Generating and customizing a report based on memo/note column

Unknown · February 2017

I need to generate a report based on the memo/note line based on information from the end of 2016 and 2017. I have tried to customize the report based on site instructions, but unfortunately sorting by the memo/tag line is not an option. I was able to customize the time frame of transactions I need, but unfortunately cannot further specify based on the memo line. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

smayer97 · October 2020

Meanwhile, you can add your VOTE to Report based on keyword of Memo/Notes.

First, click on the underlined link above to go there, then click the little grey triangle under the VOTE count at the top of page 1 in the blue banner, so your vote will count for THIS feature and increase its visibility to the developers by seeking to have the features you need or desire end up in the latest version (it may take a moment for your vote to register).
(If the triangle is black, your vote has already been counted.)

Your VOTES matter!

P.S. This is a subset of another idea you can vote on:
Create Useful Category/Transaction Detail Report

and is also related to this idea you can vote on:
Quick Report for Mac

RickO · February 2017

Please let us know which version of Quicken Mac you are using and which report you are working with.

Here's an answer for QM2017... your solution might be to filter and search an account register or group register. Group registers are those in the sidebar that combine multiple accounts, such as "Cash" or "Banking".

... Select an account or group register
... Set the filters for the dates you want and optionally transactions type and status
... Click in the search box (upper right) then click the magnifying glass and and select Memo/Notes
... Enter your search term for the Memo/Notes field
... Click a column header to sort by that column (perhaps Memo/Notes)

You can then print this as a report sorted by date or grouped by category. Or you can export the transactions to a CSV file (menu File > Export) which you can then import into Excel or Numbers to further format and refine.

Unknown · February 2017

Thank you for your reply. That's how far I have been able to get. My range of dates is from Nov. 27, 2016 to today and the report generated will only show me the 2017 transactions (which is the banking account selected on the sidebar) I didn't know how to include the 2016 account as well?

RickO · February 2017

Do I understand correctly that you want to include transactions from two accounts, but only those two accounts? Here's a way to accomplish that:

1) Select the lowest level group register in the sidebar that contains both of the accounts (e.g. Banking, Credit Cards, etc). I will assume that this group contains more accounts than just the two you are interested in.

2) Right click on each of the two accounts, select Rename "account name" and append something unique (eg. XYZ) to the end of each account name.

3) Back in the group register, click the in the search box then click the magnifying glass and select Account. (If Account is not there, then enable the Account column by clicking menu View > Columns...) Then enter XYZ in the search field. You will now only be displaying those two account's transactions.

4) Enter your date range in the custom date filter.

5) Sort by Memo and print or export.

6) When you're all done, you can re-rename the accounts to remove the XYZ at the end of the names.

Another, perhaps easier method, would be to export all the transactions from the group register for the date range you want sorted by the account column. Then open the file in Excel or Numbers, and simply delete the lines corresponding to the accounts other than the two you want. Then re-sort by Memo, format and print.

Unknown · July 2017

That is an approach but why does Quicken of Mac not include the Memo filtering option in its report writing functionality?

jacobs · July 2017

David, we're all just fellow Quicken users here, and in 99.8% of the cases, we have no insight into the rationale of the developers. For instance, some of the Quicken Mac reports that can export to Excel inexplicably omit the Memo/Notes field entirely; it seems like a simple bug to fix, but it hasn't been addressed. Why? We don't know.

As RickO's instructions above illustrate, there are some things you can do by Searching in Quicken that you currently can't do in Reports (and visa versa). Until the Reports become more robust, we're left to try to figure out whether there are ways to get at the data we want, either within Quicken or by exporting data to a spreadsheet program.

Unknown · March 2018

I agree that this is frustrating. In older versions of quicken we could run a report and specify a keyword in the memo/notes section. For instance, we have a Dining Out category, but I like to type my husbands name in the memo/notes section for meals he eats at work, so I can run a quick report and see our total dining out expenses, as well as his total separately if I wish. Same for household expenses specified to a person in our family. Quicken, can you make this happen please? Going back through all my entries and attaching tags will be extremely inconvenient.

RickO · March 2018

Two thoughts....

1) This is really a perfect application for tags, so perhaps update your transactions for this year and use tags for this year forward?

2) You can filter a register using the search field for only transactions that contain certain text in the memo. You can further filter by date and status. And you can do this for a single or a group register. Then you can print or export the result, essentially making a quick report.

jacobs · March 2018

Kiira, what version of Quicken Mac do you have?

This capability exists in Quicken 2018, but is limited in the prior versions. However, you can likely get what you need in one of two possible ways.

