Parent Bank Account and Sub Accounts - The Balances Do Not Match Explanation and Resolution????

Oh god. Just as I figured. I was really hoping there was another reason. This account is 9 years old and I don't think it was ever balanced correctly.

Thank you!

Is there an easy to search a parent account for all transactions that were entered directly from that account instead of a sub-account?

For example, I have this problem with my "PayPal (Parent)" and "PayPal Operations" sub-account.  I know I screwed up and entered transactions directly into the parent account at some point, but now it's not easy to tell by scrolling through the register where I might have done that.  I have to click into the details of a check entry and look at the Bank Account that was used.

Is there a do a Find for all transactions in the PayPal (Parent) account that used a "Bank Account" of "PayPal (Parent)"?  I see how I can do a find in the PayPal (Parent) account, but I don't see a way to set a specific Bank Account value to search by.

Any information on this or another method would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

Of course, I posted before I actually tried it like a dummy.  When I do a Find in the Parent account for something generic that basically brings up everything, I can then see the Account column in the results and I can quickly scroll through to find all the transactions that used the parent account instead of a sub-account.  I was able to find them and fix them, and now I'm all balanced.  

Can you tell me what you mean find you did a find in the parent account?

I am having the same problem.  I have a parent account with many sub accounts.  All of the expenses should be in a sub account.  I have randomly noticed several that were coded to the parent account.  However, I can't find any way to isolate the charges in the parent account, or even any way to go through the parent and subs and find those that are coded to the parent.

I have gone into the chart of account and viewed the register but can not get it to show the account.  I would have to open each transaction individually to find out and I have hundreds and hundreds of transactions.

Any help would be appreciated.

...meant , when you said did a find in the parent account.

1.  Go to Edit -> Find.

2.  Select the Parent account you are trying to get fixed from the Account drop down, and click the Find button.  This will bring up a list of all the transactions.

3.  In the list, the Account column will show you exactly which account (parent or sub) the transaction was entered into.  You can scroll down the list to quickly find transactions that were entered directly to the parent instead of a sub.

I know the post is old but I did not see an answer... If you do a P&L and a master account has transactions in the master,  these show on the P&L  as if they were in a sub account called other.  (Master - Other).  You can then click on each of these transactions and zero in on the details and reassign the account for the transaction.  At least I think it works that way.

None of these solutions worked. After I rebuilt my data, it worked. Very strange.

What about when the Subaccounts do match the bank feed balance?  

Greetings, @CCain1. 

Thanks for chiming in on this thread. Let's work together to get your question answered. 

To be sure, would you mind giving me some more clarification on your question? Any additional information or screen shots will help be determine the best solution for your business. 

I'll be waiting for your response so we can get this taken care of today! 

The bank balance doesn’t not match QBO balances, even when parent account reconciled. This error appears to be in how the transactions are brought into QBO from bank.  I have been transferring between accounts to resolve monthly. I was told this is A QBO problem with sub accounts and parent accounts. I want to confirm there is no solution. It won’t let me post pic 

Hi there, Candice. I'm here to help you get the correct balance between your bank and QuickBooks Online (QBO).

The following factors may affect the issue of the unmatched balance between your bank statement and QBO:

• Outstanding transactions
• New transactions for a connected account
• Duplicate transactions
• Edited or deleted transactions
• Credit card (liability) account

To isolate the issue, please make sure to review your account's opening balance. If it’s incorrect, it affects your balances and all following reconciliations. Moreover, you need to match and categorize all of your downloaded transactions before doing reconciliation. 

You can also check out the troubleshooting steps from this article for an additional guide: Fix issues for accounts you've reconciled in the past in QuickBooks Online.

On the other hand, you can try posting a picture or adding an attachment through a private window. Stored cache on the regular browser you're using may affect the issue of why you can post a picture together with your post.

To save you time, use either of these keyboard shortcuts:

• Google Chrome: Ctrl + Shift + N
• Safari 11 or newer: ⌘ + Shift + N
• Mozilla Firefox: Ctrl + Shift + P
• Microsoft Edge: Ctrl + Shift + P

If it works fine, go back to your original browser and clear its cache to start fresh. You can also use another supported and up-to-date browser to narrow down the result.

For more tips while handling your QuickBooks and banking transactions in the future, you can open the topics from this link: Find help with bank feeds and reconciling accounts.

If there's anything else you need help with regarding your balances, let me know by adding a comment below. I'm more than happy to provide additional assistance. Wishing you a good one!

This is not the case.  I can have the accounts 100% reconciled to statement balances to date, no duplicates, correct reconciliation and the bank feed does not match.  I was told by QBO Support that it was a Quickbooks glitch between Parent and Subaccounts.  Sorry but this answer doesn't resolve.  

