Sticky Situations You May Not Know How to Handle Part 5

Seeing Double? Here’s a step-by-step guide to reconciling accounts with missing or duplicate transactions in QuickBooks Online, along with tips to prevent the issue from happening!

🧾 Scenario: Reconciling a Bank Account with Duplicate or Missing Transactions

Let’s say you’re reconciling your business checking account. Your bank is connected to QuickBooks (bank feed), but you also manually entered some transactions—resulting in duplicates, mismatches, or missing items.

✅ Step-by-Step: Reconciling with Errors in QuickBooks Online

🔹 Step 1: Start the Reconciliation

1. Go to the Gear icon (⚙️) > Click Reconcile.

2. Choose the correct bank or credit card account.

3. Enter the statement ending balance and statement ending date from your bank statement.

4. Click Start reconciling.

💡 QuickBooks will display a list of all transactions during that period. The goal is to match them to your bank statement until the difference = $0.00.

🔹 Step 2: Identify Duplicate Transactions

1. Look for two versions of the same transaction—usually one from the bank feed and one entered manually.

2. Click each to compare:

   • Same amount?

   • Same date?

   • One marked “Downloaded” and one not?

3. Only check off the bank feed version if you’re certain the manual one is a duplicate.

🧹 To Fix:

• If it’s truly a duplicate, delete the manually entered transaction:

  • Click it > Select More > Choose Delete.

• If the bank feed version is incorrect or unnecessary, exclude it:

  • Go to Banking > Check the transaction > Click Batch actions > Exclude Selected.

🔹 Step 3: Find and Add Missing Transactions

1. Compare your bank statement to what’s in QuickBooks.

2. If something is on your bank statement but missing in QuickBooks, it likely wasn’t downloaded or entered manually.

✍️ To Add It:

• Click + New > Choose the correct form (Expense, Check, Deposit, etc.).

• Enter all details from your bank statement (amount, date, vendor/payee, category).

• Save and return to the reconciliation screen.

🔹 Step 4: Complete the Reconciliation

Once all matches are correct and duplicates/missing entries are resolved:

1. Make sure the Difference is $0.00.

2. Click Finish now.

3. Download or save the reconciliation report for your records.

🔍 Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Entering the same transaction manually and through a bank feed—choose one method consistently.

• Forgetting to check statement dates and amounts closely—even small differences cause issues.

• Not reconciling regularly—monthly is ideal to catch problems early.

🎯 Pro Tip

Use the “Match” feature in Banking to link downloaded transactions to existing ones (like invoices or checks). QuickBooks will suggest matches, and you can confirm them to avoid duplicates.