Old Reconciled Transactions Showing Up When Reconciling

@rawpwr101 

What do you mean by "If I remove the item" and "I have to put it back and mark it clear in the register"? 

When you reconcile, you can't remove a transaction, you can only mark it cleared.  Why are you marking anything in the register?  

Thank you for reaching out, @rawpwr101. I can help you address the transactions so you can proceed to reconcile your current month and ensure your books stay accurate in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

Before anything else, please know that it's essential to determine the letters that appear when reconciling an account in QBO. When you click the blank in the Checkmark, then the R reflects. It means you've reconciled the transaction. While C means you've cleared it from the account register, and Empty or blank means it's been unreconciled from the bank register. For more details, please see this article:

Since you're reconciling a new month, you'll want to ensure that it shows R and not C. Otherwise, it'll cause issues with the period you're reconciling. I recommend utilizing a reconciliation report to verify which transactions require reconciling. You'll then double-check the transaction's amount to see if it changed while ensuring the reconciliation report matches your transactions in the account register. These are the steps:

1. Access your QuickBooks Online company.
2. On the left navigational bar, click the Reports tab.
3. In the Search bar, enter Reconciliation report.
4. Click on the result and then filter it to show specific date.
5. Once done, click the Run report button.

For visual reference, see the image below. 

Once you've determined the transaction, proceed to continue reconciling the account. Refer to this page for further guidelines:  Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.

QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted is now available and that they can lend a helping hand in reconciling your accounts in QBO. Feel free to check them out to streamline your reconciliation process.

Moreover, I'm providing this article in case you'd like to print or export a copy of your reconciliation report in QBO: How do I view, print, or export a reconciliation report?

Please let me know in the comment section if you require further assistance reconciling an account or handling bank transactions in QuickBooks. As always, I'll be here to respond and help you again. Keep safe.

What I meant was un-match it and the exclude it from the reconciliation. Its showing as unreconciled, like it can be selected towards the reconciliation, but the item is already reconciled. If I go into bank transactions and unmatch it, so it doesn't show as something waiting to be reconciled, and then go back to finish reconciling, it tells me that an old reconciliation is now out of balance. So I have to re-match it to the transaction. Then I have to go into the register and mark it as reconciled, which makes it so the old reconciliation is now in balance and I can continue reconciling, but its showing as an unreconciled item again. I'm not understanding where in QB its going wrong because if its reconciled in a prior month, why would it still be showing up as an outstanding item?

I appreciate you getting back here in the thread, @rawpwr101. I'll provide troubleshooting to help you address a reconciled transaction that appears unreconciled in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

Before anything else, I'd like to share a few reasons why this occurs on your end. The unreconciled transactions showing in your account are due to the following:

• Someone undid the last reconciliation.
• Someone modified or deleted the reconciled transactions.
• Cleared transactions were unchecked (uncleared) in the account register.
• Funds were transferred from a previously reconciled bank account to a sub-account.

You'll want to undo the prior reconciliation and re-reconcile it to address this situation promptly. However, since only an accountant can undo a complete reconciliation, I suggest collaborating with an accountant to assist you in navigating this situation. If you don't have an accountant, I can help you find one. Feel free to visit this page: Find a QuickBooks ProAdvisor.

In addition, you run a financial report to help you keep track of all your recordings in QBO. Check out this article to get started: Run a report in QuickBooks Online.

I'll be around to help you ensure this is taken care of. You can continue to communicate with me below so I can provide the necessary information to help resolve QuickBooks-related inquiries. Stay safe. 

@rawpwr101 

"I'm not understanding where in QB its going wrong because if its reconciled in a prior month, why would it still be showing up as an outstanding item?"

Everything you're describing sounds like the transaction on the reconcile screen is a duplicate transaction.  It's my experience that if you undo a matched transaction, and then attempt to match it again, QB only gives you the option to "Add" the unmatched transaction, not match it.  Then, when you click "Add", that creates a duplicate transaction.

You probably know this but, to confirm whether or not it's a duplicate transaction, click the magnifying glass in the upper-right and type the amount in the search box.  Double-check by going to your bank register and organizing the payment/deposit columns by amount and find the transaction(s).

I recently bought a new computer and restored my Quickbooks Pro 2018 backup. An item that was reconciled in 2020 is now showing as unreconciled. I cannot reconcile my current statements and cannot go back and unreconcile and re-reconcile 5 years of statements~!

