Quicken for Windows: Frequently Asked Loan Questions
Overview
Quicken for Windows can add online activation for loans, allowing users to download loan details directly from their lender. Please note, not all financial institutions provide online capability for loan accounts. For instructions on adding a new loan, see this article.
Why does Quicken put an amount in the Extra Principal field when I modify the amount of the monthly payment on a new loan I'm adding?
Quicken is calculating the monthly payment amount based on the values you entered in the Original Loan Amount and Interest Rate fields.
If you modify that monthly payment to coincide with a payment schedule provided by your financial institution, Quicken assumes this is extra principal you are paying to reduce the loan balance due more quickly.
You can change that payment setup to use the Other field, if that payment schedule amount is for something other than Extra Principal - such as escrow for property taxes, insurance, or other amounts paid out on your behalf by the lender.
Where is the Loan Account register for my Loan?
If the Loan account in question is a manual (non-online) loan, the transaction register is available on the Payment Details tab of the loan account so long as:
- There is a balance on the account, and
- The account has not been marked as Closed in the Edit Account > Display options.
Depending on your screen resolution and View settings in Windows, and/or the View settings in Quicken, it may be easier to view the Payment Details (register) if you choose View > Use Pop-Up Registers. This is especially helpful when you run Quicken in a smaller window in order see other applications running on your computer, or if you've set your Windows view to Larger to accommodate Low Vision.
Where is the Payment Details tab for my Online-activated Loan?
If the Loan Account has been activated for online download, the register is hidden and cannot be accessed. This is done to prevent the Quicken User from modifying loan details that are being downloaded directly from the financial institution
To see the transactions downloaded by your lending institution on a report:
- Go to Reports > Banking > Transactions
- Click Customize and make the following selections:
- Display > Include All Dates and Show Splits
- Accounts > select only the banking account(s) that the payments were made from
- Categories > select only the loan account (transfer category)
The resulting report can be further modified, as desired, to sub-total by dates or accounts, select desired columns, etc. and then Saved to retain the details of the online loan (even after any future product change that may alter the visibility of the loan account register).
How do I get the payment detail information on closed loans?
If the Loan account in question has been paid in full (has a zero balance) and/or Closed (Edit Account > Display > Close Account), the Payment Details are permanently hidden from view on the Accounts.
To see the transactions that were posted to a closed Loan account, run the following customized report:
- Go to Reports > Banking > Transactions
- Click Customize and make the following selections:
- Display > Include All Dates and Show Splits
- Accounts > select only the banking account(s) that the payments were made from
- Categories > select only the loan account (transfer category)
The resulting report can be further modified, as desired, to sub-total by dates or accounts, select desired columns, etc. and then Saved to retain the details of the paid loan (even after any future product change that may restore the functionality of the loan account register).