budget vs. actual output to CSV.

jrseif

I use quicken to help people with setting up a budget and comparing their spending to a budget. I track via quicken. The monthly budget report is super-confusing. It shows category totals and sub-category totals without discriminating which is which so its confusing - is "auto" a separate category or is the amount for "auto insurance" included in the "auto" category for example. I can tell that it is, but its very difficult to show someone this in a printed report. How about the ability to export to CSV so the output could be reformated logically, or alternatively, how about a number report vs. progress bars? Not EVERYONE is a visual learner.

John_in_NC

I addressed exporting to CSV in the other thread you posted on. It is still possible when viewing the budget results. Nothing has changed in this regards, and I am not seeing any issues with multiple files.

As far as Parent and Sub categories in budgets: yes, this can be a bit confusing. But, when you see what is going on, it isn't as perplexing:

When you setup, you have the option to include the parent category or not, and this totally changes behavior:

• If you do NOT select the top level category, then the latter is a sum of the selected subs. Note that the goal does not have an editable top level goal:

• However, if you select the top level category, you can now set a different goal for just the top level category, and the goal is no longer a subtotal of the selected subs. Why? Some people have cases where they simply assign the top level category to transaction(s), and want to have a unique goal for this situation.

So, in answer to your question, "auto" (the parent) could be a separate category depending on how you setup your budget and enter transactions in the register. If you want it just to be a sum of the selected subs, then don't select the parent in the budget setup.

I don't know if this totally answers your question, but I suspect it should point you in the right direction. If not, post back.

John_in_NC

I addressed exporting to CSV in the other thread you posted on. It is still possible when viewing the budget results. Nothing has changed in this regards, and I am not seeing any issues with multiple files.

As far as Parent and Sub categories in budgets: yes, this can be a bit confusing. But, when you see what is going on, it isn't as perplexing:

When you setup, you have the option to include the parent category or not, and this totally changes behavior:

• If you do NOT select the top level category, then the latter is a sum of the selected subs. Note that the goal does not have an editable top level goal:

• However, if you select the top level category, you can now set a different goal for just the top level category, and the goal is no longer a subtotal of the selected subs. Why? Some people have cases where they simply assign the top level category to transaction(s), and want to have a unique goal for this situation.

So, in answer to your question, "auto" (the parent) could be a separate category depending on how you setup your budget and enter transactions in the register. If you want it just to be a sum of the selected subs, then don't select the parent in the budget setup.

I don't know if this totally answers your question, but I suspect it should point you in the right direction. If not, post back.