How do I clear out old transactions in my bank reconciliation from years ago?

If the transactions represent transactions that really happened, or they cancel each other out, and so the ending bank balance is correct, then run a special reconcile and mark them all off at once.

Some are checks and some are journal entries from different years. I don't know why at this point they have not been cleared out. They do not clear each other out. Any other solutions?

Thanks for following up with the Community about this, hitekcomm.
 

There's a few reasons why previously reconciled transactions can show up as unreconciled:

• Cleared transactions were unchecked in your account register.
• The reconciled transactions were charged or deleted.
• A prior reconciliation was undone.
• Money was transferred from a previously reconciled bank account to a sub-account.
• A company file conversion was performed (Mac to Windows or QBO to QBDT).
• Your transactions were never reconciled successfully. This could be caused by restoring from a backup, which can overwrite existing data.

As BigRedConsulting mentioned, you can perform a special reconciliation to correct these problems.
 

Here's how:
1. In the top menu bar, go to Banking, then Reconcile.
2. Choose which bank account you're working with.
3. Use the Date of Statement field to enter a date for an off-cycle reconcile. This can be any day between your last reconciliation and the one that's scheduled next.
4. Enter a balance for your last successful reconciliation in the Ending Balance field.
5. Click Continue.
6. On the Reconcile window, check off each transaction you're fixing.
7. Confirm your Difference field shows $0.00.
8. Select Reconcile Now.
 

I've also included a detailed resource that provides more information about performing special reconciliations: Reconcile previously deleted & re-entered checking or credit card transactions
 

Feel more than welcome to post a reply if there's any questions. I'll be here to help. Have a wonderful day!

What if my difference amount at the end of the reconciliation is not zero?

Thank you for getting back to us, @hitekcomm.

There are several causes why there is a discrepancy in the amount when reconciling. And here are some of them:

• Someone entered an incorrect ending balance at the start of the reconciliation.
• Someone edited or deleted transactions that were already reconciled
• There are missing or duplicate transactions in QuickBooks.
• Someone entered transactions into QuickBooks that hasn't cleared your bank yet.
• Someone made an adjustment to your last reconciliation with a journal entry.

To get this fixed, you can follow the step by step process below:

Step 1: Review your opening and beginning balances

Step 2: Look for changed, deleted, or added transactions

Step 3: Look for reconciliation adjustments

Once everything is fixed, you can finish reconciling your account. For more guidance, feel free to check out this article: Fix issues when you're reconciling in QuickBooks Desktop.

You might also want to check out this article to learn more about the reconciliation workflow: Learn the reconcile workflow in QuickBooks.

Visit our Community forums again if you have other questions with reconciling accounts. I'm always here to help. Have a wonderful day!

How do I balance them out. I have the old checks checked off and it give me the entire amount. What do I need to do to clear that amount. How do I record that amount in the deposits and other credits side????

I have this same question. I have transactions that I know were changed after reconciliation, but then changed back, and now I cannot clear them out. They are just sitting there and if I check them it throws off my balance and I cannot get to $0.00 Does anyone know how to fix this, or what an offset entry would be?

Thank you for joining us here in the Community, @HMoore.

I understand how important it is to make sure your book is balanced. I'll make sure you'll be able to correct this difference when clearing out old transactions.

My colleagues mentioned above that you can fix this by doing a special reconciliation. If you missed the steps provide above, I'm happy to share them with you again.

Here's how:

1. Go to Banking, then click Reconcile.
2. Select the bank account you want to correct.
3. Enter a date in the Date of Statement field for an off-cycle reconcile. You can choose between your last reconciliation and the next one.
4. Type in the balance of the last successful reconciliation in the Ending Balance field.
5. Hit Continue.
6. Review and uncheck the transactions you want to correct.
7. Make sure the difference is $0.00.
8. Click Reconcile Now.

Check on this article as your reference for special reconciliation: Reconcile previously deleted & re-entered checking or credit card transactions.

If you have additional questions about reconciliation, feel free to click the Reply button below. I'm always here to help.

