Getting Up and Running with Quicken Mobile
In This Chapter:
• Understanding your Intuit ID
• Getting started from your desktop
• Getting started on your mobile device
• Working with the Quicken Mobile Overview page
In today’s hectic world, you are not always at your desktop computer when you need financial information. With the Quicken Mobile app you can check your credit card balance using your iPad on the way to work or glance at your smart phone to see if a check has cleared while you’re at the gym. This chapter explains how to get started with the Mobile app and discusses its features.
Understand Mobile Applications
A mobile application (or app) is a small program especially designed to run on smart phones, tablet computers, or other mobile devices. If you have ever downloaded a game onto your cell phone, your favorite tune to your MP3 player, an e-book from the library to your e-book reader, or a map to your tablet computer the last time you took a trip, you have used a mobile app. Many apps, like the Quicken Mobile app, are free and others are available for a small price. Of the price for the apps sold to the user, a percentage of the cost goes to the distributor (such as iTunes) and the rest goes to the person or company that created the app.
Appreciating the “Cloud”
The “cloud” seems to appear everywhere in our world today: in advertisements, news programs, even schools. Just what is the “cloud” and how is it used? The term, whose original use is obscure, refers to storing programs and data at a location other than the owners’ (or users’) physical location and allowing users to access that information via the Internet.
If you have ever viewed a YouTube video, have a G-mail account, or used a website to share family photos, you’ve accessed the “cloud.” The reality is that much of what we do each day on the Internet is done in the cloud. There is even an e-book edition of this book downloadable from the cloud!
Meet Quicken’s Mobile App
Quicken 2015’s Mobile app is designed for Quicken users who want the ability to access their information from anywhere with an Internet connection. Are you required to use the Mobile app? No. Many Quicken users find the desktop program has all the features they need. However, by installing and using the free Quicken Mobile app on your Android or Apple device, you can keep up with any of your spending accounts—checking, savings, and credit cards—no matter where you may be.
About Your Mobile Companion
Quicken’s Mobile app is available only for those who have purchased Quicken 2015 and installed the program on their laptop or desktop computer. It is used as an add-on to your Quicken program, not as a stand-alone product. Only after you have created your Intuit ID and set up your accounts as discussed in Chapter 1, can you start using Quicken’s Mobile app.
Some Quicken users never use this tool. Others find it invaluable. It is up to you to decide. So what are the requirements for using Quicken’s Mobile app?
• You must have either an Apple (iOS) or Android mobile device such as a tablet, smart phone, or e-reader that has the ability to connect to the Internet.
• You must have set up your accounts (and budget if you want to use that feature) on your desktop computer.
• Your Intuit ID you created when you first installed Quicken.
Throughout the rest of this chapter, we are using Intuit ID to describe this identifier.
The illustrations throughout this chapter are from an Android smart phone, an Apple iPad, and an Android tablet. On your device, the screens may look a bit different.
Beginning with Quicken’s Mobile App
If you are excited about the ability to see your financial information from any location with an Internet connection, it’s time to get started. When you first installed Quicken on your computer, you created your Intuit ID. At the time, you may have chosen to not use mobile, as using the mobile application is strictly optional. However, if you choose to access your information from the cloud, this section explains both the advantages of using the Quicken Mobile app and how to set it up from your desktop.
Understanding Your Intuit ID
Quicken uses your Intuit ID to enable access of your financial information from anywhere using either your smart phone or a tablet. Having that capability can make your financial life easier and eliminate the “oh my gosh” feeling that you have forgotten to send an important payment. This ID is used by Quicken to send both e-mail and text alerts regarding the accounts you choose to access on your mobile device. It is very useful to know that your salary check was, indeed, deposited yesterday or that a new charge was placed on your credit card.
The ability to monitor your credit card accounts may be one of the most useful features of the Mobile app. The moment you see a charge that you have not made, you can call your financial institution to report the error.
Getting Started from Your Desktop
From your desktop, select the Mobile & Alerts tab to open the Quicken Mobile Get Started screen.
1. Click the Get Started button. You may be asked to enter your Intuit ID password. If so, enter it and click Sign In. The window that appears shows the accounts you downloaded when you installed Quicken. The window that appears will depend on how you entered your first account (or accounts) when you installed Quicken 2015. If you don’t see the Get Started button, you can change the accounts you have selected to sync; see the section “Edit Account Settings” later in this chapter.
2. You see the Select Accounts You Want To Access From Mobile Devices dialog as shown in Figure 3-1. Select the accounts you want to see from your mobile devices from the list of available accounts.
Figure 3-1 • You can select which accounts to access from your mobile device.
