CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken

Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken ® By Jill Gilbert IN THIS BOOK ■ Get started with Quicken ■ Create your chec...

Author: Jill S. Gilbert

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Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken ®

By Jill Gilbert

IN THIS BOOK ■

Get started with Quicken

■

Create your checking account register

■

Reconcile your checks

■

Customize your record-keeping

■

Reinforce what you learn with CliffsNotes Review

■

Find more information in CliffsNotes Resource Center and online at www.cliffsnotes.com IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. An International Data Group Company Foster City, CA • Chicago, IL • Indianapolis, IN • New York, NY

About the Author Jill Gilbert is a CPA and experienced author on technology topics.

Publisher’s Acknowledgments Editorial Senior Project Editor: Pat O’Brien Acquisitions Editor: Andy Cummings Copy Editor: Ted Cains Technical Editors: Sally Newman, Marita Ellixson Editorial Assistant: Jamila Pree Production Proofreader: Chris Collins Indexer: Johnna VanHoose IDG Books Indianapolis Production Department

CliffsNotes™ Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken® Note: If you purchased this book without a cover you Published by should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. reported as "unsold and destroyed" to the publisher, and An International Data Group Company neither the author nor the publisher has received any 919 E. Hillsdale Blvd. payment for this "stripped book." Suite 400 Foster City, CA 94404 www.idgbooks.com (IDG Books Worldwide Web site) www.cliffsnotes.com (CliffsNotes Web site) Copyright © 1999 IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book, including interior design, cover design, and icons, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. 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Table of Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Why Do You Need This Book? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 How to Use This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Don’t Miss Our Web Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Chapter 1: Getting Acquainted with Quicken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Installing and Registering Quicken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 The Quicken Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 The Home Page window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 List windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Register windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Quicken Standard and Shortcut Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Using QuickTabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 The button bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Quicken Help Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Customizing the Quicken Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Chapter 2: Setting Up Your Checking Account . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Accounts versus Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Quicken accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Categories within accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 The New User Setup Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Customizing Quicken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Adding a new account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Adding, deleting, and modifying categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Viewing Your Checkbook Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Chapter 3: Paying Your Bills with Quicken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Recording Deposits and Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Entering a transaction into the register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Using QuickEntry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Using the Write Checks window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Creating, Printing, and Customizing Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Ordering check stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Setting up your printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Using your printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Customizing your checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken

Chapter 4: Managing Your Checkbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Transferring Funds between Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Splits and Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Entering split transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Using classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Transaction Management Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Finding and replacing transaction data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Recategorizing a transaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Restoring and deleting transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 Reconciling Your Checkbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Entering unrecorded service charges and interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Reconciling bank statement and register transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Account Reconciliation Pointers: If the Difference Isn’t Zero . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Chapter 5: Automating Checking Account Transactions . . . . . .50 Using QuickFill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Setting QuickFill options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Using the Memorized Transactions List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Using the Financial Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Creating Scheduled Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Setting Up Reminders and Alerts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Setting reminders from the Quicken Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Viewing the Quicken Reminders window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Using the Billminder feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 The EasyStep Paycheck Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Chapter 6: Getting Online with Quicken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 The Advantages of Online Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 Online Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 Basic Requirements for Connecting to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Setting Up Your Internet Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 Customizing Internet Connection Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 Visiting Quicken.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 Chapter 7: Online Checking Account Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 Setting Up Online Account Services with Your Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 Telling Quicken about Your Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 Downloading and Reviewing Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79 Comparing Downloaded and Register Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80 Paying Bills Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82

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Making payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82 Scheduling repeating online payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 Canceling online payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85 Transferring Funds between Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87 Sending E-mail to Your Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87 Chapter 8: Preparing Your Income Taxes with Quicken . . . . . .89 Designating Tax Information for Accounts and Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89 Specifying tax information for an account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90 Changing tax information for an existing account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92 Designating tax information for individual categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93 Changing tax information for an existing category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94 Using Tax Link Assistant for multiple categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95 Visiting the Quicken Tax Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97 Quicken Tax Planning Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98 Tax Planner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98 Quicken Deduction Finder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100 Chapter 9: Budgeting and Forecasting with Quicken . . . . . . .102 The Quicken Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102 Additional Planning Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105 Creating Reports and Graphs with Quicken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106 Budgeting with Quicken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107 Saving for the Future with Quicken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109 CliffsNotes Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112 Q&A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112 Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113 Consider This . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114 CliffsNotes Resource Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115 Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116 Send Us Your Favorite Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117

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INTRODUCTION If you use a computer, you’ve probably wondered how to change all your messy paper financial records to a streamlined computer system. The tool you’re looking for is Quicken. Quicken is a check register and much more. With a little planning, you can automatically track when and how your money moves for every category of expense. If you’re connected to the Internet, you can access the latest financial information at Quicken.com. And you can pay bills automatically by telephone.

Why Do You Need This Book? Can you answer yes to any of these questions? ■

Do you need to learn about Quicken fast?

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Don’t have time to read 500 pages about it?

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Want to balance your checking account in record time?

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Want to customize Quicken for your personal accounts?

If so, then CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken is for you!

How to Use This Book CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken is a fast introduction to the world of Quicken. I’ve organized the chapters in a logical progression so that you can do real things with your computer in short order. The chapter introductions are brief and tell you whether the chapter is of particular interest to you.

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken Whether you’re new or a veteran, you’ll appreciate the icons that identify paragraphs of particular interest. Think of these paragraphs as the essential truths you must remember. Be wary! You can create big problems if you ignore this advice. Impress your friends and confound your enemies with these gems. Your version of Quicken may look a little different from pictures you see in this book. That’s okay.

Don’t Miss Our Web Site Keep up with the changing world of computing by visiting the CliffsNotes Web site at www.cliffsnotes.com. Here’s what you find: ■

Interactive tools that are fun and informative

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Links to interesting Web sites

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Additional resources to help you continue your learning

At www.cliffsnotes.com, you can even register for a new feature called CliffsNotes Daily, which offers you newsletters on a variety of topics, delivered right to your e-mail inbox each business day. If you haven’t yet discovered the Internet and are wondering how to get online, pick up Getting On the Internet, new from CliffsNotes. You’ll learn just what you need to make your online connection quickly and easily. See you at www.cliffsnotes.com!

CHAPTER 1

GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH QUICKEN I N T H I S C HAPT E R ■

Exploring what Quicken can do

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Installing Quicken

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Acquainting yourself with Quicken windows, menus, and toolbars

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Getting Help when you need it

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Customizing Quicken to your liking

Quicken is designed to operate as a powerful electronic checkbook. You enter data into Quicken, much as you would a paper check register. Unlike a paper register, however, you can use Quicken to automatically perform complex calculations, perform analyses, and create budgets and forecasts using the routine transaction data that you enter. You can also rely on Quicken to speed up the tedious process of entering monthly transactions into your check register by using Quicken’s ability to memorize and automate routine entries. Similarly, Quicken’s reminders and its Billminder features can assist you in keeping track of when payments are due, avoiding the costly service charges associated with late payments.

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Installing and Registering Quicken Installation couldn’t be simpler! Quicken offers you two installation options. The Express option automatically installs the most commonly used Quicken features. The Custom option enables you to specify which program components you would like to install. If you’re a first-time Quicken user, you may want to use the Express option to keep things simple. To begin the installation process, follow these steps: 1. Insert the CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive. 2. Click Yes in the dialog box that asks you if you want to

install the program on your hard disk. 3. Click Next in the Welcome window. 4. Click Yes in the Software License Agreement window. 5. Choose a destination location for the software. If you’re

installing Quicken for the first time, you may want to select the default directory, which is C:\Quickenw. If you have a previous version of Quicken installed on your computer, give the directory that you use to store the Quicken 2000 version a new name. (Click Yes in the popup window that asks whether you want to create this directory.) 6. Choose the type of installation you want to perform (as

shown in Figure 1-1). If you’re a first-time Quicken user, you may want to choose Express, which installs the most commonly used Quicken options. The Custom installation option enables you to choose specific program components to install, using the Select Installation Components window, as shown in Figure 1-2. 7. Review the Check Settings windows that appears. If you

want to make changes to settings, use the Back button to navigate. When you’re satisfied with the settings, click Start Copying.

Chapter 1: Getting Acquainted with Quicken Figure 1-1:

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The Express Installation option automatically installs the most commonly used Quicken features.

After you install the software, and each time you open it after you install it, the Software Registration window appears until you register the program either by modem or phone. If you elect to register by phone, the window that follows displays a telephone number to call so that you can receive your personalized software registration code after you provide the information Intuit needs to process your registration. Even if you’re not in the habit of registering your software, you want to register your version of Quicken, because some features of the program won’t work unless you do. ■

You must register in order to have access to current financial information, such as stock quotes and interest rates, via the Quicken Web site (as shown in Chapter 7).

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You also receive free program updates and promotional discounts available only to registered Quicken users.

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Figure 1-2:

The Custom Installation option provides you with a list of components to choose from.

Description of what component does

Amount of disk space required

The Quicken Desktop The Quicken user interface is intuitively simple. It incorporates a number of typical Windows features that you’re probably already familiar with. For example, you can access many Quicken commands by using standard Windows menus, submenus, dialog boxes, and keyboard shortcuts. Quicken uses three types of windows to interact with its users:

Chapter 1: Getting Acquainted with Quicken ■

Home Page window

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List windows

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Register windows.

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Each kind of window is distinctly different in function and appearance.

The Home Page window The Home Page window, as shown in Figure 1-3, displays the following information about your financial status: ■

Your accounts

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Routine transactions Quicken performs for you each month

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Alerts and reminders that you’ve asked Quicken to show you each time you start the program

Figure 1-3:

The Home Page window shows your financial status.

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken To open the Home Page window, choose Finance➪ My Finances. You can customize your Quicken Home Page window, which I discuss later in this chapter. The Home Page window contains a number of active links that you can click to jump to other areas of the program. You can access most of the Quicken commands directly from the Home Page window using the menu bar or the QuickTabs located on the right side of the window.

List windows Quicken offers several List windows to track the following: ■

Accounts

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Categories and transactions

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Investments and securities

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Memorized and scheduled transactions

You can view a particular list by locating it on the appropriate menu. For example, you can access the Account list and the Category & Transfer list on the Finance menu. The Memorized Transaction and Scheduled Transaction list are included on the Banking menu. And, of course, you’ll find your Security list on the Investment menu. A sample list is shown in Figure 1-4.


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The Account list provides basic information about your accounts.

Register windows You use Register windows to view and edit transactions in various registers, such as the following: ■

Check register

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Credit card registers

Registers are the heart and soul of Quicken, because you use these windows to enter all your transactions and other data. Figure 1-5 shows a typical Quicken check register. Figure 1-5:

A standard checking account register.

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken Follow these steps to access a Register window for any account: 1. Choose Finance➪ Account List. The List window

appears, showing all the accounts you maintain records for in Quicken. 2. Double-click any account to access its register.

Quicken Standard and Shortcut Menus Quicken provides both standard menus and shortcut menus. As is the case with all Windows programs, the standard menus appear in the menu bar at the top of each program window. The menu bar, as shown in Figure 1-6, provides you with File, Edit, and Help menus, which are typical of most Windows-based programs. Quicken 2000 also includes menus for Finance, Banking, Household, Taxes, Planning, and Reports. From these menus, you can access all the basic commands and options for Quicken. Figure 1-6:

The standard menu bar provides access to commands and features.

You can display any shortcut menu by right-clicking on specific transactions displayed in the Register or List windows. These shortcut menu commands, as shown in Figure 1-7, give you access to functions that you can perform specifically related to the item or transaction you select.


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Shortcut menus display commands specific to the selected item.

Using QuickTabs You can use the QuickTabs located on the right side of the window, as shown in Figure 1-8, to instantly jump to any program area directly from the window you’re in with a single Figure 1-8:

The QuickTab column gets you to any part of the program.

The QuickTab column

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken mouse click. Each activity center (Finances, Banking, Investing, Household, Taxes, and Planning Reports & Graphs) has its own Quick Tab. Also, every time you open a new window, Quicken adds a new QuickTab. Here’s how to customize your QuickTabs: ■

To hide or display the QuickTabs, click the QuickTab handle at the top of the QuickTab column. (This feature isn’t available in some window areas, such as the Home Page.)

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To change the order of the QuickTabs, click the QuickTab you want to move, and drag it to where you want it while holding the mouse button down.

To change the width of the QuickTab column, follow these steps: 1. Move the mouse pointer to the area below the left of the

QuickTabs. 2. When the pointer changes and appears as two vertical

lines, drag it to the left or right to change the width of the QuickTabs column.

The button bar The button bar enables you to initiate common tasks from the window you are viewing with a single mouse click. The options that appear on the button bar differ, depending on which window you see. For example, Figure 1-9 shows the button bar that appears in the Check Register window. This check register button bar includes task options Find, Edit, Delete, Transfer, and Reconcile.


13

The button bar provides instant access to common tasks and menus.

Button bar

Quicken Help Features Quicken provides online help that operates much like the Help function in other Windows-based programs. The Help menu contains the following options: ■

Index shows a list of all the available Help topics in alphabetical order.

■

Find locates information about a topic based on keywords that you type.

■

Contents is a detailed table of contents of available Help topics.

■

Quicken Show Me Videos offer helpful graphic examples, as well as a soundtrack. There are dozens of topics to choose from, ranging from financial and account management techniques to the latest Internet features offered by the program. This feature can only be accessed when your CD-ROM is in your CD-ROM drive.

14

CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken ■

Quicken On-Line Help includes access to the Quicken online technical support feature, as well as access to product upgrade information.

