Learn how to review your beginning balance and look for issues for accounts you haven't reconciled before.
If you're reconciling an account for the first time and the beginning balance is off, don't worry. Most beginning balance issues are caused by an incorrect opening balance. This is the account's starting point you set when you first created it in QuickBooks.
Correcting the opening balance should also fix your beginning balance issues. Here's what to review so you can start reconciling your account for the first time.
Tip: If the account was already reconciled, here’s a different list of things to review. Or, if you're new to the entire process, start with our reconciliation guide.
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Step 1: Review the opening balance in QuickBooks
Double-check the opening balance for the account you're reconciling. Sometimes, the opening balance doesn't include transactions that were still pending when you created the account. The opening balance is the balance of your bank account on the day you choose to start tracking transactions.
Note: If you recently entered older transactions dated before your opening balance, here's how to reconcile them. Then continue with these steps.
- Go to Settings ⚙, then Chart of accounts (Take me there).
- Find the account on the list.
- Select View register.
- Search for the opening balance entry. It should have "Opening Balance Equity" in the Account column.
- Take note of the date and balance.
Note: If you forgot to enter an opening balance, here's how to manually enter an opening balance later.
Step 2: Compare the opening balance with your real-life account
Now you know the date and amount of the opening balance in QuickBooks. Check it against your bank records:
- Sign in to your bank's website, or find your bank statement.
- Check the account's balance for the same day as the opening balance in QuickBooks.
- Compare the two balances.
If the balances match, you entered the opening balance correctly. Move on to Step 3.
If the opening balance in QuickBooks doesn't match your bank records, correct it:
- In QuickBooks, select the opening balance entry to expand the view.
- In the Deposit column, edit the balance so it matches your bank records.
- Select Save.
Step 3: Review your account register
When you reconcile an account for the first time, the opening balance is the only entry that is reconciled. No other transactions should be reconciled. To check:
- Go to Settings ⚙, then Chart of accounts (Take me there).
- Find the account on the list.
- Select View register to get more details.
- Search for the opening balance entry. It should have "Opening Balance Equity" in the Account column.
- In the checkmark column, there should be an R.
- Check the other transactions. The checkmark column should either be blank or have a C.
- If there's an R on any other transactions, select the transaction to expand the view.
- Select box in the checkmark column. Keep selecting it until the box is blank. Then select Save.
Next steps: Start reconciling the account
Once you know your opening balance is correct, you can start reconciling. If you see a message about an incorrect beginning balance when you start, here are other things you can review.
If you’ve followed everything in our reconciliation guide but still have questions, connect with your bookkeeper.