Has the "reconcile" function for investment accounts changed recently.

tjones2033
tjones2033 Member ✭✭
edited April 2023 in Investing (Windows)
Today I tried to reconcile my investment accounts. The "reconcile" function asked different questions and appears to be attempting only a cash balance (not a share balance). I cant figure out how to reconcile. The attempt to reconcile cash balance brought up a tabulation of transactions going back many years. Help

Best Answer

  • Chris_QPW
    Chris_QPW Member ✭✭✭✭
    Answer ✓

    I got a list of transaction dating back to 2009.

    Sounds like something major changed in your account. The reconcile window should only show unreconciled transactions. Since you are seeing these transactions that implies that their reconcile status has been changed or that you have some kind of corruption in your register.

    I beg to differ. I reconcile my investment accounts to account value; the share numbers and prices have to be correct. 

    This is an incorrect assumption.

    Even though the cash reconcile windows shows “investment transactions” like Buy, Sold, Div, … it is only looking at the cash balance. Now mind you there is some cross correlation. For instance clearly if I buy 100 shares at a given cost then the cash amount for that transaction will be reflecting that, and if I put in 50 shares for at the same price then the cash reconcile would catch that. But say I put in a Buy for 100 shares at $20, and the cash amount is $2000. Well, if I instead put in 50 shares at $40 the transaction in the reconcile window would be exactly the same, with an amount of $2000.

    You always have to ensure that the number of shares in your register are correct before doing the cash (Ctrl+R) reconcile.

    As for the dialog changing, it hasn't. Here is an example in Quicken Subscription:

    Here is an example of it in Quicken 2013.

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Answers

  • Jim_Harman
    Jim_Harman SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭

    The Reconcile function in investing accounts has always just reconciled the cash.

    To reconcile your share balances, click on the gear at the top right of the accounts and select Reconcile shares… This reconciles your current share balances in Quicken to the most recent balances downloaded from your brokerage. For some brokerages, this was broken for several months last year.

    As far as I know for offline accounts, you must manually compare Quicken's share balances to those on your broker's website or statement.

    QWin Premier subscription
  • tjones2033
    tjones2033 Member ✭✭
    I beg to differ. I reconcile my investment accounts to account value; the share numbers and prices have to be correct. The cash value is a small part of this. When I entered values for a cash reconciliation, I got a list of transaction dating back to 2009. I've been reconciling my investment accounts for many years, but I've never see this before (i.e. separate cash and share value reconciliation). the reconcile screen asked for different information than I've been asked for before.
  • q_lurker
    q_lurker SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭

    but I've never see this before (i.e. separate cash and share value reconciliation).

    The two separate reconciles have been there as long as I can remember. The cash reconcile is looking at each individual transaction and is more focused on the cash aspect of the transaction. It will change the Clr status from blank (uncleared) to c (cleared) to R (reconciled). You could look at a backup file to look at that Clr status for those old transactions. If you have not been using the cash reconcile, they are likely all blanks and c's.

    The share reconcile is only checking the current share count, not the transactions that led to that total number of shares. It does not alter the Clr status.

    The user has the option to have the share reconcile aka "Compare to portfolio" done automatically at the conclusion of the download transactions process.

  • Chris_QPW
    Chris_QPW Member ✭✭✭✭
    Answer ✓

    I got a list of transaction dating back to 2009.

    Sounds like something major changed in your account. The reconcile window should only show unreconciled transactions. Since you are seeing these transactions that implies that their reconcile status has been changed or that you have some kind of corruption in your register.

    I beg to differ. I reconcile my investment accounts to account value; the share numbers and prices have to be correct. 

    This is an incorrect assumption.

    Even though the cash reconcile windows shows “investment transactions” like Buy, Sold, Div, … it is only looking at the cash balance. Now mind you there is some cross correlation. For instance clearly if I buy 100 shares at a given cost then the cash amount for that transaction will be reflecting that, and if I put in 50 shares for at the same price then the cash reconcile would catch that. But say I put in a Buy for 100 shares at $20, and the cash amount is $2000. Well, if I instead put in 50 shares at $40 the transaction in the reconcile window would be exactly the same, with an amount of $2000.

    You always have to ensure that the number of shares in your register are correct before doing the cash (Ctrl+R) reconcile.

    As for the dialog changing, it hasn't. Here is an example in Quicken Subscription:

    Here is an example of it in Quicken 2013.

    Signature:
    This is my website: http://www.quicknperlwiz.com/
  • Pianoman_Q
    Pianoman_Q Member ✭✭
    edited March 2023
    It was stated above:

    "The share reconcile is only checking the current share count, not the transactions that led to that total number of shares. It does not alter the Clr status."
    and
    "The user has the option to have the share reconcile aka "Compare to portfolio" done automatically at the conclusion of the download transactions process."

    How do I view the share reconcile info and where do I find the option to enable automatic share reconcile on Quicken for Mac?
  • Chris_QPW
    Chris_QPW Member ✭✭✭✭

    @Pianoman_Q This is a Quicken Windows category. You need to post your question in a Quicken Mac category.

    Select: New Post at the top of the page.

    Signature:
    This is my website: http://www.quicknperlwiz.com/
  • Dster620
    Dster620 Member

    Last month I recolciled my investment account with no problems, it did it by shares, and now with this new updated it tries to reconcile as a cash ballance. On the gear there is no  “choose Reconcile shares”. in new update of R48.8

  • Jim_Harman
    Jim_Harman SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭

    Last month I recolciled my investment account with no problems, it did it by shares, and now with this new updated it tries to reconcile as a cash ballance. On the gear there is no  “choose Reconcile shares”. in new update of R48.8

    Perhaps the issue here is whether the account is connected to the brokerage for downloading. The “Reconcile shares” option on the gear menu is only avalable for connected accounts, where the share balances can be downloaded and compared to the balances in Quicken.

    The Reconcile option is available for both connected and offline accounts. The Reconcile window lists all uncleared transactions up to the specified statement date, but it does not track or match shares, it only tracks the Cash amount of the transactions.

    QWin Premier subscription
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