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Understanding Transactions – Credit Card, Checking, and Money Market Savings

Dick_Davis

I got the understanding of double entry journal entries from my college class in accounting. However, I am having a time in trying to understand how this is handled in Simplifi. Let me give an example. The fields are based on the Simplifi fields for entry. The result is that there are found transactions in Simplifi. I have watched the YouTube Videos on this, but they don’t go into enough detail for this to be understood. If there is an example somewhere please provide. Also, I would expect transaction one to result link and transaction 2 to result in a link. I understand the links as this is a minus and a plus, to result in zero.

Transaction1 - is the payment to the Credit Card. This causes the payment to the credit card and then withdraw from the checking.

Credit the credit Card

Debit the checking

Result is a negative amount in the checking and is covered by transaction 2

Screenshot 2025-06-09 213347.png

Transaction 1a – Payment to credit card. This will credit the payment to the credit card.

Account TJX Rewards MasterCard

Date Jun 7, 2025

Payee TJX MasterCard

Category Credit Card Payment

Tags No entry

Spend Plan Exclude from Spend Plan

Reports Exclude from Reports

Amount +137.82

Transaction 1b – Payment amount will be taking for checking.

Account Checking (Resty) [396-00170]

Date Jun 7, 2025

Payee TJX MasterCard

Category Credit Card Payment

Tags No entry

Spend Plan Exclude from Spend Plan

Reports Exclude from Reports

Amount -137.82

Transaction 2 – the checking account always carries a zero balance. The checking account has a negative balance when the payment is made to the TJX MasterCard. Thus the money has to be deposited to the check and then withdrawn from the Money Market.

Debits the Money Market account

Credits the Checking account

Double entry is balanced and the result is “zero”

Transaction 2a – Add to checking from Money Market.

Account Checking (Resty) [396-00170]

Date Jun 9, 2025

Payee Money Market (Resty)

Category Transfer

Tags No entry

Spend Plan Exclude from Spend Plan

Reports Exclude from Reports

Amount +137.82

Transaction 2b – Subtract comes from Money Market.

Account Money Market (Resty)

Date Jun 9, 2025

Payee Checking (Resty) [396-00170]

Category Transfer

Tags No entry

Spend Plan Exclude from Spend Plan

Reports Exclude from Reports

Amount -137.82

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Transactions

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Transfers

Comments

SRC54

It all looks right. It looks like you are looking at the All Transactions view. If you go to the individual accounts, you will see just the one side that affects it. You paid the credit card from your checking account and money then goes from Savings to Checking to make up the difference. So you keep a zero balance is checking. I assume to get better interest in savings?

Programs like Quicken Simplifi try to hide debits and credits by just using income and expense categories, but as you say, the principle is the same.

Dick_Davis

are there four transactions or a lesser number?

Money to (Positive) credit card from Checking
Money from (negative) Checking to Card
Money to (Positive) Checking from Savings
money from (Negative) Checking to savings.

If use the view from the individual account, is it an easier concept process that way? Meaning to focus on each and not get lost in the four?

Dick
A new learner

Coach Jon

Hello @Dick_Davis,

Thanks for reaching out! I am not understanding specifically what you are asking, but I believe you are trying to understand how Transfers work within Quicken Simplifi, correct?

When using a Transfer category, it's important to remember that there are two sides to a transfer: the initial transaction moving money from one account and a second transaction depositing the money into the other account. Here is a great support article that goes into more detail: https://support.simplifi.quicken.com/en/articles/3352152-how-do-transfers-work

-Coach Jon

SRC54

@Dick_Davis Yes, I think it's easier to see it in the Individual Accounts view. But you can see the transfers as well in the Spending Plan. Look for transfers.

You have the Credit Card Payment categorized as credit card payment meaning there are two transactions there. It appears the transfer from savings to checking is a linked transaction. It is totally up to you whether you want to link the credit card transaction. When you link it, it will have the account name as the category. It is a transfer no matter how you do it.

You'll get the hang of it with experience. I hope you are enjoying Simplifi. Also I see Coach Jon sent you link to a support article on transfers. That will help too!

Dick_Davis

Evenng, Steve.

I am getting the hang of Simplifi as I used it more and more. I am coming to Simplifi from Quicken Classic and there is a learning curve. With the ability to use the link transaction features, starts to bring the migration from Quicken Classic to Simplifi. With regards to link transactions for the credit card, I don't get the link message, and when I search, there is not a transaction to link to. Am I doing something incorrectly?

DryHeat

@Dick_Davis "With regards to link transactions for the credit card, I don't get the link message"

What @SRC54 was saying is that the two credit card payment transactions you show in your screenshot are not linked. You have two entirely separate transactions, each with the Category "Credit Card Payment."

If the transactions were linked the checking transaction would have Category = "TJX Rewards MasterCard" and the credit card transaction would have Category = "Checking (Resty) [396-00170]."

When you choose the Category for a transaction, hovering over the "Transfer" main category will show a list of sub-categories, one for each of your accounts. Choosing an account as the Category is what creates the linked transaction.

(If the two transactions are downloaded, one in each account, Simplifi will attempt to link them by setting the Categories in this way.)

SRC54

@Dick_Davis

Above @DryHeat explains very well the mechanics of linking.

It works the same in Quicken Classic; you can categorize a payment from your checking account as a credit card payment or you can link it by entering the name of the credit card account name instead. Either way works and it will be classified as a transfer either way (meaning that it won't count as spending). It is up to the user which way he prefers. Most users link theirs.

In your screenshot above, it appears that the Savings Deposit to Checking is already linked since I see the name of the account in the category box. If you see "Credit Card Payment" or just "Transfer" with no account name, they are not linked. The accounting will be right either way.

Basically, Quicken provides the plain "transfer" and "credit card payment" options in case the user is not tracking the credit card account OR there isn't an account to which to transfer. This latter has various uses. For example, you just don't want it count for whatever reason as spending. I use it a lot for money that I pay for something that a friend will pay back.

I also suggest that you name your accounts more simply. For example, I just call my credit cards things like Amazon Visa, Coign Visa, etc. My Checking Accounts are 360 Checking and 1st Checking. I also keep my payees simple. And as much as possible I keep my categories to one word. Then when I see a transaction, I don't have all that verbiage. Here's my checking account pending transactions:

It is totally up to you. If you have just one Checking and Savings account, I would just call it Checking and Savings. Then you see things at a glance. Above is just the ledger for my Checking.

Here's what it looks like in Net Worth (All Transactions) view:

I have a lot of pending because my wife went shopping yesterday. These are all her transactions.😑

I hope this helps to make it clearer. After a few more transactions, you will be a pro.

Dick_Davis

I am still having a lack of understanding for the transactions, is there a chart that has been published that can be referenced

Coach Jon

Hello @Dick_Davis,

Thanks for the reply. At this point, I would suggest visiting our Support website, as it contains videos and steps for all of Quicken Simplifi's features, including many on transactions themselves. https://support.simplifi.quicken.com/en/

I hope this helps!

-Coach Jon

Dick_Davis

@CoachJon, thank you for the response. I think I might have the transaction payments from the checking and deposits from the savings down. IF not, I will be back for help. If so, the understanding current has been very rewarding, and I thank all who took the time to help in this learning and understanding.