Reconciling by making an adjustment to register balance

Question

Will reconcile 2025 (Jan to Dec) using Quicken Premier Classic for Windows. My Register balance has 30,000 more due to an uncashed check in 2023, which is currently unmarked (not reconciled, uncleared) in the register. All else is marked as reconciled.

It actually shows a larger amount due to checks in Dec. 2024 that did not clear during that month.  I cannot modify anything (2024 or before) since the 2024 reconciliation was accepted internally despite the 30,000 difference + the Dec. 24 pending checks that did not clear in 2024.

People have not cared. Today, I want to make an adjustment in 2025 so that the beginning balance in the books (in the register) corrects the 30,000 difference and maintains the uncleared checks from 2024. The 30,000 difference is a check that will never be cashed, and in the QuickBooks register it is not voided, uncleared, or reconciled.

How can I make this entry in the register? When I run the transaction report for 2025, ideally I would like it to show a book balance of this modified amount, if that is at all possible. The Ending balance of 2024 (which is currently the beginning balance of 2025), talking about the Quicken register, should remain the same (as people don't want me to touch anything in 2024 or prior).

[Edited - Readability]

Quicken Kristina · Answer

Hello @adareys,

We haven't heard back from you in a while. Do you still need assistance?

Check back and let us know! Thank you.

q_lurker · Answer

Re: Quicken

If the check is in Quicken and now known to be never processed (shredded, stop payment, etc.) the intended action in Quicken is to void the check (transaction).  I think that is an option if you rt-click on the transaction. That will (as best I recall) prepend “VOID “ to the payee name, change the amount to $0, and set the transaction as Reconciled.  The common recommendation in parallel is to enter the amount into the memo field as a reminder of what was.

The same overall effect is accomplished by deleting transaction entirely, but that leaves no traces to serve as a reminder.

Quicken Kristina · Answer

Hello @adareys,

Thank you for reaching out! In your description of the issue, you mentioned both Quicken and QuickBooks. Which program are you encountering this issue with? If you need help with Quicken, you're in the right place. If you need help with QuickBooks, I recommend contacting their Support.

When you say "People have not cared," do you mean you've tried contacting Support about this issue before? If that is what happened, do you have the ticket number from when you contacted Support? If that's not what you're referring to, please provide more information.

Quicken doesn't have a Book balance. You can add a balance adjustment transaction. A balance adjustment transaction will impact the balance that Quicken shows.

If you want to document the balance discrepancy without impacting the balance, you could create a $0 transaction and put the details in the memo column.

I hope this helps!