12 seconds for each and every transaction

lawrs21813

I use the latest version of Quicken for Windows made available on a fast i7 CPU. I use the latest update of Windows 10 (will let others do the final debugging of Windows 11, can't afford to have Quicken screwed up). After downloading, each and every transaction it takes 12 seconds after I press "Accept" for the transaction to complete. These 12 second events add up to a seriously annoying slowdown.

I've been a Quicken user since 2000, so admittedly my file has grown slowly to 270 MB. Quicken is so much better than when it was run by another company. But does Quicken save the ENTIRE file every time it saves? I have never seen Quicken provide a way to trim down the file.

I suppose I could activate "automatic download and accept all," but then I would need a list of the downloaded transactions so I would be able to check each transaction for errors and potentially fraudulent transactions perpetrated by someone who has obtained my bank information. Also I have definitely experienced transactions that appeared in the download but for some reason didn't make it into the file record after accepted.

My bank puts a lot of unnecessary comments in the transactions. Unfortunately, I can't click a box to say I don't want the contents of certain downloaded fields to go into the record.

Also, Quicken duplicates those memo-type fields in the cash accounts. The Quicken program says you can change the contents (eliminate them is my desire), but in reality, you can not change or delete those memo type fields in either type of register.

I would write to Quicken about these matters, but administration hopefully keeps an eye on this web site.

Thanks in advance for any constructive solutions.

garysmith87

Two things to always check regarding performance:

1 Go to HELP and press CTRL + About Quicken.  Look at how many Memorized Payees there are.  A large number (in the thousands) can result in Quicken performance issues.  I currently have 133.  Trim away the Memorized Payee list by deleting them "en masse".  Then go to Preferences and set keeping Memorized Payees for 60 or 90 days.  

2 If you have a large number of investments with active trading that results in closed lots, you can Archive Transactions in each of your investment registers.  This will create new accounts with only open active lots...but still leave your old accounts with the old closed lots/transactions.  

As always, backup prior to doing either of the above.

Let us know if this helps your issue. 

Ps56k2

just for comparison - here is my 216MB Quicken data file - which runs fine after any Accept -

and the --> Edit --> Preferences --> and I remove the Memorized Payees after 18 months...

lawrs21813

Wow! Both responses of GarySmith87 and Ps56k2 SuperUser extremely helpful. Many thanks and a few questions. A. I do have way too many memorized payees, Save < 36 months has 2,064 memorized. B. And I have WAY too many categories, actually sub-categories: 2,360 if you can believe that. I was using categories to save information essentially. I have 61 accounts, a good number of which are hidden, historical accounts. C. And I have double the provided number of comparison transactions.

I backup virtually everyday. Some questions before I start renovations:
Q1. My available memory of 2.097 TB is exactly equal to my Total Memory as listed in About Quicken.
That either means I'm using ALL available memory, which would slow things down dramatically, or
somehow I'm not using memory. Which?

Q2. When does Quicken reduce memorized payees over target months back?

Q3. Does a LOCK checked on individual memorized payees prevent that payees auto-deletion?

Q4. Most likely, I need to try the "Archive Closed Transactions" idea. That will put aside my hidden
accounts that that I never use, but keep in case I should have to prove something to the IRS.
How would I access all those closed transactions if need be?

Again, many thanks. You have opened a new world of possibilities to me.

NotACPA

How many of those Memorized Transactions are of the "Gas station on 10th", "Gas station on 12th", etc variety.  I.E., where the payee name really doesn't provide valuable, unique info?

In this case, you can set up a renaming rule to standardize the payee names ... and then memorize ONLY the standardized name.

lawrs21813

09 JAN 2022
Update: Think must start completely new file. Using Quicken 1.27.37.66: In the last few days I have eliminated 40 hidden and unused files, yet Ctrl+About Qkn claims I still have 60 files. This may be because it counts archived files (Yes/No?) I archived about 7 Investment files, theoretically eliminating 5,258 closed investment transactions. Categories: a VERY laborious item, reduced from 2360 to 2233. I would do more if it seemed to matter. Memorized payees reduced from 2,064 to 299. Keep in mind QUICKEN states you can have 512 Accounts, and EACH of Category, Sub-Cats, & Tags can have up to 32,768 items. Split lines can have up to 250 items PER transaction line. However, Quicken does NOT say it will chug along at original speed.

Things that I would appreciate educated advice about:
1 My About Quicken still says Securities = 1507 & Max Ref. 1507. That sounds okay to me, that it shouldn't be a problem.

2 I see this as a probable problem, although I don't understand it at all: About Quicken states:
Available Memory: 2,097,151K that's almost 2.01 GB
Total Memory 2, 097,151K that's the SAME, yet Quicken & a browser and Excel are open. Makes no sense to me.

All thoughtful replies appreciated. Thnx!

William Aston

I am having the same problem as OP.

I am using Quicken version R40.21, build 27.1.40.21, running on Windows 10 Home version 21H2, Windows Explorer reports a file size of 415184KB, and I have transactions back to 2013. Here is an image of my information from CTRL-clicking About Quicken.

Quicken Jared

William Aston said:

I am having the same problem as OP.

I am using Quicken version R40.21, build 27.1.40.21, running on Windows 10 Home version 21H2, Windows Explorer reports a file size of 415184KB, and I have transactions back to 2013. Here is an image of my information from CTRL-clicking About Quicken.

Hello @William Aston,   

I am sorry that you seem to be affected by this issue with transaction times, as well. Thank you for seeking further assistance and information here in this Discussion thread.

Are you making use of a large number of Memorized Payees and Categories, as well? If so, have you made use of @NotACPA's instructions regarding standardizing payee names with Renaming Rules?

We look forward to hearing more from you. 

Thank you,

Quicken Jared 

William Aston

I have 251 Memorized Payees. I deleted some and merged some into others to get it down to that number from 273. Now it appears to be working fine, at least for the time being.

Quicken Jared

William Aston said:

I have 251 Memorized Payees. I deleted some and merged some into others to get it down to that number from 273. Now it appears to be working fine, at least for the time being.

@William Aston, 

I see. Thanks for following up with me about this, and I am happy to hear that the issue seems to have been resolved. 

If you have any additional questions or concerns, or this issue seems to reemerge, we would be happy to discuss it with you, further.

Thank you,

Quicken Jared 

William Aston

It just started doing it again today, taking 5-10 seconds to record transactions, and almost forever to update accounts, in spite of me further reducing my Memorized Payees to 233 after I posted the above comment.

EDIT: Also I am unaware of @NotACPA's instructions regarding standardizing payee names with Renaming Rules. Can you provide a link to them?

William Aston

EDIT 2: I have attached a picture of my Ctrl-Quicken About information.