Manually clearing transactions in a bank account will no longer (since QB 2002) change the beginning balance on the bank rec. So how can you manually clear a transaction and change the beginning balance on a bank rec?
My client paid a bill with a check instead of a bill pay. In order to fix it I paid the bill with the same info. This created a second check in the register. Then I deleted the original check. It worked fine except the original check had cleared the bank. I manually cleared the replacement check in the check register and now realize that it screwed up my beginning bank balance.
How should I have done this and how do I fix the bank balance?
You're almost there. So far what you've done is fine.
Next, follow these steps: 1) Banking>Reconcile. 2) Set the bank rec date to the date of the bank statement on which that transaction cleared. 3) Enter the ending balance of from that bank statement. 4) Click continue on the initial bank rec screen. 5) The transaction you manually cleared will already have a checkmark and the "Difference" will be zero. 6) Click Reconcile Now.
Now, the next time you go into the bank rec, the Beginning Balance will be correct, and the date will default to one month after your last bank rec date.