How do I create my 2021 budget using 2020 data?

Richard Laird

Do I simply copy my 2020 budget to 2021 or can I use the 2020 transactions to create the 2021 budget?

John_in_NC

If you do nothing, come next year, your budget will give you a prompt asking on you how to setup the new year's budget. (Use existing goals, zeros, estimates based on prior year, etc.)

If you want to get a jump start on this, you can go into the current budget and select (click to highlight) the year, and click the up arrow to increment. This will prompt you about how you would like to handle the new budget.



When you are done editing next year's budget, you can click on reset dates to return to the current year.

Note: you don't create a new budget for each year, the budget you currently use simply gets updated. Your historical data from older years is retained (using the goals specified in those years.) 

UKR

Just in case a Quicken for Windows user asks the same question ...

In the Budget view you can extend your current budget into the next year by clicking the [>] button next to the date, to advance the date into next year. This works for both the Graph view and the Annual view, as shown below. When advancing into the next year or when starting Quicken for the first time in the new year you'll get this popup prompt:

Shirl

John_in_NC, I get three choices when I do what you instruct. What is the difference between the first and the second? I want to be sure to carryover the category balances from 2020 to 2021. I don't want to zero out on January 1.

John_in_NC

Shirl said:

John_in_NC, I get three choices when I do what you instruct. What is the difference between the first and the second? I want to be sure to carryover the category balances from 2020 to 2021. I don't want to zero out on January 1.

You didn't specify the Mac or Windows version. But for Mac:

Use Existing Goals: rolls the same goals you had for the prior year 
Zeros: Sets all the Goals to zero and you have to enter anew
Estimates from prior year: creates all budget goals based on the actual amounts from the prior year.

There is no way to roll the actual spending/income balances forward to a new year. They will reset will all three options. (In other words, there is no ability to carryover.)

Shirl

I have Windows. I have used Quicken for several years, since they were part of Intuit. It used to just carryover the amounts. Decided to update this year. Newer may not be better for me. I have even had trouble with it messing up the carryover from month to month within the same year. It is random but this month, it dropped the carryover on 15 of the 20 categories I record in. I have to check the carryover every month since it is not always the same ones. Any suggestions?

jacobs

@Shirl  You posted your note in a Quicken Mac thread. I suggest you create a new Question and select a Quicken Windows category for it, so you get the eyes of Quicken Windows users on it.

Shirl

Thanks, I'm new to this.