My scheduled transactions are jumping ahead by months. Is there a fix?

I have my paychecks as scheduled transactions. They are set up to transfer in the full paycheck then record the various deductions before transferring the net to checking. A little while ago (maybe two months?), they began leaping forward in time in strange ways. For example, I was to be paid 3/31. I found the scheduled transaction group had a dote of a random day in 2023. I edited "this and future" to bring it back to the present. I then did the same to my spouse's (paid 4/1 but had leapt ahead to a day in December). When I edited my spouse's, the next due date for my paycheck group leapt forward to I believe October even though I did not touch it. Has anyone else seen this, and is there a fix?

Answers

  • Quicken Jared
    Quicken Jared Alumni ✭✭✭✭
    KDBrown said:
    I have my paychecks as scheduled transactions. They are set up to transfer in the full paycheck then record the various deductions before transferring the net to checking. A little while ago (maybe two months?), they began leaping forward in time in strange ways. For example, I was to be paid 3/31. I found the scheduled transaction group had a dote of a random day in 2023. I edited "this and future" to bring it back to the present. I then did the same to my spouse's (paid 4/1 but had leapt ahead to a day in December). When I edited my spouse's, the next due date for my paycheck group leapt forward to I believe October even though I did not touch it. Has anyone else seen this, and is there a fix?
    Hello @KDBrown

    I apologize about this issue with scheduling transactions and dates randomly changes. Thank you for getting in contact with the Quicken Community in regards to this problem.

    First, what steps do you take when you are scheduling these transactions? Also, try creating what is called a 'test' file by going to File > New Quicken File... in the upper menu at the top of the screen. Try creating a scheduled transaction in this new file using the same method you would, normally. Are you noticing the same behavior?

    I am eager to hear about your results.

    Best regards,

    Quicken Jared 
  • KDBrown
    KDBrown Member
    The groups were created 20 and probably 35 years ago and have been carried forward. And four months ago--and for all the prior years--this was not the behavior. It was a definite change in the Quicken behavior. I believe it is a bug that was introduced in an update, but I thought I would ask other users to see if someone had a workaround. I did see another discussion posted that may be talking about the same behavior (it said scheduled groups disappeared, which was what I first thought had happened before I found the groups way down the scheduled transactions list).

    When I created a new dummy transaction group for April 4 and every 2 weeks, entering it the first time worked properly leaving the next occurrence on April 18. I edited the group, and after saving the next occurrence moved to May 16 (the group was not entered). I then deleted the transactions that the group had recorded, and it moved to July 11. I edited the group to make the next transaction April 18, then recorded it. It appeared to work properly. I then deleted the transactions that the group had recorded and it next occurrence moved to May 30. Although these actions are different than I had done earlier, the similarity in behavior would suggest it is the same underlying problem.
  • Quicken Jared
    Quicken Jared Alumni ✭✭✭✭
    KDBrown said:
    The groups were created 20 and probably 35 years ago and have been carried forward. And four months ago--and for all the prior years--this was not the behavior. It was a definite change in the Quicken behavior. I believe it is a bug that was introduced in an update, but I thought I would ask other users to see if someone had a workaround. I did see another discussion posted that may be talking about the same behavior (it said scheduled groups disappeared, which was what I first thought had happened before I found the groups way down the scheduled transactions list).

    When I created a new dummy transaction group for April 4 and every 2 weeks, entering it the first time worked properly leaving the next occurrence on April 18. I edited the group, and after saving the next occurrence moved to May 16 (the group was not entered). I then deleted the transactions that the group had recorded, and it moved to July 11. I edited the group to make the next transaction April 18, then recorded it. It appeared to work properly. I then deleted the transactions that the group had recorded and it next occurrence moved to May 30. Although these actions are different than I had done earlier, the similarity in behavior would suggest it is the same underlying problem.
    @KDBrown,   

    Thank you for getting back to me with more information about the issue. I am sorry that this problem is still ongoing, at the moment.

    When you mention the 'dummy transaction group,' was this being created in the test file mentioned in my previous comment? Also, where is your current active data file located? You can check this anytime by going to File > Show this file on my computer in the upper menu at the top of the screen. Lastly, do you know where your Quicken program files were downloaded to?

    I look forward to hearing from you once again with any further updates or details. 

    Thank you,

    Quicken Jared 
  • KDBrown
    KDBrown Member
    Jared,

    I note that you are discussing what seems to be the same issue with another person, Jaz Egg. For whatever reason, you advised that person to restore a backup. Jaz Egg has not responded to your latest, so I do not know if the test was successful, but given my experience with a new transaction group I would not think it addressed the issue. I will keep an eye on that thread and see if Jaz Egg says the issue is resolved.

    I both created a dummy transaction in my existing data file and tried it in a pristine file. But in the pristine file, a few things did not work correctly. The transaction group did not skip ahead, which is what I would have expected. It is possible it will not in that data file, unless I can duplicate the transaction groups I am using which I was not able to do. In the pristine file the transaction group put all transactions in one account rather than in a couple accounts. On the other hand, if this behavior I had described happens in a pristine data file I would expect every Quicken user to have the same issue. Given they do not, it is not clear what this test is testing.

    The transaction groups in question put a deposit into an account, then record expenditures from the account or transfer from the account to other accounts. When I said "edited the group" I meant adding or deleting transactions in the group.

    My data file is in a director named "Quicken" that is three deep on my D: drive (D:\xxx\Quicken). The program files are, as you would expect, in C:\Program Files (x86)\Quicken.
  • Quicken Jared
    Quicken Jared Alumni ✭✭✭✭
    edited May 2022
    KDBrown said:
    Jared,

    I note that you are discussing what seems to be the same issue with another person, Jaz Egg. For whatever reason, you advised that person to restore a backup. Jaz Egg has not responded to your latest, so I do not know if the test was successful, but given my experience with a new transaction group I would not think it addressed the issue. I will keep an eye on that thread and see if Jaz Egg says the issue is resolved.

