Amount/Balance Column Show in Red [edited]

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Jipgiles Data
Jipgiles Data Member ✭
edited March 2022 in Registers & Transactions (Windows)
Some how I have change  my amount and balance column both to show red .How do I change the balance back?

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  • volvogirl
    volvogirl SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
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    What kind of account?  A Bank account or Credit Card Account?

    For Bank Accounts.....
    Are the deposits/payments in the right columns?  But the balance is going the wrong way?  Here's some ideas.  Oh, are you using the Payment Column and Deposit Column?  If you are just using the Amount column we suggest using the 'Payment' & 'Deposit' columns and drop the 'Amount' column.

    First make sure you are sorted in Date order with the newest date at the bottom. If you are not then click the DATE Column heading to sort.
     
    Is the balance in red or black? Look back through your transactions and maybe you'll spot one that was entered backward. Or a payment in the deposit column or a deposit in the payment column. Look around back where this first started happening.   Or a deposit (or payment) transaction got erased and is missing.  

    If your deposits are subtracting from the balance then you could be running a negative balance and the deposit is really reducing the negative amount.  So the balance will show a lower number.  

    If your payments are adding to the balance then you could be running a negative balance and the payment is really increasing  the negative amount and your account is over drafted. 
     
    Also make sure you have the right starting balance.  If it's zero you might need to add a beginning balance for when you started the account in Quicken.

    Maybe the deposits (or payments) disappeared from the checking account because they were transfers from another account and maybe you changed the category on the other account to something else.  Might want to check that.

    I'm staying on Quicken 2013 Premier for Windows.

  • GordieZ
    GordieZ Member ✭✭
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    I can't figure out what information will be lacking if I choose to use only the "Amount" column instead of both the "Payment" and "Deposit" columns. Not sure if it makes a diff but I will be mostly downloading transactions and only infrequently manually entering them.

    I looked into this because VolvoGirl wrote "...we suggest using the 'Payment' & 'Deposit' columns and drop the 'Amount' column." Comments in one post included "... primary purpose of the Amount column is to confuse people... Using ["Deposit" and "Payment" columns] is MUCH easier... than when you need (don't need) to use a minus sign before the dollars in the Amount column... Some folks prefer... one column (Amount) versus two (Payment and Deposit)... the amount column is for people with limited display width resolution." And in a different post I found "[use] two separate columns, one for deposits and one for payments. That way, you never have to be concerned about a positive or negative number, nor which account is being used."

    If I'm only using the "Amount" column, then if a downloaded transaction amount is negative/red it was withdrawn from this account to pay the "Payee" and if it's positive/black it was deposited into the account by the "Payee" (the column should be named "payee/payor", right?) If it's a transfer, the FI is shown under "Payee," my other account it transferred to is shown under "Category," and "Amount" shows it as negative/red because it was a withdrawal. What am I missing?

    Thanks.
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