Budget Disappeared.

Chris_QPW

Unfortunately, the losing the budget seems to be data file and maybe using certain features like sync to Mobile/Web kind of problem.  I would venture to say most people have not lost their budget.

Therefore, the CEO might very well have a budget that he has never lost.  I certainly have never lost my budget.

Roger C

Thank you for the response. I will try not syncing. Of course, it SHOULD WORK anyway.

Buff

[Removed - Off Topic]

tdreed1265

Again lost the budget today. Rebooted and still not there. Ultimate restored from my last full backup and budget was visible again. Is there any update on a fix for this? So frustrating.

tdreed1265

Restored with success as per my last update. Proceeded to process transactions, etc. and realized that my credit card account was corrupted with MANY transactions no longer entered, despite having been entered prior. I can tell these transactions were enter because when I manually entered them, the information & amount were suggested by Quicken.

I've spent much of the day re entering in transactions and decided to check that the Budget was still there.......NOPE. [Removed - Implied Profanity]
 
I've had to restore again from a backup which took several times using the same back up. And now will have to start again re entering credit card transactions that are missing. I don't know how far back I need to go, but checking each transaction one by one. This will take forever.....not happy. [Removed - Implied Profanity]

CMRater

Hi td,
Too many of us know the frustration you are experiencing.
Have you tried the open “dummy” file method to access the planning/budget tab as described in some 22-24 October posts?  Not sure if a fix is ever forthcoming, but whenever I want to access the planning/budget tab I always open a dummy file just prior.  While I only access the tab when necessary, this process has worked flawlessly for me since then.  I believe that this method successfully works around an obvious memory allocation flaw in the Quicken software especially in larger files of long-term customers.

tdreed1265

CMRater, thank you for the suggestion. I had totally missed that discussion. If I'm reading it correctly, here are the steps:

1. Click on File: Open Quicken File: Select any other file to open (even if it's a "dummy" file);
2. Once the file opens, repeat step 1 only this time select the original file with the missing budget;
3. When that file opens the error message will not appear. However, there will be no budget;
4. Click on File: Restore a Backup File: Select the most recent backup file to be restored.

I will try this next time. I'm sure it won't take too long that I will need to :-(

CMRater

Let me clarify td.

First you must be using a file/restored file that has budgets.  As I have stated in a number of posts, I run a budget report to confirm the presence of a budget(s) rather than going through the planning/budget tab, as that is when Quicken usually has trouble retrieving the budget and the No budgets error occurs.  I can run budget reports all the time, but when I go to view or edit budgets I have learned to:

1. First open a dummy file from my primary file (with budgets verified through the ability to run budget reports).  As some have said it doesn’t have to be a dummy file but I suppose it should be small file as the problem seems to be with memory allocation.
2. Then from the file tab of the dummy file, I select and reopen my primary file and I am able to successfully enter the planning/budget screen and edit as necessary the budget data. To be safe, I do this any time I have to reenter the planning/budget screen for additional edits even in a session where I had been editing budgets earlier (always backing up first after budget report runs successfully).

The key is to know/verify that you have budgets in the file by running a budget report as for some reason Quicken doesn’t freak out and detach the budget when running budget reports, however, just casually entering the budget interface (without employing the dummy file method) runs the high risk/probability the budget will disappear/be irretrievable.

Lastly, out of abundance of caution, I run budget reports from the tool bar after any significant work or intensive memory task to verify budgets are still there and then immediately backup (Ctrl-B) every time using the time stamp option in the backup function which allows for multiple backups on a single day. This is the one thing Quicken has done for us who suffer with this flaw.  I view this discussion thread often and have not heard any issues from anyone who uses the dummy file method as described above. As such, you would think that the Quicken development team could use this knowledge and working/proven methodology to develop a desperately needed software solution so that we can skip the dummy file process and put this awful issue behind us.

