Quicken adds extra cash balance to fidelity net benefits doubling actual value

dwojo

Quicken has had this problem for some time and it's so frustrating and although there are several threads on it, there are zero solutions. When I connect online to my Fidelity Net Benefits, Quicken downloads the correct positions but it also adds a cash line that is the same value - i.e. total positions are $877,000 and Quicken adds a cash of another $877,000 when there is zero cash in the account. This makes the total double what it actually is. Please advise how to fix - this is so frustrating and has been going on so long!

NotACPA

In your Net Benefits account, in Q, are you using the contributed cash to make BUY transactions of the securities?

Jim_Harman

To explain, if the transactions are downloaded or manually entered as Added, the cash from your contributions will accumulate rather than being used to purchase the securities.

dwojo

So are you saying there is no way to fix this problem? Right now they are downloaded - so it's Quicken doing it - no adjustment from me. Can Quicken not download them correctly as there is no cash? This is a new p roblem and Quicken has gotten worse over the years - wish the programmers woudl actually work on fixing problems rather than creating new ones.

dwojo

No I'm not doing anything manual so not using contributions as anything - it's just the auto download transactions that Quicken does that creates the error. Manual entry is way too hard on the new system. Can't believe how much worse Quicken has gotten over the yeras.

Rocket J Squirrel

Please respond to @Jim_Harman 's question. Are the transactions which result in security purchases showing as "Added" or "Bought"?

dwojo

The transactions are listed as bought and they are correct. Problem is it shows a cash balance - I can change the cash balance to zero but guessing that will be updated on future automatic downloads.

See the attached image with cash balance of 0 in bottom right which I changed but the negative balance in the ledger. Thx

UKR

There is something missing here ... Where in the world are the transactions which send money into the investment account, the contributions from your paycheck? Every pay period they should account for the amount of cash used to purchase the mutual fund shares.
Unless your account shows an Opening Balance which is hugely incorrect, your account should have a huge negative cash balance.

Rocket J Squirrel

UKR said:

There is something missing here ... Where in the world are the transactions which send money into the investment account

OP is using BoughtX which brings the money in and immediately spends it.

Jim_Harman

Also the BoughtX might be referencing the same account, i.e. acting just like Added. The snippet does not show any contributions, but if they are coming from another account that would explain it.

dwojo

Guys - Quicken gives you two options for adding an investment account like this - that's it. There's no other options as to what one can "use" - it's all automatic - if I wanted to do my own ledger I wouldn't be paying the membership fees for Quicken. So Quicken is downloading the correct information but then interpreting it incorrectly. Is there a way to fix that?

q_lurker

The question is why ... 

dwojo said:

... but it [Quicken] also adds a cash line that is the same value - i.e. total positions are $877,000 and Quicken adds a cash of another $877,000 when there is zero cash in the account. ...

It is not (I believe) that Quicken adds a line; it is that Fidelity sends a line and the user accepts it - implicitly or explicitly.

Are downloaded transactions being automatically entered into the account?
We are not seeing that added line in the user's snipped picture; only his 'correction' removing the value.  

@dwojo There is an "Adjust Cash Balance" option in the "Actions gear" selection for the account transactions list.  I'd be curious what that pop up shows for your "Cash balance downloaded from" NetBenefits shows as compared to this $877,000 figure.

Rocket J Squirrel

Expand the investment register to 2-line mode and show us that. Not enough info is visible in 1-line mode.

ewe

I have the same issue.

Jim_Harman

@ewe,

Is your issue also with a Fidelity NetBenefits account?

First, please make sure all the transactions in the account are visible by going to Edit > Preferences > Investing Transactions and checking the Show hidden transactions box if it is not already.

Then look at the account's transaction list (register). Can you see any transactions where cash is being added to the account, corresponding to your contributions and/or the company match?

They would be Xin, Deposit, or something similar. Please describe or if possible attach a screen shot.

Then when securities are purchased, what are the transactions - Bought, BoughtX, Added? If Bought or BoughtX, what is selected under Use Cash for this transaction?