My downloads do not automatch - match to wrong transactions

Superdnaw

When I download a newly set up Direct-Connect Account, my downloads automatch to transactions that do not match. They are not even close to matching. Quicken will match the downloads to transactions that have already been reconciled. No other accounts have this problem and I have been using Quicking for 20 years so I do not think it is user error. - Any thoughts? Just FYI the same account was a BBVA account just recently been purchased by PNC. But they had me deactivate and reactivate with new credentials. The downloads worked perfect when it was BBVA.

Thanks

UKR

Transaction download problems with matching and adding new transactions correctly

First please ensure that all optional settings in Quicken pertaining to recall, memorization, automatic categorization and renaming of payee names are enabled. You find those settings in Edit / Preferences / Data Entry & Quickfill and Downloaded Transactions. Additional settings can be found for the detection and processing of transfer transactions in Edit / Preferences / Transfer detection.

Are you automatically accepting downloaded transactions into your registers?

If you are relying on Quicken to "automagically" fill your account registers from downloaded transactions, you may run into problems. Despite all efforts by the Quicken programmers, the "Autopilot" (that's my name for the part of the Quicken program which processes downloaded transactions and converts them into new register transactions) is not infallible. For that process to work 100% of the time one would need a crystal ball because the information downloaded from the banks often is just too terse and cryptic.

You should, at least for a while, turn off the "automatically accept downloaded transactions into registers" setting to gain better control over what is downloaded and what to do with it. Click on and review each downloaded transaction, make changes if necessary (e.g., to get a payee name = "Starbucks" instead of "POS TRANS 070119 STARBU", "POS TRANS 070219 STARBU", "POS TRANS 070319 STARBU" or to assign a category) before you click to accept each transaction.

Any changes you make to downloaded Payee Names are remembered in Renaming Rules.

Any other changes you make (add/change Category or Memo text) are remembered in the Memorized Payee List.

Next time the same transaction for this Payee comes along, Quicken should remember and give you a better new register transaction.

 

In case you have issues with transfer transactions not being generated correctly:

For best results manually enter transfer transactions into your register BEFORE you download transactions from the bank which contain the transfer confirmations. For recurring transfers use scheduled reminders and enter them a day or two before the due date. Be sure to use distinct Payee Names for each transfer / credit card payment to avoid confusing Quicken - memorized payee entries.
That takes the guesswork out of the Autopilot's process. Because a correctly entered transfer transaction already exists in your account registers, the Autopilot should just match the downloaded transfer transaction to the existing one in both accounts.

 

Where are the "Auto-accept downloaded transaction" settings?

There are two places where this is controlled in Quicken for Windows:
 - Globally, for all accounts, in Edit / Preferences / Downloaded Transactions
 - For each account individually, the global setting can be overridden from the Edit Account Details screen, Online Services Tab. Look for blue text "Automatic Entry is: ON / OFF". Click the text to change the setting.

Chris_QPW

Superdnaw said:

Quicken will match the downloads to transactions that have already been reconciled.

Note Quicken doesn't look at the reconcile status to decide if it should match a transaction or not.
That might sound strange, but the reason is because someone might switch from manual entry to downloading and need to have the existing transactions match.

What takes a given transaction off of the list to match to is if the transaction has been matched to a downloaded transaction or already a downloaded transaction that was put into the register as a new transaction.

One thing that most likely changed when the financial institution changed is the unique Ids that Quicken uses to determine if the downloaded transaction has been downloaded before or not.  But the result of it changing should be you getting duplicate transactions not matching problems.

When you say that they aren't even close to match, is because of the amount or the date? (or both)
Quicken's matching is pretty primitive, and mostly only matches by the amount, not so much on the date.
And if there are two transaction in the register with the same amount and think in about a 3 month period of time Quicken will pick the earliest one no matter what the date is on the downloaded transaction.

JKurka

@Chris_QPW "Quicken doesn't look at the reconcile status to decide if it should match a transaction or not."

Is there a way to adjust this in any way? I am reviewing all transactions before they are entered into the register to ensure all matches are appropriate, but I'm still finding that Quicken is doing something with past transactions. Is there a way to 'lock' the transaction? I enter cash transactions into my register and leave it as cleared until I review the statement, then balance and reconcile the cash transactions against the statement. I've noted that past months have been balanced. But now, those same months are UNBALANCED; I'm assuming because Quicken is altering the unmatched transactions.

Chris_QPW

@JKurka there is a "hidden" key combination that you can use to get a transaction off of that list.

In the register, right click on the transaction you want off of the list, and then hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys and select Copy transaction(s).  This dialog will come up:


Select the Downloaded Transaction check box and select a Posting Date, and then OK.

Other than that, there isn't any way to control this.

Hopefully eventually you will have got past the 3-month period for checking this and not have the problem again. Note it is very important that you don't use an improper procedure like deleting the downloaded transaction, and keeping the manual entered transaction.  You either need to match that manually entered transaction or use the downloaded one and delete the manually entered one.

JKurka

@Chris_QPW Awesome! Is there a way to limit the 3 month scan period to, say, 1 month?

Chris_QPW

JKurka said:

@Chris_QPW Awesome! Is there a way to limit the 3 month scan period to, say, 1 month?

No, there isn't any way to change that limit.