Bill Manager Auto Entry into Register?

Question

I'm using the latest iteration of Quicken for Windows Deluxe.  I am not using Quicken Bill payment.

I was playing around with Bill Manager, to see if I could have fluxuating bills, like utilities, automatically entered into my check register.  The bill is paid automatically from my checking account using ACH.

So I setup Bill manager for the utility.  I also setup a recurring automatic bill reminder to auto enter 20 days in advance and it is linked to the corresponding bill in bill manager.

A few days ago, I could see the bill for $26.  When I looked at the amount for the auto entry reminder, it corresponded to the $26 (this was prior to the 20 days).  Then when day 20 came up, the auto entry happened, but it wasn't for $26, it was for a hardcoded $40.

Is there a way to make this work, or should I just ditch Bill Manager, put in an estimate every month and adjust when the payment happens?

Jeff7@ · Answer

So that's what I was doing before.   I was just wondering if it's possible to use bill manager to automate it

UKR · Answer

Because you're using ACH, you can skip Bill Manager.

All you need in Quicken is the scheduled reminder which you already have and set it to "Remind me [xx] days before" and set the amount to the average of [x] prior payments. Set [xx] days to 20 or more so the reminder is already reminding you when you receive the biller's email about a new invoice or statement being available. Once you receive notification, Enter the reminder with the updated amount.

Now you're all set. The transaction has been correctly recorded in the register. When it finally downloads from the bank, Quicken will be able to match the download to the register transaction.