Checkbook Balance Software. Looking for suggestions

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I agree with Bill V. While we do have an BOA my bank has had some of the best online banking services for well over 10 years. The bank I had before did not even have their own computer. They had a different bank process their accounts for them and they would get the listings a few days later??? What the heck is that??



I can get my statements, Transaction logs for as far back as I want. They used to email me when my monthly statement was ready and I could login and download it. Now the sent me an email today and said they are now going to just email my statements. I can still logon and look at all my past statements, etc.



The good part is they pay a higher interest rate on checking accounts than any of the other bamks, and there are no fees.



I use my Checkbook Excel file since I like to keep close tabs on my accounts between loggin onto the banks website. Occasionaly the bank's server is down and I would not be able to check the accounts. I have found several errors on my statements and they have immediately made corrections. If I had not been keeping my spreadsheet, it would have been harder to spot these errors. I'll bet even BOA makes a few mistakes too.:p





...Rich



 
Rich, your format got me going. It did exactly as it should. But... my wife wanted one that would keep tally of the uncleared amounts, (Debit and Deposits), as well as keep Donations, Medical and groceries a running tally too...



So, after creating different formulas to do all that, it is good to go.



If you would like my version your welcome to it, just let me know.

Thanks for the format, it is appreciated....
 
Kevin,

When you get a chance, shoot me back a copy with your modifications. I'm not that interested in tracking what I spend for groceries and medical, but I like the idea of being able to track uncleared checks. I used to have an earlier version of the spreadsheet that I could mark cleared checks, but found it was more of a pain than it was worth. I would be interested in see how you track the outstanding checks, etc.



...Rich
 
OK>>>>>>>>>> if we ask for a copy of the xls... who gets the props?????? :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:



I love my checkbook program,, but between you and Richard,,, this SS sounds like it might work better for me too..... Soooooooooo can (will) you send me a copy too???? pease pease pease...:D:D:D





On that same note,,, anyone have a good "inventory" SS I could use at my new shop????
 
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I will send it to all that want it. I was thinking I should lock the cells with the formulas so that you do not accidentally type over them.



I'll post some of the special things I did to the form a bit later, need to help the family do some things.
 
OK, have a few minutes...



First, the date is automatic. If you type 6/12/06 the next date will automatically go in just below it as 6/13/06. If you have multiple entries for the same date, simply over type the date that is there and it will do as above and add the next date below it.



You will need to enter your BEGINING BALANCE in the upper right hand area. THe formula is looking for this as a starting point, even if it zero or negitive numbers.



If you do not care about keeping trac of donations, medical cost and groceries for example, simply delete the M, N, O and P columns. The words at the top of the column can be anything you want them to be, I will not lock them so you can edit them.



DO NOT DELETE THE K AND L COLUMN AS THERE ARE HIDDEN FORMULAS IN THERE. I have set these up to show up in the color of white. That way you do not see them and they will not print out onto paper if you were to print the form out.



For the CLEARED DEBIT and CLEARED CREDIT columns you MUST use and X, any other character and it will not recognize it and assume it is not cleared. There is a separate column to put the X in for both the credits and debits.



The far left column "CREDIT / DEBIT / DEPOSIT", you MUST enter something there. I have a hidden formula looking to see any text there. Why? without the hidden formula the BALANCE column will show VALUE (excel error code) for the entire sheet even though you have not entered any data. So, if nothing is in there, it will not allow for the math to work.



I have "FREEZED" the panes so that the top three rows will aways been seen even as you scroll down, this way you will always see the totals. I have done the same with the left 2 columns so that the check number and date are always seen.



Think that is all you will need to know...



Any questions?????
 
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Rich, I sent it to you.



Play with it a bit and make sure all seems right. Let me know when you can. Then....... I'll send it to others that want it.



Thanks...
 
LaRue,

I sent you a copy of the original Checkbook.xls that started all this. You may want something easier to use with less keying required.



