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New accounts

Jerry Montgomery

I am using Quicken Classic Deluxe, Version 9.0.3 on a MacBook using OS 15.5. I have made a mess of my Quicken accounts file going back years. I would like to open a new account and start over where I am. However, instructions say to start with the last reconciliation, then copy and past the file at the point you want to start. I don't think I have one any time recently; there are so many errors that required adjustments. I want to use my July bank statement to start a new account, then copy and past the last portion of my account into the new file, but it is not reconciled. The question is, how do I know that it will be where I need to be if there are open actions going backward. I don't have any successful reconciliations going back recently. So what will happen if I do it the way I'm thinking. There are not that many outstanding withdrawals or deposits. My file from all these years is just unworkable at this point in time.

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NotACPA

When you say "open a new account" … do you actually mean "create a new file"?

Jerry Montgomery

Yes, I do mean create a new file. I'm thinking I have to do that since I can't get any of the files reconciled anymore, even the July one. I need a clean file to "start over again" from that point. I can't quite figure out how the adjustment amount ended up being $3,121,261.49. I think it's because I was doing something wrong and changing some reconciliations, then putting some deleted things back into the file. How do I clean this up.

jacobs

If you truly want to start over completely, just do File > New and select "Start from scratch".

Jerry Montgomery

I tried that after readbing about itm but it didn't work. To be truthful, though I have read about6 Quicken having some serious reconciliation problems, I think this is all my problem. I did not know that messing with reconciled transactions (back and forth), as well as reverting some transactions, could make the me4ss I have on my hands. Also, last summer, the bank opened a new account because I suspected my checkbook had been stolen (it had not). So, it seems, everything is a horrid mess since that time. Also, all those times I thought my account was reconciled, there would be an adjustment. I would love to start with July's bank statement and get it correct to go forward. But that's not happening either, I guess based on those transactions I messed with. I have no clue where to go from here. I do appreciate your comments and would love to have new ideas that can get me back on track. I'm one of those who hates being even a penny off.

jacobs

I tried that after reading about it but it didn't work.

@Jerry Montgomery Can you share more information. I posted above "If you truly want to start over completely, just do File > New and select "Start from scratch." You're saying you weren't able to do that? Please describe exactly what happened when you try doing that. This command will create a completely new Quicken data file, with no carry-over from your current file.

– – – – –

Another option for you might be to keep your existing data file, completely remove all your reconciliation and start over with one reconciliation to your latest bank statement.

You'd do that by going to Accounts > Reconciliation History, and then clicking the Clear History button at the bottom left of the Reconciliation History window; here's what that would do:

Then you could delete any adjustment transactions you may have made trying to fix the prior reconciliation discrepancies. Then you would click Reconcile, enter the June or July ending statement balance, click Select All to select all transactions in the account from the begging of time through the reconciliation date. De-select any transactions at the end which did not clear the bank by the end of the month (e.g. a transaction you have recorded in Quicken on 7/31 which is not on the 7/31 bank statement). And then you'd make whatever adjustment Quicken says is necessary to complete the reconciliation. Going forward, your reconciliations should be straightforward and easy.

Jerry Montgomery

Okay, I have added new banking accounts that show up with the rest in the sidebar. I moved all of July's transactions into that file except the one prior that have not been reconciled—just a few. However, Quicken added a new reconciliation too July when I created the new checking account. So I have that to deal with. You may have addressed that in the later posts, so I'll go back and try that. What happens to the few unreconciled transactions left behind in July? I appreciate so much you advice and assistance. Thank you.

Jerry Montgomery

What happens if I just cancel that 44,000 adjustment and enter the end balance of July there?

Jerry Montgomery

I started out by opening new savings and checking accounts. They were totally separate from the others. Then I thought, so that I could transfer from the old to the new (just July), I would open them differently, which put them in the same sidebar with the other accounts Then, do I have to retype them all, since they are not with the other accounts? All of July and the unreconciled from June?

Jerry Montgomery

There are much older transactions that even go into June. What about them? Believe it or not, I have used Quicken for years and I'm learning much of what I didn't know from the beginning.

jacobs

Quicken added a new reconciliation too July when I created the new checking account.

