Running Balance

J_K2023

I would like to see a running balance on the right side of the register. This would help me to visualize real time what the balance is at any point. I can use this to transfer funds if my balance is getting low later in the month.

Coach Natalie

Hello @J_K2023,

Thanks for sharing your feedback with the Community!

We have an existing Idea post available here requesting a running balance column that has been declined by the Product Team. With that said, I did go ahead and turn this post into a Discussion, and I'd suggest checking out our Support Article here to get more info on why Simplifi does not offer a running balance column. You may find my comment here helpful as well. 

Sorry for not having better news!

-Coach Natalie

Flopbot

@J_K2023,

I understand that everyone is different in the way they approach finances, but I’ve gotta say that - as a former Quicken user - having that Running Balance column play a critical role to the success of Quicken’s underlying calculations drove me bonkers spending countless hours tracking down tedious little $1.24 over/under amounts.  I absolutely love that my time spent simply keeping a database happy has dropped precipitously after making the switch to Simplifi.

I could see how it might be useful to some, and having a toggle is a good idea if it were ever to be implemented.

When it comes to knowing when you need to make a transfer because your balance is going to run low, wouldn’t that be more the function of the balance forecast at the top of your account register?  I wouldn’t think a historical running balance column would be super useful for that.

RobWilk

I agree with @Flopbot - Quicken was always difficult to resolve a balance when a transaction was missed for whatever reason (And it happened often enough, I had to use the 'reconcile' feature often. or create  'dummy transaction' for the difference to correct the balance).

I'm a little frustrated right now that for me, sometimes simplifi's CURRENT balance is badly wrong, but I'm working with support to try to have them fix this.

DannyB

Hey, why not? Hi @J_K2023, I haven't missed having a running balance in Simplifi at all.  I can see my current balances for all my accounts in the web app both on the dashboard in the accounts column and on the Transactions page Accounts list and in the mobile app on the Accounts page.

Also, as @Flopbot pointed out, each account shows projected cash flow (pfc) going forward for up to 6 months. The only caveat with the pcf chart is that Planned spending isn't included, so beware).  

I've also noticed that not all of my financial institutions show a running balances and one of them only shows a daily balance taking into account all transactions on a given day and not transaction by transaction.

Like Chris (@Flopbot) I understand we all do this in our own way and have our own preferences, but it seems to me that a running balance is, in some ways, a throwback to when folks used a physical checkbook and wrote checks for almost all purchases and payments.  Having a running balance was critical when you didn't have instant access to your bank accounts like we do now.

ZenDog

I was missing the running balance tonight when resolving transactions, and very surprised to find it isn't simply a column preference the user can toggle on or off.  It would be significantly more interesting than the "Status" column (which is redundant given that it's already is grouped at the top) or "Tags". 

I did read the reasons in the response above, and it makes sense to keep it simple and loose.  I'll adjust, and I'm thankful I'm not using Quicken anymore.