Kevin,

I sent you an email regarding a few bugs I found in yours and some suggestions for improvements that will reduce the amount of keying necessary and reduce errors.



...Rich
 
Rich did find a spelling error as well as suggested some automation on the keeping track of the various expense's. I'm going to work on that today...
 
LaRue,

I did not mean to give the impression that Kevins spreadsheet had bunch of errors.

Only one misspelling (typo); One column of hidden formulas that did not appear do anything?; and I offered a few suggestions to reduce the number of column entries necessary to define debits, credits, and track money spent on Medical, Groceries, and Donations, etc.



Kevin,

OK, when I we going start up our software business ? :p:rolleyes:

I believe in KISS and try to keep things as simple as possible, however I tend to overload my initial programs with features that I find out later are not necessary.



Like tracking the uncleared checks. I personally don't care that much about uncleared checks since I know I have an accurate balance calculated, and I can always go online and check what checks have cleared at anytime...not just at my monthly statement. I check the transactions every few days to insure the bank and I are in sync. Most of our local checking account transactions are Debit Card transactions and they are instantaneous. Only a few things like the mortgage and utlity bills are paid via check. Most other items are paid online or they draft our account (fixed monthly amounts only).



The only thing I need to know from the monthly statement is the exact interest paid on the checking account for that month.



...Rich
 
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My wife is an Accountant, soooo, she MUST see the uncleared items as a total or it throws her out of whack... LOL



The reason I have the two columns was so that the items that had an X placed next to them had a place to be stored within a column. Then I simply add the Sum of the column up to create the Uncleared amounts of the debits and credits.



But i have thought of a way to bury them as well. I will work on it today if I get a chance while flying. I have nothing but short flights today so it may be tuff.
 
Kevin,

Sounds like a good plan.



Yes, I know about Accountants. I am NOT married to one, but my daughter is one, and my many years of programming, etc has almost always involved dealing with accountants, CPA's, Controllers, and CFO's. Yep, all the bean counters :D



Work on the spreadsheet as needed, but don't let a plane get hijacked on your watch. :unsure: :p



...Rich
 
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I think I may just have it...



Worked on it while flying around. I am MUCH happier with it.



I'll send it to you as soon as I have moment Rich...
 
OK, here are the specs on it now that I have made various changes...



If you want a copy, just let me know. Once a few people look at it and determine there are no glitches, I'll send it out.



Top left, ACCOUNT #, you can click in this cell and add the number or bank name. If there is not room, click the cell to the right and type it in there



DATE, it can start on any date you want. You put in your start date and the program fills in the rest of the dates. In the case you have multiple transactions on the same date, simply click in the cell you want/need and enter the corrected date; the formula will fill in the rest again from that point forward. If you miss days, simply click in the cell as previously noted and it will fill in from there. There is a DATE column on the far left and right, the right side will mirror anything you do on the left, no need to touch the right date column.



DESCRIPTION, enter anything in there you want to help you recall what the transaction was.



Amount, put in the amount spent, deposit amounts are two cells to the right.



EXPENSES CODE, M=Medical, D=Donation, G=Groceries. Any other letter will create a FALSE statement or ERROR which will show up in the totals to the far right. You do NOT need to enter a code, a blank cell have no affect on the formulas.



In the upper right area you will need to enter your BEGINNING BALANCE, this is the starting point for the formulas to look at.



Cleared Debit and Cleared Deposits, you will need to put an X in these columns for the formulas to work properly. Basically, it is just like using and balancing your checkbook on using Excel, not your paper checkbook.



In the far right columns, Medical, Donations and Groceries. Type nothing in these cells as you will eliminate the formulas.

 
Kevin,

I got your updated copy of the Checkbook.XLS. I'm trying to watch the Nextel Cup race, and get dinner ready, but I will look at it earlier in the evening.



Sound like you made some good improvements.



...Rich



 
Pretty soon you guys will have spend over 100 person hours on something that has starts to have as many features as a $15 copy of Quicken. ;-)



TJR
 
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