What to Do If Beginning Balance Doesn’t Match in QuickBooks?

Reconciliation is one of the necessary jobs to keep your account statement accurate or correct. When reconciling the bank account, the difference should be 0 (Zero). However, in some instances, you may find discrepancies. This happens when the beginning balance doesn’t match in QuickBooks. To fix this kind of discrepancy, it is important to review and correct the beginning or ending balance. If the beginning balance matches with the bank statement, you will automatically show the difference as 0 (Zero). As a result, your reconciliation process becomes easier.

If you want to solve the incorrect opening balance, there are numerous ways to fix the beginning balance and match transactions with bank statements. To get in-depth detail, you can read this guide till the end and follow the steps carefully.

Why Does QuickBooks Beginning Balance Doesn’t Match Statement?

If the beginning balance does not match your bank statement while reconciling the account there can be two main reasons behind such interruptions:

• When the transaction that was reconciled previously is unreconciled now due to which the beginning balance is not matching.
• If the previously reconciled transactions are deleted, you may find discrepancies while reconciling the bank account.

Not matching the beginning balance has a straight connection to the aforementioned reasons. Therefore, it is important to check the beginning balance and fix it in order to match the balance. This will make your bank account reconciliation easier.

Quick Ways to Solve QuickBooks Bank Reconciliation Beginning Balance Doesn’t Match

The easiest and quickest way to fix the discrepancies is to check the opening and ending balance. Thereafter, you can correct the balance to perform the bank reconciliation.

• First of all, perform the bank reconciliation.
• At this point, you need to write down the (difference) amount appearing in the beginning balance to the bank statement in your QuickBooks account.
• After this, add the ending balance. Make sure you add the correct balance.
• Now, you can continue finishing the bank reconciliation. While doing so, you will have to be sure that the total withdrawals and total deposits match the amount shown on your bank statement.
• Here, the difference must be the amount of your difference showing in the beginning balance.
• Then, you will have to notice that if there is any transaction from the earlier periods that needs to be reviewed to make the difference 0 (Zero).
• Thereafter, you can search for the transactions. By doing so, you can make sure that these are the transactions you corrected or adjusted since the recent bank reconciliation.
• Now, you can review the transactions. If the difference is 0 (Zero), you are good to go.

In further detail, we will find more ways to check the reconciliation issues so that you can implement the solution accordingly.

How to Fix If the Beginning Balance Doesn’t Match in QuickBooks?

If your QuickBooks Online bank reconciliation beginning balance doesn’t match, you should check all the changed, deleted, and duplicate transactions. This will allow you to remove the unnecessary transaction and add the correct transaction. By doing so, you can start the reconciliation again. Let us help you with each method in detail:

Method 1: Check the Modified Transaction Report with Reconciliation Discrepancy Report

When QuickBooks Online bank reconciliation beginning balance doesn’t match then you should check which transaction was changed since your last reconciliation. For this process, you can run the Reconciliation Discrepancy Report. This report will show you the modifications sorted by the statement dates. Let us show you how to get this done:

• Navigate to the “Reports” menu.
• Then, you can hover your mouse over the “Banking” tab.
• After this, select the “Reconciliation Discrepancy” button.
• Now, choose the account that you want to reconcile.
• Press the “OK” button.
• Here, you can also look for the discrepancies.

If you detect any changes then you can connect with the person who made these changes. By doing so, you can know their reason and edit the transactions accordingly. Make sure you check the register to view the status. Thereafter, you can start the reconciliation again.

Please Note: If the transaction that was reconciled before was deleted, you can enter it into the original state. If not deleted, you can apply the changes and check the opening balance to restart the reconcile.

