Categorizing transactions helps you track where your money goes, identify spending patterns, and make informed financial decisions. Whether you're managing personal expenses, running a business, or overseeing rental properties, categorization lets you create detailed reports, monitor budgets, and prepare for tax season.
Categorization also keeps downloaded and manually entered transactions organized around your financial goals. Splitting a transaction into multiple categories gives you a clearer picture of your expenses, which matters when a single payment covers more than one purpose, such as the principal and interest in a loan payment. Quicken's automated tools save you time by learning your habits and applying categories to recurring transactions.
Assign a category to a transaction
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Open the account that contains the transaction.
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In the register, click the Category field for the transaction.
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Enter a category name, or click the drop-down arrow and select one from the list.
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Click Save.
How categories work
Category groups. The category list is organized into groups: Business Income, Business Expenses, Personal Income, Personal Expenses, Rental Property Income, Rental Property Expenses, Transfers, and All Categories.
Search as you type. Start typing a category name and Quicken filters the list to matching categories.
Subcategories. To assign a subcategory, type a colon after the main category name, as in Utilities:Water.
New categories. To create a category, click New Category in the category list. If you type a name Quicken doesn't recognize, it prompts you to create it.
Hidden categories. Some categories are hidden based on how you set up Quicken, such as whether you manage a business or rental property. To show them, select the Show hidden categories check box at the bottom of the category list.
The full list. Click Show Full List to open the complete category list.
Split a transaction into multiple categories
Some transactions serve more than one purpose, such as a home loan payment that covers both principal and interest, or a store visit that includes both groceries and household supplies. Split the transaction to categorize each part accurately.
Enter a split transaction
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Open the account that contains the transaction.
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In the register, select the transaction.
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Click the Split icon on the transaction toolbar, or click the Category field and click Split in the category list. The Split Transaction dialog opens.
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For each part of the transaction, enter a Category, a Tag (optional), a Memo (optional), and an Amount on its own line.
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To add more than 16 lines, click Add Lines.
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Click OK to close the dialog.
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Click Save.
The register shows --Split-- in the Category field for a split transaction.
To enter split amounts as percentages instead of dollar figures, select the Show % check box. See How do I memorize and use a split transaction with percentages?
Adjust split totals
As you enter split lines, the Split Total may not match the Transaction Total. The Remainder field shows the difference. Resolve it in whichever way fits what you're trying to do.
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To do this |
Use this |
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Make the split lines add up to the transaction total |
Edit the individual line amounts |
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Change the transaction total to match what you've entered |
Click Adjust |
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Absorb the remainder into one specific line |
Select Edit > Apply remainder to current line |
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Spread one line's amount across the other lines |
Select Edit > Allocate this line to other split lines |
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Spread the remainder proportionally across all lines |
Click Allocate |
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Clear every line and start over |
Click Clear All |
Allocate becomes available once you have two or more split lines.
Clear split information
To remove the splits from a transaction, click the X to the right of --Split-- in the Category field, then assign a new category.
Complex splits and forms
For complex split transactions such as paychecks and invoices, Quicken displays Form in the Category field instead of a category name. Invoices are available in Quicken Business & Personal.
Categorize investment transactions
The Category field appears only for applicable investment transactions, such as checks written from cash management accounts.
If a transaction has no category, Quicken marks it Uncategorized. To find uncategorized transactions, check the See Where Your Money Goes section on the Home tab.
Automatic categories and QuickFill
When you download transactions, Quicken assigns categories based on merchant codes. You can refine those assignments by memorizing payees and associating them with the categories you prefer.
To memorize a payee as you categorize, select the Save to the Memorized Payee List check box. It appears both in the register when you edit the Category field and at the bottom of the Split Transaction dialog.
Quicken remembers the category changes you make and applies them to future transactions. To change this behavior, select Edit > Preferences > Data entry and QuickFill.