Customizing the Quicken Interface You can access many of the features that you’ll find useful in Quicken from the Quicken Window menu. The Window menu provides options that enable you to customize the program’s appearance and functionality. Using the Window menu, you can configure the Activity and Icon bars, as well as how you want the QuickTabs to appear. If you opt to hide any of these features by clearing the check marks that appear next to them, they won’t appear on your desktop the next time you open the program. Alternatively, if you want to view QuickTabs, Activity, and Icon bars on your desktop, click the appropriate option to restore the check mark. Quicken also lets you modify the colors of the basic Quicken windows to your own color scheme. Here’s how: 1. Right-click anywhere in the Quick Tab column, which

appears on the right side of your window. 2. Choose Color Schemes and, from the list that appears,

select the name of the scheme you want.

CHAPTER 2

SETTING UP YOUR CHECKING ACCOUNT I N T H I S C HAPT E R ■

Organizing your finances into accounts and categories

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Going through the New User Setup Window

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Customizing Quicken by setting up additional accounts and categories

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Viewing your checking account register

■

Creating categories specific to your needs

Check registers are as unique as fingerprints. Quicken provides an accurate and efficient way to record your particular day-to-day transactions, and gives you an up-to-the-minute account balance, whenever you need it. Once you experience the ease, accuracy, and efficiency of managing your checking account with Quicken, you’ll unlikely ever return to a paper register.

Accounts versus Categories Quicken organizes your financial information by separately keeping track of each of your accounts. Within each account, Quicken maintains dozens of specific categories to track and provide information about your daily financial transactions.

Quicken accounts If you’re like most people, you have a primary checking account that you use for your day-to-day expenses, but you maintain other types of accounts as well. If you use Quicken

16

CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken to track all your accounts, you end up with a complete picture of your total financial situation. Quicken enables you to track nine different types of accounts. But you should understand the distinction between asset accounts and liability accounts. ■

Asset accounts reflect positive financial worth — such as your cash, checking, savings, and investment accounts. In addition to checking, savings, money market, 401(k), and investment accounts, Quicken also provides a general asset account for tracking your valuable interest in assets such as your house, automobile, or money owed to you by others.

■

Liability accounts reflect obligations and money that you owe. Quicken offers you two types of liability accounts. The credit card account tracks your charge card purchases. A general liability account tracks all other types of loans and obligations, such as your mortgage or car loan.

Categories within accounts You can use categories to keep track of the transactions within each of your accounts. Quicken automatically sets up dozens of categories for you based on your responses to the questions asked in the New User Setup window (as shown in the next section). You have two basic types of categories: income and expense. Each category contains subcategories. ■

Income categories include your salary, dividends, interest, child support, tips, and commissions.

■

Expenses include all your disbursements — rent, food, clothing, insurance, automobile, and entertainment.

Chapter 2: Setting Up Your Checking Account

17

In addition to general income and expense categories, Quicken uses subcategories. Subcategories provide more specific information about the transactions within a category. For example, under the automobile category, Quicken may set up subcategories for the following: ■

Fuel

■

Repairs

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Insurance

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Monthly payments

The New User Setup Window If you’re a brand new Quicken user, the New User Setup window appears automatically after you register the product (or indicate you’ll register later). You must complete the New User Setup before you can begin using Quicken. New User Setup provides Quicken with the information that it uses to designate an account as your primary checking account and to set up categories for transactions you’re likely to record. Here’s what to do: 1. In the first window, indicate whether you’re married,

have children, and own a home or a business. 2. Click Next. 3. Provide a name for the account you’re setting up, or use

the default name, which is “Checking,” as shown in Figure 2-1. 4. Click Next.

18


Figure 2-1:

Quicken asks you to identify each account you set up.

5. Answer Yes or No to whether you have your last check-

ing account statement. If you select No, Quicken informs you that it will open your account as of today’s date, with a balance of zero. If you select Yes, the window shown in Figure 2-2 appears, prompting you to enter the closing date and balance on your statement. Figure 2-2:

If you have your last statement, Quicken prompts you to enter the ending balance.


19

6. Click Next. 7. Confirm the information that you previously entered (as

shown in Figure 2-3) or make any necessary corrections. Figure 2-3:

Verify all the information that appears in this window to complete the setup process.

8. Click Done to complete the setup process.

Customizing Quicken You may want to customize Quicken to meet your specific needs by adding additional accounts or by adding and deleting the categories that Quicken automatically sets up for you (such as the accounts in the preceding section of this book).

Adding a new account You can create a new account on your Quicken system at any time. If you faithfully track all your open accounts, you can instantly gauge your total financial situation — what you have and what you owe — at any time.

20

CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken To create a new account, follow these steps: 1. Choose File➪ New. 2. Select the New Account Option. 3. Click OK. The Create New Account Window, shown in

Figure 2-4, appears. Figure 2-4:

Use this window to select the account you want to create.

4. Select the type of account that you want to create. 5. Click Next. An Account Setup window appears, display-

ing the Easy Step tab window. 6. Enter a name and description for the new account, and

click Next to continue entering your account information using the Easy Step method. Alternatively, you can click the Summary tab in the Account Setup window to enter all the needed information at once in a single window. 7. Click Done to create your account after you have entered

the required information using either the Easy Step or Summary tabs. Both the Easy Step and Summary windows allow you to enable online account access. Both methods also let you enter and store optional financial and tax information about your account, as shown in the Summary window in Figure 2-5.

Chapter 2: Setting Up Your Checking Account Figure 2-5:

21

Access online options or store financial and tax information from either the EasyStep or Summary account setup windows.

Adding, deleting, and modifying categories The Quicken New User Setup automatically creates dozens of commonly used income and expense categories for each account that you create based on your answers to the New User Setup questions. The list of categories provided to you may very well meet your needs, but a time may come when you need to add, delete, or modify at least some of the categories. You can edit, delete, and modify categories by accessing the Category and Transfer List. To access this list, choose Finance➪ Category/Transfer. A partial Category & Transfer List appears in Figure 2-6. To add a new category, click New. The Set Up Category dialog box, shown in Figure 2-7, appears.

22


Figure 2-6:

Access the Category & Transfer List from the Finance menu.

Figure 2-7:

Set up a new category.


23

Enter the following required information in the Set Up Category window: ■

Category Information: You must indicate a name for your category. Information concerning the description and group are optional. Groups are used for budgeting and are discussed in Chapter 9.

■

Type: You must indicate whether you’re creating an income, expense, or subcategory account. If the account that you’re creating is a subcategory of another account, you must enter the correct name of the income or expense account of which it is a subcategory. The “Spending is not discretionary” check box is used for budgeting (see Chapter 9).

■

Tax: This area of the window enables you to indicate whether the category is tax-related and what tax form it is associated with (for example, Form 1040 Schedule C).

To edit or delete a category, simply select the category from the list and click the Edit or Delete options from the button bar. (The Edit Category window looks a lot like the Set Up Category window.) Simply change the information that appears in this window. If you want to delete a category, the Delete Category dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 2-8, offering you the option of replacing the category with another. Deleting a category that contains subcategories can be a bit tricky. Quicken doesn’t allow you to delete a category unless you delete all its subcategories. If you attempt to delete a subcategory, Quicken offers you the option of merging it with another subcategory.

24


Figure 2-8:

Delete a transaction category.

Viewing Your Checkbook Register Quicken uses a register format to track activity in all types of accounts. Registers for liability, credit card, investment, and other accounts look similar to checking account registers. Quicken maintains a separate register for each account. You can view the register for any account by clicking on the tabs at the right of the register window (listed under Banking). A register lists all the transactions affecting the account. A transaction is any event that affects the account balance — writing checks, making deposits, posting interest and service charges, or making adjustments to correct errors. For each transaction entered into the account register, Quicken displays the date and category of the transaction. Other information, such as the payee, also appears, depending on the type of account.


25

You always enter a transaction on the last line of the register. This line is referred to as the transaction line. Quicken sorts transactions in the register in chronological order, with the oldest transactions listed first. When you enter a transaction having a prior date, Quicken automatically posts it to the register in the correct chronological order so that your register is always an accurate and well-ordered reflection of your account transactions. For example, if in May you enter a check that you wrote on April 3, Quicken displays it in your register with the other April transactions, as though you entered it at the correct time. (This makes sense for recordkeeping purposes because the transaction actually did occur on April 3.) This is a wonderful feature, but it can be confusing if you enter a transaction out of sequence and it jumps to another page in the register. To move from one transaction to another within the register, use the arrow keys; to move within the transaction, press Tab. You can also copy and void transactions appearing in the window. Follow these steps to copy or void a transaction: 1. From the register window, select the transaction that you

want to delete, copy, or void. 2. Choose Edit➪ Transaction. 3. Choose Delete, Copy, or Void from the drop-down

menu that appears. If you choose to copy, Quicken records the transaction into memory; skip ahead to Step 4. If you choose to void, Quicken removes the dollar amount of the transaction and inserts the word VOID on the payee line. That’s it; you’re done. 4. To paste a copied transaction, click the transaction line

to bring up the shortcut menu you used in Step 2.

26

CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken 5. Select Paste. A dialog box listing all previously copied

transactions appears. Select the one that you currently want to enter on the transaction line. Another advantage that your Quicken register offers over a paper register is the ability to help you instantly locate a specific transaction. You can locate a transaction by searching for a key word or number (such as the amount). To search for a transaction within a register, follow these steps: 1. From any account register, click the Find option on the

button bar. The Find dialog box appears. 2. In the Find field, enter the word, phrase, or amount that

you want to locate. 3. In the Search field, use the drop-down list to specify

whether you want Quicken to search all the fields or only transactions meeting certain criteria — for example, checks made to a certain payee or on a certain date or that have already cleared. 4. In the Match if field, broaden your search beyond exact

matches if you want. For example, you can direct Quicken to locate all transactions meeting the specified criteria, such as those that are less than a certain dollar amount.

CHAPTER 3

PAYING YOUR BILLS WITH QUICKEN I N T H I S C HAPT E R ■

Entering payments and deposits

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Writing checks with Quicken

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Manually tracking written checks

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Printing checks with Quicken

■

Customizing the checks you prepare

An accurate checking account depends on the consistent, unfailing entry of each and every transaction. A single missed transaction throws off your entire balance and may be difficult to locate. Quicken makes it easy to keep track of every transaction. Quicken automatically records each check that you write using the program. And if you write a paper check at the grocery store or anyplace else, you can easily record it using the QuickEntry feature on your desktop without having to launch the entire Quicken program. Paying your bills every month is a cyclical process, requiring both inflows and outflows of cash to and from your account. To maintain accurate accounts, you must record all deposits and payments affecting your account balance. Quicken offers you the following methods for recording payments and deposits: ■

Enter deposits and payments into the checking account register (as shown in Chapter 2).

28


Take advantage of the QuickEntry feature, without opening the Quicken program.

■

Use the Write Checks window.

Recording Deposits and Payments Quicken recognizes that many of its users need to write checks manually and record the paper checks in the system. For example, taking your laptop and printer to the grocery store is impractical. In recognition of your need to continue to write paper checks (a lot of them), Quicken offers two easy methods for entering manually written checks into the system: Registers and the QuickEntry feature. For those less hectic moments, when you can sit at your computer and pay your expenses (for example, your monthly bills), Quicken offers an efficient and streamlined check-writing and checkprinting capability via the Write Checks window.

Entering a transaction into the register Every time you write a paper check, you should update your Quicken check register at the earliest opportunity. To enter a check in the register, follow these steps: 1. Choose Finance➪ Account List. A list of your accounts

appears. Double-click on the account for which your want to open the register. An account register window appears (as shown in Figure 3-1). 2. Enter the date of the transaction.

The current date appears in this field by default.

Chapter 3: Paying Your Bills With Quicken Figure 3-1:

29

Enter checks that you’ve already written directly into the appropriate account register.

4. In the Num field, enter a check number or a code from

the drop-down list to indicate the type of transaction. The code types are as follows: Next Check Number: Use this code to automatically track your check numbers and enter the next consecutive check number. ATM: Use this code for automated teller machine withdrawals. Deposit: Use this code for additions to the account. Print Check: Use this code to tell Quicken to print a check reflecting the entry. Transfer: Use this code to transfer funds from one account to another (as discussed later in this chapter). EFT: Use this code to indicate an Electronic Funds Transfer.

30

CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken 5. In the Payee/Category/Memo field, enter the name of

the payee or the source of the funds deposited, and then select a category or subcategory from the drop-down list. You may also click Split to enter multiple categories for this transaction (as shown in Chapter 4). 6. Enter any additional, optional information in the Memo

field. 7. Click Enter to record the transaction.

Using QuickEntry The designers of Quicken recognized that having to launch Quicken every time you want to enter a transaction can be time consuming and tedious. So, they came up with the QuickEntry feature. You can launch the QuickEntry feature from your desktop by using the QuickEntry icon that appears below the Quicken icon. This icon automatically appears on the desktop when you install the program. When you double-click it, your checking account register instantly appears on your desktop, and you can access the registers for your other accounts by clicking on the account tabs that appear at the bottom of the register window. The process of entering a QuickEntry transaction is the same as entering a transaction into a Quicken register (as shown in the previous section). QuickEntry works just like the account register feature within the regular Quicken program, with one caveat: The next time you launch the full Quicken program, you have the option of accepting or rejecting the QuickEntry changes, as shown in Figure 3-2. An advantage of QuickEntry is that it helps prevent erroneous changes in your financial data, when you’re pressed for time and want to enter transaction information quickly or tentatively.


31

Accept or reject the QuickEntry changes the next time you launch Quicken.

Using the Write Checks window The Quicken Write Checks window, as shown in Figure 3-3, is designed to look like a check, so that the process of entering information is familiar and intuitive. You can access the Write Checks window by choosing Banking➪ Write Checks or pressing Ctrl+W. Figure 3-3:

Enter information in this portion of the Write Checks window, as you would on a paper check.