3. By default, all the accounts are selected for mobile access. If you do not wish to synchronize all of them, clear the check box for each account you do not want to synchronize with your mobile device. You can choose checking, savings, or credit card accounts.
4. Enter the online banking password for the accounts you do want to synchronize.
5. Click Done to complete the process.
You see a message that your accounts are syncing with the Quicken Cloud as seen at right.
When the information has been synchronized, a message appears that your sync is complete as seen next. (This message appears only if you are setting up mobile access separately from adding accounts.) You are prompted to download the free Quicken app for your device. Click Done to close the message.
Work with the Overview Screen
The Overview screen as seen in Figure 3-2 appears. Note that it shows only the accounts that you have chosen to access from your mobile device. There are other useful links in this screen, as discussed next.
Figure 3-2 • Use the Quicken Cloud Overview screen to set up your mobile settings.
Edit Your Profile When you click Edit Profile at the upper left of the Overview screen, the Quicken Preferences dialog appears at the Intuit ID, Mobile & Alerts section, as seen next. Your current Intuit ID Profile appears at the top of the dialog. With the options in the Settings section, you can change the accounts you want to sync as well as your Alert settings. See “Setting Alerts” later in this chapter for more information about Alerts.
Clicking either OK or Cancel will close the preferences dialog and return you to the Mobile & Alerts tab. Click Cancel to close the preferences dialog without saving changes. To save changes, click OK instead.
Sync Now Use the Sync Now link at the upper right of the Overview screen to sync your accounts with the Quicken Cloud. When the operation has completed, the message at right appears. Click OK to dismiss the dialog and return to the Mobile & Alerts tab. Note you can select the Don’t Show This Again check box if you do not want to see the Cloud Sync Complete message each time your data is synced.
Edit Account Settings Click Edit Account Settings in the Accounts Enabled For Mobile and Alerts section to add or delete accounts you want to access via your mobile device. The Edit Account Settings dialog appears. After you are done making changes, click the Update Accounts button to let Quicken know of the changes. Otherwise, click the Cancel button to close.
Edit Alerts Settings Use this link to open the Edit Alerts Settings dialog as discussed in the “Setting Alerts” section, next in this chapter.
Setting Alerts
One of the great reasons to use Quicken’s Mobile app is its ability to tell you about various financial happenings, even when you are not at home in front of your desktop computer. To let Quicken know the information you would like to see, from anywhere in Quicken, click the Mobile & Alerts tab. At the Overview screen that appears, select the Edit Alerts Settings link, which opens the Edit Alerts Settings dialog:
Each of the sections, Account Summary Notifications and Email and Text Alerts, allows you to set different types of alerts.
How Often Do You Want Alerts?
The first section of the Edit Alerts Settings dialog lets you tell Quicken how often you want summary e-mail information sent to you. The drop-down list gives you the option of receiving e-mails Monthly, Weekly, or Never, with Weekly being the default.
If you decide later you don’t want to use mobile and especially if you decide you don’t want to use Quicken, be sure to turn off the alerts before you uninstall Quicken from your computer. Otherwise, you will need to contact Intuit Support to help you do so and contacting support can be a bit tricky.
Email and Text Alerts
In this section you can add a secondary e-mail address for Quicken to use for alerts. Your Intuit ID e-mail address is the primary e-mail by default.
What Type of Alerts Do You Want to Receive?
The bottom half of the Edit Alerts Settings dialog is how you tell Quicken both the information you want to see and how you want it delivered. You can choose to have each item delivered via a text message or by e-mail or both. Click the check box to the left of each alert type for the method of delivery and choose from these alert types:
• Credit Available This option warns you if you are getting near your credit limit on the credit card accounts you have enabled for mobile access. The drop-down list to the right of the Credit Available option lets you choose between $200, $500, $1000, $2000, and $5000.
• Bank Fees If any of the banks you have enabled for mobile access charges a fee above the amount you specify, choosing this option will alert you to that fact. The drop-down list offers four choices: $0, $1, $5, $10, and $50.
• Unusual Spending This alert warns you of above-average spending in any category. The drop-down list lets you choose how much over the average amount requires you to be notified. The options are $200, $500, $1000, and $2000.
• Large Deposits Expecting those lottery winnings any day? This option lets you know when a deposit over the amount you designate is posted to your account. You can choose from $200, $500, $1000, $2000, or $5000.
• Large Purchases By choosing this option you are advised of any purchases that are over your designated amount that appear on any of your accounts. You can choose to be told about purchases that are over by $500, $1000, $2000, or $5000.
