How to set when a scheduled bill will appear in a register (Q Mac)

Options
I like to track as many scheduled bills (and income) as I possibly can. I would prefer that every scheduled item (no matter how often it is scheduled - weekly, monthly, yearly, etc.) would be entered into the correct register 1 month before it is due. That way I can very easily see how things are looking for the next month.

For example, a bill that I pay yearly should be entered 1 month before it is due. Something that is entered weekly should always have 4 weeks of entries. A bill that is monthly will always have 1 entry, and so on.

Can't find a way to do this, at least automatically.

I *think* I am going about this wrong. Should I instead do a budget? Or should I just look at the list of bills and income reminders in date order and for all that are within 28 or 30 days tell quicken to enter them.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bryan

Best Answers

  • RickO
    RickO SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    edited June 2023 Answer ✓
    Options

    It sounds like you have already set up scheduled transactions. You are not doing it wrong. You can have your future scheduled transactions appear in each register by clicking the tiny clock icon in the upper right corner of each account register. You will see a popup menu like this:

    Choose Next 30 Days and you Quicken will display all future scheduled transactions occurring within the next 30 days.

    For group registers (eg. Cash, Banking, etc.), the setting for each individual register within that group will be used to determine what is displayed in the group register.

    Quicken Mac Subscription; Quicken Mac user since the early 90s
  • Boatnmaniac
    Boatnmaniac SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited June 2023 Answer ✓
    Options

    It should be noted that @RickO 's suggestion will simply display the scheduled Reminders in the account register. It will not actually enter them into the register. This is a really good tool for budgetary planning and I use it in my accounts. But with this tool you will need to still manually enter the Reminders into to the register or schedule the Reminders to be automatically entered into the register so they become actual transactions.

    If you want them to be automatically entered into the register you will need to edit each Reminder or recurring Reminder and under Optional Settings click on change. Then select Automatically enter the transaction in the register and then select the number of days prior to the due date that you want the transaction to be automatically entered into the register.

    One additional comment: If you have not already done so you might want to go to Account Register > upper right Gear icon > Register Columns > check the box for Status. This will add a column on the left with a blue dot column header. In this column the status of the Reminders shown in the Register will be listed: Upcoming, Due, Overdue, Uncleared (for Reminders that have already been entered but have not yet been downloaded).

    (Quicken Classic Premier Subscription: R55.26 on Windows 11)

  • RickO
    RickO SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    Answer ✓
    Options

    To add the status column on Mac, if you have not already, it's menu View > Columns.

    Whether the transaction or entered or not behaves a bit differently on QWin than on Mac I believe On Mac, you don't really need to enter the transaction (equivalent to mark as paid/deposited) since the non-entered transactions will still update the running (future) balance. Personally, I prefer to manually mark as paid/deposited when that actually happens in the real world. But it's a matter of personal preference.

    Quicken Mac Subscription; Quicken Mac user since the early 90s

Answers

  • RickO
    RickO SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    edited June 2023 Answer ✓
    Options

    It sounds like you have already set up scheduled transactions. You are not doing it wrong. You can have your future scheduled transactions appear in each register by clicking the tiny clock icon in the upper right corner of each account register. You will see a popup menu like this:

    Choose Next 30 Days and you Quicken will display all future scheduled transactions occurring within the next 30 days.

    For group registers (eg. Cash, Banking, etc.), the setting for each individual register within that group will be used to determine what is displayed in the group register.

    Quicken Mac Subscription; Quicken Mac user since the early 90s
  • Bryan Schmiedeler
    Options
    Oh man, that is easy. Thanks!!!
  • Boatnmaniac
    Boatnmaniac SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited June 2023 Answer ✓
    Options

    It should be noted that @RickO 's suggestion will simply display the scheduled Reminders in the account register. It will not actually enter them into the register. This is a really good tool for budgetary planning and I use it in my accounts. But with this tool you will need to still manually enter the Reminders into to the register or schedule the Reminders to be automatically entered into the register so they become actual transactions.

    If you want them to be automatically entered into the register you will need to edit each Reminder or recurring Reminder and under Optional Settings click on change. Then select Automatically enter the transaction in the register and then select the number of days prior to the due date that you want the transaction to be automatically entered into the register.

    One additional comment: If you have not already done so you might want to go to Account Register > upper right Gear icon > Register Columns > check the box for Status. This will add a column on the left with a blue dot column header. In this column the status of the Reminders shown in the Register will be listed: Upcoming, Due, Overdue, Uncleared (for Reminders that have already been entered but have not yet been downloaded).

    (Quicken Classic Premier Subscription: R55.26 on Windows 11)

  • Bryan Schmiedeler
    Options
    Boatmaniac,

    I was a bit confused by your screen shot at first. I have Quicken for Mac. The interface is slightly different, but concept is the same. I edited all my scheduled bills so that they are automatically entered 30 days in advance.

    Thanks to all for your assistance!!!
  • Boatnmaniac
    Boatnmaniac SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    Options

    Oops! I did it again and didn't catch the QMac part. Sorry about that. But I'm glad that you were able to figure it out.

    (Quicken Classic Premier Subscription: R55.26 on Windows 11)

  • RickO
    RickO SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    Answer ✓
    Options

    To add the status column on Mac, if you have not already, it's menu View > Columns.

    Whether the transaction or entered or not behaves a bit differently on QWin than on Mac I believe On Mac, you don't really need to enter the transaction (equivalent to mark as paid/deposited) since the non-entered transactions will still update the running (future) balance. Personally, I prefer to manually mark as paid/deposited when that actually happens in the real world. But it's a matter of personal preference.

    Quicken Mac Subscription; Quicken Mac user since the early 90s
  • Boatnmaniac
    Boatnmaniac SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    Options

    Whether the transaction or entered or not behaves a bit differently on QWin than on Mac I believe On Mac, you don't really need to enter the transaction (equivalent to mark as paid/deposited) since the non-entered transactions will still update the running (future) balance.

    Just a FYI: QWin operates the same way in this regard as does QMac.

    (Quicken Classic Premier Subscription: R55.26 on Windows 11)

This discussion has been closed.