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QWin 2017 says no espp shares available to sell

davidsgibson1

I have seen similar entries posted many times but I can't find one that has a definitive answer. When I try to sell ESPP shares in Quicken Deluxe 2017 Version R10 Build: 26.1.10.8 for Windows, I get the error message that "There are no shares available in this account for the security you selected." A little digging into this reveals some weird stuff.

First, let me say that I began debug by performing a "validate and repair . . . " on my Quicken data file. I am trying to sell shares that were entered using the ESPP purchase wizard in 2014 using an older version of quicken (I believe it was QW 2014 deluxe). When I look in the account register, I see the purchase transaction for the BLAH_ESPP stock, with a cumulative total of 12,961 shares. But when I look at the investment portfolio view and look at my holdings in this account, I see 12,961 shares of BLAH (not the ESPP version). The lots match perfectly with purchases of BLAH_ESPP in the register, although they are all shown in the investment portfolio as BLAH shares..

In an effort to debug, I tried deleting one purchase lot of BLAH_ESPP from the register and reentering it in the register. That proved to be difficult. Deleting it was easy, but when I tried to re-purchase the BLAH_ESPP shares using the "Bought ESPP" Wizard, the"Security" field was grayed out and I could not select a security. I got creative and went back to the register, entering "Bought" as the action and manually entering "BLAH_ESPP" as the security (it was not available in the drop down list, although "BLAH" was listed), and then clicked the "Edit" button. It then sent me to the "Edit Bought/Added ESPP Shares" window, and I was able to complete the transaction including grant dates, share prices, and everything. The newly entered purchase lot now looks the same as all of the pre-existing purchases, and my balance in the investment portfolio view still contains only "BLAH" securities - no indication of the "BLAH_ESPP shares I just purchased in QW 2017.

I tried selling the BLAH_ESPP shares I had just re-entered, and still had the same problems as before. Also, if I try to sell shares of BLAH in this account (Using "Sold"), it takes me to the "Edit Sell - Shares Sold" window and ultimately gives me the error message "Number of shares selected is more than the available. Maximum available shares on this security is 0". Looks like I have 12,961 shares in this account that can't be sold as BLAH OR BLAH_ESPP.

I could just give up on the ESPP tracking features of Quicken and enter them all as shares of BLAH, but that would be a huge job (goes back 15 years). Plus, I hate to forego all the tax tracking help that Quicken gives me (or at least, used to give me). Anybody have any suggestions? Very frustrating.

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mshiggins

Have you sold any ESPP shares previously? Have you made any changes to the security type or investment goal? Do you have any backups you could restore to determine when the issue began?

davidsgibson1

Thanks for your prompt response.

Yes, I have successfully sold ESPP shares of this same security in this same account in the past, although it might have been using a previous version of Quicken (not sure).

Once I encountered the problem, I made a few changes to the security. I shortened the name so I could read it in the dropdown lists (was too long and was truncated) and I changed the type from some general thing (misc? Unknown?) to ESPP. It behaved the same after the change as it did before.

Yes, I have backups going way back. I will try going back to before the last successful sale and see if it still works, although I am pessimistic. Will probably be tomorrow before I can get to it.

Thanks for any suggestions yuo can offer.

davidsgibson1

Here's what has transpired since Sunday.

First, today I received a notice that there was an update of Quicken available. Hoping that this might solve the problem, I upgraded to the latest, which was Version R15 Build 26.1.15.2. When I opened my database, it asked me to create a new Quicken on-line account (consequence of the Quicken/Intuit split), which I did. I then re-tried the ESPP sale, and the results were unsuccessful in the same way as before.

Then, per the request of mshiggins, I restored a backup (12/26/2015) from before my last ESPP sale (11/15/2016). When I opened the backup, I had to convert the database to the 2017 format and register using my new account. I then ran "File Operations -> Validate and repair" selecting options
"Validate File" and "Rebuild investing lots". The log from that
operation had no mentions of security BLAH or BLAH_ESPP - only a few
random stock splits from securities I didn't care about. But when I finished that and tried the sale again, it was still unsuccessful. I'm beginning to believe the problem is Quicken 2017 vs 2014.

