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US Bank not reconciling correctly. Always balance adjustment

Kathleen2015

Quicken Classic Business and Home. Version R59.35. Windows Quicken running on Parallels for many years.

I consistently have a balance adjustment in my favor when I reconcile. Was $6000 last week. Today it's another for $1500. This seems to have started 6-8 weeks ago, maybe longer. Sometimes I let the adjustment happen and then I delete that transaction hoping it will fix itself. Or I put a hold transaction for that dollar amount so I don't think I have that. All my transactions come through correctly, the online balance listed appears to be correct. I do reconcile based on online balance not paper statement. I have read other discussion related to this and I can't figure it out. My Quicken file goes back to 1998 so I am not new to this. I don't know how to get it back on track. Any suggestions appreciated.

My other accounts do reconcile correctly.

I have always loved Quicken but the last year or 2 seems like lots of issues. I get it's not all Quickens fault. I have Charles Schwab accounts too so that's a whole other issue sometimes. I don't want to lose 26 yrs of data. 😔 I love when my husband says when did we buy this or have this done for the house or who did such and such for us, "I'm not sure, let me check quicken" 😀

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Comments

Kathleen2015

I should have added I did turn off the pending transaction setting but it made no difference.

Quicken Kristina

Hello @Kathleen2015,

To assist with this issue, please provide more information. If you have more than one account with US Bank, is this happening in all of them, some of them, or just one account? If all of the transactions appear to be correct and the online balance is correct, then the most likely culprit is the opening balance for the account changing. Please see this article for more information:

https://www.quicken.com/support/why-did-my-opening-balance-change-after-changing-ewc-quicken-windows/

To check if the opening balance has changed, please backup your Quicken file, then restore a backup from before the issue started. Take note of the opening balance in that backup file (it may help to write it down), then go back to your main Quicken file (In the File menu, just above Exit, it will list the 4 most recent Quicken files you've accessed. The file you're currently in will be #1 on the list, and assuming that you didn't open any other Quicken files after restoring a backup, your main file should be #2 on the list). Once you're back in your main Quicken file, check to see if the opening balance matches what the backup showed.

I look forward to your reply!

NotACPA

@Kathleen2015 USB (i'm their customer also) has multiple names in Q. Which do you use?

Do TOOLS, Account List and look in the "Financial Institution" column for this info. If that column isn't show, it can be added via the OPTIONS button at the bottom of the dialog.

Also, in the "Transactions Download" column, what's shown adjacent to your USB accounts? And, did you recently change that? Say from Direct Connect to Express Web Connect+? Or, did you recently "Reset" or "Reactivate" those accounts?

Alex1534

I'm having the same issue with my US Bank accounts as Kathleen2015 posted above. What I have noticed is transfers from one US Bank account to another US Bank account are not downloading, therefore an incorrect balance is shown in the "transferred to" account, yet the on-line balance is correct. I spoke to Quicken tech support on 11/22/2024 and was told I have to change the download method from Express Web Connect+ to US Bank - PFM Direct Connect. I have not done this change yet but will do so shortly.

My suspicion is US Bank made some changes to their system to prevent unauthorized transfers.

Has anyone gone through changing from Express Web Connect+ to US Bank - PFM Direct Connect? Did this resolve the problem? US Bank charges $3.99 per month for the Direct Connect.

Ray Cosner

I had this issue with US Bank in Q also. It started late last year. The balance adjustment occurs because there is a discrepancy between the records in Q and the records held by your bank (duh!). They should match exactly. You should check by comparing the individual transactions in your bank's statements (via login to US Bank) vs. what's in your Q data.

In my case, my downloads of transactions initially were correct, but in a subsequent download some transactions would disappear. I did a Q-to-bank comparison as suggested above, and found a number of transactions were missing in Q (17 in the month I focused on). I re-entered them manually, and as I did it the transaction would auto-complete correctly including date, payee, and amount. This told me it had indeed been downloaded and stored in the register accurately, and then it was subsequently deleted in error.

I had a session with Q support, where I allowed them to view my screen. The support person mentioned they had several user complaints regarding this behavior with US Bank. For me, this was happening in only one of my accounts (a credit card) out of seven in total at US Bank.

