Ability to breakout kids FS within one data file

Unknown

Would like to make children's financial statements separate within one data file.  Today their accounts are listed amongst my own, would like to see them as subsets within one master file

Greg_the_Geek

You could use Tags.

NotACPA

How about using Tags to identify the kid's transactions?  And, you can also create, and then memorize, reports that only include the kid's accounts and the kid's transactions.

Then, you'd also need to include reports that cover only you.

Lastly, are the kids old enough that they file their own tax returns?

UKR

Other than using Tags or creating and saving customized reports, how about the following ...


Eventually the kids will grow up and hopefully use their own Quicken, beginning with the data you created for them.

It would be easiest if you split out each kid's accounts into their own separate data files. Name the data files after your children, e.g., John.QDF, Mary.QDF.
Use File / Copy to create separate files, one for each kid.
In each kid's data file delete all of dad's accounts, keeping only the kid's accounts.

Tom Young

The problem with "Tags" in Quicken is that they are not well-controlled by the program, unlike Sub Categories. 

Forget to add a tag to transaction?  Quicken doesn't know and doesn't care. 

Use the wrong tag on a transaction?  Quicken doesn't know and doesn't care. 

Use a tag on a transaction when that transaction shouldn't have a tag, (an easy mistake to make with "memorized" transactions)?  Quicken doesn't know and doesn't care.

So you definitely can use tags, you just have to careful and spend some time reviewing transactions to catch mistakes.

It's just difficult to try and keep track of different "entities" by using one Quicken file.  If your children are young and you anticipate that their Accounts in the real world will grow over time it might make more sense to create a separate file for each child containing only their Accounts.  That approach can make for a bit more work if at this point a lot of their money is coming from Mom & Dad - you make an entry for "Gifts Given:John" in your "family" file and then make an offsetting "Gifts Received from M&D" in John's file - but it does make the recording of transactions within each file simpler and less prone to mistakes.

Unknown

I'm going to take this statement literally for this suggestion:

 Today their accounts are listed amongst my own.
.

If in fact these are separate accounts I don't think there is any need for tags or even putting them in a separate data file (but be aware of the fact that moving them to a separate data file later might be very difficult).

As I see it there is in fact no way in Quicken to do what you want.  As in you can't say put all these accounts in some kind of "custom group" to keep them separate from yours.  Quicken doesn't have such a feature.

But you can keep them separate in saved reports and such.  You wouldn't be able to do any better with tags or say using different categories.  It would always be that you can separate them out at the report level.

The only real reason to use tags/categories for this purpose is if those transactions are in fact not in their own accounts, but are mixed into your accounts, and as such can't be separated out by just leaving the accounts out (or only having those accounts) in a report.

Snowman

Another thought, create a budget category for each child for income and expense.  Subcategories can be used for each child.  To print a report for each child just include the parent category for the child and you will have the income and expenses for each.

I do this with the multiple properties that I own and once set up works quite well.

Rick Gumpertz

Have you tried Edit Account Details / Display Options / "Keep this account separate - account will be excluded from Quicken reports and features"?  I use that for my kids accounts.  Does it do what you want/need?

It doesn't give you full subsets; just "your accounts" and "others' accounts"...