What are the ramifications of unlinking transfer transactions?

BK

QWin US Subs.  I have few rare occasions where I do not want to link the transfer transactions between two banks.  Example: Opened an account with Chase bank and within few months decided to close it (only few transactions, no income, interest or fees) and the amounts of those few expense transactions are too insignificant to matter.  As such I prefer to just delete that account in Quicken to keep Quicken less cluttered (I know it is recommended to not delete an account).

So, let's say I did a transfer of $1000 from BofA to Chase bank - initiated from BofA's website.  Online downloads are enabled for both banks.  After an OSU to Quicken, this is how the transfer is matched and linked at first:

BofA’s register          Category            Amount

Xfer BofA to Chase   [Chase]             -$1000

Chase’s register       Category            Amount

Xfer BofA to Chase   [BofA]                +$1000

However, for the reason stated earlier I prefer to unlink them and edit and "record the transfer back into the same account" (pretend a cash deposit/withdraw) as following:

BofA’s register          Category            Amount

Xfer BofA to Chase    [BofA]               -$1000

Chase's register       Category            Amount

Xfer BofA to Chase    [Chase]            +$1000

[Of course when I close the account, I transfer the funds back and record it the same way]

Questions: What is the harm in this method; do you foresee an issue in reports etc.; what is the recommended method to accomplish this?  TIA

Chris_QPW

It looks fine to me, it is really up to what you want to see.

First let me say that if you delete the account without changing these transfers what you will see in the remaining account is [Unspecified Account], which "works", but is probably the least desired result.

Next the second method you are using is a "balance adjustment", which in this case means the money came/went from outside of Quicken.  Just like you want.  As for reports for the most part you won't see these amounts unless you turn select "Internal Transfers" on the Advanced Tab of the report customizing.  Which would also show opening balances.

Another way to look at these transfers would be like any other deposit.  As in recording the original source of the money.  Like say Salary.  But given what you said about not caring about such details, your approach seems right to me.

Frankx

Hi @BK

When you enter a "payment transaction" where the Category used is a transfer to the same account, Quicken simply deducts the dollar amount from that account's current balance, without recording the "other half" of the entry anywhere.  And when you do the same thing for a "deposit transaction" Quicken simply adds the dollar amount to that account current balance, without recording the "other half" of the entry anywhere.

So I suppose that it will accomplish what you want to do and I can't think of any specific "harm" that would result including with respect to reporting.  This does fly in the face of every tenet of "double entry bookkeeping" and therefore makes me uncomfortable, but that likely won't make you lose any sleep.  My "recommended method" would be to record the real transactions as they actually happen and then to just "hide" the Chase account in Quicken after you close it. But that's just me.

Good luck.

Frankx

splasher

You could act like it never happened.  Delete the transfer to the Chase account and record the transactions that did happen in the Chase account in the BofA.

Then you can delete the Chase account with no effect on anything in the future.  I would put some comment in the Memo field in case you forgot they really happened in the Chase account vs the BofA account.

This may have already been suggested, but I thought I say it in my words just in case.

Chris_QPW

It looks fine to me, it is really up to what you want to see.

First let me say that if you delete the account without changing these transfers what you will see in the remaining account is [Unspecified Account], which "works", but is probably the least desired result.

Next the second method you are using is a "balance adjustment", which in this case means the money came/went from outside of Quicken.  Just like you want.  As for reports for the most part you won't see these amounts unless you turn select "Internal Transfers" on the Advanced Tab of the report customizing.  Which would also show opening balances.

Another way to look at these transfers would be like any other deposit.  As in recording the original source of the money.  Like say Salary.  But given what you said about not caring about such details, your approach seems right to me.

Frankx

Hi @BK

When you enter a "payment transaction" where the Category used is a transfer to the same account, Quicken simply deducts the dollar amount from that account's current balance, without recording the "other half" of the entry anywhere.  And when you do the same thing for a "deposit transaction" Quicken simply adds the dollar amount to that account current balance, without recording the "other half" of the entry anywhere.

So I suppose that it will accomplish what you want to do and I can't think of any specific "harm" that would result including with respect to reporting.  This does fly in the face of every tenet of "double entry bookkeeping" and therefore makes me uncomfortable, but that likely won't make you lose any sleep.  My "recommended method" would be to record the real transactions as they actually happen and then to just "hide" the Chase account in Quicken after you close it. But that's just me.

Good luck.

Frankx

splasher

You could act like it never happened.  Delete the transfer to the Chase account and record the transactions that did happen in the Chase account in the BofA.

Then you can delete the Chase account with no effect on anything in the future.  I would put some comment in the Memo field in case you forgot they really happened in the Chase account vs the BofA account.

This may have already been suggested, but I thought I say it in my words just in case.

BK

THANK YOU all for validating that my approach, though not the best practice, is not flawed which was my main concern.  But I improved it to ensure that it meets best practices by taking a bit of what every one of you suggested as follows:

- As if "it never happened" @splasher , I recorded that I transferred $1000 into my Cash Acc (actual details to Chase captured in memo/attachment for future ref)

- Later I recorded a single $5 .Misc expense in Cash Acc to match the Chase expenses

- I transferred $995 from the Cash Acc back into BofA (captured actual details again)

So everything is accurately balanced and meets the "double entry bookkeeping" requirements - which was @Frankx ' valid concern.  Then tested the whole thing and deleted the account, and the [Unspecified Account] remained clean & clear, thanks to @Chris_QPW 's reminder on this.

So why go thru all this trouble when I could've simply kept the account?  I prefer less clutter over "hiding" when insignificant.  More important, I encounter this need to not create linked transfers in situations such as complex multi-currency conversions (where linking the transfers become more involved) and therefore I wanted to make sure that my OP method was not flawed.

Cheers