Quicken doesn't add reconciliations; only you can initiate a reconciliation. But it will add a "placeholder" or "opening balance" transaction to make your transactions add up to the account balance. But just to make sure I'm on the same page as you, is this new account you created set up to download transactions from your bank? Or is it a manual account where you enter all your transactions manually?

Normally, when you reconcile an account to the prior month's account balance there might be one or a few transactions which did not clear the bak by the statement date. When you're doing a reconciliation in Quicken, you need to make sure these transactions are unchecked (no blue checkmark); When you get your reconciliation to balance and click Finish, all the blue checkmark transactions change to green checkmarks, and the ones you left unchecked remain unchecked, so they will show up in the reconciliation window the following month.

jacobs

I started out by opening new savings and checking accounts. They were totally separate from the others. Then I thought, so that I could transfer from the old to the new (just July), I would open them differently, which put them in the same sidebar with the other accounts

I'm sorry, but you've lost me. 😀 When you create a new account, it immediately shows up in the left sidebar, even if it has no transactionsin it yet. So what do you mean that the new accounts "were totally separate from the others" and then you "put them in the same sidebar with the other accounts"?

Jerry Montgomery

I don't download transactions from the bank. I manually enter them.

Jerry Montgomery

Normally, when you reconcile an account to the prior month's account
balance there might be one or a few transactions which did not clear the
bak by the statement date. When you're doing a reconciliation in
Quicken, you need to make sure these transactions are unchecked (no blue
checkmark); When you get your reconciliation to balance and click
Finish, all the blue checkmark transactions change to green checkmarks,
and the ones you left unchecked remain unchecked, so they will show up
in the reconciliation window the following month.

Yes, I do know this. Apparently there have been adjustments going much further back than I knew. But the $3.1 million one blew my mind.

Jerry Montgomery

I added a new checking account in Quicken by starting from scratch, which was not related to my other account or on the same list of accounts uunder the transactdions But decided to do it differently. So I added a new checking account with the plus sign above the transactions window. It then wants my bank, but I manually add them, so I selected—-at the bottom—to manually add a checking account because it offers that option beneath the list of financial institutions. I was thinking if I did it that way, I could just copy and paste July's transactions into that account. I did that, and that's when it added $44,000 as an adjustment.

Jerry Montgomery

Just now: I added a new account under File>New>Start from Scratch. I can also start a new account under Quicken>Add Account, which has the same pathway as the previous one (rejecting banking institution and selecting (bottom) to add manually. Both of those start a new individual checking account. At one point, I chose to create a new account under the plus sign in the Quicken transactions sidebar. Obviously those are two different things, so aren't the accounts I created either way still new accounts? It's just that the one created under the plus sign is still connected to the old one. So aren't they both called accounts, and what's the difference? Thank you for being patient with me.

Jerry Montgomery

Also, is there a way to keep both "accounts" open at the same time?

jacobs

You're mixing files and accounts. An account in Quicken is a representation of a single account in the real world: a checking account, a savings account, a credit card account, a loan account, an investment account. A file (or Quicken data file) is the file on your Mac which can contain data for all your different real-world accounts, showing each account in the left-side sidebar.

When you do Quicken > Add Account, you are adding a new account, like a checking account or savings account, to your existing Quicken data file, which contains any existing accounts you're created in the past. Hitting the + icon at the top of the sidebar is exactly the same as Quicken > New Account; they both do the same thing: creating a new account in your existing data file. The accounts are separate from each other, but you do have the capability to move transactions from one account to another, or to create transactions which transfer funds from one account to another.

When you do File > New, you're creating a new Quicken data file with no existing accounts. Any account or accounts you add here are empty and contain no transaction data from any previous Quicken data files.

Is that clearer now?

