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Kyle-E
Level 1

What steps should I take to identify why the register in my bank is off by 170.00, when I do not see why when checking the balance sheets and such?

I am doing Chapter 6 from the QBO book, and noticed that after I imported the transactions and attempted to reconcile everything that my LA City Bank register was off by having 170.00 too much. I spent a lot of time searching why that could be but everything seems to match properly. I do not know what is causing the discrepancy nor do I know how to find out. My instructor suggests that I might contact customer support to undo some things, or receive help in identifying where the error occurred and why. Any help is greatly appreciated because I want to move on to Chapter 7 with clean numbers. This is the very end of Chapter 6 and every step unto the last steps involving the imports had proper numbers.
1 Comment 1
ShangY
QuickBooks Team

What steps should I take to identify why the register in my bank is off by 170.00, when I do not see why when checking the balance sheets and such?

Welcome to our forum, @Kyle-E. Thank you for sharing the details of your concern and for the diligent efforts you've made to resolve the discrepancy in your bank register. Rest assured, I’m here to assist you in identifying and correcting this issue, allowing you to move forward with your tasks and successfully reconcile.

 

First, let's check the opening balance. Make sure your QuickBooks accounts match the actual balances in your bank and credit card statements. When you create a new account in QuickBooks, you need to enter the balance of your bank account as of the day you start tracking your transactions. This amount, along with the start date, will determine your account's opening balance.

 

If you recently added older transactions that are dated before your opening balance, make sure to reconcile those first. After that, you can continue with these steps.

 

  1. Go to Settings, then click Chart of accounts.
  2. Look for the account on the list.
  3. Select View register.
  4. Find the entry for the opening balance. It will say Opening Balance Equity in the Account column.
  5. Take note of the date and balance.

 

If you forgot to enter the opening balance, you could add it manually.

 

Next, Compare the opening balance with your real-life account.

 

  1. Sign in to your bank's website or search for your bank statement.
  2. Check the account's balance for the same day as the opening balance in QuickBooks.
  3. Compare them to see if they match.

 

If it doesn't match your bank records, follow these steps to correct it:

 

  1. In QuickBooks, click on the opening balance entry to expand the view.
  2. In the Deposit column, adjust the balance so that it matches your bank records.
  3. Click Save to update the changes.

 

However, If the balance matches your bank records, review your bank register by following these steps:

 

  1. Go to Settings and click on Chart of Accounts.
  2. Locate your account in the list.
  3. Click on View Register to see detailed information.
  4. Find the opening balance entry; it should say Opening Balance Equity in the Account column.
  5. Look in the checkmark column; there should be an R next to the opening balance.
  6. Check the other transactions: their checkmark column should either be blank or have a C.
  7. If you see an R next to any other transactions, click on that transaction to expand the details.
  8. Click the box in the checkmark column. Keep clicking until the box is blank.
  9. Finally, click Save to apply your changes.
     

Once your opening balance is fixed, you can begin reconciling your account.

 

For additional guidance on the reconciliation process, I recommend checking out this resource: Learn the reconcile workflow in QuickBooks.

 

In addition to this, I’m sharing an article that will be if you encounter any issues with transactions that you've already reconciled appearing as unreconciled: Reconcile Previously Deleted and Re-entered Checking or Credit Card Transactions. This will help you manage any discrepancies effectively.

 

Reconciliation can sometimes be challenging, but please remember that you’re always welcome to reach out to my team and me here in the Community if you have any further questions or need clarification about the process I’ve shared. Feel free to leave your comments below, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. In the meantime, have a wonderful day!