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user21876
April 12, 2019
Solved

What do you do when your bank register balance does not equal your chart of accounts bank balance?

  • April 12, 2019
  • 5 replies
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Original commenter did not share additional details
    Best answer by Kristine Mae

    Did you ever get the balances to equal?


    I'd like to add a few more details, BookkeeperMKE.

     

    As mentioned above, if your bank register balance in QuickBooks Online doesn’t match your actual bank balance, several factors may cause the balances to vary:

    • Outstanding transactions
    • New transactions for a connected account
    • Duplicate transactions
    • Edited or deleted transactions
    • Credit card (liability) account

    This article will help you understand the cause and how to resolve these issues: How to Fix Differences Between QuickBooks Balance and Bank Balance.

     

    If your financial institution is connected, you will unlikely see the bank balance and QuickBooks balance match. Our program is dependent on what your bank shares. Each financial institution has different time increments when they send the transactions. Having said that, the reason behind this is timing. 

     

    This is the same when you're manually importing transactions. It will not match since the bank balance will not be updated.

     

    I'll add the reference on how to match and categorize bank transactions in QuickBooks Online. This will help you review these transactions after being downloaded or imported. 

     

    You can also get QuickBooks-certified bookkeepers to help you manage balances and other tasks:
    Check out QuickBooks Live.

     

    If any questions arise, please feel free to leave a comment below. 

    5 replies

    U
    user21876Author
    April 12, 2019

    This question was for QB Online.

      D
      DarellA
      April 12, 2019

      Hi @user21876,

       

      If your bank register balance in QuickBooks Online doesn’t match your actual bank balance, several factors may cause the balances to vary. You would need to verify why they don’t match, and fix them accordingly.

       

      Balances may not match for a number of reasons:

      • Outstanding transactions
      • New transactions for a connected account
      • Duplicate transactions
      • Edited or deleted transactions
      • Credit card (liability) account

      Please check this article to find out the recommended fix for the mentioned reasons: How to Fix Differences Between QuickBooks Balance and Bank Balance.

       

      If you’re still having problems with mismatched problems, you may also read these articles for further help:

      I’m always here to assist you if you have other concerns. I’m just a post away.
       

      D
      deycomin
      January 28, 2020

      Hi @DarellA 

       

      Thank you for this response.  My issue is slightly different.  I use the global version of Quickbooks Online as such my bank is not listed in QBO when connecting my bank account.  As such, I downloaded a CSV file from my bank and used CSVtoQBO software to convert it.  Where i went wrong was I did not enter the opening balance in the software and uploaded the qbo file to my Quickbooks Online account.  Now, My "In Quickbooks" balance is correct and spot on with my actual bank balance however my "Bank Balance" in Quickbooks online is incorrect with a difference of the opening balance.

       

      How do I correct this?  I have not done a reconcile yet as this is the first month of my subscription.

      vpcontroller
      vpcontroller
      April 15, 2020

      "What do you do when your bank register balance does not equal your chart of accounts bank balance?"

       

      Nothing. Ignore. And move on. 

      Already explained various reasons why that happens and there is no way to retroactively go back and fix them. Stuck. This is a known glitch in QBO bank feed balance since day-1. 

      What matters is the QuickBooks balance in the bank register. And you reconcile the account.

       

      G
      greenman
      April 17, 2020

      Seriously?  You just ignore ignore it?  We pay several hundred dollars a month for this software.  If I am looking at my chart of Accounts I should be able to have an understanding of what is going on financially....particularly during this Pandemic.  It is unacceptable that the balances don't match.

      @vpcontroller wrote:

      "What do you do when your bank register balance does not equal your chart of accounts bank balance?"

       

      Nothing. Ignore. And move on. 

      Already explained various reasons why that happens and there is no way to retroactively go back and fix them. Stuck. This is a known glitch in QBO bank feed balance since day-1. 

      What matters is the QuickBooks balance in the bank register. And you reconcile the account.

       

       

        P
        PaulaS
        May 5, 2020

        Hi y'all!

        It seems there are different issues stemming from the original question.

         

        Something to understand at the base is the "Bank Balance" & "In QuickBooks" may not always equal or "balance". Bank balance is what the bank is showing as the ins & outs of transactions. In QuickBooks is based on the check register.

         

        If there is a beginning bank balance due to a conversion that is NOT entered in the check register, then whenever there is a bank reconciliation started, there will not be a reconciliation possible.

         

        In order to correct the problem, verify the bank balance as of the date of conversion and make that entry into the check register. In other words, the balance before the bank reconciliation must be entered, in order for a reconciliation to be possible.

         

        If there is a conversion on 3/15/19 with a bank balance of $39, but the bank balance on 3/16/19 is $40, there needs to be an entry for the $1 difference, in order to reconcile the bank account on 3/31/19.

         

        However, using that same example, the Bank Balance feed may show $39, while the In QuickBooks may show $40, because until the $1 appears at the bank, the only place it exists is the check register.

