Resolve Different Cash Balances on Account Overview Screen

Gravy

In a brokerage account under Investing, when I click on the Holdings button to bring up Account Overview (Value is selected in the dropdown menu), the cash balance shows $500.04. However, just below that under Account Status the cash balance shows $0.04, which I happen to know is the correct cash balance. I'm thinking the problem relates back to the original $500.00 deposit I made to create the account (manually) in Quicken. But for the life of me, I cannot find and resolve the difference/error. Help! :s

Frankx

Hi again @Gravy,

Yes, you can make it a connected account and avoid at least some (if not all) of the problems you've been having.  However you likely won't be able to download transactions for the full 18 months at this time, depending on the financial institution and whether they make the data available,  What's the name of the investment company?

Frankx

Frankx

Hi @Gravy,

It sounds like you've already identified the probable cause (i.e. the initial cash deposit into the account).  If Quicken indicates its still there, then you need to look at the transaction(s) that you made (or should have made) when those funds were invested.  Or, maybe more likely, the actual "transfer-in" transaction.  Did you actually transfer in $500.00, or did you just use the amount to get the account "setup" in Quicken so that you could transfer securities from another brokerage into this new account?

Let me have your thoughts and we'll go from there.

Frankx

Gravy

I transferred $500.00 from an outside bank account to the investment company in order to set up the brokerage account. I show the initial transaction for the investment account as Deposit.

Frankx

Okay so if the correct "cash balance" should now be $0.04 (as you stated above) did you record the transaction - or transactions, in the brokerage account, when you then "invested" the $500.00?  Or am I missing something?

Frankx

Gravy

The initial monthly account statement from the investment company shows $500.00 Funds Received from the bank. As of the same date the statement shows the $500.00 "Sweep in" to the account's money market settlement fund. In Quicken, I do not show any other transaction related to the $500.00. Should there be one?

Frankx

Hi again @Gravy,

Yes, there should be a transaction showing a "Buy" of the "Money Market" security.  Once you enter that transaction you'll then have the remaining balance of $0.04 as the "cash balance".  Have you considered making this account a "connected" account?  That will make things easier, since these types of transactions will be automatically downloaded into Quicken.]

Frankx

Gravy

I've tried it before, and just now tried it again. No luck. I entered Bought $500.00 money market (settlement) fund (as of Day 1) and manually reconciled the transaction. Now I tap the Holdings button, and with the dropdown menu showing Value, the cash balance now is $0.04. Fine, that's the correct cash balance. However, below that in Account Status, the Cash Balance now shows minus (-) $499.96. Your suggestion of automatically downloading makes perfect sense, it is just that for various reasons I have always preferred to manually enter and reconcile transactions.

Frankx

Hi again @Gravy,

When you are in the register for the brokerage account - do you now see two separate buy transactions for the money market fund?  Also what is the "value" of the Money Market fund in that same window - is it $1,000.00 now?

Frankx

Gravy

After the original $500.00 Xin from the bank AND the (now entered) $500.00 Bought money market transaction, the Cash Balance shows $0.00. The investment account subsequently received three $0.01 monthly Div actions from the money market fund. The $0.03 in Div increased the Cash Balance to $0.03. I then Bought $447.45 in shares of an ETF, which now shows the Cash Balance a negative -$447.42.

Gravy

I do see a Value of the MMF at $500.

Frankx

Okay. So now, unless you plan to transfer additional funds into this account, I assume that you'll need to sell $447.45 of the money market fund in order to pay for the ETF purchase.  Do you agree?

Frankx

Gravy

In the register, if I enter a Sold action for the MMF equal to the amount of the Bought action for the ETF, Quicken increases the cash balance in the column at right to $0.03, which was correct at the time. But Cash Balance at lower right in the register then shows a negative -$52.51, and the Market Value column in Account Overview shows Cash as $447.49. Feels like we're going around in circles.

Gravy

I just checked the company's account statement for that month (end of April 2021), and it shows a balance in the MMF of $52.58 following the purchase of the ETF shares.

Gravy

The beginning balance in the MMF was $500.03.

Gravy

How about this? Can I enable this one account to download from the investment company and somehow re-reconcile it with the downloaded data? I've never done it. There is only about 1-1/2-years of transactions thus far.

Frankx

Hi again @Gravy,

Yes, you can make it a connected account and avoid at least some (if not all) of the problems you've been having.  However you likely won't be able to download transactions for the full 18 months at this time, depending on the financial institution and whether they make the data available,  What's the name of the investment company?

Frankx

Gravy

I believe this financial institution participates. Thank you for your continued interest and comments. Be well! Over and out.