Can't get Reconcile to Balance with Bank Statement

GLB.

I was using Quicken Basic 2005 and upgraded to Quicken Windows Subscription. Tried to balance with bank statement and have a difference I can't figure out. Never had this problem with Basic 2005. I'll try to post some screen shots:

GLB.

A screen shot of the bank statement:

GLB.

A copy of the Reconcile Page:

q_lurker

I am thinking you typed in the $18339.38 Prior Balance line on the Reconcile page, replacing a value of 21,910.51.  That is why your first screenshot shows the Opening Balance difference.  If so, why did you do that?  If you see a difference between that offered value and what you or the bank thinks it should be, investigate rather than overwrite.

The prior balance that Quicken offers is the total of Reconciled transactions in your Quicken account (both before and after the "Ending Statement Date').  Make sure you do not have any 'R'econciled transactions totaling that total to that 3,571.13 amount that are duplicates or otherwise not appropriate. 

In that same vein, check that the Opening Balance transactions in the account, the very first transaction, is correct.  There is a recent history of those values getting changed improperly by program updates.

GLB.

q_lurker,

Thanks for the response. I typed in $18,339.38 because that's the Beginning Balance on December 20, 2022. That's what I've always used on the Reconcile page since 2005. $21,910.68 is the Ending Balance on January 19, 2023. That's from the bank statement included in the attachment. I've checked all cleared and Reconciled transactions several times, and there are no duplicates. Before upgrading, Quicken would always open the Reconciled Page with the correct ending balance from the last bank statement. The difference between the opening bank statement and the ending bank statement is $3,571.30, which is also the difference between my total deposits and total subtractions, so the Reconcide Page should show $0.00 difference. I know this will end up being something simple. Again, thanks for your assistance.

q_lurker

Did you look at the Opening Balance transaction in the account?  

If you look back at the 11/19/22 balance, could it also be off by the $3500 keeping uncleared transactions at that point in mind?  Would point back to an historical change. 

Fair to assume you are not downloading transactions yet?  

GLB.

q_lurker,

Not entirely sure of what you mean by "Opening Balance transaction in the account". My transactions start on 2-2-2000. I've reconciled in Quicken every month since then with it balancing out every month.

My beginning balance on 12-20-22 shows $18,339.38. If I look at my Quicken balance the last time I balanced before upgrading, my balance on 12-19-22 was $21,684.45. A difference of $3,345.07.

My bank statement for 11-18-22 shows a beginning balance of $17,883.22 and when I look at my Quicken balance on that date it shows$21,193.79. A difference of $3,310.57.

I did start downloading transactions from my bank, but once I couldn't get Reconcile to balance, I deactivated the downloads for now.

Maybe I should just make some type of adjustment and go from that point forward.

Again, thank you for your assistance.

q_lurker

There are cases where Quicken is improperly changing the very first transaction in an account - the account's Opening Balance.  In your case that would be back on 2/2/2000.  Usually I've seen that associated with downloading transactions but there is also a possibility that a newer program release might cause the issue.  If such an error did occur, all your prior transaction balances would be off.  It does not matter that you had previously reconciled all those months.  

Perhaps you can tell just by looking at that first 2/2/2000 transaction; perhaps not.  In my file, I have all opening balances at $0.  

In upgrading from QW2005, did you transition through QW2013?  Any other versions?  Not a specific problem if you did or didn't.  You may be able to open one of those transition files to see if it shows the same opening balance that you now see.  

Beyond pursuing that path, accepting the $3500 correction may be the most time-effective choice.  Your call.
  

GLB.

q_lurker,

Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.

I just made an adjustment to get to $0.00 on the Reconcile page by adding an expense for the $3,571.30. I'll keep a close eye on it and still try to figure out why that happened, but it's too time consuming at this point. First time in 23 years I couldn't get it to balance.