Ongoing problem with changed bi-monthly paycheck

Mgeorge2001

I am using Quicken Classic for Windows ver. R52.33 with Windows Home 11, but my problem has been ongoing for at least two or three years. I set my bi-monthly pay in my "Manage Bill & Account Reminders" so that my deductions (federal tax, Medicare, HSA, etc.) are listed for my gross pay with each paycheck. I post the pay for each pay period. A couple of times, I have caught changes in the pay reminder while at other times, the changes occur weeks after I entered the pay reminder. Over the last couple of years, most of the changes are that deductions are doubled or tripled. Most recently, the change was that the net amount shows at my bank without deductions. While I sync my Quicken account to the cloud and reconcile online with most of my other accounts, I do not download my checking or savings accounts. I manually reconcile the banking accounts daily. I suspect the problems occur when there is a new Quicken update, although I am not positive the problem always occurs then. It is time-consuming to manually fix the accounts, so I began looking for new accounting software. I have used Quicken for over two decades to track my income and expenses; however, the software should reduce time not waste my time. Matter of fact, my annual Quicken software renews in 13 days. I hate to leave Quicken.

Quicken Kristina

Hello @Mgeorge2001,

To help troubleshoot this issue, could you please provide more information? Do you keep your Quicken file on your C drive or is it on a shared network drive?  Is your Quicken file synced with any cloud service, such as One Drive or Dropbox (if it is, you will usually see the service name listed in the file location)? 

The simplest way to check your file location, if you have Quicken up and the file open, is to click on File, then look near the bottom of the list, just above where it says Exit.  It will list the file locations for the 4 Quicken files you have most recently accessed, with the one you are currently in at the #1 spot.

Considering how long this issue has been going on, have you reached out to Quicken Support for assistance attempted any troubleshooting on your own? Have you noticed any other unexpected behaviors in your file?

You mentioned that you sync to the Quicken Cloud. Do you use Quicken on the Web or Quicken Mobile?

If you haven't done so already, I suggest that you try validating and/or super validating your data file.  Please save a backup file prior to performing these steps.

Validate: 

1. File
2. Validate and Repair File...
3. Validate File
4. Click OK
5. Close the Data Log
6. Close Quicken (leave it closed for at least 5 secs)
7. Reopen Quicken and see if the issue persists.

If the issue persists, proceed to Super Validate. If the issue is resolved after performing validation, then please disregard the instructions to Super Validate.

Super Validate:

1. File
2. Hold CTRL + Shift and click Validate and Repair File...
3. Super Validate File
4. Click OK
5. Close the Data Log
6. Close Quicken (leave it closed for at least 5 secs)
7. Reopen Quicken and see if the issue persists.   

Thank you.

Mgeorge2001

Thanks, Kristina. My file resides on my OneDrive. I use Quicken Mobile only when I am traveling to add transactions. I travel about once for two to three days every couple of months. I always sync to the Quicken Cloud, or at least I receive a message noting that is what I am doing.

I have read comments on this community forum to see if others have similar issues. I have read issues with certain banks but as previously noted I do not download my checking or savings accounts, only credit cards. I have noted there are others with issues such as doubling or tripling line items listed in split transactions. I do not remember having an issue with a transaction without a split to various accounts.

I have never reached out to Quicken Support for this issue. The issue I am having is not predicted but looking back, it seems some of the issues occurred after a Quicken update. That said, I am not certain because I cannot predict when the issue will occur.

I always find the payroll split issue probably several weeks after it has occurred and usually only when I notice that a balance is not correct. Instead of waiting until a monthly bank statement is available, I reconcile and balance my checking and savings accounts daily or two to three days at the latest.

I found the most recent problem when I noticed that the amount of income for the year was lower than expected. After reviewing the account, I found that payroll transactions over the last year had been converted to single transactions even though the transactions were correct when I used the Manage Bills & Reminders to enter the transactions.

Quicken Kristina

Thank you for your reply,

We recommend that you keep your data file directly on your C drive and not synced with OneDrive, if possible (it's okay to have backup files synced with OneDrive). If you need to keep the file synced with OneDrive, then we recommend that you pause OneDrive while accessing your Quicken file.

From your description, it sounds like it is difficult to predict when this issue will next happen. Did you try the Validate/Super Validate, and if you have, has the issue happened since then?

Thank you.

Mgeorge2001

I used Validate. I am in the process of correcting a year of payroll submissions. I have not had it occur again, but it has only been a few days since I discovered the Quicken error. I am not happy at all with this. I never read that I should store the data file on my C: drive. I switched to using my OneDrive several years ago because I access my files through a couple of different computers. I will place the working Quicken file on my hard drive with a backup to OneDrive. I do appreciate the assistance, though.

Quicken Kristina

Thank you for your reply,

If the issue happens again, please let me know so we can troubleshoot further.

Thank you.