    I both created a dummy transaction in my existing data file and tried it in a pristine file. But in the pristine file, a few things did not work correctly. The transaction group did not skip ahead, which is what I would have expected. It is possible it will not in that data file, unless I can duplicate the transaction groups I am using which I was not able to do. In the pristine file the transaction group put all transactions in one account rather than in a couple accounts. On the other hand, if this behavior I had described happens in a pristine data file I would expect every Quicken user to have the same issue. Given they do not, it is not clear what this test is testing.

    The transaction groups in question put a deposit into an account, then record expenditures from the account or transfer from the account to other accounts. When I said "edited the group" I meant adding or deleting transactions in the group.

    My data file is in a director named "Quicken" that is three deep on my D: drive (D:\xxx\Quicken). The program files are, as you would expect, in C:\Program Files (x86)\Quicken.
    Hello @KDBrown

    Thank you for getting in contact once again and providing further details about what is happening. I apologize that the resolution for this issue remains unclear, for the moment. 

    I am somewhat confused about the results of testing the scheduled transactions in the new data file based on the description provided. Were you still noticing the same errors with the dates being changed automatically?

    If you have the chance, I recommend saving a backup by going to File > Copy or Backup File... in the upper menu at the top of the screen and then moving through the steps provided below, in order:
    1. Navigate to File
    2. Select Validate and Repair File...
    3. Select Validate File
    4. Click OK
    5. Close the Data Log
    6. Close Quicken (leave it closed for at least 5 secs)
    7. Reopen Quicken and see if the issue persists.
    I intend to continue working with you on this in the future, if necessary. 

    Thank you,

    Quicken Jared 
  • KDBrown
    KDBrown Member
    Concerning my previous comment, you asked me to make a new file to see if the behavior was still there. I commented that I believe doing so tests only whether the issue would happen with any data file. Were that the case, I would assume many Quicken users would have the same issue. As expected, with a new data file memorized transaction groups behave properly.

    Now to new stuff. I ran the file validation, and Quicken found a couple dozen problematic transactions from a very long time ago. Since I had three transaction groups to record, I closed the data log, closed Quicken, waited, opened Quicken, and immediately ran the first transaction group without repairing the problematic transactions. That group is to run every two weeks, but Quicken set the next occurrence in I believe December, which is a gap of much more than two weeks.

    I then repaired each of the problem transactions that were listed on the data validation report. Each of these were trying to transfer to an account that did not exist, so I created new transactions that categorized the the amount as Misc (no transfer) and deleted the old one that referenced the nonexistent accounts. I then shut Quicken down, waited, and restarted it.

    Next I ran the second scheduled transaction group. This one is set up to be recorded monthly. It placed the next occurrence in 2025.

    I will conjecture that the groups may have an internal variable keeping track of next occurrence. When you "Edit this instance and all future instances" and select a new "next" date (i.e., try to move the group's next occurrence to, say, next month), I suspect it does not reset the next date in this internal variable.

    It appears that every time I "Edit this instance and all future instances" to reset the next occurrence, it instead advances the next occurrence by one unit (i.e., two weeks for the every two weeks group and one month for the every month group) instead of moving it to the date selected. The same behavior occurs if "Edit this instance" is chosen instead.
  • Quicken Jared
    Quicken Jared Alumni ✭✭✭✭
    KDBrown said:
    Concerning my previous comment, you asked me to make a new file to see if the behavior was still there. I commented that I believe doing so tests only whether the issue would happen with any data file. Were that the case, I would assume many Quicken users would have the same issue. As expected, with a new data file memorized transaction groups behave properly.

    Now to new stuff. I ran the file validation, and Quicken found a couple dozen problematic transactions from a very long time ago. Since I had three transaction groups to record, I closed the data log, closed Quicken, waited, opened Quicken, and immediately ran the first transaction group without repairing the problematic transactions. That group is to run every two weeks, but Quicken set the next occurrence in I believe December, which is a gap of much more than two weeks.

    I then repaired each of the problem transactions that were listed on the data validation report. Each of these were trying to transfer to an account that did not exist, so I created new transactions that categorized the the amount as Misc (no transfer) and deleted the old one that referenced the nonexistent accounts. I then shut Quicken down, waited, and restarted it.

    Next I ran the second scheduled transaction group. This one is set up to be recorded monthly. It placed the next occurrence in 2025.

    I will conjecture that the groups may have an internal variable keeping track of next occurrence. When you "Edit this instance and all future instances" and select a new "next" date (i.e., try to move the group's next occurrence to, say, next month), I suspect it does not reset the next date in this internal variable.

    It appears that every time I "Edit this instance and all future instances" to reset the next occurrence, it instead advances the next occurrence by one unit (i.e., two weeks for the every two weeks group and one month for the every month group) instead of moving it to the date selected. The same behavior occurs if "Edit this instance" is chosen instead.
    Hello @KDBrown

    I am sorry to hear that this problem seems to remain even after removing the transactions identified as a source of errors by the validation process. Thank you for providing me with so much information about what is happening.

    Have you also attempted to Super Validate the data file? Be sure to save another backup, then run through the steps provided below, in order (if these have not yet been attempted):

    1. Navigate to File
    2. Hold CTRL + Shift and click Validate and Repair File...
    3. Select Super Validate File
    4. Click OK
    5. Close the Data Log
    6. Close Quicken (leave it closed for at least 5 secs)
    7. Reopen Quicken and see if the issue persists.

    I look forward to hearing about your results upon implementing these instructions.

    Thank you,

    Quicken Jared 
This discussion has been closed.