32

CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken The Write Checks window enables you to enter the information that you need to write a check and to save the information for the printing of the check. To efficiently use the Write Checks window, follow these steps: 1. Go to Banking➪ Write Checks 2. Enter the date you want to appear on the check. The cur-

rent date appears by default. 3. Enter the name of the payee. If you’ve entered this payee

before, select the name from the drop-down list. Each new payee that you enter automatically goes on the list. If you enter a partial name for the payee, the program’s QuickFill feature automatically fills in the payee name and the most recent transaction involving this payee. (See Chapter 5 for more on the QuickFill feature.) 4. Enter the payee address (optional). 5. Enter a notation on the Memo line, which appears on

the printed check (optional). 6. Select a category or subcategory from the drop-down list

by the Category line. (You can also click Split to enter more than one category for a transaction. See Chapter 4.) 7. Click Record Check to add the check to the list of checks

to be printed. When you click Print, the check appears in the Select Checks to Print dialog box, as shown in Figure 3-4.


33

Each time you write or record a check, it appears in the Select Checks to Print dialog box.

Creating, Printing, and Customizing Checks Quicken enables you to create impressive and professionallooking checks. But before you begin printing checks with Quicken, you must have the correct supplies and set up your printer properly.

Ordering check stock You can order compatible check stock from Intuit or another supply company. An Intuit catalog and check order form come with your copy of Quicken. If you have an Internet connection, you can also order checks online directly from Quicken. Just choose Banking➪ Banking Activities➪ Order Checks. You can also order checks from the Write Checks window by choosing Finance➪ Quicken on the Web➪ Quicken Store and clicking the Order Checks button.

34


Setting up your printer After you obtain your check stock, you can set Quicken to print on the type of checks you purchased. Before printing real checks, try printing a couple of test checks first, on which you either enter zero as the amount or later void — just to make sure it works. Follow these steps to set up your printer: 1. Choose File➪ Printer Setup➪ For Printing Checks. The

Check Printer Setup dialog box appears. 2. In the Printer field, indicate the type of printer you use. 3. Indicate whether you’re using page-oriented or continu-

ous-feed checks. Page-oriented checks (which come on separate sheets of paper) work best for laser and inkjet printers. Continuous feed checks (which come on one long sheet of paper with perforations between each check for easy separation) are for pin-feed printers. 4. In the Check Style field, indicate the style of the check

you ordered. Selections include standard checks, wallet checks (which include a stub), and voucher checks (which include a voucher form). 5. In the Partial Page Printing Style field, select one of the

following options for how to feed the check into the printer: Edge: Feed your checks with the left or right edge of the page entering the printer first. Centered: Feed your checks with the left or right edge of the page entering the printer first, but with the check centered on the page. Portrait: Feed the top edge of the page first. 6. Click OK to save the settings you choose.

Chapter 3: Paying Your Bills With Quicken

35

Using your printer Now that you set up your printer, you’re ready to print some checks! Here’s how to print your first check: 1. Insert your check stock in your printer according to the

option you selected during Step 5 of the previous numbered list. 2. Choose File➪ Print Checks or click the Print button in

the Write Checks window. The Select Checks to Print dialog box appears. 3. In the First Check Number field, enter the first check

number you want to use. Quicken automatically enters subsequent check numbers consecutively. 4. In the Print field, indicate whether you want to print all

checks in the Checks to Print box, checks written through to a specific date, or only certain checks. 5. In the Check Style box, enter the style of the check stock

that you’re using. 6. Click Print First to print a single check or OK to print

all the checks that you have selected.

Customizing your checks You can further customize your checks by including a logo that you import. To do so: 1. Choose File➪ Printer Setup➪ For printing checks. 2. Click Logo, then click File. 3. Select the file with the logo you want to use. 4. Click OK to close the Check Logo window, then click

OK to close the Check Printer Setup window.

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken 5. Select File➪ Print Checks. 6. Select the Print Your Logo option.

Your logo appears on each check that you print using this option.

CHAPTER 4

MANAGING YOUR CHECKBOOK I N T H I S C HAPT E R ■

Transferring money from one account to another

■

Entering split transactions and creating classes

■

Locating and recategorizing previously entered transactions

■

Reconciling your checkbook

Quicken is a very efficient way to enter transactions and maintain a running account balance. But the program offers so much more. It performs tasks that take you beyond the four corners of your check register — for example, the capability to transfer funds and recategorize transactions. You can “split” transactions to allocate expenses for tax or other purposes. You can instantly reconcile your checking account balance to your bank statement. Quicken provides you with everything you need to manage your checking account and maximize your tax savings.

Transferring Funds between Accounts In addition to efficiently tracking all your payments and deposits, Quicken enables you to easily track funds transferred from one account to another. You can enter information about the transfer from the register window of either account. A single entry simultaneously adjusts the balances of both the account from which you’re transferring funds and the account into which you’re depositing them.

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken Follow these steps to record fund transfers using the Transfer dialog box, shown in Figure 4-1: 1. Click the Transfer button on the button bar in the reg-

ister window of the account to or from which you’re transferring funds. 2. In the Transfer Money From field, indicate the account

from which you’re transferring funds. 3. In To Account, indicate the name of the account to

which you’re transferring funds. 4. Enter the transaction date in the date field. 5. Enter a description for the transaction in the description

field (optional). 6. In the amount field, indicate the amount you’re

transferring. 7. Click OK to record the transaction. The balances of both

accounts are automatically updated. Figure 4-1:

You can easily transfer funds from one account to another.

The online account access feature, discussed in Chapter 7, further streamlines the process of transferring funds. You can communicate directly with your bank to move money from one account to another.

Chapter 4: Managing Your Checkbook

39

Splits and Classes Splits and classes are organizational tools that enable you to more precisely track your expenses and the activity in your accounts.

Entering split transactions Splits are transactions that you allocate to more than one category. This feature enables you to track expenses for multiple categories without writing more than one check to a single payee. For example, you can allocate your mortgage loan payment to such parts as ■

Outstanding loan balance

■

Escrow for real estate taxes

■

Mortgage insurance

If you want to track each of these expenses separately, you can use a split to divide them among the appropriate categories. Here’s how to record a split transaction: 1. Click the Split button (it appears in the Banking➪ Write

Checks window, any account register window, the QuickEntry window, or when entering a transaction directly into a register). The Split Transaction Window, as shown in Figure 4-2, appears. 2. Use the drop-down list to enter each category.

You can add more information in the Memo field, like on the memo line of a check. 3. Enter the dollar amount to be assigned to each transac-

tion category in the Amount field.

40


Figure 4-2:

Using splits, you can enter as many transaction categories as you need for a single check.

4. Check to be sure that the Split Total is the same as the

Transaction Total. This information appears in the bottom-right corner of the window. If the Split Total is not the same as the Transaction Total, you may want to click the Adjust button to change the amount of the Transaction Total to match the Split Total. Alternatively, if you know that the Transaction Total is correct, you need to adjust the Split Transaction Amounts. 5. Click OK to enter and save the split transaction infor-

mation. After you enter a split transaction, the word Split appears in the Category field of the check register, as shown in Figure 4-3. Figure 4-3:

Your split transaction appears in the Register window.

Using classes Classes enable you to associate expenses within transaction categories with specific assets and liabilities. For example, if you use a single phone line for business and personal calls, you might set up two classes to allocate the monthly expense to “business” and “personal” classes. The main advantage of using classes is that Quicken can produce reports based on both categories and classes. If you use classes, your reports can have that added level of detail.


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You can create a class by displaying the Class List window; just choose Finance➪ Class List. To create a new class in the Class List, follow these steps: 1. Choose Finance➪ Class List. Click the New button in

the upper-right corner of the Class List window. The Set Up Class dialog box appears. 2. Enter a name for the class in the Name field. 3. Enter a description for the class in the Description field,

if you want. 4. In the Copy Number field, assign a specific number to

this class, if you want. This is useful if you are creating several classes that you want to be able to designate by a class number. 5. Click OK to create a new class based on the information

that you entered. If necessary, you can edit and delete classes after you create them. Here’s how: 1. Go back to the Class List window. 2. Select the transaction that you want to delete or modify. 3. Click the Delete button or Edit button.

Transaction Management Tools To maintain accurate checking account records, you need to know how to modify previously entered transactions. Quicken enables you to replace information in the transaction with new or corrected data. You can also use the Edit➪ Find & Replace➪ Recategorize command to change the category of a transaction. Quicken even lets you change a transaction that has already cleared or restore a transaction you deleted.

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Finding and replacing transaction data The Find/Replace command works to locate and modify a transaction anywhere within the Quicken program database. In Chapter 2, you learned how to use the Find command to locate transactions within your account register window. However, the Find command works only within an open register window or within the Write Checks window. To use the Find/Replace command, follow these steps: 1. In any open Quicken window, choose Edit➪ Find &

Replace➪ Find/Replace. The Find and Replace dialog box, shown in Figure 4-4, appears. Figure 4-4:

You can replace information about a transaction anywhere that it appears in Quicken.


43

2. Enter your search information and click Find All.

When you find some transactions, the Replace options become active. 3. Place a check mark next to any of the listed transactions

for which you want to replace or modify information. 4. Choose an option from the drop-down list that appears

when you click the arrow in the Replace field. 5. Enter the replacement information in the With field. 6. Click Replace to enter the changes you have made.

Recategorizing a transaction You may need to change the category of a transaction if you decide to track an expense or income source in a different way. You may decide to set up a category that more closely reflects your income tax reporting obligations. For example, suppose you have been using the Miscellaneous category frequently and now want to separately track any deductible expenses that may be included in this category. Here’s how to change the category of a previously entered transaction: 1. Choose Edit➪ Find & Replace➪ Recategorize. The

Recategorize dialog box appears. 2. Indicate the category in which you want to recategorize

transactions. 3. Click the Find button to choose the type of transactions

you want to search for. 4. Place a check mark next to all items for which you want

to change the category. 5. Select a replacement category from the drop-down list

that appears in the Replace field.

44

CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken 6. Check the Show Matches in Split check box if you want

Quicken to search Split transactions. 7. Click Replace to complete the transaction.

Restoring and deleting transactions You can access the Edit drop-down menu from the account register window. It contains several useful options for working with transactions. The Restore option enables you to change a transaction back to the way it was before you changed it. This option is only available if you have previously changed a transaction. To access the Restore feature, follow these steps: 1. Open the register window for the account that contains

the transaction you want to restore. 2. Click the line of the register for the transaction. 3. From the account register window, choose Edit➪ Trans-

action➪ Restore. Click the Restore option. The transaction appears as it did before you changed it. If Restore is grayed out, that option isn’t available. You can delete a previously entered transaction, even if it has already cleared. Follow these steps to delete a transaction: 1. Open the register window for the account that contains

the transaction you want to delete. 2. Click the line of the register for the transaction. 3. From the account register window, choose Edit➪

Transaction➪ Delete, and then click the Delete option.


45

The transaction is deleted, and the account balance that appears in the register is automatically adjusted.

Reconciling Your Checkbook To reconcile your checkbook, you locate the differences between the balance reflected in your account register and the balance shown on your bank statement. Discrepancies in your register balance and bank statement balance are generally caused by differences in recorded and cleared transactions or by human error. Think of the reconciliation process in two phases: ■

In the first phase, you need to enter service charges assessed by your bank and interest payments you haven’t recorded in your register.

■

In the second phase, you account for differences in reported transactions, looking for ones that haven’t yet cleared the bank or weren’t entered in the Quicken account register.

Entering unrecorded service charges and interest Recording service charges and interest into your account register is the first phase of reconciling your checkbook. First, you need to obtain your monthly checking account statement. Next, you compare the ending account balance on the statement to the ending balance in your register. The ending register balance appears in the bottom-right corner of your checking account register window. After you locate both ending balances, reconcile the two. Here’s how:

46

CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken 1. Click the Reconcile button on the button bar of the open

register window. The Reconcile Bank Statement dialog box, shown in Figure 4-5, appears. You can use this dialog box to enter previously unrecorded interest payments and service charges. Figure 4-5:

Enter outstanding service charges and unrecorded interest.

2. Looking at your bank statement, make sure that the

opening balance from your statement matches the one shown in the Opening Balance field. If it doesn’t, you need to make an appropriate adjustment to the account register (such as a charge or deposit that you label “adjustment”). 3. Enter the ending balance shown on your bank statement

in the Ending Balance field. 4. Enter each service charge to your account during the

month, using the drop-down list that appears in the Service Charge category field.


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5. Enter each deposit for earned interest, using the drop-

down list that appears in the Interest Earned. 6. Click OK. The Reconcile Bank Statement window

appears. Now you can proceed to the second phase of the reconciliation process.

Reconciling bank statement and register transactions The Reconcile Bank Statement window, which appears at the end of the previous subsection, is shown in Figure 4-6. Use this window to compare the transactions in your Quicken account register to your statement. Figure 4-6:

Compare transactions that have cleared on your bank statement to the transactions appearing in your register.

Follow these steps to reconcile your Quicken account register and bank statement balances: 1. Place a check mark by each item on your Quicken

account register that appears on your bank statement.

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken The check mark indicates to Quicken that the transaction has cleared the bank and has been figured into the ending balance of the bank statement. As you do this, check off each transaction on your bank statement that appears in Quicken. Circle or underline any bank statement item that doesn’t appear in the window. 2. Add the transactions that you circled on the bank state-

ment into the Quicken account register. 3. Check off the transactions you entered in Step 2 in the

Reconcile Bank Statement window. 4. Look at the difference shown between the Cleared Bal-

ance and Statement Ending Balance at the bottom-right corner of the Reconcile Bank Statement window. If the difference is zero, congratulations! You have successfully reconciled your account and can now click Finish. 5. If the difference isn’t zero, Quicken displays a dialog box

that shows you the amount of the difference and asks you if you want to accept it as an adjustment. If you click Yes, a Misc entry appears in your account register for the amount of the adjustment. If you want to search for the source of the discrepancy, proceed to the next section of this chapter.

