Reconciliation

Correcting the beginning balance is easy, @simtreasurer86. I'm here with the steps to help you fix it. 

Before we begin, I'd like to share with you some reason that causes the beginning balance issue. Please refer to the following:

• The opening balance is entered incorrectly when upon creating the account in QuickBooks.
• There are transactions added that are older than the opening balance and didn't edit the original opening balance entry to reflect the change.
• A reconciled transaction has been edited, deleted, moved, or unreconciled which changes the ending balance of your last reconciliation and impacts the beginning balance of the next one.
• Some transactions are reconciled manually, so it didn't show up on the next reconciliation.

We have several steps to resolve this. Let's start with reviewing the original opening balance. This is the starting point for your account. If you see that it's incorrect it will affect all following reconciliations. 

Once done, check now your bank statement and make sure that you're reconciling the correct account. Here's how:

1. Sign in to your QuickBooks Online (QBO) account.
2. Then, go to the Bookkeeping or Accounting menu.
3. Next, select Reconcile.
4. From there, review the account you selected in the Account dropdown menu.

After that, check also the For Review tab (if your account is connected to online banking) and make sure to match and categorize all of your downloaded transactions to get the correct beginning balance. 

When finished and confirmed that everything is correct and still getting an incorrect balance, I now suggest pulling up and reviewing any discrepancy reports. I'll guide you on how:

1. From the reconciliation page, click the We can help you fix it link to open a discrepancy report.
2. Check the discrepancy report. Use it to decide if and how to make changes.
3. Before editing anything, talk with whoever made the changes - they may be intentional.

You can visit this article for the detailed steps on how you can make changes to correct the data: Fix issues for accounts you've reconciled in the past in QuickBooks Online.

Once everything is fine, you're now ready to reconcile your account. 

QBO also generates a report for that session automatically. You can use this data as a reference for your future reconciliation. 

I'd love to hear how this goes. Please add a reply below for any updates or additional questions about fixing your beginning balance. I'm more than happy to assist you further. Have a great day and take care.

There's only two items listed on discrepancy report which does not equal to the difference.

I can see how this issue has taken on hold in trying to keep your books in order, simtreasurer86.

Let me point you in the right direction on how to properly manage the difference in your account. 

As mentioned by @DivinaMercy_N, you’ll have to first talk to whoever made the changes as they may be intentional. If you’re unsure of what to do with the items listed on the discrepancy report, I recommend consulting your accountant for additional guidance. They can suggest how to handle the situation and make sure the changes will not throw off your records.

Once you have all the information handy, let’s continue performing the reconciliation process. When you encounter beginning and ending balance issues, utilize these resources to guide you on how to resolve them.

• Fix issues the first time you reconcile an account 
• Fix issues at the end of a reconciliation

For other banking-related activities, feel free to browse our online articles. From there, you’ll see topics on how to resolve online banking errors, and managing downloaded entries, to name a few.

This information will help you move forward today, simtreasurer86.

Let me know how it goes after following the recommendation from your accountant. I want to make sure you’ll all set with your concern, and help you the best that I can.