Things You'll Need

Instructions

1

Open Quicken and start with the "Home" tab. Designed as a "dashboard," access to all Home and Business features starts here. On first use, Quicken walks you through a five-step process to set up accounts and customize the program. Creating accounts is the first step of the five.
2

Click "Get Started" and follow the steps in the "Create Account" window. Online banking services from most financial institutions are automatically connected to Quicken when you enter account numbers. Create cash, checking and savings accounts first, then add personal and business credit cards and loans, payables, receivables, investments and major assets. Quicken 2011 also connects to a limited number of online payment services, such as PayPal.
3

Download data from most financial institutions with the "One Step Update" feature on the "Home" tab. When updating is complete, use the "Category" command on the "Account" menu to add, delete or modify transaction categories. Quicken recognizes and automatically categorizes transactions with thousands of national and regional businesses. The program learns other transactions from your modifications and automates future entries.
4

Click "Get Started" for "Stay on top of monthly bills" and enter regular monthly bills, such as car, insurance, utility or credit card payments. Quicken lets you schedule the transactions and can optionally ensure reminders reach you ahead of due dates if you check "Remind me" check box. Reminders can be provided as "To-Do" items in Outlook versions 2003, 2007 or 2010 or later.
5

Enter projected income and expenses to manage monthly financial activity in the dashboard "Budget" section. Using your categories, Quicken automatically tracks monthly income and spending, then compares budgeted and actual results at startup.
6

Select the "Help" menu command, press F1 or click the "?" icon to access the online help manual and other Quicken support options. Online tutorials are combined with a hybrid forum called "Live Community." In near real-time, Quicken support technicians and specially-trained volunteer experts answer user questions in a format similar to text messaging.