When I manually corrected my register, I put a note of this correction in the transaction's memo field. I took a screenshot, sent it to the Q support person during the help session, and showed him how to identify which transactions had disappeared and been re-entered by me, manually.

He then told me they hoped to have it fixed within ten days. Since then, about five months ago, I have had perfect reconciliations and no balance adjustments.

So, here are the steps I suggest: (1) check that you are current on updates to Quicken, (2) pick a time period where a balance adjustment was applied, and compare each transaction in your Q register vs the bank records you can view in your browser, (3) mark each error you find, and correct the data in your register, (4) contact Q support using a phone number you get from your version of Q under the Help menu — DO NOT DO A WEB SEARCH FOR THE QUICKEN SUPPORT PHONE NUMBER unless you want advice from a scammer who only wants to rip you off.

Alex1534

Ray Cosner and NotACPA, Thank you for your input.

What download method are you using? Is it the Express Web Connect+ or the US Bank - PFM Direct Connect?

My issues started after 11/14/2024.

As a note, I have been doing One-Step updates for my US Bank accounts (6 accounts total) for the past 20 years with no issues.

About 1 to 2 weeks ago US Bank did system maintenance. I don't know if this is the root cause of the issue.

The issue that I am having is as follows; the One-Step update does not download the transactions of transferred funds from one US Bank account to another US Bank account therefore the register balance of the transferred to account changes to an amount that does not make sense and does not match the on-line balance. As Kathleen2015 mentioned above, the opening balance changes in the transferred to account.

Like everyone else in this thread, I want to get this resolved. Your continued input and insight would be greatly appreciated.

NotACPA

I use PFM Direct Connect with USB. I understand that USB's implementation of EWC has gotten better over the years, but it was so bad for so long that I gave up on using EWC with them.

And, using EWC, you can't send transactions to USB (or any other FI). EWC is one-way (download) only. So I don't understand your statement about transfers not showing. If you download from both accounts, then each side of the transfer should be downloaded.

Alex1534

NotACPA, Thank you for your input.

You are correct.

The actual transfer of funds from one USB account to another USB account must be initiated in your USB account on USB's website. Quicken plays no role initiating funds transfers other than recording those transfers from one USB account to another USB account in their respective account registers.

If you have manually entered the funds transfer in your USB Quicken account prior to performing a One-Step update, then reconciling your Quicken accounts will result in matched transactions.

The issue is when I perform a One-Step update for my USB accounts, which is an account reconciliation, the funds transfer does not download for a match to happen and the account opening balance changes resulting in a balance adjustment.

Further, I have set my register account columns to show "Downloaded Amount". The Downloaded Amount column is empty for the transferred funds, meaning nothing was downloaded to Quicken from USB for the transferred funds (second line item shown below in the screen shot).

I will be moving to PFM Direct Connect tomorrow, 11/25/2024, from Express Web Connect+ (EWC+) to see if this resolves the issue.

I greatly appreciate your insight and response to this issue and any other guidance you can provide.

Ray Cosner

I also am using PFM Direct Connect. I have typically do a one step update first thing every morning, say five times a week, and I have had no further problems since last summer.

At the same time as my conversation with Support, I also noted my opening balance had changed (it should have been zero). I took the advice one person gave me on this forum, and modified the opening balance transaction in all my USB accounts. I wrote in the memo field what each opening balance should be, so that I could reset it correctly if it changed. I have not needed to do that since then.

Kathleen2015

Thank you everyone for your input! Very much appreciated!

I see I have to take some time and try to find when this first started and pick a month and compare transactions. Unfortunately for me I kept deleting the balance corrections thinking they had to be wrong because appears to be all in my favor. I guess that gives me a starting point- look for deposits/credits that are missing. And wouldn't the $8500 it wants to balance correct in my favor be a nice Christmas bonus if correct. 😯

I am using the Express Web connect. I did not know there were other options. Maybe I should look into that. Odd thing is it's still happening because 6k adjustment turned into $8500 in a week… Guess that means look at all of Nov and see if I can figure it out.

