Balance Sheet Out of Balance -All of a Sudden!

Hello there, @Skikat9.

Balancing your QuickBooks Desktop's balance sheet is crucial for gaining meaningful insights into your company's financial status and making informed business decisions. By fixing an imbalanced balance sheet, you can eliminate discrepancies and ensure the accuracy of your financial records. Let me share some steps to help you resolve an unbalanced balance sheet. 

Before we proceed, we recommend creating a backup in case we need to edit transactions to resolve this.

1. Run the report in accrual basis. 
2. Find the date when your balance sheet went out of balance.
3. Find the transactions that are making your balance sheet out of balance. 
4. Re-date the transactions.
5. Delete and reenter the transactions.

If you need detailed instructions on the steps mentioned above, I suggest you refer to this article: Fix a Balance Sheet that's out of balance.

Furthermore, if the issue persists, I recommend verifying and rebuilding your data to resolve common concerns in your company file.

Moreover, asking for your accountant's help is highly recommended since balance sheet reports can be tricky. 

If you need to combine financial reports from multiple QBDT company files, this article provides guidance: Combine reports from multiple company files.

You're always welcome to visit us for further assistance in balancing your balance sheet. The Community space is here to help you.

This info didn't help out problem and neither did a call to the Help Center yesterday. We're still getting Balance Sheet errors on sign in. We have had Quickbooks for over 10 years with no problem so we're still not sure how this issue cropped up. We had to buy an additional license back the end of November and it seems the problems started about that time. Very coincidental. And also VERY BAD TIMING with year end coming and no resolution.

Did you ever find or get a solution?  I am experiencing the same issue and I have been on QB chat for over an hour to find a resolution.

We were able to resolve it. We did the Run Verify/Rebuild Data utility and then the Run Condense Data utility.

It made us really nervous but it worked out and we found a couple of postings errors we had to correct. 

We're all good now. Hope the same for you!

Thanks for the replay.  I have been on QB chat for over an hour.  I am freaking out with all the tasks he has me doing.  We have done all the steps you mentioned and still cannot get the balance sheet to run in a cash basis.

The fix is only as good as the QB person you have on the end of the line. I feel for you!

@kelper62 

Which QB Desktop year version?

Enterprise 24.0 Release R4P, desktop

Intuit QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions:  Contractor 24.0 RElease R6P (64-bit)

I appreciate you for contacting our support team and running the Verify/Rebuild tool to fix your Balance Sheet report issue, @kelper62. I'll share additional steps to get this sorted out.

To ensure you can use the Cash basis method, we can run the Balance Sheet Summary report to locate the transaction/s causing the problem. Then, find the date when this report went out of balance.

Beforehand, backup your file since there's a possibility that we'll edit a transaction to fix the issue.

Aside from that, you can also reach out to an accountant before we start. They can review your books and ensure you can run the report in a cash basic without error.

To start, follow the steps below to run the report:

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

Then, perform the same steps to get the specific date:

1. Repeat Steps 1 to 6 provided above. From the Display columns by drop-down menu, click Month.
2. Then, select Week.
3. After that, filter it to Day.
4. Then, perform the steps below.

After getting the dates, let's locate the transactions that make the report 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 click Cash.
4. In the Columns section, uncheck Account, Split, Clr, and Class.
5. Select the Amount. Then, choose the Paid Amount column.
6. Once done, click on OK.

The ending balance should equal the amount that is out of balance. Look through the report to find the transaction/s that add up to this value.

After locating them, please see Step 4 in this article to fix the issue: Fix a Balance Sheet that's Out of Balance. Otherwise, I recommend following the steps in this article to rectify this: Advanced Troubleshooting for Balance Sheets out of Balance.

If none of these steps fixes the problem, I recommend using the QuickBooks Tool Hub. It can fix common file issues and ensure smooth operation while running reports.

Moreover, you can visit these articles to help you learn how to add specific details and other customizations to your reports. It'll help you focus on the details that matter most to your business:

• Understand reports
• Customize reports in QuickBooks

Let me know in the comments below if you need additional assistance running and personalizing your financial reports. I'm always here to help. Keep safe!

@kelper62 

Open the sample file. Did you encounter the same issue?

Good morning...I did encounter the same issue when I ran the cash basis balance sheet report in the sample file.  At that point the QB chat support person ended our chat abruptly.  It was late in the afternoon and I didn't have the energy to start another chat.  ANY suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated.

@kelper62

Something is wrong with your QB program. Consider reinstalling it.

Thanks for getting back with the Community, kelper62.
 

Since you were disconnected from our Customer Care team while in the middle of troubleshooting your balance sheet, I'd recommend getting back in touch with them. 

They can be reached while you're using QuickBooks.
 

Here's how:

1. In your top menu bar, go to Help, then QuickBooks Desktop Help.
   
   
    
2. Click Contact Us.
   
   
    
3. Enter a brief description of the issue in our Ask a question (or tell us what's wrong) field, then hit Continue.
   
   
    
4. Select We’ll contact you for a callback or Message Us to start an instant messaging session.

Once you've reached an agent, they should be able to find and review the notes from the previous representative you were working with. This will enable them to pick up where they'd left off with you. Be sure to review their support hours so you'll know when agents are available.
 

I'll be here to help if there's any additional questions. Have an wonderful Tuesday!