Quicken just installed an update tonight, how can I avoid the problem that it caused?

budi

Then my splits for my credit card payment were gone. This is the second time this has happened in a couple months.
How can I avoid this in the future

[Deleted User]

@budi - usually, credit card payments are a transfer from the credit card account to your checking account.  Please explain what you mean by "splits"?

budi

When I enter my credit card payment in my check register, the splits allow me to break down the charges so I can track my spending or go back and check the cost of a specific item
The system usually remembers my splits from one time to the next. Until the last couple of updates. Thus my frustration

volvogirl

You might be doing it all wrong.  The proper way is to set up a credit card ACCOUNT and enter the charges into it when the purchase is made and assigning it to a category. The transactions need to be entered with the date you charged it, not the date you pay the credit card bill.

Then when you pay the bill you TRANSFER the payment from your checking account to the credit card account. Then when you download the payment from the bank you match it to the one you already entered.  Then your credit card account should match what you actually owe at any time.

When you enter the payment in your checking account you put the credit card account name in for the category using square brackets around the name to indicate it is a transfer...like this… [credit card] or newer versions have a Transfer column.

I used to do it the wrong way for years!  Then I wised up and now enter them properly. I would split my credit card payment into all the categories on one transaction in my checking account. And since I always pay more than the bill I would need to figure the difference and put it to another category.  But then I needed to have them entered on the date the charges actually happened. So I finally set up a credit card account. It makes it much easier to enter and balance!

Here's a list of some reasons why you should do it this way…..

You don't have to wait to make the payment and split it out

You won't run out of split lines (I used to use Q2004 and there was only 30)

You can use both the payee and memo fields for more description

You don't have to figure out the difference if you pay a different amount

Then your Credit Card Account will exactly match your statement

Charges get entered with the right date (better at year end for taxes)

You can enter all charges to date, not just what's on the bill - then you can see what you still owe

You won't forget what a charge was for if you enter it right away from the receipt

And if there are multiple categories purchased on a single credit card charge, you can split that one credit card charge to detail the items purchased each with their own category and memo/note.

[Deleted User]

@budi - The other advantage of setting up a credit card account as @volvogirl suggests is that you would be able to download or import transactions rather than having to enter them manually and they could be updated daily.

budi

I would prefer to continue with the way that I have been doing it. I am not on my laptop every day and choose not to use my phone for those type of transactions. The method you described seems very labor intensive for what little benefit I would get in return
I would like to know how to avoid having to re enter the split categories other than not letting Quicken make changes to my computer. It would seem like a basic/simple thing to check for before they release an update

[Deleted User]

@budi - I completely understand.  There are many different ways to use Quicken and it is up to each user to decide what works best for them.

Have you tried these troubleshooting steps?  Your issues might be data file related and the suggestions contained in this Quicken Support article might help - 

https://www.quicken.com/support/advanced-data-file-troubleshooting-correct-problems-quicken-windows

Ongoing, I would suggest that you make a backup of your current file before you install an update.  Also, I would suggest updating via "Mondo Patch" rather than a scheduled update.  Here is a link to Mondo updates -  

https://www.quicken.com/support/update-and-patch-20182019-release-quicken-windows-subscription-product

volvogirl

I found that splitting my credit card payment was more labor than just entering each charge into a credit card account.  I do it from my statement.  Read my whole post again and all the reasons why.  I finally switched and it's a lot better.

Sherlock

When Quicken updates the program, preference settings are sometimes modified.   I suggest you check the Data entry and QuickFill preferences:  select Edit > Preferences... 

budi

I will check that out. That makes sense as it has happened before
Thanks, Sherlock