Placeholders and Cost Basis

Caden

This is actually two questions. No. 1: Is there a way around having to manually input the cost basis for every security? No. 2: When resolving a placeholder for cost basis information, the program asks you to enter the date of the purchase (or acquisition), the number of shares, the price per share, and the total cost. When I enter the number of shares and price per share, the total cost often does not match the statement. I tried entering the number of shares and the total costs so the program will calculate the per share value on it's own, but the price per share does not match the statement. Which way is correct for accurately computing gain/loss?

splasher

I generally enter the Qty and Total Cost, but that means not breaking out any fees that might have been charged. The difference in your share price could be the fees.

Jim_Harman

1. Usually when you buy a security you enter or download the number of shares, the commission if any, and the total cost. The total cost becomes the cost basis; you do not need to enter it separately. If you don't care about tracking your cost basis accurately, you can resolve Placeholders by entering the missing shares and an approximate total cost and acquisition date in an Added transaction. Otherwise Quicken needs to know all the data from the missing transactions.
2. The best approach when recording the purchase of a security is to enter the number of shares and the total cost and let Quicken calculate the price per share. This is because the important number for calculating capital gains is the total cost of the lot. The calculated share price should be close to what your broker reports. If not, look for an incorrect data entry or a missing commission or fee in Quicken.

Jim_Harman

When you say "Downloaded securities always go in as placeholders," what exactly is happening? Are these transactions for securities you already own and have recorded in Quicken, newly purchased securities, or what?

When you click on the account name to open the account, do you see a dashboard with 4 big rectangles, or a list of transactions similar to a banking account?

If you see the dashboard, the account is in Simple mode, where Quicken just tracks your current share balances and not the individual transactions. To switch to Complete mode, click on the gear at the top right of the account, select Edit account details, and select Complete.

splasher

I generally enter the Qty and Total Cost, but that means not breaking out any fees that might have been charged. The difference in your share price could be the fees.

Jim_Harman

1. Usually when you buy a security you enter or download the number of shares, the commission if any, and the total cost. The total cost becomes the cost basis; you do not need to enter it separately. If you don't care about tracking your cost basis accurately, you can resolve Placeholders by entering the missing shares and an approximate total cost and acquisition date in an Added transaction. Otherwise Quicken needs to know all the data from the missing transactions.
2. The best approach when recording the purchase of a security is to enter the number of shares and the total cost and let Quicken calculate the price per share. This is because the important number for calculating capital gains is the total cost of the lot. The calculated share price should be close to what your broker reports. If not, look for an incorrect data entry or a missing commission or fee in Quicken.

Caden

Thank you for the answers! This helps a lot. Glad to know that I am doing the right thing with entering shares and total cost. Still not sure why downloaded securities always go in as placeholders.

Thank you!

Jim_Harman

When you say "Downloaded securities always go in as placeholders," what exactly is happening? Are these transactions for securities you already own and have recorded in Quicken, newly purchased securities, or what?

When you click on the account name to open the account, do you see a dashboard with 4 big rectangles, or a list of transactions similar to a banking account?

If you see the dashboard, the account is in Simple mode, where Quicken just tracks your current share balances and not the individual transactions. To switch to Complete mode, click on the gear at the top right of the account, select Edit account details, and select Complete.