Schwab - Can I stop placeholder and cash "adjustment"

mbinday

When I update Schwab, Quicken "fixes" my account. It adds both a placeholder and a cash adjustment. How can I stop this?

My balances are accurate. Quicken and Schwab historically have cash agreement issues. The program is fighting Schwab. It "corrects" with these two transactions, and I have to delete them.

On the few times I miss deleting, I end up with huge disparities that create much bigger issues. Until I find the "fake" Quicken transaction and delete.

Thank you

Frankx

Hi @mbinday

If you want to avoid the changes that Quicken may make in this investment account, take the following steps:

1) Go to "Edit" > "Preferences" > "Downloaded transactions";
2) On the right-hand window, Click on the "Settings" button that is next to "Compare account portfolio after download";
3) Then clear the checkmark that is next to whichever accounts you don't want Quicken to add placeholders to.
4) Click "OK" twice to exit.

Let me know how that goes, and/or if you have any followup questions.

Frankx

Jim_Harman

The method @Frankx describes will stop Quicken from comparing your share balance to that reported by your FI at the end of each download session, but if there is a mismatch you will not be notified. There is another option, which I find very useful, but I do not know exactly what combination of settings enables it.

I have the Compare account portfolio option enabled, but if there is a share discrepancy at the end of a download session, I see the Securities Comparison Mismatch window. If I just click on Done, no placeholders are created but I have been notified and I have the opportunity to fix the discrepancy.

I have the "Automtically add to investment transaction lists" option un-checked; maybe if it were checked the Placeholders would be added automatically, which is what @mbinday wants to avoid.

Chris_QPW

Jim_Harman said:

I have the "Automtically add to investment transaction lists" option un-checked; maybe if it were checked the Placeholders would be added automatically, which is what @mbinday wants to avoid.

In general, I recommend not having automatic transaction entry mode in investment accounts even if one wants it on for non-investments accounts because of some of the bugs that are in that mode.  But the last time I checked automatic transaction entry mode doesn't put in Placeholders.

One would think that both modes would honor the settings that @Frankx pointed out, and maybe they have fixed this, but the last time I checked automatic transaction entry mode will never do the check to see if there is a difference and as such never create a placeholder.

The reason this came about is because one of the early bugs was exactly that, automatic entry mode would not ask and would put in a placeholder.  This was reported and they "fixed it" by not ever doing the check for a difference.

Jim_Harman

@mbinday, back to you: At the end of a download session, are you presented with the Securities Comparison Mismatch dialog, where you can click on Done and no Placeholders are created, or is Quicken skipping the dialog and inserting Placeholders automatically?

Have you been running with the "Automatically add to Investment transaction lists" option selected? It is a good idea to turn this off so you can review each transaction before accepting it.

ftyminski

I really just want a current balance showing for my investment accounts. I've had so many issues with Schwab, JP Morgan Chase and Quicken and Quicken Web, that for the past 12-15 months I didn't do any downloading from FI, other than Banking.
What are the best settings or method to just show current balances, without transactions. I can go back to FI statements if I want details.
Thanks.

Chris_QPW

ftyminski said:

I really just want a current balance showing for my investment accounts. I've had so many issues with Schwab, JP Morgan Chase and Quicken and Quicken Web, that for the past 12-15 months I didn't do any downloading from FI, other than Banking.
What are the best settings or method to just show current balances, without transactions. I can go back to FI statements if I want details.
Thanks.

Provided it works right, the best would be to switch to “Simple Investing” mode on the Account Details dialog.

I said if it works right because the way it works is by reading the “summary information” that the financial institutions send with the downloaded transactions and adjust the number of shares for your securities and the balance for the cash, but there have been reports for some financial institutions/account types this isn’t working correctly.

Jim_Harman

... not working correctly, for example Fidelity 401(k)s, where Quicken's account balance is double what it should be.

Msxc

Click on the account you want to fix in the list on the left side of the screen.
Click on the gear icon upper RIGHT (above the graphs).
Click on the "edit" line.
Unclick "Simple" and Click on the other method to the right. This complete method downloads all details of transactions, not just the simple balances.
The Cash balance will disappear and the total balance displayed will now be correct.

Someone commented on this in August 2022.
This worked for me after months of frustration and needing to delete that cash balance after every upload.