Reconciliation beg balance too high - register is correct and matches bank statement. It is not a matter of a wrong opening balance. How to fix?

I can see the importance of maintaining seamless reconciliation after transitioning from QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT), @savdakov. Let’s work together to resolve the issue with your reconciliation beginning balance to ensure accurate records in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

The beginning balance is the amount in the account at the start of the period you're reviewing. If there's an issue with this balance, it often indicates changes to your cleared transactions since your last reconciliation. Common reasons for an incorrect beginning balance include:

• Entered an incorrect opening balance.
• Adding older transactions without updating the original opening balance to reflect the change.
• A transaction was edited, deleted, moved, or unreconciled from an already reconciled transaction.
• Manually reconciling a transaction that did not appear in the next reconciliation.

To fix this, you'll first want to ensure that the opening balance is correct because an incorrect opening balance affects all subsequent reconciliations. 

Next, check and review your bank statement ensuring you're reconciling the correct account for the correct month:

1. Go to Transactions, then select Reconcile.
2. Select the account that you want to reconcile from the Account dropdown.
   

    

If your account is connected to online banking, ensure you've matched and categorized all downloaded transactions before you start reconciling. Everything must be categorized to get the correct final beginning balance.

If changes affect your beginning balance, you'll get the message We can help you fix it before you start reconciling. Select the link to open your discrepancy report. Then, review the report to decide if and how to make necessary changes.

Depending on the situation, open this article and follow the step-by-step instructions to sort out the balance issue: Fix issues for accounts you've reconciled in the past in QuickBooks Online.

Once you know your beginning balance is correct, you can start reconciling. If you see issues in the middle of your reconciliation, you can check this article to know what you should review: Fix issues at the end of a reconciliation in QuickBooks Online.

Furthermore, let me add this article for future reference about the accurate reconciliation process in QuickBooks: Learn the reconcile workflow. This way, you're guided accordingly with this task.

Come back to the Community if you have further questions about fixing balances and reconciling in QBO. I'll be right here to help you out.

I have not done any reconciliation with QB Online.  I cannot, because the beginning balance that was brought in by your conversion is wrong.  The last reconciled month on the register matches the bank statement. 

I did not enter an opening balance on QB Online.  The last 10 years of transactions were brought over by your conversion, which randomly chose a beginning balance.  

I have not made any transactions to months that are already reconciled.  

As I stated, my ending balance matches the bank statement.  The only thing that does not match is your randomly-derived beginning balance  Therefore I cannot reconcile anything.

Thanks for detailing your reconciliation issue, Savdakov. Let me share some details of the cause of this issue and provide additional assistance to fix it.

When you set up a new account in QuickBooks Online (QBO), you'll have to specify a start date for tracking transactions and enter the balance of your actual account on that date. This starting balance is crucial as it establishes the opening balance for your records.

The discrepancy in the beginning balance is due to not entering an opening balance in QBO. To fix this, we'll create a journal entry to record it.

Here's how:

1. Go to the +New button.
2. Under Other, select Journal entry.
3. Enter a date before the oldest transaction in the account as the opening balance date.
4. In the Account column, use the drop-down menu to select the account for the opening balance.
5. Add a note in the Description field so you know what the journal entry is for.
6. On the second row of the Account column, click the drop-down arrow and choose Opening Balance Equity.
7. Use your bank statements to enter the balance of your real-life account on the date you picked as the opening balance. You'll have to enter both a debit and a credit to keep things accurate. Enter the debits and credits based on the type of account you entered on the first row.
8. Hit Save and close.

After that, reconcile the journal entry to prevent it from appearing in future reconciliations. I'll guide you on how.

1. Go to the Transactions menu and select Chart of Accounts.
2. Find the account and select View Register from the Action column.
3. Search for the journal entry you just created.
4. Select it to expand the view.
5. Tap the box in the Checkmark column until you see an R. This reconciles the journal entry.
6. Click Save.

Once done, your accounts will be balanced, allowing you to proceed with the usual reconciliation steps.

Additionally, you can check this article to learn what to do if QuickBooks doesn't match your bank statement at the end of a reconciliation: Fix issues at the end of a reconciliation in QuickBooks Online.

Furthermore, visit this link to help keep your financial records organized and accurate, manage your business, and meet compliance requirements: Categorize online bank transactions.

Let me know if you have other reconciliation concerns or questions about managing your accounts and transactions in QuickBooks. You can drop a comment below, and I'll gladly help.

First of all, there was no opportunity to enter a beginning balance in QBO.  This was a conversion from an older version of QB.  Second of all, the original beginning balance on this account was $0.  This account was established after I began using the older version of QB desktop.  I tried your procedure, doing a journal entry for $0, and it did nothing.  I repeat for the umpteenth time, the balance balance in QBO matches my bank statement. The problem is that your conversion made up a beginning balance that is $5,000 too high.  I cannot perform a reconciliation because the beginning balance is wrong.  I know many others have had this problem. Can't you provide a utility to allow the begining balance to be corrected?

