Explore Your Spending Dashboard Views

Overview

The Spending dashboard is for anyone who wants to understand where their money went and what contributed to changes in spending. It brings together income, spending, and transaction details for the accounts and period you select.

Before exploring the views:

Choose Month, Quarter, or Year.
Select the specific period you want to explore from the time graph.
Select the accounts you want to include (Default is all accounts).
Organize your spending by Categories, Payees, or Tags.

Your selections apply to all the views on the dashboard. You can then switch views to compare periods, identify your largest expenses, look for patterns, or review the transactions behind an amount.

You don’t need to use every view. Start with the question you want to answer, then choose the view that makes the answer easiest to see.

Choose the View That Fits Your Question

If you want to…	Use
See what increased or decreased	Comparison view
See which areas make up the largest share of spending	Pie chart
See how income flows into spending and what remains	Flow view
Look for patterns across several months	Grid view
Review the purchases behind an amount	Transaction list

Comparison View

Use the Comparison view to answer questions such as:

Why did I spend more this month?

Compare the selected period with another period or average, such as:

The same quarter last year.
The previous quarter.
Your year-to-date average.
Your two-quarter average.
Your four-quarter average.

The selected and comparison amounts appear together, along with the percentage or dollar change.

Select a comparison amount to see the transactions behind it. This can help you determine whether an increase came from a one-time expense or a change that may continue.

Example: Is an Increase Becoming a Pattern?

You notice that your Dining spending is higher than it was last month.

A month-to-month comparison confirms the increase, but you want to know whether this is a one-time change. Compare it with a longer-term average to see whether Dining has been gradually increasing over several months.

If the increase is becoming a pattern, you can decide whether you want to reduce or monitor that spending.

Pie Chart

Use the Pie chart to answer:

Where is most of my money going?

The chart shows each category, payee, or tag as a share of your overall spending. It can quickly draw your attention to the areas consuming the largest portion of your money.

Select a slice or an item in the list to review the transactions included in that amount.

You want to find areas where you might be able to save.

View the Pie chart by Categories to identify your largest spending areas. After reviewing necessary expenses such as Housing and Utilities, you may find a flexible category—such as Dining or Shopping—that is taking up more of your spending than expected.

Select the category to see the transactions behind the total and decide whether there are purchases you want to reduce.

Flow View

Use the Flow view to answer:

How was the money that came in used?

The Flow view traces your money from income to total spending and remaining money. It then breaks your spending down by category, payee, or tag.

Select an area of the flow to review the transactions behind the amount.

This view can help you see the relationship between what you earn, what you spend, and what remains available for saving or other goals.

Example: How Much of My Income Remained?

You received more income this month, but your Remaining amount didn’t increase as much as expected.

Use the Flow view to see which categories accounted for the additional spending. You may discover that a large portion of the additional income went toward a one-time expense—or that spending increased in several smaller areas.

Grid View

Use the Grid view to answer:

What patterns or unusual changes can I see over time?

The grid displays spending across several months, with categories, payees, or tags shown as rows. Heat-map shading draws attention to periods with higher spending.

Use this view to identify patterns such as:

A utility bill that rises every winter.
An increase in holiday shopping.
Dining spending that has gradually grown.
A business expense that is becoming more costly.

The grid can also reveal unusual spikes caused by duplicate, incorrect, or miscategorized transactions. For example, a rent payment mistakenly categorized as Groceries would create an unexpected increase in that category.

Select a cell to review the transactions included in it.

Example: Find an Unexpected Increase

You notice that Groceries is much darker in one month than in the surrounding months.

Select the cell and review its transactions. If you find that a rent payment was mistakenly assigned to Groceries, correct its category so the dashboard provides a more accurate picture of your spending.

If the transactions are accurate, the increase may reflect a real change you want to investigate.

Transaction List

The Transaction list shows the individual transactions behind your spending.

Use it after you identify something in another view and want to see exactly what caused it. You can:

Search the displayed transactions.
Sort the transactions.
Review transaction details.
Edit transactions without returning to the register.
Export the displayed results to a CSV file.

For example, if the Pie chart shows that Shopping accounts for a large share of your spending, select Shopping to see the individual purchases included in the total.

Drill Into the Details

Categories, payees, tags, chart elements, comparison amounts, and grid cells are interactive. Select an item to open a more detailed breakdown.

For example, selecting Utilities can show the subcategories and individual transactions included in the Utilities total.

Continue selecting items to move from the overall amount to the transactions behind it.

A useful workflow is:

Notice something → narrow it down → inspect the transactions → decide whether to act

If you identify a category, payee, or tag you want to monitor, select Add Watchlist.

Export Your Spending Transactions

From the Transaction list, select the download icon and choose Export to CSV.

A CSV file can be opened in a spreadsheet application. Exporting can be useful when you want to:

Share transaction details.
Save a record of the displayed transactions.
Sort or organize the information in another application.
Perform additional analysis outside Quicken.

Before exporting, select the period and accounts you want. Any filters or selections applied to the Transaction list will affect the information included in the export.

Your Spending Dashboard
Understanding What’s Included in Spending
About categorizing transactions
Using Categories & Tags
Using Watchlists to Monitor Your Spending