Automatic Principal / Interest Split for Loan Payments

n8sabes

Is there a way to make Quicken for Mac automatically calculate interest paid on a bank-synced auto loan?

SCENARIO

I have a Checking account and an Auto Loan account, both of which sync automatically from the same bank. Each month the Checking account shows a payment with a matching payment in the Auto Loan account and the Auto Loan balance accurately reflects the new principal balance. Quicken shows the Checking payment, categorized as a generic "Credit Card Payment", and the Auto Loan account shows a payment for a lesser amount (difference between principal and interest), making the Auto Loan balance correct in Quicken, but the interest is untracked on a monthly basis.

QUESTION

Is there a way to make these automatic synced transaction show up as a transfer to the Auto Loan with a split automatically capturing the interest paid on a monthly basis?

John_in_NC

I understand what you want, but I don't follow how you have this setup in Quicken.

Yes, you will want a split transaction for both the Loan and CC to correctly reflect the interest charges in both accounts.

I don't know if you have your auto loan setup as an amortized loan. In those settings, you can have it create the detailed split if desired, and the download will match to that. But, that isn't required if you are willing to manually enter the various P&I amounts.

You won't be able to have it auto-calculate interest for the CC payment if you pay one. You would have to manually enter those respective child lines into the split.

More details are needed. 

n8sabes

Thanks @John_in_NC. I’ll try to provide more context.

1. There are two accounts: a Checking and an Auto Loan.

2. The Auto Loan account in Quicken is setup as a Line of Credit because that is the only configuration available when setting up online sync.

3. All transactions are downloaded upon Online Sync and post to both accounts. The checking shows the correct full payment amount, HOWEVER the Auto Loan (Line of Credit) shows an entry for only the principal with a new correct balance owed. The interest disappears into the ether unless I manually create a split on the checking debit entry.

4. The bank’s website shows the full payment amount in both the checking and loan accounts.

5. This morning I tried again to manually build an Auto Loan type account, but when I try to sync with the institution, Quicken only gives the option as a Line of Credit. I have also tried on a new virgin Quicken file, but get the same results.

My goal is to automatically record interest paid each month into an interest category without manual intervention. OR better somehow force Quicken to allow an Auto Loan type account to be synced with the bank.

NotACPA

@n8sabes, Your auto loan is, almost certainly, a "Daily Interest Loan" ... where the interest due in August is in part dependent upon what day in July your lender received your payment.

Q has no way of knowing that info.

Contrast this with a Monthly Interest Loan, such as a traditional mortgage, where the Principal/Interest split is known, in advance, for the entire period of the loan (unless of course you make extra payments or miss a payment).

Q can't automatically calculate the interest portion, in either QWin or QMac, because of these differences in the loan types.

SO, your best bet is to simply record a Guesstimate of the amortization split, and then correct it when you receive your next loan statement.

volvogirl

For #3,  in your Quicken checking account what it the category on the full payment?  It is a split payment or is the whole amount going to a category? Turn on the Transfer column and see if anything is going to another account like the Auto Loan.

n8sabes

@NotACPA, I cannot see any other way than manual entry either. I was hoping to find a quick solution or ability to link a real loan account to sync with the bank.

@volvogirl, there is no transfer, the checking entry it’s simply logged against the Auto Payment category used in my budget. The transfer column is empty. Both the checking and the auto loan (line of credit) entries are stand-alone.

Thanks for everybody’s input on this.

volvogirl

Well I think the payment in your checking acct needs to be a split.  The principal is a transfer to the loan account and the interest to the interest category.  Then you don't need to download or manually enter any transactions in the Auto Loan Account.