How to fix beginning balance issues while reconciling

[0:00] When you reconcile an account, you might see an alert saying your account isn't ready to reconcile yet. That means your beginning balance is off. Let's go over how to fix it using the discrepancy report. We'll cover why beginning balances change, how to read the report, and how to fix each kind of change. Your beginning balance is where each reconciliation starts.

[0:19] It should match the ending balance of your last reconciliation, and your bank statement. When you reconcile, each transaction is locked in with a reconciled status in your register. If someone changes or deletes one of those transactions later, your beginning balance goes off. If this is your first reconciliation, check out our video on entering your beginning balance instead.

[0:39] You may need to enter or adjust a beginning balance journal entry. To start, go to Settings, then select Reconcile. If your beginning balance is off, you'll see an alert here. Select the link in the alert to open your discrepancy report. A banner at the top explains what you're looking at and links to related help articles. You'll also see your total difference.

[0:59] That's how far off your beginning balance is, and your goal is to get it to $0. Each row is one reconciled transaction that changed. The What happened column tells you who made the change, what they changed, and when. You'll also see the amount at your last reconciliation, the amount now, and the difference that transaction is causing.

[1:19] The register status column shows R for reconciled, C for cleared but not reconciled, or blank for neither. Keep in mind that the fixes here are suggestions. If a change looks like a mistake, apply the fix. If you're not sure, select View history to check the audit log and compare against your bank statement first. Most changes are one-click fixes right in the tray.

[1:41] Select Review in tray and QuickBooks pre-fills the original details. If the original is correct, select Save. If the change was intentional, select Edit to open the full transaction and reconcile it there. If someone voided a reconciled transaction, you'll see voided transaction. Select Review in tray to see the original amount already filled in. Select reverse void to restore the transaction.

[2:05] If the void was intentional, adjust the register status and save instead. The tray handles register changes too. If a reconciliation status was changed by mistake, QuickBooks pre-fills the original. Select Save. Even a deleted expense can come back. Select Review in tray, then Restore. A few changes send you somewhere else to finish.

[2:28] Deleted transactions might show Go to register, so you can recreate them there. An undone bank feed transaction goes back to Pending. Post it, then mark it as R in your register. For other changes, like a moved account or an edited split, select Edit to correct the transaction. Some changes need a closer look before you fix anything. Opening balance changes works like an amount change.

[2:57] If you see an opening balance equity row you didn't touch, you can ignore it. As you fix each transaction, it drops off the report and your total difference shrinks. When it reaches $0.00, your beginning balance is fixed and you're ready to reconcile. There are two more methods that can help. If there are unreconciled transactions, a quick mini reconciliation will fix everything.

[3:17] Start a new reconciliation using the ending balance and ending date from your most recent statement. Select all of the transactions that should be reconciled and finish. You'll get a reconciliation report for your records, and it works whether you have one transaction or several. And if there are different types of changes that you don't want to fix one by one, you can start over instead.

[3:36] Your primary admin or your accountant can undo the reconciliation from the History by account screen. For more on this, see our video on inviting an accountant to your company. Now you're ready to use the discrepancy report to correct your beginning balance and get back to reconciling.