Best Of
Re: Report based on keyword of Memo/Notes
Like many things in modern Quicken Mac, at first it feels alien and worse. Then, after you work with it a little, you come to see that many things are just different, not worse. (And some are better. And some are worse. 
)
In terms of finding something in a memo field, I actually find it as good as doing a QuickReport in Quicken 2007: click All Transactions or Banking on the left, type the memo I want to find in the Search box, and press Return. The results come up fast, I can print the results if I want to (although most of the time finding it on-screen is all I need), and I can double-click a transaction if I need to see the split detail.
)In terms of finding something in a memo field, I actually find it as good as doing a QuickReport in Quicken 2007: click All Transactions or Banking on the left, type the memo I want to find in the Search box, and press Return. The results come up fast, I can print the results if I want to (although most of the time finding it on-screen is all I need), and I can double-click a transaction if I need to see the split detail.
On key thing, if you use Memo/Notes extensively as I do, is to make sure you make this column visible on all your registers and group registers (like Cash, Banking, Credit Card, All Transactions). It's annoying to have to set up your columns in every register, but it's fortunately something you set up once and then forget about.
One other thing to mention: in the Search box, by default Quicken will search all visible columns. Sometimes, you might be looking for a specific word in a memo that also shows up in some other field. For example, let's say you want to find a payment for your annual Amazon Prime membership, and you enter "Amazon" in the Search field; it will find all the transactions where "Amazon" is the Payee, which is not what your intended. So sometimes, it's helpful to tell Search to only search the Memo/Notes field (or another field). You can do this by using what must be the tiniest icon in Quicken: in the Search box, just to the right of the magnifying glass icon, there's a small downward facing v-shaped symbol (a "caron") which looks like this: ˇ -- click on it and you'll see a drop-down list of all columns, and you can change the Search from "All visible columns" to just "Memo/Notes" or another field.
One other thing to mention: in the Search box, by default Quicken will search all visible columns. Sometimes, you might be looking for a specific word in a memo that also shows up in some other field. For example, let's say you want to find a payment for your annual Amazon Prime membership, and you enter "Amazon" in the Search field; it will find all the transactions where "Amazon" is the Payee, which is not what your intended. So sometimes, it's helpful to tell Search to only search the Memo/Notes field (or another field). You can do this by using what must be the tiniest icon in Quicken: in the Search box, just to the right of the magnifying glass icon, there's a small downward facing v-shaped symbol (a "caron") which looks like this: ˇ -- click on it and you'll see a drop-down list of all columns, and you can change the Search from "All visible columns" to just "Memo/Notes" or another field.
jacobs
1
Re: Best way to start over a 401k account within a file?
Jacob is correct in that if you only have a few transfers, then it shouldn't be hard to correct-even if they are in splits.
We can try importing the QIF directly into 2020, although I have never tried that route as that import method is newer. Here we go:
We can try importing the QIF directly into 2020, although I have never tried that route as that import method is newer. Here we go:
- (Before you do anything, make a backup in 2020, and also note the name of your current file even though you won't be messing with it yet.)
- In 2020, choose File:New, and create a new file. Choose the option to create the file from another financial application via QIF.
- Point the software to the QIF file you downloaded from your 401k holder, and let it import.
- Examine the results.
- You can cancel out of any new bank setups if presented.
Re: Best way to start over a 401k account within a file?
Hi again, Susan & Jacob:
I agree, Jacob; the transfers will again be your thorn. While there are workarounds to get a single file in, I don't know how far ahead you will be.
Now, what may be helpful is that you can also import convert this special file containing all your history into a different Quicken 2020 file. That way, you can see the way the transactions are supposed to be and possibly take corrective action to your "hot mess' account. I don't know how fastidious you are/willing to spend time to correct-but at least you will see the way things are supposed to be. (Your 2007 data will be untouched.)
Not a lot of financial institutions will provide that much history-90 days is the norm, and maybe a year for investments. You are lucky.
I agree, Jacob; the transfers will again be your thorn. While there are workarounds to get a single file in, I don't know how far ahead you will be.
Now, what may be helpful is that you can also import convert this special file containing all your history into a different Quicken 2020 file. That way, you can see the way the transactions are supposed to be and possibly take corrective action to your "hot mess' account. I don't know how fastidious you are/willing to spend time to correct-but at least you will see the way things are supposed to be. (Your 2007 data will be untouched.)
Not a lot of financial institutions will provide that much history-90 days is the norm, and maybe a year for investments. You are lucky.
Re: Best way to start over a 401k account within a file?
Yes, transfers will certainly complicate matters and your concerns are correct. Not a lot of people (correctly) track in this level of detail, so that is why I didn't bring it up initially.
(You can batch change transfers to a different account, but not so easily if they are part of a split transaction which might be the case if you break out your paycheck as a split.) If you simply delete the older account, those transfers will be orphaned, so don't do that. Hiding the account won't orphan transactions.
Without seeing your data, it is really hard to tell you the best way to proceed. Do you fix your existing 401k account (possible), or do you recreate new and fix all the existing transfers? Only you can determine which is easier.
But, keep in mind if you create a new account, then an auto adjusting entry during accounts creation will be made to make the final cash balance correct (which is usually $0 for a 401k) You can always change future contributions to this new account. That might be the easiest way to proceed.
