Best new feature in QB for Mac 2013

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Best new feature in QB for Mac 2013

For years, QuickBooks for Mac has been deficient in the banking reconciliation features.  But for 2013 QB-Mac received a complete overhaul that users have been requesting. The new features not only make reconciliations friendlier and faster, but they also offer improved abilities to make critical corrections to out-of-balance situations.

  • Statement Date: The Statement Date is now entered at the beginning of the Reconciliation Process rather than at the end.
  • Undo Last Reconciliation: Previously, Mac users had to manually uncheck every transaction to undo any bank reconciliation and then start over. Now there is a new Undo Last Reconciliation button to do in seconds what could have taken hours in some cases.
  • Sortable Columns: The Reconciliation Window is now sortable by columns: Users can sort by Date, Check#, Payee or Amount.
  • Exclude Transactions: You can now exclude transactions after the Statement ending date, simplifying the process of doing older reconciliations.
  • Reconciliation Discrepancies Account: Minor discrepancies written off at the end of the process are now properly posted to a new expense account called Reconciliation Discrepancies rather than to Opening Balance Equity.
  • Previous Reconciliation Reports: Reconciliation reports are now saved every time you reconcile one of your accounts; you can now re-create these reports for your prior reconciliations. Note: This feature only works with reconciliations performed in QuickBooks for Mac 2013; you can’t prepare these reports from reconciliations performed in any earlier version of QB-Mac.

Obviously my new feature has to do with the new ‘reconciliation functions’, but I know you are just dying to know what my number one new feature for QB for Mac, 2013 really is. Well it has to be the new Undo Last Reconciliation.

Undoing a Reconciliation in QuickBooks for Mac-2013

If, when you begin a new reconciliation, you find that your Beginning Balance doesn't match the Ending

Balance of your last reconciliation, you’ve got a problem. One way to solve this problem is to use the Previous Reconciliation Reports to find transactions that aren't cleared (or have changed). You can also open the account register and search for (and fix) any problem transactions. But when neither of these methods work, or they identify a mess in your last reconciliation, you can wish you could Undo Last Reconciliation.  Until QB for Mac 2013, users had to manually ‘un-check’ each of the reconciliation transaction check marks, but this year’s best feature is a new ‘button’ that allows you to Undo the prior reconciliation, without all that manual effort.  To undo your last reconciliation:

  1. In the Banking menu, select Reconcile.
  2. Click the Account drop-down arrow and select the appropriate account.
  3. Without entering a closing balance for the current month, click OK.
  4. When the Reconcile window opens, click the Undo Reconcile button.
  5. A new window appears that shows you the current and previous beginning balance of the most recent reconciliation you've done on this account.
  6. Click Continue. QuickBooks undoes the most recent reconciliation.  (Note: This function only works with reconciliations performed with QB-Mac 2013; reconciliations performed in a prior version of QB-Mac can’t be un-reconciled using this method.)
  7. Now re-reconcile the account, being careful to look for any errors or changes to transactions so that you end up with the appropriate Ending Balance. (Note: If you think the problem is further back than the most recent reconciliation, you can undo multiple reconciliations one at a time by following each of the above steps, on reconciliation period at a time until you finally reach the period where you need to either make corrections, or begin the re-reconciliation process.)

All I can say for my QB-Mac user friends is ‘thanks Intuit’ and ‘it’s about time.’