Quicken reports a loan is paid off when it is not. I do not have download services activated.

Question

Quicken reports a loan is paid off when it is not.  I do not have download services activated so I cannot deactivate.  Tried closing the account & now see that is not a solution & i'll have to restore from backup.  This is super inconsiderate of the coder.  The program also entered a bunch of balance adjustments,  also wrong,  and reports a debit balance in the loan which taints all balance sheet & net worth reports.  I have had numerous similar  problems with Quicken this year and suggest the Company stop "improving"  the program and just return it to a working version!  Super waste of time!

SSproblemsolver · Answer

OK,  super unfortunate.  A warning that once you close the account,  in cannot be reopened seems in order!   None of this explains why the system would place entries in a liability account that are clearly wrong.  How can this be avoided in the future once I repair the damage?

How can I stop auto balance adjustments?  I never want a balance adjustment.  My records are correct and to not need adjustment.  What your coders fail to appreciate is that my internal books will never match the bank or brokerage books.  When I write a check, it is an expense on my books even though the bank has no idea I have spent the money, a common book/bank difference.  This same concept applies to every single account.  If you entered a balance adjustment everytime a difference occurs,  it would be a nightmare!   Someone needs to apply some common sense here!

Until you solve this coding short coming,  I would like to return to an earlier version of Quicken prior to when this hickup was implemented.   Can you tell me what version of Quicken avoids this problem, when did you feel a balance adjustment should be required on brokerage accounts.

Thank you

NotACPA · Answer

Once an account is closed in Q … it's not possible to re-open it.

You can, however, create a duplicate acct and copy all of the transactions from the closed acct to the new acct … thus giving you an open acct.

And "Balance Adjustments" are created when you're reconciling the account and you choose to add them rather than determine the reason for the out-of-balance condition.

UKR · Answer

I recommend you review your backup settings in Quicken to ensure that you create a backup every single time you close Quicken. That minimizes the number of lost changes since the last backup, should you have to restore your data file again.

How to properly set up Quicken Backup

How to make Quicken create a backup for you automatically every time you close Quicken

What Quicken backups are available where?

﻿For the sake of this discussion it is assumed that your Quicken data file is located in the Default (and recommended) place: C:\Users\username\Documents\Quicken

For this discussion it is also assumed that your Quicken data file is named, for example, QDATA.QDF

Review the backup settings available in Quicken (under Edit / Preferences / Backup).

In there you will find two types of backup: Automatic and Manual Backup.

Automatic Backup should be enabled and by default goes to a \Backup folder that's part of the folder which contains your current Quicken data file, e.g. \Documents\Quicken\Backup. Set it to create a backup after running Quicken [1] times and to keep [9] (or more, your choice) backup copies.﻿

The file name for Automatic Backup files contains a date and time stamp as part of the file name, e.g. QDATA-2020-03-22.PM03.45.QDF-backup

To create a Manual Backup copy of your Quicken data file on an external device (USB-hard drive or USB memory stick recommended), put a checkmark at "Manual Backup Reminder" to enable the function and set "Remind me after running Quicken [xx] times" to [1].

Click OK to save the changes.

From now on, when you close Quicken using the red X button, you will get a popup window.

When you get this window for the first time, on some versions click the radio button for "Backup on my computer".

Change the Backup File name's drive letter and path to point to your external device so that it looks something like this: ﻿E:\Quicken Backup\QDATA-2020-04-01.QDF-backup

﻿or use the Change button and work your way through the dialog.

Do not change the filename portion! Just overtype the drive letter and choose a backup folder name. If the folder does not exist, it will be created.

Also choose the option to "Add date to backup file name".

Every day when you run Backup or close Quicken, an additional backup file is created. Without the Add Date option you only have 1 backup copy which is overwritten every day ... and that may prove bad in a problem recovery situation.

Allow this backup to run to save the changes made on the screen.

Of course, once in a while you will have to go in and delete some of the oldest backup files, at your discretion, to avoid filling up your USB device.

One can never have enough backups of a Quicken data file. BTDTGTS to prove it!