Account Reconciliation Pointers: If the Difference Isn’t Zero Sometimes, you just can’t seem to get the balance to zero! Try these pointers to search for a transaction that’s throwing everything off: ■

Make sure you include all bank charges and earned interest.


49

■

Look closely at the amounts of the transactions you checked off and recorded. A transposed number or digit is often the culprit.

■

Check whether you wrote any temporary checks or authorized any direct charges or debits that don’t appear on your bank statement.

■

Double-check that the opening and closing statement balances entered in the window are the same as those on the bank statement.

View the Reconciliation Report. It provides details about the transactions you have selected that may help you locate the elusive error. Good luck!

CHAPTER 5

AUTOMATING CHECKING ACCOUNT TRANSACTIONS I N T H I S C HAPT E R ■

Using QuickFill and memorized transactions

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Viewing the Financial Calendar

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Creating scheduled transactions

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Setting up reminders and account alerts

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Trying the EasyStep Paycheck feature

The QuickFill and Memorize Transactions features work in tandem. Every time you enter a transaction with a new payee in a register, Quicken adds the transaction to the Memorized Transactions List. The QuickFill function fills in all the information for a memorized transaction when you type the first few keystrokes of the payee’s name for a subsequent transaction. This feature is very useful for recurring monthly transactions, such as your mortgage, rent, or car payment. The Memorized Transactions or QuickFill database is organized by payee name.

Using QuickFill You can access the QuickFill database in two ways: ■

Begin entering the payee’s name in the Write Checks or Register window.

Chapter 5: Automating Checking Account Transactions

51

Quicken automatically fills in the rest of the payee’s name and information about the most recent transaction involving that payee. ■

Select the memorized transaction from the drop-down list that appears in the payee field of the Write Checks and Register windows.

QuickFill stores transaction information about amounts, categories, and memos. For example, the first time that you enter your mortgage payment, the bank name, amount, categories, and memo information are all recorded. When you begin to type the payee information for the following month’s mortgage payment, all this information is automatically entered; all you need to do is change the date.

Setting QuickFill options The QuickFill feature works by default, but making sure that you haven’t inadvertently changed the settings is a good idea. You set QuickFill options for checks by using the Check Options dialog box. To access the Check Options dialog box, shown in Figure 5-1, choose Edit➪ Options➪ Write Checks. Click the QuickFill tab, then use this dialog box to set the following options: ■

Use Enter Key to Move Between Fields: Enables you to use the Enter key, in addition to the Tab key, to move from field to field.

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Complete Fields Using Previous Entries: Directs Quicken to use information from previous entries; activated by default.

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Recall Memorized Transactions: Completes entries using memorized transaction data; activated by default, but deactivated if Complete Fields Using Previous Entries is deactivated.

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Figure 5-1:

Set QuickFill options using the Check Options or Register Options dialog box.

■

Drop Down Lists on Field Entry: Directs Quicken to automatically display drop-down lists associated with specific fields; activated by default.

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Auto-capitalize Payees & Categories: Capitalizes each word in the payee or category field; appears only in the Register Options dialog box.

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Auto Memorize New Transactions: Directs Quicken to automatically add each new transaction entered to the Memorized Transactions List; activated by default.

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Auto Memorize to the Calendar List: Directs Quicken to automatically add memorized transactions to the Transaction List in the Financial Calendar window; activated by default. See the next section for more on the Quicken Financial Calendar.

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Add Address Book QuickFill Group Items to QuickFill List: Directs Quicken to add entries from the Financial Address Book to the payee field drop-down list.


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This feature is available only in Quicken Deluxe. Similar options appear in both the Check Options and Register Options dialog boxes.

Using the Memorized Transactions List You can view a list of previously memorized transactions by choosing Banking➪ Memorized Transactions or by pressing Ctrl+T. A portion of a sample Memorized Transaction List appears in Figure 5-2. Figure 5-2:

Quicken maintains a list of all memorized transactions.

Button bar

You use the buttons on the button bar to enter new memorized transactions, edit previously memorized transactions, or delete a transaction appearing on the list. You can also create a new transaction based on an existing one by clicking the Use button.

Using the Financial Calendar The Quicken Financial Calendar enables you to keep track of all the transactions that you enter into your checkbook by using a convenient calendar format, as shown in Figure 5-3.

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Figure 5-3:

View information about previously entered transactions with the Financial Calendar.

Transaction list

To open the Financial Calendar, choose Finance➪ Financial Calendar. Here’s what you can do in the Financial Calendar: ■

Click any date to view a list of all transactions for that date.

■

Drag any transaction to another date on the calendar.

■

View the previous or next month’s calendar by clicking on the Prev Month or Next Month buttons.

Creating Scheduled Transactions You can view a list of existing scheduled transactions by choosing Banking➪ Scheduled Transactions or by pressing Ctrl+J. A portion of a sample Scheduled Transaction List appears in Figure 5-4. You can edit and delete scheduled transactions directly from this window.

Chapter 5: Automating Checking Account Transactions Figure 5-4:

55

A partial Scheduled Transaction List.

You can create new scheduled transactions in the Create Scheduled Transaction dialog box (as shown in Figure 5-5); just click New on the button bar of the Scheduled Transaction List. You can also create a new scheduled transaction in the Financial Calendar window by using the transaction list that appears on the right side of the Financial Calendar. Figure 5-5:

Use this dialog box to enter a new scheduled transaction.

When you create a new scheduled transaction, you can also select the Automatically Enter option so that the transaction is automatically entered into your check register on the appropriate date. To set a transaction to be automatically

56

CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken entered in your register, select the Automatically enter under Record in Register in the Create Scheduled Transaction dialog box.

Setting Up Reminders and Alerts Quicken offers you three different options for setting the system to remind you when you need to enter certain transactions. You can set these reminder features, also known as alerts, from the following areas: ■

The Reminders area in the Quicken Home Page

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The Quicken Reminders window

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The Billminder window

Setting reminders from the Quicken Home Page In the upper-right corner of the Quicken Home Page is the Alerts and Reminders section. You can view current Alerts and Reminders for the day by clicking the link See my scheduled alerts, transactions and calendar notes. If you click the option Jot a Note in my Financial Calendar, Quicken brings up the Financial Calendar window for you to modify. Finally, follow these steps to add a new alert from the Home Page: 1. Click the option Set Alerts. The Set Up Alerts dialog box,

shown in Figure 5-6, appears. 2. Click the Account tab. 3. In the left side of the dialog box, place a check by the

first type of alert that you want to set — for example, Account Max. Balance.

Chapter 5: Automating Checking Account Transactions Figure 5-6:

57

Setting up alerts.

4. Enter additional information required for this alert in

the right side of the dialog box, such as the dollar amount or type of expense that should trigger the alert. 5. Click Apply to save your settings for the current alert.

Repeat Steps 2–5 for each additional alert you want to set. 6. Click OK to enter the alert information.

The next time you display your alerts from your Quicken Home Page or register, a notation appears if the criteria for triggering the alert has been met — for example, the minimum balance limits are not met or a monthly expense is due.

Viewing the Quicken Reminders window The Quicken Reminders window displays a list of all scheduled transactions that you’ve entered into the system and any alerts that apply to the current date. To open the Reminders window, choose Finance➪ Reminders.

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The top half of the Quicken Reminders window lists all scheduled transactions to be recorded by date.

■

The bottom half of the window displays any alerts that are activated by conditions in your account as of today’s date. For example, an alert may tell you that you have exceeded your account balance or that a scheduled transaction is due today.

Using the Billminder feature Once enabled, the Quicken Billminder dialog box appears on your screen each time you start Windows, before the Quicken program launches. If you want to disable Billminder, place a check in the Turn Off Billminder check box that appears at the bottom-left corner of the dialog box. The Billminder dialog box displays essentially the same information in the same format as the Quicken Reminders window. The advantage of Billminder is that you receive your reminders and alerts each time you start up Windows, even if you don’t launch Quicken that particular day. Billminder also gives you the option of launching Quicken; just click the Run Quicken button on the bottom of the Billminder dialog box. If you don’t want to launch Quicken, then simply close out of the box.

The EasyStep Paycheck Feature The EasyStep Paycheck feature automates the entry of information from your monthly or weekly paycheck. This feature is most effective if your payroll information is fairly constant from one pay period to the next.


59

After you set up this feature, Quicken automatically enters the payroll deposit information into your check register each pay period. You can set up your payroll information using either the EasyStep or Summary method. I recommend using the EasyStep method the first time you activate this feature, and the Summary method for subsequent checks or changes in your payroll data. Here’s how to activate the Paycheck feature using the EasyStep method: 1. Choose Banking➪ Banking Activities➪ Set up my pay-

check as a register transaction. The Paycheck Setup dialog box appears. 2. Click the EasyStep tab. Quicken informs you that it

tracks standard federal and state deductions and asks which particular deductions you would like to track. You can track 401(k) or other retirement benefits, stock purchase plans, and other types of employee deductions. 3. Check the box for each deduction you want to track and

click Next. 4. Enter the following paycheck information, as shown in

Figure 5-7: Gross Amount: The total amount of your wages before any deductions. Net Amount: The amount of your check available for deposit (that is, what’s left after all deductions). Category: The Quicken category in which you want to record the deposit of the net amount; the Salary category is the default. 5. Click Next.

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Figure 5-7:

Enter the amount of your gross income and net income as shown.

6. Answer the questions as to whether you have other

sources of income besides your paycheck, and then enter the category and amounts in the appropriate fields. 7. Click Next. A dialog box prompts you to enter the stan-

dard tax deductions. 8. Enter the amounts of each standard tax deduction shown

on your paycheck. 9. Click Next. A dialog box prompts you to enter the

amounts of the deductions you selected way back in Step 2, such as your 401(k) deduction. Enter the amounts. 10. Click Next. A dialog box asks you to enter the categories

and amounts for any other types of deductions that you haven’t yet entered. Enter the categories and amounts, then click Next. Quicken offers to create a scheduled transaction for you that contains all the deduction and other information you just entered.


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11. Click Yes to create a scheduled transaction. 12. Click Next. The Summary tab appears, as shown in Fig-

ure 5-8, containing all the information that you entered during the interview. If the transaction is “in balance,” the total income and deductions from all sources are equal to the amount of your paycheck (the net amount entered). If the Net Amount shown on-screen doesn’t equal the net amount shown on your check, make the necessary corrections. Figure 5-8:

The Net Amount shown here should equal the net amount shown on your paycheck.

13. Click Done to finish and record the transaction.

CHAPTER 6

GETTING ONLINE WITH QUICKEN I N T H I S C HAPT E R ■

Exploring the benefits of being online

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Considering online security

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Connecting to the Internet

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Finding an Internet service provider (ISP)

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Using the Internet Connection Set Up dialog box

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Setting your Internet Connection options

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Visiting the Quicken Web Site

Quicken is a very complete personal financial management program, even if you choose never to use its online capabilities. All of Quicken’s online features are optional, which means that you don’t have to use them to balance your checkbook or manage your finances. If you haven’t previously used the Internet, this chapter can get you up and running. You’ll be amazed at all that the Quicken Web site has to offer.

The Advantages of Online Access Quicken offers a wide array of optional online features that can make your life a whole lot easier if you decide to take the plunge and try them out. Here’s what you can do online: ■

You can download all your account activity on a daily basis. You know exactly when transactions clear your account and can reconcile your account more frequently

Chapter 6: Getting Online with Quicken

63

than a monthly statement allows. You can correct errors (such as the automatic debit or ATM transaction you forgot to enter) instantly, while the transactions are still fresh in your mind. ■

You can register for convenient online bill payment services, which means you don’t have to buy stamps and lick envelopes. More important, you can actually control when transactions are posted to your account. Of course, you lose the benefit of the “float” time between when your payment is received and posted and when it actually clears your account. But, hopefully, you’re not living that close to the edge.

■

You can download credit card transactions into your Quicken register. This option saves you time and minimizes error potential. It also helps you keep track of when you must make credit card payments from your checking account, not to mention giving you a better handle on your credit card debt.

■

With Quicken’s built-in Internet links, you can get current quotes on investments, mortgage rates, and even bank account interest rates. Often, Quicken prompts you to use these links from an open checking account register window or the Quicken Home Page.

Online Security Considerations Concerned about the security of your financial data? You needn’t be. You can enjoy all the online features described in the previous section with little worry about the security of the information that you enter. Each bank or credit card company with which you establish an online account assigns you a personal identification number (PIN), which is a topsecret password for your account.

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken In most cases, you can choose your own PIN and can select something that’s easy to remember. But don’t use obvious inspirations such as your birth date. Use a combination of numbers and letters to make it more difficult for would-be hackers to guess your PIN. Speaking of hackers — they have to do a lot more than guess your PIN number to gain access to your account. The instructions that flow from your computer to your bank or credit card company are encrypted, which means that they are transmitted using a special code that would-be interceptors and other bad guys can’t read. Encryption makes it virtually impossible for outsiders to read financial transactions over the Internet, let alone alter them. Encryption makes online access more secure than traditional telephone banking, which most of us have already used at one time or another. Only a few known and publicized cases of online theft exist. So relax. The benefits of online account access definitely outweigh the remote and unlikely risks.