Let's get your transactions to be up-to-date to balance your books, CCain1.

To start, I'd like to clarify the account linked to QuickBooks Online. This way, I can further check in our system any related issues about it. The troubleshooting steps shared by my colleague should resolve the balance issues within your account. 

Looks like the same thing happened after performing it. I'd still suggest reaching out to our Phone Support Team so they look into the root cause of the issue and resolve it with you in no time. You'll first have to check out our support hours to ensure we can assist you directly.

1. Go to the Help menu.
2. Choose Contact Us. 
3. Enter your specific concern in the What can we help you with? field. 
4. Click Let's talk. 
5. Select Get a callback or Start a chat. 
6. Enter your contact details. 

You can also clarify to them the investigation or case number about the issue of incorrect balances posted in QuickBooks.

I've added a link that will route you to a list of bank-related articles: Help articles about bank feeds and reconciling accounts.

You can update me on how it goes by leaving a comment below. If you have other reconciliation or banking concerns in QBO, I'm just around to help. Take care always.

This happened again 7 months later. File | Utilities | Rebuild Data worked again. This time my parent account balance was greater than the subaccounts by $4,500. The parent account showed a $4,500 balance.

Hello there, @bobonight.

I appreciate you for performing some troubleshooting steps to view the account balance appropriately in QuickBooks Desktop.

We can review each account (the parent account and the sub-account) on your Chart of Accounts (COA). This is to determine if some recorded or unrecorded transactions affect the balance.

It could be that we've recorded some transactions directly to the parent account and other transactions too to the sub-account. If this happens, the balance may generate differently.

Here's how to pull up a report:

1. Go to the Lists menu.
2. Select Chart of Accounts.
3. Locate the parent account in the account lists.
4. Then, right-click on the parent account. Select QuickReport.
5. Review the information entered in each account.
   

If you want to learn more about managing QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) reports, you can use these articles:

• Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop.
• Create, access, and modify memorized reports.

You can always go back  here if you have other concerns. The Community is always here to help in trying to figure them out, bobonight. Stay safe and be well.

I have a parent amex account with 2 different card number users. They are connected in QB online. But only the parent acct transactions get imported. How can I make the other subaccount transactions get imported as well? Can you please help?

I'll share some insights on how QuickBooks handles your bank transactions, @marusha3.

QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) depends on the information that your bank provides. I recommend contacting your Amex bank and verify them how they send your transactions.

If the transactions are downloaded to one account, you'll only need to connect the parent account. If they are downloaded to individual accounts, then you'll need to connect only the subaccounts.

Connecting both the parent and its subaccounts isn't possible in QBDT. This is to avoid any duplicate entries to your account and to ensure the accuracy of your books. You can utilize this article for more details about this. Though it's for QuickBooks Online (QBO), the information provided also applies to QBDT: About bank or credit card subaccount setup.

Furthermore, I'm adding these resources that can help you in managing your transactions seamlessly:

• Add and match Bank Feed transactions in QuickBooks Desktop
• Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Desktop

I'll be around if you need more help with your bank accounts. You can also add to your response if you have any other QuickBooks-related concerns. Stay safe and have a great weekend!

Is undoing previous reconciliations the only way to fix the problem? I have a corporate credit card with multiple cards, so a parent credit card account with sub accounts. When we paid our bill, I just entered the payment as a lump sum in the parent account, but now the sub accounts never zero out.

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

I'm here to assist you in balancing the parent account and subaccount you have in our QuickBooks Online.

The subaccount won't zero out because you made the lump sum payment from the parent account. You need to transfer the transaction to the subaccount. I'll go over each step with you.

Here's how:

1. Select Transactions under Bookkeeping, then Expenses.
2. Choose the account from which you want to send the money.
3. Click the transaction, then hit the radio button that says Pay down the credit card.
4. Pick the account you wish to transfer the transaction to from the Drop-down ▼ menu for Transfer Account.
5. Select Confirm.

For more details about transferring transactions to the subaccounts, you can also look up how to log credit card payments.

Once done, you need to match the transaction with the new account.

You can tag my name in the comment section below if you have other concerns or questions about bank accounts. I'm always ready to help.

Thank you for your help. Is there a feature like that in Quickbooks Desktop as well?

Good evening, @arnold 9. 

Thanks for reaching back out and asking more questions. 

Yes, you can do this action in your QuickBooks Desktop account. All you need to do is go to the Banking menu at the top of the screen, and then select Transfer Funds. It's that easy. 

For more details, check out this guide that can help you in the future. 

Let me know if this helps you out. I'm only a post away if you need me. Have a wonderful day! 

Why are parent accounts appearing alongside the GLs in the trial balance