Budget Actual Amounts don't agree with Transaction Register
Hi, I using Windows 11 and 2023.2 (5007)
I have created a simply Budget from Scratch to test the feature out. I have noticed the Actual Amount spent under one Budget Item does not agree with the transactions from the Transaction register, I can't find what is causing the discrepancy. I have attached a number of screen shots to describe the problem. Can someone please explain what is going on, or how do I fix this?
The First screen shot is the Budget Screen showing £465 actual amount for Cash & ATM for the Month of October
Second Screen shows drop down list when clicking on the Budget Bar at the top of the screen
Third Screen shows Actual Transactions, I have double checked the Splits and these only amount to £315
The last two Screen Shots show the details behind the two times Split transactions
Thank you
David Potter
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1 Posted by mhoggie on 29 Oct, 2023 11:56 AM
just a user,
Try changing in the budget items to Monthly (Not Prorated) and Weekly (Not Prorated)
2 Posted by David Charles P... on 29 Oct, 2023 01:29 PM
Hi mhoggie
Thanks for your reply. That didn't make any difference sorry to say.
Please see attached.
Kind Regards
David Potter
3 Posted by David Potter on 30 Oct, 2023 01:23 PM
Can anyone in Development please look at this issue, it is seriously hindering me carrying and and creating further Budget entries.
Thank You
4 Posted by David Potter on 31 Oct, 2023 02:39 PM
Hi, Okay I have found the problem. Whether you use the 'old' or 'new' budget style the program is picking up transactions for accounts that are marked INACTIVE'. Meaning that if I created a Budget hoping to see transactions from one particular account; that won't work. The program will find ALL transactions for budget categories across multiple accounts because:
1) There is nothing in the Budget Manager to set the desired (preferred) account to be used.
2) Despite setting an account as 'INACTIVE' in the Account Manager the program will still gather budget data for the categories listed in the budget setup. Creating a perceived overspend against that category.
Thoughts, comments and solutions welcome.
David Potter
5 Posted by mhoggie on 01 Nov, 2023 02:06 AM
just a user,
If you want to create a budget just for one account, then you would need to create a set of categories specific to that account. Otherwise all categories can be used against any account.
Support Staff 6 Posted by Maddy on 01 Nov, 2023 10:00 AM
Hi David,
Generally, the budget feature picks up all expenses based upon the categories used. So you could not limit the budget to one account for instance, unless you built a separate set of categories to only be used by that account.
On the other hand, using the Foresight feature under the Tools tab, will allow you to predict your future balances for just one account based upon your current balance and your reminders.
For further information, please refer to this article of the Knowledge Base.
I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions or need more assistance.
--
Maddy, Infinite Kind Support
7 Posted by David Charles P... on 01 Nov, 2023 10:10 AM
Dear Maddy
Thank you for the explanation. What I do find odd is why would the
Budget include an account I have marked 'INACTIVE'. Surely if I have
decided that a certain account should no longer be used in calculations
or reports etc. Why is it picked up by the Budget?
Thank you.
Kind Regards
David Potter
8 Posted by David Charles P... on 01 Nov, 2023 10:11 AM
Thank you for your contribution mhoggie.
Kind Regards
David Potter
Support Staff 9 Posted by Maddy on 01 Nov, 2023 10:32 AM
@David
Closing and Hiding Accounts prevents them from being shown in drop-down lists in account registers and they won't be synced with your mobile devices.
But Inactive accounts are still accessible from reports, as outlined here.
--
Maddy, Infinite Kind Support
10 Posted by David Charles P... on 01 Nov, 2023 10:36 AM
Dear Maddy
Thank you once again. Sorry I'm still new to this and comparing
Moneydance to what I know from other software solutions.
Kind Regards
David Potter
Support Staff 11 Posted by Maddy on 01 Nov, 2023 10:58 AM
You are welcome, David!
I'd close this discussion for now, but please don't hesitate to get back in touch, if you need further assistance.
--
Maddy, Infinite Kind Support
Maddy closed this discussion on 01 Nov, 2023 10:58 AM.
David Charles Potter re-opened this discussion on 01 Nov, 2023 11:55 AM
12 Posted by David Charles P... on 01 Nov, 2023 11:55 AM
Hi Maddy
There is something you could help me with:
My database contains thousands of transactions starting 2015 from
Quicken > Moneyspire and recently Moneydance. I need a Budget that works
with data from the most recently created Accounts. My thought was to
create a new database. Then edit the old database account structure so
that the ones I want in the new database are pointed to the new
database.
For some reason when I try to change the account database, the new
database does not show in the list? Please see screenshot. What am I
doing wrong?
Thanks
Kind Regards
David Potter
13 Posted by dwg on 01 Nov, 2023 12:09 PM
By new database I assume you have used the Moneydance command File --> New to create a new account set.