 I have transactions that I know were changed after reconciliation, but then changed back, and now I cannot clear them out. They are just sitting there and if I check them it throws off my balance and I cannot get to $0.00 Does anyone know how to fix this, or what an offset entry would be?

thank you. I have transactions that I know were changed after reconciliation, but then changed back, and now I cannot clear them out. They are just sitting there and if I check them it throws off my balance and I cannot get to $0.00 Does anyone know how to fix this, or what an offset entry would be?

Hi, I had the same problem and this is the way to fix it. Hector Garcia explains in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZc8LK7OYVk 

I am in the same boat..
I've followed the steps you've suggested but I do not get a zero difference ....
of course I don't because the beginning balance and ending balance of this mini reconciliation are the same (the correct ending balance from my last reconciliation).
And after I've ticked the two old transactions, the difference is not zero it's exactly the amount of the two old transactions.
How do I solve this?

Thanks for chiming in on this thread, georgies.

Let me direct you to the right support. 

While we're unable to review your balances and transactions here, I recommend reaching out to our Customer Care Team. They can pull up your account and help you resolve the reconciliation discrepancies.

Here are the steps:

1. In your QuickBooks Desktop program, go to Help > QuickBooks Desktop Help.
2. In the Have a Question window, click the Contact Us link at the bottom.
3. From the Contact Us page, select any topics.
4. Under Here's how to connect with a QuickBooks expert section, click the Start a Message or Get Phone Number button.

If need help with other task in QuickBooks Desktop, please feel free to visit our general help topics page. This will route you to the related help articles, Community discussions, video tutorials and more.

You can also reply to this post if you have additional questions or other concerns. We're always available to help. Take care and stay safe.

I followed the steps as suggested to correct old transactions on my bank reconciliation that had previously been cleared by the bank. It is out of balance. How do I correct this?

I'd be glad to provide some information to help correct balances in QuickBooks, @Elaine P.

The first thing we need to do is to find the transactions giving you the problem. To proceed, let's run a Reconcile Discrepancy report. 

Here's how:

1. Select Reports.
2. Choose Banking, and then Reconciliation Discrepancy.
3. Select the Account, and then click OK. You'll have a list of transactions that changed since your last reconciliation. Use this report to identify the transaction(s) causing the issue.
4. If you find a discrepancy, note the transaction date and the Entered/Last Modified, which will tell you when the change happened.

Then, let's correct the discrepancy by editing or entering the transactions again. You can try either of the following options:

• Undo a previous reconciliation and redo it
• Ignore the discrepancy and let QuickBooks enter an offsetting adjustment

If you wish to undo a previous reconciliation and redo it, here's what you need to do:

1. Back up your QuickBooks company file.
2. Proceed to Banking, and then Reconcile.
3. Click Undo Last Reconciliation.
4. When prompted, choose Continue and then OK.
5. Close out of reconcile and open it again.

You can review this link for more information: Fix beginning balance issues in QuickBooks Desktop.

Additionally, I'll be sharing these articles to help manage your accounts in QuickBooks:

• Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Desktop
• Fix issues when you're reconciling in QuickBooks Desktop

Fill me in if you have further concerns with fixing balances in QuickBooks. I'm always around to help. Keep safe!

So........if there were cleared checks that were deleted and invoices attached that reconciled from 2018, I have to go back and redo all the reconciliations? - or can I just reuse the voided check from back then keep it voided and use a different check number

Yes, we can reuse the check number, @Annette. We also need to unreconcile your transactions and I'll be here as you go through the process.

Since there's no direct way of retrieving the voided check, you'll need to re-enter it with the original date. This will keep a record of the check from previous years in QuickBooks. I'll show you how:

1. Go to the Banking menu and select Write Checks.
2. Enter the necessary information according to the voided check.
3. Press Save.

After that, you'll need to undo reconciliation of the past transactions then reconcile them again. Make sure to include the recreated checks you've made. Here's an article for the complete steps: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Desktop.