• Low Balance This selection alerts you to low balances in any of your accounts. You can choose to be warned of any balances below $0, $50, $100, $200, $500, $1000, or $2000.
• Overbudget Selecting this check box asks Quicken to warn you of any category in which the amount has gone over what you budgeted. This will only warn you if you have entered your budget into Quicken and have selected to display that budget on your mobile device.
• Interest Rate This selection lets you know about any interest rate changes made on any of your spending accounts.
• Total Credit Available Selecting this option sends a warning if you have used so much credit that your credit score might be affected.
After you have made all of your choices, click OK to continue. You will see that your alert settings are being updated. When that message disappears, you are back at the Mobile & Alerts tab screen.
Enable Text Alerts Button
You can tell Quicken to send both e-mail and text alerts using your Intuit ID. To set these alerts, click the Edit Alerts Settings to open the Enable Text Alerts dialog as seen in the following illustration. Enter your mobile number and read the important information about possible charges when using this feature. Click OK to close the dialog.
Calling 800-4INTUIT gets you a recording telling you to visit Quicken.com/support for help. Quicken.com/support gets you to the Quicken Community, which is a user-to-user based support site. If you are strong and determined, you can find the Intuit chat support link. There is not currently any phone support.
When you have completed your Alerts settings, click OK to close the dialog and return to the Overview screen.
Showing Your Budget
When you first set up your accounts for mobile access, you may not yet have entered a budget. If not, you can create one by clicking the Make A Budget link in your Mobile & Alerts Overview screen. For more information about creating budgets, see Chapter 13. If you have set up a budget in Quicken, you can transfer your budget information to your mobile device. To do so, from anywhere in Quicken, choose the Mobile & Alerts tab.
• In the Budget To Show On Phone Or Tablet field, select the budget that shows, or click the Change link to open the Edit Budget Settings dialog as seen here.
• If you have more than one budget, choose the drop-down arrow to show the available budgets and select the one you want to use.
• If you do not want to see your budget information on your mobile device, click Don’t Sync Budget Data.
• When you have made your selection, click OK to close the dialog. You see the Edit Budget Settings synchronizing to the cloud to be available on your mobile device, if you have selected to show your budget on your mobile device.
Using Your Mobile Device
After you have completed your settings on your desktop, you are ready to begin using the information on your mobile device. The first step is to obtain the free Quicken Mobile app and install it on your mobile device. You can obtain the app from the sources shown below or visit the Quicken.com website for more details. If your source shows both the Q2013 and the Q2014/Q2015 app, be sure to choose the Q2014/Q2015 option. And, if your device is an iPhone, you must be on iOS 7 to install the app.
• The Amazon Appstore
• The Apple App Store
• Google Play
Getting Started on Your Mobile Device
Once your app is installed, go to your apps and you’ll see Intuit Quicken 2014/15 icon on your device. Tap the app to begin working with your Quicken Mobile app.
You may find the Quicken Mobile app in one of the app stores and install it on your mobile device. After you have installed the app and opened it, you will be prompted to purchase Quicken 2015 as you cannot use the app without Quicken 2015 installed on a Windows computer.
As mobile operating systems differ, you may find that some of the illustrations shown in this chapter are different or not available on your mobile device.
To ensure your accounts are available on your mobile device, set up your mobile accounts using your desktop Quicken program. Once you’ve selected the Quicken app on your device, you’ll see the Let’s Get Started screen, shown here.
The Get Started Message
If you tap Get Started, you are prompted to buy and install the Quicken program, register, and set up through the Mobile & Alerts tab before using the program (bottom-left illustration). Then, you can sign in with your Intuit ID.
Sign In with Your Intuit ID
When you tap Sign In to enter your Intuit ID, the sign-in dialog appears (bottom-right illustration). Enter the e-mail address you designated when first installing Quicken and use the ID password.
If you see a message that your sign-in failed and you are sure you entered the correct e-mail address, try re-entering your password. Depending on your mobile device, it is very easy to type incorrectly.
Working with the Quicken Mobile Overview Page
After you have correctly entered your Intuit ID, the home or Overview page of the Quicken Mobile app appears, as seen in Figure 3-3. Each section enables you to see more information as discussed next.
Figure 3-3 • As seen on an iPad, the opening screen in your mobile app shows your current spending and gives some handy hints.
Since each device and operating system differs, what you see on your device may look more like this example on an Android tablet.
Recognize the Quicken Mobile App Tools
When your Overview page opens, you see a screen similar to the one shown at top right. As each mobile device varies, so may your display vary as well. If you are using a tablet, small icons appear at the top of your screen, as seen earlier. The location of the icons may vary, depending on your device; however, the illustration at bottom right describes the icons. This illustration is of the icons on an iPad, so your device may show them somewhat differently.
