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FaithT
August 11, 2022
Question

Merged bank accounts and bad system entries

  • August 11, 2022
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views

I have a client who discovered some fraudulent charges with their bank account. The end result was that they closed the main checking account. Prior to getting online access to their account business had to continue so I created an additional bank account in the chart of accounts. They paid bills, did all the normal business stuff. The bank took a couple of weeks to get access setup and when I went in to link the new account the only option it gave me was to add another account. I needed the system bank feed to work so I had to follow suit. 

Now that it is done I went in and see that they system created entries for the beginning balance and the account is now off by over $150k. I contacted support and wasted almost an hour with someone who had no clue what to do. I need to know how to fix this mess that was made by someone who actually understands what they are doing 

    1 reply

    R
    rvrfrf
    August 11, 2022

    Thanks for reaching out to the Community, FaithT.

     

    There's a handful of things that can cause beginning balance issues:

    • An incorrect opening balance was entered when your account was created.
    • A transaction was manually reconciled and didn't show up on your next reconciliation.
    • Transactions that are older than the opening balance were entered, but the original opening entry was never updated to reflect the changes.
    • A reconciled transaction was edited, deleted, moved, or undone. This changes the ending balance of your prior reconciliation, which impacts the beginning balance of your next one.

     

    Initially, you'll want to review the account's original opening balance and confirm it's correct.

     

    Here's how:

    1. If you've recently entered transactions that were dated before your opening balance, be sure to reconcile them first. Then move on to step 2.
    2. In the left navigation bar, go to Accounting, then Chart of accounts.
    3. Find your account and click its View register option.
    4. Search for the opening balance entry. It's Account column should say "Opening Balance Equity".
    5. Take note of its date and balance.

     

    Once you've reviewed your account in QuickBooks, you can compare its date and opening balance amount with the real-life account:

    1. Sign in to your bank's website and find the appropriate statement. You can also use a physical statement if there's one available.
    2. Check your account's balance for the same day your opening balance in QuickBooks was dated for and compare them.

     

    If they match, you entered the account's opening balance correctly and would want to review your account's register next.

     

    In the event they don't match, you can make a correction:

    1. In QuickBooks, access your account, find its opening balance entry, click it to expand its view, then use the Deposit column to edit your balance so it matches the official bank records.
    2. Select Save.

     

    I've also included a detailed resource about fixing issues with beginning balances which may come in handy moving forward: Fix issues for accounts you've reconciled in the past

     

    Please don't hesitate to send a reply if there's any questions. Have a lovely day!

      S
      SuenSew
      August 8, 2023

      Thank you for the question because this was the perfect solution. In my case, I simply deleted the entry created automatically by the merge wizard. I must say that the community is much better at resolving issues compared to the QB helpless desk. 

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