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Running Balance Column in Account Registers

Ames.Vannah

As a former Quicken Classic user transitioning to Simplifi, I am requesting the addition of a Running Balance column within individual account registers. This feature is essential for ensuring data integrity during the onboarding process, managing daily cash flow, and auditing transaction history.

Why This Matters

Onboarding & Data Validation: For new users migrating lots of data, the ability to compare the "Running Total" in Simplifi against their bank statement (or previous software) is the only way to quickly verify that the migration was successful and that no duplicate or missing transactions exist.
Troubleshooting & Reconciliation: When an account balance doesn't match the bank’s "cleared" balance, a running total allows the user to pinpoint the exact date and transaction where the discrepancy began. Without it, users must manually add/subtract every transaction to find the error.
Cash Flow Management: For users living "on the margin" or managing tight cash flows, seeing the projected daily balance helps prevent overdrafts by visualizing how upcoming scheduled transactions will impact the bottom line.

Proposed Functionality

Toggle Feature: Allow users to turn the "Running Balance" column on or off via the register settings (gear icon) to keep the UI clean for those who don't need it.
Sort Consistency: Ensure the running balance calculates dynamically based on the current sort order (typically by date) so that the "Bottom Line" always reflects the state of the account at that moment in time.
Visual Indicators: Highlight the running balance in a different color if it dips below zero based on scheduled/pending transactions.

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Comments

Coach Jon

Hello @Ames.Vannah,

Thank you for reaching out! I went ahead and converted your idea post into a discussion, since this idea has been previously declined by our product team. Quicken Simplifi is designed to always stay in sync with your bank's balance, allowing users the flexibility to enter missing transactions, delete transactions, add transactions further back than the original download provided, etc. Therefore, including a running balance column could limit flexibility and may provide an inaccurate representation of the balance due to the scenarios mentioned above.

This was the general consensus when discussed amongst our Product Team; I do apologize for any inconvenience or frustration this decision may cause.

Here is the link to the original idea post, which has been kept open for additional feedback:

https://community.simplifimoney.com/discussion/19/running-balance-column-edited-3-merged-votes

-Coach Jon

Ames.Vannah

Thank you, Coach Jon. I appreciate the conversion to a discussion.

While I understand the Product Team’s philosophy regarding bank synchronization, I believe this perspective overlooks the reality of complex personal finance management. I strongly urge the team to reconsider for the following reasons:

1. The Critical Need for Manual Account Integrity Simplifi’s "sync-first" model assumes every account has a digital source of truth. However, many users—myself included—track private loans, some unique retirement accounts, cash accounts, and private party transactions that cannot be synced. In these cases, I am the bank. Without a running balance, there is no way to audit these accounts against a physical ledger or spreadsheet without manually recalculating every single line item. This turns a simple verification task into a grueling manual process.

2. Accuracy Through Auditing, Not "Assumed Sync" The argument that a running balance might be "inaccurate" due to user edits is actually the strongest argument for having one. If I enter an adjusting entry or a manual transaction and my balance suddenly diverges from my bank statement, I need to see the exact point of divergence.

The Current Gap: Right now, Simplifi shows me the "current" balance and a list of transactions, but no "bridge" between them.
The Solution: A running balance acts as a breadcrumb trail. If a balance is "inaccurate," the running total allows me to find the specific entry error in seconds rather than minutes.

3. User Flexibility vs. Forced Methodology The "flexibility" mentioned in your response actually creates a lack of control. True flexibility would be providing users with the option to toggle a running balance on or off. By omitting it, Simplifi is forcing a "black box" approach to accounting where users must simply trust the software, even when the numbers don't match.

4. Retention and "The Quicken Standard" As a long-time Quicken user, the absence of this feature feels like a regression in basic financial tooling. I want to love Simplifi for its modern UI, but the frustration of being unable to troubleshoot my own data is making it difficult to justify the move. Adding this as an optional, toggleable column would satisfy power users and manual account trackers without cluttering the UI for "hands-off" users.

I am happy to chat further if you need clarification. Thank you.

Closing Note: I prefer Simplifi's modern interface, but the absence of this feature is a significant roadblock. Without a way to verify that my balances are historically correct, I am find myself forced to consider moving back to Quicken Classic. For a power user, the ability to ensure data integrity isn't a "legacy preference"—it is a fundamental requirement for money management.

DryHeat

@Ames.Vannah

Simplifi will total up all the transactions (or any group of selected transactions) in the register for you. It's not the same as a running balance, but I find it helpful.

The way to do this is set out in this post in another thread. It applies to both manual and connected accounts:

https://community.simplifimoney.com/discussion/comment/62012#Comment_62012

Coach Jon

Hello @Ames.Vannah,

Thank you for the reply! We are definitely appreciative of any users providing valuable feedback like this. I can say for now at least that the product team is not considering this feature currently, but we will, of course, keep the community updated if that changes in the future.

-Coach Jon

SRC54

I use Classic and Simplifi in tandem. In fact, I just audited 2023-25 to make sure everything was balanced. I am going to do 2021 and 22 next. That is as far as I can go.

I have to admit that I rarely use the running balance in Classic. And even when I sort by Posted Date, it still doesn't match the bank's running balance as they have their way of ordering and Classic has its.

I do do what Dryheat suggests a good bit of the time. As Coach Jon implies, it is unlikely that Simplifi will do this as it doesn't fit their methodology. I hope that the benefits of Simplifi outweighs what it lacks from Classic.

In the past four years, Simplifi is catching up rapidly to Classic in features. In fact, one begins to worry that the name will soon not fit the product. 😉