How do I adjust the opening balance to match a statement?
If you can't reconcile your Quicken account with your paper statement it may be because the opening balances do not agree. Here's how to resolve the difference:
- Reconcile as far as you can, and click Done.
- If there is an opening balance difference to resolve, Quicken asks if you want to make your totals agree with your bank statement. Choose one of the following:
- Click Adjust to let Quicken make a change to your opening balance.
- Click Cancel to return to reconciliation and try to resolve the difference.
Here are possible reasons for the difference:
- If you're reconciling for the first time
Quicken uses the amount of the opening balance transaction in your checking register as the Bank Statement Opening Balance in the Reconcile Bank Statement window. When you set up the account, you may have entered a balance that was
different from the actual amount in your bank account. There are probably transactions missing from your Quicken account that affect the balance.
- If you've reconciled at least once before
For example, say it's July. You started recording transactions in May and subsequently reconciled your account for May/June. Then you
went back and recorded transactions starting in January. After entering these transactions, you noticed that the ending balance in the register was incorrect. So you updated the date and amount of the original opening balance transaction that Quicken recorded in your register when you set up your account in May.
- If you skipped previous months' statements
- If you changed a previously reconciled transaction
You may have inadvertently changed or deleted a transaction that already had an R in the Clr field.
Quicken always asks to confirm a change to a previously reconciled transaction. If you've already ruled out other possible errors, you probably should continue with reconciliation and have Quicken record an adjustment transaction when reconciliation is complete.
To learn how to make other adjustments, see:
