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jluvs2ride
Level 1

Incorrect beginning balance for Checking account.

My books are all jacked up since October 2014. We started a small business with three initial deposits in that month. I had gone back to that month and cleared the transactions to start from there to go forward reconciling month by month. After clearing the transactions and starting the reconciliation it shows a starting balance of $190.95 when the starting balance should be zero. I have looked everywhere and I can't find a transaction or group of transactions that total this amount for October 2014 or prior. October 2014 is the very first statement for this account, so the starting balance should be zero for this account. Is there just some way to set the beginning balance for this account to zero?
6 Comments 6
IamjuViel
QuickBooks Team

Incorrect beginning balance for Checking account.

Hello, @jluvs2ride.

 

You can create a discrepancy report to help you fix your beginning balance.

 

Here's how:

  1. Go to the Gear icon.
  2. Select Reconcile.
  3. Tap the link in the beginning balance discrepancy alert and/or in case you don’t have this alert, look below the Ending date field for the Last statement ending date.
  4. Look at the change type for each transaction listed in the discrepancy report.


    If the transaction amount or account was changed:

  1. Go to the transaction and edit it.
  2. Save your changes.
  3. With every transaction you fix, the discrepancy difference at the upper right gets closer to $0.00.
  4. When it gets to $0.00, your beginning balance matches your statement.
  5. Select Resume reconciling.

Let me know if you have other questions. I'm always here to help.

jluvs2ride
Level 1

Incorrect beginning balance for Checking account.

I tried this, but I get a different number and it shows transactions from future dates.

I may not have described the problem adequately. This was a new account in Oct 2014. It should show a beginning/opening balance of zero, and then three initial deposits.  Instead it shows a beginning balance/opening balance of $190.95. This value needs to be set to zero and I cannot find a corresponding transaction or group of transactions that equal this amount.

My intent was to go back and uncheck transactions month by month and go forward reconciling each month and cleaning up month by month. October 2014 was the year/month this account was created. When I went back to reconcile, I can't because this beginning balance, that should be zeros.

jluvs2ride
Level 1

Incorrect beginning balance for Checking account.

I looked at that, but it shows a different amount and transactions with future dates. I'm not sure I explained the problem adequately. This is a checking account that was opened 10/2014. The opening balance was $00.00 and three deposits were made. I am trying to clean up this mess by re-reconciling every month going forward from the month the account was opened. The reconciliation process for 10/2014 (the month the account was opened) should show a zero beginning/opening balance and the three deposits, but instead it shows a beginning balance of 190.95 and I can't find a transaction for this amount anywhere near this time frame.
MichaelDL
QuickBooks Team

Incorrect beginning balance for Checking account.

Good afternoon, @jluvs2ride.

 

I'm here with some information that I'm sure you'll find helpful for getting this reconciliation issue resolved. The $190.95 balance displaying in your screenshot has to be the result of still-reconciled transactions remaining in the register, even if they're from a date far beyond 10/2014. Here's how you can track them down and verify that:

 

Finding Reconciled Transactions

  1. From the screen in your photo, click the Bank Register link at the top.
  2. In the Bank Register, open the filter menu and sort Reconciliation Status to only show Reconciled transactions. Click Apply.
  3. Any items with an under the Status ✓ column are considered reconciled and will contribute to that opening balance, regardless of their dates. Since you're starting fresh with this account's reconciliations, you can click on each R until it's blank, thus un-reconciling each item.

This information and more is also available from our awesome guide on un-reconciling in QBO. Now you can get that beginning balance to zero and start the reconciliation process without a moment's delay.

 

Please know you can reach me here anytime you need a hand with QuickBooks, I strive to be your number one resource for knowledge. Thanks for bringing us your question, let me know if this helps you get back to business.

jluvs2ride
Level 1

Incorrect beginning balance for Checking account.

I'm sorry, I'm not understanding any of this. I've attached a screenshot of the Bank register for the very first month. 10/2014 when this account was opened. You can see the three deposits for that month and the running balance is correct and doesn't start with a beginning balance of $190.95. It only shows the weird beginning balance when I try to reconcile for this month and there are no previous months for this account. I've looked at the discrepancy report, according to it I'm some $3,000.00 off but these are all future transactions. I just need to set the beginning balance for this account to zero.
jluvs2ride
Level 1

Incorrect beginning balance for Checking account.

Is your recommendation that I unreconciled every single transaction since October 2014?

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