Balancing Cash

[ThomasK]

ISSUE
Sometimes my cash value in FM is different than my brokerage statement and I wish to make a monthly adjustment. How should I do this?

There are 2 reasons.

A. The main difference is I transfer cash out of my brokerage to my bank account for monthly expenses (it is a corporate structure)

B. Another difference is usually due to a larger lot having been bought at market via a buy stop with slightly different prices than what I entered into the open order. I simply use the buystop value in my logbook into FM. Yes, I'm being lazy and not adjusting the average share price to reflect the actual brokerage value, but: (a). I would have to log into the account, adjust the commissions (as I'm tracking them in FM without) and calculate the average cost, and (b). do this for numerous buys and sells...

I think it is WAY easier to do the monthly adjustment when I do my monthly transfer out to cover expenses.

I'm guessing I should use a distribution out...OOP...something else?? Thanks.

[Mark]

Hi ThomasK,

You can do this with either a Buy/Sell or a Reinvested distribution. If the money was taken out and shouldn't be a performance penalty, record a sell. If you added money, record a buy.

If you want to change the cash balance, and have it impact performance, use a reinvested distribution. To reduce cash, record it with a negative value/shares, and a price of 1. To increase cash, record it with a positive value/shares, again with a price of 1.