Why will Quicken Mac 2019 not show/allow some categories in register window?

Rob C NYC

There are categories that Quicken Mac 2019 shows in my Category List and has allowed me to assign to transactions in the past, but now when I try to use those categories in a register, they don't come up on the menu. Even if I try to create a new version of the category in the register, it saves the transaction as "Uncategorized".

jacobs

Rob, I've never heard of categories in transactions spontaneously changing unless they were subsequently downloaded from a financial institution. These transactions weren't in a checking account which could have re-downloaded the same transactions this morning, are they?

And this is probably a stupid question, but are you sure the data file you opened today is the same one you were working in yesterday. We often see cases here where someone made a copy of their data file and confusion ensued based on being in the wrong one.

Next: did Quicken make an automatic backup when you quit yesterday? (By default, these are in your Library* > Application Support > Quicken > Backups > Automatic Backups. (*You get to your Library in the Finder by holding down the Option key and selecting Library from the Go menu.) See if there's a backup dated whenever you stopped working yesterday. If so, before you do anything make a copy of it. Then open the backup and see what the state of those transaction is.

John_in_NC

I don't know if this is your problem, but I have seen this in the past, and Mobile was the culprit. (The data in the cloud will keep changing back transaction categories (or uncategorizing them) and even updating the category list in some cases.)

Follow what jacobs notes about opening a backup if possible and do NOT update accounts in any fashion. Go to Preferences: Connected Services and follow the prompts to reset Connected Services data. Even if you don't actively use (or think you use) Mobile/Quicken Connect, do this step. It won't affect the data on your machine-it will flush the subset that is in the cloud.

jacobs

Rob, just trying to understand: are you describing a transaction that was downloaded from a financial institution or one which you are entering manually?

What type of account register are you doing this in (checking? credit card?). Are the categories income or expenses? In the category list, what does it show in the Status column?

I'm also not clear on what you're describing about creating a "new version of the category." the old category still exists, because you've used it for past transactions, right. So if you go to the Categories window, create a new category with a slightly different name, save it, then go back to your account register, and create a new transaction -- are you saying the newly-created account is not visible in the category drop-down list?

Rob C NYC

Almost all of the problem transactions are downloaded and are for interest earned into deposit account registers. For many years using Quicken Windows, these transactions were categorized to "_IntInc". I think the leading underscore designated tax-related transactions or something once upon a time. Is Quicken Mac automatically categorizing these transactions and not allowing me to change the category? There must be a way to override that, no?

jacobs

One more question: are these interest transactions in Investment accounts or Banking accounts?

In an Investment account, if the transaction Type is Interest Income, there is no Category -- editable or not.


I'm just wondering if you're looking at the Type menu, not the Category menu, in an investment transaction.

Rob C NYC

They are all in banking accounts and I am looking at the Category menu, not the Type menu. 

J_Mike

Can not explain why - but the "Investments" subcategories are generally not available for use in non-investment accounts. Thus one can not use the default category "Investments:Interest Income" to record interest paid in a checking or savings account.

One can create a category (e.g., Income:Interest) for use in non-investment accounts.

As you noted, in QWin a category such as "_IntInc" was available globally - not so in QMac.

Rob C NYC

This is crazy!  I thought I had everything fixed yesterday and it's screwed up again when I open Quicken this morning. I identified all the transactions that seemed to be a problem, created a new category "Interest Income" and changed all the transactions to that category. This morning, they all again show as "Uncategorized".

Why didn't this change stick? Why can't I categorize these any way I want? What are my options for categorizing them? My full Category List appears as a drop down menu when I edit the transactions, and I can choose "Interest Income", but if I edit them all again today, are they just going to revert to "Uncategorized" again tomorrow?

I loved Quicken Win, but was running it on Parallels on my Mac, so was thrilled that a new version of Quicken Mac came out, but if it remains this kludgey and anemic, I'm going to find another Mac-based solution.

jacobs

Rob, I've never heard of categories in transactions spontaneously changing unless they were subsequently downloaded from a financial institution. These transactions weren't in a checking account which could have re-downloaded the same transactions this morning, are they?

And this is probably a stupid question, but are you sure the data file you opened today is the same one you were working in yesterday. We often see cases here where someone made a copy of their data file and confusion ensued based on being in the wrong one.

Next: did Quicken make an automatic backup when you quit yesterday? (By default, these are in your Library* > Application Support > Quicken > Backups > Automatic Backups. (*You get to your Library in the Finder by holding down the Option key and selecting Library from the Go menu.) See if there's a backup dated whenever you stopped working yesterday. If so, before you do anything make a copy of it. Then open the backup and see what the state of those transaction is.

John_in_NC

I don't know if this is your problem, but I have seen this in the past, and Mobile was the culprit. (The data in the cloud will keep changing back transaction categories (or uncategorizing them) and even updating the category list in some cases.)

Follow what jacobs notes about opening a backup if possible and do NOT update accounts in any fashion. Go to Preferences: Connected Services and follow the prompts to reset Connected Services data. Even if you don't actively use (or think you use) Mobile/Quicken Connect, do this step. It won't affect the data on your machine-it will flush the subset that is in the cloud.

Rob C NYC

Thanks, John and Jacobs.  I think it is fixed now with your advice.  What a huge pain in the ****! We'll see with the next monthly/quarterly interest transactions if this fix sticks or not. I'm hopeful, but not holding my breath. Thanks again for your help and advice.