How-to
How to reconcile an account in QuickBooks
Reconciling is how you prove your books match the bank. Intuit recommends doing it every month, one statement at a time.
The short answer
To reconcile in QuickBooks®, match each transaction in your books to the line on your bank or credit card statement until the difference is $0.00.
In QuickBooks Online, go to All apps, then Accounting, then Reconcile. In Desktop, go to the Banking menu, then Reconcile. Paths as of October 31, 2026.
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On this page
How do I reconcile in QuickBooks, step by step?
Both versions follow the same steps and end at a difference of exactly $0.00. QuickBooks Online starts from All apps, and Desktop from the Banking menu. From Intuit’s help articles, checked October 31, 2026:
| Step | QuickBooks Online | QuickBooks Desktop | What you should see |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Open Reconcile | All apps, then Accounting, then Reconcile | Banking menu, then Reconcile | In Online the first time, a Get started button |
| 2. Pick the account | Account dropdown | Account field | Your bank or credit card account |
| 3. Enter the statement | Ending balance and ending date | Check statement date; enter ending balance, fees and interest | A beginning balance that matches your statement |
| 4. Open the list | Start reconciling | Continue | The transactions QuickBooks has for the period |
| 5. Tick each match | Check the box beside each statement transaction | Check each one, from the first statement line down | The Difference moving toward $0.00 |
| 6. Finish | Finish now, then Done | Reconcile now | A Difference of exactly $0.00 |
| 7. Keep the report | History by account | Display or Print, later Previous Reconciliation in Reports | A saved reconciliation report |
The labels move around as QuickBooks updates, so confirm them against the current screen. QuickBooks Online also has an optional AI-powered reconciliation. You upload the statement before step 4, and Intuit says verifying it can take up to an hour. When extraction finishes, the ending balance and ending date fill in for you.
With a statement uploaded, each line gets a status. Only Review needs you, and Intuit’s AI suggests the fix. From the video in Intuit’s QuickBooks Online reconcile article:
| Status | What it means | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Cleared | Matches your statement on description and amount | Nothing |
| Review | Needs action before you can finish | Select the sparkle icon; the AI suggests a fix, then it shows Cleared |
| Check mark | Belongs on this statement’s reconciliation | Leave it ticked |
Both versions let you finish with a difference. QuickBooks then books an adjusting entry for it. Intuit says to talk to your accountant before you do that in Online, and to use Desktop’s Enter Adjustment only if you’re sure your entries are right. An adjustment makes the difference disappear without telling you what caused it.
What does reconciling check?
Your books are your record of what happened. Your bank statement is the bank’s record. They should agree, and reconciling is the routine that proves they do. When they don’t, the gap comes from something like a transaction you entered that never cleared, one the bank shows that you never entered, a duplicate, or a typo in an amount.
Reconciling turns “the software says I have $8,412” into “I have $8,412, and I can prove it.”
If you pay someone to do this every month, how much a bookkeeper costs shows what that line on the invoice is worth.
What do you need before you reconcile?
You need the statement for the account and period, with its ending balance and ending date. In QuickBooks Online, check the Last statement ending date on the Reconcile screen. Intuit says your new statement should start the day after it.
If you’re behind, Intuit’s advice is to reconcile each month separately, one statement at a time, starting with the oldest.
Why won’t my QuickBooks reconciliation balance?
On a first reconciliation Intuit names a wrong opening balance as the usual cause. After that, it’s most often a reconciled transaction that someone changed. Each fix below is Intuit’s.
| Cause | What you see | What Intuit says to do |
|---|---|---|
| Wrong opening balance | Your first reconciliation is off from the start | Compare the opening balance entry to your statement and edit it |
| Older transactions already marked reconciled | A first reconciliation finds items with an R | Filter for R and clear each check mark until the box is blank |
| A reconciled transaction was changed | “Your beginning balance is off by” alert | Open the discrepancy report and select We can help you fix it |
| Wrong statement balance or date | The ending balance or date doesn’t match the statement | Select Edit info and correct the ending balance or date |
| A typo or duplicate you entered | A transaction you typed doesn’t match the statement | Edit a typo and save; uncheck a duplicate |
| An unrecorded fee or interest (Desktop) | A statement line has no match in QuickBooks | Enter it on the first Reconcile screen |
Intuit adds a caution for the changed-transaction row. Some changes are on purpose, so only fix one that was made in error. If a fix touches a reconciled period or your opening balance and you aren’t sure, check with your accountant. In Desktop, Locate Discrepancies opens the matching reports.