Hi there, Savdakov.

When converting data from QuickBooks Dekstop (QBDT) to QuickBooks Online (QBO), there are information changes that can affect your books.

Consequently, when inactive items with outstanding balances such as accounts, customers, or vendors are transferred, they may become active and lead to changes. Therefore, it's best to check your items and transactions as this may be one of the reasons that affect your opening balance.

Henceforth, if you didn't find anything, let's check your View Register History to see if there isn't another opening balance that is open. You can follow the steps provided below to review it:

1. On the left panel, select Transactions and then choose Chart of Accounts.
2. Find the account, then click on View Register.
3. Check if there's another opening balance that is present. If there is and found that it's not familiar or needed, you can Delete it.

I'll be leaving you these references so that you can be guided regarding the things that I have discussed above:

• Learn how features and data move from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online.
• Fix issues for accounts you've reconciled in the past in QuickBooks Online.

Additionally, this information is valuable for reconciling transactions that occurred before you entered your opening balance in QBO: Reconcile transactions that are older than your opening balance in QuickBooks Online.

Return to this thread if you have additional questions about your beginning balance in QBO, Savdakov. The Community will be here to answer them 24/7.

I keep telling you, for at least the 7th or 8th time (both here and in failed chat sessions), that my bank balance in QB is correct and matches the bank statement.  I checked my unreconciled records, and there is nothing dated before the date of the last reconciliation.  Again, it is only the beginning balance showing in the reconciliation that is wrong.  Why can't you fix this?  It is clearly an error in your conversion software.  As it is, I cannot reconcile. Give me a utility or procedure (that actually works) to allow me to set the beginning balance in the reconciliation so that it matches what is in the bank register.  

We do not want you to have this experience, Savdakov.

I recognize the significance of ensuring the beginning balance aligns with the bank register. Since you have followed all the steps given by my colleagues above, I recommend contacting our support to guide you on how to fix your beginning balance. Follow these steps:

Sign in to your QuickBooks Online company.

1. Select Help (?).
2. Click Contact Us and choose a way to connect with us:
   •  
     •  Start a chat with a support expert.
     • Get a callback from the next available expert.

I also encourage you to read this article to learn how your data migrated from QBDT to QBO: Learn how features and data move from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online.

Moreover, let me share this article that can help reconcile your transactions: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.

Keep me posted if you still have questions about your reconciliation. Take care.

I'm having the same problem - did you ever find a fix? I haven't even tried support since they're clearly useless.

Thanks for chiming this thread, smo3. Ensuring that financial reports and reconciliations are accurate is important for maintaining trust and operational efficiency in QuickBooks Online (QBO). Let me share some information and guide you in fixing issues with your balances in QuickBooks.

The beginning balance in QuickBooks should match your bank statement for the same start day. Compare the opening balance of the account you are reconciling with your real bank account before making any changes. Then, you can follow these steps to fix or change it.

Here's how:

Step 1: Review the opening balance in QuickBooks

Step 2: Compare the opening balance with your real-life account

Step 3: Review your account register

For more detailed steps you can check out this article: Fix issues the first time you reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.

When done correcting the balance, use this resource to help you with the reconciliation process: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.

Your success is my priority, and I'm just a message away to assist you whenever you need further help with managing your reconciliation in QBO. Looking forward to supporting you.

@Eman_E  "Then, you can follow these steps to fix or change it.

Here's how:

Step 1: Review the opening balance in QuickBooks

Step 2: Compare the opening balance with your real-life account

Step 3: Review your account register"

You do realize that not a single one of these steps is a fix or a change.

Thanks for the reply, but this doesn't work when the opening balance in the Chart of Accounts is different than the Beginning Balance in reconciliation. In my case, changing the opening balance has no effect on the beginning balance under reconciliation. Seems like the OP had the same issue I'm having.

A competent software company would recognize this as a bug and fix it on the software side, but since this is Intuit I'm not holding my breath.  I thought of an idea for a workaround instead - I'll rename the offending account, create *another* new account pulling from the bank with the correct starting date and hope I'm able to change the opening balance on this one. Then I can delete all its transactions, and then merge the two with the new account being the surviving one. I haven't tried it yet but I think it will work, and I won't have to re-categorize two years of transactions when I'm done.

A thousand THANK YOUS!  There were random records showing "R" that had not actually been reconciled.  Once we removed the R's, the reconciliation beginning balance now matches the actual balance in QB and the Bank Statement.  

ANYONE THAT HAS REPORTED THIS PROBLEM - PLEASE TRY THIS!  

Thanks again!