Fix an incorrect beginning balance before you reconcile

If you signed up to try a new way to reconcile in QuickBooks Labs, you're in the right place. If you didn't, click here to learn about fixing beginning balance discrepancies with the current QuickBooks reconciliation.

If the beginning balance on your statement doesn't match what you have in QuickBooks, it's called a beginning balance discrepancy. To accurately reconcile an account, you need to fix the discrepancy in QuickBooks before you reconcile.

Grab a cup of coffee and we'll walk you through this one step at a time. Choose the scenario below that best matches your situation.

Fix an incorrect beginning balance when:

ClosedQuickBooks shows an alert on the Reconcile Account page

You're in luck. Click the link in the discrepancy alert. It takes you to the discrepancy report.

What the discrepancy report finds

The discrepancy report finds any transaction that was changed after it was reconciled, if the change affected the balance of the account. Learn more about what causes beginning balance discrepancies.

What the discrepancy report doesn't find

The discrepancy report doesn't find transactions that were reconciled in the account history by changing the reconciliation status to reconciled (R). See Fix beginning balance discrepancy when QuickBooks does not show an alert.

Use the discrepancy report to fix a beginning balance discrepancy

The discrepancy report helps you can fix your beginning balance, one transaction at a time.

  1. Click the Gear icon > Reconcile.

  2. Click the link in the beginning balance discrepancy alert.
  3. Look at the change type for each transaction listed in the discrepancy report.
    1. Follow these steps for changed transactions.
    2. Follow these steps for unreconciled transactions.
    3. Follow these steps for deleted transactions.
    4. Follow these steps to find and fix transactions that were reconciled in the Register by mistake.
  4. With every transaction you fix, the discrepancy difference at the upper right gets closer to $0.00.
  5. When it gets to $0.00, your beginning balance matches your statement. Hooray! You resolved a beginning balance discrepancy! Click Resume reconciling.

To fix a changed transaction

If the transaction amount or account was changed:

  1. Click the transaction and make your edits.
  2. Save your changes. As you edit and save each transaction:
    1. The transaction disappears from the discrepancy report.
    2. The discrepancy difference at the upper right adjusts to match your change.

To fix unreconciled transactions

If a transaction was unreconciled in the account history:

  1. Make a note of the transaction's date, type, reference number, payee, and amount.
  2. Close the Discrepancy Report.

  3. In the navigation bar, click Transactions > Chart of Accounts.

  4. Select the account you're reconciling.
  5. Find the transaction and change its reconciliation status back to reconciled (R).
  6. Click the Reconcile button in the upper right of the account history.
  7. If there's still a discrepancy alert, click the link to go back into the discrepancy report.
    1. The transaction is removed from the discrepancy report.
    2. The discrepancy difference in the discrepancy report is adjusted to match your change.
  8. Look for additional transactions to fix until the difference equals $0.00. You'll see a message that you were successful.

If a transaction is marked as cleared (C) in the account history, it will have a tick on the reconciliation screen.

Fix deleted transactions

To fix deleted transactions:

  1. Make a note of the amount of the total discrepancy difference at the upper right.
  2. Close the discrepancy report.
  3. Recreate the deleted transaction in the account history. After you save the recreated transaction, it appears in the register. Learn how to create a transaction.

  4. Find the recreated transaction in the register and click its reconciliation status until it shows R for reconciled.

  5. Click the Gear icon > Reconcile.

  6. If there's still a discrepancy alert, click the link to go back into the discrepancy report. The deleted transaction remains in the discrepancy report but the difference at the top changes to reflect the amount of this recreated, reconciled transaction.
  7. See if the amount of the total discrepancy difference got smaller. If it did, you're on the right track!
  8. Look for additional transactions to fix until the difference equals $0.00. You'll see a message when you're successful.

Fix transactions that were reconciled in the Register by mistake

Transactions that are reconciled in the Register will trigger a discrepancy alert but won't appear in the Discrepancy Report.

You will need to check for transactions that are dated before this statement period but were reconciled in the account history since the last reconciliation. The fastest way to do this is to create your own discrepancy report.

Once you resolve all the changed transactions that caused the discrepancy, the difference will be $0.00. Well done! The alert stops appearing and you can start reconciling.

 

ClosedAn account is new (or an account has never been reconciled)

  1. Click the Gear icon > Chart of Accounts.

  2. Find the account and click View account history.
  3. Check the account's opening balance.

    1. If it's incorrect, you may need to edit it.

    2. If there isn't one, you may need to enter it.
  4. If the account is a bank feed account, look for downloaded transactions that cleared the bank before the statement's beginning date. You may need to delete those.

 

ClosedWhen QuickBooks does not show an alert on the Reconcile page

If your QuickBooks beginning balance doesn't match your statement's but there's no alert, check the following:

ClosedMake sure you're reconciling the right account for the right month

This is easy to miss, especially if you have multiple accounts with the same bank.

  1. Click the Gear icon > Reconcile.

  2. Carefully select the account you want to reconcile.
  3. In QuickBooks, look below the Ending date field for the Last statement ending date. It should be the day before the start date of the statement you're reconciling.
  4. Make sure the beginning balance is correct too. If you have the right account and month but the beginning balance isn't correct, try the next steps.

If you're reconciling the right month and the beginning balance is wrong and there's no alert, it's possible that this account has never been reconciled using the reconciliation tool in QuickBooks Online. We recommend that you call your accountant or us to help you sort this out.

Want to learn more about beginning balance discrepancies and how they happen? Are you wondering where to start? See Why doesn't my QuickBooks beginning balance match my statement?