A list with the reconciliation first, here because that file names the last month that already agrees.

QuickBooks Bookkeeping Cleanup HelpWhich report comes first

If you can pull only one file, pull the reconciliation for the operating account.

Why that report goes first

When the evening is short you pick one file, not six. The reconciliation for the operating account is that one choice. It tells you the last month the register and the bank told the same story. Every other report hangs off that month. A row of other exports can wait in the downloads folder until that month has a name.

The profit and loss is the second file, and only for the year that was filed. A year to date export is a fine third file for the open months. It is a confusing first file, because it looks complete and does not say whether the months inside it were ever matched.

Statement files come third. They are the outside number. Without the reconciliation, they are a folder of PDFs with no month to attach to. With it, they cover the gap between the last true month and today.

What to skip when the evening is short

Skip the general ledger export. Skip a new company file. Skip a backup made in a panic. Those are large, and they do not answer the first question. The first question is which month is still true.

Also skip the urge to accept every banking line so the report will look current. A reconciliation that was finished tonight, under pressure, is not the report we want. We want the report that already existed, even if it is older than you wish.

The rest of the order is on the filed year page. If you have the reconciliation already, that page is the next read.

If you cannot find the reconciliation

Say so. Hearing that is enough to begin. It usually means the operating account has not been matched in a long time, or the report was never saved. We would rather hear that than receive a different report with a hopeful label.

You can still book the time. Bring whatever statement file you can download from the bank for the most recent month. We will tell you whether that single file is enough to name a next step, or whether the evening should stop there.

Name the file you have

If you only have one, say which one it is.