Prior to QuickBooks online, all of my checking subaccounts would add up to the balance of the overall checking account in QB desktop. Why don't they equal now?

Good day, @tcr4ever39. I'd be glad to share insights about account balances in QuickBooks.

Once you create subaccounts, their total balances are added to the overall bank balance of the parent account. However, the totals of subaccounts don't equate to the complete balance of the parent account. This is because transactions posted within parent accounts are also added to their total balance. This can be the reason why you its total doesn't equate to the total balances of your subaccounts.

To check, I'd suggest opening the parent's account bank register and review each transaction. This will help us identify the possible cause of discrepancy in your account. Simply go to the Transactions menu and select Chart of accounts. Then, look for the parent account and click View register. 

Once done, you can make any necessary corrections to correct the total balance of your parent account. You can also reach out to your accountant to help review your books in QuickBooks.

I've also added this resource about managing default or special accounts in QuickBooks: Manage default and special accounts in your QuickBooks Online chart of accounts

Please let me know if you have additional queries about balances in your Chart of accounts in QuickBooks. I'm always here to help. Have a good one.

Hi ReymondO,

I am a bit confused as I used to be able to add up the balances of all of the subaccounts and their total would equal the overall total of the account. 

For example, I have a General Use Checking account that has a balance of 35,670.56 according to QB Online which is comprised of 3 subaccounts, which have balances of $0, $3,054.05 and $32,681.99 which total $35,736.04 which is $65.48 greater than the balance of the General Use Checking account balance. Unclear as to why these 3 accounts do not balance with the overall account balance.  I just completed my reconciliation with my February bank statement and it reconciled.   

Hi ReymondO,

I am a bit confused as I used to be able to add up the balances of all of the subaccounts and their total would equal the overall total of the account. 

For example, I have a General Use Checking account that has a balance of 35,670.56 according to QB Online which is comprised of 3 subaccounts, which have balances of $0, $3,054.05 and $32,681.99 which total $35,736.04 which is $65.48 greater than the balance of the General Use Checking account balance. Unclear as to why these 3 accounts do not balance with the overall account balance.  I just completed my reconciliation with my February bank statement and it reconciled.   

Hi AdonL,

I did as you suggested and found a transaction that was made against the General Use (mother account) when it should have been made against one of the subaccounts.  I changed the bank account that the transaction should have been made against within Edit and saved my changes. 

However, now when I go into reconcile my account, my beginning balance is off by the amount of the transaction which I changed. 

How do I fix this issue? 

Thanks for your help. 

I can help you resolve the issue with the discrepancy so you can get back on track, tcr4ever39.

Let's verify that the amount and date of the transaction you transferred from the main account to the subaccount are accurate.

Additionally, transferring an amount from the parent account to the sub-account affects the ending balance of your last reconciliation, which causes the discrepancy. This action will also undo the reconciled transactions.

To fix this, we can manually reconcile the transaction from the sub-account register. I'll guide you on how:

1. Go to the Settings menu on the left pane.
2. Proceed to the Chart of Accounts.
3. Locate the sub-account, click View register, and look for the transaction.
4. Under the Reconcile (✓) column, click the blank field continuously to mark the transactions as reconciled (R).
5. Hit Save and select Yes to confirm.

For additional information about how to complete the reconciliation process, please refer to this article.: Learn the reconcile workflow in QuickBooks.

In addition, you can check this link to provide valuable insights into the performance of your business: Run reports in QuickBooks Online.

You can always get back to this thread if you need further assistance with fixing a reconciliation or other issues. Please add them below. I'll be sure to help.