Option to Merge Manually-Entered Transaction and Bank-Downloaded Transaction Not Available?

Amanda Young

Hi there,
I like to manually input my larger pending transactions into Simplifi so that I am sure that my spending plan is up to date, however I was assuming that either I'd have the option to merge the manually-entered transaction to the transaction that downloads from the bank once it's cleared or that Simplifi would recognize them as being the same and merge them automatically. This morning, every single transaction I manually entered was in duplicate with the bank-downloaded counterpart (and still listed as 'pending'), and when I selected both transactions, the two arrows "merge" option that should be there according to Simplifi's support blog just wasn't there. I tried it both with the manually-entered transaction pending and after clearing it. What am I missing?

Coach Natalie

Hello @Amanda Young,

Thanks for posting to the Community regarding this issue, although I'm sorry to hear that the merge option is missing for you.

To clarify, manually entered transactions should automatically match to bank downloaded transactions, but if they don't, you should have the option to merge them. I'm assuming that you've already taken a look at this Support Article, but wanted to provide it just in case. 

With that being said, I am seeing the same issue as you where I am unable to merge a manually entered transaction with a bank downloaded transaction. However, this issue seems to not be widespread, as some of my co-workers are not personally seeing this issue presented in Simplifi. I did go ahead and get this reported, and will be sure to post back here as soon as any updates become available.

Thank you,

Coach Natalie

SIMPL-8608

RobWilk

I frequently see this issue as well, but I've 'adapted' to the behavior .. I don't think it happens all the time though.  I would prefer to enter my transactions before they download so the balance/forecast can be up to date.  Some of my banks (not all) do download pending transactions same day, but i notice I cannot 'refresh' (the old 'one button update') hank transactions if it's been done recently..  So, for example, if i log into simplify, enter a transaction for a purchase, then log into my bank and schedule a payment ("pending") to cover that transaction, I can't come back into simplify and download that pending transaction because (i gather) it's too soon...

Coach Natalie

Hello @RobWilk,

Thanks for posting!

To clarify, are you experiencing an issue with being unable to merge/match a manually entered transaction to a downloaded transaction, or are you referring to not receiving downloaded pending transactions in Simplifi? If the latter, it can take up to 4 hours for transactions to download into Simplifi once they appear on your bank's website. More information regarding this can be found here. 

If you believe that your transactions are not downloading as they should be, I'd suggest creating a new post outlining the specific issue that you're seeing, so that we can take a look at what's going on from there.

Thank you,

Coach Natalie

RobWilk

To be clear, the 'downloading transactions' was a secondary issue to this (meaning it made this issue appear).  I am aware, for example, chase will download pending transactions, but CapiitalOne only downloads cleared transactions (or so it appears).   I suspect this is a difference in how the banks manage transactions.

The main issue was the way it matches/merges these pending transactions - Such that if I enter a transaction before it downloads, it was having issues matching the pending transaction to what i pre-entered once it was downloaded.

This seems to have gotten better recently.  Maybe i'm being more careful with how i name what i pre-enter so it's more match-able.

Coach Natalie

Hello @RobWilk,

Thanks for clarifying!

With pending transactions downloading, they should download into Simplifi, but can take up to four hours to do so. In regards to Capital One specifically, we use their API to connect, so it's possible that with the API, pending transactions won't download. I've actually escalated this issue to our Product Team for my personal Capital One credit card, so it is being researched, but you should definitely be receiving pending transactions from your other institutions in Simplifi.

In regards to Simplifi automatically matching, I'm happy to hear that this has gotten better for you! It may be that Simplifi is learning from the edits/merges that you've made over time, so hopefully this continues to improve for you. Unfortunately, with downloaded transactions not being automatically matched to a manually entered transaction, we're left with either merging the two, or deleting one of the duplicates. This Support Article covers this in more detail.

I hope that this helps to clear things up, but please let me know if there's anything further that I can assist with!

