Is anyone having the same problem with internal inconsistencies in the Quicken program? Resolved?

Question

When I enter a stock already held in another investment account for MORE paid per share than previously net worth goes down.  IT should go UP.  Also, when the entry is deleted there is no change in net worth.  It should have gone back to its previous value.  When cash is updated on the holding screen the amount does not show on the main screen for the investment.  On the holding screen there are two values for cash shown:  the amount updated and below the holdings listing a separate amount for cash that differs from the updated amount but agrees with the balance shown on the main/first investment screen.  These problems occur in multiple investment accounts but not all.  Conversations, each more than an hour long, with various Quicken personnel has provided no resolution.  The last Quicken person entered the same entries I had made in my own Quicken on his stand-alone Quicken program with the same inconsistent results.  He concluded, therefore, that the problem is with how the Quicken program is written.

Frankx · Answer

Hi @chall,

I am not really sure what "inconsistencies" you are seeing, based on what you've said above.

For example - you  chall said:

If what you are describing is as follows:

a) you bought a security (or some other type of investment) sometime in the past;
b) the price per share (or unit, or whatever) has gone up and is now higher than your initial purchase;
c) you recently bought more of that same investment vehicle and paid the higher current price;
d) you believe that your net worth (to quote you) ..."should go UP"

That is just not true or factual.

Buying additional shares of a security at a higher price does not increase your net worth because this "new transaction" that you made simply changed the form of one asset (cash) into another type of asset (more securities). You had to pay for those additional shares of the security - so you reduced your cash and increased your investments by approximately the same amount.  If the truth is told - it is more likely that your net worth would decrease in such a scenario, because you may have paid a commission and/or fees as part of the new purchase transaction.  So, no your net worth should not go up.

That is only one example.  I could go on and on like you did above, but I'd rather try to determine exactly what you are looking for.  Most folks come here looking for help with specific issues/problems involving their Quicken application and file. Some just want to learn more about how to record unusual transactions, or understand how the program works, or how to download transactions, reconcile their accounts, produce reports or tax information, etc.  And some come here just to complain - and we usually tell those folks that we simply can't help them because we are just folks (not Quicken employees) trying to help other users out.

Is there anything specific that you are looking for?

Frankx

Tom Young · Answer

"When I enter a stock already held in another investment account for MORE
 paid per share than previously net worth goes down. IT should go UP"Not necessarily.  Here's an example.You have 10 shares where you paid $6 per share and the quote for that security is $10, so that holding is contributing ($4 x 10) = $40 to your net worth.  Then you buy one share for $7.  The "buy" doesn't affect your net worth but it does change, temporarily, the "quote" for the security.  So now those 10 shares are only contributing ($1 x 10) = $10 to your net worth, a decrease of $30."Also, when the entry is deleted there is no change in net worth. It should have gone back to its previous value."I haven't checked this but my guess is that the $7 remains as the "quote" for the security until over-ridden by a download, so there's no net worth change.I'm not really tracking on your holding vs. main screen issue.  I entered a pretend dividend in one of my Accounts that had no cash in it, and the $10 properly showed up as a line item on the Account's Holdings screen.  Looking at the "Portfolio View" (assumed to be your "main screen") it showed up there, too.Maybe post a picture of what you're seeing?