that all transactions from that period have been matched, categorised, posted, or excluded.
Select Reconcile either in the Accounting section or in Settings.
Choose the account you wish to reconcile from the Which account do you want to Reconcile ▼ dropdown.
- Note: If you have multiple accounts at the same bank, or more than one account of the same type, make sure you're reconciling the right one.
If the Beginning Balance doesn't match the ending balance of the last reconcile, there will be an alert that reads "Your account isn't ready to reconcile yet. Your beginning balance is off by..."
- Note: for accounts connected to online banking, match and categorise all downloaded transactions.
Select the link in the alert that reads, "We can help you fix it." This opens the Reconcile Discrepancy Report and lets you begin researching.

Follow this link to complete the steps in product.
Select the account that you want to reconcile from the Account ▼ dropdown.

Select the We can help you fix it link to open your discrepancy report.
Review the discrepancy report. Use it to decide if and how to make changes.
Before editing anything, talk with whoever made the changes - they may be intentional.

Note: If you moved from another software to QuickBooks Online, you might see a blank discrepancy report. You can check for discrepancies in the audit log of your previous software.

Fix the Issue

Get a QuickBooks-certified bookkeeper to help you categorise transactions and reconcile your bank statements every month. Learn more about QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping.

Review each transaction in the report one at a time.

Select View to see the history of changes to the transaction.
Review the Change Type column. This tells you what changed.
Make edits based on the message in the Change Type column:

Amount changed

This means someone edited a transaction or moved it to another account.

Select the transaction to expand the view.
Select edit to open the form.
Adjust the amount or account.
Select save and close.

Unreconciled in register

This means someone unreconciled the transaction. To reconcile it again

Follow this link to complete the steps in product

Select the account you want to reconcile again, then select Go to bank register.
Select Reconcile.
Verify the Account you've selected and change it, if required.
Enter the info from your statement in the Ending balance field and Ending date field. Then, select Start reconciling.
Review the transactions and select those that match the transactions in your bank statement.
Once the Difference is GBP £0.00, select Finish now, then select Done.

Alternatively, to reconcile a transaction manually,

Follow this link to complete the steps in product
Select Account history in the Action column of your bank account.
Select the transaction that has been manually unreconciled.
Select the box in the tick column until you see an R. This reconciles the transaction manually.
Select Save.

Reconciled in error

This means someone has already reconciled the transaction by accident. To remove it and add it to your next reconciliation:

Select the transaction to expand the view.
Select the box in the tick column until it's blank or you see a C. This removes the transaction from the reconciliation.
Select Save.

Fix deleted

This means someone deleted the transaction. If it was an accident, recreate it exactly as it appears on your discrepancy report:

Select + New or + Create.
Select the correct form (invoice, sales receipt, expense, etc).
Fill out the form and select Save and close.
Go to Settings , then select Chart of accounts (Take me there).
Find the account that you put the transaction into and select Account history.
Find the transaction and select it to expand the view.
Select the box in the tick column until you see an R. This manually reconciles the transaction.
Select Save. If you still see an alert the next time you reconcile, open the discrepancy report. The deleted transaction may still be on the list, but the difference should be GBP £0.00. It won't affect your reconciliation.

After you review everything on the discrepancy report, the Total Discrepancy Difference on the report should be GBP £0.00. Check the beginning balance again in QuickBooks. It should match the beginning balance on your bank statement. Select resume reconciling to continue reconciling.

Results

After fixing all issues, the Total Discrepancy Difference should show $0.00. The beginning balance in QuickBooks will match your account statement, allowing you to resume reconciliation.

Next steps

Once you know your beginning balance is correct, you can start reconciling. If you see issues in the middle, here's what you should review.
If you’ve followed everything in our guide but still have questions, connect with your accountant. They can help you get back on track.