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quickbooks-reconcile.md

71 lines · small-business/skills/month-end-prep/reference/quickbooks-reconcile.md at 2574e29

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1# QuickBooks — Reconciliation Reference
2

QuickBooks — Reconciliation Reference

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3## Reports to pull
4

Reports to pull

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5### Profit & Loss (P&L)
6
7Use the **Profit and Loss** report via the QuickBooks connector:
8- Date range: first day to last day of target month
9- Accounting method: **Accrual** unless the user has told you they run cash-basis
10- Include all accounts
12Key fields used downstream:
13| Field | Notes |
14|---|---|
15| `TotalRevenue` | Top-line revenue |
16| `GrossProfit` | Revenue minus COGS |
17| `GrossProfitMargin` | Compute as GrossProfit / TotalRevenue |
18| `NetIncome` | Bottom line |
19| `TotalExpenses` | Operating expenses subtotal |

Profit & Loss (P&L)

Use the Profit and Loss report via the QuickBooks connector:

  • Date range: first day to last day of target month
  • Accounting method: Accrual unless the user has told you they run cash-basis
  • Include all accounts

Key fields used downstream:

FieldNotes
TotalRevenueTop-line revenue
GrossProfitRevenue minus COGS
GrossProfitMarginCompute as GrossProfit / TotalRevenue
NetIncomeBottom line
TotalExpensesOperating expenses subtotal
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21### Transaction Register
23Pull the **Transaction List by Date** report or equivalent for the target month.
24This is the line-item detail used for uncategorized flagging and duplicate detection.
26Key fields:
27| Field | Notes |
28|---|---|
29| `TxnDate` | Transaction date (not posting date) |
30| `TxnType` | Invoice, Payment, Expense, Deposit, etc. |
31| `Amount` | Positive = income, negative = expense in most QB exports |
32| `AccountRef.name` | The GL account category |
33| `EntityRef.name` | Vendor or customer name |
34| `Memo` | Free-text description |
35| `AttachmentCount` | > 0 means a receipt is attached in QB |

Transaction Register

Pull the Transaction List by Date report or equivalent for the target month. This is the line-item detail used for uncategorized flagging and duplicate detection.

Key fields:

FieldNotes
TxnDateTransaction date (not posting date)
TxnTypeInvoice, Payment, Expense, Deposit, etc.
AmountPositive = income, negative = expense in most QB exports
AccountRef.nameThe GL account category
EntityRef.nameVendor or customer name
MemoFree-text description
AttachmentCount> 0 means a receipt is attached in QB
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37## Identifying uncategorized transactions
39Flag a transaction as uncategorized if `AccountRef.name` is any of:
40- "Uncategorized Income"
41- "Uncategorized Expense"
42- "Uncategorized Asset"
43- blank / null
44- "Ask My Accountant" (QB's built-in "I don't know" category)

Identifying uncategorized transactions

Flag a transaction as uncategorized if AccountRef.name is any of:

  • "Uncategorized Income"
  • "Uncategorized Expense"
  • "Uncategorized Asset"
  • blank / null
  • "Ask My Accountant" (QB's built-in "I don't know" category)
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46## Pagination
48The QB API returns a maximum of 1,000 rows per request. For businesses with high
49transaction volumes, paginate using `startPosition` and `maxResults` parameters.
50Request in 500-row batches to stay safely under the limit.

Pagination

The QB API returns a maximum of 1,000 rows per request. For businesses with high transaction volumes, paginate using startPosition and maxResults parameters. Request in 500-row batches to stay safely under the limit.

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52## Common data issues
54**Split transactions** — a single purchase split across multiple categories appears as
55multiple rows with the same date and vendor but different amounts. These are NOT
56duplicates. Before flagging duplicates, group rows by `TxnID` — rows sharing an ID
57are splits of one transaction.
59**Bank feeds vs. manual entries** — bank-feed transactions have `PrivateNote` set to
60"bank feed" or similar. Manual entries often lack a memo. Neither is a signal of a
61problem on its own, but it helps explain why a transaction might lack a receipt.
63**PayPal transactions already in QB** — if the user has the PayPal-QB auto-sync
64enabled, PayPal transactions will already appear in the register. Don't double-count
65them during reconciliation (Step 3). Check whether the QB deposit lines have
66"PayPal" in the account or memo before matching.
68**Retainer / deposit transactions** — a customer deposit is not revenue until the
69work is delivered. If the user is on cash-basis accounting this distinction matters
70less, but flag any large Deposit-type transactions without a matching Invoice for
71their awareness.

Common data issues

Split transactions — a single purchase split across multiple categories appears as multiple rows with the same date and vendor but different amounts. These are NOT duplicates. Before flagging duplicates, group rows by TxnID — rows sharing an ID are splits of one transaction.

Bank feeds vs. manual entries — bank-feed transactions have PrivateNote set to "bank feed" or similar. Manual entries often lack a memo. Neither is a signal of a problem on its own, but it helps explain why a transaction might lack a receipt.

PayPal transactions already in QB — if the user has the PayPal-QB auto-sync enabled, PayPal transactions will already appear in the register. Don't double-count them during reconciliation (Step 3). Check whether the QB deposit lines have "PayPal" in the account or memo before matching.

Retainer / deposit transactions — a customer deposit is not revenue until the work is delivered. If the user is on cash-basis accounting this distinction matters less, but flag any large Deposit-type transactions without a matching Invoice for their awareness.

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