[moneydance] Your Moneydance Process?

[Michelle]

Wow, thanks everyone for your replies. Doing everything online I guess did
confuse me. I do think the bank keeps better records than me, but I will try
entering transactions manually to work thru the reconcile process. Thanks
for the screenshot, here is what my accounts look like:
http://bit.ly/mymoneydance

What does everyone do about their descriptions, do you have a system? I've
been putting the date and what i bought.

-Michelle

On Sun, Jun 7, 2009 at 3:17 PM, Michelle <hereforever at gmail.com> wrote:

> I just wanted to know how people keep track of their money and their
> thought process. I'm a student and new to "accounting" I guess.
>
> I just have one checking account, and a credit card. I pay my credit online
> thru my bank.
>
> I've been keeping track of my money using my banks paper ledger they give
> you and now Moneydance.
>
> In Moneydance I setup online banking with the Bank and Credit companies.
>
> So what I do is download all my transaction from my bank, which are
> basically only 2 things: electronic deposits from my job and payments to my
> credit card, i.e. "CITIBANK CREDIT CARD Bill Payment". This goes under
> 'Checking' account. Then I download all my transactions from Citi Credit and
> delete the transactions that say something like "electronic payment
> received" (because those are already in the 'Checking'), this is under
> "Credit Card" account.
>
> When I do online bill payment, I look at my credit transactions and make
> online payment for each transaction: like $20, $45, $32.
>
> I don't know if this is how you are suppose to use "Reconcile" feature, but
> what I do in the Reconcile window is look at the "payments" and "deposits"
> boxes and match up the $20, $45, $32. I totally ignore the "beginning
> balance" "current balance" "target balance" stuff, because I have no idea
> how that works and the numbers are always negative?
>
> Though, so far so good. the ending balance for my Checking and Credit match
> in Moneydance with my banks. But their are other features in Moneydance
> (probably I don't know about). For example, the thing called "splits". So if
> I understand correctly instead of doing a bill payment to credit card of
> $20, $45, $32, I could just do a lump sum of $97? How would "reconcile" work
> then? Also, I've always left the Payee/Description whatever the bank put,
> and jotted my own notes about the transaction in the Memo field. So like in
> my "Checking" account I would click on a "CITIBANK CREDIT CARD" transaction
> and do the "show other side" to find what it corresponded to and type in a
> note in the Memo field.
>
> What kind of system do you guys use? Am I using Moneydance correctly? Also,
> it'd be nice if anyone posted a link to a screenshot of their Moneydance
> (i'm a visual person).
>
> Thanks so much for reading! I know I still have a lot to learn! (I can't
> imagine the point where I have to deal with savings, investments, interest,
> etc.)
>
> -Michelle
>