Yes, deactivating means to turn off downloading of transactions:
(You can batch change transfers to a different account, but not so easily if they are part of a split transaction which might be the case if you break out your paycheck as a split.) If you simply delete the older account, those transfers will be orphaned, so don't do that. Hiding the account won't orphan transactions.
Without seeing your data, it is really hard to tell you the best way to proceed. Do you fix your existing 401k account (possible), or do you recreate new and fix all the existing transfers? Only you can determine which is easier.
But, keep in mind if you create a new account, then an auto adjusting entry during accounts creation will be made to make the final cash balance correct (which is usually $0 for a 401k) You can always change future contributions to this new account. That might be the easiest way to proceed.
Yes, deactivating means to turn off downloading of transactions:
Re: Best way to start over a 401k account within a file?
You could make a copy of your Quicken 2007 data file, delete all the accounts except the 401k, and then import that file into Quicken 2020. The problem with doing this will be that your transfers from your paycheck won't be linked transactions, so if anything is off in the slightest bit, this could be a mess that you'll have to troubleshoot paycheck by paycheck. John might have some further insight into this...
jacobs
1
Re: Best way to start over a 401k account within a file?
Hi, Susan:
Yes, you can create a new 401k account which you can later rename to whatever you want. (You can rename any account in Quicken by right (or control) clicking it's name in the sidebar)
You can also delete, or better yet, Hide (via Hide and Show accounts) your older problematic account so it doesn't affect your current workflow, but is still available (unhide)down the road should you need to examine it. Just make sure you deactivate your older account (if you have) before you Hide it. Ask if you need help with that, but you do that in that Account's Settings:Troubleshooting.
The caveat is that if you create a fresh new account, it is unlikely you will get 9 years of history. I don't know if the historical minutia matters to you. Being a 401k with simple tax implications, I don't think you have to worry about tracking cost basis or specific lots. (You can always add cost basis for opening balance adjusting entries if needed.)
My guess is you just want a correct current value for your various securities. That it will. The good news is that you can always manually enter in older data if you later feel compelled.
Yes, you can create a new 401k account which you can later rename to whatever you want. (You can rename any account in Quicken by right (or control) clicking it's name in the sidebar)
You can also delete, or better yet, Hide (via Hide and Show accounts) your older problematic account so it doesn't affect your current workflow, but is still available (unhide)down the road should you need to examine it. Just make sure you deactivate your older account (if you have) before you Hide it. Ask if you need help with that, but you do that in that Account's Settings:Troubleshooting.
The caveat is that if you create a fresh new account, it is unlikely you will get 9 years of history. I don't know if the historical minutia matters to you. Being a 401k with simple tax implications, I don't think you have to worry about tracking cost basis or specific lots. (You can always add cost basis for opening balance adjusting entries if needed.)
My guess is you just want a correct current value for your various securities. That it will. The good news is that you can always manually enter in older data if you later feel compelled.
Re: RESOLVED 5/29/20 Updating Accounts or Syncing to Mobile May Return an Error
RESOLVED 5/29/20
This issue has been resolved and all Users should no longer receive an error when updating accounts and syncing with the Quicken Cloud.
Thank you!
This issue has been resolved and all Users should no longer receive an error when updating accounts and syncing with the Quicken Cloud.
Thank you!
Re: Vanguard Error in an existing 401k account
I did all the above and it is kinda working. The issue I'm having is the web connect works, but if I download file from Vanguard directly and try I get the OL-362A error. Reason I'm also downloading is over the years there have been issues with direct connect that occasionally misses transactions between One-step updates. My guess is there must be a limit to the number of days it looks back between updates for Vanguard as I don't have this issue with Fidelity or other accounts between updates. None the less, I backed up the file, repaired and verified, deactivated service, restarted and reactivated... When I did this the webconnect worked, but it created a bunch of placeholder entries for everything I own in the account. This even though all the history was in the register already.... I cannot create a new account and migrate over 15 years worth of transactions as a solution.. That would be hours of work and risky at best.... I'm out of ideas.... Not able to locate how to contact support. Any ideas on a phone number or something to contact Quicken directly?
Memlar
1
Re: Using Credit Card as category
The category called "Credit Card" is something Quicken includes which I believe confuses more users than it helps. I think they have it there for a user who has minimal credit card usage and doesn't want to track their specific credit card charges in a separate credit card account; those users could simply pay their credit card bill using an expense category called Credit Card. I can't imagine this is useful to many people -- but its presence in the default list of categories makes it easy to think you should be using it for something!
My advice: ignore the Credit Card category. In Quicken, have a separate account for each credit card, and record your credit card transactions individually in the appropriate credit card account -- so you can categorize each expense properly. Then when you pay your credit card bill, as UKR said above, enter a transfer in your checking account to the credit card account. The transfer reduces your credit card balance, but isn't an expense, because the expenses have already been entered with the individual charge transactions.
My advice: ignore the Credit Card category. In Quicken, have a separate account for each credit card, and record your credit card transactions individually in the appropriate credit card account -- so you can categorize each expense properly. Then when you pay your credit card bill, as UKR said above, enter a transfer in your checking account to the credit card account. The transfer reduces your credit card balance, but isn't an expense, because the expenses have already been entered with the individual charge transactions.
jacobs
1