Cash Available View
Hey all
I'm new to simiplifi and like it but I'm trying to figure out a few things and need ideas. I currently use clearcheckbook which is essentially a manual way of tracking transactions (which allows you to see exactly how much you have if you keep it up to date) and I'm trying to replicate it in simplifi through more automation. I need a way to view how much spendable money I have and I'm not sure the best way to go about it.
Here's my ideal
Checking account balance total, Minus Credit Card Balance, Minus Money being withheld for things like groceries, upcoming expenses etc. Even better would be to see it estimated over time.
I thought I could use spending plan, but I don't see a way to have a balance view…its's just how much you've spent for a category
I also thought i could use the cash flow view, but I'm not seeing how that is helpful. I can't combine checking minus credit cards to see a predictive view of spendable cash at a given time.
On my dashboards, I've labeled credit cards to be part of cash and checking so i see a "current" total of checking minus credit card debt. Thats good, but it doesn't show what is upcoming. Example: I just go paid but i have a bill prior to the next pay date. In clearcheckbook i would just manually write in the transaction because I know it was coming and it would reflect actual spending money.
thanks for the help
Comments
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Hello @JR13,
To clarify, you are wanting something like an account register that shows all cash flow, current and projected, plus account balances?
The Spending Plan does sort of do that, but as you noted, it shows spending by category rather than by account. Additionally, it is set up on a month by month basis, so the totals it shows do not include anything from the previous month (with the exception of rollover from Planned Spending, if you use that feature). If you use reminders to track your projected spending, the Spending Plan can give you a solid picture of what your income and spending for the month will look like. See this article for more information:
If you don't like the way the Spending Plan shows the information, another possibility is using the Cash Flow tab in the Bills & Income section. Much like the Spending Plan, the information in Bills & Income is only as good as the reminders you create. For more information, see the article linked below.
As long as you are creating reminders for your anticipated expenses, the Cash Flow tab will show a fairly reliable picture of your anticipated finances. You can also unselect accounts you do not want it to display.
To see the anticipated balance on a given day, and any anticipated bills/income on that day, you can hover your mouse over that spot on the line for the account.
If neither of those options meet your needs, you are able to create manual account and use that register to manually track the exact information you want to see. The downside to that is it wouldn't take advantage of the automated features Quicken Simplifi offers, and it would potentially throw off the values showing in tools like reports and the Spending Plan, unless you go to Settings>Accounts and exclude the account from those tools.
If none of the above meets your needs, or you'd like to see a new feature/tool added that would meet your needs better, please feel free to create an Idea post to request changes. Please see the post linked below for more information on creating Ideas:
I hope this helps!
-Coach Kristina
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I think for @JR13 wants would require that the Cash Flow remember your filters, and he would probably want to track the sum total on one line rather than on multiple lines for the accounts he has chosen. It also seems to be useful in the way he wants, he would want it to take into account planned spending, which I don't think it does.
I admit I don't use the Cash flow much because it just looks very busy with all those lines. But maybe I don't understand it.
Steve
Quicken Simplifi (Safari & iOS) Since 2021
Quicken Classic (MacOS) Since 20091 -
@SRC54—-Yes i think you are correct. I will look at what coach has to say, but I don't think it will get me there. Spending plan is by category so no indication of what i have currently. Cash flow is line by line. I use my credit card for everything and pay it off by the end of the month. Manual is what i do now in clearcheckbook so I might as well keep that. Ideally it would be using the cash flow with one line for
Checking,Credit Card, and Spending plan over time…and yes remember my filters. Its strange to have cashflow for things like cars etc.2 -
Spending plan should have recurring income too, which should help tell you what you have left for the month.
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Rob Wilkens0 -
I took a look at clearcheckbook and it's quite different from QS. CCB appears to provide an extensive set of tools and reports along the lines of the more "traditional" personal finance management tool set. I'm curious if you've considered subscribing to either of their premium offers. Seems like that would streamline and expand your CCB experience substantially.
Anyway, @Coach Kristina points you toward some features and ideas, but, honestly, you won't find the same tools you have in CCB and switching to QS will require a shift in how you think about personal financial management.
I also use one credit card for the majority of our spending and pay it off monthly but comparing my cash account balance and my credit card balance isn't crucial if I have planned well and executed my plan reasonably faithfully.
