Budget is missing "Other" of parent category. (Q Mac)

lwheatonm7

For working on a budget, I print a 5 year report of expenses, so I can average historic expenses to better plan.

In my report, "Groceries" as the parent category. Has 6 subcategories that are easily identifiable for my budget. But, anything that isn't in one of these 6 categories, is entered in the parent category of Groceries, and appears in the report as "Groceries (Other)"

The problem now is that this "other" can't be budgeted by itself, because it doesn't seem to exist. As "grocery" as the parent is the sum of each of the 6 subcategories, and you can't enter a monthly value for it, without deleting the math that totals the 6 subs.

jacobs

@nmestanas Your reply describes Quicken Windows; the question is about Quicken Mac.

@lwheatonm7 Actually, you actually can budget for "other" expenses in Quicken Mac Budget categories, but it's not apparent. The trick is that you can budget for subcategories as well as the main category. For example, if you have Groceries with 6 subcategories, let's say you budget $100 for each of those 6 sub-categories. Quicken would automatically total that to $600 for the main Groceries category But you can also enter a budget value of $700 for the main Groceries category, e.g. $100 of "Groceries-other". (You just need to make sure you have both the sub-categories and the main category as checked budget categories in the Edit Budget > Select Categories list.)

nmestanas

In the Budgets page under Planning, near the top right corner is "Manage Budget Categories". Select it and scroll through the list until you get to Groceries. If "Other" is listed, make sure you check the box.

jacobs

@nmestanas Your reply describes Quicken Windows; the question is about Quicken Mac.

@lwheatonm7 Actually, you actually can budget for "other" expenses in Quicken Mac Budget categories, but it's not apparent. The trick is that you can budget for subcategories as well as the main category. For example, if you have Groceries with 6 subcategories, let's say you budget $100 for each of those 6 sub-categories. Quicken would automatically total that to $600 for the main Groceries category But you can also enter a budget value of $700 for the main Groceries category, e.g. $100 of "Groceries-other". (You just need to make sure you have both the sub-categories and the main category as checked budget categories in the Edit Budget > Select Categories list.)

nmestanas

@jacobs Thanks, I realized the OP was on the MAC version but didn't realize the feature would be different.

jacobs

Thanks, I realized the OP was on the MAC version but didn't realize the feature would be different.

@nmestanas Generally, Quicken Windows and Quicken Mac do the same things, but the details & fine points of what's included or how to get to the same result often varies. 😉 Budgets is an area where I think the Mac and Windows versions have significant differences. The Mac development team is working on major changes in this area to include some functionality that is currently Windows-only and improve on things which are difficult or impossible currently. When the new budget functionality is released (probably sometime in 2025), we'll see if it becomes more similar to Quicken Windows, or if the developers have chosen to create a budget system they think will be better and easier for users.

In any case, when Mac users answers a Windows user's Quicken question or Windows users answer a Mac user's Quicken question, it's always a good idea to note in the reply that you're using the other platform to give a heads up to the reader that things may work differently on their version.

nmestanas

Got it and thanks again.

Now I only have to figure out what's different in the Canadian version. :)

jacobs

Now I only have to figure out what's different in the Canadian version. :)

In Quicken Mac, as you know, there is no separate "Canadian version" as exists on the Windows side; there are just specific features which are turned on or off when you tell Quicken you're a Canadian user. I wouldn't think there are any differences in the budget area of the program. =

The only problem you may have is if you have any account(s) in US dollars in addition to your account(s) in Canadian dollars. The budget, like other areas of Quicken Mac, doesn't work across multiple currencies; a budget is for only one currency. (But you could have a USD budget and a CAD budget if that's the way your life is organized.)

lwheatonm7

Thank you to both of you, "jacobs" and "nmestanas" I appreciate your time and advice.

jacob, I went back and tried your suggestion and it works well. It's still a little convoluted, but it does work.

Thanks again,

Best Regards