Additional option for frequency of occurrence on bill reminders (75 Legacy Votes)

Quicken Community

I recently switched to the pre-pay cell phone plan at AT&T and they charge every 30 days; not only is AT&T a huge company with plenty of pre-pay customers, even Straight Talk has an auto pay option that charges every 30 days.  There is currently no way to set this up in Quicken (2016) that I could find, or that customer service could direct me to.  Your closest options are every four weeks or once a month, and neither is really satisfactory for this situation.

smayer97

[removed...old instructions for old forum, no longer applicable]

smayer97

I would add that the option should be to be able to schedule based on a user defined # of days, e.g. every 15 days, 21 days, 30 days, etc. This would make this feature more flexible and accommodate many other scenarios that are not easy to handle right now.

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Unknown

I would add that the option should be to be able to schedule based on a user defined # of days, e.g. every 15 days, 21 days, 30 days, etc. This would make this feature more flexible and accommodate many other scenarios that are not easy to handle right now.

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I wasn't clear on that in my post but I 100% agree that it should be flexible in exactly that way.

Dan Glynhampton

I would also like to be able to schedule reminders with more flexibility.



I'd specifically like to be able to schedule payments that occur once every two years (I have some subscriptions that offer a discount if paying for two years). At the moment I have to schedule them as yearly payments, then remember to adjust the next payment date after a payment is made.

splasher

I would also like to be able to schedule reminders with more flexibility.



I'd specifically like to be able to schedule payments that occur once every two years (I have some subscriptions that offer a discount if paying for two years). At the moment I have to schedule them as yearly payments, then remember to adjust the next payment date after a payment is made.

@Dan Glynhampton

You can do an every two years reminder now in Quicken for Windows.  It is not obvious, but you do a Monthly every 24 months.

The Reminder:


The first time shown in the reminder list, date is 2016:


After accepting it, date is now 2018.


As I said, it is not obvious, but it does do the job with the current program.

About the OP's idea, I think it is a good one and I voted for it.  If you add an idea for multiple years vs doing it as shown above, I'd vote for it too.

Dan Glynhampton

I would also like to be able to schedule reminders with more flexibility.



I'd specifically like to be able to schedule payments that occur once every two years (I have some subscriptions that offer a discount if paying for two years). At the moment I have to schedule them as yearly payments, then remember to adjust the next payment date after a payment is made.

Thanks splasher, that's a great way of solving it. I've voted for the OP's idea but I will add a new idea for multiples of years too (after I've updated my scheduled transactions list!)

Dan Glynhampton

I have a few subscriptions that offer a discount if I pay for two years, and I therefore want to set up scheduled transactions to repeat every two years.

There is a workaround (thanks to SuperUser splasher for pointing it out) of scheduling the transaction to repeat monthly with a frequency of 24 months, but it's a non-obvious solution, especially given the the UI drop-down list includes "twice a year" and "yearly" (i.e. you don't have to set up monthly repeats for 6 and 12 months respectively in those cases).

Conceivably some people may need to set repeats with frequencies longer than 2 years, so I'd like to suggest enhancing the choices to include a "Repeat every N years", where the user can set the value of N.

UKR

This customer brought up something that I find is a good idea and should be added to both Quicken for Windows and Quicken for Mac:

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7352064/daily-income-and-daily-bill

At this time, the shortest frequency one can schedule a recurring reminder event is Weekly

IMHO, one or more of these Scheduling Frequencies should be added:
- Daily           every single day, weekends and holidays included
- Workdays  daily, every Monday thru Friday. Optionally holidays in-/excluded
- Selected days of the week only  from a list of weekdays only on selected days, e.g., M_W_F_ _, Monday, Wednesday and Friday only. Optionally holidays in-/excluded

That should take care of those
- daily trips to the coffee shop
- the toll fees for bridge, HOV lane or toll road usage
- the twice weekly trip to the fitness center
- Tips income received at the job

- etc.

[edited to include ideas posted in this thread]
- every nth day
- First (or 2nd, 3rd, 4th or Last) Business Day
- generically, allow for repeating [x] days, [x[ weeks, [x] months and [x] years, combined with options to select weekdays vs any day, and xth day of the month (every 2nd Tues), as illustrated in posts here and here, or explained here.

What do you guys say?

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NOTE: the QWin equivalent of this IDEA has been place here:

Additional option for frequency of occurrence on bill reminders

splasher

Recently, a user wanted the first 4 xxxday (pick a day, Sun-Sat) of the month (exclude the 5th occurrence in a month if it existed).

Unknown

I think a daily schedule was mandatory. As it's something very easy to make and so important to all people, they should just offer us any kind of combination to cover all kind of schedule.

smayer97

If we really want a more flexible repeating frequency GUI, here is what it looks like in my BusyCal software:
The starting point looks like this:

repeating (drop down menu): 
                        
Simple selection of every day, week, month, year OR Custom....
Selecting the repeating frequency brings up the corresponding option in a pop up window. 

Selecting Custom...Daily looks like this:

   

(self-explanatory)


Custom...Weekly looks like this:


 (you can select as many or as few days as you want)

It includes the ability to select any and all days of the week, with the flexibility to select one or more days by clicking them.

This option gives the option that satisfies the list that ukr presents above.


Custom...Monthly looks like my other reply above/

Custom...Yearly look like this:

       
(you can select as many or as few months as you want)
(And just like Monthly, you can opt for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, Last occurrence, with same choices including weekdays, and weekends)

All these options also include a way to define the end in either one of 3 ways:
Never (ongoing), After # times (i.e. # days, # weeks, # months, # years, based on the selection), or End Date where you define a final date.






