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Fix issues with your beginning balance for accounts you've reconciled before

by Intuit•10• Updated 2 days ago


Each time you start reconciling an account, you review the beginning balance in QuickBooks. It's the amount in the account at the beginning of the time period you're reviewing. Think of it as a checkpoint. It lets you know if you're starting with accurate numbers.

If the beginning balance doesn’t match, QuickBooks can help you find and fix the issues.

Learn what causes beginning balance issues

  • Entered an incorrect opening balance when they created the account in QuickBooks.
  • Added transactions that are older than the opening balance, but didn't edit the original opening balance entry to reflect the change.
  • Edited, deleted, moved, or unreconciled an already reconciled transaction. This changes the ending balance of your last reconciliation, which impacts the beginning balance of the next one.
  • Manually reconciled a transaction, so it didn't show up on the next reconciliation.

Troubleshooting Tips: 

  • If you've never reconciled this account before, don't follow these steps. Here's what to do‌ the first time.

The beginning balance amount should match what's on your bank statement for the same start day. If it doesn't, don’t worry. QuickBooks lets you know what changes you might need to make. Here's how to fix beginning balance issues so you can start reconciling.

Hi. This is Katheryn from the QuickBooks team. When you reconcile an account, you might see an alert saying your account isn’t ready to reconcile yet. This means something changed about your reconciled transactions since you last reconciled. Let’s go over how to correct your beginning balance. You may need to do this if the dollar amount of a transaction was changed, if a transaction was unreconciled from the register or reconciled from the register without a proper reconciliation, if a transaction was deleted, or if there have simply been too many changes and you’d like to undo a reconciliation. If you’re having trouble with your beginning balance during your first reconciliation, check out this video instead because you may need to enter or adjust your beginning balance journal entry. To start, select Settings, then Reconcile. This is where you’ll see an alert if you have a problem with your beginning balance. Select the link to look at your discrepancy report. Use the Change Type column to find out why the transaction changed your beginning balance.. You’ll see “Amount Changed” if someone changed the dollar amount after it was reconciled. To fix this, select the transaction and change the Amount to match the Reconciled Amount. On some transaction types you may need to select Edit to change the dollar amount. Then select Save. You could also see “Unreconciled in Register.” This happens if the transaction was reconciled and then someone unreconciled it - usually by mistake. To reconcile it again select the transaction then select this box until you see an R. Select Save and the transaction should disappear. The third change type is “Reconciled in Register.” This happens when someone clears a transaction without reconciling. To fix it, select the transaction. Then select the box until it's blank or you see a C. This unreconciles the transaction so you can include it in future reconciliations. Select Save and the transaction should disappear. “Deleted” appears when someone deletes a reconciled transaction. Select View to see this transaction’s history. If this was deleted by accident, then recreate the transaction exactly as it appears in the history. Select the “global create” button and then the type of transaction that was deleted. Complete the form with the correct amount and date. Then select Save and Close When you’re done, select Settings. Then select “Chart of Accounts” and then “View Register” next to the appropriate bank account. Find the transaction and select it. Select the box in the tick column until you see an R. This reconciles the transaction. If you see more changes than you’d like to fix, and you just want to start over from a previous reconciliation, ask your accountant to log in and undo a reconciliation from the History by Account screen. If you haven’t invited your accountant to your company, check out this video to learn how to add them. Those are the reasons you might receive a beginning balance alert and now you know what to do if you see one.

Prerequisites

  • Access to the account’s bank statements.
  • Admin rights to view and edit reconciliations in QuickBooks Online.
  • Awareness of any changes recently made to transactions (edits, deletions, manual reconciliations).

Find the Issues

  1. Gather bank statements for the bank and date range you want to reconcile.
  2. Access the Bank Transactions section in QuickBooks Online, and ensure that all transactions from that period have been matched, categorised, posted, or excluded.
  3. Select Reconcile either in the Accounting section or in Settings.
  4. Choose the account you wish to reconcile from the Which account do you want to Reconcile â–Ľ dropdown.
    • Note: If you have multiple accounts at the same bank, or more than one account of the same type, make sure you're reconciling the right one.
  5. If the Beginning Balance doesn't match the ending balance of the last reconcile, there will be an alert that reads "Your account isn't ready to reconcile yet. Your beginning balance is off by..."
    • Note: for accounts connected to online banking, match and categorise all downloaded transactions.
  6. Select the link in the alert that reads, "We can help you fix it." This opens the Reconcile Discrepancy Report and lets you begin researching.
  1. Follow this link to complete the steps in product. Open this link in a new window
  2. Select the account that you want to reconcile from the Account ▼ dropdown.
  1. Select the We can help you fix it link to open your discrepancy report.
  2. Review the discrepancy report. Use it to decide if and how to make changes.
  3. Before editing anything, talk with whoever made the changes - they may be intentional.

Fix the Issue

Get a QuickBooks-certified bookkeeper to help you categorise transactions and reconcile your bank statements every month. Learn more about QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping.

Review each transaction in the report one at a time.

  1. Select View to see the history of changes to the transaction.
  2. Review the Change Type column. This tells you what changed.  
  3. Make edits based on the message in the Change Type column:

This means someone edited a transaction or moved it to another account.

  1. Select the transaction to expand the view.
  2. Select edit to open the form.
  3. Adjust the amount or account.
  4. Select save and close.

This means someone unreconciled the transaction. To reconcile it again

Follow this link to complete the steps in product Open this link in a new window

  1. Select the account you want to reconcile again, then select Go to bank register.
  2. Select Reconcile.
  3. Verify the Account you've selected and change it, if required.
  4. Enter the info from your statement in the Ending balance field and Ending date field. Then, select Start reconciling.
  5. Review the transactions and select those that match the transactions in your bank statement.
  6. Once the Difference is R0.00, select Finish now, then select Done.

Alternatively, to reconcile a transaction manually,

  1. Follow this link to complete the steps in product Open this link in a new window
  2. Select Account history in the Action column of your bank account.
  3. Select the transaction that has been manually unreconciled.
  4. Select the box in the tick column until you see an R. This reconciles the transaction manually.
  5. Select Save.

This means someone has already reconciled the transaction by accident. To remove it and add it to your next reconciliation:

  1. Select the transaction to expand the view.
  2. Select the box in the tick column until it's blank or you see a C. This removes the transaction from the reconciliation.
  3. Select Save.

This means someone deleted the transaction. If it was an accident, recreate it exactly as it appears on your discrepancy report:

  1. Select + New or + Create.
  2. Select the correct form (invoice, sales receipt, expense, etc).
  3. Fill out the form and select Save and close.
  4. Go to Settings Settings gear icon., then select Chart of accounts (Take me there).
  5. Find the account that you put the transaction into and select Account history.
  6. Find the transaction and select it to expand the view.
  7. Select the box in the tick column until you see an R. This manually reconciles the transaction.
  8. Select Save. If you still see an alert the next time you reconcile, open the discrepancy report. The deleted transaction may still be on the list, but the difference should be R0.00. It won't affect your reconciliation.

After you review everything on the discrepancy report, the Total Discrepancy Difference on the report should be R0.00. Check the beginning balance again in QuickBooks. It should match the beginning balance on your bank statement. Select resume reconciling to continue reconciling.

Results

After fixing all issues, the Total Discrepancy Difference should show $0.00. The beginning balance in QuickBooks will match your account statement, allowing you to resume reconciliation.

Next steps

Related Links

QuickBooks LedgerQuickBooks Online EssentialsQuickBooks Online PlusQuickBooks Online Simple Start