Tracking bonus program with a vesting schedule paid in company stock?

Michael Jones

New area of Quicken for me (I've lurked here in the boards off and on for a while and helped when I could, but this part of investing I'm asking about is new for me in Quicken, so thanks in advance).

My company switched part of our bonus program this year to a 4 year vesting grant of company stock.  The trick is the bonus amount can change every year based on company performance and the grant is whatever number of shares make up that dollar figure at time of award.

So, as an example, using made-up numbers for a $40,000 bonus, to be paid $10,000 a year for 4 years in $10k equivalents of stock. So if the stock was $1,000 on grant date one, I'd be granted 10 shares if the vesting grant was $10k that year.  If the company exceeds expectations in year 2, that year's grant could be worth $12,000.  Assuming the same $1,000 stock price on grant date 2, year 2, I'd be granted 12 shares that year.  And so on, until the grant expired.

Is there an effective way to track this in Quicken?  I've read most of the ESGO, RSU, etc. info, and most of that seem to be based on knowing a fixed number of stock units up front.  Or should I just let my brokerage track them and then only record the exercises each year as 'stock in' transactions?

Tom Young

What you're describing is a "PSU" - Performance Stock Unit - instead of an RSU.  Generally the two function the same, tax wise, i.e., when you receive the stock you recognize compensation income that's reported on your W-2 in the amount of the gross award (# of shares x per share FMV) and pay withholding on that compensation, and that also set your basis in the stock.

"Natively" Quicken doesn't handle RSUs but you can enter grants as NQSOs with an exercise price of $.000001 and that will work as a practical matter.  And, as a practical matter, you probably are better off just waiting until you know the number of shares you're going to receive before making any entries in Quicken.  About the only advantage of tracking RSUs in Quicken is that when you "exercise"/vest the program calculates the compensation income for you and makes entries establishing the stock's basis and posting the compensation in a special Category, but that's a pretty trivial entry.

Tom Young

What you're describing is a "PSU" - Performance Stock Unit - instead of an RSU.  Generally the two function the same, tax wise, i.e., when you receive the stock you recognize compensation income that's reported on your W-2 in the amount of the gross award (# of shares x per share FMV) and pay withholding on that compensation, and that also set your basis in the stock.

"Natively" Quicken doesn't handle RSUs but you can enter grants as NQSOs with an exercise price of $.000001 and that will work as a practical matter.  And, as a practical matter, you probably are better off just waiting until you know the number of shares you're going to receive before making any entries in Quicken.  About the only advantage of tracking RSUs in Quicken is that when you "exercise"/vest the program calculates the compensation income for you and makes entries establishing the stock's basis and posting the compensation in a special Category, but that's a pretty trivial entry.

Michael Jones

Thanks Tom.  I suspected from your other posts that such might be the case, but I couldn't find anything directly to this scheme.  I'll probably just hold out each year and put in the award as it happens.  Not like I earn it until it happens.  So far, it seems they issue me a $0 pay stub with all the breakouts on it, so I can easily do those as I did this year for withholding.