Adjustments made when reconcillation
How do I find why Quicken had to make an "adjustment" when I reconcilled my account? I'd like to determined what caused this.
Best Answer
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"You'd have to go back only as far as the last time Quicken and your Bank account were in synch. "
Unfortunately that's not the case since ANY dollar change, deletion or new addition of a transaction with an "R" in the Clr column can create a reconciliation problem and prompt Quicken to make an adjustment.
The "opening balance " for a current reconciliation is calculated on the fly when you start the reconciliation process. So if, for example, a prior period reconciled transaction dollar amount somehow got changed by $10, the "opening balance" for this period's reconciliation would be off by that amount, meaning you can only get a complete reconcile by creating a $10 adjustment. Unless you've been keeping paper copies of your reconciliations - Quicken doesn't - it can be difficult to determine exactly when the last time Quicken and your Bank account were in sync.
A problem that has come and gone over the years, a problem that's associated with downloading, is that the Opening Balance transaction dollar amount for an Account sometimes gets changed. So that's the first place I'd look to see if that's created your problem. One band-aid for this issue is to make sure the Memo field for all Account's Opening Balances indicates the correct opening balance.
Having lots and lots of backups can be very helpful when it comes to running down why Quicken is proposing an adjustment. Hard drive space is cheap so set you automatic backups to every "1" time you close Quicken and keep "99" copies of these backups. Then set your manual backup reminder to a number that backs up Quicken - hopefully to a different hard drive if you can - more or less weekly.
Another aid to avoiding adjustment entries (as much as possible) is to use the File > Set password to modify transactions… feature of Quicken. This throws up a warning if you try and change a transaction for a "closed" period. You can still change a transaction if you wish, but the warning at least gives you pause to think "do I really want to make this change?"
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Answers
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the 'adjustment' is because the balance at your bank is not the same as the balance in the register in Quicken. Normally that means there is a transaction in Quicken that is missing. You would need to reconcile each transaction in Quicken to each transaction at your Bank to determine what transaction failed to be represented in your register. You'd have to go back only as far as the last time Quicken and your Bank account were in synch.
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Normally that means there is a transaction in Quicken that is missing.
Another common reason is that one or more transactions have been downloaded into Quicken but the Online Balance that is downloaded into Quicken has not been updated to reflect that.
In both situations it most commonly is caused by a lag in some of the data that the financial institution downloads. In some cases the newly posted transactions or pending transactions download but the Online Balance that has been downloaded does not yet reflect them. In other cases the Online Balance that has been downloaded does reflect those transactions but those transactions have not yet been downloaded. Often this lag or "timing" issue will self-resolve by running OSU, again, 12-24 hrs later.
When during Reconciliation Quicken suggests entering an account balancing transaction I generally will not permit it to do that until after I run OSU 24 hrs later. In many cases the account will Reconcile properly with no balancing transaction being needed.
It if still does not Reconcile properly, then I will usually closely compare the data in Quicken to the data in the financial institution's website to see if I can determine what is causing the discrepancy. Sometimes, it will be because for some odd reason a posted transaction simply did not download when it should have. In this case, that missing transaction should be manually entered into the account.
IMHO, allowing Quicken to enter an account balancing transaction should be only a last resort action when the cause for the balances discrepancy simply cannot be determined. The reason for this is when the cause has not been identified one risks getting into a "whiplash" situation where each time OSU is run another balancing transaction needs to be entered to counter the effect of the last balancing transaction that was entered when it should not have been. It can be a vicious cycle that just does not stop. If one gets into this vicious cycle the typical solution is to delete all of the countering balance transactions from the register and then review the account to see if the issue is resolved or some additional troubleshooting needs to be done.
Quicken Classic Premier (US) Subscription: R60.15 on Windows 11 Home
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"You'd have to go back only as far as the last time Quicken and your Bank account were in synch. "
Unfortunately that's not the case since ANY dollar change, deletion or new addition of a transaction with an "R" in the Clr column can create a reconciliation problem and prompt Quicken to make an adjustment.
The "opening balance " for a current reconciliation is calculated on the fly when you start the reconciliation process. So if, for example, a prior period reconciled transaction dollar amount somehow got changed by $10, the "opening balance" for this period's reconciliation would be off by that amount, meaning you can only get a complete reconcile by creating a $10 adjustment. Unless you've been keeping paper copies of your reconciliations - Quicken doesn't - it can be difficult to determine exactly when the last time Quicken and your Bank account were in sync.
A problem that has come and gone over the years, a problem that's associated with downloading, is that the Opening Balance transaction dollar amount for an Account sometimes gets changed. So that's the first place I'd look to see if that's created your problem. One band-aid for this issue is to make sure the Memo field for all Account's Opening Balances indicates the correct opening balance.
Having lots and lots of backups can be very helpful when it comes to running down why Quicken is proposing an adjustment. Hard drive space is cheap so set you automatic backups to every "1" time you close Quicken and keep "99" copies of these backups. Then set your manual backup reminder to a number that backs up Quicken - hopefully to a different hard drive if you can - more or less weekly.
Another aid to avoiding adjustment entries (as much as possible) is to use the File > Set password to modify transactions… feature of Quicken. This throws up a warning if you try and change a transaction for a "closed" period. You can still change a transaction if you wish, but the warning at least gives you pause to think "do I really want to make this change?"
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Thanks, what's OSU? On my previous Quicken I would use the paper statement and it was tedious but gratifying to see why the balances did not agree.
What do I need to do to use the paper statement after using the on-line method?
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OSU = One Step Update.
To revert to paper statement reconciliation: Account Register > upper right Gear icon > Edit Account Details > Online Services tab > uncheck the box for Reconcile using online balance > OK.
Quicken Classic Premier (US) Subscription: R60.15 on Windows 11 Home
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"Thanks, what's OSU?" OSU = One Step Update, the process whereby with one click all connected Accounts receive downloads of transactions.
"What do I need to do to use the paper statement after using the on-line method?"
You should be able to uncheck "Reconcile using online balance" on the "Online Services" tab of the Account Details screen, and making sure that "Paper statement" is selected on the Account's opening Reconcile screen. (For whatever reason, I've sometimes found that you have to work through the process more than once to get your new selection work.)
"On my previous Quicken I would use the paper statement and it was tedious but gratifying to see why the balances did not agree."
I do an OSU daily and review all transactions before allowing them to be accepted into the register. I'm notified electronically on all 15 of my Quicken Accounts that have "registers" (Spending Accounts) and I do my reconciliation of these Accounts within a day or two of the notifications, using the online version of the statements. I'd say that more than 99% of the time my reconciliation is "done" in less than a minute with no adjustments or entries needed.
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Many thanks, I'll try that
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Kindly explain the "before allowing them to be accepted", that sound like something I might tryout. thanks
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In the Account(s) in question click on the gearwheel in the upper right hand corner and then click on "Edit account details." Click on the "Online Services" tab and make sure that "Automatic entry is" OFF.
That way when you download transactions then won't end up in the Register immediately, they will settle in the "Downloaded Transactions" window below the register. Any transactions that exactly match manual entries you've already made will be labeled "Match" and you should be able to simply accept those. Any entries that Quicken can't find in the Register will be labeled "New." This gives you a chance to easily look at the new transactions, determine if they are legit, and then accept those transactions into the register.
Sometimes Quicken can't find an entry that IS in the register and labels it "New", erroneously. In that case you right click on the transaction, select "Match manually," and point Quicken to the correct entry.
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Thanks that helps
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