How to Change Beginning Balance in QuickBooks?

To maintain accuracy in your financial records, you must have a properly organized chart of accounts. A vital part is ensuring that any charges that impact your balance sheet possess a beginning balance. This will provide you with a record of the starting part of the account. This article will teach you how to change and manage the beginning balance in QuickBooks.

Also Read: How to Categorize Credit Card Payments in QuickBooks?

Beginning Balance in QuickBooks is Vital

Your QuickBooks account should match your real-life bank account and the credit card accounts you keep track of. While creating a new QuickBooks account, you have to pick up a day when you will start monitoring your transactions. Then you have to enter the balance of your bank account for whichever day you will select. This amount and the start day set up the opening balance of your account.

Choose an easy date for starting your opening balance. If you have recently opened a new bank account, you can use that day to enter the opening balance in QuickBooks. And if you opened your bank account a while, you can start your beginning balance on the day your following bank statement started.

No matter which dates you select, use your bank statement to obtain the account balance for that particular day.

How to Enter a Beginning Balance in QuickBooks?

When you link your bank and credit card accounts, QuickBooks will automatically download all of your historical transactions upto a specific date. Then it totals all amount and enters it as your beginning balance along with the date for you. If you do not plan to connect your account, you can manually enter the beginning balance.

Here are the steps you need to follow to enter your beginning balance in QuickBooks manually:

Ensure you are well aware of the amount that you are required to enter for your beginning balance.

1. First, navigate to settings and choose the chart of accounts.

2. Choose a new one and then set up your account.

3. In the opening balances part, pick up a date when you want to start keeping track of your finances.

4. Now enter the account balance for that particular date.

5. Choose to save.

You can now initiate keeping track of all new QuickBooks transactions that come after the beginning balance date.

How to Change the Beginning Balance in QuickBooks?

While reconciling your account for the first time, if you find your beginning balance is off, there is no need to worry. Maximum issues in beginning balance occur because of improper beginning balance. Changing the opening balance fixes the problems with the beginning balance.

Here are the steps you need to follow to change the beginning balance in QuickBooks –

Step1 – Check the Opening Balance in QuickBooks.

Review the beginning balance of the account that you are reconciling. Sometimes, the opening balance does not include the pending transactions when you generate the account. The beginning balance of QuickBooks is the balance of your bank account on the day you select to initiate the tracking transactions.

• First, go to the option Bookkeeping or accounting, then choose chart of accounts.
• Look for the account on the list.
• Choose view register.
• Now find the opening balance entry where you will get “opening balance equity” in the account column.
• Keep a note of the date and balance.

Step 2: Compare your Opening Balance with your Real Bank Account.

• When you know about the date and the beginning balance amount in QuickBooks, you need to check it against the bank records.
• To start, sign in to your bank website or look for your bank statement.
• Review the account balance for the same day as the beginning balance in QuickBooks.
• Make a comparison of the two balances.

Step 3 : Compare the Opening Balance with your Real-Life Account.

Now you know the date and amount of the opening balance in QuickBooks. Check it against your bank records:

• Sign in to your bank’s website, or find your bank statement.
• Check the account’s balance for the same day as the opening balance in QuickBooks.
• Compare the two balances. If in case, the balances match, then it indicates you made a correct entry of the beginning balance. Then you can move to the next step.
• But if the beginning balance does not match the bank records, you must make some changes.
• Now, in QuickBooks, choose the beginning balance entry to expand the view.
• In the deposit column, you must edit the balance to match well with the bank records.
• Now choose to save.

Step 4: Check your Account Register.

While reconciling the account for the first time, the beginning balance is the only entry you will reconcile. No other transaction is reconciled.

• Now Go to the options accounting or bookkeeping and choose chart of accounts.
• Look for the account on the list
• Choose view register to obtain more details
• Now look for an opening balance entry. It must have the “opening balance equity” in the account column.
• Go through other transactions. The checkmark column should either remain blank or have a C
• If you see R on other transactions, choose the trade to expand the view.
• Now choose the box in the checkmark column until you find the box is blank. Now choose to save

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What do you mean by the Beginning Balance in QuickBooks?

While creating a new account in QuickBooks, you must pick a day to keep track of your transactions. You have to enter the balance of your real bank account for the chosen day. In this way, QuickBooks matches your bank records from the beginning. This beginning point is your account’s beginning balance.

Why is Beginning Balance so Vital?

Beginning balance in QuickBooks represents your company’s financial position on days before you initiate using accounting. Without a proper opening balance, your reports will not give you an accurate picture of your financial position.

What is the Reason Behind the Beginning Balance Zero in QuickBooks Online?

The reason might be that the opening balance equity entry in the bank register does not show up as reconciled. To confirm, you can see its status and then update it.

What can Change the Beginning Balance in the Reconciling Menu to get Changed?

The reconciliation menu’s beginning balance changes when someone edits, deletes, moves, or unreconciled a reconciled transaction.

Conclusion

So in this way, you can change the beginning balance, and once you know it’s correct, you can begin reconciling your account.