Basic Requirements for Connecting to the Internet You can connect to the Internet one of two ways: through a dialup connection or through a network connection. For purposes of this book, I assume you use a dialup connection, because most households use modems to connect to the Internet over traditional telephone lines. You usually find a network connection in an office setting, and your network administrator has likely already taken care of the task of connecting you to the Internet. If you are on a network, you can speak with your network administrator and skip the rest of this section.


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To access the Internet from home using a dialup connection, you need the following: ■

A computer with Quicken.

■

A modem, which is a device that converts signals transmitted over phone lines into signals that your computer can read. Many computers come with modems already installed. If you purchased a modem separately, the modem’s instruction manual can help you with installation.

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An Internet service provider (ISP), which is a company that provides a gateway to the Internet. Your modem dials a phone number that connects you to your ISP’s computers, and those computers give you access to data on millions of other computers linked to the Internet. You have literally thousands of ISPs to choose from.

■

A Web browser, such as Internet Explorer, which is a software component that enables you to access and process Internet data on your computer after you download it via modem.

You do not need to invest in a separate telephone line to connect to the Internet. You can use the household phone line. Just keep in mind that incoming callers get a busy signal while you’re accessing the Internet, which is why many people invest in an additional phone line, dedicated solely to the Internet. If your phone company offers voice mail that works while you are on the phone, consider using it. It can take messages while you are connected to the Internet. You can locate an ISP in your town by checking your local phone book, or you can try one of the national services. The Internet Connection Setup dialog box, discussed in the next section, provides information about the ISPs preferred by Intuit.

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken Be sure to pick up CliffsNotes Getting on the Internet by David and Rhonda Crowder (IDG Books Worldwide, Inc.) to find out everything you need to know about connecting to the Internet.

Setting Up Your Internet Connection After you install your modem and find an ISP, you’re ready to set up Quicken for your Internet connection. Here’s how: 1. In Quicken, choose Edit➪ Internet Connection➪ Setup.

The Internet Connection Setup dialog box, shown in Figure 6-1, appears. Figure 6-1:

The Connection Setup dialog box activates your Quicken online program features.


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2. Select the first option (unless you’re connecting from a

network, in which case you should skip this section and see your network administrator). If you do not already have an Internet account, select the “No, I need an Internet Connection” option. Quicken gives you detailed instructions to obtain an Internet connection. 3. Click Next. Quicken scans your Windows setup for

existing ISP configurations and displays a dialog box listing ISPs by name and the option Other. If your ISP appears in this dialog box, select it and click Next. If it’s not on the list, select Other. If you choose Other, the dialog box that follows displays a message with instructions telling you how to connect to your ISP. After you have followed these instructions, click Next. When you click Next in either case, Quicken connects to your ISP, and you see a message telling you that you can use any type of Web browser you like. However, the Interactive Billing and What If planners require Microsoft Internet Explorer Version 4.0 or later. 4. Click Next. A dialog box displaying a list of installed

Web browsers appears. 5. Select the browser that you want to use with Quicken. 6. Click Next. You’re asked if you’d like to send diagnostic

data to Intuit during your Internet sessions to improve the quality of your Quicken Internet connection. Click Yes or No. If you indicate that you’d like to send diagnostic data to Intuit, you can help improve future versions of the product and the quality of your Internet connection, without compromising your privacy or the speed at which

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken the program processes your transactions. This data is gathered silently as you work with the program and analyzed by the Quicken researchers at Intuit. 7. Click Next to proceed to the last Internet Connection

Setup dialog box, as shown in Figure 6-2. This dialog box summarizes your setup options. If necessary, you can click Back to correct information entered in previous setup dialog boxes. Figure 6-2:

This dialog box summarizes your Internet Connection Setup options.

8. Click Finish when you’re done.

After you complete the Internet setup process, the Customize Quicken 2000 Download dialog box automatically appears on your desktop. I discuss this dialog box in the next section.


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Customizing Internet Connection Options The Customize Quicken 2000 Download dialog box, which appears automatically after you finish setting up Quicken’s Internet connection (see the previous section), is shown in Figure 6-3. Figure 6-3:

Use this dialog box to check or change Internet connection settings.

You can also open this dialog box by choosing Edit➪ Internet Connection➪ Options. The Connection tab of this dialog box contains the following five options: ■

After downloading Quicken Data: Use this option to direct Quicken to automatically disconnect you from the Internet after you use an online feature or to allow you to stay connected so that you can access additional features more quickly. If you choose the Stay Connected to the Internet option, you need to manually disconnect from the Internet at some point.

■

Background Downloading: Use this option to enable or disable the Quicken Download Agent, which runs automatically whenever you start your computer. You can use the Download Agent to download information,

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken such as program patches, even when Quicken isn’t running. It’s a silent feature, and you won’t notice that it’s running. To activate the Download Agent, select Enable for shorter, faster Internet sessions. When activated, a Q appears on the far-right side of the Windows taskbar. If you disable the Download Agent by selecting Don’t use background downloading, you receive Quicken patches and other information only when you specifically request them. ■

Download at Quicken Startup: Use this option to have Quicken remind you to get updates to all the online features you use. Each time you start Quicken, it displays a dialog box asking if you want to download the latest updates.

■

Browsing the web: Check this box if you want Quicken to warn you that it’s about to connect you to the Internet after you have clicked a link or menu option.

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Quicken.com Login: Use this option to display your Quicken.com logon dialog box when you connect to Quicken.com, or to automatically log you on using stored logon information.

Visiting Quicken.com After you set up your Internet connection, you’re ready to visit Quicken.com. To access this Web site, choose Finance➪ Quicken on the Web➪ Quicken.com. Quicken.com is Intuit’s financial information Web site. You can access it without purchasing the Quicken program, although the Web site was designed to benefit Quicken users and provide services that complement the Quicken program.


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For example, by using the Quicken Store (which you can access from any Quicken.com page), you can order check stock and supplies to print your Quicken checks. The Quicken Web site is divided into different informational departments. You can access the various departments from the drop-down list that appears at the top of each Quicken.com page. Department menu choices that can be useful to you in balancing your checkbook include the following: ■

Quicken.com Home: This is your central reference point for accessing Quicken.com links to other information and resources.

■

Banking and Borrowing: This is a good place to start if you need to locate a bank in your area that provides online checking account services. You can compare interest rates and service charges using this feature. You can even apply for online financial services directly from the home page of the financial institution you select by clicking the Apply Now button.

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Saving and Spending: This department provides you with tools and information to help you assess your debt reduction strategy, college, retirement, and other major events. After you are completely comfortable with Quicken, and decide you want to use it to do more than balance your checkbook, you can check out these other more specialized departments:

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Home and Mortgage or Insurance: This department can assist you with purchases of big-ticket items.

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Taxes: This department provides you with information on filing and minimizing taxes.

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Excite Internet search: This feature can help you find additional information on the World Wide Web by entering a few keywords.

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Quicken FAQ: This area contains frequently asked technical and other questions that Quicken users often have. You can find problem-solving and troubleshooting tips here, as well as information about the most recent program updates.

CHAPTER 7

ONLINE CHECKING ACCOUNT ACCESS I N T H I S C HAPT E R ■

Learn how online bill payment actually works

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Set up online account services with your bank

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Visit the Quicken Online Financial Services Center

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Download transaction information directly from your bank

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Transfer funds from one account to another

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Pay bills online

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Exchange e-mail with your bank

You probably already know that online bill payment enables you to send a check to someone without physically writing, printing, and mailing one. You may even know that you can enter your transaction weeks or months in advance, even setting it up to recur at a specified time each month. But if you are like most people, you probably thought that you could only use this feature for paying big companies that are set up to receive online payments. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. You can use Quicken’s online payment for any bill. Suppose you want to pay your $28.00 bill to your neighborhood florist, Betty’s Bloomery, for those flowers you sent to your girlfriend (or boyfriend) for Valentine’s day. You know that the florist is independently owned and operated by Betty herself; certainly not part of any national chain.

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken To pay this bill, you can set up Betty’s Bloomery as a payee, and use Quicken to send online payment instructions to your bank. The bank stores your payment instructions and, when the payment comes due, searches its own database for a list of payees that it can pay by wire transfer. These payees usually include credit card, utility, and other larger companies. When the bank concludes that Betty is not on its list of wire transferees, it prepares and sends Betty a check using all the information you provided in your instructions to it. The bank even mails the check for you. Another advantage of using the online payment feature is your ability to enter all your bills when you receive them and tell Quicken not to pay them until they are due. This ensures that your bills are paid right on time, but you retain control of the funds (and any interest on them) until the payment due date. Keeping this in mind, a good strategy may be to keep funds in a higher interest bearing account (such as a money market account) located in the same bank as your checking account. You can transfer funds from the high interest account a few days before you expect transactions to clear the bank. Quicken makes it easy to implement this strategy by also enabling you to instantly transfer funds from one account to another if the accounts are located in the same bank, as discussed later in this chapter. When exactly does the money leave your account? ■

A paper check clears the bank on the date your bank receives it.

■

An online payment clears the bank one to four days before it is processed for delivery.

How much does it cost to set up online payment? The answer depends on your particular bank or financial institution. You may have the benefit of free online access, but it is more likely you’ll be charged something in the range of $5–10 per month.

Chapter 7: Online Checking Account Access

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Setting Up Online Account Services with Your Bank Going online is not a unilateral decision. Your bank must offer online checking services. Alternatively, if your bank does not currently provide online banking services, you can use the Intuit Online Payment or CheckFree services. Your first step is to determine if your current bank offers online services. Quicken maintains a list of “Financial Partners.” A Quicken Financial Partner is a banking institution that supports the full range of Quicken Online options. Intuit Online Payment or CheckFree services are Financial Partners that offer online check writing services if your bank does not. Follow these steps to locate a Quicken Financial Partner in your area: 1. Choose Finance➪ Online Financial Institutions List.

Quicken then connects you to the Internet. After the connection has been completed, the Financial Institutions Directory Window, shown in Figure 7-1, appears. If you are not connected to the Internet, you can learn how to get online in Chapter 6. 2. If you find a bank in which you are interested listed in

the Financial Institution Directory, you can click directly on that link to learn more about it. 3. If you feel, based on the information provided about the

financial institution, that it meets your needs, Click Apply Now. You are either provided with a toll-free number to call or a window in which to enter your application information in order to complete the process. After you apply to a bank to establish an online account, the bank processes your request and provides you with some or all of the following information:

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken Personal Identification Number (PIN): You use this secure code number every time you access your account. Your bank may mail this to you separately for added security. Do not disclose this number to anyone. And do not choose obvious associations such as your birth date. Bank Routing Number: Each banking institution has its own routing number that identifies it to Quicken and ensures that transaction information is routed accordingly. Account Number: You get a separate account access number for each account you open with the bank. Do not confuse the numbers for your different accounts when entering a transaction!

Figure 7-1:

Quicken provides an up-to-date list of institutions offering online banking.


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Telling Quicken about Your Bank After you obtain your PIN number and account routing number, you are ready to link Quicken to your bank. Follow these steps to identify your financial institution to Quicken: 1. Go to Banking➪ Online Banking Setup. The Online

Account Setup dialog box, shown in Figure 7-2, appears. Figure 7-2:

Create a new online account or edit an existing one.

2. Indicate in the dialog box that you are creating a new

account, then click Next. 3. Indicate the type of account you are trying to create

(checking), then click Next. 4. In the Account Name field, enter a name you want to

use to identify this account. Enter the name of your bank in the Financial Institution field, enter a description of the account (optional), then click Next. 5. Indicate whether you have a previous statement for the

checking account, then click Next. If you have a previous statement, enter the date of the statement and the ending balance that appears on it, then click Next.

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken 6. Review the information that appears on the Summary

tab, as shown in Figure 7-3. Select the “Enable Online Account Access” and “Enable Online Payment” Checkboxes, then click Next. 7. After Quicken dials your financial institution, enter the

routing number for your financial institution, then click Next. Figure 7-3:

Enable online account access and payment.

8. Enter your account number in the Account Number

field, select “checking” from the drop down menu in the Account Type field, then click Next. 9. Enter the Customer Id number provided by your bank,

then click Next. 10. Verify the information that appears on the Summary

Tab, then click Done. A Service Agreement appears. Click OK. 11. Enter your customer identification number in the dia-

log box that appears window. (This number is provided by your bank.) The Summary screen appears, displaying all of the information you have entered. Edit this information as necessary, then click Done.


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Downloading and Reviewing Transactions One of the primary advantages of being online is the ability to download transactions directly from your bank account into your Quicken system. This capability saves you dataentry time and facilitates the reconciliation process. To avail yourself of these advantages, you need to know how to download the bank’s transaction information and how to methodically compare it to your own Quicken records. Here’s how to begin this process: 1. From the Online Center Window, click the Transactions

tab. 2. Choose the name of your bank from the Financial Insti-

tution drop-down list. 3. Click the Update/Send button. A dialog box labeled

Instructions to Send appears. 4. Place a check mark next to the types of information you

want to request from your bank, selecting from the directives listed in the dialog box. For example, you may choose to review cleared transactions or to bring your payment information up-to-date. 5. Click Send. 6. Type your PIN in the field labeled Enter your PIN,

which appears at the bottom of the dialog box. The first time you connect, an additional dialog box may appear instructing you to change your PIN at the first logon, depending on your bank’s security policies. 7. Click Send. When the transmission is complete, the Online

Transmission Summary window appears, listing all downloaded transactions. However, you can more easily review the downloaded transactions by clicking the Transactions tab of the Online Financial Services Center window.

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken The first time you connect to your bank, Quicken downloads all the transactions for the past 60-day period. In subsequent downloading sessions, your bank sends only the new transactions that haven’t previously downloaded.

