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Credit Card Reconciliation fails after all previous reconciliations completed successfully

heinelg

I tried to reconcile the latest credit card statement and there was a discrepancy. All previous statements reconciled properly so I called Quicken Support for assistance. The support agent initially blamed using iCloud for my data file and then blamed the location on my internal hard drive when I explained that I don't use iCloud for storage.

The agent had me look at the reconciliation history which showed an error in the first statement reconciled 2 ½ years ago. After completing the phone call I saved a separate copy of the Quicken data file in the recommended location and opened my backup from the date of the error. That account reconciled properly and when I compared all of the Quicken transactions in the backup to the current transactions they were identical. I entered an adjustment in the history reconciliation which showed the error and then the latest statement reconciled successfully.

This happened again when I reconciled a second credit card and again the history showed an error in the first reconciliation which had reconciled correctly for 2 ½ years.

The agent would not accept my claim that Quicken must have caused these errors but blamed me or the file location instead.

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Comments

Quicken Kristina

Hello @heinelg,

To assist with this issue, please provide more information. When did you first notice this issue? Is this the first time it's happened? What kind of discrepancy are you encountering? Is this happening with accounts that you keep offline and update manually, or with accounts that you have connected to a financial institution for download into Quicken? Were you able to find any reason for the discrepancy (such as duplicate transactions, missing transactions, pending transactions, etc.)?

You mentioned that restoring from a backup and re-reconciling corrected the issue, but then it happened again if a different account? Did this happen while you were working with Support?

If iCloud accesses your file (which it may do in order to sync it) while you are in the file (or have it open on your computer), it can potentially cause issues like what you describe. It is recommended that you not sync your main file with cloud services like this (syncing backup files is encouraged, since that gives you off-site recovery in case of disaster or computer issues), or if it's necessary to have the file synced, please pause the cloud service while you have the file open on your computer.

I look forward to your response!

heinelg

Initially this happened with credit cards which are always kept offline and only manually updated. This has now happened with three credit cards and none happened when I was working with support. For the third credit card I was able to find a transaction from August 2024 missing in Quicken which had previously been entered since that account reconciled correctly in August, September, October, and November.

In January 2025 when I got my December 2024 bank and investment statements I have had 7 different bank and investment accounts fail to reconcile, all of which have always reconciled each month until now. In one bank account I found one side of a transfer missing from July 2021 and in another bank account I found one side of a transfer missing from July 2024.

I do not use iCloud for any services except our calendar so I do not understand why iCloud could affect transactions in Quicken. I do use an application that keeps a local backup on a separate external hard drive but I have been using that backup application for many years without any problems like this previously.

I repeat that I have never had any accounts fail to reconcile prior to December 2024 and now I have had to make adjustments to seven accounts and I have also identified missing transfers in two other accounts.

jacobs

@heinelg If the Quicken data file resides on iCloud, it can result in a number of odd problems. Some users intentionally store their data file on iCloud thinking it is safer for backup or sharing, but it is a real no-no. But some users unknowingly have their Quicken data file stored on iCloud. If you have your data file in a folder on your Desktop, or in a folder inside your Documents folder, and you have your macOS System Settings for "iCloud Drive" turned On, your Desktop and Documents folders may be stored on iCloud rather than your hard drive.

Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 11.05.07 PM.png

This may be what the Quicken Support representative was getting at.

If you have verified that iCloud Drive is Off, as shown above, the thing I'd focus on from your description is whether you are using Quicken Cloud (not iCloud). In Quicken Settings > Mobile, Web & Alerts, is Sync set to On or Off? If it is On, or has previously been On, I believe that is the most likely culprit for older reconciled transactions being changed. There are ongoing reports of users dealing with transactions in their data file being changed due to some sync issues with Quicken Cloud. (I personally never have Sync turned on for this reason, even though I'd find it helpful to occasionally use the mobile app or web interface.)

heinelg

I have confirmed that iCloud Drive is off and that Sync in Mobile, Web & Alerts is Off. I repeat: I have NEVER used iCloud Drive and have NEVER used Quicken Web or Mobile.