Ray, I read the opening balance suggestion also, but I don't understand how to do that? In reconciling? Currently I use online balance in reconcile. Are you referring to that? I went looking once but was afraid I'd really mess things up if I changed that line to zero.

Again, thank you so much for your time to respond!

Kathleen2015

I apologize! I did not see some of the replies. I am now going to go back and try the balance adjustment thing and see. It is only happening in 1 US bank account and I have a couple of them.

Ray Cosner

Re putting the opening balance into a memo item…

The opening balance should be the first (oldest) transaction in the register for an account. If you have the register sorted by date, with newest at the bottom (which is what I have) then you can jump to the top with CTRL-Home, or just use the scroll bar. Put the cursor on the memo field and start typing.

To shift from EWC to direct connect, open the register for the account you want to convert, select to add an account, and find "U.S. Bank - PFM Direct Connect" in the search box for institutions. I just tried this on my computer, and I got what I wanted simply by searching for PFM. Then select the PFM option, and select "Advanced Options". As you work through the setup process, you will come to a screen which asks if the "new" account should be linked to an existing account. This is (probably) what you want, so select that option on the drop-down list in the screen, and verify this it is trying to link to the correct account in your setup (change the account to link with if necessary). Note: US Bank charges $3.95/month for direct connect.

Ray Cosner

I note that both Alex1534 and Kathleen2015 appear to be having problems specifically with transfers (payments?) from one account at USB to another.

A few months ago, I tried to make the monthly payment on my two USB credit cards via a transfer that was set up in Q, and then transmitted to USB in an update. This worked OK for one card but seemed to "get lost" for the other. The one that worked was set up to transfer immediately, the one that didn't work was set up to execute the transfer a couple days before the due date (set up about three weeks before due).

I lost confidence in using Q to order a transfer payment between two USB accounts, and since then I make monthly payments on my credit card directly in the USB web site. Not sure if this describes what the two users were trying to do, but I am passing along my experience "just in case".

Alex1534

Ray Cosner, Thank you for your input.

The transfers I am doing in USB have already been posted as complete for both the "transfer to" and the "transfer from" USB accounts so there should not be an issue in Quicken. These transfers posted correctly in Quicken in the past but stopped working after 11/14/2024.

This morning USB set-up the PFM - Direct Connect for my accounts. It takes 3 business days for the process to work its way through USB before I can set-up Quicken to do the PFM - Direct Connect.

We'll see how this works out and will post the results in the future.

Again, thank you for your input.

Ray Cosner

I should have mentioned this earlier…..

PFM Direct Connect is not a magic cure-all. My troubles as discussed above all happened while I was using PFM Direct Connect. I have used that mode of connection for many years (>20?).

Kathleen2015

Update:

notACPA, its listed as USbank internet banking.

Ray, I followed your instructions for setting up direct connection. It kept sending me in a loop to change pin. I called us bank. They couldn't figure it out and told me to call Quicken. I didn't call yet. I then tried deactivating web connect and trying to set it up direct. Still didn't work. Then I re-activated web connect and after a VERY long time it re did my account. and I reconciled to zero!

BUT the odd thing is the opening balance changed to a 3rd number.

When I went through the steps last night by Quicken Kristina I went to back up from just over 1 yr ago and the opening balance was different by over 5k. In my favor. then when I did a quick reconcile, I was only $1500 off. Time for bed. I log in this morning and reconcile and it says 7k adjustment. WHAT? The opening balance had not changed from the corrected one I did last night. I then do what I mention above to Ray and I end up with an opening balance that is again different but i am able to reconcile to zero.

starting balance before fix= -$5893.65

Corrected opening balance from yr ago. -$684.95

Opening balance after de activate and re activate today. -$8428.40

Yes, those are all negatives. The opening balance transaction was listed the in the payment column not the deposit. I can't explain that except that I run a zero based account meaning I will put transactions in ahead of time and then match them as they happen. So in my ledger sometimes it looks like ending balance is negative when in reality it's not negative at the bank. But this is odd as assuming opening balance is what the bank had so certainly was never 8K in the hole or even $600??

This is way too long and I'm sure hard to decipher. Looks like I need a long call with quicken likely and haven't had time to make that happen.

