In this article, we're going to focus on working with the transactions that you entered. This includes finding transactions, editing them, and also scheduling transactions to occur ahead of time.
Transferring Money Between Accounts
Transferring money between accounts simply means taking money out of one account and putting it another. One account's balance will increase while the other decreases. However, your net worth will remain the same.
When you transfer money between accounts, Quicken records the transaction in the account you transferred money from as well as the account you transfer money to.
To begin to transfer funds, go to the account that you want to transfer money from. In our example, we're going to transfer money from checking and into savings.
When you see the account register for the account you want to transfer money from, click the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen. It is circled below:
Select Transfer Money from the drop down menu.
You'll then see this dialogue box:
Now you can fill in the fields:
- Put the date of the transfer in the Date field.
- Enter the amount in the Amount field.
- Specify where you want to Transfer Money From. We've selected our checking account.
- Next, you have to specify what account you want to transfer money into in the To Account Field. We've chosen savings.
Click OK.
Both accounts will show the transfer in their respective register. If you want, you can add tags to both account registers to help you better track your money.
Edit, Delete, or Void Transactions
At first glance, it may sound like voiding and deleting transactions are the same thing, but they're not. Whenever you delete a transaction, you erase it from your account register completely. It's no longer there. You can't see it. And you can never get it back.
When you void a transaction; however, the transaction still shows in your account register, but it doesn't affect the balance in that account. It's there for looks only, so to speak, as a reminder that the transaction existed and you voided it. This is helpful for voided checks, etc.
To void a transaction, select the transaction you want to void. Then, press the gear icon on the far right side of the transaction line in the register, as shown below.
Select Void Transaction(s) from the dropdown menu. You'll then see this window:
Click the Yes button to void the transaction.
You'll now see VOID written before the name of the Payee. We highlighted this for you below.
To delete a transaction, one again select the transaction that you want to delete. Click the gear icon, but this time select Delete from the dropdown menu.
Click Yes
The transaction is then deleted from your account register.
To edit a transaction, simply click in the field that you want to edit, then make the changes.
Find, Find and Replace Transactions
Do you need to find a transaction from six months ago, but don't want to spend hours sifting through account registers? The good news is that you don't have to. There are several ways to find and replace transactions in Quicken. We're going to start out by teaching you how to find transactions. We'll teach you how to find and replace in just a few minutes.
Let's say you want to find a transaction in your savings account. Simply use the search box on the far right side of the register window.
Type in what you're searching for. We'll type in "lawn."
You can also use the filters at the top right side of the screen, as shown below.
In addition, you can go to Edit>Find.
When you click on Find from the Edit dropdown menu, you will see this dialogue box:
Enter in your search criteria. This is pretty self-explanatory.
If you want Quicken to search from the most recent transaction backward, make sure the Search Backwards box is checked. If it's not checked, Quicken will start its search from the beginning of your account register.
Now, click Find or Find All. If you click Find, Quicken will find one match at a time. Find All, however, will prompt Quicken to reveal all matches that it finds.
But what if you want to not only find a transaction, but replace it with other information? For example, let's say you want to change the "vacation" tag in your account register to "Cancun."
It's easy to do.
Go to Edit>Find / Replace.
Just like when we used Find, specify the fields you want to search, the type of matches you want returned, and the search terms you want to use. Click Find All.
Now, select the results that contain information that you want to replace. If you want to select all results, click the Mark All button.
Interested in learning more? Why not take an online Quicken 2019 course?After you do that, you're ready to replace the information.
In the Replace Selected Fields With section at the bottom of this window, specify what you field you want to replace as well as what you want to replace it with. Click the Replace button.
If we were replacing the "vacation" tag with "Cancun" we would have searched for "vacation" tags. Next, we would have selected the results.
The next thing we would have done is selected "tag" in the replace field and typed Cancun in the With field, then clicked Replace.
When you're finished, click Done.
Changing Transaction Categories
Changing a transaction category is almost too easy. We probably shouldn't even include it in this article, but we want to make sure we're thorough and that you don't have any questions.
To change a transaction category, simply click on the category field in the transaction that you want to change, and select a new category.
Just remember that you can also use Find and Replace to do this.
Scheduling Bills and Deposits
Quicken 2010 also gives you a way to schedule upcoming bills and deposits. This is a helpful tool to help keep you ahead on your finances and accurately track your cash flow.
To schedule bills and deposits, go to Tools>Calendar. You can also click Ctrl+K on your keyboard. This will bring up the Quicken calendar.
Go to the Bills and Income Reminders section at the bottom of the window.
Click "Set up a scheduled bill or deposit."
Follow the steps we took earlier to schedule a bill or deposit.
You can also schedule transactions by going to Tools>Manage Bills & Income Reminders.
Click Create New at the top of the window and select the type of reminder you want to create.
Enter the required information to schedule the reminder. All of the fields are self-explanatory, making the process of scheduling a reminder easy.
