Data Integrity Issue: Certificate Balance is Negative

Amy Carr
Amy Carr
  • Updated

This error will appear if the total balance is negative on a certificate.

Data Integrity Error_Certificate Balance Error 2.jpeg

Investigate the Error

Click on the Red Exclamation icon next to the Registers/Ledgers button to read the message.  Then start by searching in the Securities screen by Shareholder Name or Certificate Number.

Data Integrity Error_Certificate Balance Search.jpeg


The Certificates tab will confirm the error, the negative balance in the Net column, and will usually show a status of Invalid for that Certificate.

Data Integrity Error_Certificate Balance Certificates.jpeg
 
The Transactions tab will provide the detail for all transactions related to that Certificate.  Here we can see that 50 Shares were originally issued to David Jones on Certificate A3. Then two subsequent transfers were issued to A4 and A5 that totalled 100 Shares.  This resulted in a -50 balance for A3.
Data Integrity Error_Certificate Balance Transactions.jpeg


Resolve the Error

Every scenario will be a little different, so take the time to investigate the issue and how the transaction totals became negative!  And the solution will vary depending on the original transactions.

In this specific scenario, the resolution might be any of the following options:

  • If the original transfer was incorrect, open the original Transfer transaction and manually correct the quantity.  (This might also include correcting the totals on Certificate A1.)
  • Perhaps a Split transaction was not entered prior to the Transfers to A4 and A5.  Create a new Split Transaction to split the Shares from 50 to 100 on A3 prior to the Transfers.
  • And if all else fails, delete all related transactions and reenter the transactions with the correct totals. (To delete, click on the three dots to the right of each Transaction and select Delete, then review the details in the Delete Preview window, and click Delete again.)

Once this is done, the red exclamation point will disappear and then the Certificate status will change from Invalid to the correct status.