How to Find Out When a Check Has Cleared in QuickBooks

QuickBooks is a software package for accounting. The company behind it, named Intuit, was founded in 1983. This software is relatively new; it released in 2014, and many people are still asking questions about it, like how to find out when a check cleared in QuickBooks.

If you are one of those people, you are in the right place. Read on and find out how to do this, but also how to mark cleared deposits and checks in QuickBooks, and how to clear out outstanding checks in QuickBooks.

Use the Reconcile Window

Finding out cleared checks in QuickBooks is not as difficult as it seems. All you need to do is check the Reconcile tab in QuickBooks. To view cleared checks at the bank, look at your bank statement. Follow the steps to mark cleared checks in QuickBooks:

1. First, you need to launch QuickBooks and enter the Reconcile menu.
2. Look at your bank statement and find the listed deposits.
3. Go to the Deposits and Other Credits tab in the Reconcile menu in QuickBooks.
4. Find the deposit from your bank statement and select it. You can highlight it with a click of your mouse or the keyboard arrow keys when you simultaneously press it with the space bar.
5. Then, QuickBooks will mark the deposit with a checkmark. The cleared statement balance will also be updated.
6. If you want to clear many deposits at once, you can click on Mark All. Be careful and untick the deposits that aren’t in your bank statement. Just click on the deposit that you want to untick, and QuickBooks will not clear it.
   

What If You Can’t Find a Deposit?

In case your deposit doesn’t appear in the Reconcile menu, it is not registered yet. Leave the Reconcile menu and open the register. Enter the missing deposit into the register as per usual.

Now you can open the Reconcile window again or click on Banking, followed by Make Deposits. Record your deposit and confirm with Save and Close. The deposit will be visible on the Reconcile page when you open it again, right under the Deposits and Other Credits.

Be Careful

Next, you need to make sure that all the dates and the numbers on the deposits match. Double-check everything so that you’re sure. If something doesn’t match, go back to your transactions and fix the mistake.

For transactions, select Go To and look at the Write Checks or Make Deposits. Correct the mistakes and then save the changes with Save and Close.

Then you can return to the Reconcile page. It’s time to check if the first check was cleared. Click on the Checks and Payments section, and then Deposits and Other Credits. You can use this menu to sort your deposits as you please.

How to Mark Cleared Checks

Now you can mark your first cleared check. In the Checks and Payments menu of the Reconcile section, find and select the first check. The check will be cleared, and the cleared statement balance will be updated.

If any checks are missing or you can’t find them, this means that you haven’t registered them. Close the Reconcile menu. Click on the register and enter the missing check or withdrawal. Go back to Reconcile when you are done.

That’s how you clear checks in QuickBooks. Now you need to repeat the steps you took for the first check and mark all the remaining checks.

How to Clear Outstanding Checks

You can also reconcile outstanding checks, but first, you need to create a clearing account. Follow to steps to do that:

1. Open QuickBooks.
2. Now, select Lists, followed by Chart of Accounts.
3. Next, select Account and press New.
4. Choose Bank and Continue.
5. Name the account as Clearing Account.

Now you need to enter the checks. Here is how:

1. Click on Banking and then Write Checks.
2. Type in the check information (date, check total, check number, payee).
3. Select Expenses and click on your Clearing Account.
4. Choose Save and New, until you enter all the outstanding checks. Save and Close to finish the process.

Now you can reconcile these checks. Do the following:

1. Open QuickBooks.
2. Now, select Banking, followed by Reconcile.
3. Choose your account in the Begin Reconciliation menu.
4. Type in the Statement Date and the Ending Balance. Use the initial dates and balance from your bank statement.
5. Click on every outstanding check that you have entered. Check if the difference is 0.00, and if that’s the case, select Reconcile Now.

Checks Cleared

That is how you use QuickBooks to find and reconcile cleared checks. Have you managed to check whether the check cleared? Did you have any problems with the tutorial steps above? Let us know in the comments section.