Snowman

I do not us the Sync to Mobile/Web feature and I have not lost any budget data either. The syncing process whether by Quicken or other programs can be problematic at best even when it is "working".

mobleyw

Just FYI. Here's what happened today. After more than a month of frequently accessing the Planning- Budget tab with success, I again "lost" the budget during one of my very frequent backups. Having just backed up and named the file "date...time...with budget" to confirm that I literally was viewing the Budget (after clicking on the Planning tab) at the time of the backup, I received the dreaded "there is no budget...". I immediately closed Quicken, waited a few seconds and re-opened. I was invited to create new budgets, as usual. I immediately "Restored" my most recent backup = the one which "lost" the budget, even though I knew it was there because I could see it when I backed up. Upon re-opening the restored file, the Budget re-appeared, and I lost nothing. The cloud backup sequence again took place.
Recall: when I open Quicken, my initial start screen is my Budget, as set up in Preferences. I think this "stabilizes" the file in much the same way as others use the "dummy file" process. (I don't have enough IT background to understand why either of these processes work, but they seem to help...). When I do very frequent backups, I always click on the Planning tab and visualize the budget to verify the Budget is present when I create the backup file. Even if get the dreaded message, I know the Budget is there, even though Quicken says it is not. The backup sequence remains puzzling and seems linked to the overall problem, at least in the sense that it occurs every time the Budget disappears and is subsequently restored. Just sayin...

mobleyw

For the record: See above, my last comment. This is now happening regularly. I am "losing" the Budget when I back up, while viewing the Budget upon clicking on the Planning tab. I do the Backup, and the dreaded "No Budget" message appears... After the Backup, not after clicking on the Planning tab. Closing, reopening, and restoring the most recent backup (the backup which presumably "lost" the Budget) the Budget is again present, and the cloud backup sequence is initiated. I really hope this budget issue affecting so many long time loyal Quicken customers can be resolved soon.

mtn_living

Personally, I doubt that the backup process, regardless of where started, has any impact on budget loss. 

mtn_living

I have been backing up while sitting on planning/budget tab for several months with no budget loss.  Suggest those experiencing this try doing backup while on another screen after verifying budget is there. I suspect you will see same frequency of budget loss as I also suspect this loss while sitting on the planning/budget screen is coincidental but could be wrong.

CMRater

There seems to be so many clues for the development team in these 14 pages of discussion (especially the last few months), I don't understand why Quicken does not provide some sort of status update with regard to a real solution.  Clearly we are all trying our best to share our experiences to help them and each other.  14 Pages of discussion deserves some sort of status update!

As a side note, I admire the boldness of those who choose to have the quicken file open to the budget screen.  Sounds like it works at least much of the time.  That's way too risky for me as I avoid the budget screen unless absolutely necessary using the dummy file procedure. which continues to work for me.  However,  I made the unconscious mistake of unintentionally clicking on the Planning Tab and sure enough lost budgets yesterday after 2 months of remembering to open dummy file first.  Was able to restore successfully, but it had been so long since I had to that I forgot the issue that often accompanies a file restore is that certain accounts develop 501 and 800 c errors causing often days of further pain of having to deactivate and re-add accounts to re-link to Quicken.  I have found the "Reset Account" option to be essentially worthless.  It says success, but keeps producing those error codes.  Also a Quicken User since -1991

mobleyw

Mtn_Living said: I have been backing up while sitting on planning/budget tab for several months with no budget loss.  Suggest those experiencing this try doing backup while on another screen after verifying budget is there. I suspect you will see same frequency of budget loss as I also suspect this loss while sitting on the planning/budget screen is coincidental but could be wrong.

My experience is very similar to yours.  I have been backing up with the Budget screen showing x months.  But now, (perhaps coincidence?) the Budget is "lost" with the backup process which has not happened  before.  This seems different... to the extent budget "disappearance" seemed to be associated primarily with clicking on the Planning tab, not the Backup process.  It's been several weeks since I lost a budget at all, neither after clicking the Planning tab, nor with a backup.  Now CONSISTENTLY losing the Budget again, but now with Backup, not the Planning tab.  So, 2 things different for me now: 1. Budget loss happening PERSISTENTLY with BACKUPS, and 2. not losing it with clicking on Planning Tab, as was noted originally and common in this thread.

mtn_living

question: so if you don’t do a backup for a couple of sessions do you not lose budgets? Also, has anything outside Quicken changed; running other programs, Windows or driver updates, hard disk space, new software running in background, memory usage, anything else?

dzf22k

I had a budget loss incident this morning on Premier version R45.21 for Windows. It centered around the need for Quicken to be logged in to use the software which I run in local mode with cloud resources turned off. I restored what I thought were two previous good backups without logging in to Quicken upon each session restart but each time it showed no budgets. I then logged in to Quicken and restored my most recent backup. When restarting that session it requested me to log in again, but after doing so my budgets were there. This leads me to believe that budgets are not available unless I am logged in with a current active subscription; that if my subscription were to expire I would not have access to my budgets with my historical data. The Quicken login status and its associated elements appears to be intimately linked to the ability of the budgets feature to access the locally stored directory structure within the Quicken complete backups. When the Quicken budgets "disappear", the complete backups of the Quicken data don't reduce in size which would be expected if in fact the budget information truly does "disappear".

mtn_living

Be sure to see prior post by someone familiar with Quicken data structures. Since Quicken uses an underlying database structure it is not the case that losing budget necessarily means reduced file size. Probably if one lost budget access then did the Quicken copy to a new file then the file size would shrink in the new file because the database would be recreated in the new copied file.