If you have to redo a period, Intuit says your primary admin or your accountant can undo a QuickBooks Online reconciliation from History by account. In Desktop, Undo Last Reconciliation puts the beginning balance back to the one before and unclears that reconciliation’s transactions.
If the extra lines came from the bank feed, see why a QuickBooks bank feed brings in duplicates. If you moved off Desktop, the switch page explains what a clean cutover looks like.
What does the reconciliation difference tell you?
The size of the difference usually names the mistake. A difference equal to one transaction means that line is missing or wrongly ticked. Twice one transaction means a sign flip, and a multiple of 9 means a transposed digit. The arithmetic works the same in any software.
| If the difference | It usually means | Look for |
|---|---|---|
| Equals one transaction | That line is missing, or ticked when it shouldn’t be | A line of exactly that amount |
| Is twice one transaction | A sign flip: a deposit entered as a payment, or the reverse | A line for half the difference |
| Divides evenly by 9 | A transposed digit, like 150 typed as 105 | Lines you typed by hand |
| Is a round number | Often a transfer or fee left out, or an opening balance that changed | Transfers, fees and the opening balance |
A difference can fit more than one row. First check the statement’s ending balance and date, then try the rows in order.
What does finding a reconciliation difference look like?
Here is one with made-up numbers. Your statement ends at $8,412.00. You tick every line, and the difference still reads $45.00.
Look for a transaction where $45 is the gap between what you typed and what cleared. $45 divides evenly by 9, so a transposed digit is the first guess. You find a $150 check to a supplier that someone entered as $105. The bank cleared $150. Open the check, change it to $150 and save. The difference drops to $0.00, and you finish.
Start with the transactions you typed by hand. Downloaded lines carry the bank’s own amounts, so a typo is more likely in the ones you entered yourself.
How often should you reconcile?
Every month. Intuit recommends reconciling your checking, savings and credit card accounts every month, after each statement arrives. Keep the statements too. They’re your evidence if a number is ever questioned.
The best reconciliation is a boring one where everything matches. Getting there is mostly about not letting the books drift in the first place.
Software that matches the bank feed as transactions arrive removes most of the ticking. See how always-current books work. Matching feed lines to the books is also where AI helps most; what AI accounting software is explains how that works.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Reconcile in QuickBooks?
In QuickBooks Online it lives under All apps, then Accounting, then Reconcile (you can also reach it from Settings). In QuickBooks Desktop it is under the Banking menu, then Reconcile. Paths as of October 31, 2026, from Intuit’s own help articles.
What ending difference counts as reconciled in QuickBooks?
Exactly $0.00. Intuit says to keep matching until the difference is $0.00, which means the account is balanced. QuickBooks will let you finish with a difference and post an adjusting entry for it, but Intuit says to talk to your accountant before you do.
Why won’t my QuickBooks reconciliation balance?
On a first reconciliation, Intuit says it is often a wrong opening balance. After that, a beginning balance that is off usually means a reconciled transaction was edited, deleted, voided, moved or unreconciled. Otherwise, check the statement balance and date you typed, then any transaction you entered by hand.
How often should I reconcile in QuickBooks?
Every month. Intuit recommends reconciling your checking, savings and credit card accounts every month, one statement at a time, starting with the oldest. Intuit notes that each reconciliation’s ending balance becomes the next one’s starting point, so an error left in one month carries forward.
How do I undo a reconciliation in QuickBooks?
In QuickBooks Online, Intuit says your primary admin or your accountant can undo a reconciliation from the History by account screen. In Desktop, Undo Last Reconciliation puts the beginning balance back to the one before and unclears that reconciliation’s transactions.
Sources
- Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online (Intuit help article, updated August 5, 2026), checked October 31, 2026
- Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Desktop (Intuit help article, updated August 5, 2026), checked October 31, 2026
- Fix beginning balance issues when reconciling in QuickBooks Online (Intuit help article, updated September 1, 2026), checked October 31, 2026
- Fix issues the first time you reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online (Intuit help article, updated August 24, 2026), checked October 31, 2026