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Why Your Treasury Balance in Puzzle Doesn't Match Your Account

Learn why your treasury or investment account balance in Puzzle may not match your actual account, and how to fix it using Set Balance settings.

Written by Michael Herchen

Overview

If your treasury or investment account balance in Puzzle doesn't match what you see in your actual account, the most likely cause is how Set Balance is configured. This article explains what Set Balance is, why the discrepancy happens, and how to resolve it.
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What Is Set Balance?

Set Balance is a Puzzle feature that automatically posts journal entries to adjust your treasury or investment account balances to match the actual balance received via API from your financial institution. This is found in Settings > Accounting > Automation > Data Ingestion.
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When there's a difference between your ledger and your actual account, Puzzle posts a placeholder entry to one of these accounts:

  • Investment / Treasury Account Balance

  • Unrealized Gain / Loss

These are intended to be temporary placeholders — once you add the actual transaction details (manually or via CSV), the next balance update trues up the difference, or you can delete the Set Balance entries yourself on the account’s reconciliation page.
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Why Your Balance May Not Match

The discrepancy typically comes down to which option is active:
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Option 1: Set Balance is ON Puzzle automatically adjusts the account balance each day using placeholder entries. The balance will look correct on your balance sheet, but missing transactions may go unnoticed since they won't show as a discrepancy.
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Option 2: Set Balance is OFF No placeholder entries are posted, giving you full manual control. However, the account balance will appear incorrect between reconciliations.
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How to Fix the Discrepancy

Fix 1: Turn Off Set Balance and Add Transactions Manually

If you want full control and an accurate ledger without placeholder entries:

  1. Go to Settings > Accounting > Automation > Data Ingestion

  2. Find Auto-balance adjustments and click on it

  3. Toggle it off, click Update, then click Confirm change

  4. Manually add the missing transactions via CSV or individual entry under Accounting → Transactions → Bank & credit cards
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Fix 2: Remove Existing Set Balance Entries

If Set Balance was previously on and you need to clean up placeholder entries:

  1. Navigate to the investment account's Reconciliation page

  2. Reconcile through the end of the relevant period to surface all entries

  3. If needed, Unapprove the existing reconciliation period

  4. Locate and delete the Set Balance entries

  5. Redo the reconciliation for that period and click Complete
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How to Toggle Set Balance On or Off

  1. Go to Settings > Accounting > Automation > Data Ingestion

  2. Find Auto-balance adjustments and click on it

  3. Toggle on or off based on your preference

  4. Click Update, then click Confirm change. The setting applies to all your investment and treasury accounts. Turning it off stops new adjustment entries. It doesn't remove entries already posted (see Fix 2).
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💡 Tip: If entries aren't appearing during reconciliation, make sure you've reconciled through the correct time period. Unapproving and revisiting the reconciliation can surface hidden entries.

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