Jerry Montgomery

Yes, thank you. And thank you for your patience. So if I go ahead with an account from scratch: Do I use the bank balance for July 31 as the account balance to start a new data file? I would like to have this checking account be associated with the rest of my accounts (Quicken>add account), but it seems pretty complicated to do that, considering I have some unreconciled transactions. I would rather do it that way, but I'm scared to—though your instructions are clear. I think I have some transactions that go back a couple of months, maybe more, that are not reconciled. I do so appreciate your help with this. You said "Then you could delete any adjustment transactions you may have made trying to fix the prior reconciliation discrepancies." Some of the adjustments go back a long way. Do I have to go through the history of the account and delete ALL adjustments "from the beginning of time" (ALL the way back to the opening of the account years ago? (I'm so sorry, but thank you so much for helping me. I'm a journalist; I couldn't count my milk money in elementary school).

jacobs

So if I go ahead with an account from scratch…

Do you mean add a new account in your existing Quicken data file, or create a new Quicken data file from scratch? Those are very different things.

I would like to have this checking account be associated with the rest of my accounts

That leads me to believe you want to add a new account in your existing data file, correct?

I think I have some transactions that go back a couple of months, maybe more, that are not reconciled.

Here's the way I'd approach this. You could either start from July 31 or go back a month to start from June 30, which would give you a clean half year. Enter the starting balance per the bank statement and all the transactions going forward. If there are older checks which haven't yet cleared the bank as of your starting date, you'll just record them going forward when they do clear.

If you're going to use this new account going forward, then I'm not sure why you're asking about fixing/reconciling the old account(s). Are those other accounts than the checking account you've started anew?

Jerry Montgomery

Hi, again. I worked on this yesterday and followed your note (below). Assuming I did this correctly (and logically), I had to reconcile the entire file after deleting the reconciliations history. When I did this, ALL transactions were cleared. I reconciled the 7/31/26 statement, starting with 0.00 beginning balance and ending with the 7/31/26 balance. I still ended up with a $4,000+ reconciliation for the entire file history; it did not go to 0.00, and I have no more reconciliations. I will have to wait until August's statement to see if this worked (balanced). You said going forward, my reconciliations should be straightforward and easy. I hope so. I don't understand the $4,000 adjustment, but there must be errors in that account going back to 2002 that account for that, but they are not visible. Thank you for your help. If you have additional thoughts, I welcome them. And I certainly appreciate all your help.

Another option for you might be to keep your existing data file,
completely remove all your reconciliation and start over with one
reconciliation to your latest bank statement.

You'd do that by going to Accounts > Reconciliation History, and then clicking the
Clear History button at the bottom left of the Reconciliation History
window; here's what that would do:

Then you could delete any adjustment transactions you may have made
trying to fix the prior reconciliation discrepancies. Then you would
click Reconcile, enter the June or July ending statement balance, click
Select All to select all transactions in the account from the begging of
time through the reconciliation date. De-select any transactions at
the end which did not clear the bank by the end of the month (e.g. a
transaction you have recorded in Quicken on 7/31 which is not on the
7/31 bank statement). And then you'd make whatever adjustment Quicken
says is necessary to complete the reconciliation. Going forward, your
reconciliations should be straightforward and easy.

Jerry Montgomery

Jacobs, if you have the patience and a little more time, I have another question. When I enter my electricity bills, I break it down under "splits" as to where the charges should go (category: house, barn, taxes, etc.) There are also a couple of credits on the bill. Where do I put the credits? There isn't a column for that. Also, at the end of the category list of charges, there is an amount entered as "uncategorized" that doesn't seem to belong anywhere. It ends up in the breakdown of charges column and appears to become a deposit. That amount is the total of the credits that I broke out from that column and just made a note of. Why does that happen and does it affect my adjustments? It seems it should. Thank you.

jacobs

I had to reconcile the entire file after deleting the reconciliations history. When I did this, ALL transactions were cleared. I reconciled the 7/31/26 statement, starting with 0.00 beginning balance and ending with the 7/31/26 balance. I still ended up with a $4,000+ reconciliation for the entire file history; it did not go to 0.00

My first question: did your actual, real-world bank account started at zero when you started entering it in Quicken? For many people, the real-world bank account predates their use of Quicken, which means there would need to be an opening balance entered in Quicken to match the real-world bank account at that time.

If this was a new bank account at the time you started trackingit in Quicken, do you have a transaction for the money which initially funded this account? That is, let's say you opened this checking account with a $5,000 check from a money market fund which you weren't tracking in Quicken; you'd need to create an adjustment transaction on that date the funds were deposited or transferred in to establish the account.

