Why won't my bank reconciliation balance?

Almost always one of seven things: a transaction on the statement but not in the books, one in the books but not on the statement, a wrong amount, a reversed sign, a duplicate, a transaction dated outside the statement period, or a previously reconciled transaction that was changed.

What does it mean if the reconciliation difference is divisible by 9?

It often means transposed digits, such as 98.00 entered as 89.00 (a difference of 9.00). Look for amounts that use the same digits in a different order.

What if the difference is exactly twice a transaction amount?

That transaction's sign is reversed: for example a purchase entered as a deposit. Change the transaction type rather than adding an adjustment.

Should I use a reconciliation adjustment in QuickBooks?

Only as a last resort for a tiny amount. QuickBooks Online posts it to a Reconciliation Discrepancies account, which hides the real problem and can resurface later.

How do I compare a bank statement to the general ledger quickly?

Export both for the statement period, match exact amounts within a few days (checks by number), then look at what's left on each side for pairs with the opposite sign, close amounts or repeats. Utilly's free bank reconciliation checker does this matching for you.

Do outstanding checks cause a reconciliation difference?

Not by themselves. Checks and deposits that haven't cleared stay unticked and are expected. They cause a difference only if they're ticked as cleared or were entered in the wrong account.

How to Find a Bank Reconciliation Discrepancy: 7 Causes and a 15-Minute Method

The statement says one balance, your books say another, and the difference won't go to 0.00. Almost every reconciliation difference comes from a handful of causes, and you can find most of them in fifteen minutes by working through them in order. Here's the method, with the tricks bookkeepers use to spot a transposed number or a reversed sign from the difference alone.

On this page

Before you start
The seven usual causes
What the difference tells you
A 15-minute method
Matching in Excel
Fixing what you find
FAQ

Before you start

Check the beginning balance first. If the opening balance in the reconcile screen doesn't equal last month's statement closing balance, an earlier reconciled transaction was changed or deleted. Fix that first: see QuickBooks reconciliation beginning balance is off.
Use the statement's dates. Compare only transactions dated inside the statement period. Anything after the ending date belongs to next month.
Write down the difference with its sign. It's your best clue.

The seven usual causes

Cause	How it looks	Usual fix
1. On the statement, not in the books	Bank fees, interest, a card payment nobody entered, an automatic transfer	Record it, or match it from the bank feed.
2. In the books, not on the statement	Outstanding checks and deposits in transit, or something entered in the wrong account	Leave real timing items uncleared; move or remove the rest.
3. Wrong amount	Typo or transposed digits (189.34 entered as 198.34)	Edit the entry to match the statement.
4. Reversed sign	A refund entered as a payment, or a payment entered as a deposit	Change the transaction type.
5. Duplicate	The same transaction entered and also added from the bank feed or an import	Delete or exclude the extra copy. See duplicate transactions after an import.
6. Wrong period	A transaction dated outside the statement dates, ticked or missing	Fix the date, or leave it for next month.
7. Changed history	A reconciled transaction was edited or deleted	Undo the change or adjust the beginning balance properly.

What the difference tells you

Difference equals one transaction: that transaction is missing from one side. Search both for that exact amount.
Difference is twice a transaction: the sign is reversed. A 143.27 purchase entered as a 143.27 deposit makes the books 286.54 off.
Difference divides evenly by 9: likely transposed digits (98 entered as 89 is off by 9). Look for amounts that use the same digits.
Difference is a round number (100.00, 1,000.00): a typo in one digit, or a missing transfer.
Difference equals a whole day or week of activity: a date-range or import overlap problem.

A 15-minute method

Export the bank activity for the statement period as CSV (or convert the PDF statement). Export the books side: in QuickBooks, a Transaction Detail by Account or QuickReport for the bank account; in Xero, the Account Transactions report.
Match exact amounts first, allowing a few days for clearing. Checks can take weeks, so match those by check number.
List what's left on each side. That's causes 1 and 2.
Look at the leftovers in pairs: same amount with the opposite sign (cause 4), close amounts with similar names (cause 3), and the same amount twice on one side (cause 5).
Add up everything you found. If it equals the difference, you're done. If not, check for out-of-period dates and changed history (causes 6 and 7).

Let the matching run itself

Utilly's free bank reconciliation checker takes your bank statement (PDF, CSV or Excel) and a books export from QuickBooks, Xero or a spreadsheet, matches them by amount, date and check number, and lists what's missing on each side, wrong amounts, reversed signs, duplicates and out-of-period entries, with a line showing they add up to your difference. The summary is free with no sign-up, and files are processed in memory.

Find my reconciliation difference

Matching in Excel

If you'd rather do it in a spreadsheet, put bank transactions in columns A–C (Date, Description, Amount) and books in E–G, both with money out negative. Then:

In D2: =COUNTIF($G:$G,C2). A 0 means the bank amount isn't in the books.
In H2: =COUNTIF($C:$C,G2). A 0 means the book amount isn't on the statement.
Values of 2 or more point to repeated amounts: check those for duplicates by hand.
For sign problems, also try =COUNTIF($G:$G,-C2).

COUNTIF ignores dates, so two different $50.00 payments can hide each other. It's a good first pass, not a full match. For matching on date and amount with COUNTIFS or XLOOKUP, pairing repeated amounts and summing the leftovers to explain the gap, see how to compare a bank statement to the general ledger in Excel.

Fixing what you find

QuickBooks Online: leave the reconciliation with Save for later, fix the transactions in the register or Bank transactions, then come back. Don't use a reconciliation adjustment unless the difference is tiny and you've given up looking; it posts to Reconciliation Discrepancies and hides the real problem.
QuickBooks Desktop: use Leave in the Reconcile window, fix, and return. The Reconciliation Discrepancy report (Reports → Banking) lists reconciled transactions that were changed or deleted since the last reconciliation.
Xero: use the Bank Reconciliation Summary report and look for unreconciled statement lines and account transactions that don't belong to the statement. Remove-and-redo on a matched line fixes most cases.

Statement and books won't line up because the statement itself has gaps? Check it first with the free bank statement balance checker.

FAQ

Related guides

Related tools

Bank reconciliation checker: compare a bank statement to your books and list missing, duplicate and mismatched transactions.
Receipt to CSV: turn PDF or photo receipts and invoices into CSV, Excel, or QuickBooks and Xero bill imports.

How to find a bank reconciliation discrepancy: 7 causes and a 15-minute method