Resolving missing cost basis (placeholders)

If Quicken can’t download enough investment history from your brokerage, you can end up with correct share totals but missing purchase dates and cost basis for some shares. Quicken flags this as missing cost basis so you can either backfill the missing transactions or enter an estimate.

What “missing cost basis” means

A missing cost basis issue usually happens when the share balance your brokerage reports does not match the shares represented by the transactions in your Quicken register. To make your share totals match, Quicken creates a placeholder adjustment for the difference.

Placeholders fix the share count, but they don’t include purchase dates or prices. That’s why you can see shares in your holdings, but Quicken can’t calculate accurate gains for those shares until you add cost basis information.

Before you start

You’ll move faster if you have one of these open:

• Your brokerage’s cost basis page (preferred)

• Your brokerage statement showing original purchases, sales, and splits

• A transaction history export (if your brokerage provides one)

Method 1: Backfill older transactions (recommended)

Backfilling means you enter the real transactions that didn’t download. Use this method if you care about lots, holding periods, and capital gains reporting.

Find the missing cost basis entry

You can usually get to the missing cost basis workflow in either of these ways:

• From Portfolio: Go to the investment account, open Portfolio, and locate the security that shows missing cost basis (often shown as Add in the cost basis area).

• From Transactions: Go to Transactions and look for an entry that indicates a share adjustment (often labeled as an “add shares” style adjustment).

Add the missing transactions

1. Open the missing cost basis workflow for the security.

2. Choose Add Transactions.

3. In the transaction type list, select the type you need to enter (usually Buy first).

4. Enter a transaction date that is earlier than the date Quicken is using as the cutoff in the missing cost basis workflow.

5. Enter the details for that transaction, such as:

   • Number of shares

   • Total cost (and commission, if applicable)

6. Save the transaction.

7. Repeat until the “shares unaccounted for” number reaches 0.

What you must enter to resolve it

Enter any transaction that changes the share balance for that security, including:

• Buys and sells

• Reinvested dividends that bought shares

• Stock splits, reverse splits, and stock dividends

You do not need to enter cash-only activity (such as interest or dividends paid to cash) to resolve missing cost basis, because those items don’t change share counts.

Expect the “unaccounted” number to move around

While you backfill, the unaccounted share number can change from positive to negative (or vice versa). That’s normal, especially if you’re entering sells or split activity. The goal is to keep entering share-changing transactions until the value returns to 0.

Method 2: Add an estimate (guesstimate)

A guesstimate gives Quicken a cost basis number for performance reporting, but it does not recreate lots. Use this method only if you’re comfortable with an estimate.

1. Open the missing cost basis workflow for the security.

2. Choose Add Guesstimate.

3. Enter either:

   • Average price per share, or

   • A total estimated cost basis (depending on what the workflow asks for)

4. Save the estimate.

If you later find the real purchase history, you can return and replace the estimate by entering the real transactions.

If you don’t see an “Add” option and only see $0.00

This usually means Quicken has a holding with no cost basis, but it isn’t offering the direct “Add” entry point from that view.

Try these options:

Option A: Open the placeholder from the register

1. Go to the investment account’s Transactions view.

2. Look for a share adjustment entry for that security.

3. Open that entry, then use Add Transactions or Add Guesstimate from there.

Option B: Enter the missing transactions directly

If you can’t access the missing cost basis workflow, you can still resolve the issue by manually entering the missing transactions in the investment register:

1. Add the missing Buy transactions using the original purchase dates and costs.

2. Add any splits or stock dividend events that affected share counts.

3. Add sells if they are part of the missing period and affect the remaining share balance.

As you enter history, Quicken will be able to calculate cost basis for the shares that were previously missing it.

How you know you’re done

You’ve resolved missing cost basis for a security when Quicken shows 0 shares unaccounted for (or the placeholder/share adjustment no longer indicates missing shares). At that point, Quicken can calculate cost basis from your entered history instead of relying on placeholders.

Tip: When you want “no visuals required,” ask for a version that includes “two navigation paths + decision points + completion criteria.” That forces the draft to cover find-it steps, what to choose, and how to confirm success without screenshots.