OFX - Online Banking & Bill Paying

Posted by John Gregory on June 3, 2006, 10:37 am

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I'm using Q2005HB and looking hard at linking to my bank. All systems appear
"go". One hesitation I have revolves around this statement I found in one of
Intuit's articles on the subject: "Quicken automatically downloads and
categorizes your data in the background".

"Categorizes" bothers me. I've already go everything categorized the way I
want it. I don't know what to expect and I'm concerned I'll end up Quicken
making changes I don't want and those changes may slip by me.

Will someone who has used this feature please explain what to expect?
Presently, if I manually write a check to "Cash", it goes into an account
called "Pocket Cash". I'd hate to find that Quicken wants to call that
something else. Hopefully, the online routine merely "categorizes" according
to the list it picks up from the file I've already created. I don't want to
end up with more situations like "Interest" and "_IntInc".

Posted by John Gregory on June 4, 2006, 4:41 pm

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Well... I braved through without guidance. Nothing blew up... yet. Still
don't know what Quicken was talking about when it descried "categories"; I
say none on what was downloaded.

My download brought me two types of transactions under "Status"; "Match" and
"New". Dates were off for those marked "Match" but I would expect that.
"Payee" was identified only as "Check". I'm unsure about my next step. Just
delete these downloads since I already have them in my register?

Those market "New" have more information; they show the name of the payee.
But since I have them in my register as well... what do I do with them? I
suppose I should "accept" then but I don't really know what to expect. Does
my Quicken register get changed in any way? Surely not the bank record. So
... what's really happening with this little "Download Transactions" phase?

> I'm using Q2005HB and looking hard at linking to my bank. All systems

> appear "go". One hesitation I have revolves around this statement I found

> in one of Intuit's articles on the subject: "Quicken automatically

> downloads and categorizes your data in the background".

> "Categorizes" bothers me. I've already go everything categorized the way I

> want it. I don't know what to expect and I'm concerned I'll end up Quicken

> making changes I don't want and those changes may slip by me.

> Will someone who has used this feature please explain what to expect?

> Presently, if I manually write a check to "Cash", it goes into an account

> called "Pocket Cash". I'd hate to find that Quicken wants to call that

> something else. Hopefully, the online routine merely "categorizes"

> according to the list it picks up from the file I've already created. I

> don't want to end up with more situations like "Interest" and "_IntInc".

Posted by John Pollard on June 4, 2006, 5:16 pm

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> Well... I braved through without guidance. Nothing blew up...

> yet. Still don't know what Quicken was talking about when it

> descried "categories"; I say none on what was downloaded.

I saw no reason for your original concern. Categories in
memorized transactions take precedence over other possible means
of categorization. Downloaded transactions for which there is
no memorized transaction *may* be automatically categorized by
Quicken if you have selected the Auto Categorize preference.
And downloaded credit card transactions may get categorized by
using a merchant code that can be supplied by the credit card
company.

> My download brought me two types of transactions under

> "Status"; "Match" and "New". Dates were off for those marked

> "Match" but I would expect that. "Payee" was identified only

> as "Check". I'm unsure about my next step. Just delete these

> downloads since I already have them in my register?

No, don't delete them; Accept them. (Assuming they are matched
to the correct transaction - select the downloaded transaction
and note which existing register transaction gets highlighted.
If they are incorrectly matched, do a "Manual Match" ... you may
have to "Unmatch" them first.).

Downloaded transactions carry a "Downloaded" flag and a "Posting
date" which will update your existing register transactions when
you Accept a "Match" (the same two pieces of data are present
for all downloaded transactions; New and Match).

> Those market "New" have more information; they show the name

> of the payee.

> But since I have them in my register as well...

Are you saying that all the downloaded transactions were already
entered manually in Quicken before you downloaded?

> what do I do with them? I suppose I should "accept" then but I

> don't really know what to expect. Does my Quicken register get

> changed in any way? Surely not the bank record. So ... what's

> really happening with this little "Download Transactions"

> phase?

If you have transactions marked as "New" when they should be
marked "Match", you should make them "Manual Match" the existing
register transactions (click the "Edit" button on the downloaded
transaction).

--

John Pollard
First initial underscore Last name at mchsi dot com
Please reply to newsgroup

Posted by John Gregory on June 4, 2006, 5:34 pm

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I appreciate your taking time to comment, John, because I seen to be getting
more confused. My original intent was to have my bank cut and mail checks. I
thought I was to do that from Quicken but I haven't gotten that far yet so
that will be another unchartered expedition. But first things first.

