Schedule Transactions

One of the best ways to save time in Quicken is to set up scheduled transactions for recurring transactions that need to be paid on a regular schedule. Scheduled transactions can be entered automatically, saving you the drudgery of data entry. They are especially good for automatic deductions from your checking account, such as monthly service fees; because you don't initiate those kinds of transactions, it's easy to forget to enter them in your register. I also like to use them for bills that are the same from month to month, such as my cable TV bill.

Any transaction in your register can be turned into a scheduled transaction. You'll do the job a little differently on Windows and the Mac, but the idea is the same. On either platform, open the account register and click to select the transaction that you want to schedule.

On Windows, choose Edit > Transaction > Schedule Transaction. The Create Scheduled Transaction dialog appears.

1.	Pick the account from the Account to use pop-up menu.
2.	The Transaction method can be Payment , Online Payment from Quicken , Printed Check , Deposit , or Transfer . Pick the one you want from the pop-up menu.
3.	Type the payee in the Payee field, or choose it from the pop-up menu.
4.	Type the category in the Category field, or choose it from the pop-up menu.
5.	In the Amount area, if the transaction will be a fixed amount every time, click the first button and enter the amount. If the transaction amount is variable (i.e., it changes from month to month), you can have Quicken estimate an amount, so you have a rough entry in your register of the amount of the transaction. When you get the bill with the exact amount, you can edit the transaction to put in the actual payment. Click Estimate from last payments and choose how many payments you want Quicken to use for the estimate. If you are making a credit card payment, and want to pay the card balance off, choose Use full credit card balance .
6.	If you want, enter a Memo for the scheduled transaction.
7.	In the Scheduling area, enter the date you want the scheduled transaction to start in the Start on field, then decide if you want Quicken to give you a reminder of the scheduled transactions that you can enter yourself, or if you want Quicken to enter the transaction automatically in the register. You should also tell Quicken how many days in advance you want to be reminded of the transaction to be entered.
8.	Choose the Frequency of the scheduled transaction. This section changes depending on what you choose from the first pop-up menu.
9.	In the Ending on section, choose when Quicken will stop adding the scheduled transaction. You can choose No end date , to end on a particular date, or to end after a certain number of times (this last choice is good for loans).
10.	Click OK to save the scheduled transaction.

On the Mac, choose Edit > Schedule Transaction. The Schedule Future Transaction window opens.

1.	Enter the date you want the scheduled transaction to start in the Date field.
2.	In the Scheduling area, choose the frequency of the scheduled transaction.
3.	In the Type area, click Bill , Deposit , or Other .
4.	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 of the transaction to be entered.
5.	If the transaction amount varies by a few cents from one time to the next , click Amount is Variable , and Quicken will show you and confirm the transaction each time before it is recorded in the register. If you check this box, the Notification pop-up menu will become inactive, because you will always be reminded, rather than having the transaction automatically entered.
6.	Click Record to save the scheduled transaction.