Why Is My Bank Reconciliation Out of Balance

*** This FAQ Applies to AccountEdge, AccountEdge Network Edition, Premier Accounting, FirstEdge and BusinessBasics ***

Troubleshooting Tips For Finding The Cause Of Out Of Balance Amount In Bank Reconciliation:

1. Find out if it is a previous reconciliation or the current reconciliation that is Out of Balance:

• Enter the last successfully reconciled balance (from the LAST BANK STATEMENT'S ending balance)
• Enter the last successful reconciliation date
• Do not mark any transaction as cleared
• Are you out of balance?

If You Are Not Out Of Balance:

The problem is with the CURRENT reconciliation. Check for bank fees, direct debits, un-entered (forgotten) transactions, duplicate entries, or transactions that may have been incorrectly entered. You should also check for any errors on the bank statement.

If You Are Still Out Of Balance:

Go to Step Number 2.

2. Check for any future dated transactions:

• Go to the Reconcile Accounts window
• Enter a future date
• Check to see if there are any incorrectly dated transactions

3. Did you change the opening balance of the bank account?

• Go to the Setup -- Opening Balances screen and check that the opening balance for the relevant bank account agrees with the Cash Book balance as of the Conversion Date

4. Look for missing Check ID's:

• Run a Checkbook Register Report
• Design the report just for withdrawals
• Sort the report by ID# in the filter
• Check for any missing check numbers

5. Look for missing Deposits:

• Run a Checkbook Register Report
• Design the report just for deposits
• Sort the Report by ID# in the filter
• Check for any missing CR numbers

6. Have any previously reconciled transactions been changed or deleted? An edited transaction will now reappear on your current reconciliation. Any deleted transaction will have to be reentered. Print your last Bank Reconciliation Report to find those transactions and their original amounts. You will be out of balance by the total of these transactions.

• Re-enter the transactions
• Go to Reconcile Accounts
• Enter the date of your last reconciliation
• In the New Balance From Statement field, enter the figure you last reconciled with
• Check off only the changed transactions
• You should now be able to reconcile your current statement normally

7. If the problem is still unsolved:

• Run the Checkbook Register Report dated from the start of the year to the reconciliation date and do a MANUAL reconciliation using your bank statements. Sort the Report by date in the filter.

Tip: If the Out of Balance amount is divisible by 9, an amount has been transposed. (Example: $78.32 was entered as $87.32)

Warning: Once you have reconciled your account, it CANNOT be undone or reversed unless you are running the 2007 or later software when you reconciled. If you must undo or reverse the reconciliation for any reason, you will only be able to restore a backup copy of your company file.

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