How to fix a negative cash balance

Question

The Cash Balance in my primary investment account is a very large negative number. I've reported this before, but nobody had any idea how to fix it.

Jim Shiffrin · Answer

OK - I dug further. The problem actually started on 1 Apr 2013. It appears not all of my "banking" transactions (checks written on the brokerage account) are accurately reflected in the Cash Balance section of the Holdings report for the linked investment account. At this point, I do not intend to spend any more time on this issue. I can compute my net worth with a little outside math.

Tom Young · Answer

So, I have to ask: Why has the cash balance gone negative?  Looking at the 8/15/2013 what, exactly, was the transaction that switched the cash from positive to negative?   I assume that further movement in the negative direction also can be associated with individual transactions.  In general and in the main, what did those transactions look like?  What Action was associated with them?

Jim Shiffrin · Answer

There are no placeholders and no incorrect amounts in the account. The cash balance (in the investment account) starting going negative in Aug 2013 and has only gotten worse over time. I just tried removing the Checking Account (saying NO in Options/General. It complained that it could not handle everything in there and left me with a (different) large negative balance in the investment account. I just restored from the latest backup and will not play with this any further! I have lived with this error for ten years after all. Thanks for trying to help.