Converted Quickbooks Online to Quickbooks Desktop and it went well until I went to do a bank reconciliation. I have a zero beginning balance and 20 years of data to reconcile. Help!

Thanks for reaching out to us, patch9600.

I can see how converting data may have an impact, especially if you have a bigger company file.

When you convert your company's data, there can be some changes. Since QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop are different platforms with unique capabilities, some data won't convert. You can visit this article to learn the limitation when converting from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop.

Once you successfully converted your data to QuickBooks Desktop, the reconciled transactions should have a bold checkmark in the cleared column. Since the reconciliation won't move to Quickbooks Desktop, I recommend reconciling your 20 years of data one year at a time. All adjustments, service charges, and interest entered using this procedure will be applied to the year the corresponding transactions happened.

Please back up your company file before proceeding to ensure you have a file to look to if something goes wrong. Then, follow the steps below to reconcile your account.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Banking menu and select Reconcile.
2. Click the Account drop-down, then choose the account you want to reconcile.
3. In the Statement Date field, choose the date from the financial statement you selected.
4. In the Ending Balance field, enter the ending balance from your statement.
5. Compare the amount shown in the Beginning Balance field with the opening balance on the oldest statement you need to reconcile. If the beginning balance does not match, refer to Reconcile window beginning balance is zero or incorrect.
6. Enter the total Service Charge and Interest Earned:
7. Click Continue to open the Reconcile window.
8. Select Hide transactions after the statement's end date in the upper right corner of the window so QuickBooks displays only the transactions dated on or before the statement date.
9. Select the checkmark column next to each transaction that appears on the financial statement you've selected.
10. Look at the Difference amount in the bottom right corner of the Reconcile window:
11. Repeat steps 1 to 10 for the subsequent years until the account reconciliation is up to date.

You may also consult your accountant for further assistance. They might have a different way to reconcile your account with 20 years of data. For more detailed information about the process, please read this guide: Reconcile an account for multiple months or years of transactions and financial statements.

For future reference, I've added this resource to help you in case you encounter some issues during the reconciliation process: Fix issues when you're reconciling in QuickBooks Desktop.

You're welcome to post again if you have further questions or concerns. We're always available to help you.