Fixing paycheck deduction to brokerage account inconsistencies

Question

I have an HSA where on each paycheck I see a pre-tax deduction for my contribution, plus income and a corresponding post-tax deduction for my employer's matching contribution. In Quicken I have these deductions setup as transfers into my HSA brokerage account.

The problem is that the cash deposits into the actual brokerage account representing my contributions and my employer contributions are very erratic and never match the sequence of deductions from the paychecks.

For example, each paycheck might show a $100 employee contribution and a $50 employer matching contribution, but the actual brokerage account may show no deposits for two pay periods, then a single $300 deposit. Consequently the cash balance in the brokerage account (in Quicken) is almost never correct.

Is there a way to fix this using some sort of "temporary" or "scratch" account? It seems I could setup the paychecks to direct the HSA contributions (employee and employer) to the temporary account, then create new transactions from the temporary account to the brokerage account in Quicken to reflect what actually happens. Is this the best way to handle it? If so, what type of account should the temporary/scratch account be? Do I need to do anything special to exclude it from calculations since it's not a "real" account?

I'm using Quicken 2017 R20.6 Premier for Windows.

If it matters this is a follow up post to a question I asked a while back:

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20435895#Comment_20435895

I posted a reply asking for more clarification but the thread was archived before I received a reply.

bmciance · Answer

Yes, other asset.  I wouldn't use checking or savings as those imply actual bank accounts.

Special K · Answer

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20446629#Comment_20446629

When you say "asset account", do you mean the "Other Asset" option as circled in this screenshot:

If so, does it matter if I use that as opposed to a Checking or Savings account? I'm just trying to understand the difference between the "Other Asset" account and the other options as far as scratch/temporary accounts go.

bmciance · Answer

It sounds like your employer only deposits the money into the brokerage account on something like a monthly basis instead of per pay check.  You could set up an asset account (you can call it something that makes sense to you but would recommend something lke "HSA deposit receivable").    I did something similar when I was working (although my deposit happened within a few days of my paycheck).  You can just use this account for your paycheck HSA deposit and move it from there to the HSA brokerage account once the funds are deposited.  I wouldn't worry about excluding it from any calculations.  You can also set up a reminder transaction for this transfer to the brokerage account and just enter it once you see the funds in the account.