How to reconcile a bank account in QuickBooks Online, step by step
Reconciling proves that what's in QuickBooks Online matches what the bank says happened. Here's exactly how to do it, what to check before you start, and how firms with dozens of clients keep it from taking over the month.
What reconciliation actually proves
Bank feeds bring transactions into QuickBooks. Reconciliation is the check that runs the other way: it proves that, for a statement period, the transactions marked as cleared in QuickBooks add up to exactly the ending balance printed on the bank's statement. If they do, the books for that account are complete and correct for the period. If they don't, something is missing, duplicated, or wrong, and you've caught it before it reaches a tax return or a client's loan application.
That's why accepting bank feed transactions is not the same as reconciling. A feed can drop transactions, bring the same one in twice, or be matched to the wrong entry. Only the statement is the bank's official record.
Before you start: a 5-minute checklist
- Have the actual statement (PDF or paper) for the period, for that specific account. You need the statement's ending date and ending balance.
- Confirm the last reconciliation. The beginning balance QuickBooks shows should equal the ending balance of the last statement you reconciled. If it doesn't, fix that first (see why a reconciliation won't balance).
- Clear the bank feed's "For review" list for that account up to the statement's end date, matching rather than adding wherever an entry already exists.
- Record what's on the statement but not in the feed: bank service charges, interest, returned items, wire fees.
- Reconcile in order. Do January before February. QuickBooks only lets each statement period build on the one before.
Step by step in QuickBooks Online
1. Open the reconcile screen
Go to Settings ⚙ → Reconcile. Depending on your menu layout it can also be under Transactions → Reconcile or Accounting → Reconcile.
2. Choose the account and enter the statement details
Pick the bank or credit card account. Enter the ending date and ending balance exactly as printed on the statement. If you haven't recorded service charges or interest yet, you can enter them here, but recording them as normal transactions beforehand keeps a cleaner trail. Select Start reconciling.
3. Tick each transaction that appears on the statement
Work down the statement line by line and tick the matching transaction in QuickBooks. Use the Payments and Deposits tabs to shorten the list, and sort by amount when the dates don't line up. Only tick what is actually on this statement: a check you wrote on the 30th that cleared on the 3rd belongs to next month.
4. Get the difference to $0.00
The panel at the top shows the statement ending balance, the cleared balance, and the difference. When every statement line is ticked and nothing else is, the difference is $0.00. If it isn't, don't force it: the discrepancy guide walks through the usual causes in the order worth checking.
5. Finish and save the report
Select Finish now. QuickBooks saves a reconciliation report you can reopen later from the reconcile screen's history. Save or attach the statement itself to the client file too: auditors and lenders ask for both.
Avoid "Finish now" with a difference. Forcing a reconciliation with a non-zero difference creates an adjustment entry that hides the problem rather than fixing it, and next month's beginning balance inherits it.
Credit card accounts
The steps are the same, with two differences. Card charges increase the balance, payments decrease it, so check the sign of the ending balance. And the payment to the card should appear once in each account: as a payment out of the bank and a payment into the card. If it's been recorded as an expense on the bank side, the card will never reconcile.
Reconciling for many clients
For one company, the screen above is fine. For a firm with 30 or 80 QuickBooks Online clients, the problem isn't the screen: it's everything around it. The time goes into:
- Getting the statements. Most of the delay is waiting for clients to send them. See how to collect statements without chasing.
- Knowing who's behind. Opening each client file to see when every account was last reconciled.
- Line-by-line ticking on high-volume accounts, such as restaurants and retail clients with hundreds of card deposits a month.
- Recording what's missing, one entry at a time.
A simple tracker (client, account, last reconciled month, statement received, reconciled, reviewer) solves the visibility part. Tools that read the statement and compare every line for you solve the rest. That comparison is what Nexora Recon does across all your clients at once.
How often should you reconcile?
Monthly, as soon as each statement is available, for every bank, credit card, and loan account. Monthly reconciliation keeps errors small and recent: a missing deposit from last month is a quick question for the client; one from last March is an afternoon of digging. High-volume accounts benefit from weekly checks against the bank activity, with the formal reconciliation still done against the monthly statement.
Frequently asked questions
Is accepting bank feed transactions the same as reconciling?
No. The bank feed imports transactions; reconciliation proves the cleared transactions equal the statement's ending balance. Feeds can drop or duplicate items, so only reconciling against the statement confirms the books are complete.
What do I need to reconcile in QuickBooks Online?
The bank or card statement for the period, specifically its ending date and ending balance, plus access to the client's QuickBooks Online file. The beginning balance should match the last reconciled statement.
Can I reconcile without the bank statement?
Not properly. Reconciling against the bank feed or online banking screen only proves QuickBooks matches the feed, which is the thing you're trying to check. Use the statement.
What if the beginning balance is wrong?
A transaction that was previously reconciled has been changed, deleted or un-ticked. Fix that before reconciling the new month; our discrepancy guide explains how to find it.
Does this work on Simple Start and Essentials?
Yes, reconciliation is available on every QuickBooks Online plan, and Nexora Recon works the same on every plan: Simple Start, Essentials, Plus and Advanced.