Balances
My Checkbook displays several different balances. Here is a description of what each one is:
Today's Balance
This is the current amount of money that you have today (the current date) based on all the confirmed transactions you have entered into My Checkbook. Confirmed transactions show up as dark (black) text in the register list. This
amount can be different from your bank's available balance because it may include transactions that you have entered that your bank is not yet aware of, such as checks or debit card purchases that have not yet posted.
Balance On...
This balance will only appear when you have entered a confirmed transaction with a date in the future. When you do, this balance displays what your balance will be on that day. Of course if you enter other transactions between today
and the future day, this balance will change. This balance is designed to show you how much money you will have, to prevent you from over-drafting.
Scheduled Balance
This balance shows you the amount of all scheduled items that have not yet been confirmed. Unconfirmed transactions are shown in a light gray color in your register list. You might not want to have a Scheduled Item confirmed if the amount is an approximation. For example, you know that your cell phone bill is about $70 every month, but there is slight fluctuations. You may choose to create a Scheduled transaction for $70 every month, but not confirm it because
you need to update this record to reflect the actual amount. When creating a scheduled entry, you can decide if it will be unconfirmed (by default) or automatically marked as confirmed.
Reconciled & Outstanding Balances
These two balances go together. The Reconciled balance is the amount of all of the confirmed transactions that you have "marked as posted." Likewise, the Outstanding Balance is the amount of all the confirmed transactions which you
have not marked as posted. If you subtract the outstanding balance from the reconciled balance, you will see that it is "Today's Balance," unless you have future dated transactions, then it will be the amount of your "Balance on..."
balance.
Although this may seem confusing now, simply start using My Checkbook and the balances will make sense to you as they change with your entries. If you reconcile your account each month, you will find that the "Ending Balance" on
your bank statement should match the Reconciled Balance in My Checkbook. If it doesn’t, there is likely some items that are not properly marked, or have incorrect amounts.
Today's Balance
This is the current amount of money that you have today (the current date) based on all the confirmed transactions you have entered into My Checkbook. Confirmed transactions show up as dark (black) text in the register list. This
amount can be different from your bank's available balance because it may include transactions that you have entered that your bank is not yet aware of, such as checks or debit card purchases that have not yet posted.
Balance On...
This balance will only appear when you have entered a confirmed transaction with a date in the future. When you do, this balance displays what your balance will be on that day. Of course if you enter other transactions between today
and the future day, this balance will change. This balance is designed to show you how much money you will have, to prevent you from over-drafting.
Scheduled Balance
This balance shows you the amount of all scheduled items that have not yet been confirmed. Unconfirmed transactions are shown in a light gray color in your register list. You might not want to have a Scheduled Item confirmed if the amount is an approximation. For example, you know that your cell phone bill is about $70 every month, but there is slight fluctuations. You may choose to create a Scheduled transaction for $70 every month, but not confirm it because
you need to update this record to reflect the actual amount. When creating a scheduled entry, you can decide if it will be unconfirmed (by default) or automatically marked as confirmed.
Reconciled & Outstanding Balances
These two balances go together. The Reconciled balance is the amount of all of the confirmed transactions that you have "marked as posted." Likewise, the Outstanding Balance is the amount of all the confirmed transactions which you
have not marked as posted. If you subtract the outstanding balance from the reconciled balance, you will see that it is "Today's Balance," unless you have future dated transactions, then it will be the amount of your "Balance on..."
balance.
Although this may seem confusing now, simply start using My Checkbook and the balances will make sense to you as they change with your entries. If you reconcile your account each month, you will find that the "Ending Balance" on
your bank statement should match the Reconciled Balance in My Checkbook. If it doesn’t, there is likely some items that are not properly marked, or have incorrect amounts.