Fix an incorrect beginning balance before you reconcile

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 so your books agree with your bank, 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.

Find the scenario 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:

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 for 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 if you change the amount back to the previously reconciled amount.
    2. The discrepancy difference at the upper right adjusts to match your change.

To fix unreconciled transactions

If a transaction was unreconciled in the register:

  1. Click the transaction.
  2. Change the reconciliation status back to reconciled (R).
  3. Save your change.
    1. The transaction disappears from the discrepancy report.
    2. The discrepancy difference at the upper right adjusts to match your change.

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 register. Learn how to create a transaction.

  4. Find the recreated transaction in the registerand 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

If a transaction was reconciled in the register:

  1. Click the transaction.
  2. Change the reconciliation status back to cleared (C) or no status.
  3. Save your change.
    1. The transaction disappears from the discrepancy report.
    2. The discrepancy difference at the upper right adjusts to match your change.

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

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 register.
  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.

When you connect your bank, it automatically records a beginning balance based on how far back you downloaded transactions (usually 90 days back). If the account has any transactions prior to this time period, this automatically recorded opening balance may not be the correct beginning balance.

 

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?