Watchlist, with tags, brings in all of a split transaction incorrectly

frankrizzo

1) I have a split transaction in which 1 split is tagged "gc_amazon" and the other part has no tag.

2) The transaction is $315.57 total.

3) When I create a watchlist with the tag gc_amazon, it pulls in the full split amount instead of just the tagged amount. The watch list transaction should show $300.

split.png

watchlist.png

Coach Natalie

Hello @frankrizzo,

Thanks for posting to the Community regarding this issue, although I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing difficulties with Watchlists in Simplifi.

To clarify, just like the Transaction Activity of the Spending Plan and Reports, split transactions will show the full amount and say "Split" for the Category. However, only the applicable split portion of the transaction will actually be counted toward the calculations.

I confirmed this for a Tag-based Watchlist by splitting a transaction using your same example from above, applying $300 of the transaction to a Tag, and then running a Watchlist by that Tag. The results show the entire transaction in the Transaction Activity, but the totals at the top just show $300:

With that said, I'd suggest taking a look at the other transactions that are included in the Watchlist and adding everything up (including just the applicable portion of that split transaction) to see if you have accurate calculations. If so, this is by design, and I'd suggest adding your vote and feedback here:

https://community.simplifimoney.com/discussion/3486/spending-plan-watchlist-amount-displayed-on-transaction-list-for-splits-edited

Please let us know how it goes!

-Coach Natalie

frankrizzo

Hi @Coach Natalie thanks for your response. As I dug deeper into the watchlist, I'm confused on how these calculations are being done.

1. $162.96 - I have no idea how this number is calculated. I've tried to mix and match the transactions in the report, but no luck.
2. $128.29 - This one I figured out if I exclude the transactions that are marked "Excluded on reports & spending plan".
3. $280.90 - This is total of all exported transactions. The problem with this number is that it includes all the split values, even though they are not marked with a tag.

Thanks…

RobWilk

The $128.29 comes from gc_amazon - gv_apple because one is positive, one is negative

Coach Natalie

Hello @frankrizzo,

Thanks for posting back!

@RobWilk is correct in that $128.29 is the total of the two Tags since one is a negative amount and one is a positive amount. However, I'm pretty sure that the "This month" total at the top should match the tooltip in the bar graph, but it instead shows $162.96. There may be something going on with the Watchlist itself, so I'd suggest deleting and recreating it.

If that clears things up so the totals match, and you're still questioning the amount of $128.29, you'd want to look at each individual transaction that's included in the Watchlist and manually calculate the amount for each of the included Tags to get the total based on the transactions. Exporting the Transaction Activity to a CSV and getting the total that way won't work, as it will include transactions that are being excluded from the Watchlist, as well as the total amount of a split transaction; the Watchlist total won't include these items.

-Coach Natalie

frankrizzo

@Coach Natalie and @RobWilk, The $128.29 was the only amount I did understand. (See my comment #2 above).

For #1: I deleted and re-created the watchlist. The "This month" amount is still $162.96. Still no idea how this is calculated.

For #3: While viewing the watchlist, why would the "export to csv" button export transactions that are excluded in the watchlist? This doesn't make too much sense to me, as when I look at the list of transactions in the watchlist, they add up correctly (minus the split).

Coach Natalie

Hello @frankrizzo,

To clarify, excluding a transaction from Reports (which excludes it from Watchlists), doesn't exclude it from a CSV export. A CSV export downloads all visible transactions unless the transactions are individually selected for export. Again, the Transaction Activity of a Watchlist isn't necessarily indicative of what's being calculated in the Watchlist, as you'll still see excluded transactions, as well as the full amount for splits.

https://help.simplifimoney.com/en/articles/3404263-how-to-export-transactions

https://help.simplifimoney.com/en/articles/3569626-how-to-exclude-transactions-from-reports-and-the-spending-plan

With that said, do you still see the same amount of $128.29 on the tooltip for this month, in addition to seeing the $162.96 for the total at the top? If so, I think there may be something funky going on with the Watchlist. However, is it possible that you may have an upcoming Reminder for the Watchlist? Can you upload a screenshot of all of the transactions displayed below the list, including the Transaction Detail window for the split transaction, so we can take a closer look, please?

Thanks!

-Coach Natalie

Coach Natalie

Hello again @frankrizzo,

Doing some more testing on this, and I honestly think it has to do with an upcoming Reminder using one of those Tags. I know Watchlist totals include upcoming Reminders, however, it doesn't look like the Reminders are actually displayed in the Watchlist, nor are they calculated toward the tooltip.

https://help.simplifimoney.com/en/articles/3472367-using-watchlists#h_131ab63f58

I created a Watchlist and the transactions shown total up to the tooltip, which shows $21.31. However, the 'This month' total shows $38.19, which is the exact difference of the two upcoming Reminders I have for this Category, which are for $15.89 and $0.99. So, with the upcoming items being included, I'm getting a different total between the tooltip in the graph and the actual Watchlists calculations. And this appears to be by design.

-Coach Natalie

frankrizzo

Hi @Coach Natalie

Yes, I do have a future transaction for $34.67, which is the difference between $162.96 (this month) and 128.29 (tooltip). Found the calculation!

IMO the "This month" calculation is incorrect, since it states "Spent so far".

I would suggest either:

1. Putting an "i" next to the calculation with a popup tooltip (or similar) describing how it's calculated. Also remove the "spent so far".
   OR
2. Calculate the actual "spent so far" (ie. don't include future transactions).

Thanks…

Coach Natalie

I'm glad we got to the bottom of things, @frankrizzo!

I agree that it's confusing, and I found an existing Idea post that covers exactly what you're looking for. 😀

https://community.simplifimoney.com/discussion/2989/watchlists-exclude-upcoming-reminders-from-spent-so-far-amount-edited

-Coach Natalie