If there's no such startup problem, and your Quicken tracks the real-world account for its entire life, but you're still off by $4,000, then somewhere over the past 24 years, you've got one or more errors — missing transactions or incorrect amounts — in your Quicken register. You can choose to either (a) hunt this down or (b) accept it as a past record keeping error and move on.

Hunting down the discrepancy in a 24 year-old account sounds daunting, and probably is. No one is likely to have 24 years of monthly bank statements, nor want to go through all ~288 statements to reconcile them one at a time! But you could do some limited hunting based on statements you do have accessible. For instance, do you have, or can you download from your bank, a statement from 5 years ago (6/30/2021)? What happens if you try to reconcile the account isn Quicken as of 6/30/21 to the bank statement as of that date? Are you off the same ~$4,000, or some different amount? Or does the reconciliation work without adjustment? Based on that you find with that reconciliation, you could then move forward a year to 6/30/22 and reconcile again, repeating until you get up to 6/30/26. This approach might let you isolate the overall ~4,000 adjustment you need to make to sometime in the distant past. Or it might discover that the discrepancy arose between 6/30/23 and 6/30/24, and you could then zero in by six months and then three months until you find the transaction(s) causing your discrepancy.

Alternatively, you can accept the discrepancy as a past record keeping error and just move on. That's what is represented by the ~$4,000 adjustment Quicken is proposing when you try to reconcile. You'd make the adjustment, compete the reconciliation, and then you should have clear sailing going forward. You can back-date the adjustment a year or 5 years or even back to when the account was opened, so it isn't showing up in your recent transaction history; all that matters is that at some point you add or subtract the ~$4,000 so that Quicken and your bank statement now agree.

One more caveat here: this assumes that all the transactions in your Quicken register for the time period you're trying to reconcile have actually cleared the bank. But you said there might be a few older transactions which haven't cleared. If you can identify those transactions which haven't cleared (by looking at bank statements or search on your bank account's website), you need to exclude those from your reconciliation efforts. That is, if you wrote a $1,000 check to someone and it has never been cashed, that transaction you'dbe unchecked when you reconcile. If it's really old and will never clear, you could void the transaction with a note in the memo field that it was originally for $1,000 but never cleared, and then set the amount to zero. For some people, it could help if rather than starting with June 30 or July 1, you first tried to reconcile to a bank statement as of December 31, as you presumably don't have uncleared transactions from prior to then — and then move forward to reconcile month by month, such that any uncleared transactions from earlier this year will remain unreconciled.

When I enter my electricity bills, I break it down under "splits" as to where the charges should go (category: house, barn, taxes, etc.) There are also a couple of credits on the bill. Where do I put the credits?

The key is that the total amount of each transaction in Quicken is identical to the total amount of the actual bill; if there's any difference at all, your Quicken balance will be off. Okay so you're saying you want to split up your electric bill to different expense categories. That sounds a little unusual to me, unless you are running a business and need to split the costs among different entities. For me, although there is a tax amount shown in my electric bill, there is no reason to itemize that in a split, because the total bill amount is my electricity expense for the month. But you may have other reasons for doing so. However you create the split, you must allocate split lines to exactly total to the bill amount. I don't understand what credits there are on your bill which you need to break out, but you'd need to assign those credits to one of your categories, and enter the positive amount for that split line. For example:

Total electric bill:                      -$400.00
   Electricity:Home               -$250.00
   Electricity:Barn               -$175.00
   Electricity:Taxes               -$25.00
   Electricity:Clean Energy Credit  +50.00

The split lines add up to the $400 of your actual bill, with the credit(s) having positive value(s).

Also, at the end of the category list of charges, there is an amount entered as "uncategorized" that doesn't seem to belong anywhere.

Are you saying the last line of your split transaction is Uncategorized? Well, you need to fix that. However you are spitting your electric bill's charges, you must make them add up to the total of the electric bill. In my example above, I split the expenses into three categories, and those added up to $450.00, while the bill was actually $400.00; so my last split line assigns the credits to some category, and the positive value makes the sum of the split lines total to $400.00.

Hopefully that all makes sense, and gets you a step or two closer to having your Quicken transactions exactly map your real-world transactions so everything stays in sync. 😀