problem with old uncleared entries
James R Williams
Member ✭✭
I have reconciled my bank account to the penny for years yet I show numerous deposits and checks that were never cleared from the list and still show up in my Quicken account balance. How can I remove these items to get the Quicken balance to agree with the bank balance without messing everything up. I'm afraid that to go in and simply mark them as cleared it will really screw the whole thing up. What can I do?
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Best Answer
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"I have reconciled my bank account to the penny for years yet I show numerous deposits and checks that were never cleared from the list and still show up in my Quicken account balance.""Reconciling" Quicken balances to the bank balance doesn't mean that uncleared items can't exist, and exist for a long time.For example, let's say that on 9/29 your Quicken checking Account balance agrees - to the penny - to what your bank account reports online. Then, on the afternoon of 9/30 you fill out a check for $33.75, stick the check in an envelope, drop it off at the post office, and enter the check in Quicken. A day or so later you get your 9/30 statement from the bank and reconcile that statement - to the penny - to the amount shown in your Quicken Account. The $33.75 check, which hasn't cleared yet, is simply an "outstanding check" in your reconciliation. If that check never clears - maybe it got lost in the mail - that check for $33.75 can remain an "outstanding check" for months, even years, and your reconciliation will work fine over all that time. Assuming no other "persistent" reconciling items ever occur your Quicken Account balance will chronically be $33.75 less than the bank reports on its statement, with that "outstanding check" being the reconciling item between the two amounts.You need to investigate these numerous deposits and checks that have never cleared and understand what's going on here. Having the occasional reconciling item, even one that lasts for a month or so, isn't all that unusual, but having "numerous" items of that sort suggests you might be doing something wrong.If you determine that a specific item will probably never clear you can either delete it from your checking Account or, better, make a current period "reversing" entry, (maybe with a "memo" entry explaining your action), marking both the reversing entry and the original item as cleared. When you do your next reconciliation both entries will end up a "reconciled" - an "R" in the "Clr" column - and you'll have a clear audit trail of what transpired.6
Answers
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"I have reconciled my bank account to the penny for years yet I show numerous deposits and checks that were never cleared from the list and still show up in my Quicken account balance.""Reconciling" Quicken balances to the bank balance doesn't mean that uncleared items can't exist, and exist for a long time.For example, let's say that on 9/29 your Quicken checking Account balance agrees - to the penny - to what your bank account reports online. Then, on the afternoon of 9/30 you fill out a check for $33.75, stick the check in an envelope, drop it off at the post office, and enter the check in Quicken. A day or so later you get your 9/30 statement from the bank and reconcile that statement - to the penny - to the amount shown in your Quicken Account. The $33.75 check, which hasn't cleared yet, is simply an "outstanding check" in your reconciliation. If that check never clears - maybe it got lost in the mail - that check for $33.75 can remain an "outstanding check" for months, even years, and your reconciliation will work fine over all that time. Assuming no other "persistent" reconciling items ever occur your Quicken Account balance will chronically be $33.75 less than the bank reports on its statement, with that "outstanding check" being the reconciling item between the two amounts.You need to investigate these numerous deposits and checks that have never cleared and understand what's going on here. Having the occasional reconciling item, even one that lasts for a month or so, isn't all that unusual, but having "numerous" items of that sort suggests you might be doing something wrong.If you determine that a specific item will probably never clear you can either delete it from your checking Account or, better, make a current period "reversing" entry, (maybe with a "memo" entry explaining your action), marking both the reversing entry and the original item as cleared. When you do your next reconciliation both entries will end up a "reconciled" - an "R" in the "Clr" column - and you'll have a clear audit trail of what transpired.6
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I've been reconciling to the penny for years, too. This morning's reconcile on two accounts is way off - I can't tell why right now. If I use the balance adjustment provided in Quicken, I no longer match my bank's account balances. I recently updated - using Release R 22.12.0
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