cash flow forecast

Edit Subject

I have to admit i've been underwhelmed by MINT so far. After all the hype of it being the "best of QOL and MINT", I don't see that at all. Forecasting is one of two features I mainly used QOL for and it's gone. I find that MINT also doesn't categorize my accounts correctly leaving me with all kinds of odd balances in Investment categories and others because it's mixing account types with no way for me to fix.

I'll give this a month and after that i'll be looking for alternatives if I don't see an improvement.

My guess is that Quicken aren't really committed to this product. It's probably hugely expensive to run and they aren't getting anything but a black eye on it right now so I doubt it'll improve.

Time will tell and if it doesn't, let your wallet do the talking. Quicken will pay sorely next tax season when they find a large percentage of their userbase have switched to alternatives and then heads will roll in Quicken.. but by then it's too late, since the pain of change is a barrier few will take on to come back.

Good Afternoon, Aysa

As the only Mint official paying any attention to this issue, I'm afraid you are now my designated contact and I have much to continue to say on this subject.

My first and foremost question is: Why is Mint replacing Quicken On-Line? Other than improved GI (graphical interface) and a marketing suite of financial services (I get it that free is never really free), why aren't all the features of QOL being retained? I was under the impression that, not only would all the features of QOL be retained, but new and better features would be included.

My second and most curious question is: Who is Mint's target market and what does Mint see as the current economy's most urgent requirement? Common sense alone (and yes, I know how rare common sense has become) tells us that getting out of debit is the top priority for the greater percentage of Americans, not planning for a dream vacation. As someone in a thread put it, we need to know how much of our income after all fixed expenses have been paid is left to apply towards paying down credit cards. Cash flow management and planning tools are what allow a person to ensure all necessary obligations are met -- as I'm sure you know -- yet Mint does not have this function. MicroSoft Money had this function with planning a year in advance; QOL has this function with planning only a month in advance, but at least it has it, as rudimentary as it is. If Mint is, as it claims, "the best free way to manage your money," but it doesn't manage cash flow, it is NOT a money management software. It's reduced to an electronic check register and trend analyzer with financial services marketing thrown into the mix. As someone in another thread said, we can do that with an Excel spreadsheet! So who is the target market for this electronic check register? Who is going to benefit from such a watered-down product in this economy? What is Mint's marketing strategy for this product? In other words, WFT is Mint thinking?

My third and most urgent question is: If Mint does not have all the functionality of QOL, how can Mint/Intuit in good conscience consider shutting down QOL before Mint is fully functional? Will Intuit consider NOT shutting down QOL until Mint is fully functional?

My fourth and last question is: Will Mint be fully functional and retain all of the features of QOL, and if yes, when, and if not, why not?

Next, since you are monitoring ONE thread on this subject, I want to share with you a tiny part of what is being said on this subject on other threads that I am following (and that someone from Mint should be following IMO because these people WANT AND DESERVE TO BE HEARD).

However, before we go there, I have a few more nits to pick:

The thread "Ability to Manually Enter Transactions Now Available!" posted by Jami is a must-read. It shows how Mint has completely misunderstood what its client base asked for and needs.

I created a Mint account a few months ago and deleted it a few days later because of this very issue. Now I'm back and I'm just as disgusted as I was before, but now I'm willing to fight for what I need and what I think is right.

Listen:

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Dreadpirate asked this question 3 months ago.
When will Mint support scheduling one-time and reoccurring transactions?
When will Mint support the ability to schedule both one-time and reoccurring transactions? Like many others here, the *only* reason I still use Quicken Online is that it has that particular feature.

mburdsall replied 3 months ago
If MINT plans to add any financial calendar, forecasting or cash flow analyzer capabilities to there product they will need to add reoccurring transactions. MINT customer need the ability to identify if a transaction is reoccurring and the frequency of those occurrences. This will allow users to better forecast out the cash flow in performa better cash management.
This would also be the foundation of a financial calendar which is another feature that MINT needs to add similar to what Yahoo.com has today.

rideoverit replied 3 months ago
I have the same beef with mint. I like knowing what i've done in the past, but want to plan future spending.

npolonski replied 3 months ago
My whole financial planning model revolves around the ability to see how much money I'll have in lieu of all upcoming payments. I can't do that with Mint until I can add in recurring bills and automatically see them show up in the future timeline.

mburdsall replied 3 months ago
This is a much requested feature by MINT customers. Yet MINT does not see this on there roadmap. This is a fundamental feature if MINT ever plans to add a financial calendar or cash flow projection capabilities.