When I open quicken I sometimes get the attached error message and have to relaunch Quicken - it usually opens correctly the second time. I remember one time that I had to restore a backup from the previous day and reenter about 7 transactions.

When I previously used Quicken under Windows I thought it did a data verification as part of the Quit process but I may be thinking of another application. This is something that should be added to Quicken Mac.

jacobs

Thanks for the additional information about your setup. And I assume you also don't use Dropbox or One Note or any other cloud storage service, correct? I'm pretty close to out of ideas, but I realized you never posted what the actual location of your data file is. You said the Quicken Support rep indicated your file location was problematic, but my question above, and your answer, ruled out inadvertent storage on iCloud. So where is your data file located on your Mac?

(P.S. There is no data verification tool in Quicken Mac because of the nature of its modern SQL database, which prevents the types of data corruption that older database software, like Quicken Windows, require to repair inconsistencies the data.)

heinelg

Sorry, I did not completely answer the questions. I use Dropbox to share files with my other computers and with others but not any Quicken files. The Quicken file and the backups are in subfolders in user/documents/… on the internal hard drive.

jacobs

The Quicken file and the backups are in subfolders in user/documents/… on the internal hard drive.

I assume you mean the file is in Macintosh HD/Users/[your user account]/Documents, correct? If so, that's likely why the Quicken Support representative's radar went off. In macOS Sequoia and the past few versions, the "Desktop & Documents Folders" option within iCloud Drive is typically turned on by default. That means the Mac's Desktop and Documents folders will automatically sync with iCloud Drive when you first set up your Apple ID — effectively storing your files in your Documents folder in the cloud. Many users don't realize Apple does this by default, and that this causes problems with Quicken. But if you have verified in your System Settings that iCloud Drive is turned Off on your Mac, then that eliminates this as a potential cause of a problem. (Did the Quicken Rep not check this in your System Settings?)

Out of curiosity, I might try relocating your active data file (you can leave the backups in place) for a short time to see if it makes any difference or if you still receive the same error. For instance, navigate to HD/Users/[your user account] — where you'll see folders for Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, etc. — and create a Quicken folder there; move your data file to that Quicken folder. Then double-click the data file there to launch Quicken with the file in this new location.

heinelg

Thanks!

I have relocated the Quicken data file (it is still within username/documents) and I now close Quicken immediately after each use. I have not seen the error message again. What does your suggestion imply?

jacobs

@heinelg I'm glad you got it working okay. My suggestion was rooted in still thinking your file was being stored online (iCloud or Dropbox) or linked to data synced by Quicken Cloud somehow. I know you said you never used iCloud Drive, you don't have Dropbox touch your Quicken data file, and you don't use Quicken Cloud, yet the symptoms you described are consistent with problems from one or both of those sources. Apple can be sneaky with enabling iCloud Drive, so I was just looking to further isolate your data file from a default location which iCloud Drive backs up when enabled, even though that seemed unlikely.

One other thing I don't think we discussed previously regards Quicken Cloud. I know you said you checked Quicken Settings > Mobile, Web & Alerts and verified that Sync is set to Off. But if it was ever on, even accidentally or unknowingly, there would be a cloud account with some of your data. Changes to old transactions most often happens when old data is synced form the cloud to the local file. So since you don't need the Quicken mobile app or web interface, in addition to turning off Sync, you should visit Quicken Settings > Connected Services and click the Cloud Account Reset button. This deletes the Quicken Cloud account associated with your data file and create a new one. Every Quicken data file has a cloud account associated with it, but as long as Sync is off, none of your data is synced to the cloud account. It only stores some information associating your file with your Quicken ID. I'm not sure exactly why it needs this, but I know there are some online actions which require it, such as Help > Reports a Problem. So by clicking Reset, you'r making 100% sure that none of your transaction data is mirrored in Quicken Cloud. And if you're correct that Sync was never turned on for this account, it does no harm to reset your cloud account.

