Make Mileage Tracking available in all Quicken editions, Deluxe and higher (4 Merged Votes)

UKR

This discussion about recording Medical Mileage brings up an idea.
https://getsatisfaction.com/quickencommunity/topics/need-quicken-for-mac-2019-report-to-include-0-tr...

There are some other discussions in the Community about Mileage Tracking for Medical, Charity, etc. already.

At this time, the Mileage Tracker is available only in the Quicken for Windows Home, Business and Rental Property Management edition.

How about

• making the Mileage Tracker in Quicken for Windows available in the Deluxe and Premier editions, too.
  
• adding a Mileage Tracker module to Quicken Mac.

That would benefit many customers and help with their Income Tax recording.

Please VOTE for this idea if you would like to see this implemented in a future release of Quicken. The more votes this Idea gets, the more likely it is that we'll get it implemented.

mshiggins

Sounds good. Thanks for posting the suggestion.

Unknown

Just do it!

jl747

Mileage tracking for all versions of Quicken including Mac.

UKR

... including automatic updating of the Milerate.txt every year so we don't have to ask for it year after year.

And also implement a few other changes requested over time, like making the date format in the txt file independent of the customer's date format settings, so that file import works regardless of computer's date format, e.g. mm/dd/yyyy even if computer uses yyyy-mm-dd.

NotACPA

I've complained about this "failure to update mileage rates" every year for as long as I can remember.

This is simply shameful ... as the IRS publishes the dates in the fall for the next year.

JordanLeeWagner

Quicken has always had great mileage tracking in all editions. All you do is create your own foreign currency called miles.

Then create an account called mileage that is denominated in the currency called miles.

Then create categories of expense, such as mileage subcategory charity, and mileage subcategory medical, and mileage subcategory business, and mileage subcategory personal. Assign these subcategories to different tax line items on on different tax forms.

You can either set the conversion rate on your currency to a billion to one, so that if you drive 1 million miles a year your net worth will be off by $0.01. Or you can designate the mileage account as a separate account in its display options, such that it will not be included in any net worth reports.

To record a trip, simply post a transaction to the mileage account in the appropriate mileage category. Use the payee field to say where you went. That way, trips that you make regularly will have a memorized payee for you. For example, if you participate in something nonprofit every Tuesday night, make it a memorized payee in the mileage account. Any info the IRS or you require to the memo field.

A transaction report grouped by category takes care of all of your tax requirements.

I've been doing it this way in Quicken for decades, since long before it ever had a mileage tracker. And I prefer it.

NotACPA

NotACPA said:

I've complained about this "failure to update mileage rates" every year for as long as I can remember.

This is simply shameful ... as the IRS publishes the dates in the fall for the next year.

WELL, as is customary, Q hasn't updated the Mileage Tracker in H&B with the 2020 rates.

MORE SHAME upon Quicken!

Howard_A

This feature is standard on the Windows version of this app. Seems logical that it would be included with the Mac version as well. Would be a help.

bible_readr

I am WITH YOU!! It shouldn't be hard to figure out how it can be done, when you have such smart people working on it! Please, just get it done!

jacobs

@bible_readr  It isn't necessarily a case of how hard it is, but what priority it gets. There are literally hundreds of feature requests Mac users have presented to the development team; some take mere hours or days, while others take months of work. With a small development team, that means that many ideas remain on the waiting list as they slowly but surely (but slowly!) crank out improvement to the program. I'd note that this idea has garnered only 16 votes over the past 2+ years, while others have dozens and even hundreds of votes.

While the votes on this forum are not the only determinant of what gets done and what waits, more votes gets ideas a higher level of visibility before the managers who decide which projects to tackle. So anyone who want to see this functionality added to Quicken Mac, be sure to add your vote in the blue box at the top of this thread.

bible_readr

I can appreciate your viewpoint as much as the next person, but I wasn't asking for one. At the risk of sounding like I know what I am talking about, I want to assure you that I don't. However, It's my understanding that a hard drive is just a hard drive, until you format it, correct?

That would indicate to me that it is the 'language' that makes it all work, right? In the world around us human language can be translated, and I am supposing that this one can too. The fact that you have programs (like Fusion, Boot Camp, etc.) that do this, tells me that I am not far off in my thinking.

To your point, the priority list would decide when the effort is put forward, and at least on this forum, it doesn't seem to be all that important to users of the software- until they need it. That was me, when I searched the Community for advice on how to do something that I had been able to before. Granted, that was when I was working on a PC platform.

I was simply replying to a 'shout out' of those that would like to see this feature included in the Mac versions since the functionality is available to PC users. If anyone of consequence or authority were to read these forums, then it is possible the idea may be advanced up the list, correct? I am pretty sure that this is not the only forum that has contained the request, and if it is, then I stand corrected.

Thank you for your advice to add my 'vote' by clicking the box, but I had already done that the first time I was here, and it won't allow it more than once... I tried.

jacobs

@bible_readr  I'm sorry that I don't understand your comments about "a hard drive is just a hard drive, until you format it" and "The fact that you have programs (like Fusion, Boot Camp, etc.) that do this, tells me that I am not far off in my thinking." If your point is that anything is achievable with time and effort to program it, then yes, I agree.

"If anyone of consequence or authority were to read these forums, then it is possible the idea may be advanced up the list, correct?"  That's the point of voting on this site. The developers and management do not read all the comments posted here, much as we might wish they did. If/when ideas reach a notable amount of votes, the moderators here are able to push them for review by the developers and product managers. I respond to posts like this to try to share some information I may have about how things work at Quicken, but also to push this comment thread to the top of the home page so it gets more visibility; after that, it's up to users on the forum to vote if they consider the idea being discussed to be a priority for development and vote for it.

stlyman

Just do it PLEASE!