In QuickBooks 2000 and later choose Banking > Reconcile. In QuickBooks 99 choose Activities > Reconcile.
Choose the Account to reconcile (for example, Checking).
In QuickBooks 2002 and later enter the financial institution's statement date in the Statement Date field.
Enter the financial institution's statement ending balance in the Ending Balance field.
Look at your financial institution's statement to see if you have:
Service charges or bank fees. If you do enter the date and amount in the Service Charge fields.
Interest income. If you do enter the date and amount in the Interest Earned fields.
In QuickBooks 2002 and later choose Continue.
In QuickBooks 2004 and later, check the box 'Show only transactions on or before the statement ending date.' This hides transactions dated after the statement date. The list of transactions in the Reconcile window will be shorter and easier to match with the statement.
In the Deposits and Other Credits window, use the mouse or the space bar to place a checkmark next to the Date field for each corresponding deposit on the financial institution's statement.
Use a pencil to checkmark the matching deposit or credit on the financial institution's statement.
IMPORTANT: If the amount for a transaction cleared the bank for a different amount, choose Go To and correct the QuickBooks deposit. For instance, the deposit cleared the bank for 509.00 on 12/28/04. The deposit in QuickBooks was recorded as 12/28/04 for 590.00. You need to change the QuickBooks amount from 590.00 to 509.00.
Repeat steps 8 and 9 until you have found and marked each deposit and credit. Repeat step 10 as needed.
In the Checks and Payments window, use the mouse or the space bar to place a checkmark next to the Date field for each corresponding deposit on the financial institution's statement.
Use a pencil to checkmark the matching check or debit on the financial institution's statement.
IMPORTANT: If the amount for a transaction cleared the bank for a different amount, choose Go To and correct QuickBooks. For instance the bank cleared Check 341 for $40.40 on 10/28/04. QuickBooks recorded the check on 10/15/04 for $40.00. You need to change the QuickBooks amount from $40.00 to $40.40.
Repeat steps 12 and 13 until you have found and marked each check and debit on the financial institution's statement. Repeat step 14 as needed.
Look at the Cleared Balance at the bottom of the Reconcile window.
The Cleared Balance is the total of all deposits and checks in QuickBooks that have a checkmark (in the register and in the Reconcile window).
If the Difference is 0.00 you are in balance. Skip to step 24.
If the Difference is not 0.00 continue to the next step.
Most financial institution's statements show the number of items you deposited and the number of checks that cleared the institution's account.
Compare the financial institution's statement item count with the QuickBooks 'Items you have marked cleared' in the lower left of the Reconcile window. For example, QuickBooks says "8 Deposit and Other Credits" and "22 Check and Payments," but the bank says you made 8 deposits and 20 checks cleared the bank. Repeat steps 11 and 12 until you find the two checks in QuickBooks that did not clear the bank.
When you find differences you will check or uncheck the transaction in the QuickBooks Reconcile window. You would remove the checkmark from two checks in step 21's example.
IMPORTANT: If you have a Difference that is not 0.00, verify you have entered the correct Ending Balance in step 4. The Ending Balance is the amount on your financial institution statement.
When the financial institution's statement item count agrees with the QuickBooks 'Items you have marked cleared' count, QuickBooks should show a Difference of 0.00. Skip to step 27 if the Difference is not 0.00.
Choose Reconcile Now in QuickBooks 2000 and later. Choose Done in QuickBooks 99. (Reconcile Now and Done both change the cleared asterisk (*) in your check register to a cleared checkmark (/). The asterisk indicates a cleared and pending/ready to be reconciled transaction. The checkmark indicates the cleared transaction has been reconciled.)
In QuickBooks 2004 and 2005 choose Both. In QuickBooks 2002 and 2003 choose Detail. In QuickBooks 99, 2000, and 2001, choose Full and enter the financial institution's statement date in the Statement Closing Date field.
Choose Print > Print in QuickBooks 2002 and later. Choose OK and Print in QuickBooks 99, 2000, and 2001.
If the Difference is still not 0.00, you may have a problem with QuickBooks Beginning / Opening Balance. Leave the Reconcile window open and continue with the next QuickTip Question and Answer to discover errors in the Opening Balance.
