Quicken 2009: The Missing Manual

Chapter 6. Quicken and the Web: Online Banking

Before online banking, your bank balance was like the surprise ending of a cinematic thriller: You had to wait until your bank statement arrived by snail mail to discover how much money you had on hand, which checks and deposits had cleared, and whether you were overdrawn. But now that Quicken and most financial institutions offer online banking services, you can view your bank balances and transactions any time, download them into your Quicken data file, and take evasive action to avoid fees for bounced checks and low balances.

You can also pay bills online without having to write checks, lick stamps, or drive to the post office. For the ultimate in convenience, you can set up recurring online payments so you can go on a long vacation without worrying about missing your mortgage payment or other bills.

Before you can take advantage of all the spiffy stuff you can do online, though, you’ve got to do some setup. (There had to be a catch.) You need to sign up for your bank’s online services and instruct Quicken how to connect to them. This chapter explains how these services work and shows you step-by-step how to link them to Quicken. With these connections in place, you’re ready to download transactions and make online payments. You’ll also learn how to compare downloaded transactions with ones you recorded yourself (and correct any discrepancies).

Note

If you prefer paper checks and brick-and-mortar banks, simply skip this chapter. Quicken ...