How do I decide how to resolve placeholder entries?

To resolve/delete placeholder entries, see How do I resolve placeholder entries?

In order to get performance reporting and tax planning assistance, you should replace each placeholder entry with actual historical transactions.

Placeholder entries can only occur in an investment transaction list. Each placeholder entry identifies the security name and number of shares added to or subtracted from the account (for example, 50 shares of Intuit). It does not include a purchase date or price, which Quicken needs to provide performance reporting or use tax planning tools. You need to resolve placeholder entries if you want to use these tools, but not if you want to track holdings-only information in Quicken.

For connected accounts

When you add a connected account, Quicken downloads recent transactions from your financial institution. This usually represents only part of your entire transaction history. In order to account for the missing transactions, Quicken enters a placeholder entry to your account that makes up for the missing shares of each security. In a typical scenario, your placeholder entry list below the register has a placeholder entry entered on the date of your first download and multiple downloaded transactions entered with dates prior to your first download. It is rare that these transactions go all the way back to the date you opened the account.

For offline accounts

When you add an account that is not connected to your Financial Institution, Quicken asks you how many shares you own of each security and then enters a placeholder entry to represent those holdings. Your transaction list thus has a single placeholder entry for each security, entered on the date of you added the account.

Use the following methods to resolve a placeholder entry

Enter all historical transactions (Recommended)

Enter historical transactions for your accounts whenever possible. If you don't have all past statements for an account, they are sometimes available for a fee from financial institutions.

Advantages

Disadvantages

This method provides complete performance reporting and tax planning assistance, for current holdings and for shares you've sold. This is the most accurate and thorough way to report unrealized or realized gains. (Capital gains information is used to calculate your tax liability).

Quicken calculates the adjusted cost basis for each of your lots. From this information, Quicken can provide historical performance and help you plan for taxes:

Your investment performance reports are complete and accurate. You can also analyze your holdings, balance your asset allocation, and monitor your portfolio's performance.
Your investment-related tax reports are compete and accurate. When you sell a security, the Capital Gains report includes information to help you prepare Schedule D. You can also reduce your tax liability before you sell by trying out different sales scenarios in the Capital Gains Estimator. You can even import investment-related tax information directly into TurboTax.

You must be able to locate all past statements for this account. You must spend time entering historical transactions.

Don't resolve the Placeholder—I'll track my holdings only

If you don't want Quicken to create placeholders at all, you need to disable placeholders for accounts. For this, go to Edit->Preferences->Register->Downloaded transactions-> . Edit the settings for Compare account portfolio after download.

If you don't enter missing transactions, Quicken can't provide complete performance reporting or tax planning assistance.

Advantages

Disadvantages

Easiest method. Quicken can still provide portfolio analysis and limited performance reporting. You can also download security fundamentals, news and alerts, and see how your investment portfolio contributes to your overall net worth.

You can go back later and enter missing historical transactions.

Quicken can't provide historical performance and help you plan for taxes. Quicken will mark some performance and tax calculations as estimates. Quicken will keep the placeholder entry in the investment transaction list.

You may have to wait a few months before your investment data is in the range where you can display useful investment performance reports. Even when they do, your investment performance reports will show data relative to when you started using Quicken, not based on your portfolio's true historical performance. You will be able to monitor your portfolio's fundamentals but not its historical performance. You will still be able to analyze your holdings and balance your asset allocation. You can also research investment opportunities.
Cost basis and open lot data is incomplete, so that you can't create investment-related tax reports to help you prepare Schedule D tax information. Also, Quicken can't distinguish between short- and long-term gain capital gains, so you lose the benefit of using the Capital Gains Estimator.

Enter estimated average cost for Placeholder shares

If you don't have access to your old statements, or don't want to enter historical transactions you can still get limited performance reporting and tax planning assistance. Just enter an estimated average cost for your Placeholder shares.

Advantages

Disadvantages

This is the easiest way to resolve a placeholder entry without entering all historical transactions. Use this for mutual funds, especially if you reinvest dividends or make frequent purchases (as when following a dollar cost averaging investment plan). Basically you are estimating the average cost. You can go back later and enter missing historical transactions.

Because this doesn't capture the true average cost, Quicken will still mark some performance and tax calculations as estimates. Quicken will still keep the placeholder entry in the investment transaction list. (You can go back later and enter missing historical transactions.)

Quicken can't provide historical performance and help you plan for taxes. You may have to wait a few months before your investment data is in the range where you can display useful investment performance reports. Even when they do, your investment performance reports will show data relative to when you started using Quicken, not based on your portfolio's true historical performance. You will be able to monitor your portfolio's fundamentals but not its historical performance.

You will still be able to analyze your holdings and balance your asset allocation. You can also research investment opportunities. Cost basis and open lot data is incomplete, so that you can't create investment-related tax reports to help you prepare Schedule D tax information. Also, Quicken can't distinguish between short- and long-term gain capital gains, so you lose the benefit of using the Capital Gains Estimator.

Note for our Canadian Customers

The following terms will be different in the Canadian releases of Quicken.

Canada: "Cheque" / United States: "Check"
Canada: "Colour" / United States: "Color"
Canada: "Centre" / United States: "Center"
Canada: "Realise" / United States: "Realize"
Canada: "Behaviour" / United States: "Behavior"
Canada: "Analyse" / United States: "Analyze"