Checkbook and GL checkbook balance difference 1

[lingtring]

If I go to the Checkbook maintainance window, the two balances showing there Checkbook and GL balance, are different being the correct one the GL balance. This is coming back from 2003 when only payments where captured on GP but no deposits, and on 2004 we corrected it on GL, but not in the checkbook register.

How can I fix this? I need to increase the Checkbook balance, so both are equal.

 

[lingtring]

Sorry, I'm on V. 8.0

 

[VictoriaYudin]

Are you actually doing the Bank Reconciliations in GP, or just checking the balances on the checkbook maintenance screen?

 

[lingtring]

Well bank reconciliations are made, and those are correct, but the balances on the checkbook on the maintenance screen are not correct

 

[VictoriaYudin]

So you are able to reconcile the checkbook with the bank statement, but the GL has a different ending number for every month? Is it off by the same amount every month?

 

[lingtring]

For example in GL the balance is 415,789.20 and the checkbook is -475,825.47

And this is coming from when we started using GP and the guys in accounting didn't care enough, so they just recorded payments, but no deposits.

 

[VictoriaYudin]

If you look at the Last Reconciled Date field on the Checkbook Maintenance screen (about halfway down on the right side), does it have a date? If so, what is it?

 

[lingtring]

09/30/2005 they are getting up to date on the conciliations.

 

[VictoriaYudin]

Hmmm...usually this is taken care of on the very first reconcilliation, otherwise you would have unreconciled transactions sitting there forever.

Are you able to check that? Are there old unreconciled transactions that are sitting in bank rec? Also, are all GL transactions that may change the GL cash account balance posted?

 

[lingtring]

I have been just told by accounting, that yes, they are some garbage checks from the beggining, back on 2003, that are not reconciled, and they even want to void them, they think that all that garbage is what's making this mess.

Thay started 2004 with a beggining balance (GL) but never saw the checkbook transactions.

What do you sujest doing here?

 

[VictoriaYudin]

I am hoping that the amount you're off by is the total of those garbage checks.....?

What you could do is enter an increase adjustment for that total ....have both the debit and credit side of the GL distributions go to the cash account. This will increase the checkbook balance, but keep the GL the same. Next time you reconcile, check off the garbage checks and the increase adjustment - they should cancel each other out and have no impact on the reconciliation.

Hope that helps.

 

[lingtring]

But won't those checks and the adjustment be on the conciliation screen, forever?

 

[VictoriaYudin]

Well...the checks are decreasing the checkbook balance, the increase adjustment is increasing it, if you check them all off during a reconciliation they will net out to zero, and be reconciled, so they won't appear on future reconciliations. You just need to make sure that the increase adjustment is for the same amount as the total of those checks.

 

[lingtring]

Oh sorry, I misunderstud you, I understud that not to check them.

Thanks for all your time

 

[VictoriaYudin]

It's all good.