BrandonG777 replied 3 months ago
The whole reason I can't give up Quicken Online

darknet_scott replied 3 months ago
Same here! The only reason I keep using Quicken. That's the only thing that keeps me from just using Mint.

satesq replied 29 days ago
Same for me, too. I want/need to see recurring transactions so I can predict cash flow. It is the only reason I still use quicken online.

aadain replied 18 days ago
I've been using Quicken Online for this very reason! I think MINT looks much nicer and even has an app for my Droid. But until I can forecast my finances into the future, this service is pretty much useless. It looks pretty but doesn't help me much. This is a feature I would even PAY to have!

Pattton replied 17 hours ago
I have used quicken for this very feature and since Mint does not have it and quicken is closing I am closing my account on both.

wvuboyer replied 15 hours ago
I'll also be closing my account on both. QO should not be shut down until all features are part of Mint, including recurring transactions and future balances. It's obvious way more thought has been put into how to market financial services than making Mint a viable financial tracking application. I took a step to try and go into the cloud. And this is a big headache.

bakerli0712 replied 14 hours ago
I have been using Quicken Online and found out today that I will no longer be able to access it effective 8/31/10. More of the financial institutions that I use are available on Mint, but the reason that I used Quicken over Mint to begin with was the ability to schedule out payments so I can see where I will be one and two paychecks or more in the future. This was (and continues to be) the biggest negative (and nail in the coffin) for me with regards to Mint. If I don't have the ability to schedule recurring transactions, then it just creates one more step that I have to do outside the site and costs me more time which absolutely sucks because I don't have that time to spare. To make Mint a viable option to Quicken Online, this ability is a must.

jcjournalist85 commented 14 hours ago
I find myself in the exact same situation.

nchastings replied 14 hours ago
Great. Shut down what works and don't implement simple tools that already work. If anyone finds a better alternative for any amount of money, let me know! :-) Wish Quicken/Mint would at least speak to us about what is going on with this necessary feature...

XopherMV replied 13 hours ago
Mint is inferior to Quicken Online simply because of this one feature. DO NOT SHUT DOWN QUICKEN ONLINE UNTIL THIS IS IMPLEMENTED!

1susanmc1 replied 13 hours ago
Yes, I agree completely! I cannot believe I am being forced to move to Mint and not all my Quicken features are available.

ksteddom replied 5 hours ago
I agree. I am looking for an alternate solution or going back to my old excel spreadsheet and doing it manually. I know where my money is going, I want to see what my balance will be in the future.

tiermanc replied 5 hours ago
I've given up on Mint for now. I keep my account open "hoping for change" but I don't use it for my day to day application. I've tried most of the online sites looking for one that supplied my needs and I would say that Mvelopes.com was the closest one. They charge a small monthly fee but they have a pretty good application. My only reason for not using them was that they use flash and I'm looking for something I can manage with my iPad. Yodlee was another good one but they had a math problem were they added my saving balance to my current checking account balance. I ultimately end up downloading a stand alone application called YNAB. Take a look at it. Mean while I'll just keep watching to see what happens here. I really don't think Mint is listening though.

nchastings replied 4 hours ago
@tiermanc - thanks for the resources. I agree, can't see that they even notice this thread....

