Overview
When you set up a loan account, Quicken calculates the loan and presents a payment schedule based on the information you enter. Quicken will ask you for
- Opening Date
- Original Balance
- Current Interest Rate
- Original length
- Compounded period
- Payment schedule
If you change the loan term or payment schedule by selecting Edit Term in the Loan Details window, it voids the loan agreement which may cause changes in the overall calculation of a loan schedule, the balance of the loan, as well as balloon payments.
There are two scenarios in which you may need to edit the loan term.
- You make a scheduled loan payment outside the normal payment cycle.
- Your loan provider makes changes in the agreement.
Options
Instead of editing the loan, use the following to make a scheduled loan payment:
- Savings Goals: In Quicken, you can earmark some of your earnings for a loan payment, vacation or other major purchase by setting up a savings goal account, which is a special type of asset account. Remember that a savings goal account doesn't represent a real account and there is no actual funds in it. It's just a way of tracking money for a specific goal.
- Add a Transfer Reminder: You can create a transfer reminder to save/transfer money from your regular checking account to a cash account for making a schedule loan payment on a due date by selecting the Tools menu > Manage Bill and Income Reminders > Create New > Transfer Reminder.
If you or your loan provider are going to make changes to the loan agreement, then you can track the loan with new terms such as 'Refinance a loan." In this case, you need to set up a new loan and pay off the old loan. [More info]
