I have been using Quicken for about a year to manage my personal finances, and overall, I really enjoy the software. I do, however, have one suggestion that I believe could make it more useful for the average person, regardless of their financial situation or goals.
Most people who use personal finance software have some sort of financial objective. They may be trying to pay off debt, build their net worth, grow their savings, or simply get a better understanding of their finances. Being able to visualize their progress toward these goals can be just as valuable as tracking individual transactions.
The issue: When viewing an individual account in Quicken, it would be helpful to see its historical balance over time alongside its projected future balance or cash flows. Currently, to review historical account values, I find myself navigating to the Net Worth view and deselecting the other accounts to isolate the one I want to examine. While this works, it feels like a feature that would be more useful directly within the individual account view.
My suggestion: Add a historical and projected balance chart directly to each account, allowing users to see where the account started, how it has changed over time, and where it is projected to go.
For example, someone paying down a credit card or loan could view their balance over the past several months and see how their payments have reduced the outstanding debt. The chart could then transition into a projection based on scheduled payments and expected cash flows, helping the user visualize when they might reach a zero balance.
Similarly, someone building savings or growing an investment account could use the same feature to see their historical progress alongside future projections.
A simple slider or dropdown could let users choose how much historical data to display, such as the past three months, six months, one year, or all available history. The chart could then show historical balances alongside projected balances, with a clear distinction between actual data and estimates.
I believe this would be a valuable addition because it would help users connect their everyday financial activity with their longer-term goals. Rather than simply seeing transactions and current balances, users could see the bigger picture of their financial progress without having to navigate between different reports and views.
I really enjoy using Quicken, and this is the one area where I feel the experience could be improved significantly. I think this feature would make the software more intuitive, actionable, and motivating for everyday users.
