Transactions
Picture this: You grab coffee on your way to work, pay your electric bill online, and deposit a client check— all before lunch. Each of these moments creates a transaction, a digital record of money moving in or out of your accounts.
These records might seem simple, but they're actually the foundation of your entire financial picture. When your transactions are accurate and well-organized, everything else— budgets, reports, tax prep, cash flow—just works.
What is a Transaction?
A transaction is any movement of money. Every time you:
Buy something
Get paid
Pay a bill
Move money between accounts
Receive a refund
...you create a transaction. Think of them as financial receipts that tell the story of where your money comes from and where it goes.
Why Transactions Matter
Proper transaction records aren't just about tracking—they're about having the information you need to make confident financial decisions.
See where your money actually goes. Tracking transactions with Categories shows you're spending $450/month on restaurants, not the $300 you thought.
Stay on budget without guesswork. Real transaction data powers your spending plan, so you know exactly what's left to spend.
Make tax time painless. Properly categorized business expenses throughout the year mean maximum deductions and minimal stress in April. (Quicken Business & Personal only)
Catch errors before they snowball. Reconciling transactions against bank statements helps you spot duplicate charges, missed refunds, or fraudulent activity.
Understand your business performance. Separate business transactions from personal spending to see real profitability. (Quicken Business & Personal only)
Plan ahead with confidence. When you can see your transaction patterns, you can predict cash flow and avoid surprises.
Where to Find your Transactions
Every transaction belongs to an account, and its impact depends on the type of account it’s recorded in—checking, credit card, loan, or investment.
To view and manage your transactions, select Transactions from the left panel.
There are two ways to view your data:
Combined View (default) – All transactions from all connected accounts appear in one list. This gives you a complete picture of your financial activity in a single place.
Account-Specific View – Select an individual account from your Accounts List to focus on just that account's transactions.
How Transactions Appear
Most transactions download automatically. When you connect your bank, credit card, and investment accounts, the software retrieves your recent activity and imports it directly into your register. No data entry required.
You can also add transactions manually for cash purchases, corrections, or accounts that aren't connected to a bank. Manual transactions work exactly like downloaded ones once saved.
Editing a transaction in Simplifi or Quicken Business & Personal changes how it’s categorized and reported—it does not change the original record at your bank. Your bank data stays intact; you’re simply organizing it so it makes sense to you.
Types of Transactions
Transaction types in Quicken Business & Personal determine how your financial activities are recorded, reported, and organized for tax purposes. Using the correct transaction type ensures your income, expenses, and account movements appear accurately in reports and tax schedules.
Income
Money coming in—paychecks, customer payments to outstanding invoices, sales receipts, refunds, interest, or any other deposits.
Expenses
Money going out—purchases, bills, checks, subscriptions, or any other charges.
Transfers
Money moved between your own accounts, like transferring checking to savings, paying off a credit card, owner draws or contributions. A transfer creates one transaction in each account—money leaving one account and entering another.
Investment Transactions
Buys, sells, dividends, interest, reinvestments, capital gains adjustments, and transfers of shares.
Manual Transactions
Created directly by you—useful for cash purchases, corrections, or accounts not connected to a bank.
Understanding Transaction Status
Every transaction has a status that tells you where it stands:
Pending – Your bank authorized it but hasn't fully processed it. The amount might still change, and you can't reconcile it yet.
Cleared – The bank has completed processing. The final amount is set and the transaction is ready to be reconciled.
Reconciled – You've confirmed this transaction matches your bank statement, ensuring your records are accurate.
Key transaction features
Categories
Every transaction gets assigned a category (like Groceries, Utilities, or Business Expenses). Categories power your spending reports and help you see patterns. Quicken learns your habits and auto-categorizes new transactions based on the merchant and your history.
Split Transactions
Sometimes one purchase covers multiple categories—like a Target run that includes groceries, household items, and pharmacy supplies. Split transactions let you divide the total across the appropriate categories so your reports stay accurate.
Tags
Add custom labels to track whatever matters to you: clients, projects, events, or trips. Tags work across categories, giving you flexible ways to organize and report on your spending.
Notes and attachments
Add context to any transaction with notes, and attach receipts or supporting documents directly to the transaction record.
How Transactions Connect to Everything Else
Your transaction data doesn't just sit in a register—it flows through to power:
Budgets that reflect your actual spending patterns
Reports showing income, expenses, and trends over time
Cash flow projections based on your transaction history
Tax schedules built from properly categorized business expenses
Reconciliation that ensures your records match your bank
Clean, well-categorized transactions make all of these features more accurate and useful.
Common Questions
Why did my transaction amount change? Pending transactions sometimes adjust when they clear. Tips, final totals, and holds can cause the cleared amount to differ from the pending amount.
I don't recognize a transaction. What should I do? First, check if it's a merchant name you don't recognize (sometimes companies use their corporate name, not their brand name). If you still don't recognize it, contact your bank immediately to report potential fraud.
Can I edit a transaction after it's been downloaded? Yes. You can change the category, payee name, add notes, split it across multiple categories, or attach receipts. The original bank data remains intact.
What if I have duplicate transactions? Quicken attempts to detect duplicates automatically, but if you spot one, you can simply delete it from the register.
How far back can I see my transactions? Most banks provide 90 days of transaction history when you first connect. After that, Quicken downloads new transactions as they occur.
Next Steps
Now that you understand what transactions are and why they matter, you're ready to:
Review your recent transactions and make sure they're categorized correctly
Set up rules to automatically categorize recurring transactions
Add tags for anything you want to track separately (projects, trips, etc.)
Reconcile your accounts to confirm everything matches your bank
The more consistently you manage your transactions, the more value you'll get from Quicken.