bank accounts dont reconcile - bad data someplace in bank account - Opening Balance -

MG99

i have 10+ years of quicken data, recently i have had two accounts that will not balance to the online bank balances…some place in the account detail it either has changed the running balance. i have run both super validation and validation..no help. i have seen this problem before when quicken does these "future cleared transaction" type updates…any advise/help? my guess is this has to do with a quicken update. i dont want to simply put in a "reconciling adjustment". thx.

Boatnmaniac

IF you've recently changed the method of download into these accounts (say, Direct Connect to Express Web Connect) there's a chance that the opening balance in the account may have been changed.

Too add some clarification of this: This can happen not only when changing the connection method from one type to another (such as DC to EWC+) but it can also happen when any kind of connection change has been made, including Deactivate/Reactivate, Reauthorize and sometimes even Reset Account.

It is because of this, it is recommended to enter and save the correct Opening Balance transaction dollar amount into the Memo field of that transaction. That makes it very easy to know when the transaction dollar amount has been changed and what to correct it to.

Another issue that can sometimes occur when changing the connection method is that duplicate transactions will have been entered into the register. Scroll through the last 90 days or so of the register and if any duplicates are present, keep one and delete the other.

RalphC

I don't experience that issue with the latest update(s). If it were a Quicken error, everybody would be complaining. If you don't want to enter a Balance Adjustment, you're going to need to go back to the last date that balanced, pull out the subsequent statements, and compare transaction by transaction to find the error(s). I've never heard of a "future cleared transaction" but, there is no magic bullet.

NotACPA

IF you've recently changed the method of download into these accounts (say, Direct Connect to Express Web Connect) there's a chance that the opening balance in the account may have been changed.

To test this theory, open TO A DIFFERENT NAME, a backup that was taken before the issue began and view the Opening Balance transaction … correcting in your primary file as needed.

Once this is resolved (or determined to not be the issue) It's been suggested there that you go thru your accounts and record the correct Opening Balance in the Memo field of that transaction. SO, that if it gets changed again, it will be easier to determine and fix.

MG99

thanks…i reset the logins/deactivated the accounts…but i am not sure if that was the cause. that said, i noticed the beginning balance of one of the accounts had a strange negative starting balance with a 11/2005 starting date (which is when i opened this account). as mentioned, i have seen this type of issue before when quicken added the "download pending transaction" option, which they recent added back in a current upgrade. hopefully fixing the beginning balance will resolve the issue.

thank you again for the quick response.

Boatnmaniac

IF you've recently changed the method of download into these accounts (say, Direct Connect to Express Web Connect) there's a chance that the opening balance in the account may have been changed.

Too add some clarification of this: This can happen not only when changing the connection method from one type to another (such as DC to EWC+) but it can also happen when any kind of connection change has been made, including Deactivate/Reactivate, Reauthorize and sometimes even Reset Account.

It is because of this, it is recommended to enter and save the correct Opening Balance transaction dollar amount into the Memo field of that transaction. That makes it very easy to know when the transaction dollar amount has been changed and what to correct it to.

Another issue that can sometimes occur when changing the connection method is that duplicate transactions will have been entered into the register. Scroll through the last 90 days or so of the register and if any duplicates are present, keep one and delete the other.

MG99

thank you. Will keep in mind in the future.

Boatnmaniac

@MG99 - Perhaps the easiest way for you to find out if your Opening Balance transactions have been changed is to restore a backup file (dated from any time before when you started noticing this issue)….give it a unique file name so it does not overwrite your main data file. Then make note of what the Opening Balance transaction dollar amounts are in that backup file.

Then open your main data file and use the dollar amounts you noted from the backup file to correct the dollar amounts in your main data file.

In the future, if you enter and save the dollar amounts in the Memo field, you will not need to restore a backup file to see if that might be the issue and/or to know how to fix it.

MG99

thx. - appreciate the advise.

little dude

how do you adjust opening balance

Boatnmaniac

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20434229#Comment_20434229

Very easy. You would edit the Opening Balance transaction just like you would edit any other transaction in the account register. Once you know what the correct Opening Balance transaction dollar figure should be:

1. IF THE DOLLAR AMOUNT IS A NEGATIVE NUMBER (like it would be for a credit card): Enter that number as a positive number (do not use the "-" symbol) into the Charge field of that transaction and save it.
2. IF THE DOLLAR AMOUNT IS A POSITIVE NUMBER (like it would be for a checking or savings account): Enter that number as a positive number in the Deposit field of that transaction and save it.

That's it.