Balances

It's great that you're learning QuickBooks Online (QBO), @Kelley T. I understand your confusion and would be happy to provide you with clarifications.

In QBO, the dates displayed in the Bank Register and the Categorize section on the Banking page don't necessarily need to match. The transactions you see on the Banking page are the ones that have been cleared from your bank, regardless of the transaction date. These entries are automatically downloaded into QuickBooks from your bank.

On the other hand, the transactions you see in the Bank Register are the ones you manually record based on when the transaction happened or the date you choose. This allows you to keep track of your entries accurately.

To ensure that your QuickBooks Bank Register coincides with your downloaded bank transactions, it is recommended to have them categorized and matched. This will help prevent duplicates and keep your records in sync. 

Moreover, when you decide to reconcile, you can refer to your bank statement and determine the transactions that should be reconciled within that specific period.

Additionally, you might be interested in exploring this article that provides guidance on reviewing your initial balance and identifying discrepancies in unreconciled accounts: Fix issues the first time you reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.
 

In case you require any additional help or have further inquiries about banking, kindly inform me by leaving a reply below. I'm here round the clock, ready to provide support. Take care.