Ray Cosner

This behavior is way outside my experience. I have never been asked by Q to change a PIN on any account, and I have not seen anything causing the opening balance to change from one session to the next arbitrarily. I did the DC conversion steps on my computer just now, and it ran as expected. No loop-back or PIN issues.

I apologize for suggesting a trivial issue, but did you enter your DC login credentials cleanly? The first field must match the bank's records, and the second field was assigned by the bank unless you changed it.

I should have offered a simple suggestion first: have you validated your data file? (File > Validate and Repair…).

Have you compared your Quicken data vs bank records, if so what did you find? When you shifted back to web connect and it reconciled to zero, had you made any corrections to your data? If not, it sounds like this whole discussion is going down the wrong path.

In my experience, direct connect is worth the $3.95/month cost, but I had the missing transactions / balance adjustment problem when I'd been using DC for years. I don't think DC addresses your reconciliation issue. Probably makes sense to attack the reconciliation first, then shift to DC afterward if you choose.

What Quicken version are you using? I'm on Quicken Classic Premier, release R59.35, which I installed on Nov. 19. What operating system are you using?

Any suggestions I might make to address your latest experience would be speculative, not based on any personal experience.

I agree, a conversation with Quicken Support seems to be in order.

Mike S

I don't have a USB account, but the symptoms described here are similar to my Schwab, USAA and local banks. All started 11/15/24.

It's not limited to USB.

All institutions have gone through rather large updates to their websites in the past 60 - 90 days.

Alex1534

Hello Ray Cosner, Kathleen2015 and NotACPA and Mike S., Thank you all for your continued input and guidance on this matter.

To Kathleen2015; you have to call US Bank at 1-800-987-7237 to set-up PFM - Direct Connect. It's a service that USB has to initiate. This has to be done before the Quicken app will work correctly. Otherwise, as you have experienced, you will go into an endless loop trying to set it up. You will need a USB debit card attached to an account for an account that you have with USB that you are trying to do the PFM - Direct Connect. You will be able to attach other USB accounts to PFM - Direct Connect so it is all tied together. However, PFM - Direct Connect will not link to a mortgage account or a business credit card account; these accounts will have to be set-up using Express Web Connect+. USB will send you an email, after 3 business days, informing you that the PFM - Direct Connect is set-up and ready to use. You can, however, ask USB to set-up PFM - Direct Connect for your business accounts but there will be an additional monthly charge. The cost for your personal accounts is $3.99/month and for business accounts it is $9.99/month. I did ask USB why there was any charge at all just to keep my accounts in sync-I didn't really get a good answer therefore I suspect the PFM - Direct Connect offers a host of features that I am not aware of.

To Mike S.; Thank you for your input. It's good to know that this is not an isolated problem to just USB. It has however, it does show a bit of a mess within the financial systems we use in Quickens on a daily basis.

All in all, with everything that has been happening, I suspect USB and other banks have tightened up their security protocols to prevent fraud and unauthorized funds transfers. In the course of tightening the security protocols third party apps such as Quicken are left holding the bag. Somewhere along the way this will get sorted out and Quicken will introduce a new financial institution connection protocol that will satisfy the security requirements of these financial institutions that will allow us to connect, as we have in the past, without resorting to us having to pay a monthly fee for something like Direct Connect to access and download the transactions of our accounts.

Please keep posting your insights and experiences as they are very helpful to all of us. I'm trying to get this issue behind me just like to rest of us.

Alex1534

Quicken Kristina,

Do you have any input on this matter at this time? Or is it on your "To Do List"?

Kathleen2015

Thank you all for continuing to read.

I'm running Quicken Classic Business and personal Version R59.35. Windows 11 run on Parallels on an Apple computer.

Ray, I did do the validate process… but honestly at this point I can't remember if that was before or after I got a zero reconciliation. I think it might have been after. It's mostly filled with things it changed the transferring account to "unspecified account". This happened when pay stubs were "sending" money to linked retirement accounts but then had a job change and that linked account was closed. MANY of those.

I have not taken the time to compare transaction to transactions with quicken and bank. putting on the to do list. Even just get started on it. So when I got the zero balance adjustment reconcile it seemed to be related to new opening balance after I deactivated and reactivated the account.

