I have 1 budget expense category showing up with negative values?

rbw111

I have a manual credit card account. The payment transactions are showing up as a negative amount only on my budget. It throws off my budget. The credit card information looks correct everywhere else just the budget screen is off. Example. the Furniture category shows -$200 and it should show $200.

John_in_NC

If suspect things are working correctly.

If your CC is setup correctly (manual or online download is irrelevant), it should show each and every transaction incurred. The payment for the CC should consist of a single line (transfer) transaction from another account (typically Checking). It should not be a split transaction with "credits" to each category. Categories are not accounts; they are more like sticky notes about how you spent or received $.

Since your budget shows a negative amount for an expense category after payment, I suspect you might be trying to "credit" your Furniture category when paying your CC.

Your Budget merely represents how you spent or received $. If you spent $475 on furniture in Nov 2023, the budget should show that amount permanently. That amount should not change even if you paid the CC-you purchased furniture that month.

Please explain more if I am misinterpreting your situation.

rbw111

The accounts balances on the left side of the screen showing Credit Card balances is correct. Transactions matches all others credit card format so the sign is correct. Only the budget shows the negative amount.

John_in_NC

Thanks, rwb111. I am less concerned about the balances, but rather how you are showing you paid this CC within Quicken.

1. Was the budget amount correct before you made your credit card payment?
2. What is the Category for your Credit Card payment transaction?

rbw111

I enter the transaction manual into my CC account with the date:01/04/24, payee: Ashley Furniture, Category: Furniture, amt: 100; I go to the website of the CC company and enter my payment to withdraw from my bank. The next day that transaction comes in and drafts my bank account using category: Transfer: credit card payment (the system assigns that automatically). I know it has do with this being a manual CC, but there must be a disconnect somewhere how I record it and how it's paid.

rbw111

When I enter the manual transaction I checked the budget amount and it was showing a negative amt before the actual CC payment.

John_in_NC

Thanks for the update, rbw111. Your answer provide details.

I think my gut suspicion is correct; your 1/4/24 $100 payment/category should correctly be to the actual CC holder, be it the bank that holds this CC account-be it Chase, Discover, Citi, or even a bank for Ashley Furniture. Your payment should not be a transaction towards your "Furniture" category. That is why it is showing up as negative.

So, yes, the payment you entered 1/24 should be recorded as an identical Transfer: credit card payment in both accounts moving $ between accounts.

Think of it this way, you're $100 is like moving $ between your right and left pockets-you still have the same $ overall, and it doesn't affect how you spent $ previously.

Let me know if this info helps/confuses you.

rbw111

Screenshot 2024-02-01 at 8.37.51 AM.png

To get the Budget & the actual credit card account balances to look correct I set up my payment in the screen shot. If I only did the first 2 transactions it made the budget correct but the furniture acct balance was not reduced, so I added the 3rd transaction to apply the pmt to the furniture account balance. Do you see anything wrong with this?

The whole process sure is easier when you can set up to download everything. LOL

John_in_NC

Howdy, again, rbw111.

Nahh, manually downloading isn't harder-it's how we did things years ago. :-)

I created a mock file to show you how it would look if you purchased a recliner from Ashley 6/23 and made payments on it. Take a look:

I purchased the chair 6/1, and this is how the CC account would look:

This is for the CC account:

And here are how the payments would look at the checking account paying the CC monthly:

And here is how the budget should look for 2023 when you purchased the chair: It should the initial cost, and nothing else:

This is a very simplified example, but it shows how things should be done in Quicken.

rbw111

Thanks for your help. After a year both manual credit cards look correct and the budget is working.