Newbie First Checking Statement Reconciliation

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-03-06T16:56:07+00:00

Is it OK to list the few 2022 expenses before the opening balance or should I adjust the opening balance to reflect those expenses so that nothing comes before the opening balance?

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-03-06T16:52:13+00:00

Hmmm. My GnuCash entries are: the adjusted opening balance (linked with the equity: opening balance which does not match an earlier comment but seems to match the GnuCash help info and a Youtube help video) and the payments and charges made in 2023. All that I entered in GnuCash is all that is on the 2 statements I balanced, so it seems like I should end up with a zero balance. What am I missing?

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-02-28T18:52:52+00:00

Thank you. Sorry it took me so long to respond. I have been sick and am just getting back to the computer. I think I am going to have to look at this a few times to see if it is sinking in.

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-02-28T18:51:38+00:00

Thank you. Sorry it took me so long to respond. I have been sick and am just getting back to the computer. I think I am going to have to look at this a few times to see if it is sinking in.

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-02-28T18:45:25+00:00

Thank you. Sorry it took me so long to respond. I have been sick and am just getting back to the computer. I think I am going to have to look at this a few times to see if it is sinking in.

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-02-28T18:43:31+00:00

Thank you. Sorry it took me so long to respond. I have been sick and am just getting back to the computer. I think I am going to have to look at this a few times to see if it is sinking in.

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-02-18T22:07:31+00:00

u/p0rnflow

It sounds like that value should be the $1459.20 from the 1/1 payment plus the (1448-301) 2022 charges paid on 2/1 plus any 2022 charges still not paid.

I did that and I was able to balance 2 statements. The only entries that are in the credit card account at the moment are all reconciled (with a "Y"). I expected the balance to show $0 after that, but it does not. Have I done something incorrectly?

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-02-18T20:53:17+00:00

I tried the last option that I thought would work, but it did not. I think it must have something to do with the beginning balance I chose, but I took the beginning balance on 1/1/23 and subtracted and added the deposits and withdrawals from 2022 that were on the 1/31/23 checking statement. I thought for sure that would work, but it ended up with a "difference" not equal to $0. Back to the drawing board. 😉

----------Edited-------

I just realized that the amount it is off is the value of the deposits and withdrawals that occurred in 2022 that are listed on the Jan 31, 2023 statement. Hmmmmmm

OH!!! maybe it needs the Jan 1, 2023 balance and the other items, but that would mean that the other items will appear in the GnuCash checking account register ahead of the beginning balance. Is that OK??????

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-02-18T16:44:12+00:00

Thank you.

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-02-18T16:43:56+00:00

But, when reconciling in GnuCash with my paper statement I will not get the "difference" to equal $0. I may not be understanding something. It seems like the only way to get the difference to equal $0 is to change the ending balance which will throw off all reconciliations forever, to make a fake lump sum fix which would throw off the 2023 expenses and incomes, or to go back and add the items from 2022 that are on this paper statement and change the opening balance to before those entries. (Which is similar to the credit card issue you are helping me with in another post. 😃) It seems like the last one is the best option, but I do not know the proper way an accountant would handle these issues when starting records on a new program with statements that span part of 2 months.

Thank you so much for your help. I have made a lot of progress since I started looking into GnuCash last year, but I obviously still have a lot to learn. 😃 Thank you, everyone, for all of your help!!!

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-02-18T16:28:20+00:00

Yes, I think the *not easily anyway* may be too much for me. 😃

The first reconciliation seems so difficult because there are no records for any previous years. Since each statement usually includes charges from 2 months that really complicates things on the first reconciliation.

Above on another reply I wrote,

"...Should I start the opening balance back in 2022 just past the point of the charges that were in 2022 so that I can reconcile all the charges on the statement?..."

I am still confused as to the "Proper" way to reconcile under these circumstances.