"I apologize for suggesting a trivial issue, but did you enter your DC login credentials cleanly? The first field must match the bank's records, and the second field was assigned by the bank unless you changed it." I'm open to all suggestions. I appreciate your input. I believe I was doing correctly on the phone call with USB and double checked myself tonight.

Alex 1534 I just called USB a second time. Instead of using my Social for the ID the very helpful person said I needed a different ID and she put me on hold and was able to get me an ID to use instead of Social to set up DC. It still told me to change my pin (which she had me do on my phone app to see if that worked and it would bypass changing pin step, but it didn't stop the change pin step) then it got stuck in another error saying quicken couldn't connect to PFM. See screen shot below. Tried a couple more times and will now wait until tomorrow. This error came directly after entering the new pin it was requesting I make.

And I agree. Assuming related to increased fraud prevention. Which I support but dang, brings on a few headaches too. It is for a personal banking account I do have debit card and pin for.

Hopefully Quicken Kristina will have some suggestions related to the opening balance issue. Reconcile today did not go to zero but I do have outstanding transactions. They didn't add up to correct amount but still have hope it's just something not showing as pending on app yet.

And so it continues.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Alex1534

Kathleen2015, USB will send you an email indicating that Direct Connect has been set-up for your USB accounts. Nothing can be done until you receive that email.

Tom Basenji

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7957755/us-bank-not-reconciling-correctly-always-balance-adjustment

This issue has occurred for some time, particularly with my banking accounts. Sometimes, it affects two or three accounts at once, while at other times, it may only impact one or none. I can’t seem to identify a pattern with these balance adjustments. I’ve noticed that when I authorize an adjustment, the register indicates it as an adjustment. However, no corresponding charge or payment is listed for my credit cards or in the checking account; it simply shows no payment or charge amount. I’ve created a spreadsheet with a column for adjustments and corrected amounts to keep track of these adjustments. Also, the adjustment for the same account is always the same amount. It can change, and the adjustment amount may also change. I am happy it is not just me having this problem. Keeping track of an accurate balance is challenging if your accounts always have significant adjustments, such as two or more accounts being adjusted simultaneously. I would be happy to speak with any Quicken IT or software programmers if they want to see the issue. My email is on file.

Ks.Sunflower

I"m having the same problems - I noticed it first with credit cards, now it is happening with bank accounts.

Kathleen2015

Sorry same issue is happening to others. I'm grateful only happening in one account. 🤞

Maybe I need to paper balance my account a few months like we used to and see if I can identify anything helpful.

Alex1534

All,

USB has been changing the user interface on their website for the past couple of months; adding new features, tabs etc. These changes have been creating problems with the way Quicken interacts with USB accounts. I am hoping the Direct Connect method of downloading transactions, transfers etc. will see past the USB website changes. In addition, after speaking with USB, they have been strengthening their security protocols to prevent unauthorized transactions and transfers. As a net result, Quicken cannot access transactions, transfer etc. accurately as it has in the past. Therefore, Quicken IT and USB IT need to come to an understanding on how to port over the transactions and transfers as they have in the past. Until such time, we as Quicken users are in a holding pattern.

As a note, USB is not the only financial institution Quicken is having difficulty with. Other financial institutions, brokerage houses and others are locking down third-party access to prevent fraud largely due to the amount of hacking that is going on.

I am hopeful that somewhere along the way this gets resolved quickly.

Have a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday and don't give up just yet on Quicken.

Quicken Kristina

Thank you for your replies,

@Alex1534,

To clarify, is the issue you're encountering an issue where transfers between US Bank accounts are not reflecting correctly in your Quicken? You also indicated that you were switching over to the Direct Connect option. Did that have any impact on the issue with transfers not reflecting correctly?

@Kathleen2015,

The Opening Balance changing issue is a known issue. See this article for more details:

https://www.quicken.com/support/why-did-my-opening-balance-change-after-changing-ewc-quicken-windows/

Typically, it happens only when connected via Express Web Connect or Express Web Connect+. Super Users have recommended putting your correct opening balance in the memo column on the opening balance line in the register. That way, it's easy to tell if it has changed and to switch it back if needed.

