Bank Reconciliation Problems

How to solve QuickBooks bank reconciliation statement problems? 

Bank reconciliation in QuickBooks Bank Reconciliation helps you compare your transactions with your bank statement. Ideally, the difference should be zero when the reconciliation is complete. However, you may sometimes see an incorrect beginning balance, missing transactions, duplicate entries, or a difference that does not go away.

The good news is that most reconciliation problems can be found by checking your statement, transactions, and previous reconciliation records.

Check the Beginning Balance

Start by checking the beginning balance in QuickBooks against your bank statement.

In QuickBooks Desktop, go to Banking > Reconcile and select the account. QuickBooks normally uses the ending balance from your previous reconciliation as the new beginning balance. Make sure this amount matches your bank records.

If the beginning balance is incorrect, a previously reconciled transaction may have been changed, deleted, voided, or modified.

Check the Ending Balance

Make sure you entered the ending balance and statement date exactly as they appear on your bank statement.

If the ending balance is wrong, select Edit Info in the Bank Reconciliation window and compare the information with your actual statement.

Also check for service charges or interest that appear on the bank statement but were not entered in QuickBooks.

Look for Missing or Duplicate Transactions

Compare each transaction in QuickBooks with your bank statement.

Look for:

• Deposits missing from QuickBooks

• Expenses missing from QuickBooks

• Duplicate payments

• Duplicate deposits

• Incorrect transaction amounts

• Transactions recorded in the wrong account

If a transaction appears on your bank statement but not in QuickBooks, enter it using the correct date and amount.

If a transaction appears twice in QuickBooks but only once on your statement, review the duplicate carefully before removing it.

Check Transactions That Were Changed

A common reason for a previous reconciliation becoming incorrect is that someone changed a transaction after it was reconciled.

For example, changing the amount, date, account, or reconciliation status can affect your balance.

QuickBooks Desktop provides discrepancy tools to help identify changes. When you begin a reconciliation and the beginning balance does not match, select Locate Discrepancies to review possible problems.

What If the Difference Is Very Small?

Even a small difference should be investigated.

Check for:

• A typing error

• Bank fees

• Interest

• A slightly incorrect transaction amount

• A missing transaction

• A duplicate entry

Avoid creating an adjustment just to make the difference zero unless you know why the difference exists.

How to Prevent Future Reconciliation Problems

You can reduce reconciliation issues by following a consistent process:

• Keep your bank statements for every period.

• Reconcile your account regularly.

• Enter transactions with the correct dates and amounts.

• Check downloaded bank transactions carefully.

• Avoid changing reconciled transactions unless necessary.

• Review previous reconciliation reports when something looks wrong.

• Back up your company file before making major corrections.