For my first bank statement reconciliation I get my current account balance as my starting balance. I have not done a previous reconcilation. How do I correct?

The starting balance is not the current balance, it is the starting balance you made with the journal entry
ending balance is the ending balance on the statement

Thanks for the reply. However it does not solve my problem. I am a new QB user with a new business that started on Oct. 01, 2020. I have downloaded all the transactions in my checking account to QB online. I have done the item review and all are categorized. Now I want to reconcile my bank statement starting with October where the statement starting balance is zero.

When I am in banking in the register view I tap the “Reconcile” button. That takes to a new window that has a box for account with the checking account pre-populated. Then an non-editable entry under “Starting Balance” that is equal to my current account balance at the bank. Additionally there are fields to enter the statement ending balance and the ending date.

How do I get QB online to recognize the starting balance in the QB register that has a date of 9/28/2020 which precedes all other account activity?

Many thanks, Robert

Hi there, @robert-ip3labs-c.

Let's make sure that you've entered an opening balance as the starting point when you pick a day to start tracking transactions in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

The opening balance summarizes all the transactions that came before it. You enter the same amount in QuickBooks so everything matches your bank records from the start.

If you haven't entered the opening balance yet, you can reference this article for the detailed steps and rules to solve the issue: What to do if you didn't enter an opening balance in QuickBooks Online.

Then you'll want to get ready and reconcile an accountant after entering the opening balance.

Please let me know if you have other concerns in reconciling your accounts in QuickBooks. I'm always here to help.

I hope you read my reply to Rustler. It has most of the background information for my problem. I may not have entered a starting balance when I set up my bank checking account as I did not find one in checking account register. I followed the link for how to establish a starting balance via journal entry. I now have a starting balance entry of a zero payment and a zero balance. 

However when I try the reconcile process I still find that I have the bank's ending balance for the account as my beginning balance. The date for the first transaction in the account was 10/1/2020. The date I entered for the journal entry was 9/28/2020. 

FYI - Out of frustration I tried to start a QBO help chat session with a person about an hour ago. All I get is an endless loop with no response.

Let's get this sorted out so you can start your very first reconciliation in QuickBooks Online (QBO), @robert-ip3labs-c.

You'll first have to make sure that the date and amount of your beginning balance are correct. After that, manually mark the journal entry as reconciled. This way, you're able to prevent it from showing up on a future reconciliation. Let me guide you how.

1. Go to the Accounting menu.
2. Select Chart of Accounts.
3. Find the account and select View register under the Action column.
4. Search for the journal entry you just created. Select it to expand the view.
5. Make sure the date, balance amount, and all other necessary details are correct.
6. Select the box in the checkmark column until you see an R. This reconciles the journal entry.
7. Click Save.

I've attached a screenshot that shows the last three steps.

Once done, start the reconciliation process again. Refer to this article for the detailed steps: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.

In the meantime, I'm adding this article to learn more about reconciling accounts in QBO: The reconcile workflow in QuickBooks. It includes topics about starting a new reconciliation, fixing, and editing completed ones.

Let me know how it goes in the comments below. If you have other reconciliation concerns, I'm just around to help. Take care always.

Rustler and all,

I found that when SBO downloaded all transactions back to October 2020 it included a month of march 2021 as a beginning balance for the account. This is what the reconcile process kept finding rather than the September 2020 beginning balance that I had entered via journal entry. When I deleted the March 1, 2021 "beginning balance" all the issues went away. 

Happily all months since opening the account are now reconciled!

I have QBK 2014 desktop, I have entered into deposits an opening balance equity.  Hit save, entered everything else and when I went to reconcile I have a zero starting balance.  I tried the journal entry from above and it still shows zero.  I'm at a stand still now.

Thank you for being a part of the QuickBooks family for years, @zack. It's my pleasure to assist you in fixing your starting balance to ensure seamless account reconciliation.

Please note that the resolutions provided above are specifically for QuickBooks Online. QBO is different from QuickBooks Desktop.

There are various reasons why the Beginning Balance is zero. It can be due to the account not being set up properly, previously cleared and reconciled transactions being voided, deleted, or modified, data damage or you might have converted the file from another version of QuickBooks.

To fix this issue, recreate an opening balance if it is your first time reconciling the account. Create a journal entry and reconcile it. Follow the steps below:

1. Go to Company, and then select Make General Journal Entries.
2. Change the date to the correct statement date of your beginning balance.
3. Select the account you want from the Account drop-down.
4. Enter the correct opening balance in the Debit column.
5. Select Opening Balance Equity and then select Save.

Once done, let's reconcile to correct the Beginning Balance:

1. Go to Banking, and then select Reconcile.
2. Select the account you want from the Account drop-down.
3. Enter the statement date and ending balance that matches your Journal Entry.
4. Select Continue.
5. In Deposits and Other Credits, select the Journal Entry.
6. Note: The amount shown for the Difference should now be zero.
7. Select Reconcile Now.

Bookmark this article for resolutions if you experience having an incorrect balance: Fix beginning balance issues in QuickBooks Desktop.

Once settled, reconcile your accounts to match your bank and credit card statements.

Reach out to me if you have any other beginning balance concerns or need help with the reconciliation process. I’m always ready to answer them. Have a great day!