Why doesn't US Bank online balance match the transactions. It used to be fine.

MrZipp
MrZipp Member ✭✭✭
About half of the time now, the OL balance is off. This started occurring frequently in the past month or so. Sometimes it will correct later in the day, but not always. This makes daily reconciling no fun. I usually have 10-15 transactions a day on this account, so it's a nuisance.

When checking the US Bank website balance, it appears the shown balance generally includes even the most recent transactions (used to be Pending?), but these transactions are not downloaded.

Any help here?

thanks!

MrZipp

Best Answer

  • Boatnmaniac
    Boatnmaniac SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    Answer ✓
    @MrZipp - This "timing" issue is most pronounced with EWC accounts...and it is something that can occur with just about any EWC financial institution, not just US Bank.  As you noted and as mentioned by @Damian this issue will often self resolve by running OSU, again, 12-24 hrs later.  I have found that this issue is most pronounced when running OSU in the mornings but it usually self resolves if I run it, again, in the evening.  But in your case, since you seem to have a lot of transactions downloading every day I can see where it might be several days before it all balances out correctly. 
    This "timing" issue does also occur with some DC accounts but it is not as common and it does appear to be specific to certain financial institutions whose downloads are not 100% real time data.  I have not heard of anyone saying they are seeing this issue with downloads via DC from USB.  Some people find the USB fee for DC to be acceptable while others do not.  It is a personal choice.
    Another option is using Web Connect.  WC is where you log into your online account and manually download and import a QFX/Quicken transactions file from there.  I do not ever recall anyone reporting this timing issue when they use WC.  Maybe you might find this to be the best option if you cannot tolerate the timing issue with EWC and if you do not want to incur the monthly fee for DC.

    (Quicken Classic Premier Subscription: R54.16 on Windows 11)

Answers

  • I have found that the transactions and online balance sometimes are updated at different times at the FI.  I have seen this mismatch happen usually in the evenings when FIs start their overnight update process.  Maybe US Bank has changed their update schedule?  It sounds like you do updates frequently.  Maybe you are catching US Bank in the midst of their update process?  But nevertheless, when I have this happen to me, I click "Finish Later" and try again the next morning, when I am always able to finish the download and reconcile process.
  • NotACPA
    NotACPA SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    @MrZipp How are you downloading from USB?  The free Express Web Connect or the $3.95/month to download all of your USB accounts via Direct Connect.
    I started Direct Connect several years ago when I concluded that USB's implementation of EWC was too flaky for me.
    You can look in TOOLS, Account List to see the download method which will be adjacent to you USB accounts in that list.
    I download via Scheduled Update at 7am on 6 mornings a week without issue.

    Q user since February, 1990. DOS Version 4
    Now running Quicken Windows Subscription, Business & Personal
    Retired "Certified Information Systems Auditor" & Bank Audit VP

  • Boatnmaniac
    Boatnmaniac SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    Answer ✓
    @MrZipp - This "timing" issue is most pronounced with EWC accounts...and it is something that can occur with just about any EWC financial institution, not just US Bank.  As you noted and as mentioned by @Damian this issue will often self resolve by running OSU, again, 12-24 hrs later.  I have found that this issue is most pronounced when running OSU in the mornings but it usually self resolves if I run it, again, in the evening.  But in your case, since you seem to have a lot of transactions downloading every day I can see where it might be several days before it all balances out correctly. 
    This "timing" issue does also occur with some DC accounts but it is not as common and it does appear to be specific to certain financial institutions whose downloads are not 100% real time data.  I have not heard of anyone saying they are seeing this issue with downloads via DC from USB.  Some people find the USB fee for DC to be acceptable while others do not.  It is a personal choice.
    Another option is using Web Connect.  WC is where you log into your online account and manually download and import a QFX/Quicken transactions file from there.  I do not ever recall anyone reporting this timing issue when they use WC.  Maybe you might find this to be the best option if you cannot tolerate the timing issue with EWC and if you do not want to incur the monthly fee for DC.

    (Quicken Classic Premier Subscription: R54.16 on Windows 11)

  • MrZipp
    MrZipp Member ✭✭✭
    Thanks so much for your comment and info. I like to run my daily DLs first thing in the morning. Generally around 7 am EDT. Like you said, before EWC, all was better for me. If I do run a DL later in the day, it usually catches up, but it's not as nice as it once was.

    The other methods don't appeal to me, as I have a good number of FI to work with. Just so happens, we chose USBank as our everyday card.

    Thx again!

    MrZipp
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