QuickBooks Balance vs. Bank Balance Discrepancies – Eric Frickey
QuickBooks Online displays two balances for each QuickBooks account to include checking, savings, credit cards, etc. When logging in the dashboard will display a bank balance and a QuickBooks balance.
The bank balance is the actual balance typically reconciled form bank statements while the QuickBooks balance (shown as “In QuickBooks”) is the balance shown in the register. It is quite common for these two balances to not match. The following are some of the reasons why.
- Outstanding checks:
Since the QuickBooks Online balance is same that would ordinarily be in your check register there will be checks that you record that may not have cleared the bank yet. For example, if your bank balance is $1000 but you have an outstanding check for $100, QuickBooks Online will enter that $100 check in the register for a $900 balance. The bank balance will continue to read $1000 until the check has cleared.
- New Transaction for a Connected Account:
If your QuickBooks Online account is connected to your bank to download transactions, any transaction that are in “New Transactions” tab that have not been added are not included in the register but are reflected in the actual bank balance. Adding them to the register will update the balance in QuickBooks Online
- Duplicate Transactions
There will be cases where transactions have been incorrectly added to the register via manual entry in addition to being “matched” to a transaction already entered. This usually occurs with bookkeepers not familiar with managing bank feeds. It is quite common to see a QuickBooks balance to be far less than the bank balance. An easy way to check for duplicates in the register is to do a sort by amount.
The remedy for this situation is to undo the acceptance of the manual entry and then match the transaction instead. Care should be taken in this procedure. It is recommended that your CPA make the corrections.
- Editing or Deleting Transactions
Editing or deleting transaction will obviously create discrepancies. If the transactions accurately reflect the bank statement this should not occur.
In summary, the QuickBooks Online balance for asset accounts will be more negative than the bank balance while the opposite occurs for liability accounts such as credit cards. If these discrepancies are substantial it is recommended that you consult with your CPA.
For additional detail on this issue please see the QuickBooks Support Link at
https://community.intuit.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=Bank+balance+vs.+QuickBooks+Balance&button=