I'm stumped and would appreciate any suggestions. One thing I don't think I'm willing to do is go back and reinstall Quicken 2014 to see if that works. It might, but even if it does that's not really a solution I can use going forward. Plus, it would be a royal pain to do.

davidsgibson1

Okay, here's something very interesting that I've stumbled across. I have found a way to actually sell the ESPP shares, but it does not record the transaction properly for tax purposes by splitting it into capital gain and ordinary income. Here is what I have done and what I get:

Procedure:

Go to the register that contains the ESPP shares
In the “Action” field enter “Sold”
In the “Security” field enter “BLAH”
Select the “EDIT” button
The “Edit Sell – Shares Sold” window appears
“Enter Transaction:” says “Sell – Shares Sold”
Manually add ESPP to “Security name” so that it reads “BLAH
ESPP”
Window name changes to “Edit Bought ESPP Shares” and “Enter
Transaction” field changes to “Bought ESPP Shares”
“Launch Wizard” button appears superimposed over the window,
but don’t select it
Enter information about “Number of shares”, “Price Received”
and “Commission”
Change “Enter Transaction to “Sold ESPP Shares”
Window name changes to “Edit Sold ESPP Shares”
Click on “Specify Lots”
Opens window titled “Specify Lots Sold in This Transaction”
All information about previously entered ESPP purchases is
there and listed correctly!!!!
Select the desired lot and click
“Total Shares to Sell” is correct and “Remaining to Select”
is 0
Click “OK” button
Returns to “Edit Sold ESPP Shares” window
Both “Enter/NEW” and “Enter/Done” buttons are grayed out and
cannot be selected
Now, press ESPP Wizard button floating over this window
“Edit Sold/Removed ESPP shares” window appears
All data is as it was on previous window, and “Specify Lots”
button now works and shows proper lot info
“Security” field is blank, select “BLAH ESPP”
Select “Done” button

Results:

This will successfully sell these shares, enter the cash into
the register, remove the lot from the portfolio view, and all the other things you
would expect selling these shares to do. The only problem is that it does not
split the sale as my previous ESPP sales have done into two transactions – a “Sold
– BLAH ESPP” transaction and a “MiscInc – BLAH ESPP” transaction using the
category “_ESPP Self Income”. The entire proceeds are listed in a “SOLD – BLAH ESPP”
transaction. When I look at a capital gain report, the total gain is calculated correctly,
but the entire amount is listed as a capital gain, whereas in reality some of
the gain should be listed as ordinary income (the _ESPP Self Income portion).

I’m really close – can anybody get me the rest of the way
there? How can I get these gains broken up into capital gains and “_ESPP Self
Income”? Any effort to edit these transactions says they can’t be modified unless
I use the ESPP wizard.

davidsgibson1

Here's the solution!!!

(from "Selling ESPP Shares"

by Pgher, https://getsatisfaction.com/quickencommunity/topics/selling-espp-shares)

"To get around it, instead of editing the blank transaction line, go to
the "Account Actions" dropdown menu and choose "Enter Transaction", then
select "Sold ESPP shares". This lets you select the ESPP security,
taking you through the full wizard. The lot information will be
available and you won't get the error message."

I had to look for a minute to find the "'Account Actions' dropdown menu", but it is the little sprocket looking thing at the upper right hand corner of the register.

Clearly a bug in Quicken - let's get it fixed, Quicken guys!!!

mshiggins

Here's the solution!!!

(from "Selling ESPP Shares"

by Pgher, https://getsatisfaction.com/quickencommunity/topics/selling-espp-shares)

"To get around it, instead of editing the blank transaction line, go to
the "Account Actions" dropdown menu and choose "Enter Transaction", then
select "Sold ESPP shares". This lets you select the ESPP security,
taking you through the full wizard. The lot information will be
available and you won't get the error message."

I had to look for a minute to find the "'Account Actions' dropdown menu", but it is the little sprocket looking thing at the upper right hand corner of the register.

Clearly a bug in Quicken - let's get it fixed, Quicken guys!!!

Interesting. I always use the Enter Transactions button to enter ESPP transactions. Odd that starting from a blank transaction will take you on a different workflow.