Remember, any items that you add as bills or income will appear in your To Do list three days before the scheduled transaction date. You can access your To Do list at the bottom right hand side of the Quicken window.
Using the Bills Tab
You can use the Bills page to easily manage your scheduled bills, transfers, deposits, and paychecks. What's more, you can select to view these in one of three views: a stack, monthly, list, or calendar.
In the screenshot below, we've viewed our bills as a stack on the Bills page. We've circled the dropdown menu that allows you to change the view.
If you want to schedule a reminder for a bill on the Bills page, simply click the Add Reminder on the top right hand side, then choose Bill, Transfer, or Income from the drop down list.
If you select the calendar view, you will see a financial calendar, the bill and income reminders you have scheduled, and an account balance graph.
Setting Up Financial Alerts
If you need to be reminded when you need to order more checks or what an account gets below a specified amount, you can set Quicken to do this for you. Quicken software alerts you about financial events that you want to be reminded about. It can also keep you up to date on the latest investment news.
To set up alerts on Quicken:
Go to Tools>Alert Center, then click the Setup tab in the dialogue box.
Now you can review all the alerts by clicking a category. We've clicked Banking. If you have to, click the + sign next to a category to expand the category and see all the possible alerts.
Click the box next to any alert that you want to set up to put a check mark in it. A check mark in a box means the alert is turned on.
Some alerts require you to enter more information. Since we've selected Account Min. Balance, we have to enter a minimum amount. When our account reaches this amount, we'll be sent an alert.
Simply click on a field to enter information, as shown in the snapshot above.
Now, select how you want Quicken to notify you. It can either be a test alert in your alert list or by a pop up dialog box. We've chosen the pop up.
You can also specify how long you want this alert to remain in your alert list.
- One day
- One week
- One month
- One quarter
- A year
We've chosen one month.
Click OK.
Your alert is set and will appear in your alert list.
Balancing Your Accounts with Quicken
When you balance a checking, savings, or credit card account, you compare the balance in your Quicken register with your account statement. If you hate balancing your check book, you're going to love this because Quicken makes it easy. It even does some of the work for you.
Start out by opening the account that you want to balance. We're going to select our checking account.
Click the gear icon on the upper right hand side, and select Reconcile from the dropdown menu, as shown below.
This dialogue box will appear:
Enter the opening balance, ending balance, and new statement ending date from your paper or electronic statement.
Next, enter any service charges or earned interest.
Click OK.
You'll now see the following window.
The next step is to put check marks by all the Payments and Checks, as well as Deposits listed above that appear both in your account register and your paper/electronic statement.
Click Done.
You'll now see this dialogue box:
Quicken asks us if we want a reconciliation report. You can select Yes or No.
We've selected Yes just to show you what to expect.
If you select Yes, you'll then be faced with this dialogue box.
You can add a report title if you'd like and also show your savings goals transactions.
Click OK. You'll then see the next dialogue box that will allow you to set your options to print the report.
After you're finished printing your report, you can then return to your account register.
Balancing Your Accounts When The Register Doesn't Match Your Statement
We're going to walk you through the reconciliation process again. However, this time, the amount shown in our statement isn't going to match the amount we're showing in our account register in Quicken.
Just like last time, we start by going to the account register, then clicking the dropdown menu beside the gear icon. We will select Reconcile.
Next, we enter details from our statement, just as we did in the last section.
Click OK.
If we look at the snapshot above, we notice that there is a difference of 460.00 between our statement and our account register. This means there is less money in our bank account than we're showing in the account register.
Let's click Done.
As you can see in the dialogue box above, Quicken offers to enter a balance adjustment to the register.
By allowing Quicken to do this, the amount of money shown in our account register will match our bank account. This is what we want to happen so we have an accurate picture of our finances.
Click the Adjust button.
You will then see a message letting you know your balance has been adjusted. At this time, you can also click Yes to run a reconciliation report.
After you're finished, you'll return to your register. You can see the balance adjustment noted in it:
Discovering the Reasons for Discrepancies
When there's a discrepancy between the amount you have in your account register and the amount shown in your statement, you may want to figure out exactly why, not only so you can make corrections, but so you can accurately track your money.
To discover the reason for any discrepancies, first go through your register and make sure that all transactions are listed, even if they haven't yet cleared your records.
Next, if you have a difference in the number of cleared items versus the number of items on your statement, check for the following things.
Make sure you haven't:
- Missed marking an item
- Forgotten to record a transaction
- Missed a service charge
- Entered a transaction twice
- Marked an item as cleared by mistake
- Entered a deposit as a payment or vice versa
- Entered multiple transactions for a single deposit.
Also, make sure the bank didn't list separate deposits that occurred on the same day as one transaction. They will do this sometimes.
If the dollar amounts don't match, make sure you have entered all transactions and entered them correctly. If it's a bank error, go ahead and reconcile your account, then contact your bank.
