How to Undo or Delete Reconciliation in QuickBooks Online

Keeping QuickBooks Online (QBO) records accurate requires you to reconcile your data. It verifies that what appears in your accounting software also appears on your bank and credit card records. Nevertheless, it is possible that you must remove an entry for reconciliation as a result of errors, alterations, or inaccuracies. This article explains how to cancel a reconciliation in QuickBooks Online, as well as why and what alternatives to use.

Why You Might Need to Undo or Delete Reconciliation in QuickBooks Online?

Various situations may encourage you to reverse a reconciliation:

• Errors in Data Entry: Inaccurate reconciliation can occur due to mistakes while entering transaction data.
• Missing Transactions: Reconciliation cannot be completed if transactions are not imported or entered into QuickBooks Online beforehand.
• A Balance That Does Not Match: An incorrect beginning balance can cause reconciliation discrepancies.
• Duplicate Transactions: Entering the same transaction twice will create issues.
• Bank Errors: If a bank statement contains errors, you may need to reverse the reconciliation after corrections.
• Sorting Transactions to the Wrong Account: Selecting the wrong account during reconciliation can cause problems.

How to Undo or Delete Reconciliation in QuickBooks Online

If you are using QuickBooks Online Accountant, here’s how to change a reconciliation.

• Access your client’s QuickBooks: Log in to your QuickBooks Online Accountant account and select the company you are working with.
• Head to the Reconcile section: Click Accounting in the left navigation bar, then select Reconcile.
• View History by Account: On the Reconcile screen, click the History by account button.
• Pick the account you wish to view: From the drop-down menu, select the bank or credit card account you want to reverse the reconciliation for.
• Search for the reconciliation: Find the specific reconciliation you want to undo from the list.
• Undo: Click the small drop-down arrow under the Action column for the selected reconciliation row, then select Undo.
• Confirm: A notice will appear; click Yes to complete the undo process.

Note: This action will restore all the transactions within that reconciliation, so you can correct your reconciliation.

Can You Undo or Delete Reconciliation in QuickBooks Online? (Limitations)

You cannot use QuickBooks Online to delete all the information in one reconciliation. Instead, just forget about it happening.

• Accountant’s Auto Undo Feature

There is a special tool in QuickBooks Online Accountant that helps you reverse all your reconciliation steps at once. This is the most effective way to reverse a completed reconciliation.

• Manual Un-reconciliation

When using QuickBooks Online regularly, each transaction in the reconciled period must be manually un-reconciled. If you have so many different transactions, checking each line can take quite a while.

You may read this: How to Reconcile in QuickBooks

Manually Undo or Delete Reconciliation from Transactions in QuickBooks Online

To remove reconciliation from your old transactions, you’ll have to do each transaction one by one. You should use this method if you don’t want to un-reconcile the entire reconciliation, but just re-verify a few transactions.

• Open the Chart of Accounts:
  • Go to the Accounting section from the left navigation panel.
  • Click on Chart of Accounts to open it.
• Select the Account to Analyze:
  • Find the account you want to examine (e.g., Bank account, Credit card account).
  • Click on View Register for that account to view the transactions.
• Identify Reconciled Transactions:
  • You’ll see a list of transactions, each with a checkmark column.
  • Reconciled transactions will have the letter “R” in the checkmark column.
  • This indicates that the transaction has already been reconciled in a prior reconciliation process.
• Un-reconcile Transactions:
  • If you need to adjust a reconciled transaction, click on the “R” in the checkmark column next to the transaction you want to un-reconcile.
  • This will change the status of that transaction.
    • Blank: Transaction is not reconciled.
    • C: Transaction is cleared but still needs reconciliation.
    • R: Transaction is reconciled.
  • Continue clicking on the “R” until it changes to a blank status or C (depending on your needs).
• Save Changes:
  • After adjusting a transaction’s reconciliation status, make sure to click Save to confirm the changes.

Important Notes:

• You can un-reconcile multiple transactions if needed, but be sure to save your changes after each adjustment.
• If a transaction is marked as cleared (C), it indicates that it has been matched with the bank’s statement but hasn’t yet been fully reconciled.
• Always ensure the account balance matches your bank statement after making these adjustments.

You may also read this: Mini Reconciliation in QuickBooks

Things to Keep in Mind Before Deleting

Consider the following prior to reversing a reconciliation process:

• Impact on Reporting: Undoing a reconciliation will affect your financial reports, including the Balance Sheet and Bank Reconciliation Report, for that period.
• Audit Trail: QuickBooks Online provides an audit log to track the process of undoing a reconciliation or unreconciling transactions.
• Timing: If multiple errors exist across different periods, it’s best to reverse the most recent reconciliation first.
• Find the Main Reason Behind the Issue: Investigate why the reconciliation broke to prevent repeating the same mistakes when re-establishing it.
• Backup (Not Directly in QuickBooks Online): QuickBooks Online automatically backs up your data, but be aware of the impact of major changes and consult an accountant if unsure.

Conclusion

Even though QuickBooks Online doesn’t provide a remove reconciliation button, you can still effectively un-reconcile any transaction. Online Accountant users can undo actions more simply, whereas other users must take action on reconciled transactions manually. First, look at how what happened affects your financial records, then handle the reasons for the problem before reconciling again.

Frequently Asked Questions