Creating a subcategory
I give up on this - but I cannot make a subcategory! I confess I am in a roaring hurry to get this week's finances complete and get outside and I could spend some time experimenting but I want to add a new subcategory to an existing parent that already has a bunch of subcategories, all of which were inherited from Quicken. I click on a category and say edit, or new, and I get a bunch of information about "accounts!" "Enter new account name", and so on, nothing about categories. If a master category is an expense would not a sub-category also be an expense? But never mind that, where do I see "Enter sub-category name?" I would think I would select a category and click "Edit" which would ask whether I want a new sub, to delete it or whatever. But somewhere there must be a simple way to enter a new sub-category.
Help did not help! No entry for sub-category.
Thanks - Lawrence
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1 Posted by -Kevin N. on 28 Mar, 2010 05:46 PM
Hi Lawrence,
The terms 'Account' and 'Category' can, at times, get a little fuzzy in Moneydance.
Click on 'Tools' then 'Edit Categories', Select (Highlight) the parent category that you want to add a sub-category to. Click on 'New' At this point you will be asked to choose the 'type' of category, either 'Income' or 'Expense'. Make sure the new sub-category is the same type as the parent category. Click 'Next'. In the resulting window you will name the new category where is says 'Account' The parent category should already be pre-selected. HTH -Kevin N.
2 Posted by lawrencehare on 29 Mar, 2010 12:47 PM
Yes, I saw that and the parent category was selected, but named an account. Rather than risk goodness-knows-what I decided at that point not to confuse the issue any more and let it go. Thanks for your help. Can the box be properly labeled though? I know in the future I will face the same question and more than likely forget that an account and a category can be the same thing under some conditions. Not good!
Thanks - Lawrence
3 Posted by Ben Spencer on 29 Mar, 2010 03:49 PM
Categories are accounts in all conditions. The term category is used in some places in an attempt to simplify the concept of double entry book keeping. However I recognize that there is some inconsistency with the terms in a few places and that this is confusing. I will submit a bug ticket to clean up this labelling.
Ben
4 Posted by Lawrence Hare on 29 Mar, 2010 05:28 PM
Ha ha! I see your point... Yes, but one would need an account of that name then, somewhere, for the other side, and we do not have such. I used to keep all my family accounts using a double entry system - in fact I found my old ledger in the attic some months back. WHAT an effort I went through! But when I went to an on-line system all that went by the way, I simply kept a single ledger for each funding source and categories became a reporting tool.
Yes, I think the labeling will be more understandable if the "category" term is used consistently. Not sure how many folks these days have used a double entry system - sure hope I do not have to again, but I think category has come to mean a "group" of expenses. I would have said "class" but I don't want to open that box either.
Thanks - Lawrence
Angie Rauscher closed this discussion on 09 Aug, 2010 01:34 AM.