I'm focused at this point on simply getting my Quicken record in sync with
that of my bank... on line. Your question suggests that I may have a major
misunderstanding of how this is to work:

>>Are you saying that all the downloaded transactions were already entered

>>manually in Quicken before you downloaded?<<

Yes. I entered everything into Quicken, registered with my bank to use their
online service, established the necessary connections, successfully
downloaded 29 transaction (all of which I already had in Quicken),
disconnected (or maybe that happened automatically. I can't remember), then
examined the transactions in the "Download Transactions" window and visually
traced everything there to my register. Frankly... I'm a tad confused about
what to do next.

>> Well... I braved through without guidance. Nothing blew up... yet. Still

>> don't know what Quicken was talking about when it descried "categories";

>> I say none on what was downloaded.

> I saw no reason for your original concern. Categories in memorized

> transactions take precedence over other possible means of categorization.

> Downloaded transactions for which there is no memorized transaction *may*

> be automatically categorized by Quicken if you have selected the Auto

> Categorize preference. And downloaded credit card transactions may get

> categorized by using a merchant code that can be supplied by the credit

> card company.

>> My download brought me two types of transactions under "Status"; "Match"

>> and "New". Dates were off for those marked "Match" but I would expect

>> that. "Payee" was identified only as "Check". I'm unsure about my next

>> step. Just delete these downloads since I already have them in my

>> register?

> No, don't delete them; Accept them. (Assuming they are matched to the

> correct transaction - select the downloaded transaction and note which

> existing register transaction gets highlighted. If they are incorrectly

> matched, do a "Manual Match" ... you may have to "Unmatch" them first.).

> Downloaded transactions carry a "Downloaded" flag and a "Posting date"

> which will update your existing register transactions when you Accept a

> "Match" (the same two pieces of data are present for all downloaded

> transactions; New and Match).

>> Those market "New" have more information; they show the name of the

>> payee.

>> But since I have them in my register as well...

> Are you saying that all the downloaded transactions were already entered

> manually in Quicken before you downloaded?

>> what do I do with them? I suppose I should "accept" then but I don't

>> really know what to expect. Does my Quicken register get changed in any

>> way? Surely not the bank record. So ... what's really happening with this

>> little "Download Transactions" phase?

> If you have transactions marked as "New" when they should be marked

> "Match", you should make them "Manual Match" the existing register

> transactions (click the "Edit" button on the downloaded transaction).

> --

> John Pollard

> First initial underscore Last name at mchsi dot com

> Please reply to newsgroup

Posted by John Pollard on June 4, 2006, 9:24 pm

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>I appreciate your taking time to comment, John, because I seen

>to be getting more confused. My original intent was to have my

>bank cut and mail checks. I thought I was to do that from

>Quicken but I haven't gotten that far yet so that will be

>another unchartered expedition. But first things first.

> I'm focused at this point on simply getting my Quicken record

> in sync with that of my bank... on line. Your question

> suggests that I may have a major misunderstanding of how this

> is to work:

>>>Are you saying that all the downloaded transactions were

>>>already entered manually in Quicken before you downloaded?<<

> Yes. I entered everything into Quicken, registered with my

> bank to use their online service, established the necessary

> connections, successfully downloaded 29 transaction (all of

> which I already had in Quicken), disconnected (or maybe that

> happened automatically. I can't remember), then examined the

> transactions in the "Download Transactions" window and

> visually traced everything there to my register. Frankly...

> I'm a tad confused about what to do next.

It is more or less as I suggested.

If you download a transaction that you have already entered in
your Quicken register, then the downloaded transaction *should*
"Match" the transaction already in your Quicken register. While
I find this to be true 99% of the time for me, some people have
a lower degree of success with the Match logic.

What is important is that you need to know whether the
downloaded transaction represents a transaction you already have
in your Quicken register ... or not. Then you treat the
downloaded transaction accordingly. If the downloaded
transaction should be New but is not; you make it New. If the
downloaded transaction should be a Match, but is not; you make
it Match. If the downloaded transaction Status is correct, you
just Accept it as is.

--

John Pollard
First initial underscore Last name at mchsi dot com
Please reply to newsgroup