Incorrect balance in account ledger

MB#q$41647

After the April 2025 update, bank balance listed inside summary panel does not match current balance in account ledger. All previous balances that were correct are now out by $120. I do not use automatic update from my bank. All entries are manual. The balance shown in the summary panel are correct. The balance in the account ledger is incorrect. Will this problem be addressed in the next update?

Quicken Jasmine

Hello @MB#q$41647,

Thank you for reporting this issue.

To help us better understand and troubleshoot the discrepancy you're seeing between the account ledger and the summary panel after the April 2025 update, we’d appreciate a few more details. First, have there been any changes to the Opening Balance transaction in the affected account? In some cases, updates can inadvertently alter this entry and cause balance differences. Also, is the $120 discrepancy limited to a single account, or are multiple accounts affected?

It would be helpful to know if there are any placeholder transactions in your register, as these can impact the running balance. Additionally, please check whether any filters or sorting preferences are applied in the register that could be affecting how transactions are displayed.

This information will assist us in determining whether the issue is related to the update or to specific conditions within your data file.

Let me know, thanks!

MB#q$41647

The opening balance is dated 12/8/1997 - I can't tell if it has changed. The $120 discrepancy is limited to one bank account - all other accounts are correct. There are no placeholder transactions. There are no filters or sorting preferences applied.

UKR

As far as the Opening Balance (OB) transaction is concerned:
If the account was opened at the bank on 12/8/1997, the OB amount should be $0.00 and the next transaction after it should have been the initial deposit or transfer-in.
Otherwise it should be the actual balance on that day, as per a bank statement.

Restoring a backup data file from a few weeks ago (to a different file name!) and looking up the account's OB can tell you if the amount was changed or not.

To be sure of the correct OB amount, in case of accidental change, please write the correct amount into the OB transaction's Memo field, for future reference.

To find the transaction difference … is it possible that a transfer transaction was recorded incorrectly, to a transfer-from or transfer-to account where it doesn't belong? That can upset your running balance.
Is it possible that a downloaded transaction was not matched to an already existing register transaction and a new, duplicate transaction was created instead?

Go back in time in your register until you find where the running balance matches the bank statement again. From there go forward and compare register transactions with the bank statement until you find the discrepancy. This could be more than one transaction …

MB#q$41647

The bank account was opened several years prior to 12/8/1997. I setup the account in Quicken with an opening balance along with outstanding checks. I have a manual check register going back to 3/12/2009 that shows a balance of $567.98. The Quicken account register shows $687.98 - which is a $120 difference. All the register balances were correct until this month. Now they are all out $120 going back at least to 3/12/2009.

I have to assume that the $120 problem goes all the way back to the opening balance 12/8/2097. No transactions have been downloaded (everything is manually entered). One transfer of $300 was made from a saving account to the checking account this month but appears to be correct - shows up correctly in both the checking account and the savings account.

I think if I adjust the opening balance by $120 the summary balance will then change and no longer be correct.

Have you seen any other problems like this reported this month?

MB#q$41647

Is there any way to manually correct a register balance without changing the correct balance shown in the side summary panel? Shouldn't Quicken validate that summary balances tie to register balances?

UKR

"Summary balances", IOW the account balance shown in the Account Sidebar depends on settings within the Account Sidebar itself. You can choose between two values when selecting the gear icon in the Account Sidebar title.
This explains the difference between settings even though it discusses the register's bottomline balances:

There may also be a difference between sidebar balance and register running balance if there's a past due reminder which hasn't been recorded (converted into a real register transaction) yet.

MB#q$41647

I've tried all Account Sidebar settings - the balance shown doesn't change. The Sidebar balance is correct but doesn't agree with the balance shown in the register. There were no problems until the April Quicken update. I had to post a $120 entry in the register to correct the balance so I could reconcile the account to the bank statement. The balance shown in the sidebar is now out by $120. All entries to the account are manual - no online updates. Thanks for your input but I think this is a Quicken issue.

UKR

Just to satisfy my curiosity …
Are you looking at the register's bottomline balance numbers, shown as Ending Balance: xxx.xx or Current Balance: xxx.xx
or are you looking at the register's Balance column for the last transaction displayed?

What are the register's Filter settings, three fields on top of the register?
Is the Search field blank, showing a magnifying glass or does it show an "X" icon?
Is the register sorted by Date or by some other field? (Should be sorted by Date in ascending order, highest date at bottom of register and register scrolled all the way to the bottom)

MB#q$41647

The register's bottom-line balance matches the current balance shown next to the last transaction.

The filter settings are All Dates, Any Type, and All transactions.

The Search field is blank showing a magnifying glass.

The register is sorted by Date in ascending order - highest date at the bottom of the register.

UKR

Thanks for all the information.

If the Account Sidebar amount still does not match the register then I must admit defeat. I don't know what this could be.

If nobody else chimes in with an idea or a solution and if you haven't done so already, I'd say it's time to contact Quicken Support on the phone during posted hours of operation and let them take a stab at it.

Thanks again for your patience.
Sorry I couldn't help.

MB#q$41647

I tried Quicken Support at the beginning of the problem. They suggested a few things to try but couldn't resolve the issue. If other users aren't having the same problem; it must be an issue with either my data or software. It's odd that the summary and register balances don't match and I that I had to make an adjustment to correct the register. Thanks again for your input.

Jim_Harman

One way to find the source of issues like this is to compare Quicken's reports to the balance in your register and if they disagree, find the date when they first disagree. This will often lead to a bad transaction and you can correct the issue by deleting and re-entering the transaction.

If you go to Reports > Net Worth and Balances > Account balances and set the ending date of the report to today, does the balance for the problem account match your register Current balance? Does it match the amount in the Account bar?

Also look at Reports > Net Worth and Balances > Net worth - same questions.

Based on what you find I can post further instructions.

MB#q$41647

I ran the account balance report. The report balance equals the balance shown in the Sidebar balance which does not tie to the register. The balance in the register is correct (after I made a $120 adjustment). I talked with Quicken support when I was first trying to resolve the problem. One of the comments he made was that 'Sometimes a program update will change an Opening account balance'. He didn't offer a solution or get into the reason that may happen. I don't have a manual check register going back to 12/8/1997 to see what I used for the opening balance. I suspect that my problem was caused by the April Quicken update rather than a bad entry. It's odd that Quicken doesn't check to see that the summary and register balances match.

Thanks for your input.