QuickBooks Files

QuickBooks reports can be a valuable complement to the process of rebuilding a damaged company file (.qbw).  After running the Rebuild Data utility, Intuit recommends that you proceed through these steps in the order listed to identify data damage that the rebuilding process repaired and to confirm that further data problems don’t exist.

1.  Examine the Uncategorized Expenses account for damaged transactions.  During the rebuild process, QuickBooks may put some transactions into this account as a way of restoring balance to your financial records.  Under normal circumstances, the only transactions that should be in this account are voided checks.  Look for transactions that don’t have an amount or account associated with them.  You’ll need to delete these transactions and re-enter them with the correct amount and account.  The Uncategorized Expenses account is created automatically by QuickBooks.  If you’ve never produced an event that would have automatically created this account, you won’t see it in your chart of accounts.  The simplest way to examine the Uncategorized Expenses account is to open the Chart of Accounts window by clicking on the Company->Chart of Accounts menu selection (or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + a).  Locate the Uncategorized Expenses account (if it exists) and double-click on it to produce a QuickReport.  Change the Dates filter to All to include all entries in the account.  The transactions reported (other than voided checks) will require attention.

Here’s a screenshot of the Uncategorized Expenses account in the Chart of Accounts list.

2.  Examine the Uncategorized Income account for damaged transactions.  Just like the behavior of the Uncategorized Expeses account, QuickBooks may put some transactions into this account during the rebuild process as a way of restoring balance to your financial records.  Review this account for transactions that are missing amounts or for transactions that are linked to the wrong account.  You’ll need to delete these transactions and re-enter them with the correct amount and account.

Here’s a screenshot of the Uncategorized Income account in the Chart of Accounts list.

3.  Verify that total debits less total credits equals the balance in the Undeposited Funds account.  To do this, run a Custom Transaction Detail Report (Reports->Custom Transaction Detail Report).  Be sure to include All dates from the Dates pull-down menu; click the Modify Report… button and choose the Filters tab.  On the Account pull-down menu, choose only the Undeposited Funds account.

4.  Compare the total in the Open Invoices report (Reports->Customer & Receivables->Open Invoices) to the A/R balance shown on a Balance Sheet (Reports->Company & Financial->Balance Sheet Summary) and make sure they match.  Make sure that the Dates filter for the Open Invoices report is set to Today and that your balance sheet Dates filter is set to All.  If your balance sheet filter is not set to All and you have entered customer payments after the balance sheet date, you’ll see a difference between the amounts on these 2 reports.  That difference doesn’t indicate a data problem. You can also check the current A/R balance in the Chart of Accounts window (Company->Chart of Accounts).

Here’s a screenshot of the 2 reports side by side where the A/R balances shown on the reports match perfectly.

5.  Compare the total in the Unpaid Bills Detail report (Reports->Vendors & Payables->Unpaid Bills Detail) to the A/P Balance shown on a Balance Sheet (Reports->Company & Financial->Balance Sheet Summary) and make sure they match.  Make sure that the Dates filter for the Unpaid Bills Detail report is set to Today and that your balance sheet Dates filter is set to All.  If your balance sheet filter is not set to All and you have paid bills after the balance sheet date, you’ll see a difference between the amounts on these 2 reports.  That difference doesn’t indicate a data problem.  You can also check the current A/P balance in the Chart of Accounts window (Company->Chart of Accounts).

Here’s a screenshot of the 2 reports side by side where the A/P balances shown on the reports match perfectly.

6.  Verify that ASSETS = LIABILITIES + EQUITY on both an accrual and cash basis balance sheet.   Produce a Balance Sheet Detail report (Reports->Company & Financial->Balance Sheet Detail) and confirm that Total Assets = Total Liabilities + Equity.  Note that Total Liabilities itself is the sum of Total Current Liabilities and Non-current Liabilities.  The balance sheet example shown below doesn’t include any Non-current Liabilities, and to reduce image size we’ve reproduced a Balance Sheet Summary report, rather than a detail report.

Here’s a screenshot of a Summary Balance Sheet where accounts are in balance:

You need to verify that both accrual and cash basis balance sheets are in balance.  To change the report basis, click the Modify Report… button.  On the Display tab, select either Accrual or Cash as your Report Basis.

If either or both of these reports are out of balance, there are further troubleshooting steps to follow depending on which report (either the cash or accrual basis report) is out of balance.

See our related articles for more information on troubleshooting out-of-balance accrual basis balance sheets and rebuilding a company file.

For more information using the reporting function in QuickBooks to assist rebuilding a damaged company file, consult this Intuit knowledge base article.

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