Understanding of XLN (XIn - Cash balance adjustments with Placeholders)

System

This discussion was created from comments split from: Why do I randomly see Quicken freeze when doing a report?.

[edited title for clarity - JH]

KlisterKid

When I enter a buy/sell I see the cash account with the offsetting entry. Recently, I've been seeing XLN as an adjustment along with buy/sell without the offsetting entry in the cash account. Does anybody know why?

Rocket J Squirrel

What is XLN and exactly where are you seeing it? Post a screen shot?

KlisterKid

XLN was an old means to balance missing transfers. I can't seem to find any examples in my quicken database. How did you connect XLN to the issue I reported? Sorry, I can't understand unless you explain.

Rocket J Squirrel

You mentioned XLN in your 2nd post. I have never seen that acronym before and wondered what it meant and where you were seeing it in Quicken. I'm at least as confused as you are. 

garysmith87

Are you sure he doesn't mean XIN?

KlisterKid

I discovered where XLN originates. If one enters an investment transaction before "some" date, Quicken enters a XLN to update the cash balance even though a cash account exists. Since "some" date was strange as I've always been able to enter dates in the past, I went into Register Preferences, Notify (when entering out of date txns, and removed the check. Somehow it would not surprise me the some of these quicken updates have changed users' preferences; e.g., I don't sync with the cloud so I had to change that preference also.

Jim_Harman

This discussion has changed from the original topic, which had to do with Quicken freezing on multiple monitors. But to continue the new topic:  

[edited with understanding of "XLN"]
There is no XLN in Quicken, but there are XIn transactions, short for cash Xferred INto an account.

Your description of Quicken updating the cash balance to compensate for investment transactions sounds like what happens when you enter transactions prior to a Placeholder in an investing account.

If you enter any transaction that would affect the account's cash balance and there is a Placeholder for that security with a later date, Quicken automatically adds an XIn transaction with a description of Cash Balance Adjustment, to prevent the cash balance from changing. To further confuse matters, the Placeholders and adjustment transaction are sometimes hidden. 

To make the Placeholders and adjustments visible, go the Edit > Preferences > Investing Transactions and check the Show hidden transactions box.

Before entering missing transactions like Buys and Sells that affect the cash balance when there are Placeholders, you must first delete the Placeholders. 
 
Be sure to back up your data file before adjusting historic transactions.

Frankx

Jim_Harman said:

I don't know what XLN is and have never seen it in Quicken...

"Xln" is a "Transfered Cash in" transaction in Quicken.  It has been for a long time, and still is, available in some investment accounts and maybe in certain other accounts.

Frankx

Jim_Harman

Aha. As in cash Xferred INto Account. I missed the confusion between L and upper case i.

That would be consistent with the automatic cash balance adjustments I described above.