JO KING

Jo King's Guide to Easy Bank

Reconciliation in QuickBooks Online
I am an advanced QuickBooks ProAdvisor® for Desktop and Online. I love what I do. Usually.

But, when I see a change to something that I feel already works fine, I tend to balk. That’s not
always the best way to deal. The unfamiliarity of change makes me uncomfortable, but I
usually embrace it in the end.

I enjoy doing bank recs and felt that QuickBooks® Online (QBO) had a great Bank
Reconciliation feature, or so I thought. The Bank Reconciliation feature got a brand new look
and one that I didn’t like.

I had a client who needed me to do a year’s worth of bank reconciliations, and I put it off for
days because I was so frustrated with the new look. I wasn’t as confident as I usually am, and
therefore, it became an unpleasant “job.” Finally, I tackled the job. This was a good client who
counted on me to get the job done.

Once I realized how efficiently I could get the bank recs done, and in record time, I wanted to
help others accept the change with little frustration. Below is a small tutorial on the changes.

Here is a screenshot of the new Reconcile window:

It looks a lot like most bank statements. The summary at the top shows Beginning Balance,
Ending Balance and total Payments and total Deposits.

You can collapse the summary by clicking on the .

I like this view, but I like the ability to see both views.

The Edit info button lets you edit the statement information:

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 When you enter the statement ending date, the bank reconciliation window shows only the
transactions to that date. This is the default, and it is no longer necessary to click on “Hide
transactions after the ___.” It might be a small change, but a good one.

The next section of the new window:

The Filter window:

I filtered for the amount and the transactions are listed:

When I was reconciling my client’s bank statements, I must have clicked on something that
changed what showed on my screen. It happens, but all you have to do is click on Reset and
Apply in the filter window. This takes you back to the original screen. The Filter window is self-
explanatory so I won’t go over all of it. Click on the different drop-down arrows to see the filter
choices.

This next part is a little tricky, but I want to help you understand what happens “if.”

Notice the Clear filter/View all. When you are finished with the filter results, it stands to reason
you would want to click on this option. It not only clears the filter, but also shows all
transactions regardless of your statement ending date.

Click on the Reset Statement ending date and you are back to the default, which is to show
transactions up to the date that you set and the menu changes back to its original state.

The next options are Payments, Deposits and All. You can choose to only see payments or
deposits, or to view all. I start out using the All option, but I like the idea of switching if need be.

The column headings are pretty much the same as in the older Bank Reconciliation window,
and you can sort by clicking on the heading.

The one I want to bring to your attention is the “Cleared Date” column.

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 When I click on Cleared Date, the transactions are sorted by the date they cleared the bank.
This is the date from the bank feed.

Notice the two transactions that have no “cleared date.” These are transactions that have not
come through the bank feed. They were entered manually, and once they are “matched,” the
“cleared date” populates.

I absolutely love this feature. When I am looking at the bank statement, I can quickly go down
the page and check it against the Bank Reconciliation window.

Now, for one of my favorite changes of all:

If I click on a transaction, I have the option to put a reference number in here. The check
transactions do not come through with a check number, so I get to add it here. I can also
change the payee and memo. If I click on Edit, it takes me back to the original transaction.

To sum it up, I think the changes are good ones and they have definitely added efficiency to
the task of reconciling. The new window has a very professional look. My biggest takeaway is
to work with a new feature before judging it.

Now, about those Bank Feeds .…

About the Author

For 20+ years, I have been helping small businesses with their accounting
software. I am a QuickBooks Advanced ProAdvisor and support
QuickBooks for the desktop, QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Point of
Sale. I teach groups and individuals to become the best they can be. I
specialize in job costing, inventory and payroll. I love them all! Writing is
Jo King another passion, but that goes with the educating.

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