Ending and projected balances

Hi. I’ve just upgraded to the Mac version of Quicken from Quicken 2002 UK Windows version and still getting used to the different UI. On my summary tab some of the balances aren’t showing the projected balances even though there are future transactions in the accounts - it looks like it’s for the investing accounts only. For cash, savings and credit card ones - the projected balances show correctly. Anything I’m doing wrong?

On Quicken 2002 the accounts list shows the current and ending balances - which is what I’m after now.

Have tried contacting Quicken support via Chat as a paid customer but a painful experience. Says wait time 7 minutes but answered after 15 and then told they'll transfer me and then holding again and still holding.

Best Answer

Answers

  • jacobs
    jacobs SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    edited December 2020
    I'm not clear on where you're looking to see your future balances; "summary tab" confused me.

    If you're talking about the left sidebar which lists all your accounts, click on the … icon at the top and you can choose whether you want the sidebar to show current or projected future balances:


    Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 1993
  • jnoble100
    jnoble100 Member ✭✭
    Sorry yes it's the left sidebar.

    I've clicked the show projected balance like this but for the investment accounts none show the balance including future dated transactions. But the cash and savings accounts do. It's very odd.

    The future dated transactions are ones I've manually entered today for January.
  • jacobs
    jacobs SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    Answer ✓
    @jnoble100  Ah, yes, now I recall that this problem has been reported by multiple Quicken Mac users, but it apparently has not been addressed.

    You can read similar comments here:
    https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7852371/future-transactions

    and here:
    https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7751439/quicken-for-mac-improvement-suggestion-account-projection-calculation

    The second one was entered as an Idea for an enhancement request (even though I'd consider it a bug), so you can add your vote for it in the blue box under the first post.

    Because this does seem like a bug, I'd also encourage you to use the Help > Report a Problem feature in Quicken to describe the problem. You could also include in your text the URL to this and/or the other threads discussing the same problem. The more people who report it, the more likely it is to be entered in their bug database to be fixed (or prioritized if it's already there but deep in the pile).
    Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 1993
  • jnoble100
    jnoble100 Member ✭✭
    Looks like a bug to me as well - it's just the investment accounts that it doesn't work for. The support team had no idea, and we're saying that it was the upgrade - and wanted me to run the conversion again!

    I'll log the bug. Thanks for the quick responses.
  • jacobs
    jacobs SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    Unfortunately, in my experience Quicken Support reps too often give out incorrect information, such as blaming this on the upgrade. It's understandable to me that many issues with Quicken are narrow and esoteric, and it's impossible for every support rep to know every nook and cranny and quirk of Quicken; I just don't like that they seem to too often give out wrong information or blame external issues as a way to end or "resolve" the call. Smart tech companies incentivize their support people to resolve customer problems and to document and push upstream confirmed or possible bugs, but it seems to me that Quicken does not.

    In this case, there are multiple links on this forum going back more than two years describing this same issue. I found them within 30 seconds of searching once your follow-up post clarified the problem you were having.

    For what it's worth, I did a quick test and got the same results, so I submitted this via Report a Problem as well. Unfortunately, the Report a Problem process is a black hole, so users never find out if the person at Quicken reading the reports has confirmed them and entered them as bugs or determined they aren't bugs (or couldn't replicate what was described) and discarded them. When it works, it's great, but it's a less than perfect system from the customer's perspective. ;)
    Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 1993
  • jnoble100
    jnoble100 Member ✭✭
    Yeah, understood - have worked in the support industry for many years myself. This does look an obvious bug and would have thought they could easily replicate it when I've been chatting with them. Or at least they should have access to a list of known issues - like this one as it's been reported already (and just reported again now).

    Sadly as much as I wanted to go with the paid for upgraded version on the Mac, Windows version 2002 still has more appeal and it's free so more value!
  • jacobs
    jacobs SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    Yes, but recognize that there's a danger in sticking with software that's two decades old. Any hiccup in your operating system or VM software or with your Quicken database could leave you stranded. 

    I'm a longtime Quicken Mac user, and for years continued to use the venerable  Quicken Mac 2007 while experimenting with the modern Quicken Mac. As the new program gained features and got better, I eventually made the leap to using it full-time. I like some things better in the modern version, but there are some features I definitely miss from the old version. I remain hopeful that the trajectory of ongoing improvements for Quicken Mac will continue, and that some of my missing functionality needs will be addressed in the months and years to come. Despite the shortcomings and annoyances I find in the current version, I concluded that sticking with the old Quicken 2007, with a database which was prone to occasional corruptions, and required gymnastics with operating systems and VMs to continue using, felt like more of a risk to me than moving to the current version and knowing I had a secure path forward. 

    Best wishes!
    Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 1993
  • jnoble100
    jnoble100 Member ✭✭
    Yep - that's exactly the reason I want to upgrade. And have seen a few instances of potential corruption over the last few months (but hopefully fixed that with a new copy of the Quicken data file).

    I'm surprised how many gaps there are with the current Mac version and version 2002 - particularly bugs like this one. Other than it being the latest version and native Mac, so far I'm not seeing any advantages. And a number of tasks I do now in the Windows version take a good number more clicks in the Mac version. Even simple tasks like marking a transaction as reconciled actually takes longer which is crazy (it's the same one click but it's noticeably delayed on the Mac version).

    It actually takes longer to load and start the Mac version than it does to start the VM and the old Windows version.

    I think I'm going to give it the 30 days and see how I get on.

    Right now, Windows old version is still winning!

    Watch this space! :smile:
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