Don't look too closely or you will see the cracks in the foundation.

Chris_QPW

Quite often on here we talk about how well Quicken can perform a task is dependent on the data it receives, and that data isn't perfect.

But one sort of expects that the same data at the financial institution is perfect.

Here is bit of proof that at least the level that is shown to the user, this isn't always the case.

My credit card at Chase is paid automatically on the 12th of each month. And I had downloaded to Quicken yesterday (the 12th) about 4PM PST, and it wouldn't reconcile to the online balance. The online balance given was -587.11. The balance in Quicken was -1916.02. This kind of thing shouldn't really surprise anyone that done reconciling to online balances on a few financial institutions for a while. Sometime with some financial institutions there will be times where it is inconsistent, but people expect that the financial institution's website would show it correctly.

The -587.11 is easy to spot. So, what makes it different than the -1916.02 Quicken has? Well for starters there is the -1374.56 payment, which I will state isn't in Quicken, and isn't in the transactions shown above. It is the 12th's payment that is taken into account in the details and the current balance but hasn't shown up in the transactions here or what is sent to Quicken.

But if I account for that payment, I end up with a balance of -541.46 not -587.11! So, what happened?

Wait until early the next morning and download/look again.

The payment shows up, but so do three more charges! Not surprising if you add in those three charges then the -541.46 does in fact become -587.11.

So, where were those three charges hiding?

I have dealt with this to know what happened is this. The three charges were pending, and so was the payment, then Chase started some kind of processing stage. These transactions "vanish" off of the above except in the "Details". And note in the meantime different pending transactions start being collected in the pending section above.

The downloaded data to Quicken reflect exactly what you see above (without the pending and without the "Details" when it includes "processing", but that part is finished at this point)

snearman_22

I have noticed this for years. Usually, I reconcile the account and let the “reconcile process” post a “balance adjustment.” This is happening more frequently and many times it WILL NOT correct with Quicken. I go back to the detail at the bank and try to work it out – sometimes yes and sometimes no. This process is frustrating with over 12 accounts and a total waste of time. I no longer trust Quicken.

RalphC

I rarely have a reconciliation issue with my credit cards and/or banks. When I do, it's invariably an operator error (a mistyped transaction(s) value), or a transaction entry(ies) on or about the closing date that cleared but the bank did not include in the statement. A little detective work reveals the error(s) once you know the usual cause to look for. It's not a Quicken error.

Chris_QPW

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20410006#Comment_20410006

I never post a balance adjustment, I look for the problem, and if I judge it to be a temporary situation like this, I abort the reconcile, and come back and reconcile later. Note this is in credit card that isn't anywhere near its credit limit, so I can afford to wait. If it was my checking account, well I always keep a buffer amount there too, so I can wait. In all reality once I found out that the Online Balance is "real" and predicts the future, I could just make sure that future transactions don't exceed the balance. If I run into a financial institution where I can't trust the online balance (that I can't explain that coming back later will fix) then I reconcile to "statement balance". Posting a balance adjustment is wrong and dangerous. I noticed a recent thread where the person is posting balance adjustments and later finding he doesn't have the amount he thinks in the account and having to pay a fee because he has done an overdraft.

In fact, the above proves that Quicken is doing the right thing, it is Chase that is doing the wrong thing, and they are doing it on their website.

One just has to know the limitations of Quicken and their financial institution and work within them.

Quicken isn't real time, and it shouldn't be treated as it is. If I was really close to some limit like the credit limit or over drafting the checking account, I would be looking at the financial institution's website or using their App, and looking at the balance even if it didn't add up like it didn't for me last night until the next day.

And just to be clear, the reason for creating this thread is because people seem to think that the world works as this perfect tuned machine, but that isn't the reality of the world. Somethings we do very well, but don't look too closely, or you will see that are systems aren't perfect.