When you reconcile (balance) a spending account, you compare your Quicken account records against your current bank statement and resolve any differences between the two. Reconciliation accuracy can be affected by transactions that occurred in the period shown on your current bank statement as well as by earlier transactions.
What can I do?
| Child pages (Children Display) |
|---|
Frequently asked questions
What is my opening balance?
...
When you reconcile your account for the first time, make sure you:
- Enter all transactions that have occurred between the date of your last statement and the date of your current statement. Include all deposits and withdrawals, checks you've written by hand or printed with Quicken, ATM transactions, and electronic payments and transfers.
- Enter any transactions dated before the ending balance of your last statement that have not yet appeared on any statement. You should enter these transactions in your register even if they are dated before the opening balance transaction in your Quicken account.
- Check that the opening balance in your Quicken register matches the beginning balance on the statement you want to reconcile. If you used the closing balance from your previous statement as the opening balance for your Quicken account when you set it up, then the opening balance in Quicken should be the same as the beginning balance on the first statement you want to reconcile. If the amounts don't match, change the amount in the Deposit column of the opening balance transaction in your Quicken register.
Balancing your account the first time may take some extra time because many transactions that appear on your bank statement haven't yet been recorded in Quicken. After you enter those transactions, and after Quicken and the bank agree on the amount of money in your account, reconciling your account each month will be easier.
- What if I need to add earlier transactions to my account?
You may want to add earlier transactions to your Quicken bank account so you can create more comprehensive reports and graphs and budgets. For example, if you start using Quicken in the middle of the year, you could add all your transactions from January 1 so your records for the year are complete. To keep your account information accurate, wait until you reconcile your current bank statement. Then add the earlier transactions, and balance each month separately starting with your earliest statement.
- What's the difference between c and R in the Clr field?
The symbol c means that the transaction was previously downloaded, or that you have marked the transaction as cleared.
The symbol R means that Quicken has reconciled the transaction.
After you reconcile, the transactions marked as cleared (c) become marked as reconciled (R) in the Clr column. Don't delete a reconciled transaction. Also, don't manually insert or delete the R in the Clr column.
If you click Finish Later to return to the register while you're still reconciling your account, you'll see c in the Clr field of all transactions you just marked as cleared in the Reconcile window.
Avoid changing the amounts for reconciled transactions. Changing the amount for a reconciled transaction will affect your next reconciliation and make it more difficult to balance your account.
...
