QuickBooks Bank Account Has Never Been Reconciled! Bulk Reconcile is the Answer

Help!  How Can I Reconcile Years of Transactions Without Doing a Month-To-Month Reconciliation Since the Beginning of the Company File?

I frequently get this question.  This morning a follower sent an email saying that the bank accounts in her QuickBooks file had not been reconciled since the file was created in 2002.  She wanted to know if there is a way to do a bulk reconciliation or if she would have to start from the beginning and reconcile years of transactions since the beginning.

The answer is DO ONE LARGE BULK RECONCILE.

I prefer to do a BULK Reconciliation to the last or next to the last month of the year before my current year.  In this example, 2009 is still technically an open year because we have not prepared our Income Taxes and it is wise to reconcile the January bank statement before closing the year....just to be sure you have not failed to record any December activity that may have cleared in January. 

Here's how I answered her email using her example of 2002 - current:

• Select a reconciliation date - let's use 11.30.08 and record the ending balance from the statement

•  Verify that all dates on the entry page of the reconciliation agree:  Reconciliation Date; Bank Service Charge Date and Interest Earned Date....THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! DOUBLE CHECK THIS BEFORE YOU GO ANY FARTHER!

• Place a check mark in the box inside the reconciliation window where you see the list of checks and deposits that allows you to show only the items as of the date of the currently selected bank statement (11.30.08)

• Make sure that your check & deposit columns are sorted by date

• Select "Mark All"
  

• Using the November 2008 bank statement, "uncheck" any items that are not on that statement....if they are not there, they didn't clear in November.

• Next, using the DECEMBER 2008 statement, double check that you did not "clear" anything that should have remained open until the following month.

• If you are sure that you have checked carefully and your bank reconciliation remains out of balance, make a journal entry to OTHER EXPENSE to balance the statement.  

(I use this method because the out of balance is the result of missing transactions that would eventually become Retained Earnings if they had been properly entered and cleared; and because I would like to post any historic adjustments to an Other account type so that a) I can easily locate and research it later and b) I can feel confident that the tax professional who will be preparing tax returns or reviewing company books will review any postings to Other Expense and make correcting entries for the adjustments I've made.

• Reconcile December 2008 using the same method.  This should give you a pretty accurate year-end bank reconciliation.

• Reconcile 2009 month by month to assure that you have accurate bank reconciliations for the most recent year and to "reset" your file and assure an accurate, sequential reconciliation process going forward.

Thanks Imelda for a Great Question
and a Great Topic for our Blog!

I hope this is useful information.

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Sharing Data Between Mac and PC

Today's topic is working with client files when they are using a Mac and you are using QuickBooks for PC.

Quite often I need to get a backup of my client's work to take to my office and then return with changes or new postings.

I generally don’t use the Accountant’s Copy because it can create significant limitations in the client’s file and they usually aren’t very happy with me; I prefer to take a backup to my office and work on their file when they can stay out of QuickBooks while I am working.

This podcast will discuss the process using QuickBooks 2006 for Mac. It’s easy to go back and forth between Mac and PC if you follow a few simple instructions. When you do, a report will be generated in a PDF format that offers simple instructions for the process and provides a list of data that won’t be converted, unsupported reports in QuickBooks for Mac, and unsupported Report Filters that won’t convert from Mac to PC when you restore the work to your PC.
There are some things that won’t convert from Mac to Windows.


I recently did a lot of work in a file that needed 3 bank accounts reconciled from mid-2006 to current. I reconciled 2006 (all 3 accounts) for the client, then returned a back up so he could work in the file until my next visit. I didn’t realize the Bank Reconciliations would not “stick” as they do in the PC version. I had to go back to reconcile each month again in order to go forward. Fortunately, the data I entered remained. Additionally, the transactions I cleared the week before remained cleared.


However, I did have to begin in June 2006 and re-do the reconciliation process month by month in order to a) create a previous reconciliation history and b) recreate the chronological process inside the bank reconciliation. By this I mean, that when I opened the bank reconciliation for the payroll account for example, the beginning balance was zero and the current day was my statement date. All historical reports were gone and since I am doing a lot of work in this client’s file, it is very important to me to have that data available.


