Difference between matching transactions and reconciliation?

Welcome to the QuickBooks Online family @MaraRiem!

It's awesome that you want to familiarize yourself with the different features that are available in QuickBooks Online. It'll make doing the books for your company so much easier, and I know that you'll discover more and more to love about QBO. I'll go over the difference between using the bank feeds to add or match your transactions and using the reconciliation feature to reconcile your accounts.

Using the bank feeds feature is a fantastic way to bring your transactions directly into QuickBooks from your bank or credit card statement. By connecting your account to QuickBooks, your transactions are pulled into the For review tab of the Banking page for you to add directly into QuickBooks or match to a transaction you've already entered into the books. This is a real time saver, because you don't have to find the data first in order to enter the transaction - you can simply look for the amount in the bank feeds, categorize it, and add it in. Some might consider this a form of reconciliation, but within QuickBooks Online this is simply a way to make things easier when it comes time to do your reconciliation. Read this article for more on how to Categorize and match online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online.

The Reconcile page found within the Accounting tab is where you'll go to regularly review your accounts to ensure that the balances match your real-life bank and credit card statements. Since you've been using the bank feed to add and match your transactions, this process should be fairly quick and painless. Any transactions that you've already matched against the bank feed will automatically be checked off, and your opening balance will have already been picked up. You'll just have to go through to ensure that all transactions match your bank statement, and check on any that haven't been checked off to ensure they aren't duplicates. It'll also be helpful to ensure that you've entered everything from your statement and aren't missing any transactions. 

It's recommended to reconcile your books at the end of each month. Once reconciled, you cannot undo a reconciliation without the help of an accountant user, as it's a way of closing the books. Attempting to edit or delete transactions that have been previously reconciled will prompt a warning from QuickBooks and may cause issues when you go to complete the next month's reconciliation. 

Check out the articles below to learn more about the Reconcile feature in QuickBooks Online:

• Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online

• Learn the reconcile workflow in QuickBooks

If your company already has an accountant, it'd be worthwhile to consult with them on how they would prefer you to reconcile your accounts. They may be fine with simply using the bank feeds, but many accountants prefer the more formal reconciliation process. If you're not working with an accountant just yet, you're in luck. We have a database of QuickBooks-certified accountants that would love to work with you on this and point you in the right direction based on your company's needs. Simply access the My Accountant tab, then click Find a pro to help. 

I'm here if you have any additional questions. Have a great Monday!