In QS, the Spending Plan is where I lay out my total monthly income and my total monthly outflow. The difference in QS is that the Spending Plan gives you a grate tool to visualize and sort out your spending between fixed and flexible spending. Even though I have categories to track my spending overall, my planning is not concerned with budgeting for every single category and/or subcategory. Instead, I have all my fixed spending accounted for in "Income after bills & savings" sorted between Income, Bills, Subscriptions, Transfers & Credit Card Payments and Savings Goals. After all these are accounted for I know how much I have left to spend on my flexible expenses and can plan accordingly. All of these expenses are planned and accounted for under "Planned spending" and once I set my target amounts (budget?) for each flexible spending category I can see exactly how much "free cash" I have left to spend or save for the month. This "available" amount is useful to cover any "Other spending" that isn't accounted for in the above planning tools, can be used to cover overages in my planned spending or can be added to my savings.
If I have planned realistically and responsibly, it really doesn't matter which account(s) I use for moving the money around since I know how much I will be spending through the month based on my Spending Plan and if I stay within my plan and within the margin if I have surplus income, I will have all the funds I need to pay off my credit card.
I don't disagree that a consolidated cash flow graph would be nice to have, and I also think it would be helpful in monitoring my cash flow thorough the month, but QS does provide enough tools to do the level of income and expense tracking that, at least, I find I need/want. But by-and-large, QS hit the sweet spot for me in its simplicity and elegance.
Danny
Simplifi user since 01/22
”Budget: a mathematical confirmation of your suspicions.” ~A.A. Latimer1 -
Thanks Danny—-that is helpful. Im going to dual use for a while to see if I can figure out a way to get away from as much manual work as possible
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It's all in the names. Quicken SIMPLIFI and clearCHECKBOOK. I like the simple yet elegant workflow of QS and have no regrets of switching from the more work intensive Quicken Classic - a bookkeeping tool more akin, I think, to CCB.
Danny
Simplifi user since 01/22
”Budget: a mathematical confirmation of your suspicions.” ~A.A. Latimer1 -
@JR13's post points out an important difference in two functions that QS performs well, but does not integrate:
- Spending Plan - tracks whether you are taking in more money than you are "spending." But, crucially, "spending" doesn't mean "paying out." It includes some of what you pay out, sure, but it also excludes some things (like credit card payments). And it includes some things you aren't currently paying out, like things you buy on a credit card and essentially agree to pay for later.
- Cash Flow - tracks how much real money you currently have (or will have) in the bank and how much real money you will have to pay out of the bank (and when).
Focusing on Spending Plan is fine for folks who have sufficient cash available to cover all cash flow needs and are more interested in improving their financial situation over time. The basic idea is that if your monthly "spending" (as defined above) is consistently less than your monthly income you will continue to build up your financial position. It's more of a long term view.
Focusing on Cash Flow is critical for folks who are closer to the edge, or who try to keep as much of their money in investments as possible and limit the amount in their bank accounts. It's important to see exactly what is going in and out of the bank (or will do so) so that you can keep a positive balance. It's more of a short term view.
Both are useful. I generally focus on the Spending Plan for my financial health. But I pay more attention to the Cash Flow for my Canadian bank account (where I try to keep just enough money to cover expenses until my next visit to Canada).
I've seen various posts where people are trying to reconcile the two views or make them fit together in some way. I don't think that's possible. It's like looking at your speedometer to figure out how much gas you have left in the tank.
DryHeat
-Quicken (1990-2020)
-Countabout (2021-2024)2 -
I'm a superfan of the projected cash flow for my primary checking account. I find the spending plan less valuable, but that may be just because of how I think about my money each month. I put a recurring credit card expense in for the approximate amount of my average credit card bills. Since most of my spending goes through credit cards, my expected spending for the month is always in the cash flow. The same is true for my income so I can see over time where my low balance is, what the low balance will be, and how much the low balance increases over time so I can plan for additional savings or for a future expense.
To be honest, the projected cash flow is the primary reason I stay with Simplifi. No other product has this functionality - I've tried many others and just can't find it.
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@drjdub55 "Since most of my spending goes through credit cards, my expected spending for the month is always in the cash flow."
My situation is a lot like yours. Apart from a few direct pay items, most expenses go on a credit card that I then pay off the next month.
But I focus on the Spending Plan because the spending that I can control is the spending that happens when I charge something on the credit card. By the time that spending shows up in the cash flow (when the credit card bill is paid), it is too late to make any decisions about it. It has been transformed from spending (that I could make a choice about) into a debt (that has to be paid).
I find that focusing on the act of spending when it is happening — using the Spending Plan — helps me make better choices about what gets charged on the credit card in the first place, thus reducing the hit to my cash flow when the bill hits the next month.
Both features are important to me. I use the Cash Flow to make sure everything will be covered and the Spending Plan to moderate my behavior. I'm glad both are included in the system.
DryHeat
-Quicken (1990-2020)
-Countabout (2021-2024)2
