bank reconciliation error

[renee~]

Hello,

I am trying to reconcile a current bank statement. I am not sure how this was done, but two checks under the same number were reconciled previously. Also, they were reconciled to two different vendors for different amounts. Here is an example: check #2150 Mr. Smith $20.00 and check #2150 Mr. Block $25.00. The check to Mr. Smith actually occurred and was cleared by the bank. I have found that Mr. Block was never paid. His check was voided, but now the current bank reconciliation is off by the $25.00. How do I go about fixing this? Thanks-Renee

[cojhl2]

Are you sure it was voided or was it deleted??

[renee~]

In the memo it has that it was voided. I went back and looked at the reconciliation. That check was NOT on the reconciliation. So how was it reconciled? Did qb consider it reconciled because it matched the other check number that was reconciled?? I am so confused with this.

[cojhl2]

renee~

If you go to the check account register, can you find both checks?

QB does not (to my knowledge anyway) reconcile anything automatically. What it does do though is automatically clear a voided check.

If you don't see both checks in the register the one that you don't see was deleted not voided and that is your reconcile out of balance prob.

Mr. Block was never paid. His check was voided Was it in fact voided, if so it should still be in the register marked as cleared.

[renee~]

It's not deleted. I can see both checks in my register. They both have a check mark. But, one is voided. When I pull up my bank rec, the beginning balance is more than it is on the bank statement. The voided check's previous amount was added to the beginning balance. In my example, I used $25.00 as the voided check. However, it is a large amount-over $2,000.00. I can't just use reconciliation discrepancies. Any ideas?

[cojhl2]

Originally Posted by renee~

It's not deleted. I can see both checks in my register. They both have a check mark. But, one is voided. When I pull up my bank rec, the beginning balance is more than it is on the bank statement. The voided check's previous amount was added to the beginning balance. In my example, I used $25.00 as the voided check. However, it is a large amount-over $2,000.00. I can't just use reconciliation discrepancies. Any ideas?

I know what you mean about discrepancies. I fight over any amount no matter how small!

Since this has just happened on this cycle, can you back out the last reconciliation and redo it?

Was the ending balance(in your books) of the last reconciliation equal to the beginning balance of this one?

Do you have one of these bank statements that vary depending on the dates you select? Do the bank statements balance from one period to another?

Beyond this I am lost. Hopefully someone else will step in here and educate both of us!!

[cojhl2]

I went in to my test system bank ledger and:

Checked reconcile input balance = 100
found an uncleared check and marked it cleared
then voided that check
The reconcile balance stayed the same, ie it did not recognize the voided check.

So in your case it looks like the 2000$ uncashed check was cleared directly in the ledger then voided which left the beginning balance higher than it should be.

I would fix this issue (definitely after a backup) by (in the ledger) unclearing the voided check, reinstating it's value then go thru normal reconcile. After reconcile then void the check and let the system clear it.

Now I gotta go lie down my head hurts!!!!

[renee~]

It's not changing the beginning balance. I uncleared the check and reinstated its value. But, all that did was put it in my reconciliation to be checked off and cleared. My head hurts!

[cojhl2]

For some reason which I cannot duplicate this morning, when I did that yesterday it lowered the QB beginning bal.

OK, we gotta break this issue down to simple facts.

1) The QB beginning bal must = Ending Bal last reconcile = Bank bal at that time.

So the only way we are going to progress on this issue it seems to me is to back out the last reconcile, get the last bank statement and redo reconcile.

On edit: I went in and added the check value back in and left it in cleared status. The recon opening bal then decreased by the value of the check.

But the check is marked cleared and the fact is it never legitimately cleared the bank.

[renee~]

First off, thank you for continuing to help me. Let me try and explain this way.
Check#2150 $20
Check#2150 $25

The check for $20 cleared the bank. The check for $25 did not. They were both marked as cleared. These checks are from January 2009; so, it will not be in last month's reconciliation. The reconciliations over the past year have not been affected. Someone voided the check for $25 this month. This is why this discrepancy came up. Hopefully, this presented a clearer picture of what's going on.

[cojhl2]

Originally Posted by renee~

First off, thank you for continuing to help me. Let me try and explain this way.
Check#2150 $20
Check#2150 $25

The check for $20 cleared the bank. The check for $25 did not. They were both marked as cleared. These checks are from January 2009; so, it will not be in last month's reconciliation. The reconciliations over the past year have not been affected. Someone voided the check for $25 this month. This is why this discrepancy came up. Hopefully, this presented a clearer picture of what's going on.

And tht is the inconsistency Renee. Although I cannot understand the arithmetic the error (assuming all had been correct before)had to occur since the last Reconciliation.

That is why I would reset the check the way you think it was at the end of the last reconcilliation, (uncleared and unvoided) and back out the last reconcilliation and then redo it.

Do you have a backup of the data sometime around the last recon to see what the numbers were at that time. You can restore the last backup being careful to rename the dataset to a name that will not be confusing later. Many times I restore QB data to run a test. I always go to a different directory than my production data and rename the dataset with "DUPE"
prefixed so as not to confuse it later. Also as soon as i am done with it I delete it to further preclude accidentally loading it.

[renee~]

Okay... I'm not sure I get what you're saying. But,thank you for trying.

[Joe Williams]

Sorry about getting in late. When a check is VOIDED QB sets the amount to 0.00 and marks it as reconciled so it will not show during reconciliation.
"The check for $20 cleared the bank. The check for $25 did not. They were both marked as cleared. These checks are from January 2009". if they both have amounts and are marked as "cleared", they should be part of the reconcile's beginning balance. There should be a journal entry to Debit the bank account ,shows in the deposit column, for the 25.00 check so the bank balance would reconcile.
To make sure that you get this fixed, please email me. It is easier for me to work with email on these kinds of issues.
I will post the final fix on this forum.