Add Labels to Flags

Flopbot

Simplifi,

Please consider adding editable labels to the flags.  I'm thinking these are something that could/would occasionally get customized by each individual user as they see fit, as needed.

One problem that would have to be thought through would be what happens to a old transaction from 3/4/2020 with a Blue Flag labeled "Reconciled 4/3/2020" when the Blue Flag's title later gets changed to "Reconciled 4/3/2021".  I think, ideally, the Blue Flag labels for OLD transactions would remain the same and any current label changes would only affect NEW transactions going forward. 

Something sort of like this...


This is something that I've run into with Quicken for years.  My memory isn't that great so I frequently forget what the various colors mean over time.  What was it again that I used green for back in 2018?  In Quicken, the flags at least have a notes field so that helps.  Simlifi doesn't have that notes field so the flags seem even more useless to me, personally.

Flopbot

I still think this is a good idea, so I'm pushing it to the top again!

DannyB

I don’t see any flags... OK, added the flag column.... wait, what? still no flags.... hmmm... O, now I see... you can add a flag in the edit transaction box top left corner!... OK, now I see it.  Yeah, looks like flag labels would be useful if you end up finding a need/use for flags.

Hey, it could be a seasonal thing!  Like this month, July, you could alternately use red, white and blue flags for all your transactions.  In the Sept/Oct/Nov you could use orange, brown and/or black.  December red and green, etc.   

RobWilk

I didn't know much about the existing flags, I like the idea of a flag's color being 'meaningful', though i might disagree that the label should be as specific as including a date (unless the labels are specific per transaction, in which case 'notes' works for that)

Flopbot

@RobWilk, just to clarify my original idea, I would certainly want these word labels - for lack of a better term - to be customizable by each individual user; not canned and one-size-fits-all.  I would want to be able to label the green “Bank Error Troubleshooting 2022“ and then maybe change it to “Bank Error Troubleshooting 2023” at some point in the future after I knew that I no longer cared about the past one.

 The best example I’ve found of what I’m talking about is the way that Trello handles their “Flags” (or whatever they call them).  Their system is pretty efficient.

MinB

I'd like to use flags more! Currently I only use 2, maybe 3 colors at a time because I wouldn't be able to track more without creating some kind of spreadsheet for reference. I do however find myself wanting to use additional flag colors during certain tasks, and I think to myself, "I should make a list of flag colors so I can make use of these."

It seems like the flags feature would be exponentially more useful if the user had even limited ability to differentiate them, whether that means the capability to actually label the flags or, maybe better yet the ability to create a corresponding text note in the settings (currently there in no Flags section under settings).

I like the idea of a simple text field. That way flags can be totally customizable simply by writing a description in the text field, they can be referenced simply by going into settings, and the user can change it at any time without needing any app development (besides adding a flag section under settings, and a text field beside each flag). If a user decides to change the meaning of any flag, they can do so easily by typing a new note at the top of the text field, with the option to keep their history of past text already entered, for example someone could scroll down and read what that color meant back in 2018.

Taking this a step further (and enhancing productivity and UI satisfaction even more), how difficult would it be to have the option to hide or show a particular flag on transaction lists?

My thinking is that this feature wouldn't actually turn a flag on or off, nor change it on any transactions, but would only show or hide them- for example, in a transaction list when you pull up the flag menu to choose a flag, only the flag colors that are selected to "show" would appear in that menu. Also only flags that are selected to show would appear in the flag column for each transaction. I can see this being useful to increase productivity, allowing the user to focus in on a particular task. It would also help by reducing clutter and showing only the tools currently being used.

UrsulaA

https://community.simplifimoney.com/discussion/2097/add-labels-to-flags

Yes, please. This is the only way I will use these. I can flag something with a red flag and then forget why I flagged it. Renaming the flags will help me keep things straight.

aolafsson

I would like the ability to apply a custom title/label/name to my flags to indicate what I'm using it for, to create a written key for myself. Such as to indicate that:

Orange = Changed Transaction Date

Green = Considering Return

etc.

As an example, Microsoft Planner does this well with labels. You have options for colored labels, but can rename the title from the written color name to whatever you'd like. On the backend of Microsoft Planner, Orange is always 'Orange' for the system name, but you can change the display title in the front-end UI as the user.

If you were color-blind, you can just leave it in place as-is and not change the written color name; if you see color and want to apply the additional customization with your key to change the written color name, you can.

UrsulaA

This idea already exists and has 14 votes. Check it out. With more votes, the chances for consideration rise.

[removed link to merged thread]

ajbopp

"Yeah, looks like flag labels would be useful if you end up finding a need/use for flags."

@DannyB Flags are, in my mind, a variation on tags, with a couple of unique advantages.

One, they are more dynamic. You can use a flag to track a planned bill that's already been paid, to make sure you don't pay it twice (or forget to pay it at all), and then unflag it when the payment processes.

Two, They can help to keep the tags list uncluttered. In my personal workflow, I only have need of two tags (Discretionary and Non-Discretionary) - though I have to have more because one gets created for every Savings Goal. But for searching and filtering purposes I need to add more tags, and then I foget all the tags I've created and wind up creating multiple tags that mean the same thing. I could reduce my tag space by 10 tags with flags.

Though I admit that there's not much use in having 10 flags if you can't rename them to something relevant. My poor brain won't wrap around that many ambigious flag colors.

There are various real-world things I use flags for. An example, transfers tend to be all over the place in terms of what they are named (many of them include the date, which makes them unique). There's no good way to filter on them, and there's too many of them to create effective rename rules. So I have a specific colored flag that gets attached to all transfers. Now I can filter on that color and see only my transfers in the transaction register.

Hmmm...thinking this through does give me a thought for a new Idea post. Stay tuned....

EL1234

I like this idea

UrsulaA

https://community.simplifimoney.com/discussion/comment/22313#Comment_22313

I started using flags to tag income in investment accounts. Cyan is for Income Dividend and Violet is for Income Interest. I wrote down a legend on an Excel file I use to export Simplifi transactions and data (my backup file) to remind myself of the meaning I attached to the flags. It will be nice to rename the flags in Simplifi itself.

EL1234

Great idea to have a place to note down what each color flag refers to, instead of relying on memory or writing it down somewhere else.

MinB

Hard to believe there's only 21 upvotes on this 🤷‍♀️

UrsulaA

https://community.simplifimoney.com/discussion/comment/41469#Comment_41469

Agree, that is why I gave the request a bump.