Steps for reconciling your bank account using QuickBooks Online
Learn how to reconcile your accounts so they match your bank and credit card statements.
Just like balancing your chequebook, you need to review your accounts in QuickBooks to make sure they match your real-life bank and credit card statements. This process is called reconciling.
We recommend reconciling your checking, savings and credit card accounts every month. Once you get your bank statements, compare the list of transactions with what you entered into QuickBooks. If everything matches, you know your accounts are balanced and accurate.
Step 1: Review your opening balance
When you connect your bank and credit cards to online banking, QuickBooks automatically downloads your transactions and enters the opening balance for you. You don't need to worry about the opening balance for these types of accounts.
If you’re reconciling other types of accounts for the first time, review the opening balance. It needs to match the balance of your real-life bank account for whatever day you choose to start tracking the account in QuickBooks.
If you forgot to enter an opening balance, but you're already tracking transactions in the account, don't worry. Here's how to enter an opening balance manually later on.
And if you recently entered older transactions that come before your opening balance, here's how to reconcile them.
Step 2: Start your reconciliation
Once you get your bank statement, you can start reconciling.
If you're reconciling multiple months, start with your oldest bank statement. Reconcile each month separately, one statement at a time.
Important: If you see a message about issues with a previous reconciliation, select We can help you fix it. You'll need to fix these issues before you start.
- In QuickBooks Online, select Settings ⚙ and then select Reconcile. If you're reconciling for the first time, select Get Started first, and then Let's do it.
- From the Account ▼ dropdown menu, select the account you want to reconcile. Make sure it's the same one on your statement.
- Check the Last statement ending date. Make sure your bank statement starts the day after your last reconciliation.
- Review the Beginning balance. Make sure the beginning balance in QuickBooks matches the one on your bank statement. Here’s what to do if they don't match.
- Enter the Ending balance and Ending date as they're written on your bank statement. Some banks call the ending balance a "new balance."
- When you're ready to start, select Start reconciling.
How to pay your bill:
- Select Pay a bill or a portion of the bill now.
- Select Enter a invoice to pay later.
How to see a reconciliation report:
- Select View reconciliation report.
Step 3: Compare your bank statement and QuickBooks
To reconcile, simply compare the list of transactions on your bank statement with what's in QuickBooks. The tricky part is making sure you have the right dates and transactions. When you're done reviewing your statement, you'll know everything made it into QuickBooks.
The steps for reconciling accounts connected to online banking are slightly different from accounts that aren't connected.
Next steps: Review or change reconciliations
To review a past reconciliation:
- Go to the Accounting menu and select Reconcile.
- To see past reconciliations by date, select Summary. Or to see them by account, select History by account.
- Use the dropdown menus to select the account and date range.
You can also print or export your reconciliation reports if you need to share them.
Edit completed reconciliations
After you reconcile, you can make changes, but be careful.
Changes can unbalance your accounts since you'd change the ending balance. It also affects your beginning balance for your next reconciliation.
Start by reviewing a previous reconciliation report. If you reconciled an individual transaction by accident or it's an error, undo or remove your transaction. If you adjusted a reconciliation, or need to start over, reach out to your accountant. These kinds of changes get complicated and quickly unbalance your accounts.
If you ever need help reconciling your accounts, use Intuit's reconciliation guide.