Reports set-up: Add option to sort Categories by Include/Exclude status (QMac) [EDITED]

RosemaryKate

I have created a complicated set of categories. I would like to have the option when creating or modifying a report where I am specifying the categories to be reported on - to use EXCLUDE and a small list of categories, instead of having a list of ones to INCLUDE - which for me is a long list, and takes time to re-verify what I have excluded. Or to simply be able to see all the included categories together and all the excluded categories together in the list, which would make modifying reports after adding new categories much easier.

I understand that the functionality for this does not exist, and I would like to request that it go on a list for future enhancements.

jacobs

I will ask a moderator to move this comment to the Product Ideas section and turn it into an "Idea" thread which fellow users can then vote for if they agree this would be helpful. Ideas which garner enough votes are sent to the product development team for consideration.

That said, I'm not sure I understand why it's currently difficult to do what you want. This is what we currently do:

• When setting up a report, click Edit and click on the Categories tab.
• Select "include transactions only with selected categories.
• Since you want to exclude a small number of categories, click Select All to initially select all categories
• Then exclude the categories you don't want by unchecking them in the list. You can use the Search box to find the categories you want to exclude if they aren't all grouped together.

If I understand correctly, your issue is that the list of your categories is long, so finding the categories you want to exclude isn't easy. (Even using the Search box?) But I'm not sure how you'd expect to see a new feature built. In order to exclude categories, the program would show a list of categories where you'd select the ones you want to exclude. Are you looking for something else, like typing the category names? That would be too problematic, since category names can be repeated in different subcategories. I think it would need to display the list of categories. But if you're envisioning something else, please add some additional details about how you envision the user interface for excluding rather than including categories.

— — —

I'd also just mention briefly that if you've created a very large list of complicated categories, it might be worth spending some time digging into whether there could be some simplification. For instance, using tags in concert with categories can often reduce the need for many duplicate categories. I've looked at some users' complex category lists, and I always wonder whether having many hundreds of categories is actually needed. I'm a data geek 😊, but sometime our desire to parse data multiple different ways leads of a difficult-to-manage structure which could be simplified. After all, we're not tracking data for Fortune 500 companies here; we're tracking our personal finances. Of course, there are myriad individual circumstances for tracking data in multiple accounts, for multiple family members, for small businesses, etc. I don't know what you're aiming to address with a complex set of many categories; if you wanted to share the general situation here and describe the complexity of your categories, fellow users might chime in with possible alternatives.

RosemaryKate

Thank you. Yes, I am aware of the options available to me, and I understand your point about the complexity of the ask. As I think about it more, the issue for me is more about updating or using a previously created report. If I want to be sure which categories I have included or excluded when it was created, I have to scan everything because the list at the top of included categories is so long. If I have added any new categories, I have to scan to be sure they are included.

Simplifying by using tags more would be a huge task, and is one that I have considered but not done due to the re-work that would be involved. I understand the basics of data management and understand your points.

RosemaryKate

Perhaps there could be some logic that looks at all the categories, matches to the included ones, and lists those that are excluded?

jacobs

@RosemaryKate Thanks for the additional comments; I understand better what you’re looking for. My thought about what might work here would be the addition of the ability to sort the category list by status, putting all the included categories together (still in alphabetical order), and all the excluded categories together (still in alphabetical order). That seems like a small user interface change which might not be a big project to implement.

And checking existing reports after adding new categories is a use case that I think is especially compelling for most users. I’ve gone from a skeptic after reading your first post to sold on the idea now! 😀 I’ll add my vote when the moderators turn this into an “Idea” thread (feature request) which users can vote on.

RosemaryKate

Fantastic - and I like your idea of a relatively simple approach to achieving the objective. Thanks for your help! Now fingers crossed others would find it helpful too.

Quicken Anja

Hello @RosemaryKate,

I went ahead and changed your post to an Idea so other users who have the same or a similar request can vote on your idea by clicking the up arrow (see below).

Ideas are also reviewed by our Development and Product teams in order to improve Quicken and implement new features requested by customers.

Thank you!