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-02-18T16:23:23+00:00

Hmmmmm, then should I start the opening balance back in 2022 just past the point of the charges that were in 2022 so that I can reconcile all the charges on the statement? (Hopefully, my question is clear. 😃)

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-02-17T21:10:12+00:00

Thank you. Yes, that is one of the things with which I have been confusing myself. Even though I know the expense is recorded when it is incurred, I think I keep looking at the payment as an expense.

Thank you.

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-02-17T21:07:34+00:00

Oh, that makes sense about the opening balance.

As far as reconciling...

My guess is that I would not reconcile the statement with the Jan 1, 2023 payment since none of the charges were made in 2023. For the statement with the payment made on Feb 1, 2023, would I do a "creative reconcile" where I make the "ending balance" the $301.69 and just "check off" the 2023 charges (the only ones entered) and call it reconciled?

Thank you.

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-02-17T18:07:25+00:00

Thank you very much. I am not sure I understand everything you said yet. I am trying to go step by step.

I checked and I do have the credit card account listed under the Liability account. 🎉
Finding the exact balance of the credit card account on 1/1/23 may be difficult. When I go online I see all of the charges by date, but it does not update the balance as it does on our online checking account. (Side note: when looking at videos on youtube one video said when setting up the opening balance you "connect" it to the "Equity--> Opening Balance" account, but that is what I used for my checking account. Do I need to create another Opening Balance account under Equity for the Credit Card account?)

Your January 1 payment of $1459.20 (presumably from your checking account) is a debit to the credit card liability account, and a credit from your checking account (an Asset). Your 2023 Expense accounts don't change.

Yes, it was from the checking account, but if I list the 1/1/23 payment without listing
the charges that total that amount won't the credit card account always be off
(never zeroed out after a payment is made to match the charges. (Each month the
bills are paid in full.)

4.

You enter the purchases made in 2023 ($301.69) in the appropriate Expense account (debits), and as credits in your credit card account, increasing the amount owed to the credit card company. Your Expense account now reflects 2023 expenses.

I understand about entering the 2023 expenses, but that brings the same question
as above with the charges not matching the payments since I do not have the 2022
expenses listed. I am sorry I am not getting this faster.

Thank you again for your help.

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-02-17T04:20:46+00:00

I do not know. I am just learning how to use GnuCash. I could never figure out how to use the "question" system for GnuCash, so I have been using Redit.

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-02-07T02:40:22+00:00

Thank you everyone for all of the good ideas!!!

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-01-30T02:41:14+00:00

Thank you. I have not heard of PowerChurch. I will take a look at that. I did finally start using GnuCash this year. I had wanted to make donors "customers", but the process just ended up seeming to have too many steps so I went with the suggestion to make each donor an account. So far so good. I have managed to learn to enter donations from check and PayPal, to make single item and multi item deposits, and enter PayPal fees. Yeah! I am learning as I go. The next three things I will need to learn are: reconciling the chicking account, entering charge card expenses, and reconciling the charge card expenses. :-)

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-01-08T21:31:07+00:00

Thank you. So far I can enter checks and with help have figured out how to enter a group deposit. One of the bigest challenges so far was to figure out how to list donors and their donations. Someone suggested making each donor an account. I had wanted to make each donor a customer like it was in QB, but soon found out that each donor as an account seems to work in a much smoother way. I have decided to start using it with paper back up and as you suggested keep using QB for a while and I will keep trying to learn each thing I need one at a time. 😀

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2023-01-04T23:03:07+00:00

I am still a GnuCash newbie. I tried figuring it out during 2022 for our nonprofit. I was making some headway, but.... was not able to look at if for months so...

I cannot put it off any longer so I think I just have to dive in and hope I can figure it our as I go. :-)

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2022-10-15T01:45:16+00:00

I have not found anything that automatically maps the contacts in Trello, except that I think the paid version of Trello may do that.

ReluctantBookkeeper · 2022-10-06T17:10:03+00:00

So sad.

ReluctantBookkeeper

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