2.6.19: find source of imbalance in reconciled accounts

[Mike or Penny Novack]

On 2/13/2018 12:43 PM, Rich Shepard wrote:
>   I'm puzzled how I can find the source of the imbalance at the bottom of
> the 2017 trial balance report when both the checking and saving accounts
> reconcile with the bank's records (as of today). The trial balance 
> period is
> 1 Jan 2017 through 31 Dec 2017.
>
>   Please provide a clue stick where I should start looking.
>
> Regards,
>
> Rich 
  What I don't understand is why you think the checking and savings 
accounts agreeing with the bank's records should have anything to do 
with it. Maybe consider going back over the "basics of double entry 
bookkeeping".

But I'll try to help. Go to the Imbalance account. For each transaction 
there, go to* the other account which is almost certainly the account 
from which you entered the transaction. From that view of things you 
should notice that you failed to specify the account that was the other 
side of this transaction. That every transaction in double entry 
bookkeeping has AT LEAST two accounts associated with it is basic.

I wish as easy as I made this sound. Back when you originally entered 
the transaction you probably knew what it was about. You might now be 
faced with the question "what was that check #1234 written back on June 
7th, 2017 for? I can see it was in the XYZ store, but they sell all 
sorts of things". You MAY end up having to create another expense 
account for "unknown".

Michael D Novack

*  You can see from the transaction in Imbalance a date and the name of 
the other account