Transfer between 2 accounts (Basic/Starter Edition) ? (edit)

deschenesjac

Hi, I’m using Quicken Classic for Windows R56.9 build 27.1.56.9 and I have 2 accounts (1. Chequing account, 2. Saving account).

My question is: How can I categorize a transfer of 100$ from the Chequing account to the Saving account while splitting the transfer into multiple categories: 50$ for the category ‘Apartment expenses’ and 50$ for the category ‘School expenses’?

Thanks!

splasher

You can't. Moving the funds from one account to the other is NOT real spending or income (it is only shifting the location of funds) and you can only apply a category to a true expense or income transaction.

You seem to be trying to pigeonhole funds for future expenses. If that is the case, look into Savings Goals.

deschenesjac

Thanks splasher.

I understand your point but I want to be able to categorize the tx so I can report the year-to-date expense in those 2 catégories.

Instead of a normal transfer between the 2 accounts, could I simulate a transfer like this:

1. make a payment tx in my chequing accounts while splitting the amount in the 2 categories that I want so I can report the expenses in those 2 categories.
2. add a manual tx in my saving account for the total amount 100$ while specifying a category corresponding to my account (ex. Saving account).

You were talking about Saving goals, what are these? Is this a feature of Quicken Classic?

Thanks.

NotACPA

@deschenesjac re: "I want to be able to categorize the tx so I can report the year-to-date expense in those 2 catégories." But have you actually spent those monies? And if so, from which account.

If all that you've done is transfer the money in anticipation of spending it, then there is NO category, because there's no expense.

An anticipated expense is either a "Savings Goal", or a budget line … but not an actual expense unless you're input it with the appropriate future date.

And all versions of Quicken are now called "Classic". Which specific Q product are you running? And what BUILD of that product? Do HELP, About Quicken for this info.

splasher

Moving the funds from one account to another account is a transfer and it creates two transactions, one in each account and the categories of each transaction is the other account in square brackets (i.e. [checking]).

Your expense is when you write the check to pay for the rent and school. That is where you use the split transaction for a transaction total of $100 with $50 assigned to each of the two split lines with their appropriate categories.

The transfer and the expense are two separate events.

Savings Goals (SG) are a way of pigeonholing funds for a future event, i.e. vacation, so that while the funds are still in the original account, the balance is reduced to that the user doesn't think it is available for use for some other reason. When you actually go on the vacation and start paying the bills, you pull funds back from the SG into the original account, your balance goes back up and you use it to pay the bill. It is a slight of hand way in Quicken to hide funds without actually going to your bank, creating a separate account for "vacation" and putting the funds in it to prevent the funds from being spent for day to day expenses.

deschenesjac

Thank you guys.

I understand the Transfer transaction being taking money from the right pocket and putting it in the left pocket, no real expense has occured yet.

Concerning the version of Quicken I have, the header of the app show 'Quicken Classic Basic', build 27.1.56.9.

While doing some information gathering about the Saving Goals, I search the Quicken Help and they specify that under the 'Planning Tab', you should have a 'Planning Tools' button that would permit me to choose 'Savings Goals'. Unfortunately, I don't see that button. Why?

Thanks.

NotACPA

@deschenesjac Not positive, but there's a good chance that the Savings Goal function doesn't exist in Basic/Starter. That product is VERY limited in functionality.

BTW, are you aware that if your subscription on that product ever expires, your data file becomes READ ONLY? Not even manual input would be allowed.

deschenesjac

Thanks NotACPA,

WOW bad news about my subscription, I was not aware of that. I definitively don't want to loose my data. I should upgrade to a less risky Product. What Product do you recommend me and would I be able to import my data to this new product ?

Thanks again. Jacques

volvogirl

One way to categorize it would be to set up a new account called Accounts Payable. Then make a $100 entry in the Accounts Payable split to apartment exp and school exp. Then when you actually pay the bill send it to the Accounts Payable account to clear it.

volvogirl

Yes if you upgrade to s higher version it will use your data. You already have all the versions, paying for a higher version just unlocks it. You don't have to convert your data file, just open it.

Chris_QPW

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20437980#Comment_20437980

I haven't updated this since 2020, but I at least most of this applies for what is missing in the Starter edition:

Notes about Quicken 2013 starter version (most likely mostly applies to older starter versions too, except for details of budgets)

Second install dialog shown to the user it makes it very clear that the starter version can not convert data files from other versions of Quicken.

It states:

Why can’t I convert my data file?

Quicken Starter Edition doesn’t support the advanced features found in other version of Quicken. Because of this, data files created in other versions can’t be used with Quicken Starter Edition.

Please note that Quicken Starter Edition will actually go through the process of a data file conversion, but you will not be able to use it, when it is finished.

Possible account types: (Note “Get Start” makes them create a checking account like it or not, after that the account bar expands and they should be able to see the “Add an Account” button, it is collapsed up to this point)

Checking
Credit Card
Savings

Cash

Notice no asset or liability accounts so no loans and such, and of course no investment kind of operations.

(Default for downloaded transactions is to put them automatically the register with the blue dot/review system, and not user the Downloaded Transactions review system).

It has the tabs Home, Spending, Bills, Planning, Mobile & Alerts, and Tips & Tutorials. There is no way to turn off tabs.

The Home tab has “See Where You Money Goes”, “Stay On Top of Monthly Bills”, and “Budget Your Spending” and there is no way to customize the Home tab.

Budget does not include the "Annual View" display, only the “Graph View” one. 

(Note the “Graph View” is normally by month, but can show other times like year to date. But you can only change values in the by month setting.)

So you have to setup/view your budget one month at a time, but you can setup a yearly budget.  The reports will span a year.
Also you can "extend" the budget past the end of the year, in both directions (past and future).

No attachments.
No export/import of QXF files (Quicken Transfer format).
No "classic menus" option.

No Tax Planner

No Debt Reduction

No Life Planner

No Tax Center

No Savings Goals

No multiple currency support

No Investing or Property & Debt tab.

No support for importing MS Money data files.

Reports of course don’t have anything to do with investing and such. I have not looked at all the reports, but the “basic” ones seem to be there including the “Tax Schedule” and “Tax Summary” (no other tax reports).

Please note that the videos that do the demos and such show what would be in Quicken Deluxe and above. So, the user might get the impression looking at them there should be more then is in the Starter version.