Proceeds from stock sales show in report but purchases do not

I have an investment account at Merrill Lynch, with a checking account linked to it. Creating an report has a category for divs and interest, but none for buys or sales. Yet my report includes the total for the sales but not the buy that followed with the proceeds. The consequence is my income is inflated that month because the buy isn't picked up in the report.

I see no way to edit the transaction boxes to select a different category, nor does the general category list include sales or buys similar to the DivsInc category. How can I exclude sales from reports, or how can I get both sales and buys to show up in them?

I have Quicken Deluxe version R60.20, Build 27.1.160.20 running in Windows 10 Home.

Answers

  • NotACPA
    NotACPA Quicken Windows Subscription SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭

    Which report, and how was it created? From the REPORTS, Investing, Investment transactions menu? Or is this a report that you previously customized and saved?

    Also, have you double checked to insure that ALL actions are included in the report? That the dates of the transactions are appropriate? That the ML account is included in the report? All of these can be reviewed by bringing up the report and clicking on the various tabs along the top of the "Customize Investment transactions" dialog OR the GEAR icon in the upper right if a previously saved report.

    Q user since February, 1990. DOS Version 4
    Now running Quicken Windows Subscription, Business & Personal
    Retired "Certified Information Systems Auditor" & Bank Audit VP

  • Thanks for responding.

    I'm trying to get a complete report of my income and expenses for 2024. The report I chose under Reports is Spending, Income and Expense by Category. This does not appear to include ALL transfers from my Main investment account into my Cash Management Account (the linked checking account), with the exceptions of dividends and interest, all of which are in the report.

  • NotACPA
    NotACPA Quicken Windows Subscription SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited February 3

    A transfer from your "Main investment account" (presumably a taxable account) into your Cash Management account isn't income, which is why they don't show on an I & E. And even if it WAS income, it would also be an expense in the investment account and they'd cancel each other out.

    Income makes you wealthier. Expenses make you poorer. A transfer does neither, just as moving your wallet from one pocket to another does neither.

    You might want to look at a "Cash Flow" report, or the report I previously suggested, to see what you want.

    Q user since February, 1990. DOS Version 4
    Now running Quicken Windows Subscription, Business & Personal
    Retired "Certified Information Systems Auditor" & Bank Audit VP

  • q_lurker
    q_lurker Quicken Windows Subscription SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭

    The I&E by Category report does have a customization option (Advanced Tab) that provides four different options for how transfers are handled. You might play with those to see of one or the other helps.

  • The comment about income and expense cancelling each other out makes sense. Thanks.

    I have tried playing with the transfer options in Advanced settings, but results weren't good: when it helped in one case, it hurt in another.

    I'm going to explore the Cash Flow option as well as customizing the report in a different manner from what I've been doing.

    Many thanks to the two of you who responded. Much appreciated

  • Jim_Harman
    Jim_Harman Quicken Windows Subscription SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭

    If you want to treat transfers from an account as income or expenses for reporting purposes, you can customize the report so that it includes the "spending" accounts but does not include the other account(s). Then if the spending account receives a transfer, the sending account will be listed in the Income section of the report as FROM <account-name>.

    If you are using the Banking > Cash flow report for a transfer you are treating as income, you should include the receiving account but not the sending account, and on the Advanced tab next to Transfers, select "Exclude internal". The terminology is confusing, but "Exclude Internal" tells the report to ignore transfers between accounts that are selected for the report (payments from your checking account to a credit card account for example) but to include transfers between the selected accounts and other accounts.

    Other reports have different default settings, but they work the same way: Include the "spending" accounts but not the other account(s), and on the Advanced tab set Transfers to "Exclude internal". If the report has an Organization setting on the Advanced tab, set it to “Cash Flow Basis”.

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