Balance Sheet Does Not Balance in Cash Basis

Help has arrived, @llz1. I'm very eager to share some workarounds and information on how to resolve a balance sheet out of balance in accrual basis in QuickBooks Desktop.

You’ll have to identify and repair transactions that do not have accounts assigned and run the following report.

Please be guided by the steps below:

1. Run the Custom Transaction Detail report (Reports > Custom Reports > Transaction Detail)
2. Set the Dates to All.
3. Set the Basis to Cash.
4. Set Total by to Account List.
5. Add the Item column.
6. Select OK.
   
   

From there, scroll to the bottom of the report. If the last group of transactions has the heading No account and the Account column is blank, then these transaction targets have no accounts assigned to them.

Here’s how to fix it:

1. Open the Edit Item window for the Item.
2. Change the Account and select OK.
3. Reopen the Edit Item window.
4. Change the Account back to the original account and choose OK.
5. Repeat Steps 1 - 4 for each transaction on the above report that does not have an account.
   
   

Please know that we have an updated article with the troubleshooting steps for balance sheets that are out of balance.

In addition, I've got this helpful resource to guide you further on how to fix balance sheet issues.

You can always reply or reach out to us again if you need anything else with your transactions in QBDT. We're always here to guide and assist whenever you need help. Have a good one!

Resolve a Balance Sheet out of balance in cash basis was my issue. You gave me in accrual basis advice. But I played with what you gave me in cash basis and found a lead to assist me.

You sound shocked. Sadly QuickBooks customer support is useless. 

I am struggling with the same issue. Will share if the solution is found. 

Same broken links in offered solutions and useless operators without proper training as the main source of  "support". Oh, but I noticed software prices went up. Ugh!

Please address why the Quickbooks link for a solution within the software is broken and not being addressed? 

NObody needs workarounds. We need a solution to an exact problem we all are having. See attached. 

Hello there, zumboots.

I can help you figure this out and fix the issue.

You'll want to find the date when your balance sheet went out of balance. I'll show you how to locate the transactions causing the problem and find the date when this report is out of balance.

Here's how:

1. From the Reports menu, select Company & Financials, then Balance Sheet Summary.
2. Select Customize.
3. On the Display tab, select All from the Dates ▼ drop-down.
4. Go to the Report Basis section and select Cash.
5. In the Columns section, from the Display columns by ▼ drop-down, select Year.
6. Select OK.
7. Compare your Total Assets to Total Liabilities & Equity. Find when your balance sheet goes out of balance.

Once you've found the year, follow the same steps down the exact date.

1. Repeat steps 1 through 6 above. This time, from the Display columns by ▼ dropdown, select Month.
2. After you find the month, follow steps 1 through 6 again. Now, select Week.
3. And finally, once you find the week, repeat the steps again. This time, select Day.
4. Now that you have the date your report went out of balance, continue to step 3.

Here's an article you can refer for the proceeding steps: Fix a Balance Sheet that's out of balance.

I'm also adding these resources you can check for an additional guide on your future tasks in QBDT:

• Understand reports.
• Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop.

Feel free to get back to me with any additional info about the issue, @zumboots. I've got your back.

This is not normal and for what we pay to intuit to run the software, this should not be happening. What is the reason/bug that is causing this? When does Intuit intend to issue an update to correct this software error? 

I already had to deal with this more than once and Intuit has no right to keep sending people for workarounds while charging an arm and a leg for software that is supposed to balance the balance sheet. 

I agree with you about lack of a fix only work arounds which I have to manipulate. I do not do their monthly subscription software, yet. It is too expensive so I am on a desktop version. My data had six dates where it went whacky. I followed the sequence each time starting with the oldest one and finally got the balance sheet to balance.

Sadly, with 2022 versions and up you will no longer have an option. They are all 250/ year starting price. 

I am actively looking for alternatives. ven if I have to move online, Intuit is the last place I will give business to. 

I do not mind paying the fees, but Intuit customer service is just not up to par with fees . For new customers, who do not know how it use to be, it might be tolerable. For us, older ones ( 15+ years) we had excellent payroll customer care, excellent credit processing care and I never needed to deal with Quickbooks software glitches in those 15 years. It simply worked. 

Now, you call, get an operator type person, who has no clue about the most basic of basics. they are only trained to take your name down, apologize, give you a case number and I am not what after that....because wither nobody follows up on those cases, or they follow up 3-4 months later.

I moved my credit card processing out of Intuit. payroll almost. had the least amount of problems with accounting software itself, but now here we are with a bunch of workarounds and no solutions. 

Absolutely terrible lack of customer care....but Intuit has a stadium name now. I guess we see where the priorities are. 

I am having the same problem, the solution provided was for an accrual basis balance sheet.  I need to know how to fix my CASH Basis balance sheet that is out of balance.

Hi there, jlwebercpa. I've got the steps to fix your Cash Basis Balance Sheet.