In Quicken 2015-2017, you can use the "old" Category Summary report, and click the "Show Memo/Notes" box on the report screen to add this column. If you *print* the report, it shows up just as it exists on-screen; the only problem is that if you *export* the report, it inexplicably doesn't include the Memo/Notes column.

So for your example, you could use the Category Summary report, customize the date range as desired, de-select all categories and then select the category(ies) you use for dining expense, and you'd get the report you want. You can print it; the only problem is that if you export it, the Memo/Notes data is omitted.

Another possible solution for you us using the Search field in the registers to build a customer query. Let's assume some of your dining expenses come from different accounts -- some cash, some checking, some credit cards -- so first select All Banking (Quicken 2017) or Cash & Credit (Quicken 2015 & 2016) to display a register of all your transactions across multiple spending accounts. Then, if it is not already showing, add the Memo/Notes column by clicking the Columns icon on the bottom toolbar and selecting Memo/Notes. Now that this column is visible, clicking the Search box on the upper right and type "Dining" or whatever category name you use for your dining out expenses. This will find ALL your dining expenses. you'll probably want to use the dates filter to select the specific time period you want. You can now print this register as a report -- it will include the memo field -- or you can do File > Export to export all visible transactions -- which will also include the memo field.

Unknown · August 2018

I think this is a related question: if I want to search in the memo/notes field for something, there is no report which will enable to me to do this, unless I am mistaken? Using the find field is an option, but to the best of my knowledge this will not search on accounts which are hidden? If that is the case then how do I go about searching on, e.g., a software application I bought (as notated in the memo field) using a credit card now retired (thus hidden in the accounts sidebar)? Isn't this a huge omission? It certainly was doable in Quicken 2007... and every other version going back to 1995!

Unknown · November 2018

Here is an example of the need for creating a report on Memo/Notes. I just completed a trip over a two month period. I used multiple credit card accounts and some cash transactions that I have created in my bank account split transactions under Cash. Because reservations were required prior to actual leaving for the trip, I had to submit a down payment to make and reserve the booking, thus some of the transactions are before and after (late billing) my departure and return dates. I tagged all transactions associated with this trip with a specific name under the Memo/Notes field. I want every tractions listed in a report that has the specific name I added in the Memo/Notes field regardless of account, category, date, payee, etc. This report will tell me how much I spent for this trip. This seems like a reasonable request. I have Quicken Deluxe 2019 Version 5.8.2 running on a Mac Pro System OS X10.11.6. Ed Irving

J_Mike · November 2018

@Edwin Irving

For your issue, suggest you put the "Tag" in the Tag field instead of the Memo/Notes field. QMac does provide for filtering reports based on the Tag field contents.

Your example is a good demonstration of the usefulness of Tags.

Unknown · November 2018

Per my previous note I am using Quicken 2019. Your suggestion works perfectly except for split transactions. Split transactions only show the total amount and you need to open the split transaction to determine how much is assigned to the specific Memo/Notes. Otherwise this is a great solution. Thank you. PS How do I create a Report from the list of transactions so I can get $ totals?

J_Mike · November 2018

Concur - if you are just filtering the transaction register, split transactions can be an issue.
One has to generate a report to get around the issue with split transactions.

Unknown · November 2018

The solution to getting a report of the Memo/Notes transactions is to select "Spending" instead of "Transactions" once you have created theist of Memo/Notes desired.

Unknown · November 2018

I saw Tags but never had them put in my columns. Will go forward using your suggestion. Interesting they search for Tags and not Memo/Notes. Thank you. Ed

smayer97 · November 2018

I concur that tags would be the better approach to achieve what you want. That said, it does not take away from the need to be able to generate reports using memos/notes.

(If you find this reply helpful, please be sure to click "Like", so others will know, thanks.)

leishirsute · November 2018

It's too bad that Quicken development introduced the concept of tags when it seems that Notes could have served the same purpose by just adding some reporting capability.

smayer97 · October 2020

Meanwhile, you can add your VOTE to Report based on keyword of Memo/Notes.

First, click on the underlined link above to go there, then click the little grey triangle under the VOTE count at the top of page 1 in the blue banner, so your vote will count for THIS feature and increase its visibility to the developers by seeking to have the features you need or desire end up in the latest version (it may take a moment for your vote to register).
(If the triangle is black, your vote has already been counted.)

Your VOTES matter!

P.S. This is a subset of another idea you can vote on:
Create Useful Category/Transaction Detail Report

and is also related to this idea you can vote on:
Quick Report for Mac

Generating and customizing a report based on memo/note column

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