What can I do?

I have tried manually marking the line item as "reconciled " (checkmark in "cleared" column) but when I go to reconcile my current statement, it appears as a "credit" in the reconciliation screen (albeit with a checkmark). I do not want to mess up my 2025 tax reporting! And I already reported and paid this as income in 2020 when I received it.

What can I do?  

I can imagine how challenging this situation must be for you, especially after setting up your new computer and restoring your backup file. I'll explain some possible reasons why your item status might has changed, and we can perform a mini-reconciliation to fix this. We got this together, Beryl. 

Reconciled transactions may show up as unreconciled for several reasons:

• Someone may have undone the last reconciliation.
• Someone changed or deleted the reconciled transactions.
• Cleared transactions were unchecked (uncleared) in the account register.
• Company file conversions from QuickBooks for Mac to Windows or QuickBooks Online to Desktop (US only) can cause issues.
• The transactions were never reconciled in the company file, possibly because it was restored from a backup. This process can overwrite data and reconciliations.

To fix your case, we can perform a mini-reconciliation. This process involves setting an off-cycle reconciliation date to make corrections, assuming you have the ending balance from the most recent reconciliation. Before you start, ensure to obtain this information. I also recommend consulting your accountant when undertaking this process.

Here is the step-by-step guide to follow:

1. Head to the Banking menu and click Reconcile.
2. Choose the credit card account with the transactions you need to reconcile.
3. In the Date of Statement field, enter the date for an off-cycle reconciliation. It can be any day between your last reconciliation and the next scheduled one.
4. From the Ending Balance field, enter the balance of your last successful reconciliation. Then select Continue.
5. In the Reconcile window, check off the transactions you are fixing and re-reconciling.
6. Ensure the Difference field shows $0.00.
7. Once everything appears correct, hit Reconcile Now.

For more detailed information about this process, refer to this article: Reconcile previously deleted and re-entered checking or credit card transactions.

Additionally, you can generate a Previous Reconciliation Report to obtain detailed information that will assist in identifying discrepancies.

For future reference, you can close your books in QuickBooks Desktop to prevent accidental changes to transactions from previous periods, maintain a clear audit trail, and facilitate smoother year-end processes. 

Taking the mini-reconciliation approach and consulting with your accountant is the most effective strategy to resolve your unreconciled transactions. We're still here to help you if you have further concerns, Beryl.

I appreciate the detailed steps. I have a problem though as the "fix" doesn't fix unless I am misunderstanding you. See attached.

I believe you are saying to manually checkmark the off-item from 2020 but if I do that, I go out of balance by that amount. To balance at -0- I can only uncheck the item (see attachment). That means, I think that the unchecked item will continue to appear every time I go to reconcile.  NOTE it is a bank account but that is the same issue as a credit card (per your instructions) I think. I hope the demo image shows what I mean  

PS I have hidden private information but left the amount just in case they are relevant. Again, note the date of the $180 item is in 2020 and the date of the reconciliation is 1/31/25. This item was an issue at the time I reconciled it in 2020 because it was a payment from a client that I took out as cash and that kept not showing as a proper payment. Ultimately I fixed it somehow to show as income and show the client's balance was full paid then  ultimately balanced the year, paid taxes etc etc. and the issue never appeared again. 

ShyMae

I did reply to your message and it didn't yet post. To clarify:

between steps 5 and 6 is where the problem falls apart for me.

Let me clarify the steps provided by my colleague  about mini-reconciliation of your 2020 transactions, Beryl.

In order to the transaction to be reconciled you need to put a checkmark. However, in your case I'll suggest to contact our QBDT Live Support Expert Team to further check and assess your account.

Refer to this article to have the steps in contacting a Live Support Team in QBDT: QuickBooks Desktop Live Expert Support Team.

Additionally, you can open this article to learn more about some troubleshooting when encountering problems in reconciling: Fix issues when you're reconciling in QuickBooks Desktop.

Please let us know if you have any other questions about reconciliation, simply hit the Reply button.

@Beryl 

"Ultimately I fixed it somehow to show as income and show the client's balance was full paid then ultimately balanced the year, paid taxes etc etc. and the issue never appeared again."

