Repeating Transactions Question

[PDelena]

Can someone who has upgraded to 4.0 please answer the following questions regarding repeating transactions?

I currently have my repeating transactions set to auto-post 90 days in advance. This allows me to quickly scroll up and see what my future balance will be on any given date. The problem this presents is that if I forget to pay a bill, PM still posts it. Does the new version eliminate auto-posting? Can I now just setup my repeating transactions and get a reminder when they are due?

[Curare]

I have PM set up to always post my future transactions, so I can plan around it. I usually end up paying bills earlier, so I can tell which ones I have already paid if they fall right around my paycheck. However, there is a setting in the repeating transactions section to post schedules transactions. I think if you switch that to off, you may get what you need.

[PDelena]

I was just getting ready to reply to this. I went ahead and upgraded to 4.0. Here's what I found regarding repeating transactions.

1. Upon upgrading, existing repeating transactions were all screwed up. Some were missing data and blew up PM if I tried to enter them. I ended up deleting all my existing repeating trans and re-entering them to make sure I had a clean copy to play with.

2. If you use the existing auto-post feature, there is no real benefit to the new repeating transaction logic. You'll still have PM auto post and use your regular account register to see what the future balance will be. Think of this as basic forecasting. If you want to know how much money you'll have following your next paycheck, simply scroll up to the date of your check and the balance shown will reflect the upcoming bills (already posted with a future date) and your paycheck. (As an FYI, I auto post 90 days into the future. This gives me a three month forecast.)

3. If you setup a repeating transaction using the new reminder feature, you can see how much you owe over the next x amount of days. What you can't do is see how this relates to the balance of the account you'll be using to pay the bills because the transaction stays under Repeating Transactions and never makes it to the register unless you manually post it. Seeing that I have $1,500 of bills due in the next 30 days is nice. Seeing that I'll still have $500 left in my checking account AFTER I pay those bills would be much better. This really just shows a total of your bills due and does not seem to be a forecast model like some had hoped for.

IMHO, the old method of repeating transactions still wins out. It seems like the new way makes it much harder to forecast your future total worth. When I'm getting ready to make a major purchase, I like to look ahead to see how that purchase will affect my bottom line. The new version doesn't seem to facilitate doing that easily. For now, I'll continue to treat repeating transactions like I did prior to upgrading.

Just my two cents. If I'm interpreting the new functionality wrong, please let me know. I am always willing to try something new in the hopes of making my life easier.

[romad]

IIRC, if you have created Scheduled/Repeating Transactions, then you can use the Future Balance line to see how they impact your account.

As for your problem, had you created the RTs in PMD 2.0.x or in PMiOS 3.x?

[Tom59]

3. If you setup a repeating transaction using the new reminder feature, you can see how much you owe over the next x amount of days.

I think I may be missing something here...how do you set up a repeating transaction with a reminder please? I cannot see where you would pick a date or time

[PDelena]

Tom59, when editing the repeating transaction, click the arrow next to the date to bring up the Edit Repeating screen. From here, turn on the Display Notification on Post Date button. I believe this is how the notification works.

romad, the future balance on the repeating transactions screen only shows a total of the bills I have coming due. If I have transactions that post in multiple accounts, how do I see the future balance of say my checking account in one month's time? Don't get me wrong, I love Hardy's work, but this really needs a FAQ or something to help explain the new functions.

[Tom59]

Tom59, when editing the repeating transaction, click the arrow next to the date to bring up the Edit Repeating screen. From here, turn on the Display Notification on Post Date button. I believe this is how the notification works.

Ah...right, found that now, many thanks.

[romad]

romad, the future balance on the repeating transactions screen only shows a total of the bills I have coming due. If I have transactions that post in multiple accounts, how do I see the future balance of say my checking account in one month's time? Don't get me wrong, I love Hardy's work, but this really needs a FAQ or something to help explain the new functions.

This is what my Test account shows with a test future deposit:

Test of scheduled transaction and future balance line

Photo-1.png (46.13 KiB) Viewed 241 times

[PDelena]

romad, how did you setup your repeating transaction for 4/1/12? Did you use the new notification feature? Or do you have yours setup to autopost x days in advance? What I'd really like to do and I can't figure out how is this. Let's assume for simplicity sake that all transactions happen from my checking account (which I currently auto-post 90 days).

1. Paychecks and bills which are paid automatically via direct debit should post automatically with no notification.
2. Bills which require me to physically write a check or go to a website to pay (credit cards, etc) should give me a reminder that the bill needs to be paid but not post until I write the check/pay the bill.

In both cases, I'd like to be able to look ahead and see what my checking account balance will be on any given day. How would you recommend I setup my repeats to get the setup described above?

[romad]

I posted the steps in an earlier post in the PMD forum IIRC. Let me go look and see if I can find it.

OK, here is what I posted for PMD; don't forget step 1a that Tom59 added after I forgot. Posts 2 & 4

[PDelena]

Thanks! I feel like a complete idiot not being able to figure this out.

[romad]

romad, how did you setup your repeating transaction for 4/1/12? Did you use the new notification feature? Or do you have yours setup to autopost x days in advance? What I'd really like to do and I can't figure out how is this. Let's assume for simplicity sake that all transactions happen from my checking account (which I currently auto-post 90 days).

1. Paychecks and bills which are paid automatically via direct debit should post automatically with no notification.
2. Bills which require me to physically write a check or go to a website to pay (credit cards, etc) should give me a reminder that the bill needs to be paid but not post until I write the check/pay the bill.

In both cases, I'd like to be able to look ahead and see what my checking account balance will be on any given day. How would you recommend I setup my repeats to get the setup described above?

I haven't done anything RT-wise except that one where I was testing it out on PMD. I think I saw a post in this forum from Tom59 on how to set a reminder date. As for your wanting to see what the balance is on any given day, don't you have PMiOS set to show a running balance in each transaction line as mine does? Settings>Display Options>Transaction Register>Current Balance. Wouldn't that show it to you?

As for no notification in your #1 above, right now I still have 3.1.9 installed on my iPhone; it is only a global On or Off option. Perhaps in PMiOS 4 it is different?

[PDelena]

In PMiOS 4 when you turn on the reminder for a repeating transaction another field is displayed which lets you set how many days in advance the transaction should post. I'm not 100% sure how this new field works. I've tried a few tests but can't seem to figure it out.

[romad]

That sounds like it is the Settings>Repeating Transactions screen in 3.1.9. On it are two options: the first lets you turn on or off "Post Scheduled Transactions" while the second lets you set the number of days in advance. I guess I should go ahead and install PMiOS 4.

[PDelena]

After you install it, let me know if you can figure out how to best use the new settings. Thanks!