Reconciling

Thanks for joining the Community, racso.

I'm here to share some insights about the reconciliation process and online banking feature in QuickBooks Desktop.

Bank Feeds is the online banking feature in QuickBooks Desktop that allows you to connect your financial institution to download transactions and use other online services. Check this article for more details: Get started with Bank Feeds for QuickBooks Desktop.

If you're using Direct Connect, QuickBooks Desktop will send information to your financial institution and download data directly from it. However, you'll have to manually reconcile your bank accounts since it won't automatically reconcile them.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Banking menu and choose Reconcile.
2. In the Account field, select the bank or credit card account you want to reconcile.
3. Change the Statement Date as needed.
4. The Beginning Balance is automatically filled in. Make sure it is the same as the opening balance shown on your statement.
5. In the Ending Balance field, enter the corresponding balance from your statement.
6. If the financial statement shows a service charge or interest that you haven't yet entered into your QuickBooks records, enter those amounts into the Service Charge and Interest Earned section.
7. Click Locate Discrepancies to see available reports that will help you track discrepancies and other reconciliation issues. You will also be given the option to Undo and Restart Reconciliation on the Locate Discrepancies window.
8. If all information is correct, click Continue to proceed to the Reconcile window.

The screenshot below shows these steps as well.

Here's a relevant article about reconciliation: Reconcile bank and credit card accounts.

That's it. Please come back to the Community if there's anything else I can do for you. I'm always glad to help.

You reconcile as verification. It isn't just you that makes mistakes.

Getting the data from the download is not Your Spending date. It carries the date the bank processed it. For instance, if you pay me by check in Dec 2018, and I take it to the bank in Jan 2019, you just got that expense in the wrong tax year for your own records.

Also, the bank feeds will bring in details that might not be yours. In one file I manage, Bank of America made a mistake 3 months in a row, and sent as a deposit nearly $2,500. Three Times. That was followed in 3-4 days with an email to "DuPage County, IL, here is your Payment." I am not in IL and the customers typically pay $60 a month.

And I had a client whose bank took a Closing Charge for paying off a loan early, and he did not reconcile until 4-5 months later, and discovered they charged $3,500 and were not entitled to it.

It's easier to deal with errors in a timely manner.

Do you check the correct additions and subtractions in the bank account before reconciling?