why are some new entries already marked as cleared (Q Mac)

rudyPHX

why, every now and then, when i enter an expense using saved payee info, does it enter with the "clr" box checked? it's frustrating and confusing when i'm trying to get a sense of what's cleared and what isn't. thank you.

jacobs

@rudyPHX I'm sorry I didn't find this before, but I have the answer! I was pretty sure I had seen this behavior as well, but I couldn't remember where or when. I was just entering some transactions and this happened to me: I entered a transaction manually and it showed up in the register as cleared. I looked at the QuickFill rule for this transaction, and the answer was right there plain as day: there is a checkbox to "Mark as cleared" as part of the QuickFill rule:

Unchecking the box solves the problem for the future. 

But how did the rule get created with that box checked in the first place? Well, normally, QuickFill rules get created as you enter a transaction, so they aren't reconciled and the box isn't checked. But if you go back to edit an already-entered transaction which is marked cleared — as it would be if it was a downloaded transaction — then the QuickFill rule gets re-saved with the current data, including the cleared box being checked. Mystery solved.

rudyPHX

yes, i am connected for downloads, but i know that the new entry is brand new and not available as cleared from my bank yet - so it doesn't make sense.

Chris_QPW

On the Windows side it is possible to save a payee with it marked cleared.  I don't know how you actually save them on the Mac side, but is it possible that if the transaction you saved is already cleared that it will remember that?

rudyPHX

okay, thanks. when i looked at the saved info for the payee, i couldn't see a way to mark or unmark as cleared. i just deleted the saved payee, and will make it from scratch the next time i need to enter it. as i notice it with other payees (and i know there are some), i will look more deeply to confirm if there is a way to choose that as an option.

jacobs

rudyPHX said:

yes, i am connected for downloads, but i know that the new entry is brand new and not available as cleared from my bank yet - so it doesn't make sense.

Just to clarify: you're manually entering a new transaction, not downloading it, and it is marked automatically as cleared? When you're entering the transaction manually, when does the blue check mark show up: when you select the Payee from the drop-down list of Payees? Or the instant you click Save to save the transaction?

jacobs

@rudyP The reason I asked if you entered the transaction manually is because it will clarify what could be at play. If you don't enter transactions manually, then the possibility raised by @RickO above couldn't happen; downloaded transactions can't match to other downloaded transactions, only to manually-entered transactions. 

Another possibility, particularly if this wasn't a transaction you had entered manually, is that your financial institution is downloading pending transactions. This is a no-no, but some financial institutions are known to mess this up at times. So please mention the name of the bank this is happening with. (USAA, by any chance?)

rudyPHX

yes, this was a transaction that i entered manually. it was a new dollar amount. it seems that it somehow remembered a cleared status from the saved payee info. when the transaction is in edit mode (after i click "new", and until i save) the clr checkbox is not visible, so there is not an option to see if it's checked at that time, or to uncheck it if it is. thanks.

rudyPHX

no i have not. i will try that later when i get home. although, like i mentioned, i deleted the saved payee info for that particular payee, so it might not show anything meaningful. but i will keep that in mind for the other transactions that pop up with this same behavior. i'll respond once i have looked at that. thanks!

rudyPHX

ah. okay. it was definitely the quickfill rule that i deleted. let me fiddle with this when i get home, and i'll respond back. thanks.

jacobs

@rudyPHX I'm sorry I didn't find this before, but I have the answer! I was pretty sure I had seen this behavior as well, but I couldn't remember where or when. I was just entering some transactions and this happened to me: I entered a transaction manually and it showed up in the register as cleared. I looked at the QuickFill rule for this transaction, and the answer was right there plain as day: there is a checkbox to "Mark as cleared" as part of the QuickFill rule:

Unchecking the box solves the problem for the future. 

But how did the rule get created with that box checked in the first place? Well, normally, QuickFill rules get created as you enter a transaction, so they aren't reconciled and the box isn't checked. But if you go back to edit an already-entered transaction which is marked cleared — as it would be if it was a downloaded transaction — then the QuickFill rule gets re-saved with the current data, including the cleared box being checked. Mystery solved.

rudyPHX

outstanding! thank you!!!