Fix issues for accounts you've reconciled in the past in QuickBooks Online

by Intuit •

1012 •

Updated 8/5/2026 02:34

If your beginning balance doesn't match your bank statement, QuickBooks Online can help you find and fix what changed. Run the Reconcile Discrepancy Report to see each change, how it affected your balance, and a suggested fix.

Each time you start reconciling an account, you review the beginning balance. It's the amount in the account at the start of the period you're reviewing. Think of it as a checkpoint - it should match the ending balance of your last reconciliation. If it doesn't, a transaction you already reconciled has probably changed.

What causes beginning balance issues?

Your beginning balance changes when something alters a transaction from a past reconciliation. Common causes:

You entered an incorrect opening balance when you created the account in QuickBooks.
You edited, deleted, voided, moved, or unreconciled a transaction that was already reconciled. This changes the ending balance of your last reconciliation, which sets the beginning balance of the next one.
You undid a categorized bank feed transaction, sending it back to pending.
You manually reconciled a transaction dated before the ending date of your last reconciliation, adding it to your beginning balance outside of a reconciliation.

Before you make changes

The report shows what we detected and suggests a way to fix it. Keep these in mind before you correct anything:

Only fix a change if it was made in error. Some changes may have been intentional.
Check the audit log first. It has the full history of what changed, when, and by whom.
If you're not sure, or the fix affects a reconciled period or your opening balance, check with your accountant.

Prerequisites

Your bank statements for the account and date range you want to reconcile.
Admin access to view and edit reconciliations in QuickBooks Online.
Awareness of recent changes to transactions, such as edits, deletions, or manual reconciliations.

Find the issues

Gather your bank statements for the account and date range you want to reconcile.
Go to All apps, then select Accounting, then Bank transactions.
Make sure all transactions from that period have been matched, categorized, posted, or excluded.
Go to All apps, then select Accounting, then Reconcile.
Select the account you want to reconcile from the Which account do you want to reconcile? dropdown.
If the beginning balance doesn't match the ending balance of your last statement, you'll see an alert: "Your account isn't ready to reconcile yet. Your beginning balance is off by..."
Select the link in the alert to open the Reconcile Discrepancy Report.

Fix the issues

Review each transaction in the report one at a time.

Check the What happened column to see what changed, when, and who changed it.
Select Review in tray to review the details. To check the audit log, select the dropdown next to Review in tray, then View History.
The tray shows a suggested fix, prefilled when applicable. Follow it, or make your own correction based on your records.

Keep in mind:

The suggested fix applies if the change was made in error. If it was intentional, another approach might be better — review your records and the audit log to decide.
If a fix tells you to reconcile an individual transaction, you have two options. Mark it as R (reconciled) in the account register, or reconcile the account again with the same ending date and ending balance as your last reconciliation. Both fix the beginning balance, but only reconciling again records the change on a reconciliation report.

Result

After you resolve everything on the report, the Total discrepancy difference should be $0.00. Your beginning balance now matches your bank statement, and you can start your reconciliation.

Next steps

Start reconciling. If you see issues in the middle of a reconciliation, review the guide for fixing issues while you reconcile.
Still have questions? Connect with your accountant. They can help you get back on track.

You can also get a QuickBooks-certified bookkeeper to categorize transactions and reconcile your bank statements every month. Learn more about Intuit Experts Bookkeeping.