Selections are made as above, then window closes with displaying only a summary of the choices. The resulting sample display will look like this:



This is far more flexible and covers all the scenarios currently used by Quicken and MORE!!!! This is the best GUI presentation of all the options I have ever seen in a compact design, easy to understand, use, and follow.


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smayer97

Recently, a user wanted the first 4 xxxday (pick a day, Sun-Sat) of the month (exclude the 5th occurrence in a month if it existed).

I see this more as part of the Monthly frequency that would require an interface that looks like this (taken from my BusyCal software): 

    OR       

It also includes a field for defining the end in one of 3 ways, either never (ongoing), after # times (i.e. # weeks to repeat) and On Date where you define a final date.

This allows you to select ANY day(s) to repeat....So you can pick the 4 thursdays of the month (like that one user wanted), or you can select 1st, 2nd 3rd 4th, last occurrence of the month from the menu shown, which includes the ability to select weekdays or weekends (another request by some users).

Notice that to select the Last day of the month, which varies from month to month, there is an (L) at the end of the calendar. 

AND all this can be combined with the yearly, weekly, and daily options to create some very interesting and flexible combinations.

This is a far more flexible interface from a user perspective...(though surely somewhat trickier to program).

psobilo

Do people really need to micro-manage their life so much that they need a reminder they bought coffee or paid a toll every day?  Consider the name of the screen: Income and Bill Reminder, not Income and Expense Reminder.  Just my opinion.

mshiggins

I think this is a very infrequent use case. I've been using Quicken for 18 years and have never once needed or wanted a reminder with daily frequency.

smayer97

Agreed...user since '92 and still never had this need. 

That said, I really like the user interface that is designed in BusyCal, as I show above, that can handle pretty much most, if not all, scheduling options.

smayer97

Maybe not...but currently one of the tricks in Quicken is if you do have a repeating   frequency for some charge, if you accept a scheduled transaction after the fact, say a weekly transaction one month later (when you are reconciling for example), Quicken simplifies the data entry by providing a quick prompt to accept each weekly transaction.

Also, if you you create a scheduled transaction retroactively, Quicken will prompt you if you want to enter those transactions from that retroactive date. If you accept, it will enter ALL occurrences automatically at the frequency specified. Can speed up data entry when you are playing catch-up. 

(I have taken advantage of that feature a few times over the years).

So, again, if you have a high frequency transaction, even 2-3 times per week, it can be helpful.

BTW, I really like the interface provide by BusyCal, as I captured above. Super flexible from a user perspective and easy to apply. Covers pretty much all scenarios easily.

lhossus

I am all for the Daily frequency.  I have several applications:

• We go to the laundromat every 10 days. Currently I am using a 1 week scheduled transaction but keep finding the reminder appearing long before it is due. I have tried 2 weeks, but then it appears long after it is due and we may or may not remember how many quarters were put in the dryers.
• Our pre-paid cell phone plans renew every 30 and every 90 days. I am using 4 weeks and 3 months for these - only a little bit off the mark.

Notice these are not every day, but rather every nth day which is just a generalization of the daily frequency.

lhossus

I use the Mac To-do list manager "Things" which has very similar scheduling screens to that shown in BusyCal.

I have may times wished for similar functionality in Quicken.

smayer97

Yes, have had to use approximations and constant adjustments. It would be nice to get more accuracy.

Unknown

I have the following actual repeating transactions that I cannot program accurately into quicken.

1. Every 90 days
2. Every 3 years
3. 4 times a year:
    1st Monday in January
    1st Monday in March
    3rd Monday in August
    1st Monday in October

Dan Glynhampton

Could you not solve (2) by setting a monthly repeat with a frequency of 36 months? The others will need some enhancements to Quicken's scheduling engine, which I wholeheartedly support.

Unknown

Thanks, just adjusted it.

smayer97

For the 4 times a year, could you not use the Monthly option again and enter 4 different entries, with 1st Monday of every 12 months, starting each one in their respective month?

Dan Glynhampton

It's a good thought, and I use a similar approach for some of my reminders. In this case though there's no "first Monday" or similar options in the QWin scheduler engine so it won't quite work. The best

you can do is to set up the next payment for the correct date with an annual repeat, and then after the reminder has triggered, edit the next occurrence to set the date correctly. It's a bit painful, but better than forgetting the bill.

Unknown

I presently use 4 yearly entries, but since the amount changes each year, I have to (laboriously) find each of the 4 entries, and change the amount. Changing 4 entries is bad enough, trying to find them is worse.

smayer97

Unfortunate...at least QMac does have this feature, even QM2007....

Now to get them both more updated to be more versatile.

splasher

There is a "first Monday" in QW.  You would still need to do four different reminders since they aren't spaced evenly (every 3 months) though.



#1 (every 90 days) is the only one that you can not finagle your way around in QW without setting up explicit, non-repeating reminders.

"Changing 4 entries is bad enough, trying to find them is worse."
How many reminders do you have?  Surely the list isn't that long.

smayer97

thx clarifying

Dan Glynhampton

Well blow me down, I couldn't see that first Monday option for looking :-(

mshiggins

Like Steve said, finding reminders shouldn't be hard. I believe all of the Bills features offer sorting by date or payee along with showing or filtering the account making the paymenf.