To start, let's determine if the issue is caused by the reporting period. I'll show you how:

1. Go to the Reports menu and then select Company & Financials. 
2. Choose Balance Sheet Summary.
3. Select Customize Report.
4. On the Display tab, select All on the Dates drop-down menu.
5. Go to the Report Basis section and then select Cash.
6. In the Columns section, select Year from the Display columns by drop-down menu.
7. Click OK.
8. Compare your Total Assets to Total Liabilities & Equity. Find when your balance sheet goes out of balance.

Once you find the year, follow the same steps to narrow down the exact date.

1. Repeat steps 1 through 6 above. This time, from the Display columns by ▼ drop-down menu, select Month.
2. After you find the month, follow steps 1 through 6 again. Now, select Week.
3. And finally, once you find the week, repeat the steps. This time, select Day.

After having the dates of the report, let's find the transactions that are making your balance sheet out of balance. Here's how:

1. From the Reports menu, select Custom Report and then Transaction Detail.
2. On the Modify Report window, look for the Report Date Range section. Enter the date the report went out of balance in the From and To fields.
3. Go to the Report Basis section, then select Cash.
4. In the Columns section, uncheck Account, Split, Clr, and Class.
5. I'd suggest selecting the Amount. This will make the report easier to read. Then, choose the Paid Amount column.
6. Select OK.

The ending balance in the Paid Amount column should equal the amount that is out of balance. Look through the report to find the transaction or transactions that add up to this value.

If you can't locate the transactions, I'd recommend following the steps in this article: Advanced Troubleshooting for Balance Sheets out of Balance.

After locating them, please see Step 4 on this article to resolve the balance: Fix a Balance Sheet that's Out of Balance.

Additionally, I've added these articles that'll help you personalize and memorize your financial reports. This way, you can easily access them in the future:

• Customize Reports in QuickBooks Desktop
• Create, Access, and Modify Memorized Reports

Please let me know if you have other questions about managing reports in QuickBooks Desktop. It's my pleasure to help you put. Keep safe always!

My balance sheet says it is out of balance, and has for a long time. The only balance sheet in balance is from the first year of the organization year ending 12.31.2017.   My accountant looked at my QB and said the balance sheet is not out of balance and that it is a QB problem.  I have worked through many tutorials.  When I run a Balance Sheet Summary report it is in balance.  As soon as I try to run any other balance sheet report it is out of balance...not bringing in prior year's retained earnings and just showing liabilities and current year assets. I am running QB Desktop Pro 2020 with  the payroll service and it is up-to-date. I run another company in this version and that balance sheet is fine. Thank you. Susan

Hello there, @Susan.

Let's view your Retained Earnings account details and then check some specific forms of data damage with your Balance Sheet in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT). This way, you can identify what's causing the said report to be out of balance so you can keep your financial data updated.

Your Retained Earnings account shows the total of your company's income and expenses from all previous years. However, you're unable to simply select it from the Balance Sheet to view details. You'll have to run your previous year's Profit and Loss report to see what makes up the account. To do this, here's how:

1. Go to the Reports menu.
2. Select Company & Financial, then Profit & Loss Detail (or the Profit & Loss Prev Year Comparison).
3. Set the report's from and to dates.
4. Click the Refresh button.
5. Double-click the Retained Earnings account's amount to open its details.

Once no transactions are causing the Balance Sheet to be out of balance, you may have some data damage that the usual data damage troubleshooting is unable to fix. Before going through the steps below, make sure you have created a backup of your company file for future use.

When your Balance Sheet Summary has the same basis and date range as your other Balance Sheet reports, you may have a damaged account. To resolve this, you need to identify the damaged account and merge it into a new one. Here's how:

1. Compare your Balance Sheet reports. Find the account/s having two different amounts.
2. Merge the damaged account into a new account. Please note that you can only merge accounts that are the same type.
3. Go to the Lists menu, then select Chart of Accounts.
4. Right-click on the damaged account, then select Edit Account.
5. Add an asterisk (*) to the name of the account and then select Save & Close.
6. Right-click anywhere, then choose New. Recreate the original account with its original name. Select Save & Close.
7. Right-click on the original account, then select Edit Account.
8. Remove the asterisk (*) from the name.
9. Select Yes to confirm that you want to merge the two accounts.

Feel free to read this article for more details: Advanced troubleshooting for balance sheets out of balance.

Once everything is all set, you may also want to check out one of our Help pages as your reference to guide you in creating and managing reports in QBDT: Reports help for QuickBooks Desktop. It includes running financial reports (balance sheets and profit and loss) and customizing them, to name a few.

Please keep me posted on how it goes in the comments below. If you have other reporting concerns or questions about managing expense and income transactions in QBDT, I'm always ready to help. Take care, and I wish you continued success, @Susan.

Thank you! I worked through the options and when I got to the last one to recreate a new equity account and went to merge them they couldn’t merge because there were sub accounts. I edited the subs and magically the balance sheet balanced…the subs were the problem.   I don’t know why I thought it was a good idea to make subfunds, but clearly that was not a good move. Thanks for your help. 

Thank you! I worked through the options and when I got to the last one to recreate a new equity account and went to merge them they couldn’t merge because there were sub accounts. I edited the subs and magically the balance sheet balanced…the subs were the problem.   I don’t know why I thought it was a good idea to make subfunds, but clearly that was not a good move. Thanks for your help.