Don't force an adjustment to make it balance; the wrong beginning balance almost always has a findable cause, and in QuickBooks Desktop it's often a statement-date mismatch after an undo. Since your January report is still correct, the clean fix is to diagnose with the discrepancy report, then undo back to that known-good point and re-reconcile forward, checking the statement date each time.
Step 1: Back up, then find what changed
Start by protecting the file and pulling the two reports that show what moved.
- Back up your company file first (File, then Back Up Company).
- Go to Reports, then Banking, then Reconciliation Discrepancy, choose the account, and review the list of transactions changed since your last reconciliation (note the Entered/Last Modified dates).
- Also check Reports, then Banking, then Missing Checks, for anything skewing the balance.
- Rule out a stray forced adjustment: go to Edit, then Find, choose Memo, type Balance Adjustment, and select Find. A past forced adjustment is a common source of an unexplained beginning balance like the one you're seeing.
References: Fix beginning balance issues in QuickBooks Desktop and Fix issues when you're reconciling in QuickBooks Desktop.
Step 2: Check for a statement-date mismatch (the likely culprit)
QuickBooks Desktop assigns a statement date to each transaction as it clears and calculates the beginning balance from cleared transactions dated before the current statement date, so a prior reconciliation saved with a statement date later than the current one can make the beginning balance look wrong. Review your Previous Reconciliation reports (Reports, then Banking, then Previous Reconciliation) and confirm each statement date is correct. Details: Resolve common issues on the Previous Reconciliation report.
Step 3: Undo back to the last correct point, then redo forward
Work backward to your known-good month, clear out old adjustments, then rebuild in date order.
- Go to Banking, then Reconcile, and select Undo Last Reconciliation (this reverts the beginning balance to the previous reconciliation's beginning balance).
- Undo only back to the last period whose beginning balance was correct (your January).
- Before redoing, delete any statement service charges, interest adjustments, and balance adjustments for each affected period from the register, so an old adjustment doesn't distort the redo.
- Re-reconcile each month forward, separately and in date order, entering the correct statement date and ending balance for each. Guide: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Desktop.
Unchecking February's cleared transactions in the register to redo that month is also a valid approach, but run the discrepancy report first so you're fixing the actual cause rather than the symptom.
About letting QuickBooks post the difference
Avoid using Enter Adjustment to force it to balance; an adjustment doesn't fix the underlying error and tends to cause problems in later periods. Since this affects prior-period balances, it's worth having your accountant review before making any adjustment (this isn't accounting advice).
If you share the correct January ending balance and the statement dates you used for January and February, we can help pinpoint whether a date mismatch is behind that unexpected beginning balance.