If you use the Mobile app on a smart phone, you may have to swipe through screens or tap an action button.
• Search The small magnifying glass opens the Search tool dialog. At the bottom of this screen is a keyboard (not shown). With this dialog you can type the name of a payee, a category, or, if you use them, a tag name. Learn more about tags in Chapter 4.
Depending on your device, you may only see the Search field once you have opened an account.
You may note the device name is in the upper-left corner of the screen on the iPad. The iPhone has signal bars and the carrier in the upper-left corner of the screen.
• Transaction The Transaction tool opens the Add Transaction dialog, shown here. To work with this dialog:
1. Tap the Choose A Payee field to open the Choose Payee dialog. You may
• Choose a payee from the list if it is available. On some devices you may not see any payees until you start typing the first letter of a payee name.
–Or–
• Tap the Enter Payee Name field to open a keyboard with which you can type a new payee name. After you have typed the name, you will see Create “nnnn” (with nnnn being the payee name you just typed). Tap Create “nnnn” to save the payee name. Depending on your device, you may not see the “Enter Payee Name” text, just the empty field.
2. The Add Transaction dialog appears again with the name of your newly created payee in the Payee field.
3. Tap the Expense field to select the account from which this transaction is being paid if the appropriate account name is different from the name in the field.
4. The Transaction Type dialog appears. From this dialog you can select
• Whether this transaction is an income or an expense item.
• Whether the transaction is cash, credit card, or a check.
• The account for this transaction. If the appropriate account for this transaction does not show, tap the right-facing arrow to open the Choose Account list.
• Tap the appropriate account, and you are returned to the Transaction Type dialog. Enter a check number if necessary and tap Done. Tap Back to return to the Add Transaction dialog.
5. Enter the amount of the transaction from the calculator keyboard. Tap Next.
6. The Add Transaction dialog shows the amount, account, payee, date, and category of the transaction. Tap Done. You see a message indicating the transaction is being entered into your account. After the message completes, you are returned to the Overview page. (Depending on your mobile device, you may find that, depending on the screen you are using when you tap the Transaction icon, you may not be returned to the Overview page.)
The last icon opens the Settings dialog as seen here. On some devices, this icon may look like three vertical dots.
• Options Here is where you can give Quicken’s Mobile app instructions on when to Auto-Refresh, use Widgets, or, depending on your operating system, display notifications for new alerts. Depending on your device, you may not see Options under your Settings icon.
• Accounts This dialog displays the accounts with which you have selected to work. Each account shows the name of the financial institution, the account type and name, and the balance that was current as of your last download. You may also see the last update date and time.
• Security If you share your device with someone else, you can protect your financial information by using the Quicken Passcode feature. Tap the link to bring up the Passcode dialog. Use the keyboard to enter a four-digit passcode. Re-enter the code and after you have done so, you are returned to the Settings dialog.
• Logout Tap here to log out of your Quicken Mobile app. Get into the habit of signing out each time you use Quicken Mobile as the process removes your financial information from the device. Depending on your device, the message may be Sign Out or Log Out.
Why would someone use a passcode? By creating a passcode, your financial data will only be available when that passcode is entered. In particular, if your device is lost or stolen, you want to prevent anyone else from accessing your data. From your desktop Quicken, you can choose to delete your cloud account. Select Edit | Preferences | Intuit ID, Mobile & Alerts | Delete Your Cloud Data.
You can remove or reset the passcode from the Settings dialog by opening the Passcode dialog and entering your passcode. From the dialog that appears, tap Turn Passcode Off to delete the passcode. After you tap that option you are returned to the Settings dialog.
To change your passcode, choose Change Passcode. After you have made that choice, the Enter A Passcode dialog appears. Enter a new passcode and then enter it again. On an iPad, you are then returned to the Settings dialog. If you have another device, you may be returned to the Passcode Lock screen and be required to tap Settings to get back to the Settings screen.
• About Quicken This section tells you what version of the Quicken Mobile app you are using and other information about the program.
• Help and Legal This option opens the Help And Legal dialog. Its label may vary, depending on your device.
To return to the Overview, tap the small Quicken icon at the upper left of your screen or the three horizontal bars at the upper left of your smart phone screen.
The Spending By Category Snapshot
As you saw earlier, if you are using a tablet, the top of your Overview page shows a colorful chart showing the categorized and uncategorized expenses for the current month. At the upper-right corner of the screen is the total amount you have spent for the current month. On other devices, such as a smart phone, you may see a bar chart.
