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EileenLight
August 17, 2022
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old unreconciled transactions

  • August 17, 2022
  • 1 reply
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Hi,

I have a new client who uses QBO.  I am trying to clear old unreconciled transactions in their bank register.  The items are from 2015-2017.  

 

Most if, not all, of the unreconciled transactions are ones which were not "matched" properly.  Ideally I would match each transaction to its duplicate that was reconciled. The problem is doing so would throw off those years' Balance Sheet and P&L.  Yes, they might be more accurate, but the business was new and the dollar difference is not significant enough to want to take that route.

 

I saw one answer to a similar post that recommended a "mid-cycle" reconciliation and adjusting entry to clear those sorts of uncleared transactions.  Can you expand on that concept?  I'd like to leave a clear and clean audit trail.


Thank you.

 

Best answer by RoseJillB

Dear Charies_M,

 

Thank you for your reply.  It is clear I’m not doing a very good job at asking my question, or, possibly, there is no easy answer, or both.  I’m hoping for “3rd time’s a charm”.

 

Short story - At this point there are 96 uncleared and unreconciled transactions dated from 2015-2017.  These show up each time I open the reconciliation module in QBO to reconcile a new month.  Most, or all, of them are “unmatched” duplicates of previously reconciled transactions.  All of these transactions affected the business’ Balance Sheet or P&L for the year they were entered.  Meaning the business  overstated their liabilities, income and expenses for the years 2015, 2016 and 2017.

 

That said, they are a startup business and the dollar amounts are not significant.  As such, it does not make sense for us (accounting office) to go back and match all those items and, potentially, redo their taxes for those years.   The business owner and we agree we just want to get rid of those uncleared, unreconciled transactions that show up in the reconciliation module in QBO.  Is there a clean way to do that in the current year (2019)?  Or is the only recourse to delete the uncleared, unreconciled transactions, knowing it will change the Balance Sheet and P&L for each of the years 2015-2017?  

 

Thank you again for your assistance.  I truly appreciate it.


I’m pleased to assist your further, @EileenLight.

 

Let’s get these duplicate transactions from 2015-2017 deleted in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

 

Based on your statement above, you are certain that these transactions are duplicates from 2015-2017. In this, we can delete them in your QBO to eliminate them from the reconciliation module. Please know that this will still affect the data on your financial reports.

 

Let me guide you on how you can delete the following transactions. You can also do this in bulk, so you don’t have to get into every transaction:

 

  1. Click the Banking menu.
  2. Select the correct bank account.
  3. Go to the For Review tab and mark the items you want to delete.
  4. Click the Batch actions button.
  5. Choose Exclude Selected.
  6. Once done, go to the Excluded tab.
  7. Mark the transactions. Then, click the Batch actions button.
  8. Click Delete.

 

You’ll want to keep your QBO account balanced by creating a Journal Entry (JE). This way, you can ensure that you’ll get a clean outcome after deleting those old transactions. Also, I recommend you seek advice from your accountant for further guidance. Your accountant can help or guide you on what accounts to use and the date to enter when creating JE.

 

Once settled, browse this article for reference when running a report in QBO. Reports can provide you a snapshot of your business: Run reports in QuickBooks Online

 

You can always comment back if you have further clarifications about deleting transactions. I’m just a post away from assisting you. Stay safe!

1 reply

A
Archie_B
August 17, 2022

Thank you for reaching the Community, EileenLight.

 

Making some adjustments and clearing those unreconciled transaction can affect your closed books. If you start reconciling previous years transactions, the entire current reconciliation statement will be inaccurate. 

 

Before you begin the process of reconciling past transactions, I recommend consulting with your accountant. They can provide suggestions on how to properly handle those entries. You may also need to determine whether or not these transactions are valid. It is best to cross-reference these transactions with previous bank statements.

I've included the following articles for your reference:

 

 

I'll be here  if you still need more help with this. Have a great day!

 

E
EileenLightAuthor
August 18, 2022

Dear Archie_B

 

Thank you for your reply.  I appreciate your input.  The reply didn't quite answer my question.  I'll try to rephrase below with a little more information.

 

We have recently taken on a new cash-based accounting system client whose QBO books were closed through 2017.  We cleaned up, reconciled and closed 2018.  We are getting ready to close 2019.  Before closing 2019 we would like to cleanup and clear old unreconciled transactions.

 

There are 96 unreconciled transactions from 2015-2017 which show up when I am in the reconciliation module.  I have reviewed many of the unreconciled transactions and realize they are “unmatched” duplicates of reconciled transactions (2015-2017).  (The business owner had been doing the bookkeeping and did not know how to “match” manually entered and bank downloaded transactions.)  Based on those transactions I reviewed, in additional to all the matching I assume that most, or all, of them are duplicates of reconciled transactions.  If I were to go back and match the duplicate transactions it would change the Balance Sheet and P&L.  Yes, in their favor, but…this is a startup business and the dollar amount involved is not significant.  The cost for me to go back and match those duplicate transactions is not worth it to the business.

 

The business owner and we would like to clear those unreconciled transactions in the current year (2019).  I saw one answer to a similar post that recommended a "off-cycle" reconciliation and adjusting entry to clear those sorts of uncleared transactions.  Can you expand on that concept?  I'd like to leave a clear and clean audit trail.

 

Thank you in advance for your answer.  I am new to the Community and appreciate all it has to offer.

C
Charies_M
August 18, 2022

Hello there, EileenLight.

 

I can help you clear unreconciled transactions from the year 2019.

 

If the transactions is a duplicate of the Reconciled (R) one, you'll need to delete the Cleared (C) transaction from the register. Deleting the Cleared (C) transaction will avoid changes to the beginning balance. 

 

Here's how to do it:

 

  1. Click Accounting on the left menu and select the Chart of Accounts tab.
  2. Look for the bank account and click View register.
  3. Select the Cleared (C) transfer transaction.
  4. Click Delete and choose Yes to confirm the action.

I'd also recommend seeking professional advice from your accountant about this. They'll be able to provide an option that suits your company setup.

 

You can read through this article for more details in troubleshooting reconciliations: 

The Community is always open if you have further questions while clearing old transactions. I'll be here to continue helping. Have a good one.

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