Paycheck Setup (Mac)


To set up your paycheck so Quicken can use it, you'll need your latest paycheck stub. You'll enter your paycheck information as a scheduled transaction , which is just a future transaction that you set up in advance, and that Quicken remembers so you don't have to enter all of the details each time. When the transaction comes due, Quicken either enters it automatically into your check register, or asks you if it's okay to add.

If you have pre-tax deductions from your paycheck, such as a 401(k) or other retirement plan, you must create that account before you begin setting up your paycheck. The same goes for post-tax deductions, such as Employee Stock Purchase Plans. See Chapter 2 for more information on setting up accounts.

Begin by choosing Lists > Scheduled Transactions. The Upcoming Bills and Scheduled Transactions window opens. Click the Scheduled Transactions tab.

Click New. The Enter Transaction dialog appears.

Check to make sure that the account shown in the Account pop-up menu is the one to which you want the paycheck deposited. In the Date field, enter the paycheck date from the pay stub. You can type in the date, or you can click the calendar icon to get a pop-up calendar. Click a day in the pop-up calendar to enter it in the Date field.

In the Number field, type d . Quicken will fill the field in with DEP , which means deposit. Press the Tab key to move to the Payee field, then type a description of the paycheck (I used Jim's Paycheck ).

Now you'll begin entering the split transaction. Click the Open Split button to show the multiple lines for the split.

The first line is for your gross pay. In the first Category field, type Salary , then press the Tab key until you are in the Amount column for that line. Enter the amount of your gross pay. Pressing the Tab key brings you to the next line. Note that you don't have to finish typing Salary ; Quicken's QuickFill feature finishes the word as soon as you type a few letters . Quicken tries to make data entry easier for you whenever it can; for instance, if you enter a figure without a decimal point, Quicken puts the cents ( .00 ) in for you.

The next several lines are for your paycheck deductions, such as 401(k) contributions and taxes. If you have a retirement account deduction , you need to show that money is going into the retirement account. You'll use a transfer category for this, which is a special category that Quicken uses to denote money flowing between two of its own accounts. Transfer categories always have square brackets [] around their names . Press the left square bracket , then begin typing the name of the retirement account. When Quicken finishes entering the name , press the Tab key until you are in the Amount field. Because this is a deduction, enter it as a negative number, so that it will be subtracted from your gross pay. For example, if the 401(k) contribution is $50, type -50 .

Continue entering deductions on each line as negative numbers until you are done. Quicken scrolls the list of line items if needed.

Some people have payroll deductions that are taken after taxes. For example, if you participate in an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), you can purchase your company's stock with every paycheck. As you recall from Chapter 2, a transfer category is used to keep track of money that you move from one Quicken account into another. Use the transfer category Quicken automatically created when you set up the ESPP account to denote the transfer of funds to the ESPP stock account and then enter the deduction as a negative number.

Finally, you'll set up the schedule for this transaction, so Quicken remembers it for you. In the Scheduling section, choose the frequency of the transaction from the pop-up menu, depending on how often you get paid. Click Deposit in the Type section. Under Notification , choose Remind me about or Automatically enter from the pop-up menu, and choose how many days in advance you want to be reminded. Depending on which you choose, Quicken will give you a reminder that the deposit will be made, or will just enter it automatically in the register. If your paycheck is regular and the amount doesn't change from check to check, I recommend that you choose Automatically enter.

If you use Apple's iCal calendar program, you can add a reminder of the transaction to your calendar by clicking the iCal button. When you are done with the transaction, click Record. Quicken asks if you want to record the current transaction and future transactions, or if you are just creating a scheduled transaction for future transactions. If you choose Schedule future transactions only , Quicken will think that you are just creating a future scheduled transaction, and will not enter the instance of the paycheck that you hold in your hand. You need to enter the paycheck for which you have the pay stub, so select Schedule all transactions and click OK.



Managing Your Personal Finances with Quicken. Visual QuickProject Guide
Managing Your Personal Finances with Quicken: Visual QuickProject Guide
ISBN: 0321293657
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 107
Authors: Tom Negrino

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