If you need to do a special reconciliation or use the mini reconciliation method to fix transactions in a bank account or credit card account, refer to this guide: Reconcile previously deleted and re-entered checking or credit card transactions.

I'll be around if you still have questions or other concerns about checks in QuickBooks Online. Take care and enjoy your day.

I have uncleared checks from prior years.

An off-cycle recon will not clear these with a net zero.

How do I remove old checks from prior years?

WATCH THIS VIDEO. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZc8LK7OYVk

Hi!  I just tried these directions for getting rid of some uncleared 2021 and 2022 transactions, both deposits and checks and payments.

It says the difference should be $0 but it isn't.  What am I doing wrong?

We're thrilled to see you here on our Community forum, Spencer. We're eager to lend a hand with getting your QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) transactions sorted out.

When starting reconciliation and selecting an account, you may notice that the beginning balance is either incorrect or zero. This can happen for several reasons, such as the account not being set up with a balance or with the correct balance, previously cleared and reconciled transactions being deleted, voided, or modified, conversion of the file from a different version of QuickBooks, or due to possible data damage.

To address your concern, let's run reports to identify any transactions that may be causing issues. You can choose either Reconcile Discrepancies, Audit Trail, or Previous Reconciliation. Then, compare this report to past statements from your financial institution.

Once done, you can undo a previous reconciliation and redo it or ignore the discrepancy and let QuickBooks enter an offsetting adjustment to correct the discrepancy. Here's how:

1. Back up your QuickBooks company file.
2. Go to Banking, and then Reconcile.
3. Select Undo Last Reconciliation or Enter Adjustment.
4. When prompted, select Continue and then OK.
5. Close out of reconcile and open it again.

For more detailed processes and information, check out this article: Fix beginning balance issues in QuickBooks Desktop.

You can also visit these articles to help you manage bank transactions within QuickBooks moving forward: 

• Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Desktop
• Fix issues while reconciling accounts in QuickBooks Desktop
• Add and match Bank Feed transactions in QuickBooks Desktop

We're delighted to offer our help whenever you require any QuickBooks-related assistance, Spencer. You can always rely on the Community for help, so don't hesitate to let us know by leaving a comment below or posting again in the Community. Have a nice day ahead! 

Hi!  I just tried these directions for getting rid of some uncleared 2021 and 2022 transactions, both deposits and checks and payments.

It says the difference should be $0 but it isn't.  What am I doing wrong?

Thank you for taking the time to replicate the directions provided to clear your deposits and checks from 2021 and 2022, Spencer. I'm joining the thread today to correct your bank balances and reconciliations.

Doing a mini-reconciliation should help clear your past entries. Since you're still seeing a difference in the amount, please ensure that your account's opening and beginning balances are correct as this could influence this behavior.

If everything is alright, you may have to ask assistance from our QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) Support to review your data. From there, a live representative can safely look over your account and identify any potential causes for the discrepancy not to be $0. To start:

1. Open your QBDT file.
2. Tap on QuickBooks Desktop Help/Contact Us from the Help menu.
3. Click on Contact Us.
4. Enter a short description of your issue, then select Continue.
5. Choose a way to connect with support.

For your convenience, you can connect with them during their business hours.

On the other hand, I'm adding this material for more tips on what to do if your accounts don't match your bank statements at the end of reconciliation: Fix issues when you're reconciling in QuickBooks Desktop.

Please let me know if you have any other inquiries concerning your accounts or financial transactions by leaving a comment below. I can assist you again in just a few clicks. Have a great day!

@Spencer Lake RV Park 

There must be transactions that you cleared or that are not in QB.  If you have old transactions that have never cleared, then you will need to reverse them in 2023.  If it's a check/payment, create a deposit and assign the deposit to the same account as the old check/payment.  If it's a deposit, create a check and assign the check to the same account as the old deposit.

Is your beginning balance accurate?

Is your ending balance accurate?

Is your deposit total accurate?

Is your check/payment total accurate?

If any of those do not match your bank statement, your reconciliation won't balance.  If they all match your bank statement, then it must balance.