Projected balances
The cash flow graph in Bills & Income under Projected Balances, provides a 360-degree view of your accounts balances. You can use this graph to:
- Closely monitor the financial trends in your accounts.
- Analyze the impact of your income and recurring expenses on your balances and net worth.
- Evaluate your current financial health and plan for your financial future.
The chart only really works if you have scheduled transactions for both bills and income so that the graph includes money coming in as well as going out.
Different views
Different views of your cash flow graph help you closely monitor the financial health in different time periods, in different accounts, etc.
For example, suppose your income is deposited in your account at the end of every month and you have multiple expenses recurring every week. In this case:
- If you view the cash flow graph for the next 7 or 14 days, your balances will show a downward trend.
- If you view the graph for the next 30 days, your income will be deposited in your account and the graph will show an upward trend.
Similarly, you have the option to view the graph for any one account or multiple accounts added in Quicken. You can also have the graph display only the income trends, or only the spending trends, or both.
Account selection
It's important to make sure that only the accounts that are being used for paying bills and depositing paychecks or other income are included in projected balances. Doing this ensures that the cash flow chart shows how much cash you have on hand to pay bills. By default, Quicken will pick your cash accounts. These are typically checking accounts.
If you'd like to refine what is selected, click on the Account drop-down menu on the filter bar and select which accounts or group of accounts you'd like to use for the cash flow chart.
Scheduled transaction list
Below the chart, you'll see all the scheduled transactions that are used in it.
You can edit the model of the scheduled transactions by selecting the scheduled transaction and double-clicking it, or by choosing the Edit button on the register toolbar.