I'm still amazed with how easy and simple was to configure all my 15 accounts (check, savings, credit cards, cash) with this online tool! But here are some basic guidelines:
1) If you're not accessing your bank or credit card accounts via web. That's your first step. Go to your bank and credit card websites and register yourself to be able access them online. This must be done in preparation to use Quicken Online (QO), and IMHO is the worst part of the work. Make sure to keep records of all your usernames and passwords during this process, since security rules vary from bank to bank.
2) Log into QO, go to the Accounts tab and click "Add Account" to add your online accounts. Inform the bank that manages your account (credit cards usually brings that information on its back) and QO will prompt you for the username/password you use to access that account (previously configured on step 1). QO will connect to the bank and present all your accounts accessible thru the provided username and passwords. But sometimes the bank is not listed in QO or sometimes the connection between them can't be established (outdated processes, URL's etc..). In my case, I couldn't find the banks for GAP, Victoria Secrets and JCPenney cards, and for Citi and Sears the connection process failed. But for these 2 last cases, QO offered me the chance to report the error to the development team.
3) For each account you successfully configured on step 2, QO will try to get the last 90-days transactions. And once a day, it will repeat the process. That's the beauty of the whole process. Most our transactions are automatically categorized by QO, but flexibly you can change it or even categorize those ones for what QO couldn't do it automatically. So, your 3rd step is going to Transactions tab and get familiar with listed transactions for all your configured accounts. They should reflect what is in your account statements.
HINT about categories:
a) Credit Cards bills paid from your bank accounts should be categorized as "Transfer Out"; otherwise the values will be duplicated in the pie chart on the "Trends" chart.
b) Refunds or rebates (income) must be categorized with the same category or the original expense. Example: you buy $50 on CVS and return $20 the following day - You should have an expense of $50 under "medical" category and an income of $20 ALSO under "medical" category.
NOTE: QO will populate the Upcoming Transactions list based on frequent transactions as your paycheck, utilities, rent, etc. You're free to adjust such entries, adding, deleting or changing them. You'll get more details on the left side panel "Popular Questions".
4) Count the money you have in your wallet, home, personal vault, etc... and enter the amount as an income transaction (category "Misc. Income", Type "income") on your "My Wallet" account. Each time you pay or receive cash, make sure enter transactions on that account.
5) Keep tabs on your expenses using the pie chart on the "Trends" tab. If you think a category doesn't reflect the reality, click that category and you'll see a link to the respective transactions. Click that link and change the category of any misplaced transaction as needed.
6) On the last tab "Goals" you can set your budget. QO suggests values there for some basic categories based on the average amounts of the last 3 months. You can change the suggestive goals but not the method used by QO to suggest a number.
That's it. Simple and quick. I hope you enjoy QO as I'm doing.
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wandersw (May 1, 2009 2:12 pm)
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