Uncategorized transactions

Don Awalt

HI, I have noticed in the last couple of years at least, if I do a sale of certain mutual funds - money market, treasury bond fund - ones that have a NAV of $1.00 I think - they show up in the Itemized Categories report as "Uncategorized". Yet when I double click on them, or look at them in the register, I don't see a way to add a category. Yet other mutual funds when sold, also do not appear to have a category entry, yet they do not show up in the itemized categories report as "Uncategorized". All my funds in Account details are set as Tax Deferred=No, Show cash in checking account=No, Tracking Method=Complete; so that's not a difference. They are also all marked as Investment Account.

I realize I could turn off the reporting of the uncategorized entry in the report, but I need to see it as sometimes there is a transaction there I forgot to categorize .Is there a resolution to this?

Chris_QPW

Well, that ties into exactly what the category is used for in investment transactions.

If I buy a security for $10 and sell for $11 I have realized gain of $1. Quicken will categorize that transaction as _RlzdGain. If I buy a security for $1 and sell it $1 there isn't any realized gain and Quicken will not assign a category to it. This is at least one source of the Uncategorized transactions. I suppose that one could have argued that Quicken should have still categorized it as realized gain of zero, but that isn't what it does.

Note that in both cases there isn't any place to put a category, this is something that Quicken does automatically in the background

Quicken Kristina

Hello @Don Awalt,

Thank you for sharing your experience. To clarify, does this happen with every fund that is $1 per share, or only certain ones? If it's only certain ones, which specific ones are you seeing this happening with? Is this happening in only one account or multiple? Does it make a difference whether the sell transaction is entered manually or downloads from the financial institution? Does this issue happen only in the itemized categories report, or are you seeing it in other reports also?

I look forward to your response!

Don Awalt

hi, I believe it happens with all the ones; I have I only have a few. I believe they’re all downloaded transactions. The question you can help me with, how would I enter a category for a sold transaction? I don’t see the ability to enter that anywhere. Can you tell me where that is?

Chris_QPW

By their nature some investment transactions don't have categories.

Buy and Sell are a couple of examples.

Unlike a non-investment transaction, it isn't "wrong" not to have a category.

Don Awalt

Thank you @Chris_QPW for the reply. So why do some mutual funds not have a category and are not reported as "uncategorized" in the Itemized Categories report, and others do?

Chris_QPW

Well, that ties into exactly what the category is used for in investment transactions.

If I buy a security for $10 and sell for $11 I have realized gain of $1. Quicken will categorize that transaction as _RlzdGain. If I buy a security for $1 and sell it $1 there isn't any realized gain and Quicken will not assign a category to it. This is at least one source of the Uncategorized transactions. I suppose that one could have argued that Quicken should have still categorized it as realized gain of zero, but that isn't what it does.

Note that in both cases there isn't any place to put a category, this is something that Quicken does automatically in the background

Don Awalt

Thanks @Chris_QPW that makes sense!