In the troubleshooting handbook, the first steps are to try obvious stuff: relaunch the application, restart the computer, re-install, restore, etc. After a while, you reach the rule which says: after trying all the logical things, try things which seem illogical or impossible — because one of them may end up solving the problem even though you'd swear that couldn't be it! 😂

heinelg

Thanks, @jacobs,

I have confirmed again that Sync is off and I have reset the the Cloud Account.

In that window there are check boxes for Downloaded Transactions - do they mean anything if you are not using Sync?

jacobs

In that window there are check boxes for Downloaded Transactions - do they mean anything if you are not using Sync?

You're referring to these settings, right?

None of these have anything to do with the Quicken Cloud Sync functionality.

The first two deal with transactions you download from financial institutions, if you have any accounts set up for downloads. If you have no accounts set up for downloads, and you enter all your transactions manually, these two settings are irrelevant.

The third setting deals with securities you hold in your investment accounts. Even if you enter your investment account transactions manually, Quicken will download the security prices so you can see the value of your investments over time. If you have this checkbox set, Quicken will download prices for the securities you hold ever 60 minutes; if the checkbox is not checked, it will download prices only when you click one of the icons to update your accounts (like the top left of the sidebar) or Refresh your investment account values (upper right of Portfolio screen or Dashboard screen).

Most people have no need to get quotes hourly. I leave this box unchecked; I may update prices once a week or even less frequently; the download will catch upend add the closing prices for each security for every day even if you haven't updated in days or weeks. I do not have my accounts set to download transactions; I enter them all manually. But I leave this setting checked, because importing the price history has never proven to be problematic. Also, go to Window > Securities and note the checkbox at the top for "Download quotes only for Watchlist, indexes & securities held." Checking this box (which I do) prevents Quicken from downloading price updates for securities I owned in the past but no longer own or watch.

heinelg

Another month and another failure to reconcile. Last month I had to add an adjustment to complete the reconciliation. This month both Quicken and my statement have the exact same number of transactions and the exact same amounts for total debits and credits for the month but the account fails to reconcile by more than $1600.

I've been using Quicken for more than 30 years and the last two months failure to reconcile is the first time I have ever had this problem.

heinelg

More reconciliation errors as I examine more January 31, 2025 statements. Please remember all these accounts reconciled at the end of December 2024.

In one investment account, one side of a transfer between accounts in 2021 was marked cleared, the other side wasn't. make cleared although it was still shown. The account reconciled when I marked the 2021 transfer as cleared.
Another investment account won't reconcile if a known transfer transaction from December 2024 is marked as cleared. The transfer is shown twice in one account and not at all in the other. I tried to delete all of the transfers in both accounts and recreated the original December transfer but it still did not show in the receiving account's register. I quit and restarted Quicken and now the both investment accounts show the transfer and one initiating the transfer reconciles. The second one now shows an error greater than $2400 but there are no unreconciled transactions. I guess I could try to re-reconcile statements from years ago in an attempt to locate the change but why should I have to do that?

heinelg

Additional details that I don't understand. When looking at the second investment account mentioned above, I checked the reconciliation for 12/31/22 and the Quicken balance was $5000 under the statement. I found a transfer in February 2022 for $5000 that did not show both accounts so I deleted it and added the correct transfer between accounts. Now the investment account reconciles for 12/31/2022 and 12/31/2023. If I reconcile 12/31/2024 the Quicken balance is $5000 over the statement balance with the corrected transfer shown as cleared. If I mark that transaction as uncleared then the 12/31/2022 statement does not reconcile as above.

heinelg

There's another case of a previously reconciled transaction from July 2024 on a credit card that became unreconciled in the past month.

heinelg

Still another credit card no longer reconciles. Every statement I checked back to the start of the data on 1/1/2020 failed to reconcile. The amount is different each year except January and December 2020 are the same.