Budget v. Actual YTD Custom Report not functioning properly

Tom Auer

The situation: I have set a budget for the current year. I am trying to run a report of actual expenses vs. budgeted expenses for the period from January 1 through last day of previous month, showing totals by categories and hiding subcategories. The symptom: the Budget column shows the Category budgets correctly, but shows a total of only the first line item, Cash & ATM. (It also shows that as a negative number. While the category an outflow, the budgeted number was positive.) The difference is shown as the sum of the Actual categories, plus the first budgeted category.

Enough numbers are appearing correctly to make me think that there is a problem with a small section of the code, apparently in the parts that add the budgeted amounts and that sum the amounts of the differences by category.

Quicken Anja

Hello @Tom Auer,

Thanks for reaching out to tell us about this issue!

To better assist you, could you please provide the following details:

• Where is your Quicken data file stored? Is it on your local hard drive (C: Drive) or a cloud-based/external drive (e.g., OneDrive, DropBox, USB, etc.)?
• Have you attempted any troubleshooting steps so far? If so, what were they?
• When did this issue first start occurring?
• Were there any significant changes to your system or software before the issue began (updates, new installations, etc.)?

Also, if possible, please share screenshots of the report and the exact steps you're taking to generate it. This will help us replicate the issue on our end and better understand what’s happening.

If needed, please refer to this Community FAQ for instructions on how to attach a screenshot. Alternatively, you can also drag and drop screenshots to your response if you are not given the option to add attachments.

Looking forward to your response!

Tom Auer

Hi Anja,

I'll give some brief answers… somehow I think I've seen that message before. I am using Quicken Windows R62.16, and store my data file on my local hard drive. This issue is new to me, and I've been exploring the budget reports a bit more aggressively this year than I have in the past. If you want a screen shot of the report, message me privately with an assurance of confidentiality and data protection — I'm not going to post a budget report in a public forum.

Mary A

Please share with us how to do this report!! I've also wanted this functionality for a LONG LONG time - way back when it used to be easy to run one of these.

Quicken Anja

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20493317#Comment_20493317

Thanks for following up!

I have sent you a direct message, please navigate to the inbox in the top right-hand corner of the Community page and check your inbox.

Thank you!

Tom Auer

For Mary's benefit: that report is a derivative of a built-in comparison report, using custom dates:

Tom Auer

Anja, I responded to the email message you sent from "Quicken Community noreply@quicken .com". My response bounced.

Tom Auer

Anja, I replied to your email message through this Community portal. Let's hope that one goes through.

Tom Auer

I tried an experiment, and can give a bit more detail on this bug: it seems to be provoked by selecting Hide All for Subcategories. When Show All is selected, the totals work correctly.

Quicken Anja

@Tom Auer Thanks for following up with the details!

I reviewed the screenshot you sent via DM, but I'm not seeing the problem you're describing. Based on what I see, the report calculations appear to be correct when going line by line. Am I possibly missing something? If there’s a specific part you’d like me to take a closer look at, feel free to point it out — I’m happy to take another look!

Tom Auer

Quicken Anja: You're looking horizontally. You need to look vertically at the middle column. The top and bottom lines are totally wrong.

Quicken Anja

@Tom Auer Thank you for the clarification—I now see what you’re referring to with the vertical totals in the middle column.

I’ve followed up with you via direct message with more information and next steps — please check your Community inbox when you have a moment.

Thank you!