Quicken changes opening balance for no reason and without a notice

splasher

SandraStowell said:

I have R45.13, Quicken for Windows, Windows 11.
My CU account opening balance was just changed!! Aargh!

Hope you had it it recorded in the Memo field so you would know what to return it to.

NotACPA

SandraStowell said:

I have R45.13, Quicken for Windows, Windows 11.
My CU account opening balance was just changed!! Aargh!

I'd suggest dropping back to an earlier, more reliable release, R44.28.  You can download and install it from here: https://www.quicknperlwiz.com/quicken-subscription-patches.html

mikek753b

but this was fixed in R45.11
and upon above comment it is broken in R45.13 again?
I'm not sure that R44.28 is appropriate way to address this, as this issue has been for very long time, also many other issues were fixed from R44.28 time, again just IMHO

maybe rollback to R45.11 ?

@SandraStowell it will help a lot if you can show this issue to Quicken Support over screen share
as support insisted to see reproduce the issue in support session I was with Quicken

NotACPA

There's multiple problems with R45.  I'd suggest dropping back by downloading and installing R44.28 from here:https://www.quicknperlwiz.com/quicken-subscription-patches.html

paladin

I have the same problem (version R45.13 Quicken Windows, Windows 11). I was trying to resolve a persistent BofA issue where transactions aren't downloading. After deactivating and reactivating my three accounts, Quicken inexplicably changed the opening balance on my register, which goes back to 01/01/1992. This has happened twice. Infuriating. I've had to restore backup files to retrieve the correct balance. The program is corrupting data that I have worked to scrupulously preserve. What an erosion of trust. This is one of the most disturbing bugs I've experienced with this program, and I've suffered some bad ones. 

Jim_Harman

This problem certainly erodes users' trust in Quicken.

To make recovery easier if this happens again, I suggest you add a memo to the opening balance transactions in all your accounts that indicates what the correct opening balance should be.

SandraStowell

Between the opening balance issue, and the fact that there is a several hours? day long? delay downloading transactions visible online at my Credit Union, reconciling my checking account is painful/fraught.  I have a Chase cc so and Quicken downloads & reconciliation at Chase have been dysfunctional for a few months now.  

Truly problematic.  It may be that the "new" express connect system is the big problem for Quicken, and more banks are using this?

splasher

SandraStowell said:

Between the opening balance issue, and the fact that there is a several hours? day long? delay downloading transactions visible online at my Credit Union, reconciling my checking account is painful/fraught. …

There is always be an overnight delay with the Express Web Connect and Express Web Connect+ download methods since after the initial setup download, the desktop program gets it data from an aggregation server that makes nightly data pickups of the daily updates, so new stuff today won't show up until tomorrow.  It has always been that way with EWC and now with the new EWC+ also.  Direct Connect had the possibility of getting its data live from the financial institution (FI) if that is the way the FI had set it up.  
My CU was that way, I could do a transfer on their website between accounts and then do a Direct Connect download immediately after and it would download, but now that they have changed to EWC, I have to wait to the next day for even a Web Connect, .QFX file, download.
The delay could even be two days if the aggregation server does its sweep BEFORE the FI does its nightly run to update the information that the aggregator pulls its information from.
Sorry to say, but this is the future of online banking and software like Quicken, the FIs are backing off from Direct Connect and embracing EWC and EWC+ because of cost and universality, you just need to get used to it.

3rdStng

Was just bit by this bug *again*. It has been happening randomly for many months now. Sadly I only catch it when I reconcile monthly. It has now caused me to update my memo field on my accounts with what my actual open balance should be. (Which now I see Jim also recommended a few posts up.)

Windows 11
Quicken R45.21

JoniB

Happened to me again in January 2023. Why? I keep having to enter a new opening balance transaction.

splasher

Supposedly, this has been fixed in R46.9.  7th item in "Whats fixed"
https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7927048/windows-r46-xx-release-us#latest

mrzookie

@splasher - I've experienced this at least a dozen times over the past 2 or more years. First couple of times were maddening, until I finally figured out what was going on.  It'll be huge if they actually fixed it. 

CatWomanDiana

I wonder if it's a BofA-Quicken issue? I hadn't seen this until it happened, but I finally saw last year that downloads were not available any longer - so I was stoked to see it available for BofA. Logged in, it seemed to work, but when I went to reconcile(*), I discovered that it had deleted all the data before April 2021, and I can't tell what it thinks the starting balance came from.

I have a couple of questions -
1) is it possible to get 1 account's data from a backup? (note - I'm not plugging my flashdrive backup in again for a while).
2) how do you change the "reconcile from downloaded" to the old reconcile. What I was missing was a way to put the interest charge in - that's the only reason I did a download.

This is definitely concerning. I've had the one account for 20 years or so, and all the history is gone.