This isn’t the only conversion issue, but for me it is the biggest. I noticed that when I create a customized tool bar for the tasks I access the most, the view doesn’t convert from PC to Mac and therefore when I got a new backup the next week, my customizations weren’t there. Here’s a brief recap of the data, reports, and report filters that don’t convert from MAC to PC:

DATA

• Payroll & payroll item lists (if you use Intuit payroll – Mac uses PayCycle)
• Online banking transactions that you haven’t accepted into the register
• Other online services data may be affected
• Some customized forms and templates
• Integration with third party applications
• Budgets, transactions types, assembly items may convert as non-inventory items
• Most user customization – columns, ship to addresses, price levels, etc

There are other data that may not convert; the PDF document generated at the time of conversion offers a more complete list than I can remember, but this give you an idea of what you may not be able to access in the PC file once you restore a MAC backup.

REPORTS

• Pending builds
• Sales tax revenue summary
• Reconciliation Discrepancy
• Previous Bank Reconciliations
• Mileage Reports
• Payroll and workers comp reports
• Fixed Asset Listing
• Several Sales and Job related reports
• Estimates by Job

Again, there are many more that I haven’t needed or don’t remember. Refer to the PDF when you convert. You may want to review it before you elect to work in the PC file.

REPORT FILTERS

• Name email
• Posting Status
• Template
• Voided
• Workers Comp Code
• Paid Through
• Sales Tax Code
• More – refer to PDF

Sharing data Mac to Windows

If you can’t open the MAC file, you may have to go back to get another back up and make sure you save it as a .qbb file before you can open it on your PC.

If you get error messages when restoring the MAC file to PC, you may have to go back to the MAC and run Verify Data from the Utilities menu…the file could have some problems and need a little attention before you can proceed.


Back up Data in Mac to take to PC


1. Run Verify Data from the Utilities Menu (see previous).
2. Back up Mac data; be sure to save the file as a .qbb file

Restore Data from Mac to PC

1. Select FILE, RESTORE
2. Select the file and then RESTORE
3. You will be asked if you wish to update the file to the new version – type
YES , then OK



Backing up Data in PC to take to MAC

1. In Windows, select FILE>Utilities>Copy Company File for QB Mac to save
a .qbb backup file (you will notice that QuickBooks inserts “MAC” in the file name being saved
2. Save to Flash Drive, CD, Zip Disk

Restoring data to the Mac from PC

1. Insert backup media
2. IN QB MAC, select FILE> OPEN COMPANY
3. Select the .qbb file and click OPEN
4. Enter the company name and select SAVE
5. Once you have completed this task you will be shown a window where you can select OK to complete the process or you can click on the SHOW FILE IN FINDER button to see the location of the restored file

Are you backing up your data?

Well, that’s it for now. I appreciate your time and hope you will join us again next time for another in our Quicklet© series. If there are topics you would like me to cover or have questions, send your email to jayne@quickbooksgal.com.

Don’t forget to visit our website, www.quickbooksgal.com to learn more about me, the services we offer and our workshops. Remember, if you wish to read or listen to past podcasts, they are available online at blog.quickbooksgal.com.

I’m Jayne Miller, The QuickBooks Gal. Thanks for listening.

Jayne Miller is the owner of Custom Business Solutions, a consulting firm in Reno-Tahoe, Nevada that specializes in providing bookkeeping and software support.

Reconciling Bank Accounts in QuickBooks®

Hi, I’m Jayne Miller, the QuickBooks Gal. Welcome to another in our series of “Quicklets” –informational podcasts about QuickBooks and related bookkeeping topics.

Today, I’m going to talk about Reconciling Bank Accounts in QuickBooks®.

Nothing is so important and so overlooked in the bookkeeping process as performing monthly bank reconciliations. QuickBooks makes this process as easy as it could possibly be. Everyone should be in the habit of reconciling each checking, savings, credit card, or other financial accounts when they get a statement from the bank or issuing institution that holds these accounts.

Monthly reconciliations allow you make sure your that books are accurate, on-track, and gives you the opportunity to head off problems at the pass… before they become HUGE problems. To do your bank reconciliation, just grab your statement, open your QuickBooks file, go to the “Banking” menu and select “Reconcile.”