It sounds like you may be trying to link Account sets but there is no way to link Account sets, each account set is a standalone entity.
The Parent account you are showing is the base account which is also the Account Set name. By default the base account is the top level and thus is also the default parent of a the specific account in Moneydance, It is only expected to be different if you set one account to be a child or another specific account in Moneydance.
Support Staff 14 Posted by Maddy on 01 Nov, 2023 12:15 PM
You could use the Toolbox to zap/empty your dataset but keep the basic structure, then import data for the most recently created Accounts only.
To achieve this, you should navigate to Extensions->Manage Extensions and install the Toolbox v.1059.
Launch the Toolbox and choose Update mode
Click the MENU: Advance mode Tab and choose Clone Dataset's structure.
This tool clones the dataset, keeps the structures, and clears any previous data.
It’s safe to use as it creates a new dataset.
Your original data set stays intact.
--
Maddy, Infinite Kind Support
15 Posted by David Charles P... on 01 Nov, 2023 02:30 PM
I'll give this a go Maddy. Thanks for your support and patience.
Kind Regards
David Potter
16 Posted by David Charles P... on 01 Nov, 2023 02:31 PM
Thanks DWG. I understand now thank you.
Kind Regards
David Potter
17 Posted by mhoggie on 01 Nov, 2023 07:17 PM
just a user,
Let me add my 2 cents about the MD budget feature. I have used MD budget for many years (both new and old styles) and I have experienced much of the frustrations many users have using the feature. A few years ago I started using the Foresight Foresight extension which is now a integral part of MD found under the Tools tab. I found the Foresight feature to be superior to the MD budget new and old processes and it serves me well to follow my financial situation and future activities. I still have the Old Style budget set up, but I rarely look at it anymore because the Foresight feature is so useful. I have a single checking account where all income, expense, payments, and transfers occur and I have Foresight watching the activity of that one account. I have my reminders set up for every expected expense and income in the future and I keep the reminder amounts as accurate as possible. I'm talking about income, mortgage-loan payments, credit card payments, future property tax payments, income tax payments, insurance payments, car tags, everything. Foresight will look at your current checking account balance and all future reminders that would affect that account. It gives you a nice graph with a detailed transaction listing where you can look out months and years into the future based upon your reminder settings and account balances. You can set up a reminder for health insurance premiums for the current year and another reminder for the following year when you get notified of premiums changes. The current year reminder is set to expire the end of the current year and the new reminder becomes effective the new year. You can do this for all expenses or payments when you become aware of the new rate. I've already updated my Social Security benefit for 2024 with the new 3% Cola increase predicted. When I get official SS notifications, I'll adjust the amount as needed. It just works great for me because I can look months and years in the future and get an accurate prediction of my financial situation so I can make any needed changes in my spending. Sometimes I will add additional reminders just to test my efforts to repay loans early or make major purchases.
Foresight Forecast just works great for me. I recommend it over the MD budgeting tools.
18 Posted by David Charles P... on 02 Nov, 2023 10:26 AM
Hi mhoggie
Thank you so much for sharing your experience on this subject - very
kind of you. I must say I'm struggling with MD Old and New Budgets, they
are not that intuitive when I think about what I have used in other
software. I agree the Foresight is quite revolutionary compared to the
MD standard Budget offerings. I am playing around with it as we speak.
Can I ask; could you please send me a screen shot of what you see
presently in the Foresight Graph. Just so I can see first hand a good
example of what I should be looking for when I'm finished understanding
it all. A guide line representation if you like. No data just the graph
if that's okay.
I have noted your approach to creating Reminders and I will use this
going forward. You have been very helpful and I wish you all the best
for the future.
Kind Regards
David Potter
19 Posted by mhoggie on 02 Nov, 2023 10:54 AM
just a user,
Here you go. I look at this graph most days to see how I am doing. I used to pay my property tax with dividends from my 401k, but this year I transferred it all to an IRA so no more dividends. So I need to keep a sharp eye on December and March of next year to make sure to have enough funds in the bank to pay the tax. I just put the expected tax amount in a reminder, (half in Dec and the 2nd half in Mar). That lets me forecast my checking balance along with all my other expenses. You can see that it dips down in Dec and not so much in March next year because I now have to take a RMD from my savings which gives me some more income next year which I have plugged into my reminders. It's just a good way to see what's coming so you can make adjustments. You want your account balance to be steadily increasing over time. If you see it heading the the other direction then you need to determine the cause and make changes as needed.
20 Posted by David Charles P... on 02 Nov, 2023 11:06 AM
Thank you so much, you're a star and a credit to the Moneydance
community.
Best wishes mhoggie
Kind Regards
David Potter
System closed this discussion on 01 Feb, 2024 11:10 AM.