Reconciliation

We need to reconcile your past transactions first to successfully reconcile your recent transactions for the year 2025 in QuickBooks Online (QBO), as this will cause a discrepancy, brutewolf. I'll continue discussing this below.

If you're reconciling an account for the first time, we need to review the opening balance, as it needs to match the balance of your actual bank or credit card account on the day you began tracking transactions in QuickBooks.

Before we begin reconciling your account, ensure you match and categorize all of your downloaded transactions before we continue. Refer to this article for more detailed steps how: Categorize and match online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online.

Once you have your monthly account statement, we can start reconciling. Here's how:

1. Go to Transactions and select Reconcile.
2. If it's your first time, click Get Started.
3. From the Account dropdown, choose the account to reconcile (ensure it matches your statement).
4. If prompted about a past reconciliation error, follow the provided instructions to fix it.
5. Check that the Beginning balance in QuickBooks matches your statement.
6. Enter the Ending balance and Ending date from your statement.
7. If not connected to online banking, add any service charges or interest.
8. Review the Last statement ending date, your current statement starts the next day.
9. Click Start reconciling to begin.
10. Compare each transaction on your statement to those in QuickBooks.
11. Ensure the difference is $0.00, then select Finish now.
    
    

Check out this article for more information about the reconciliation workflow in QBO.

After each reconciliation, QBO automatically creates a report. This report is helpful if you have issues reconciling the following month, refer to this article: How do I view, print, or export a reconciliation report?

Additionally, you can maximize the efficiency of your financial processes by collaborating with our QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted team. They're veterans in the field, known for smoothing out financial operations and offering insights tailored to your business. One-click connects you to a more prosperous financial path.

If you need additional assistance or have any questions about managing your transactions in QBO, feel free to click the reply button. I'm always here to help.

@brutewolf 

To reconcile properly, you need to do it chronologically.  When you reconcile, you need to know the ending balance of the prior period (through 12-31-24) because that serves as the beginning balance for the current period (1-1-25 to 4-30-25) you are reconciling.  Therefore, you need to reconcile through 12-31-24 to establish your 1-1-25 beginning balance.

I appreciate the help, but the file literally goes back to 2005. I’ve inherited twenty years of data. Even starting in 2019 is impossible, as there are tens of thousands of transactions. All I really need to do is start January 1 of this year with the reconciled balance that my accountant and I have agreed on. How can I reconcile 2025 alone? I don’t want to break it into a new file, as I need the year-over-year data. 

@brutewolf 

"How can I reconcile 2025 alone?"

You can't without first reconciling 2005-2024.  It's not as bad as it seems.  

This is how I would do it (someone smarter than me may know a better way):

When you go to reconcile, enter 12-31-24 as the statement ending date and the 1-1-25 starting balance that you and your accountant have agreed upon as your statement ending balance.  Check the round box at the top right of the transaction to select them all.  Make sure the filter for 'Statement ending date' is being applied so you don't have any 2025 transactions listed. 

Then, organize the transactions by newest to oldest date.  Then, uncheck the late 2024 transactions you know cleared in 2025 and any 2024 transactions that haven't cleared.  Once you're comfortable that you have unchecked all transactions that cleared in 2025 or haven't cleared at all, what's the difference?  If it's negative, create a deposit in that amount and assign 'Reconciliation Discrepancies' (Other Expense) to the deposit.  If the difference is positive, create a check and assign 'Reconciliation Discrepancies' (Other Expense) to the deposit. 

Then go back to the reconciliation screen and clear the deposit/check.  The difference should now be $0, the starting balance for your 2025 reconciliation should match the balance you and your accountant agreed to, and the difference has been booked to 'Reconciliation Discrepancies'.  Normally, it's not a great idea to use Reconciliation Discrepancies but since your accountant is aware of the situation, it works.     

Thank you! I’m running a business, and the days are so long it will be a few days before I can get to this. Does anyone else agree/disagree with this, or have another workflow?

Thank you! I run a business and won’t have time to try this for a few days. In the meantime, I’m certainly open to any other critique someone may have on my predicament. Thanks.

Apologies for duplicate post…new to this forum.