Create a new and separate Cash Transaction that is split from a Cash & ATM withdrawal (edited)

bcrossman

Despite all of its other faults, Mint’s unique way of handling cash transactions is a really useful feature that I’d like to see Simplifi incorporate.

In Mint, when manually entering a cash transaction, you can opt to “Split from last ATM.”
Mint then adds the manually entered cash transaction as a new and separate transaction on the date selected. But Mint also — and here is the cool part — converts (or splits) an equal portion of the most recent “Cash & ATM” transaction(s) to “Transfer for Cash Spending.” If the manually entered amount exceeds the amount of the most recent Cash & ATM withdrawal, Mint converts the balance from the next most recent Cash & ATM transaction, and so on.

As a “Transfer” transaction, the amount split from the Cash & ATM transaction is ignored in spending reports. All that appears is the balance of the Cash & ATM withdrawal and the manually entered cash transaction. The feature is a brilliant way of monitoring and managing cash spending.

In Simplifi, I’m not sure you can enter a cash transaction at all. I know you can split a Cash & ATM transaction to reflect the categories on which you spend cash, but that spending then appears on the date of the ATM withdrawal, not on the date spent. In my opinion, Mint’s approach of creating a new and separate cash transaction that is split from the Cash & ATM withdrawal is much better.

Any chance Simplifi could incorporate it?

Coach Paco

@bcrossman I appreciate you posting this as an idea so we can get some votes on this! I will pass this information up as well!

Coach Natalie

Hello All, 

The Community Support Team reviews long-standing Idea posts for relevancy and current interest. This Idea seems to have fallen stagnant and we would like to gauge the current level of interest in this request. 

If you would like to see this Idea implemented, please add your vote and a comment explaining how this request would be beneficial for you. More details on voting for Idea posts can be found in our FAQ here. 

Thank you,

Quicken Simplifi Community Support Team

Flopbot

Can anyone picture what this would look like in practice; what the use case scenario is? I can’t fully picture how it would work from the original description, although it sounds really intriguing.

Is it essentially the idea that you took out $35 from the ATM at the beginning of the week and then, each day, you enter a separate transaction into Simplifi (or Mint) that you’re going to use $5 of it for whatever until it’s gone? Then, you have $30, $25, $20, etc. available the next time you do the split.

If my understanding is correct, then I’d assume three factors would have to exist for the transaction to work properly:

1. The account it’s used in would have to be a manual cash account.
2. You could never add any additional money to your wallet except through a regularly scheduled ATM withdrawal.
3. You’d have to completely use up all the money in the wallet before you could use the split again.
   

UrsulaA

https://community.simplifimoney.com/discussion/comment/41352#Comment_41352

This recap is mostly correct. Mint had a built in cash account, which you could use to transfer ATM cash and have other cash in it as well. It was a manual account. For me, this account sometimes glitched and I could not view it on my phone all the time. So I do not miss it.

I do not need this feature as creating the manual cash account in Simplifi takes a few clicks and it is a one time process. What I do now is transfer the ATM withdrawal funds to the cash account and spend such as needed. The expenses are recorded in the manual account.

The money in my wallet equals the balance of the cash account. The key for this feature to work well is for the manual accounts to work well consistently. From other posts, I gather Simplifi has issues updating balances for manual accounts sometimes.

Flopbot

Interesting idea, but it seems excessively complex and prone to error.

bcrossman

Yes, @Flopbot, I think you've described the basic idea. I don't necessarily agree that it would excessively complex. Mint implemented this and in my experience it worked pretty well.

RobWilk

I almost think I like this idea. But 6 upvotes (not including me, I'll add my vote after this) in 5 years (about 1 vote/year) doesn't make it seem likely to happen. I like the idea that I could split off 'some' cash transactions meanwhile not having to track every dollar in my wallet.

EL1234

I created a manual Cash account, when I withdraw cash from my back I change the transaction to a Transfer > Cash. Then any transactions I want can be entered manually as spending from the Cash account. It works very nicely.

bcrossman

@EL1234 this has been my workaround, too. I have a manual "Wallet" account to which I transfer ATM withdrawals. As long as I remember to enter my cash transactions as a debit from this account, it works pretty well. Mint performed this operation a bit more seamlessly than Simplifi does, which I think it what prompted this feature request oh so many years ago. But it doesn't seem to be in high demand.