ARCHIVED: How do I reconcile General Ledger if it is out of balance?

1. Verify all entries are posted in General Ledger:
   1. From the General Ledger Tasks menu, select Post Entries.
   2. Click Start and review the posting journal to verify all entries posted.
2. Review the Current Ledger:
   1. From the General Ledger Reports menu, select Current Ledger.
   2. Click Print Preview.
   3. Look at the grand totals on the last page.
   4. Tip: Press End on your keyboard twice to skip to the last page.
   5. Your ledger is in balance if your grand totals show the following:

      Beginning Balance	Debits/Credits	Ending Balance
      .00	Debits = Credits	.00

3. If your ledger shows anything other than the above, you are out of balance. Continue with the next step.
4. Compare your grand totals with the table below:

   Beginning Balance	Debits/Credits	Ending Balance	Option
   Any	Debits not equal to Credits	Any	Option 1
   Not .00	Debits = Credits	Same as beginning balance	Option 2
   Any	Debits = Credits	Different from Beginning	Option 3

5. Continue to the correct option below.

Option 1: Debits not equal to Credits:

• See How do I find the batches causing a General Ledger period to be out of balance in total debits and credits?
• Check for deleted accounts. See How do I recreate a deleted account?
• See How do I determine which entries posted to a unit account in General Ledger?

Option 2: The out of balance situation has carried forward from a prior period.
Print your Year-to-date Ledger for prior periods until you find the out of balance period:

1. From Reports, select Year-to-date Ledger.
   • Note: If you use both cash and accrual accounting, select the accounting method. Click OK.
2. Select the Modify date range check box. Enter the first and last day of your prior period.
3. Click Print Preview. Look at the grand totals on the last page of your report.
4. Repeat these steps for each prior period until you find a period that has a beginning balance of zero and then check the table below:

   Beginning Balance	Debits/Credits	Ending Balance	Option
   .00	Debits not equal to Credits	Difference of debits and credits	Option 1 (above)
   .00	Debits = Credits	Not .00	Option 3 (below)
   .00	Debits = Credits	.00	Option 4 (below)

Option 3: The activity of the General Ledger master file does not match the transactions in the transaction file:
Look for accounts that appear on your ledger with exclamation points (!!) next to the ending balances. See Double exclamation marks (!!) appear on the Year-to-date Ledger in General Ledger (Start date on ledger is too far in the past) and Double exclamation marks (!!) appear on the Current Ledger or Year-to-date Ledger in General Ledger (activity field on account record does not equal transactions)
Option 4: Ledger is in balance in the prior year.

• Check for prior year adjustments. See How can I confirm if I have prior year adjustments in GL?
  1. Verify adjustments are correct. See How do I determine which transactions are prior year adjustments for all accounts in General Ledger?
  2. Close prior year adjustments. See How do I close prior year adjustments to retained earnings?
• Identify and correct prior year entries that have posted to a suspense account. See Fiscal Year was closed with an amount in a suspense account in General Ledger

Other Options:

• Verify your closing entries and your retained earnings balance. See The current balance for my retained earnings account is incorrect
• A current balance field (Setup, Accounts, Balances) or another General Ledger account field is incorrect due to audit setup activity or because the General Ledger application ended unexpectedly. Contact customer support for assistance.