Quickbooks: How to Change an Opening Balance
Looking to change the opening balance on one or more of your bank accounts in Quickbooks? Everyone is bound to make a mistake when entering account balances at some point in time. If you happen to enter the wrong balance, or if you did not enter an opening balance, you can correct the problem by performing just a few simple steps. For step-by-step instructions on how to change an opening balance in Quickbooks, keep reading.
What is the Opening Balance?
The opening balance is essentially the very first entry on the bank register. By default, this entry is marked as “Reconciled.” It’s important to note that the opening balance entry must be deleted if you plan on entering historical transactions.
How to Fix Incorrect Opening Balance
To begin, go ahead and fire up your Quickbooks accounting software. Once the software has loaded, click the gear icon at the main navigation menu, followed by Chart of Accounts. This should bring up a list of all accounts associated with your Quickbooks software. Now, scroll through this list and choose the account on which the incorrect opening balance was made. Next, click Report, then change the transaction date to “All Dates.” Once complete, click “Run Report.”
With the report in hand, search for the Deposit posted with a Memo/Description of the Opening Balance. Click on the entry to open the balance, which should take you to the Bank Deposit. From here, you can change the amount of the opening balance. Double-check it to ensure that it is correct and click “Save” to complete the process. Sorry if you were expecting more, but that’s all it takes to fix an incorrect opening balance in Quickbooks.
Of course, changing the opening balance shouldn’t be confused with reconciling your account. Reconciling is done to identify (and fix) errors. It is performed by first running a Reconciliation Discrepancy report, at which point the report should reveal the error. You may then click “Restart Reconciliation” to fix the error. But if you think the error was caused by a previous reconciliation, you may want to undo the changes, in which case you should click the “Undo Last Reconciliation” button.
Did this tutorial work for you? Let us know in the comments section below!