-Coach Natalie

PJLmoney

I have a related merge issue.  As a new user, I may not be using best practices regarding Recurring bills and Merging manual transactions, not sure.  Here is my scenario:  
1 - I have Recurring Bills configured for my regular payments, not all of which are auto-paid from my bank.
2 - I manually enter a transaction, maybe making an online CC payment for a future date, or writing a check.
3 - When the transaction is subsequently downloaded from the bank, both the manual and downloaded transactions are linked to the Recurring reminder (each transaction detail shows the link, and the Recurring Reminder History shows both the manual and downloaded transactions.)
4 - I can't seem to then Merge the manual and downloaded transactions into one; I select them both in the list but the double-arrow Merge icon does not appear.  (I have successfully merged other transactions without any associated Recurring Bills, so I know how it's supposed to work.)
5 - I even un-linked both the manual and downloaded transactions from the Recurring Bill, and tried again to merge them; still not getting the Merge icon when I select both transactions.

Is it not possible to merge transactions that are linked to a Recurring Bill?  If not, what is the 'best practice' for this scenario?  Especially for checks written, I don't want to wait until they clear and download before being able to link to and clear out the Recurring reminders.  

Thanks!

Coach Natalie

Hello @PJLmoney,

Thanks for taking the time to post to the Community, although I'm sorry to hear that you're also seeing this issue in Simplifi.

I am not aware of any limitations on being able to merge a manually entered transaction to a bank downloaded transaction that's been linked to a Reminder, however, when testing this, I am personally seeing an issue with being able to merge transactions in Simplifi that appears to affect transactions that have been linked to a Reminder, as well as transactions that have not. The issue that I'm seeing is also that the merge icon doesn't appear when selecting the transactions.

With that being said, I definitely think there's something funky still going on with this. The Ticket that was opened for this issue back in March is still being worked on, but I have requested an update from our Product Team, as well as let them know that the issue is still actively occurring.

I also added your information to the Ticket -- please be sure to continue following along here for updates!

-Coach Natalie

ramza1011

I have a split transaction that's manually entered, and I want to merge it with the bank version. However, when I click on the 2 items to merge it, like I usually do with other transactions, it doesn't give me the option to merge them.

Coach Natalie

Hello @ramza1011,

Thank you for reporting this to the Community, although I'm sorry to hear that you're also experiencing an issue with being able to merge transactions in Simplifi.

Since we have an ongoing thread regarding this behavior, I went ahead and merged your post here, as well as added your information to the existing Ticket for this issue. Please be sure to continue following along here for updates!

-Coach Natalie

Coach Natalie

Hello @Amanda Young, @PJLmoney, & @ramza1011,

I wanted to reach back out and see if anyone is still experiencing issues with merging transactions in Simplifi. I am personally still seeing an issue with merging a manual transaction with a bank downloaded transaction if one of the transactions has been linked to a Recurring Reminder. I have made the Product Team aware of this specific behavior, but am wondering if anyone else is seeing anything additional when it comes to merging transactions. 

Thanks, everyone!

-Coach Natalie

Coach Natalie

Hello again @Amanda Young, @PJLmoney, & @ramza1011,

I just wanted to check back in one last time to see if any of you are noticing issues with merging transactions outside of what I outlined in my last comment. If so, please let us know so we can make sure the issues are properly being addressed. 

If not, I will continue to update this post accordingly as any news becomes available for the issue we are currently aware of with merging transactions.

-Coach Natalie

PJLmoney

Yes, I did notice this twice recently, the latest was just yesterday.  As you mentioned, it was merging a manual and downloaded transaction, when one of them had been linked to a recurring reminder.  I think the manual one was linked to the reminder.  Thanks.

Coach Natalie

Hello All,

A fix for this is scheduled for the 3.92.0 Web Release. I'm not sure exactly what the fix will entail, but we shall find out!

-Coach Natalie

Coach Natalie

Hey everyone, it looks like they decided to not do anything about the inability to merge a manual transaction with a bank downloaded transaction if one of the transactions has been linked to a Recurring Reminder, as they determined this to be an unlikely scenario/one that doesn't cause much of an issue. Instead, we recommend that users simply delete one of the transactions instead of merging them.

Sorry for not having better news!

-Coach Natalie