Help Reconciling the Credit Card Account

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by Darleen Hernandez
(California)

I need help reconciling the credit card account.

I just found out that I can maintain a credit card just like I do my checking account so that all charges and fees are accounted for. I have been doing it wrong for years. I have just been posting the payment in “Write Checks” and listing the particular credit card in the “Account” column. Then, every year I hand write a chart that lists each credit card and all the transactions for each month.

I will be redoing my income tax returns for 2006 and 2007 (because I forgot to do the charts) and want to correct my credit card entries starting 1/1/06.

I thought I could just enter the opening balance in the register from “Chart of Accounts” and go from there, but when I went to reconcile January, 2006, all the other check payments were listed in the Payments and Credits column. There is no way for me to balance.

How do I make the cards a clean slate starting from 2006 in order to start entering these charges and payments correctly? I have QB Basic 2004 edition.

Please advise.
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

Jennifer replies:

Hi Darlene,

Based on your post, it doesn’t sound like there is anything unusual preventing you from reconciling. Just make sure all of the individual charges are entered.

It’s normal for all of the Checks and Payments to appear in the Reconcile window. So don’t worry about that.

You will need to reconcile each month as you do for your checking account. Just have the Jan 2006 statement in front of you, and follow the same reconciliation process you do normally.

Here are some instructions for reconciling accounts (copy & paste into a new window):

Tips, Tricks, & Help to Reconcile Statements in QuickBooks

A very helpful trick in situations like yours is check the box that says, “Hide transactions after the statement’s end date,” in the top right corner of the Reconcile window. This removes all transactions dated after the ending date you entered in the Begin Reconciliation window (removes clutter!).

I hope gives you some help reconciling the credit card account. Let me know by posting a comment below.

Comments for Help Reconciling the Credit Card Account
Sep 25, 2008 Still Need Help With Credit Card Accounts

by: Darleen

Here is an example of what I have:Chart of Accounts

Name: Advanta

Type: Credit Card

Balance: -$495.59

This balance is as of 12/11/07. Actual balance should be $2,017.31

All payments have been made by check since the opening balance in 12/03 (actual opening of the card was 08/03).

Pay to the order of: Advanta (vendor)

Account: Advanta (credit card)

So, let’s say a $120.00 payment was made on 1/1/06. The check was applied to the Advanta Credit Card Account. This check, as with all checks from 2006 and 2007, was reconciled.

What the payment does not show is the fact that $20.00 was being applied to a finance charge and $100.00 to an advertising payment. So when my 2006 taxes were done, there was no record of the company paying any finance charges to any credit card companies and anything that was purchased on said credit cards has no record of purchase in my QuickBooks. Only checks and debit card transactions are properly accounted for.

I need to not only reconcile the credit cards, I need to apply them to the actual expenses so I can redo my tax returns for 2006 and 2007. (I’m not going to worry about anything further back).

Is there a way to go back and fix this without disturbing the reconciled checks?
Oct 03, 2008 I need help with this as well

by: Amy

This is exactly my question! I just took over cutting the checks for the Church I attend and while I was left wonderful instructions I had to cut a check for the CC right away without the journal entry being completed due to it being late. Now I am wondering how I can go back and itemize.Thanks!
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Published by Jennifer

My name is Jennifer Johnson and I’ve worked in the accounting industry since 1992, mostly as a freelance bookkeeper and QuickBooks consultant for small, privately-held firms. I had clients across the country and was certified in QuickBooks from about 2004 to 2011. I wrote a number of ebooks about QuickBooks during that time. In 2011 I accepted a full-time staff position with my largest client, and sold my bookkeeping practice. I finished my undergraduate degree in accounting in 2016, and then my masters in accountancy in 2018. I now teach accounting at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, one of the top accountancy programs in the United States, if not the world. AMDG

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