During these trying times in our economy Quicken has launched a new, FREE service to help us financially. The new tool is completely online based and offers just as much functionality as their Windows based apps. It’s called QuickenOnline.com.
At first glance it seems a little scary giving your account login information to this tool. However, QuickenOnline is verified safe by three security companies: Intuit, VeriSign and TRUSTe. It is also using a SSL connection, which is the same connection your bank uses.
When you start your account it will ask for some basic things; username, password, and safety question. After you get past the initial setup it will ask for your account information. It will need to know what bank or credit unions you have accounts with. Then it will ask for you login information to those banks so it can pull down all the information about your account/accounts. When it is done pulling down the information from your account it will ask you to associate the accounts found with an account type. Then it will proceed to download the last 90 days of transactions for these accounts. This tool will also permit you to have multiple banks/credit unions.
After the Quicken has downloaded your data it is time to put it to use for you. With this online application there are multiple reports and tracking that can be done. We are going to specifically look at: Transactions, Trends, Goals and Alerts.
Transactions. Quicken will keep your account with them up to date will the most current posts from your bank/credit union. It will automatically file these transactions into categories for future reporting. You may also change any transaction to the correct group you would like it to report to, making it easy to track your spending and correct your budget. It will also allow you to schedule new transactions or recurring transactions. It helps give you a correct future balance to budget from.
Trends. The reports with this application for money tracking are referred to as “Trends”. The “Trends” allow you to see were you are spending your money every month. It will also keep a running average on the categories you are spending in. You can view the report of where you are spending your money by category or payee. At a glance, it makes it easy to see were your money is going and possibly were you could cut back.
Goals. As I was browsing this application I came across “Goals”. “Goals” is by far my favorite part of this application. It allows you to set goals for yourself in spending by category for the month. It will also keep track of the money you have spent on that “Goal” and let you know how much you have left. Simply put it is a budgeting tool, but it is so easy to use it really helps keep you on track.
Alerts. On of the best things about this tool is the alerts you can setup. There are several ways to receive alerts. iphones can use the QuickenOnline iphone application to manage anything on the account. Users with out an iphone can have alerts texted to them. You can create alerts such as: Overdrafts, Low Account Balance, Overspending on goals, etc. You can also text the site with your secure information to receive your account balances.
All together this is a great application that is helpful anytime and anywhere. It will not and can not transfer money for you or make payments. It is simply to track and budget your money so you can meet your financial goals. The best part is it is free to use and has no ads on the page. You can view if for yourself at www.quickenonline.com.
