When you balance (I'll use reconcile from now on for clarity) your account, the starting balance should be either:
- the closing balance of the last statement
- if you've never reconciled before then it would equal the starting balance you specified when you created the account in Money. In this case the starting balance you enter in the "Balance (reconcile) this account" wizard may be different from what the bank reports on the statement.

The opening and closing dates should be the same as those shown on the statement. The closing date is NOT today!

As is true with manually reconciling your account in a check register, the current balance in the register will (usually) not agree with the balance that the bank has. This is because you bank is not aware of any checks, debits or even deposits that haven't cleared the bank yet.

I'm not sure if this helps but I thought I would mention it.

Andy Nestor

"Charles Blaquière" <blaq[at]blaqzone.com> wrote in message news:u3snuxvXEHA.1144[at]TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
- quote -

Disclaimers: I'm brand new at using MSM. I've searched throughout help
files, the Web and newsgroups with no success.
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PROBLEM

When I use the "Balance this account" wizard and enter the information from
a paper bank statement, I get the dreaded "Starting balance discrepancy"
error, even though all transactions seem to be entered and all balances
reported by Money match those from my bank.
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BACKGROUND

In various batches (i.e. not in order), I've downloaded transactions for my
checking account, from Feb. 16 to today. (The paper statement from which
I've decided to start managing, at first, covers Feb. 13 - Mar. 12.) The
statement includes the following info:

Starting balance on Feb. 13 ($2,980.23) --This matches the first
transaction in Money (before txn amount was deducted).
Ending balance on Mar. 10 (3,424.20) --This matches the balance on
the last transaction's entry in Money.

I've made sure that all transactions from Feb. 12 to today are in Money,
marked accepted and reconciled. There are no extra transactions, either
inside Money or on my paper statements -- everything matches one-to-one.
Using the "View: all transactions", I made sure no transaction was entered
twice. In the Checking account register screen, I see:

(left margin)
Downloaded:
6/30/2004 at 12:00 AM
Balance: ($1,816.62) --This is the correct balance, as reported on my
bank Web site (I did a fresh download)

(bottom of account register)
Today's Balance: ($1,792.22) Ending Balance: ($1,792.22)
--These match the bank balance; I just spent $24.40 in groceries (debit
card), which the bank includes in its displayed (and downloaded) balance,
but the transaction is not included in the latest download file.

BALANCE THIS ACCOUNT

In the "Balance this account" wizard, I enter the following:

Statement date: 3/12/2004
Starting balance: ($2,980.23)
Ending balance: ($3,424.20)
No service charge or interest earned (these are included in the
downloaded transactions)

Clicking Next gives me the "Starting balance discrepancy" error. Clicking
Next displays, in the left margin:

The difference between your statement and register is: 443.97
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I don't understand why Money refuses to balance the account, if the
displayed balances match those from the bank. Thanks for your help.