         

        It's OK for the Bank Balance and In QuickBooks to not balance on a daily basis, because outstanding checks are not present at a bank, until they're cashed. However, the bank account amount on the Chart of Accounts SHOULD match the In QuickBooks amount on the same date, because that amount is based on the bank register ONLY and not what appears at the bank.

         

        Hope that helps!

         

        Paula

          IamjuViel
          IamjuViel
          June 11, 2020

          Hello, @April Union.

           

          There are several possible reasons why your bank balance does not match. I can share some information to resolve this.

           

          Let's start by reviewing the opening balance in your account to make sure it's correct. Here's how:

          1. Select the Accounting menu,.
          2. Choose Chart of Accounts.
          3. Look for the account on the list.
          4. From the Actions column, click View register.
          5. Search for the opening balance entry.
            • This transaction should have an "Opening Balance Equity" in the Memo column. Make

          If there's an opening balance, let's make sure that it has the correct date and amount. While if there's no opening balance equity recorded, you can enter it by creating a journal entry. You can refer to this article for the detailed steps: What to do if you didn't enter an opening balance in QuickBooks Online.

           

          On the other hand, you may have transactions that were not supposed to be reconciled. Let's run the previous reconciliation report to review it one-by-one. Here's how: 

          1. Go to Accounting, then select the Reconcile tab. 
          2. Click the History by account link.
          3. Choose the Account and Report period.
          4. Open the year with the statement ending date.
          5. Click View report. 

          To correct the reconciled period, you can undo the reconciliation process. For more insights, you can use this article: Undo and remove transactions from reconciliations in QuickBooks Online.

           

          Lastly, you'll want to review your list of uncleared and cleared transactions.  You can look into the in-depth explanation that @PaulaS shared in this thread.
           

          Always feel free to leave a comment below if you have other questions about managing your income and expense transactions in QuickBooks.

          C
          CharlotteP
          December 10, 2021

          Hi, Could someone help me please. I am reconciling the books to match the bank account, the opening balance from previous month is correct and the ending balance for the month i am reconciling is correct, taken from my statement, plus i have printed my statement off and all of the transactions that are ticked in the reconciliation matches what i have on the statement, therefore there are no missing transactions as they are all on the statement and are ticked in Quickbooks but the QuickBooks says i still have a difference of -4,333 (missing bills/expenses i have not inputted). Does anyone know of any troubleshooting errors this could relate to please? 

          thank you !!!! 

          Any help would be appreciated!!

          C
          Carneil_C
          December 10, 2021

          Thanks for joining this thread, @CharlotteP. I’d be glad to help you resolve the reconciliation differences in QuickBooks Online.

           

          Since your ending and opening balance are correct when reconciling, I recommend checking your bank statement. Make edits as needed, and ensure you’ve recorded all transactions.

           

          In some cases, the reason for this difference amount is a duplicate transaction. If there is, then you can delete it.

           

          In addition, I've got this helpful resource to help you fix issues at the end of a reconciliation.

           

          To know more about reconciliation in QuickBooks Online, check these out:
          Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.
          Undo or remove transactions from reconciliations in QuickBooks Online.

           

          Stay in touch if you have any other questions or concerns about fixing reconciliation issues. I’ll be right here to answer them for you. Enjoy the rest of the day. 

          S
          samraustin
          July 28, 2022

          My bank acct is reconciled and correct. When I pull up the list of acts, the balance comes up inaccurate after opening the account it shows the proper amount.  I have 2 other bank accounts that are accurate and in order?

           

          C
          ChristineJoieR
          July 28, 2022

          Hello there, @samraustin.

           

          We can work together on reviewing your reconciled transactions in QuickBooks Online.

           

          When transactions are manually imported, the bank balance and the balance in QuickBooks will not be the same. If the account is linked to online banking, the bank balance will only be changed or updated. The added or matched transactions will also affect the QuickBooks balance.

           

          Here are the things to review in reconciling accounts:

           

          1. Review the original opening balance.
          2. Check your bank statement, and make sure you're reconciling the correct month.
          3. Double check if there are matched transactions.

           

          Furthermore, If you need to edit the transaction, you can follow these steps: 

           

          1. Click Accounting.
          2. Go to the Chart of Accounts tab.
          3. Select the bank account, then click View register.
          4. Look for the transactions and check if you can see R in the column. 
          5. Select the transaction and repeatedly click the R status until it's blank or unreconciled. 
          6. Click Edit. Make the changes and then save.

           

          You can go back to the register and manually reconcile the transaction by clicking the Reconciliation status column to, then click Save. 

           

          Also, editing reconciled transactions may result in discrepancies between your previous and next reconciliation balances. I recommend contacting an accountant to help you manage the reconciled transaction so it doesn't mess up your books.

           

          After that, try to reconcile the new month and see if there are any other issues. If there are any errors, you can use this article to help you correct them: Fix issues for accounts you've reconciled in the past in QuickBooks Online.

           

          Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for you. Please leave a comment, and I will respond as soon as possible.

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