We don't have the ability to split a transaction into multiple categories now. I was talking with some of the engineers the other day about this, and we were wanting some examples of the types of transactions you would most like to split.
So, can you reply with some examples? I have my own ideas, but I want to hear yours.
Thanks very much,
Kate W
Quicken Online Writer/Editor
I want it so that I can split items that I got at a big box store (Wal-Mart, Target, etc.) into different categories for budgeting purposes. These one stop shopping trips are hard to place in a single category.
Almost any transaction could apply to multiple categories.
The example of big box shopping (ie: Walmart, SuperTarget) is a prime example. My wife has had two transactions in the last two weeks that needed splitting... both at Target. Once, while buying groceries, she picked up some Christmas gifts which are in different categories. Again, groceries and some clothing.. again different categories.
Another example is my Verizon bill. Both internet and TV are included on one bill. I would like to track the internet expense in a separate category as I get reimbursed for the internet charges by my company. A separate category helps me keep track if I have been reimbursed.
These are just three examples within the last couple of weeks. Splitting a transaction is a basic requirement.
Splitting transactions at the "superstores" would be my primary use. Or at online retailers. My Amazon purchases are often quite diverse.
Also, splitting my rent payment between the part that is actually rent, and the part that is my water bill (utilities).
In one of the other discussions, I saw that someone wanted to split their mortgage between principal (house), interest (bank fee), and taxes. I don't have a house yet, but I would want to do the same.
Another example: If I go to Costco then I get groceries and some health/fitness items which are clubbed together in the same bill. I could separate them out into different bills at the check out line but then the lines are long and I'm just happy to get out of there:-)
Yes - this is critical functionality for anyone who really wants to track their spending. It pretty much means your system is broken without it. Here are examples of transactions:
Cash back at the grocery store - to avoid ATM fees, going to Walmart and buying clothes, gifts, groceries and picking up a prescription. People do this every day.
And one more thing - credit card interest and credit card payments need to be split between transfers and interest.
You are saying that you *need* to break out interest and transfers to understand your finances. The interest is probably less than 1% of your overall spending. If you are at the level of *needing* to track .5%, you have bigger problems. You could improve your finances more by eliminating one trip a month to Costco. You probably didn't need those things you bought with that extra trip anyway.
It isn't really such a small thing. If you do most of your general shopping and grocery shopping together at Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart, Sams, Costco, etc. Then a lot of your totals will be off. I'm not saying that its the MOST important thing - especially with what's broken in V2.0, but I have certain categories that regularly show a $0 balance because they are only ever thrown in with other categories (gifts for example) and that definitely isn't an accurate reflection of what I am spending on that category.
I don't have time to split transactions. By the time a transaction from Walmart/Samsclub gets imported into QO, I don't remember the exact breakdowns, especially if my wife did the shopping. Currently I use the broad category "household" as a catch-all for purchases from Walmart (don't do any grocery shopping there). I use "groceries" for Samsclub (most grocery shopping is done there). I guess this system works for me since I don't to much budgeting. However, I do use trends; I use it primarily to identify the unusually large expenditures (the one's taking up more than 25% of my monthly expenses).
Actually, thats more what I do now. My miscellaneous category is mostly purchases at the large chain stores. I'm trying to start budgeting though, so I'd like to be able to split them.
Thanks so much for your responses. This isn't a scientific survey, but here's what I'm reading from you:
By far, the most popular example is shopping at big box superstores or Amazon
Other examples include:
- splitting up a deposit that includes income from multiple sources
- getting cash back from a grocery purchase
- separating the interest and payments from a credit card bill
- splitting up a TV and Internet bill because the employer will reimburse for the Internet part
- tracking rent vs utilities paid in the same check
And it sounds like this is a little more interesting for those of you who are budgeting rather than track spending.
In response to the last part, about budgeting vs tracking spending:
I think tracking spending is an integral part of the budget. And the reason that I want to split my transactions is so that they are categorized correctly for my trends. I don't budget in the Quicken sense of the word. My budgeting is more general. I know I spent X on this and Y on that, I'd like to spend less on X and more on Y, etc.
For me, the most useful functionality (beyond the quick glance status of all of my accounts - which was extremely crippled by the new version anyway) is the trends, seeing how much I spent on what. (And while splitting isn't usually make or break, there are times that it messes up the numbers.)
I would like split transaction capabilities so that I can manage reimbursable expenses for work. For instance, they pay for half my cell phone bill. This would ideally be split between my custom account named "reimbursable expenses", and "utilities".
Kate W., another example is where I pay my wireless company my monthly bill as well as a new cell phone and/or accessories. The monthly bill would be "utilities" and cell phone/accessories would be "electronics".
I also think that it applies to both budgeting (before the fact) and spending (after the fact). They are both equally important.
We pay cash for many things and withdraw a large amount at the beginning of the month. Since there isn't a "cash" account, I would split the transaction among our various envelope categories.
We need to split transactions all the time. This is a deal breaker if it can't be added quickly. Mint.com has splits and you should too :) Examples given above should be sufficient. For example, we will withdraw cash to pay the baby sitter but also end up going out to dinner. That transaction needs to be split.
Thanks again for the real life examples. Until Quicken Online has a fully fledged split transactions feature, I just wanted to make sure you had seen the new cash tracking feature. It can take the place of some of what you want from splits.
If you go to the Accounts list and click My Wallet, you'll see the page where you can enter transactions to represent where you spend your cash.
Here is an example, I withdrew cash in the amount of $500. $250 was used to make a cash payment at another bank for a car loan, and the other $250 went to pay my sister back for a loan. Sure I could have withdrew the amount of $250 twice, but that doesn't make sense. I know MSN Money has this feature.
Yes, splitting transaction is a vital function of any money management system, whether your primary focus is 'budgeting' or 'tracking' (and I am in agreement that the two are merely slightly different angles of the same scenery...)
I think the biggest areas where splitting transactions is a vital functional need include the following:
Paychecks (splitting out taxes, child support payments, healthcare, medicare, 401k, reimbursement for expenses, etc.)
Rent payments - it is not uncommon for people to not only have to combine rent and utilities with a single check, but as is a frequent situation, one person might pay another person (a roommate) a check each month to cover a portion of several bills. The person paying each of the bills can track them separately, but the person just writing a single check needs to be able to split that transaction for tracking and budgeting reasons.
And, yes, the Amazon, Best Buy, Costco, Target, Walmart, etc. purchases often spill into multiple categories, and some require reimbursement, which needs to be tracked separately.
This cannot be a surprise, though I am surprised to see this functionality lacking. I am a longtime Quicken user, going back to the very first version of the desktop software, and splitting transactions seems to have always been a feature.
I have switched to the Online version of Quicken because I am a very mobile user, and I enjoy many of the features of the Online version, but the lack of ability to split transactions is something for which I am eagerly awaiting a resolution.
Otherwise, there are some great features in the online version and it pleases me to see that features appear to be updated and improved regularly - another advantage to the "hosted" application. Thank you!
Example of splitting a transaction: I got to Walgreens sometimes for last minute personal items, along with household items and medicine. However, realistically I need to be able to split the prescription medicine away from the other items.
Same with shopping at Target or Walmart.... I may be purchasing household items mainly, but I am tracking a clothing budget. My option is to split my shopping cart up into these categories and pay separately (hassle!) or just dump all into one category.
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