How do I manually enter a transaction?

Most of the time you update your spending accounts by downloading transactions and balances directly from your bank. You may still want to enter a transaction by hand, either because the account is set up as manual (offline) or because a transaction has not downloaded yet. The steps below show how.

Enter a transaction

Follow these steps in any account register where you want to record a new transaction by hand.

1. Open the account you want to use.

2. In the account register, find the new transaction line. To go there directly, press Ctrl+N. If the register is sorted by descending date, the new transaction line appears at the top. If the register is sorted by ascending date, it appears at the bottom.

3. Change the Date if needed.

4. If this is a check, enter the check number in the Check # column.

5. In the Payee column, enter who you are paying or who paid you.

6. In the Payment column or Deposit column, enter the amount.

7. In the Category column, assign a category to the transaction.

8. In the Tag column, enter a tag (optional).

9. In the Memo column, enter a note (optional).

10. If this transaction counts as a reimbursable expense, select the checkbox in the Exp (Expensed) column (optional). The Exp column is not shown by default. To add it, use the Register Columns tool at the top right of the register.

11. Click the Save icon to save the transaction. You can also press Enter.

Add or change register columns

The steps above describe entering information in specific register columns. If a column does not appear in your register, you can add it.

1. At the top right of the register, click the Register Columns tool.

2. Select the checkboxes for the columns you want to add.

3. Click Done.

About downloading transactions

To automate most of your transaction entry, see Tell me about updating transactions and balances from my financial institutions.

Reading the register

The register uses a few visual cues to help you tell transactions apart at a glance.

• Reconciled and cleared transactions are dimmed.

• Future transactions are separated by a blue line and use gray text.

• The transaction you are currently working with has a pale blue background.

• Different icons can appear in the Status column to indicate the state of a transaction. See Status column icons for what each icon means.

Entering dates

Quicken makes date entry quick.

• You do not have to type the slashes or the year. Quicken fills in the current year automatically.

• To pick a date, click the pop-up calendar icon at the right of the Date field, then click a date.

Customize the Check # field

The Check # field includes several predefined transaction types, such as Print, DEP, and EFT. You can add your own.

1. Click the drop-down arrow icon on the right side of the column cell.

2. Click Edit List.

3. Click New.

4. Enter a name, click OK, then click Done.

To delete a type, select it in the list and click Delete.

Manage your payee list

If your payee drop-down list contains payees you no longer need, you can delete them from the Memorized Payee List.

Use the pop-up calculator to enter an amount

In any field that accepts an amount, click the calculator icon to open a pop-up calculator. Use the calculator buttons (or the number keys at the top of your keyboard) to calculate the amount, then click Enter to place the result in the field.

Entering categories

The category drop-down list is divided into groups such as Personal Income, Personal Expenses, Transfers, and All Categories. Choose the group you want, then select the specific category.

Quicken may suggest a category based on the payee.

To enter a transaction with multiple categories, click the Split button.

Transfer money between accounts

You can transfer money between accounts. One account balance increases and the other decreases, and your net worth stays the same. Quicken records the transfer in the source account's register and creates a parallel transaction in the destination account.

For details, see Transfer money between accounts.

Customize the register

Each time you record a transaction, Quicken sorts it into the register. The default sort is first by date, then by check number. You can also sort the register by clicking a column heading.

You can change the appearance and behavior of a spending account register through register options, register preferences, and QuickFill preferences.

Columns you cannot edit

A few register columns are not user-editable.

• Clr: This column shows whether the transaction has cleared during reconciliation. Leave it blank when entering a new transaction.

• Amount and Balance: Quicken calculates these automatically based on your payment, deposit, and prior balance.

Print the register

You can print transactions from your registers for a specified range of dates. You can also choose whether to print details for split transactions.

Transactions print in the order they appear in the register. To change the order before printing, see Customize the register.

Maximum transaction amount

A single transaction is limited to $99,999,999.99. Amounts for printed checks are limited to about $14,000,000.00.

Inflow and outflow column labels

Different account types use different labels for the inflow and outflow columns.

Copy transactions to Word or Excel

You can copy transactions from a spending account register into another application.

1. In the register, hold down the Shift key and select a range of transactions.

2. From the menu bar, choose Edit > Transaction > Copy transaction(s).

3. Switch to the other application and choose Edit > Paste.

Quicken does not copy split transaction information.