Comparing Downloaded and Register Transactions After you download transactions from your bank, you can reconcile them with the ones already recorded in your Quicken account register. Regular downloading enables you to promptly correct erroneous or omitted information entered into your register. Here’s how to determine the status of downloaded transactions in your Quicken account register: 1. Choose Online➪ Online Center. 2. Click the Transactions tab in the Online Financial Ser-

vices Center window. 3. Select the account that you want to reconcile. A list of

downloaded transactions for that account appears. 4. Click the Compare to Register button located in the

upper-right corner of the window. The Checking: Bank window opens, displaying your account register in the top half of the window and the downloaded transactions in the bottom half of the window. 5. The Status column on the left side of the window iden-

tifies three types of downloaded transactions: Match: Identifies all downloaded transactions that match those already entered into your account register New: Identifies the downloaded transactions that Quicken can’t locate in your register


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Accepted: Identifies downloaded transactions that you have accepted After you can view the status of each transaction, you can begin the actual reconciliation process. The process of reconciling your account involves making a decision as to how to treat each transaction based on its status. Here are a few of the different types of transactions you may need to reconcile: ■

Matching Transactions: If a transaction is a Match, according to the Status column, it means the downloaded transaction and the register transaction correspond. You can then click the Accept button to mark the transaction in your register as having cleared the bank. A small c appears in the Clr column of the register to indicate this.

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Unrecorded Transactions: What if you download a transaction from your bank but do not have a record of it in your account register? If this is the case, you need to first enter the transaction in the register and then click Accept to mark it as having cleared the bank. To enter the downloaded transaction and accept it instantly, select it and click Enter. A downloaded transaction can not be entered into your register until you accept it.

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Incorrectly Entered Transactions: What if you previously entered a transaction in your register incorrectly? The downloaded transaction is annotated as New rather than as a Match. To get Quicken to recognize the matching transactions, you need to correct the information shown in your account register. You can access the register and modify the transaction (as discussed in Chapter 4) directly from the Checking: Bank window. When you enter the corrected transaction information, the word Match appears next to the downloaded entry.

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Erroneously Matched Transactions: You can click the Unmatch button to deal with a transaction that should not have been matched, such as a transaction that you previously reconciled before you downloaded your account the first time. Use the Delete button to delete the previously reconciled transaction from the list of downloaded transactions. You can also use the Delete button to delete any other downloaded transaction, such as one you know has been reversed but is not yet shown as such in the bank’s records. The Quicken download feature has a special capability for dealing with another very common error: incorrect check numbers. If you attempt to accept a transaction with the same check number but a different amount, a dialog box tells you that There are two different amounts for this check number. The dialog box gives you the option of either accepting the transaction or canceling out of the dialog box and correcting your register entry. If you accept the transaction, your register displays two different entries for the same check number.

Paying Bills Online The primary advantage of paying bills online is the time your save. Entering a payee into the system takes less time than writing a paper check. And because many bills are recurring, you can set them up as Scheduled Transactions so that they are automatically paid without any investment of time on your part.

Making payments You make payments from the Online Financial Services Window. For each bill, you must enter information about the payee and instructions for payment, such as the amount and payment date. Quicken maintains a list of all payees.


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Each time you add a new one, Quicken adds the new payee to a drop-down list of payees. Follow these steps to make an online payment: 1. Go to Banking➪ Online Banking. 2. Click the Payments tab. 3. Select the financial institution and account from which

you are making the payment from the drop-down menus in the Financial Institution and Account fields. 4. In the Delivery Date field, enter the date on which you

want payment made or an instruction, such as ASAP. This is the date that the bank either creates a check or makes an electronic funds transfer to the designated payee. 5. Enter the amount of the payment in the Amount field. 6. Enter the Payee name in the Payee field, or select a pre-

viously entered Payee name from the drop-down list. If you are entering information for a new payee, the Set Up Online Payee dialog box appears, prompting you to enter the name, address, phone number, and your billing account number for the payee. 7. In the Category field, enter an appropriate category or

select one from the drop-down list. Click the Split button if you want to enter multiple payment categories. (Splits are discussed in Chapter 4.) 8. After you finish entering the required information, click

Enter. 9. Repeat Steps 1–6 to enter additional transactions. A

transaction list appears in the bottom half of the window. 10. Click Update/Send to send the transaction instructions

to your financial institution for processing.

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Scheduling repeating online payments This is a serious timesaving feature! You can set up any type of payment as a repeating online payment. After you set up the information about the payee and transaction, Quicken then sends this information to your bank. Approximately 30 days before the payment is due, your bank creates a check and notifies you of the transaction by including it in the information that you download. On the payment date, the bank automatically mails the check, and Quicken automatically records the transaction in your register. This occurs every month until you tell Quicken to no longer make the payment. Here’s how to set up a scheduled repeating online payment: 1. Choose Online➪ Online Banking. 2. Click the Repeating button, as shown in Figure 7-4. Figure 7-4:

Click Repeating to create a repeating online transaction.


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3. The Create Repeating Online Payment dialog box,

shown in Figure 7-5, appears. Enter information about the repeating transaction, including the payee, date, payment frequency, payment duration and number of days before the due date you want to be prompted to connect to the Internet to receive confirmation of the payment. 4. Click Authorize to send the repeating payment infor-

mation to the bank. The payment appears on the Scheduled Transaction List, which you can access from the List window. Figure 7-5:

Enter information in the Create Repeating Online Payment dialog box.

Canceling online payments Oops! You have just sent a payment and changed your mind. Perhaps you realize you’ve already paid the bill, are dissatisfied with a service, or are simply short of funds this month. Can you cancel an online payment? The answer depends on whether the transaction has already been processed and mailed by your bank.

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken Generally, instructions are sent to your bank with a specified payment date and a lead time for processing. If the processing date has not yet passed, Quicken enables you to send a cancel payment instruction. Because canceling a payment is not the same as stopping payment on a check, your bank shouldn’t charge you for it. To cancel a single online payment transaction, follow these steps: 1. Choose Banking➪ Online Banking. The Online Center

window appears. 2. Click the Payments tab. 3. Select the account from which the payment was made. 4. Select the payment that you want to cancel, and click the

Cancel Payment button in the bottom-right corner of the window. A confirmation dialog box appears. 5. Click Yes in the confirmation dialog box. 6. The notation Cancel appears in the Status column next

to the payment. 7. Click Send/Update to send the cancel payment

instruction to your bank. If you don’t click the Send/Update button, your bank doesn’t receive the instructions and continues to process your payment. Follow these steps to cancel all future repeating online payments: 1. Choose Lists➪ Scheduled Transactions. The Scheduled

Transaction List window appears. 2. Select the payment that you want to cancel, and click the

Cancel button. A confirmation dialog box appears.


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3. Click Yes in the confirmation dialog box. 4. The transaction is removed from the Scheduled Trans-

action List. 5. Click Send/Update to send the cancel payment instruc-

tion to your bank. If you don’t click the Send/Update button, your bank doesn’t receive the instructions and continues to process your repeating payments.

Transferring Funds between Accounts If you have more than one account at a bank to which you have online access, you can use Quicken to transfer funds between your accounts. Here’s how: 1. Open the register of the account you are transferring

money from. Go to the first blank transaction line at the end of the register. 2. Enter the date. 3. In the Num field, click the drop-down list and choose

Online Transfer. A lightning bolt appears next to the entry. 4. In the Xfer account field, select the account that you

want to transfer money to. 5. Type an amount in the Payment field. 6. Click the Enter button. After you enter the transfer

information into Quicken, it automatically displays the Online Transaction Summary window.

Sending E-mail to Your Bank E-mail can be a great alternative to telephoning your bank for these reasons.

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You are not put on hold.

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Your communication is automatically saved and timestamped.

The E-mail window in the Online Financial Services window appears. To send a quick e-mail message to your bank, follow these steps: 1. Click the E-mail tab of the Online Financial Services

window. 2. Enter the name of financial institution to which you

want to send the e-mail. 3. Click Create to create a new message. 4. Enter your Message in the Message box. 5. When you finish creating a new message, click OK to

save the message text. It appears in the bottom half of your E-mail window. 6. Click Update/Send to send the message to your bank.

The Instructions to Send window appears. This window displays all your e-mail messages that are ready to send. 7. Enter your PIN number and click the Send button. The

Online Transmission Summary window appears. Review the information in the summary window, and click OK. The word Sent appears in the Status column. When your bank sends you an e-mail message, it appears in the E-mail tab of the Online Financial Services Center window. To read this message, select it and click Read. A Message window displays the text from your bank. You can print this message to save a hard copy for your records. No Reply button exists in this window. You must create a new message if you want to respond.

CHAPTER 8

PREPARING YOUR INCOME TAXES WITH QUICKEN I N T H I S C HAPT E R ■

Setting up accounts that receive special income tax treatment

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Categorizing transactions within your account for income tax purposes

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Using the Tax Planner to estimate your tax liability

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Finding extra deductions

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Preparing insightful tax reports and summaries

Quicken almost makes preparing your income taxes fun. Yes, fun. It is truly enjoyable to locate extra deductions that save you money. It’s a pleasure to categorize an entire year’s worth of transactions with a few clicks of your mouse. And it’s a real blast to watch your roommate sift through piles of canceled checks long after you’ve completed your return or sent your well-organized data off to your grateful accountant.

Designating Tax Information for Accounts and Categories Quicken enables you to specify tax information for both the accounts that you set up and the transaction categories contained within them. The tax information feature is optional, and you do have to put in a little more effort to associate tax information with the accounts and categories that you set up. But you may find it well worth the effort.

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken If you do take the extra time to use the tax-tracking features as you enter transactions in your checkbook, you can do the following: ■

Display an up-to-date summary of your tax situation at any time during the year, based on the information you enter into your checking account register.

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Prepare tax-planning projections using different scenarios and assumptions.

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Calculate your capital gains when you sell an investment.

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Prepare reports summarizing information on specific types of deductions or tax categories.

In Quicken, you can set up, or associate, tax information at two levels: the account level and the category level within accounts. Generally, you either designate an entire account, or you designate tax information at the category level — not both. For example, you may designate your IRA or 401(k) account as having a particular tax treatment. Because all deposits to that account are tax deferred, you can set up tax information for the entire account. In contrast, the transactions in your day-to-day checking account receive a variety of tax treatments. Some expenses are deductible; some are not. Some deposits reflect taxable income; other deposits may reflect account transfers or other nontaxable sources. For this reason, you set up tax information by category, instead of designating the entire account as receiving a certain tax treatment.

Specifying tax information for an account To appropriately designate a tax treatment for an entire account, all withdrawals from or deposits to that account should receive a certain type of tax treatment. For example, all deposits may be deductible retirement contributions. Or the account may be maintained for disbursements for

Chapter 8: Preparing Your Income Taxes with Quciken

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medical expenses or Social Security taxes by a self- employed person. You can specify a particular tax treatment for an account at the time you establish or set up the account, using the Tax Schedule Information dialog box for the account. You can also change the tax information for an existing account by using the Edit feature. Follow these steps to specify tax information for a new account: 1. Choose File➪ New. In the dialog box that appears, select

the option New Quicken Account. 2. Click OK. In the next four dialog boxes, enter informa-

tion for the account, including the name of the account, the opening balance, and whether you want online services for the account. (See Chapter 2 for more on setting up a new account.) After you finish entering the information about the new account, the Summary dialog box appears displaying all the information you entered. 3. Click the Tax button. The Tax Schedule Information dia-

log box, shown in Figure 8-1, appears. Figure 8-1:

Indicate the type of tax treatment all deposits to or withdrawals from an account should receive.

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken 4. If all the deposits to the account receive a particular tax

treatment (for example, deductible retirement plan contributions), use the drop-down list to specify this treatment in the Transfers In box. You may want to consult your accountant or tax advisor to make the proper selection. You can edit your selection later. 5. If appropriate, check the box next to Tax-Deferred or

Tax-Exempt Account. 6. If all the withdrawals from the account are subject to spe-

cial tax rules (for example, the category for “doctors, dentists, hospitals,” which constitutes deductible medical expenses), use the drop-down list to enter the appropriate tax information in the Transfers Out field. Again, you may want to consult your accountant or tax advisor to make the proper selection. 7. Click OK when you finish entering the tax information. 8. Click Done to finish establishing the new account.

Changing tax information for an existing account In Quicken, you can edit the tax information previously supplied for an existing account. Here’s how: 1. Choose Finance➪ Account List and select the account

for which you want to edit the tax information. The Edit Account dialog box appears. 2. Click the Tax button to display the Tax Schedule Infor-

mation dialog box. This dialog box is the same one you use in setting up a new account (refer to Figure 8-1). 3. Add or edit the tax information for the account. 4. Click OK to save the tax information, and Done to exit

the Edit Account dialog box.


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Designating tax information for individual categories If you elect to use Quicken’s tax features for your day-to-day checking account, you have to track tax information at the category level. You can associate tax information with categories at four different times: ■

Automatically, when you set up the categories

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When you add a new category

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When you use the Edit Category dialog box

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When you use the Tax Link Assistant to designate tax information for multiple categories at one time

When you first set up an account, Quicken automatically creates dozens of categories based on the information that you enter (as shown in Chapter 2). Many of these categories have tax information already associated with them. To find out which ones have associated tax information, choose Finance➪ Category & Transfer List. In the Category List, a T appears in the Tax column next to each category with tax information. You can specify tax information for a new category at the time you create it. Here’s how: 1. Choose Finance➪ Category & Transfer List. In the Cat-

egory & Transfer List dialog box, click the New button on the button bar. The Set Up Category dialog box, shown in Figure 8-2, appears. 2. Check the box next to Tax-related. 3. Use the drop-down list to associate the category with a

particular line or schedule of the 1040 income tax form. You must make your selection from what appears on the drop-down list. 4. Click OK to create the new category.

