{"id":2054,"date":"2016-06-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-06-02T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qa.simplifimoney.com\/blog\/how-project-balances-and-cash-flow\/"},"modified":"2022-08-08T17:03:50","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T17:03:50","slug":"how-project-balances-and-cash-flow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quicken.com\/blog\/how-project-balances-and-cash-flow\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Project Balances and Cash Flow"},"content":{"rendered":"

Projected balances and cash flow<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you for choosing Quicken!<\/strong>
\nDo you have a have a general idea of where you stand financially? Accompanied by a sinking feeling you\u2019re spending more than you\u2019re taking in? Quicken<\/a> can help! By understanding how much money comes in and where it all goes\u2014in other words, your cash flow\u2014you can plan realistically and avoid the paycheck-to-paycheck struggle to make ends meet.<\/p>\n

How does Quicken help with cash flow? It\u2019s pretty simple: just tell Quicken which accounts you spend from, what your bills are, and when you expect income; it can then remind you when your bills are due, and project your spending account balances into the future. Wow! This can help you avoid late fees and overdraft charges, and perhaps put some of that \u201cextra money\u201d you might find into your savings account. Sound good?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the Projected Balances graph<\/strong>, one of the tools you\u2019ll learn about in this guide:<\/p>\n

\"Projected<\/p>\n

The Projected Balances graph displays a forward-looking estimate of the total amount of money in your spending accounts, plotted against time. Using it you can see when you\u2019ll have money, when you won\u2019t, and when you might need to think of creative ways to \u201csmooth the graph out\u201d so you don\u2019t end up underwater before your next paycheck.<\/p>\n

Just follow along and we\u2019ll show you how add your spending accounts, create reminders for your bills and income, and use the Projected Balances graph.<\/p>\n

Afterwards, if you decide that you want to learn more about tracking your cash flow in Quicken, we\u2019ll show you how to categorize your transactions, check your cash flow using a pie chart and a report, and where to find other great cash flow features in Quicken.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n

Add your spending accounts<\/strong><\/p>\n

To project your account balances and get an accurate picture of your cash flow, you\u2019ll need to create accounts in Quicken for all of the real-world accounts you normally spend money from\u2014most likely, your primary checking account and your credit cards. Just click the Add an Account <\/strong>button at the bottom of any Quicken window to create these accounts. Also, if you\u2019re just getting started with Quicken, here\u2019s a quick tour of the controls you\u2019ll use most often:<\/p>\n