Now you should be able to enter the date of your statement, the ending balance, the date for your service charges and interest (this should be the same date as your statement), and the accounts you want to code your interest and service charges to. The beginning balance is already filled in for you and either comes from the ending balance of your last bank reconciliation or is zero because you’ve never done this before.

There are only three places where you can have errors in the bank reconciliation, and two of them are right here – the beginning and ending balance. If those are right, the only place left where you can have errors is in the actual activity, which you’ll see once you press “continue.”
Once you press continue, you’ll see a new “split” window with checks and deductions in the left window and deposits and credits in the right window. At the top, you will also see a check box where you can select the option to view only activity before or as of the date of the statement you are reconciling to…put a check mark in the box to make reconciling easier.

Now you simply put check marks next to each deposit, check, withdrawal, etc that matches with your bank statement. Generally, you will be able to check off everything that is on your statement, everything will match and you’ll just about be done.


However, a few complications can pop up:

One I see a lot stems from the use of outside payroll services. Users often record the expenses as a single Payroll check without the detail of each individual check. If your payroll system clears individual checks through your checking account, it’s nearly impossible to reconcile. To get around this I suggest creating a “Payroll in Transit” account which can be used to reflect the difference between the bank activity that clears and the unidentified individual payroll checks that are a part of the bulk transaction that was entered from Payroll company reports.

The best way to avoid this, however, is to open a separate checking account for payroll and then just transfer funds from the operating account to the payroll account just before payroll. I like this method because I only fund the payroll account when needed and it prevents putting the entire operating account funds at risk. Whenever there is an outside source accessing my accounts, I consider all funds at risk…whether malicious or accidental. When I have a dedicated account, I can control the potential loss.

Another potential problem or difficulty in reconciling is Credit Card deposits. Some processors take the discount off the deposit as it occurs…others discount at the end of the month. Additionally, just as it happens with payroll, sometimes you close your credit card system out at the end of the day and only part of the daily activity clears and reflects on the bank statement…could be dating, could be the time of day, could be that you have AMEX and Discover mingled with Visa and MasterCard. At any rate, you may have to create an account for “Credit Cards in Transit” against which you can make adjusting entries that allow you to balance. This is why I have the same policy for accepting credit cards as I have for payroll. I have a dedicated checking account for my credit card processing. I move the funds to the operating account weekly…it makes reconciling both accounts simple.


Back to reconciling:

When your statement balance and your cleared balance agree and your discrepancy balance in the lower right-hand corner of the reconciliation window is $0.00 you can tell QuickBooks to “Reconcile Now” and after a moment of processing it will congratulate you on completing a successful reconciliation and give you the option to print out a summary report, a detailed report, or both. I like to print the report and store it with my bank statement; however you can always print a copy from the Reports, Banking menu. Just select previous reconciliation report and follow on-screen instructions. This is a handy tool should any transactions that were previously cleared be deleted or altered…use this archived report to find discrepancies.

If you have questions about reconciling your accounts in QuickBooks, drop me a line at www.quickbooksgal.com.


Got a QuickBooks Mess? Call The QuickBooks Gal!




Comng Soon: Starting a New Business - Checklist & Discussion

Upcoming:
• Payroll – Ugh! I have a business with employees– now who wants a piece of me? (Social Security, Medicare, State Unemployment, FUTA, who else?)
• Using Credit Cards to pay bills, make purchases
• Converting Peachtree to QuickBooks
• Creating a new file in QuickBooks from an old one (Import lists vs. deleting transactions)
• Recording cash purchases and owner purchases/contributions
• QuickBooks Point of Sale – What’s new in 2007
• Links to our new MicroPods – podcasts devoted to Microsoft and the new Office Accounting - yes, we really are working on them! Coming Soon!



Are you backing up your data?



Well, that’s it for now. I appreciate your time and hope you will join us again next time for another in our Quicklet© series. If there are topics you would like me to cover, send me an email at jayne@quickbooksgal.com. I welcome your ideas, questions, and comments.

Don’t forget to visit our website, www.quickbooksgal.com to learn more about me, the services we offer and our workshops. April classes are on the website now.

I’m Jayne Miller, The QuickBooks Gal. Thanks for listening.






Jayne Miller is the owner of Custom Business Solutions, a consulting firm in Reno, Nevada that specializes in providing bookkeeping and software support.