Ending balance changed after last reconciliation resulting in an incorrect beginning balance for April 2015

I *think* I may have an answer. If you, as I do, import transactions, they can be automatically marked as cleared or even reconciled, depending on the download source. Make sure they are all uncleared before reconciling. This is a pain, as it has to be done one at a time, but my starting balance then reverted back to the correct number (the previous month's ending balance). 

I have run into the same issue!  I have had to un-do previously reconciled months and re-do.  When this didn't work (the first time) I unchecked all transactions after the date that I was reconciling (ex:  I was trying to reconcile 3/31/15 so anything from 4/1/15 till present day that had a check mark, I unchecked)  This took care of the problem the 1st time.  Now I have the same issue when trying to reconcile April, but the fix didn't work....

I don't understand why QB automatically check marks it when you download it from your bank.  I can't find a way to tell QB not to add check marks (checked all through preferences with no luck

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"If you, as I do, import transactions, they can be automatically marked as cleared or even reconciled, depending on the download source."

Most typically, for using QB, you see them marked as "verified" which in QB PC is a lightning bolt and I believe QB MAC is a C (cleared) and not R (reconciled). Or, as noted above:

"There are 2 types of check marks in the register. The lighter check mark is a matched transaction through online banking, the darker check mark is a reconciled transaction."

So, all of these products use different Indicators for the 2 stages of status. Verified Vs Reconciled (processed through the reconciliation tool).

"Make sure they are all uncleared before reconciling. This is a pain, as it has to be done one at a time, but my starting balance then reverted back to the correct number (the previous month's ending balance)."

In PC, the reconciliation screen has a Matched button, and you click it, and the lightning bolt transactions are changed to Cleared, and Finish the reconcile is how you end.

So, the downloaded data carries a status (no matter what the terminology is) but that is not a Reconciliation.

"No, the beginning balance is NOT the number I ended with the last time. That's the problem"

I pointed out this Value, from how you ended last time, is the Net of the DATA in your file that is marked Cleared as Reconciled. If it no longer matches, then you can run a bank report to see if there are old transactions no longer Reconciled, or newer transactions already Cleared. I was describing the Source of that value.

" I go to the balance at the beginning, when we started the business, which is .00 in my bank ledger, but when I run a report it says I have $28,121.86 as a beginning balance.  This all started when I went to reconcile my April bank statement.  The beginning balance is off. "

These are different uses of the phrase "beginning balance."

For banking, we all start at 0. But we don't start at 0 again, unless we run out of money.

"I go to the balance at the beginning, when we started the business, which is .00 in my bank ledger, but when I run a report it says I have $28,121.86 as a beginning balance"

For reconciliation, the beginning balance is how you ended last time. This is the math of all previously cleared transactions.

"That is usually caused by a cleared transaction being changed or deleted. This may have happened but may have been more than one transaction.  I checked and could not find out how to run the reconciliation discrepancy report (in the bank rec screen) to find out what changed and put it back."

Changing the Status of a transaction, causing it to be no longer cleared, is a discrepancy but not an error. as long as everything has the same value, even if you changed or had to delete and recreate historic transactions, you ignore the beginning balance as reconciliations truly are to the known Ending Balance. You just checkmark anything that was cleared in the past, if it is showing as not cleared now, but you know it is has been processed.

For online Banking tool (your light gray, and a lightning bolt in PC), if you affect that Pending status, then you still can reconcile. You can always reconcile manually; you don't need that preliminary verification.

"Where do I go to ask a question or do I have to buy the service?"

You are in the right place, unless you want to pay for Support.

"The beginning balance is off.  This is definitely a QB problem.  But I don't know what to do about it.  Very frustrating.  Can anyone help me?"

Perhaps you just didn't understand that info that is being displayed to you.

A reconciliation process, whether manually, in QB Mac, QB PC, etc, really is only getting to the Same Ending balance, clearing or confirming that your data and the bank are the Same.

I am having this problem, but only in ONE of my accounts!!!  All of the accounts are manual entry (low transaction numbers, no reason to set up imports) After updating to QBMac 2019, this one account not only has a bad starting balance, but when I enter Bank Fees in the reconcile screen, and reconcile (I've even gone as far as to adjust the starting balance just to finish), when I look at the account ledger, there are TWO entries for the fee - one as a payment and one as a deposit.  The payment is dark check marked (reconciled), the deposit has no check mark, but adjusts the balance.  If I try to delete the deposit, I get the reconciliation warning.  If I follow through, QB deletes BOTH bank fee entries.  This does NOT happen with the other accounts.  And did NOT happen prior to installing 2019.

Ok, this is maddening.  I have 3 QB files (2017).  two for businesses and 1 for personal accounts.  no issue on the company files but my personalchecking and savings accounts have the same problem every month.  I reconcile...and to do so I have to make an adjustment by adding in a bank fee because the now states opening balance is NOT what I reconciled to the last month.  So I make the adjustment for the current month, get this month to balance to the correct ending balance per my bank statement and then when I go to reconcile the next month, the opening balance IS NOT the same number as what I reconciled to the prior month!!!  the numbers are small and fairly irrelevant, however maddening that this keeps happening.  Help????!!!