Checking Account Shows Sporadic Negative Balances

James114

My current balance now is ok.
But as I view my register there are several places (about a month apart that shows several negative balances in a row until my deposits are calculated.
I never have a negative balance.
I've verified the file and Quicken found no errors.

Frankx

Hi @James114

Those negative balances are most likely connected to the dates of some of your transactions (most likely those that are downloaded).  They could be caused by incorrect manual dates (those you entered) , or more likely downloaded dates.  Also, the order of multiple transactions that have the same date, can make it appear that the account balance went negative when it actually did not.  Also, for manually entered investment type transactions that are entered on the same day - they appear in the order that you made them in the register.

Let me know if you have any followups.

Frankx

James114

I was lucky enough to restore a backup I created today.
I got my direct deposit this morning and paied my bills and then backed it up. The went grocery shopping and a short time after entering 3 grocery transactions is when I noticed.
The backup I restored was fine and then entered the 3 transactions and it seems fine now.
I've been doing it like this for some time now. Why now?
If Quicken can't keep my registry strait...
How does this get corrupted? Is it an issue they are aware of?

Frankx

Hi again @James114

Well I am glad that you were able to restore the backup and - then fix the problem you were seeing.  But since you restored the backup, it is now impossible to determine what went wrong.

It could be almost anything, but is most likely directly related to whatever entries you made - or downloaded - between the time/date that you made the backup you restored and when you noticed the problem.  I would doubt that your data was corrupted, and based on the posts above, Quicken could not possibly know whether there is an "issue" or not.  But if it happens again, please post back here.

Frankx

James114

Ok.
Thanks much.

UKR

Please remember that a temporary red balance in your checking account is more or less meaningless if the balance applies to several transactions all made on the same day. What's important here is whether at the end of the day, the last transaction shows a positive running balance again. Otherwise your account really is overdrawn and you may get a call from the bank.

There has been a discussion suggesting that the Quicken register be changed to always sort transactions by Date and, within the same day, by deposits first, then withdrawals. Please review this Idea and vote on it if you concur.

James114

What I'm trying to figure out is why was it fine one moment, I then add 3 transactions and it goes bad.
I do this every month. Why hasn't it done this before? (at least to my recollection).
And I still don't quite understand why several transactions with the same date would cause this.

NotACPA

UKR said:

There has been a discussion suggesting that the Quicken register be changed to always sort transactions by Date and, within the same day, by deposits first, then withdrawals. Please review this Idea and vote on it if you concur.

The bank where I was an Audit VP posted withdrawals/debits first and then deposits/credits.

So, regardless of what Q does, you're bank MAY still chastise you for what's known as a "Daylight Overdraft" if it happens too frequently and if the O/D amount is significant and if that deposit is from a distant bank that could take more than a day to clear.

James114

The difference between the actual balances and what Quicken showed was a very large difference.
One balance was $500.
Why then doesn't this happen all the time??