When it comes to balance sheets on QuickBooks, one needs to make sure that it is balanced. Balanced sheets on QuickBooks are important. This article will make sure to help you keep your QuickBooks Balance sheet in balance. Learn how to troubleshoot QuickBooks balance sheet out of balance issues. The most common error of an accrual basis balance sheet is the income or expense account has the balance but does not allow a transaction that adds up to the balance.
What do you Understand about a Balance Sheet in QuickBooks?
When we talk about balance sheets in QuickBooks, it simply says assets=liabilities. Your total assets should match your liabilities on your balance sheet. Balance sheets are known to be quite tricky. Managing them and keeping them balanced can be a hassle. This is why it is suggested to get help from your bookkeeper or accountant for help before you continue. It is advisable to hire an accountant in case you don’t have one. To initiate your balance sheet on QuickBooks one needs to edit transactions, so a backup is suggested.
How to Troubleshoot Issue QuickBooks Balance Sheet Out of Balance
With this article, we will help you in balancing your sheet out. Follow the mentioned steps to troubleshoot the issue when the QuickBooks balance sheet out of balance.
Step 1: Run the Report on Accrual Basis
- To run the report on an accrual basis, navigate to the Reports menu and choose Company & Financial, followed by Balance Sheet Summary.
- Select Customize Report.
- Click on the Display tab and choose Accrual under Report Basis.
- Finally, select OK to apply the changes.
In case, your balance sheet is out of balance on an accrual basis, you must rebuild your company first. However, if it’s out of balance on a cash basis only, or if it’s still out of balance after a rebuild, then continue to Step 2.
Step 2: Find the date when your balance sheet went out of balance
- To locate the transaction or transactions causing the problem, determine the date when the Balance Sheet Summary report went out of balance.
- Navigate to the Reports menu, select Company & Financials, and then choose Balance Sheet Summary.
- Click on Customize Report.
- On the Display tab, select All from the Dates dropdown.
- Go to the Report Basis section. If your balance sheet is only out of balance in accrual, select Accrual. Otherwise, select Cash.
- In the Columns section, select Year from the Display columns by dropdown then OK.
- Compare your Total Assets to Total Liabilities & Equity. Identify the date when your balance sheet goes out of balance.
Now once you find the year, follow the same steps to narrow down the exact date
- Repeat steps 1 through 6 again, but this time select “Month” from the “Display columns by” drop-down menu.
- Once you have found the month, repeat steps 1 through 6 again, but this time select “Week“.
- Finally, once you have found the week, repeat the steps, but this time select “Day“.
- Now that you have the date your report went out of balance, proceed to step 3.
Step 3: Find the transactions that are making your balance sheet out of balance
- To run a Custom Transaction Detail report for a specific date, navigate to the Reports menu, select Custom Report, and then Transaction Detail.
- On the Modify Report window, locate the Report Date Range section and enter the date you noted in both the From and To fields.
- In the Report Basis section, choose Accrual if the balance sheet is only out of balance for accrual, or select Cash if the balance sheet is out of balance for both accrual and cash.
- In the Columns section, deselect Account, Split, Clr, and Class to simplify the report. Ensure that the Amount column is selected and also select the Paid Amount column.
- Click OK to generate the report.
- The ending balance in the Paid Amount column should match the amount that is out of balance. Review the report to identify the transactions or transactions that add up to this amount.
- If you are unable to locate the transactions, refer to the Advanced troubleshooting guide for Balance Sheet issues.
Step 4: Re-date the transactions
- Identify the transactions causing the issue.
- Note their original dates.
- Edit the date on each transaction to be 20 years in the future.
- Save the transactions.
- Refresh the report. If the correct transactions were identified, the Paid Amount column will now show zero.
- Locate the transactions that were dated into the future and change their dates back to their original dates. This re-dating step re-links the transactions and can repair them.
- If this does not work, proceed to the next step.
Step 5: Delete and reenter the transactions
If altering the dates of the transaction or transactions does not resolve the issue, you should delete and reenter them into the system.
Step 6: Run Rebuild Data Utility
- Click Files -> Utilities -> Rebuild Data now run “Rebuild Data Utility”.
- This utility will resolve the out-of-balance problem by matching the transaction with the account that has a balance.
If you still face the problem and your query QuickBooks balance sheet out of balance is still unanswered, then feel free to contact our QuickBooks error support for instant solutions.