YTilahun

I usually read all the comments and try to stay updated. I am grateful to a few of the members for trying to help us with the budget issue. But yesterday, I received an e-mail from Quicken that my annual renewal is coming up in January. It saddens me that I must pay for a product with a significant defect. but at the same time, I have been a user since 1991, and I have no other product to go to. If this issue were at another technology/software, they wouldn't have tolerated it. Quicken has known about this issue for over a year. It can't be that complicated that the issue will take more than a year to solve. Quicken, I hope you read all comments. We are working on it, is not good enough anymore. Please solve the issue.

kentgerhart77

all of my budgets disappeared this evening! I'm on R45.21 build 27.1.45.21 Fortunately, i was able to restore from a backup that was only 2 days old, immediately disabled cloud syncing, ran budget reports and the budgets are all there. Closed, reopened the file, budgets are still there. this is pathetic - how can this problem be known for so long without a fix? Unfortunately Quicken knows that from a feature standpoint the product is excellent so most users will proabably learn to live with wasting inordinate amounts of time troubleshoting their data issues. I've had enough problems with quicken over the years where i'm finally tired of it and am looking for another budgeting system :-(

tdreed1265

Yep, just lost my budget again today. I've had good luck with running a budget report prior to going into the budget. This has worked for well over a week and I was hoping was another workaround, but to no avail! It took me 3 tries of restoring the latest backup to get the budget viewable again. The first time I was able to view the budget "report", but then got dreaded "no budget" when going into the budget itself. The second time, couldn't even run a budget report. Third time was a charm. So much wasted time on this !#$^!#$%#@$!#

PamC102

Just wanted to report that I have retained my budget since 11/19/22 by using the "Dummy File" method. I usually switch to the dummy file just before I log off and that forces Quicken to open to that data file first. I keep a budget widget on my home page so that I will be aware when/if the budget disappears. Thanks again for all the help.

CMRater

Hey tdreed,
Just want to confirm that just because you can run a budget report, that does not mean you can actually go view the planning/budget screen.  It simply means that your file does indeed have budgets.  I run a budget report to confirm presence of budgets and then immediately back up (Ctrl-B) after any work is done to confirm my latest backup has budgets.  However, whenever I actually need to enter the budget screen, I first open the dummy file as described by PamC and then open my file with budgets.  I never presume (anymore) that just because I can run a budget report that it is safe to enter the budget screen to access/edit budgets.  Always use the the dummy file first.  The dummy method has also worked consistently for me since late October. 

Hoping at some point that Quicken takes note of this proven method to incorporate into a software fix.  The community has pretty much identified the parameters of a permanent solution. 

Jay Gourley

Has the August 2022 post from Quicken Anja been updated?  Surely such an active thread has received attention from Quicken since August.  Would anything other than a bug or incompatibility account for this thread?

DPowis85$

Happy New Year! It has been a month since I last posted. Back in November I deleted all of my inactive and closed accounts from the last 20+ years, but saved a back up file prior to deletion if I ever want to go back to check some history. My file size did NOT decrease, and the reason is explained in a previous post. However, I went three weeks without losing my budget data. Then it started happening sporadically. I was always able to restore from a previous back-up. Just in case, I was making multiple backups with the date and time included in the file name. I always backed up with the planning tab open.

Two days ago I opted to start the new year with a brand new "clean" file. My file size dropped from 389,000 KB to 12,000 KB. I am making the assumption that "losing the budget data" is tied to the large file size, multiple yearly budgets and a large number of transactions. By starting with a new clean file, hopefully I can go many years, again, without losing my budget data. I am also hoping to get back to cloud syncing.

I will post if my problem is not solved...by the way, starting from scratch was not as difficult as I expected but it did take several hours to put it all together. it would have been the same if I had started with a different financial management app.