For the issue you mentioned with connecting to US Bank via Direct Connect, there are a couple things that can cause the error you're seeing. The first (and most common) one is that you're not using the correct credentials. Some financial institutions issue a unique UserID and PIN for Direct Connect. I don't know if US Bank does this or not. The second possibility is a file-specific issue. To test for a file specific issue, you would backup your Quicken file, deactivate the account (if it's connected), the go to Tools>Add Account, follow the prompts, and add it as a new account instead of linking to the existing account. If it's a file-specific issue, then adding it as a new account may allow you to successfully connect via Direct Connect.

@Ks.Sunflower,

There are a few different issues in this discussion: 1. opening balance changing, 2. transfers between US Bank accounts not reflecting properly in Quicken, and 3. trouble connecting via Direct Connect. Could you please provide more detail which issue(s) you are seeing in your Quicken?

Thank you!

Alex1534

Quicken Kristina,

I will be enabling the PFM - Direct with US Bank on Monday 12/02/2024, when US Bank Tech Support and Quicken Tech Support are back in the office to ensure the account set-ups go through correctly.

US Bank does require the use of a unique User ID, that is issued by USB, in place of using your social security number. Further, USB will require you to change the PIN on the debit card that you have tied to the PFM - Direct Connect. USB tells me you can tie other USB accounts to PFM - Direct Connect using the same debit card. In other words, you don't need a different debit card for each USB account in order to make the PFM- Direct Connect work across your other USB accounts.

USB does say that PFM - Direct Connect will not work for mortgage accounts and business credit card accounts. These accounts will have to be set-up using the Express Web Connection+ (shown as US Bank Internet Banking at the very start of the set-up process).

Therefore, you will have 2 different connection methods in place when it is all said and done. PFM - Direct Connect for all of your USB accounts except mortgage and business credit card accounts and Express Web Connect+ for the mortgage and business credit card accounts.

As I said, I will find out on Monday 12/02/2024 how all this works out.

Kathleen2015

Update,

I was able to get direct connect set up- I was getting wrong or incomplete information from USB until my last attempt and that gal got it right. Took 3 business days, they sent me an email with the correct user ID to use instead of social and then it worked.

BUT now my reconciling is always off again. UGH. It was actually fixed for 1-2 weeks. My opening balance did not change from the corrected one I got after resetting account so not sure what the issue is now.

Does anyone know the timing of what to expect from direct connect? For example, a paycheck deposited yesterday and showing as completed on the USB app did not come through on direct connect into Quicken yet. Same for a few other checks I wrote recently. Cleared by bank but not coming through in quicken.

Ray Cosner

Kathleen,

The reconciliation is failing because your account balance does not match the bank's online balance or the one you entered from your bank statement when the reconciliation was initiated.

The reason the balances differ is because some actual transactions (per the bank's data) are not in your register, consequently the total is off. The balance adjustment is a correction to your register to make the balances agree. The fact that an adjustment is needed is pretty solid proof that your register is missing some transactions. The question is, what transactions are missing (is there a pattern?) and what exactly happened.

You will only identify what's missing by choosing a time period which required a balance adjustment and then comparing your Quicken transactions vs the bank's records either from a monthly statement or by using your browser to see the bank's records for your account.

When I was dealing with this, I also had the experience of zero adjustments for a week or so at a time. The failures all came in clusters.

After identifying some missing transactions, you should manually type in the missing transaction data. Watch carefully as you do this, if Quicken auto-completes the missing transaction correctly while you do this, it's pretty clear proof the transaction was downloaded correctly to your Quicken, and then for unknown reasons it later got deleted. That is what was happening to me. Once you've got that evidence, it's time to call Quicken Support.

This comparison of transactions will be needed to convince Quicken Support that there was a failure in the one step update or in Quicken, rather than sloppy transaction entries on your part.

All of this was discussed in my initial post in this thread (post #6). When you mentioned you had not made that transaction comparison, I lost interest in continuing this discussion. Yes, it will take 30 minutes, maybe more, depending on how many transactions are in the time period you selected. Support's first thought is going to be that you were careless in entering your transactions in Quicken. You must be able to show them that's not the case, so the Support conversation will be more productive, quickly.