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travesty
December 23, 2022
Solved

How do I fix a wrong beginning balance on my first reconciliation in QuickBooks Desktop for Mac?

  • December 23, 2022
  • 4 replies
  • 72 views

I'm trying to get all of my accounting straight for 2022, and I'm running into a problem with my main checking account. When trying to perform the first reconciliation, my beginning balance is wrong. The beginning balance is showing -199.57 in the reconciliation window, and since it is the first reconciliation of the account, it can't be changed.

 

The account will not let me edit the opening balance in the edit account window. There is no "Opening Balance Equity" entry in the register, nor are there any journal entires adjusting the opening balance. Am I missing something simple?

Best answer by cody_a

A wrong beginning balance on your very first reconciliation usually comes down to the account's opening balance, since QuickBooks builds that starting number from the opening balance entry rather than from a previous reconciliation. Since the opening balance entry isn't showing up in your register and you can't edit it directly, the fix is to recreate it, then check your company file for any underlying data issues if that doesn't stick.

Step 1: recreate the opening balance with a journal entry

You can rebuild the opening balance using a journal entry dated to match your real starting balance, then reconcile against that entry so QuickBooks has something correct to pull in.

  1. Go to Company, then select Make General Journal Entries.
  2. Enter the date and amount you want to see as your starting balance.
  3. Go to Banking, then Reconcile. Select your account, and enter the statement date and ending balance that matches the journal entry.
  4. In Deposits and Other Credits, select the journal entry so the difference shows $0.00, then select Reconcile Now.


Step 2: check for data damage

If the opening balance won't hold or keeps reverting, your company file may have some data damage. A quick verify will tell you if that's what's going on.

  1. Go to File, then Utilities, then select Verify Data.
  2. If you see a message that your data has failed the integrity check, go back to File, then Utilities, then select Rebuild Data.
  3. Run Verify Data once more afterward to confirm everything's clean.

 

Once your opening balance matches your real-world starting balance, your first reconciliation should pull it in correctly and let you continue as normal.

For more: 


Let us know how it goes, or if anything above doesn't quite match what you're seeing.

 

4 replies

J
JamaicaAQuickBooks Team
QuickBooks Team
December 23, 2022

Thank you for providing the complete details of your concern, @travesty. I'll be here to walk you through every step of the way to fix your opening balance in QuickBooks Desktop for MAC.

 

Reconciliation Discrepancies are caused by modified transactions and adjustments from previous reconciliation. We can review reports to determine the transaction that's causing the problem.

 

Beginning balance issues in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) may be due to one of the following reasons:

 

  • No balance or an incorrect balance was entered when the account was set up.
  • The file was converted from a different version of QuickBooks.
  • Previously cleared and reconciled transactions were voided, deleted, or modified.
  • And possible data damage

 

To isolate this, let's run your Reconcile Discrepancy report and locate what causing the discrepancy. I'll show you how.
 

  1. Go to the Reports menu and select Banking.
  2. Click Reconciliation Discrepancy Report.
  3. Choose the appropriate account, then select OK. 
  4. Identify the transaction/s causing the issue.

 

You can also pull up a Bank Account QuickReport or Audit Trail Report to locate the discrepancy or transactions that may have been cleared or uncleared unintentionally. To be guided, check out this article: Find reconciliation discrepancies (Mac).

 

Once you identify a discrepancy, you need to make the necessary corrections. If you need additional assistance about this, please consult your accountant. This way, we can ensure your account is well accounted for after making these changes. If you don't have one, you can visit our ProAdvisor page and look for one from there.

 

Once everything is in place, feel free to read this link for reference in reconciling your accounts flawlessly: Learn the reconcile workflow in QuickBooks.

 

Feel free to add a post or comment below if you have any other reconciliation concerns, I'll be always here to help you. Have a great day ahead! 

T
travestyAuthor
December 23, 2022

Thanks for your reply. After running the report, I show one transaction for the account in question for the amount that is causing the problem. The transaction is a check that is showing deleted. It is not in the account that has the incorrect balance or the account that it was paid for. Hope that makes sense...

 

How can I find the transaction in question?

C
ChristineJoieRQuickBooks Team
QuickBooks Team
December 23, 2022

Hi there, @travesty.

 

I'm glad you found the data that causes the issue on your reconciliation. I'm here to help you locate the transaction that shows as deleted in QuickBooks Desktop for Mac.

 

Missing or deleted checks might be causing a discrepancy in the ending balance of your reconciliation. We can run the Missing Checks report to find the missing data. 

 

Let's perform these steps:

 

  1. Click Reports, click the Banking tab, then choose Missing Checks.
  2. Choose the reconciled account and then press OK.
  3. Review the missing checks report and check the transactions that are not on the bank statement. If you find such transactions, they should not be on your reconciliation list.

 

Additionally, we can generate a Transaction Detail Report to assist you in confirming the transactions that are modified.

 

Here's how:

 

  1. Choose the Reports, then Custom Transaction Detail Report.
  2. Select the Custom Dates in the Date pop-up menu.
  3. Set the Date of the last reconciled transaction in the Entered/Last Modified field.
  4. Choose OK to run the report.
  5. Check if any transactions do not match the transactions on your bank statement. If yes, reach out to the person who made the edits to find the reason. 

 

I'm also adding this article if you encounter data issues within your QuickBooks Desktop for Mac: Resolve Potential Data Issues in QuickBooks.

 

Once again, thank you for visiting us today. I'm happy to assist if you still need to achieve tasks before the year ends. Happy holiday.

cody_a
cody_aCommunity ManagerAnswer
Community Manager
August 24, 2026

A wrong beginning balance on your very first reconciliation usually comes down to the account's opening balance, since QuickBooks builds that starting number from the opening balance entry rather than from a previous reconciliation. Since the opening balance entry isn't showing up in your register and you can't edit it directly, the fix is to recreate it, then check your company file for any underlying data issues if that doesn't stick.

Step 1: recreate the opening balance with a journal entry

You can rebuild the opening balance using a journal entry dated to match your real starting balance, then reconcile against that entry so QuickBooks has something correct to pull in.

  1. Go to Company, then select Make General Journal Entries.
  2. Enter the date and amount you want to see as your starting balance.
  3. Go to Banking, then Reconcile. Select your account, and enter the statement date and ending balance that matches the journal entry.
  4. In Deposits and Other Credits, select the journal entry so the difference shows $0.00, then select Reconcile Now.


Step 2: check for data damage

If the opening balance won't hold or keeps reverting, your company file may have some data damage. A quick verify will tell you if that's what's going on.

  1. Go to File, then Utilities, then select Verify Data.
  2. If you see a message that your data has failed the integrity check, go back to File, then Utilities, then select Rebuild Data.
  3. Run Verify Data once more afterward to confirm everything's clean.

 

Once your opening balance matches your real-world starting balance, your first reconciliation should pull it in correctly and let you continue as normal.

For more: 


Let us know how it goes, or if anything above doesn't quite match what you're seeing.

 

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