Method 2: Review the Changed and Deleted Transactions from Audit Trail

If there are any modified and deleted transactions since the time you reconciled the account then you should open the Audit Trail report. By doing so, you can check what transaction was deleted or changed. Thereafter, you can make the changes to correct the transaction. You can follow these steps to do the same:

• Click on the “Reports” menu.
• Then, select the “Accountant” option.
• Click on the “Audit Trail” option.
• Once done, you can click on the “Customize” button located on the top left.
• After this, select the “Filter” button. Here, you can do the following:
• Date: Change the date to the date of your previous reconciliation to today.
• Account: Select the bank account that you are reconciling.

When you apply these filters, it will show you a report with the changes you made since your last reconciliation. Thereafter, you can scan your list for changed or deleted transactions. If needed, you can correct the transaction. This will help you to reconcile the account successfully.

Method 3: Review the Duplicate Transactions

There can be occasions when your account has the presence of repeated transactions. If there are any duplicate transactions, you should immediately clear them. In the following discussion, we will show you how to find and delete duplicate transactions in both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop.

Check the Duplicate Transactions in QuickBooks Online

To spot the duplicated transaction In QuickBooks Online, you can open the register, open the transactions, and delete the duplicate ones. Here are the detailed instructions:

Find the Duplicate Transactions

• Open the “Bank Account Register”.
• Then, select the “Customize” button located on the top left.
• After this, select the “Show:Not Reconciled or Cleared” option.
• Press the “OK” button so you can see the transactions that are duplicated or entered erroneously.

Delete the Duplicate Transactions

In order to delete the duplicate transactions, you need to select the transaction and press the “Edit” button.
Now, you can make the required adjustment or select the “More” button and click on the “Delete” button.
Thereafter, you can confirm the action. This will remove duplicate transactions.

Check the Duplicate Transactions in QuickBooks Desktop

If you are using QuickBooks Desktop, duplicate transactions can be found from the bank register. All you have to do is open the transactions and find the ones that are duplicated. After this, you can delete them from the record.

Find the Duplicate Transactions

• First of all, open the “Bank Account Register”.
• Then, go to the “Sort by” option located at the bottom.
• Here, you can use the drop-down arrow to select the “Cleared Status” option.
• At this point, you will find all the duplicate transactions at the end of your register. Remember that these transactions won’t have any notation in the section located on the left side of Deposits.

Delete the Duplicate Transactions

• To clear the duplicated transaction, you are required to select the transaction.
• Select the “Delete” button to remove the duplicate transactions.

This is how you can find the changed, deleted, or duplicated transaction from the bank account register. Later you can remove the duplicated translation and correct the wrong transaction so that you can easily reconcile the account.

Method 4: Review the Opening Balance Equity

If the beginning balance doesn’t match in QuickBooks account then you should check your opening balance equity. By doing so, you can make sure that your beginning balance is correct. Let’s see how we can do this:

• Search for the transaction.
• Then, click on the “Edit” button.
• Here, you can make the required changes to adjust the balance.

After you adjust the balance, confirm your action. This way you can be sure that your beginning balance is accurate.

Method 5: Check the Error Transferred from the Banking Sync

When you add or match the transaction, some erroneous transactions can also be transferred from the banking sync. If that is the case, you should check this and make the necessary adjustments.

• In QuickBooks, select the “Banking Transactions” tab.
• At this point, you need to make sure that there is no erroneous transfer while adding or matching the transaction.
• If you find any, click the “Transfer” button.

Once you transfer the transactions, you can make the required adjustments. This way you can fix the problem when the QuickBooks reconciliation beginning balance doesn’t match.

Endnote

It is normal to confront errors while reconciling your bank account. All you just have to do is make sure the opening balance is correct. In case the beginning balance doesn’t match in QuickBooks then you can follow any of the aforementioned methods to resolve the error. If no method works, make sure you have no uncleared transactions in your account. In some cases, the transaction is marked as paid but stalled with your bank. In such scenarios, you can either wait for your transaction to post, or else you can contact your bank.

If you are seeking an answer for “how do I enter a beginning balance in QuickBooks”, read this guide to get the right details.