I’m still learning but think I am catching on. Here is my question… For example, If I balance my bank account by hand by figuring the given balance, plus any uncleared deposits, and minus any uncleared debits/checks. I am left saying my bank balance is $9000 but my Goodbudget shows my money in the bank is $7000. Obviously, my bank balance is correct and I messed up when starting Goodbudget and not knowing all the correct ways to enter things. Correct? What is the best way to correct my goodbudget balance so that it reflects the bank balance?
Note: I need them to match at the end of the month. We run too tight a ship at my house;)
Amanda
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Hi Amanda,
I used to have this issue too! If you’re totally sure that your Goodbudget balance and bank account balance are off, you’ll want to adjust it in GB. I HIGHLY recommend doing so with a monthly bank statement in hand, rather than by using a running balance (it’s just cleaner that way). Since reconciling your account only aligns it with the prior month, an early error can be reflected forever without an adjustment.
First, determine how much money is REALLY in your account based on your statement–for the moment you can ignore the unposted transactions (and make sure none of the are marked Cleared or Reconciled yet). Then determine what Goodbudget thinks is in your account; on the web version this will show as “cleared balance” when you view that account from the accounts tab. If they don’t match, change the account balance in GB to reflect the true balance. This will enter an “Updated” adjustment transaction in your ledger–jot that down because you’ll need the number in a minute! Now reconcile your account again but change the previous balance by the amount of the adjustment. When you’re finished, your cleared balance and your bank balance should line up, and the “current balance” will also reflect the deposits and withdrawals that hadn’t yet cleared your account.
Hope this helps!
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How do I manually change the account balance in GB to reflect the true balance now that I have a updated statement?
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Go into your Accounts tab, choose Edit, and manually change the balance to today’s actual balance. Be sure to account for those transactions that have occurred since the statement closed. Your ledger will then show an Adjustment but it won’t be tied to income or spending envelopes. It will update your Unallocated balance.
Don’t forget to adjust your Previous Balance by the same amount when you reconcile again.
Hope that helps!
(PS—If you later realize that your Adjustment was off, you can change or delete it from the web but not on iOS. I’m not sure about Android.)
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