How to Reconcile Bank Accounts in QuickBooks Online
Bank reconciliation confirms that every transaction in your accounting software matches what actually cleared your bank. In QuickBooks Online it takes a few minutes per account once your books are current — and it’s the single best protection against duplicates, missing transactions and misleading reports. Here is the process step by step, plus how to fix a reconciliation that won’t balance.
What you need
- The bank or credit card statement for the month you’re reconciling (PDF or online statement).
- The statement’s ending date and ending balance.
- All transactions for that month entered or matched in QuickBooks Online — clear the For review queue first.
Step-by-step: reconciling in QuickBooks Online
- Open the reconcile screen. Select the Settings (gear) icon and choose Reconcile. Depending on your navigation, it may also be under Accounting or Transactions.
- Choose the account you want to reconcile — for example, your business checking account.
- Check the beginning balance. QuickBooks shows a beginning balance carried forward from your last reconciliation. It should equal the opening balance on this month’s statement. If it doesn’t, stop and fix that first (see troubleshooting below).
- Enter the statement ending date and ending balance exactly as shown on the statement, then select Start reconciling.
- Tick each transaction that appears on the statement. Work through deposits and payments separately and compare amounts and dates against the statement.
- Watch the Difference. When every cleared transaction is ticked, the difference should be 0.00.
- Finish. Select Finish now and save or print the reconciliation report for your records.
Why a reconciliation doesn’t balance
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Beginning balance doesn’t match the statement | A previously reconciled transaction was edited, deleted or added | Run the reconciliation history/discrepancy report for the account and review changes since the last reconciliation |
| Difference equals one transaction amount | Missing or duplicate transaction | Search the statement and register for that amount |
| Difference is divisible by 9 | Transposed digits (e.g. 54 entered as 45) | Compare amounts digit by digit |
| Difference is twice a transaction amount | A deposit recorded as a payment, or vice versa | Correct the transaction type |
| Many small differences | Processor fees or bank charges not recorded | Add the fees from the statement |
Duplicates are the most common culprit. Our guide on finding duplicate transactions in QuickBooks Online walks through how to spot them.
Best practices
- Reconcile monthly — or weekly for high-volume e-commerce and restaurant accounts.
- Reconcile every account, not just checking: savings, credit cards, loans, lines of credit, and payment processors such as PayPal or Stripe.
- Reconcile in order. Never skip a month.
- Don’t force it. Avoid ticking transactions that aren’t on the statement or creating an adjustment just to reach zero. Unexplained adjustments hide problems that will resurface.
- Keep the reports. Your CPA or accountant will ask for year-end reconciliation reports.
- Multi-currency: if you hold a USD account in a Canadian file (or a CAD account in a US file), reconcile it in its own currency against its own statement.
How often should you reconcile?
At minimum, once a month, soon after the statement is available. Businesses with heavy card volume or daily payouts benefit from weekly reconciliation, which keeps each session short and catches errors while they’re still easy to trace.
Let us handle it
Bank reconciliation is included in every AccoTiva monthly bookkeeping plan, and our bank reconciliation services cover USD and CAD accounts. If you’re months behind, start with a catch-up bookkeeping project. Book a free consultation.