Balance an account against a statement
There are two ways to balance ((Advanced Account Register only) Verify that your bank balance and your Money account balance agree, after verifying transactions and making adjustments for items entered into Money that haven’t cleared your bank. ) an account (A group of transactions in Money for a single bank, brokerage, retirement, loan, or credit card account. Accounts can also track assets such as houses or vehicles, or investments that you want to watch but do not own. See also watch account.) against a statement (Bank or brokerage records of transactions processed in your accounts. Statements can be on paper, or they can be downloaded or imported from your bank’s Web site. ) :
  • You can automatically adjust an account balance to match the bank’s balance by having Money do it for you.
  • You can manually balance an account against a statement by reviewing every transaction (A withdrawal, deposit or transfer of funds, or a purchase, a sale, or an exchange of a security. ) in the statement.

Note: To perform this advanced task, you must be using the Advanced Account Register. To find out which register you’re using, look for the Essential Register or Advanced Register label in the upper-right corner of the account register.

Microsoft Money arrowblueright Balance an account against a statement Automatically adjust an account balance to match the bank’s balance by having Money do it for you
If you’ve set up online account updates or online services (Services provided by your bank or brokerage for common banking tasks, such as paying bills, over the Internet. ) for a bank account, a credit card account, or a cash account for an investment, Money can automatically adjust the account balance to match the balance shown on your bank or brokerage statement. First, you’ll need to accept all downloaded statement transactions for the account before Money can automatically adjust your account balance.

You can choose to have Money do one of the following things to make your ending balance match your bank or brokerage balance:

  • Adjust your opening balance if it is currently zero.
  • Enter an account adjustment transaction that will be flagged for you to follow up on later at your convenience.
  1. Click Banking, click Account List, and then click the account you want.
  2. In the left pane under Other Tasks, click Adjust account balance.
  3. Click the option you want, and then click OK.
Microsoft Money arrowblueright Balance an account against a statement Manually balance an account against a statement by reviewing every transaction in the statement
Before you start, have your bank or credit card statement handy.
  1. Click Banking, and then click Account List.
  2. If you’re using the Essential Register, you must switch to the Advanced Register.
    1. In the account list, click the account name.
    2. In the left pane under Other tasks, click Change account settings.
    3. Under Register Detail, click switch to the Advanced Account Register.
    4. Click Use Advanced Register.
  3. Click the name of an account.
  4. In the left pane under Common tasks, click Balance this account.
  5. In the Statement date box, enter the ending date shown on your statement.
  6. In the Ending balance box, type the amount shown on your account statement. The amount in the Starting balance box is the ending balance from the last time the account was balanced.
  7. Enter any service charges or interest earned during this balance period, and then click Next. If you use online updates, don’t include any charges or interest that have already been recorded by an online update.
  8. Compare the transactions on your statement with those in your Money account register.
    • For each transaction in the account register that matches (The process of combining two transactions in your account register that are actually the same transaction. These duplicate transactions typically occur when you enter transactions manually and then download transactions from your bank.) one on your statement, click the C (cleared) column to mark it as cleared.
    • If a transaction was entered incorrectly in the account register, click the transaction, and then make the correction.
    • If transactions appear on your statement but not in your account register, click New, enter the transaction details, and then click the C column to mark it as cleared.
  9. The left pane shows your cleared account register balance and the bank statement balance. When the difference between these balances is zero, your account is balanced. In the left pane, click Next, and then follow the instructions on the screen.

Note

When you update your accounts online, an E (for electronic) appe
ars in the C (cleared) column. After you balance your account, the E changes to an R (for reconciled).

Related topic

Problems with balancing accounts

Microsoft Money arrowbluedown Balance an account against a statement

Balance an account against a statement