Manually entered transaction doesn't appear in Portfolio view--how to fix?

Question

Using Quicken on a Mac (just switched to a new Mac and opened a transferred, copy of the latest Quicken file on the old Mac). For one account, a transaction entered in January 2026 appears under the Transaction view but not when I select that equity in the Portfolio view. If I duplicate a transaction from February 2026 and enter the January amount, it shows up in the Portfolio view; however, if I change the date to January 2026, it no longer shows up in the Portfolio view. The total number of shares in the Portfolio view is the sum of only those transactions shown in Portfolio view (hence, there is a discrepancy with the brokerage statement). I guess I could just enter the January transaction with a February date, but that doesn't give me confidence that the program is working correctly.

MacZizzou · Answer

Thanks for responding. Under the Transactions tab/button, there are no Placeholder entries showing for this account. Here's an additional twist regarding the duplication "fix" that I described failing above: the duplication solves the issue (i.e. shows up in the Portfolio view even when I change to the correct January 2026 date) as long as the original transaction remains in the register (and therefore, I maintain duplicate entries in the Transactions view). If I delete the original January 2026 transaction to avoid duplicate entries, the new January 2026 transaction won't show in the Portfolio view).  [Also, I did check a backup file on the old Mac, and this transaction discrepancy was present there as well.]

John_in_NC · Answer

Likely the program is working just fine.

A "Placeholder" balance adjustment transaction is likely coming into play: You had a reported share balance for a security ~ around 1/2026, and when you enter transaction(s) that alter the share balance when it was reported, it auto adjusts to make sure the balance is correct as of that date reported.

You can scroll to the beginning of the register to see these Placeholders in light gray. I am sure when you enter the Jan transaction, it adjusts the placeholder to offset what you added. That is likely what is going on.

Before I tell you how to deal with it, you have to see if it exists before you enter the 1/26 transaction, or if it appears only after you add it.