On some smart phones, you might tap in the Earned And Spent section to see this detail. When you tap Earned And Spent, you can review further detail by tapping Category or Payee and then tapping the category or payee you wish to review.
Tap any of the category sections in the Category doughnut to open a larger screen from which you can look at the totals for that category and any others, as seen here. From this screen you can:
• See the total spent in that category in the current month. To see the amounts spent in a previous month, tap the name of the month at the bottom of the window. Use the calendar icon at the bottom right of your screen to open the View Time Range dialog from which you can view the amounts you spent in this category for This Month, Last Month, or This Year. Your device may not have this capability.
• Tap on any other category in the doughnut to see the detail for that category.
• Tap the Transactions link to see what transactions are included in this total.
• Tap the See Details link to see additional information about the expenditures.
• Tap the Overview icon to return to the Overview page.
The preceding illustration may appear substantially different in other mobile devices.
More Spending Reports
If you slide the Spending By Category snapshot, seen on tablets, you will see two more snapshots.
Spending Over Time This snapshot displays your total spending for the last six months as a columnar graph, as seen next. Tap any column to enlarge the graph. When you select a month, the total spending for the month (or month to date if you are working with the current month) displays at the bottom of the graph. The graph may vary, depending on how much data you have entered into Quicken.
Not all mobile devices contain the Spending Over Time graph.
Tap Transactions to see each transaction for the month. Tap See Details to open a Spending By Category snapshot. Your mobile device may not have these capabilities.
Net Income Over Time When using your tablet, slide once again to see the Net Income Over Time snapshot. The information again shows in columnar graph form. Select any month to see both the income and expenses for that month.
Your smart phone may not have a Net Income Over Time snapshot.
There are three small circles at the bottom right of the Spending By Category snapshot. Tap each circle to cycle through the main Spending By Category, Spending Over Time, and Net Income Over Time snapshots. You can also swipe to see the other snapshots.
Your Budget in Quicken Mobile
If you have chosen to include budget information, that data displays on your Overview page. Tap the section to open the Budget window. The budget categories you have chosen to include show how much you have spent in addition to how much you have left for each category, as well as the total for each month, as seen here. On some smart phones, you may see a small gray circle with a pencil at the right end of each budget bar.
If you have set a budget alert, as described in “Setting Alerts” earlier in this chapter, you will receive either an e-mail or a text warning if you are going over budget for the selected categories as seen in Figure 3-3. This alert appears on both your Mobile app Overview page and the Mobile & Alerts Overview page on your desktop computer. You may also receive an e-mail warning you that you have gone over budget, depending on the settings you created in your Edit Alerts Settings on your desktop Quicken program.
Account Totals
Below your budget information is the balance for each of the accounts you have selected to be part of the Quicken Mobile app. Tap any account name to see the recent transactions for that account. Depending on your device, you may have two taps to accomplish this task. The first tap takes you from the Overview Accounts section to Accounts. Tapping any account on the list takes you to a list of the transactions for that account. Tap any transaction to open the Transaction Detail window.
The position of the Accounts listing depends on the device. It looks like Accounts is listed below Budget on an Android in the Overview and above Budget on an iPad in the Overview. On the iPhone, the Accounts listing is at the top of the Overview screen. You are not returned to the Overview screen unless you tap back from the Budget screen.
Transaction Detail Window
When you choose a specific transaction, the Transaction Detail window allows you to make changes, view information, and split the categories for the transaction, as shown right.
Split a Downloaded Transaction Tap on a transaction.
In the Transaction Detail window, tap the Split button to open the Split dialog as seen here. (On an iPhone, the Split button is at the top right of the transaction details screen.)
• To add a new category, tap Add or the white cross within the green circle. A new category line appears along with a calculator. Tap the right-facing arrow in the category field to choose from the list of categories.
• Tap the amount field for that category and enter the numbers from the calculator. You do not need to enter the decimal point, as Quicken enters it automatically. For example, tapping 3465 will show as 34.65.
• Repeat the process for each new category. As you enter new amounts, the original amount adjusts to reflect your entries. If you enter a number that would make the total less than zero, you will see a warning that the amount you are entering is too large.
• Tap the white minus sign inside the red circle by any category and a small Delete message appears in the amount field. Press the message to delete that category.
• Tap Save when you have completed your changes, or Cancel if you decide you don’t want to split the transaction. Your transaction appears as shown here. After you have reviewed your transaction, tap the Back button at the upper left of the screen to return to the previous screen. Repeat the process until you are back at the Overview page.
In some mobile devices, you may have to tap the <Your Account Name> button to return to the transaction listing the account.