Your screenshot is the best I've seen on this forum.  Thanks for the details.  I think the best way to handle this is to create a journal entry (JE) to create an equal and offsetting "payment" that you can use to clear against this deposit so your bank account reconciles.  Since this is a double-entry accounting system and your bank balance is overstated by $180, you must have another account that is either under- or overstated by $180.  Unless you see another account that is obviously under- or overstated by $180 (run a balance sheet to see if anything jumps out), I would create following journal entry:

Make a note on the journal entry that it was created to clear a payment received from 2020.  Then, go to reconcile and clear the $180 payment created by the JE against the 2020 deposit of $180 and you should be all set.  

Do you think you could walk me through it with visuals? I am using QBPro 2018 and I have never ever done a Journal Entry. I'm not sure how to

Beryl

I am working my way through the Journal Entry process. It is foreign to me and I am a noob. I can use QB to pay bills and bill clients, receive payments, etc. but have no accounting background.

If I am correctly understanding:

1. I did the balance sheet suggestion and found the amount $180 in accounts receivable which, when clicked shows as a cash payment against an invoice in 2020. No surprise there. I checked the client's register and it correctly shows the invoice of $180 was paid with the income of $180. So at least that part is clean.

2. I went to create (my first) Journal Entry> I expected to create a freefloating transaction of -180 which would balance my statement. Alas, the JE requires both a "credit" and "debit". Of course, "Account" is always confusing (is it the Bank account name? Is it "accounts receivable?" Is it something else?). 

3. It would seem like I need a transaction of -180 and then my bank account will reconcile. The JE doesn't allow that.

I am at my wits' end. 

@Beryl 

New > Journal entry:

Then, go to your reconciliation and clear the $180 payment created by the journal entry against the $180 deposit from 2020.  

I am working my way through the Journal Entry process. It is foreign to me and I am a noob. I can use QB to pay bills and bill clients, receive payments, etc. but have no accounting background.

If I am correctly understanding:

1. I did the balance sheet suggestion and found the amount $180 in accounts receivable which, when clicked shows as a cash payment against an invoice in 2020. No surprise there. I checked the client's register and it correctly shows the invoice of $180 was paid with the income of $180. So at least that part is clean.

2. I went to create (my first) Journal Entry> I expected to create a freefloating transaction of -180 which would balance my statement. Alas, the JE requires both a "credit" and "debit". Of course, "Account" is always confusing (is it the Bank account name? Is it "accounts receivable?" Is it something else?). 

3. It would seem like I need a transaction of -180 and then my bank account will reconcile. The JE doesn't allow that.

I am at my wit's end. 

Rainflurry,

Take a look at the attached.

I see this now in my reconciliation screen. Which is great!

Questions

1. Should the date of my journal entry transaction today or should I make it 3/2020 when the first transaction occurred AND

I didn’t find an existing account called “Unretained Earnings.”

Does it work to create an expense account called “Reconciliation Discrepancies?” Or should I make “Unretained Earnings” and if so, where does it go? It is under the parent “Other Expenses” or something else?

FYI, one more thing, Rainflurry,

After I did the Journal Entry in my last post attachment (a few minutes ago) 9:02 am PST 4/10/25, I tried to reconcile and did see the balancing expense to remove that 180 discrepancy--so I just need to make sure I characterize the journal entry properly so at the end of the year I don't have a strange P&L. 

@Beryl 

Please pay close attention to the posts.  This is becoming unnecessarily difficult.  There's no such thing as "UNretained" Earnings, it's "Retained" Earnings.  Don't use Reconciliation Discrepancies.  Enter the journal entry exactly as shown in my last post, dated in 2025, and clear the two transactions against each other on your reconciliation screen.  

I have tried everything and cannot find "retained earnings" in the Chart of Account, thus I cannot populate it on the Journal Entry.

Does Retained Earnings= Owner’s Equity? Owner’s Equity is in the Chart of Accounts. This was a solution in a similar post on a QB Forum. I have a sole proprietorship.

Otherwise I can find no way to find or apply a line item in a Journal Entry, populated with the account “Retained Earnings.” FYI as part of troubleshooting, I have run the data  verification tool with no issues.

@Beryl 

Oops.  I guess I'm the one making things unnecessarily complicated now.  Yes, use Owner's Equity for a sole proprietorship.  

lol. You've been a great help!!

Houston we have a solution!