Bank reconciliation basics Updated November 2026

Bank reconciliation in QuickBooks

In QuickBooks Online go to Transactions, Reconcile, pick the account, enter the statement ending balance and ending date, then tick each transaction that appears on the statement. When the Difference at the top reads 0.00 click Finish now. Unticked items are your deposits in transit and outstanding checks.

Syntax

Transactions > Reconcile > account > Ending balance, Ending date > tick cleared items > Difference 0.00 > Finish now

Part	What it is
`Beginning balance`	Must equal last month's reconciled ending balance; if not, a reconciled transaction was changed or deleted
`Ending balance`	From the statement, typed exactly
`Difference`	Statement ending balance minus cleared balance; must be 0.00
`Reconciliation Discrepancy report`	Lists changes made to previously reconciled transactions

Examples

Statement ending balance 6,680; cleared balance after ticking 6,680

Result: Difference 0.00; Finish now. Two unticked checks (860 total) and one unticked deposit (1,200) stay open for next month.

Difference shows -40.00 after ticking everything on the statement

Result: A 40 fee is on the statement but not in QuickBooks; add it as an expense dated the statement date, tick it, and the difference becomes 0.00.

Beginning balance 5,000 but last month's reconciliation ended at 5,120

Result: Run the Reconciliation Discrepancy report: a 120 deposit that was reconciled last month has been deleted; restore it.

Common mistakes

Clicking Finish now with a difference and accepting the auto adjustment: it posts to Reconciliation Discrepancies and hides a real error.
Ticking items dated after the statement end: the Difference will never reach zero; filter by date.
Editing a reconciled transaction: this breaks the next month's beginning balance; use a new entry instead.

Practice Bank reconciliation in QuickBooks

These drills check your answer on live data, free, no account needed.

A busy monthClassify every line on the bank statement and in the cash book, then enter the adjusted bank and book balances.
The monthly service chargeClassify every line on the bank statement and in the cash book, then enter the adjusted bank and book balances.

Questions

Where do deposits in transit go in QuickBooks?

They stay unticked. QuickBooks lists them as uncleared on the reconciliation report and carries them into next month.

How do I undo a reconciliation in QuickBooks Online?

Open the reconciliation history, pick the month and choose Undo (available to accountant users), or untick transactions one at a time from the register.

Bank reconciliation stepsThe steps of a bank reconciliation: tick deposits and checks, adjust the bank balance for timing items, adjust the books for bank items, match and post.
Reconciliation does not balanceWhen the adjusted bank and book balances differ, the difference tells you where to look: divisible by 9 means a transposition, twice an item means a sign.
Bank reconciliation in ExcelBuild a bank reconciliation in Excel: a bank section and a book section with SUM formulas, an outstanding checks list, a difference cell that must read zero.