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Figure 8-2:

Specify tax information for a category.

Changing tax information for an existing category You can edit the tax information for any existing category, even if the category already contains multiple entries. The previous entries are automatically associated with the new tax information. Follow these steps to change the tax information for an existing category: 1. Choose Finance➪ Category Transfer List. The Category

& Transfer List dialog box appears. 2. Select the category you want to edit. 3. Click the Edit button on the button bar. The Edit Cat-

egory dialog box appears. This dialog box is identical to the Set Up Category dialog box (refer to Figure 8-2), except that it contains information about the existing category.


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4. Make the appropriate changes to the tax information. 5. Click OK to save the new tax information and close the

dialog box.

Using Tax Link Assistant for multiple categories Perhaps you’ve been managing a checkbook using Quicken for a while and have just now decided that you want to take advantage of the program’s tax features. Say that it’s already November, and you have hundreds of transaction entries for the year. Is it too late? Should you wait until next year? Not at all. Setting up tax information late in the year is a problem easily solved using the Quicken Tax Link Assistant. Some super-procrastinators even wait until they actually begin preparing their tax returns before they use this feature. Figure 8-3 shows the Tax Link Assistant dialog box. The left side of the dialog box lists the categories for your checking account. The right side, labeled Tax Form Line Items, lists all the different lines of the 1040 income tax form, as well as any schedules. At the top of the dialog box, you see brief stepby-step reminders as to how to use this dialog box. You don’t have to match up all the categories to tax form line items. You only need to match the ones that you have to report on your tax return. For example, you don’t need to associate a category for groceries with tax information because groceries are nondeductible items.

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Figure 8-3:

Use the Tax Link Assistant to set up tax information for multiple categories.

To use the Tax Link Assistant, follow these steps: 1. Choose Taxes➪ Tax Link Assistant. The Tax Link Assis-

tant dialog box appears. 2. Under Category, select the category to which you want

to assign a line or schedule of your tax form. 3. Under Tax Form Line Items, select the tax form line or

schedule. 4. Click Assign Line Item to Category. 5. Repeat Steps 2–4 for other categories. 6. After you finish, click OK to save your changes.


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You can review the tax information for each category by using the Edit Category dialog box. See “Changing tax information for an existing category” earlier in this chapter for how to access this dialog box.

Visiting the Quicken Tax Center The Quicken Tax Center window, shown in Figure 8-4, provides easy access to all the program’s desktop and Internet resources that help you prepare your taxes. This window includes the following main areas: ■

Income Year-To-Date: Displays a running total of your year-to-date income, as reflected in all your accounts. This summary appears only if you’ve previously set up tax information for the appropriate accounts and categories.

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Deductions: Displays a running total of all the deductions that you’ve directed Quicken to track when you entered the appropriate tax-related category information.

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Tax Calendar: Provides such information as tax-filing deadlines, estimated payment due dates, and times for extending your tax return.

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Projected Tax: Displays your projected income tax liability, if you entered information using the Quicken Tax Planner (as shown in the next section).

Each time you go online with Quicken, your Tax Center window is automatically updated. So don’t panic if the window on your screen is slightly different from the one depicted in Figure 8-4.

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Figure 8-4:

The Tax Center Window provides access to all information you need to prepare your taxes.

Quicken Tax Planning Tools Quicken offers you four tools for planning, projecting, and reviewing your personal income tax situation: Tax Planner, Deduction Finder, Capital Gains Estimator, and Tax Reports. You can access all these tools from the Links section of the Tax Center window.

Tax Planner The Tax Planner dialog box, shown in Figure 8-5, incorporates features from the Intuit TurboTax program to help you estimate your personal income tax liability for the year. The Tax Planner also enables you to calculate and project your income tax liability using three different scenarios that you specify. For example, you may want to do a high estimate of your projected income, a low estimate, and a midrange (Base) estimate to see what your projected liability may be under each different scenario. The Base scenario information appears in the Projected Tax area of the Tax Center window.

Chapter 8: Preparing Your Income Taxes with Quciken Figure 8-5:

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The Tax Planner helps you estimate your federal income tax bill.

Here’s how to use the Tax Planner: 1. Click the Plan link on the Tax Center window or choose

Taxes➪ Tax Planner. 2. Choose your filing status from the drop-down list in the

Status field. 3. In the Year field, indicate the tax year for which you are

estimating your taxes. 4. If you wish, select the scenario under which you want to

enter data. 5. In the Income area, enter your anticipated wages, inter-

est and dividend income, business, capital gains, other income, and adjustments to income in the appropriate fields. 6. In the Tax Computation area, enter your deductions,

exemptions, tax credits, withholding, and estimated tax payments in the appropriate fields. Various dialog boxes help you enter the information when you click on the shaded selections.

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken After you enter all the necessary information in the Tax Planner, you can view the estimated remaining tax or refund in the bottom-right corner of the dialog box.

Quicken Deduction Finder Who couldn’t use a few extra deductions at tax time? Using the Quicken Deduction Finder (as shown in Figure 8-6), you just may find a few. The Deduction Finder is another feature borrowed from the Intuit TurboTax program. The Deduction Finder is a database of over 100 deductions accompanied by Yes-or-No questions to determine whether you are entitled to the deduction. To use the Quicken Deduction Finder, follow these steps: 1. Click the Deduction Finder link in the Tax Center win-

dow or choose Taxes➪ Deduction Finder. An introductory dialog box appears. 2. Read the introduction and click OK. 3. Under Choose a deduction type, enter your filing status.

(Yes, this is a confusing label for this field, because you are not actually entering a deduction type in it.) 4. Under Choose a deduction, scroll down the list and

select a type of deduction. 5. Under Questions, answer Yes or No to each question by

clicking on the appropriate check boxes. After you complete the questions, Quicken tells you whether you can take the deduction at the bottom of the question area. Unsure how to answer some of the questions? Wondering how Quicken determines your eligibility for a deduction? Just click the More Information button under Next Steps for more comprehensive information about the deduction.

Chapter 8: Preparing Your Income Taxes with Quciken Figure 8-6:

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Use this window to find additional deductions to which you may be entitled

After you determine that you can take a particular deduction, you can click the Create a Category button under Next Steps to tell Quicken to create a category to track the deduction. When you finish answering the questions, click the Action Plan tab at the top of the window. The Action Plan tab includes the following: ■

Criteria: Requirements considered for claiming your deduction.

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Limits: Allowable amounts and percentages for the deduction.

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Paper Trail: Documentation required to substantiate the deduction (for example, a receipt or canceled check).

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Tax Forms: What you must do to claim your deduction.

CHAPTER 9

BUDGETING AND FORECASTING WITH QUICKEN I N T H I S C HAPT E R ■

Reviewing summary financial information on the Quicken Home Page

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Using the Planning Center tools

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Creating reports and graphs

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Creating a budget

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Saving for your future

Maintaining an accurate record of all transactions on a dayto-day basis is certainly important, so that you have a handle on your current financial status and account balances. But simply maintaining accurate balances doesn’t really help you achieve your future needs and goals. Quicken takes the art of record-keeping several steps further and enable you to take all the financial data that you have maintained about the past and use it to plan for the future.

The Quicken Home Page The Financial Activity Centers within Quicken provide concise summaries of information you have entered in other parts of the program, such as account and transaction balances. These centers enhance your control over your finances.

Chapter 9: Budgeting and Forecasting with Quicken

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The Quicken Home Page, discussed in Chapter 1, is the Financial Activity Center that you’re likely to access and refer to most frequently. You may have thought of this window as a sort of general index to program features and areas, but the Home Page actually contains a great deal of readily referenced, customized information. The Quicken Home Page, shown in Figure 9-1, provides a list of Scheduled Transactions and displays Alerts and Reminders that you need to address currently. You can also see list of all your accounts and their current balances. Figure 9-1:

The Quicken Home Page displays a list of Scheduled Transactions.

The Quicken Planning Center, shown in Figure 9-2, is a reference source containing answers to dozens of planning questions. You can access it by going to Planning➪ Planning Center. The left side of the window contains links to information about important financial life events including the following: ■

Retirement

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College

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Home purchase

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Debt reduction

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken The Quicken Planning Center also offers answers to many other more specific questions, indexed by topic area. To access this index, click the link shown in Figure 9-2. A sample planning topic, “Can I retire when I want to?” is shown in Figure 9-3.

Figure 9-2:

The Quicken Planning Center provides valuable planning information.

Figure 9-3:

This window shows a Planning Center page discussing retirement.


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Additional Planning Features The Quicken Planning Menu offers several other valuable types of planning information summaries, including the following: ■

Savings Goals: The Quicken Savings Goals feature provides you with information about your savings balances and the monthly contribution you need to achieve the goals you have set. See “Saving for the Future With Quicken” later in this chapter for more information.

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“What If ” scenarios: These scenarios enable you to make hypothetical assumptions and calculate your expected cash flows based on these assumptions. For example, the “What if ” window, shown in Figure 9-4, is used to calculate the financial impact of the sale of an asset, taking into account the payments on a loan for the asset.

Figure 9-4:

The “What if” feature allows you to estimate cash flows based on hypothetical assumptions.

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Figure 9-5:

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Cash Flow Forecast: This feature presents you with a visual representation of your spending patterns and what these habits mean for the future. The Cash Flow Forecast identifies your current spending and savings patterns to predict your future cash flows. A sample cash flow analysis is shown in Figure 9-5. A cash flow analysis depicts your spending and saving trends.

Professional Planner Summary: This summary lets you be your own financial analyst by helping you to create a comprehensive financial plan. Quicken prompts you to enter relevant information, such as your employment status and any income sources not already tracked in Quicken. It also asks about your financial goals and objectives, and it combines all this information into a single, professional-looking financial planning document.

Creating Reports and Graphs with Quicken Reports and graphs are the most visually dramatic features of Quicken. With a couple of clicks of your mouse, you can transform your checking account entries into a professionallooking report or a multicolored graph.


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Here’s how to create a report using the entries in your checking account register: 1. From the open check register window, click the Reports

option on the button bar. 2. A menu appears offering you the option of either creat-

ing a Register Report or Expense Summary Graph. 3. Click the Register Report option to create a report. 4. Click the Customize button to make changes to the for-

mat of the report. 5. Click the Sort button to choose from among several

options for sorting the transactions on the report, such as date, amount, or payee. To create a graph of your expenses, follow these steps: 1. From the open check register window, click the Reports

option on the button bar. 2. From the drop-down menu that appears, click Expense

Summary Graph to view a graphic representation of the top five expense categories in your checking account register. 3. Click OK to close the Expense Summary Graph win-

dow. (You can not print this graph.)

Budgeting with Quicken A budget is a plan of projected expenditures. Your goal in creating a budget is to not exceed your projections. If your actual expenses exceed your projections, you can analyze your budget to get back on track. Follow these steps to create a budget: 1. Choose Planning➪ Budgeting. The Budget window

appears.

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken 2. Click Edit and select Autocreate from the drop-down

menu. The dialog box shown in Figure 9-6 appears. 3. Enter the time for your budget in the To and From date

fields. Figure 9-6:

Specify the time frame for your budget.

4. In the Round Values to Nearest field, indicate how you

want numbers to be rounded for your budget. 5. Click OK. 6. On the button bar, click Categories. In the dialog box

that appears, check off the categories that you want to include in your budget. 7. Click Options and indicate whether you want to display

budget information for the month, quarter, or year. You can immediately view the selected budget option on your screen. 8. To save your budget, click Options and select Save

Budget. You can also view the differences between your budgeted and actual amounts as a graph, as shown in Figure 9-7. Here’s how:


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1. Open the budget window and click the Report button. 2. Select Budget Variance Graph from the drop-down

menu. Figure 9-7:

You can view the difference between budgeted and actual amounts in the form of a graph.

Saving for the Future with Quicken Quicken helps you save for the future by “hiding” some of the funds in your account. Quicken deducts some of the money from the register balance displayed, according to the savings objective you specify. The theory is that if you don’t see the designated amount of money in your register balance, you’re less likely to spend it. To take advantage of this clever tool, follow these steps: 1. Choose Planning➪ Savings Goals. The Savings Goals

window appears. 2. Click the New button on the button bar in the Savings

Goals window. The Create New Savings Goal dialog box, shown in Figure 9-8, appears.

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Figure 9-8:

Set new savings goals.

3. Enter a name for your saving goal, such as “Vacation” or

“New Home.” 4. Enter the dollar amount of your goal in the Goal

Amount field. 5. In the Finish Date field, enter the date by which you

hope to reach your goal. 6. Click OK. 7. In the Savings Goals window, click the Contribute but-

ton on the button bar. The Contribute to Goal dialog box appears. 8. In the From Account field, use the drop-down list to

enter the name of the account from which you want to use funds to meet your goal. 9. In the Date field, indicate the date on which you want

to subtract the funds from the account balance you’ve indicated. 10. Enter the amount to be deducted from the account bal-

ance in the Amount field. 11. Click OK

Quicken creates an entry in the register of the account from which you’re saving the funds. The funds do not leave this account. Here’s how to withdraw money that you’ve saved: 1. Choose Planning➪ Savings Goals. The Savings Goals

window appears.


111

2. Select the goal from which you want to withdraw money. 3. Click the Withdraw button on the button bar. The

Withdraw from Goal dialog box appears. 4. In the Put funds back into account field, make sure that

the correct account appears. 5. Enter the amount of money that you want to withdraw

and the date on which you want to withdraw it. 6. Click OK.

You can use this feature to painlessly meet any long- or shortterm savings goal that you set for yourself.

