Enter Beginning Transactions in Account Reconciliation

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Beginning transactions provide a way to account for transactions made prior to starting Sage 50 that have not yet cleared the bank (not appeared on the bank statement). They are primarily used to resolve unreconcilable differences during the first account reconciliation.

From the Tasks menu, select Account Reconciliation. Sage 50 displays the Account Reconciliation window.
Enter or select the account you want to reconcile. To display a list of existing accounts, type ? in the G/L Account ID field, or select the Lookup button.
Reconcile the account. How do I do this?
If you just started entering data in Sage 50, if this is your first reconciliation of this account, and if you have a nonzero unreconciled difference, you may need to enter beginning transactions to resolve the reconciliation.
Beginning transactions should include each of the following criteria:

The outstanding transaction amount was originally entered as part of the general ledger account beginning balance.
The outstanding transaction is dated prior to the general ledger beginning-balance date.
The outstanding transaction has not cleared the bank as of this statement (the first statement you are attempting to reconcile in Sage 50).

To enter beginning transactions, select the Beginning Transactions button at the bottom of the Account Reconciliation window. Sage 50 displays the Beginning Transactions window.
Enter an amount, description, and reference for each outstanding transaction not listed the statement.
- Amount: Enter the amount that corresponds to the adjustment or beginning transaction.
- Description: Enter a brief description of the purpose or nature of the transaction.
- Reference: Enter the check number, deposit ticket ID, or other reference that identifies this transaction. Avoid duplicate references (for example, DEPOSIT or CASH). Each reference should be unique.
Enter the date when the outstanding transaction took place. The date must be in the current or previous accounting period.
Beginning transactions are typically dated prior to the general ledger beginning-balance date (usually just prior to the first day of the first period when you are entering data in Sage 50).
When you are finished entering beginning transactions, click OK.
Each beginning transaction will appear in either the Checks and Credits or Deposits and Debits section and be added to the Outstanding Checks or Deposits in Transit totals.
Do not select the Clear check box next to these items (since they were not listed on the bank statement). When you reconcile the next monthly statement (the following period), select the Clear check box when the bank statement indicated that the transactions have cleared.
Note: Beginning transactions are not posted to the General Ledger. They are used only when initially reconciling an account. Once you have reconciled an account in two or more periods, the beginning transactions should be cleared.
When you have successfully reconciled the account (the unreconciled difference is zero), click OK to close the window.
Tip: If you are interrupted in the middle of reconciliation, click OK, and exit the window. Later, while still in the same accounting period, you can resume where you left off. All your cleared items and other reconciliation information for the account will remain. You can also change accounting periods to edit previous account reconciliations, if necessary.