CLIFFSNOTES REVIEW Use this CliffsNotes Review to practice what you’ve learned in this book and to build your confidence in doing the job right the first time. After you work through the review questions and the problem-solving exercises, you’re well on your way to achieving your goal of using Quicken confidently.

Q&A 1. How should you exit from Quicken? a. Push the Reset button. b. Save your work and then close the program. c. Click the lower-left corner of your screen. d. Turn the computer off. 2. The main types of Quicken accounts are a. Asset accounts. b. Liabilities accounts. c. Joint accounts. d. b and c. 3. Quicken uses which types of windows to interact with its users: a. Home Page window. b. List windows. c. Register windows. d. All of the above. 4. What is the function of the Reconcile Bank Statement window? a. Review all your loan accounts. b. Review all your credit card accounts. c. Balance your checking account. d. Review all your retirement accounts.

CliffsNotes Review

113

5. What is the function of a PIN? a. Append AutoNotes in Quicken calendar. b. Permission to access online financial accounts. c. Starts Quicken’s Practical Information Navigator. d. Prints Quicken reports. 6. When is an online payment actually deducted from your check-

ing account? a. As soon as you send the instruction to the bank. b. A few days before it is processed for delivery. c. The day it is processed for delivery. d. The day the payee submits the check to the bank. 7. What is the function of a split transaction? a. Divide one online payment into two separate checks. b. Record portions of a check in more than one expense

category. c. Quickly adjust stock accounts for new shares. d. Calculate whether to make full or partial payment on credit card accounts. 8. What prevents criminals and hackers from reading your

financial information while it travels over the Internet? a. Passwords. b. Encryption. c. Firewalls. d. PINs.

Answers: 1. d; 2. d; 3. d; 4. c; 5. b; 6. b; 7. b; 8. b

Scenarios 1. You want to be reminded of when your credit card is approach-

ing its maximum balance. How do you create an alert? ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________

114

CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken 2. What steps can you take to compare your Quicken account reg-

ister with your bank statement? ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Answers: (1) On the Quicken Home Page, go to Alerts and Reminders. Click the option Set Alerts. Click the Account tab. In the left side of the dialog box, place a check by the alert type Account Max. Balance. Enter the dollar amount or type of expense that should trigger the alert. Click Apply to save your settings. Click OK to enter the alert information. (2) Place a check mark by each item on your Quicken account register that appears on your bank statement. Add transactions to your Quicken account if they only appear on your bank statement. Look at the difference shown between the Cleared Balance and Statement Ending Balance at the bottom-right corner of the Reconcile Bank Statement window.

Consider This ■

How much of your total financial transactions do you want to process through Quicken? The more transactions and accounts you manage in Quicken, the more your Quicken software can tell you about your finances.

CLIFFSNOTES RESOURCE CENTER The learning doesn’t need to stop here. CliffsNotes Resource Center shows you the best of the best — links to the best information in print and online about managing your finances. Look for these terrific resources at your favorite bookstore or local library and on the Internet. When you’re online, make your first stop www.cliffsnotes.com, where you can find even more incredibly useful information about managing your finances.

Books This CliffsNotes book is one of many great books for Quicken users from IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. So if you want some great next-step books, check out some of these other publications: Accounting For Dummies, by John A. Tracy, helps you get a handle on the financial aspects of your business, investments, or taxes. IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. $19.99. Investing For Dummies, by Eric Tyson, demystifies everything from real estate and stocks and bonds to mutual funds and small-business ventures. IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. $19.99. Personal Finance For Dummies, 2nd Edition, by Eric Tyson, shares proven strategies for everything from paying for college to preparing for retirement. IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. $19.99. You can easily find books published by IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., in your favorite bookstores (on the Internet and at a store near you). We also have three Web sites that you can use to read about all the books we publish:

116

CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken www.cliffsnotes.com www.dummies.com www.idgbooks.com

Internet Check out these Web resources for more on Quicken: ASAP Checks, Forms, and Supplies, www.sensiblesolutions.com, offers a broad range of paper checks and forms for Quicken and virtually any computer printer. Quicken.com, www.quicken.com, takes you directly to the latest official news from Intuit about Quicken. The Unofficial Quicken Web Page, www.defaria.com/ quicken, is a lively discussion by and for actual Quicken users. Next time you’re on the Internet, don’t forget to drop by www.cliffsnotes.com. We created an online Resource Center that you can use today, tomorrow, and beyond.

Send Us Your Favorite Tips In your quest for learning, have you ever experienced that sublime moment when you figure out a trick that saves time or trouble? Perhaps you realized you were taking ten steps to accomplish something that could have taken two. Or you found a little-known workaround that gets great results. If you’ve discovered a useful tip that helped you use Quicken more effectively and you’d like to share it, the CliffsNotes staff would love to hear from you. Go to our Web site at www.cliffsnotes.com and click the Talk to Us button. If we select your tip, we may publish it as part of CliffsNotes Daily, our exciting, free e-mail newsletter. To find out more or to subscribe to a newsletter, go to www. cliffsnotes.com on the Web.

Index

INDEX A Account list, 8, 9 accounts asset accounts, 16 categories in, 16, 17 checking, 15–21, 23–24, 26 creating, 19, 20, 21 liability accounts, 16 overview, 15, 16 tax information, 90–92 transferring between, 87 transferring funds, 37, 38 Activity bar, 14 asset accounts, 16 associating tax information, 90

B balances checking account, 18 reconciliation and, 48, 49 bank statement, comparing Quicken transactions, 47 bank, linking to, 77 beginning checking balance, 18 bill paying, 27–30, 32–33, 35, 58 canceling, online, 85–87 online, 63, 82–84, 86–87 repeating, online, 84 Billminder, 58 browsers, Web, 65 budgeting, 107, 108 button bar, 12

C categories, 15 changing, 43 creating, 21, 23 deleting, 21, 23 modifying, 21, 23 recategorizing transactions, 43, 44 subcategories, 17

117

tax information, 89, 93, 94 Tax Link Assistant, 95, 97 within accounts, 16, 17 Category & Transfer list, 8, 21 check writing, 31, 32, 33 checking account online access, 73–75, 77–88 setup, 15–21, 23–24, 26 checks ordering stock, 33 printing, 33, 34 chronological order, transactions, 25 Class List window, 41 classes, 40, 41 CliffsNotes Getting on the Internet, 66 CliffsNotes Web site, 2 color, 14 commissions, 16 Connection Setup dialog box, 66 copying transactions, 25 Create New Account window, 20 credit card transactions, downloading, 63 Custom installation, 6 customization, 19–21, 23 interface, 14 Customize Quicken 2000 Download dialog box, 69, 70

D Deduction Finder, 100, 101 deleting categories, 21, 23 transactions, 44, 45 deposits, 28, 30, 31, 32 desktop, 6, 8, 10 Home Page window, 7 List windows, 8, 9 Register windows, 9 dial-up connections, Internet, 64 directories, installation and, 4 dividends, 16 downloading bank activity, 62 credit card transactions, 63 customizing, 69, 70 transactions, 79–82

118


E e-mail, online banking and, 87, 88 EasyStep, 20 EasyStep Paycheck, 58–61 encryption, security, 64 expenses split transactions and, 39 Express installation, 4, 5

F Financial Activity Center, 102 Financial Calendar, 53, 54 scheduled transactions, 54–56 Financial Partners, 75 Find Help, 13 Find/Replace transaction data, 42, 43 forecasting, 102–106

G graphs, 107

H Help, 13, 14 Home Page, 102–106 reminders, 56, 57 Home Page window, 7

I Icon bar, 14 income YTD, 97 index, Help, 13 installation, 4 insurance, 71 interest, 16 reconciliation and, 45–47 interface, customizing, 14 Internet connection dial-up, 64 downloading, 69, 70 phone line, 65

Quicken.com, 70, 71, 72 requirements, 64, 65 setup, 66–68 ISP (Internet service provider), 65

L liability accounts, 16 linking to bank, 77 List windows, 8, 9

M memorized transactions, 50, 51, 53 menu bar, standard, 10 menus shortcut, 10, 12 standard, 10, 12 modem, 65

N New User Setup window, 17, 18

O online access advantages, 62, 63 bill paying, 82–87 checking account, 73–88 e-mail, 87, 88 security, 63, 64 online account services, setup, 75 online help, 14 ordering check stock, 33

P paychecks, 58–61 payees, online transactions, 74 paying bills. See bill paying, 27 payments, recording, 28–32 Personal Finance For Dummies, 115 personal identification number (PIN), 63 Planning Center, 103 printer, 35 setup, 34 printing checks, 33, 34 setup, 34

Index

Q

119

Quicken.com, 70–72 QuickEntry, 30 QuickFill, 50, 51, 53 QuickTabs, 11, 12

split transactions, 39, 40 standard menu bar, 10 standard menus, 10, 12 subcategories, 17 creating, 23 Summary account setup, 20

R

T

recategorizing transactions, 43, 44 Reconcile Bank Statement window, 47 reconciling checkbook, 45–48 doesn't balance, 48, 49 register, 9, 24–26 comparing downloaded transactions, 80–82 entering transactions, 28–30 transaction line, 25 transactions, 24 Register window, 9 Split transactions, 40 registration, 4 reminders, 57 Home Page, 56, 57 rent, 16 reports, 106, 107 Resource Center, 115 restoring transactions, 44, 45 reviewing transactions, 79–82

Tax Center, 97 tax information, 89–95, 97 Tax Link Assistant, 95, 97 tax planning, 98, 99, 100 tax-related items, 23 taxes, 71 Deduction Finder, 100, 101 telephone lines, Internet connection and, 65 tips, 16 transaction line, 25 transactions, 24 classes, 40, 41 comparing to bank statement, 47 copying, 25 deleting, 44, 45 downloading, 79–82 entering, 28–30 Find/Replace, 42, 43 memorized, 50–53 moving between, 25 QuickEntry, 30 recategorizing, 43, 44 restoring, 44, 45 reviewing, 79, 80, 81, 82 scheduled, 54, 55, 56 searching for, 26 splits, 39, 40 voiding, 25 Transfer dialog box, 38 transferring funds, 37, 38 transferrring funds between accounts, 87

S salary, 16, 58, 59, 60, 61 Savings Goals, 105 scheduled transactions, 54, 55, 56 searches transactions, 26 security of online access, 63, 64 service charges, reconciliation and, 45–47 setup check printing, 34 checking account, 15–24, 26 EasyStep, 20 Internet connection, 66–68 online account services, 75 Summary, 20 shortcut menus, 10, 12 Show Me Videos, 13

V voiding transactions, 25

120


W Web browsers, 65 Web sites, 116 CliffsNotes, 2 Quicken.com, 70, 71, 72 What-If scenarios, 105 Window menu, 14 Write Checks window, 31–33

Y YTD income, 97

COMING SOON FROM CLIFFSNOTES Online Shopping HTML Choosing a PC Beginning Programming Careers Windows 98 Home Networking eBay Online Auctions PC Upgrade and Repair Business Microsoft Word 2000 Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 Finance Microsoft Outlook 2000 Digital Photography Palm Computing Investing Windows 2000 Online Research

COMING SOON FROM CLIFFSNOTES Buying and Selling on eBay Have you ever experienced the thrill of finding an incredible bargain at a specialty store or been amazed at what people are willing to pay for things that you might toss in the garbage? If so, then you’ll want to learn about eBay — the hottest auction site on the Internet. And CliffsNotes Buying and Selling on eBay is the shortest distance to eBay proficiency. You’ll learn how to: ■

Find what you’re looking for, from antique toys to classic cars

■

Watch the auctions strategically and place bids at the right time

■

Sell items online at the eBay site

■

Make the items you sell attractive to prospective bidders

■

Protect yourself from fraud

Here’s an example of how the step-by-step CliffsNotes learning process simplifies placing a bid at eBay: 1. Scroll to the Web page form that is located at the bot-

tom of the page on which the auction item itself is presented. 2. Enter your registered eBay username and password and

enter the amount you want to bid. A Web page appears that lets you review your bid before you actually submit it to eBay. After you’re satisfied with your bid, click the Place Bid button. 3. Click the Back button on your browser until you return

to the auction listing page. Then choose View➪ Reload (Netscape Navigator) or View➪ Refresh (Microsoft Internet Explorer) to reload the Web page information. Your new high bid appears on the Web page, and your name appears as the high bidder.

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Epilepsy: A Guide to Balancing Your Life

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Quicken 2004 for Dummies

Quicken 2009 For Dummies

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Cliffsnotes Shopping Online Safely (CliffsNotes)

Quicken 2005 for Dummies

Quicken 2007 On Demand

Quicken 2010 For Dummies

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Quicken 2009 The Official Guide

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Using Quicken Deluxe 99

Quicken 2010 For Dummies

Cliffsnotes Victory

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CliffsNotes Balancing Your Checkbook with Quicken

CliffsNotes Using Your First Imac

Quicken 2009 The Official Guide (Quicken Press)

Cliffsnotes Getting a Loan (Cliffsnotes)

Epilepsy: A Guide to Balancing Your Life

Writing Your First Computer Program (CliffsNotes)

Writing Your First Computer Program (CliffsNotes)

Epilepsy: A Guide to Balancing Your Life

Quicken 2006 QuickSteps

Easy Quicken 2004

Quicken 2004 for Dummies

Quicken 2009 For Dummies

Quicken 2010 For Dummies

Quicken 2007 For Dummies

Cliffsnotes Shopping Online Safely (CliffsNotes)

Quicken 2005 for Dummies

Quicken 2007 On Demand

Quicken 2010 For Dummies

Cliffsnotes Dracula

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Balancing Karma

Quicken 2009 The Official Guide

Balancing Acts

Quicken 2007 On Demand

Using Quicken Deluxe 99

Quicken 2010 For Dummies

Cliffsnotes Victory

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