LukeD replied 3 hours ago
Just posting in the hopes that someone at intuit reads this.
Count me as a vote.

dryanblunt replied 4 minutes ago
They now have the ability to add future transactions, but you can't make them reoccurring. :(

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jjfitz0 shared this idea 3 months ago.
Upcoming or Recurring Bills/Transaction
If the intent is to replace quickenonline.com with mint there are a few features that quicken offered that were invaluable. The first one that comes to mind is recurring monthly transactions. There is an area at the top of each account in quicken online that showed upcoming bills/transactions. That was very helpful for planning and seeing exactly how much money would be left around a certain date.

mburdsall replied 3 months ago
I agree. It would be nice to identify reoccurring transactions and the frequency of there occurrence. I would also like to be able to specify a starting balance and have a running total that shows how my transactions reconcile to the account balance received by MINT.

breider5 replied 1 month ago
I totally agree on this one.... This is the MAIN reason for me not giving up on QOL. I use this function as a digital checkbook and it make it easy to see expenses for the next month. I have a lot of bills that fall around the 1st of the month and get paid bi-weekly. This gives me a way to have money for the next months worth of bills in my checking account.
I have been laid off twice and it is good to know that at least my next month of bills are covered.....

Minerva commented 1 month ago
EXACTLY.

gofastDLM replied 1 month ago
Agreed, I am also familiar with this and depended on in with Quicken Online. This feature along with the recent manual upcoming transactions will make it that much more functional as you don't have to manually add set bills to the log each month

marksanctuary replied 1 month ago
As Mint currently stands its not useful for the paycheck to paycheck guy. I can not plan my bills for the next month without the Upcoming transaction section that Quicken Online has. Sigh

1shpassey replied 1 month ago
Thanks for adding cash and pending transactions. I've wanted that for a while. That will really help the people I refer to Mint.
Now we need some kind of upcoming bill tracking or forecasting page. Something that can be edited and not just automatically adding things. Maybe a potential recurring transactions window where you can enter or select recurring transactions...That way someone can get a feel for what bills are upcoming at a glance.
This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled
Upcoming Bills Tracking..

Minerva replied 1 month ago
An excellent idea and I am surprised recurring bill management and direct access to my bank to manage those bills isn't standard functionality (as with Money and Quicken). Sorry, this tool is too incomplete for me to stay longer than the 60 minutes I've been a customer. Will try again when it's a fully functioning management tool. Thanks.

bryan3536 commented 1 month ago
I agree 1000%. I just spent the better part of an hour setting this up to "replace" Quicken Online, based on the notice on their website, only to find that one of the most useful features on QOL isn't on Mint. To me, this tool is completely useless - I can see the balances on all my accounts pretty easily already online. I need something that is going to warn me about the iceberg in my path.

akhurst replied 1 month ago
This is necessary for me to switch, I hope it comes soon.

BeckyO! replied 16 days ago
Like all of the other comments, I am very disappointed that there is not the recurring upcoming transaction list. I can easily go to my bank's websites to see my balance, I was hoping mint.com would help me keep track of all my recurring bills. I will be returning to quicken, though I am disappointed because I can get the mint app on my phone.

mumma123 replied 11 days ago
Keeping track of my ongoing bills isn't a easy application on Mint.com. I spent over 1hr entering my expenses, and returned to find the date and amount of bills. The information wasn't able to be traced..what a waist of time!!!

sjdnever replied 6 days ago
I'm trying to find an alternative to MS Money, and signed up with MINT today, assuming it would allow me to enter and track regular bills and upcoming expenses. I'm really disappointed to find out that it doesn't do this.

Dawn2002 replied 16 hours ago
I've been hanging onto Quicken online for this very reason. Received an email today that Quicken online will be gone by the end of August. I was hopeful when I logged into my mint.com account that I would see this important feature had been added, and was very dissapointed when it was not there. I rely on Quicken online to manage upcoming expenses and keep a tight budget. Without this feature, mint.com will be only an occasional use tool for me. Not sure how I am going to manage my finances without Quicken online.

Offbeatmammal replied 16 hours ago
Come on MINT: The Goals feature was nice but not that useful. Being able to plan ahead is crucial especially when money is tight

breider5 replied 15 hours ago
I agreee that MINT needs to add recurring transactions.
Now that QOL will be gone soon and I will miss the Upcoming Transaction section that is not in MINT. You can only add upcoming transactions as "PENDING", but they don't have recurring and don't keep a running balance. I like to see that I have enough money left until my next paycheck.
Plus I didn't have to add my monthly transactions manually all the time like I now have to do in MINT....
PLEASE ADD THE UPCOMING TRANSACTION section like the one in QOL to MINT before you shut down QOL....

brwagner replied 3 hours ago
I guess I need to find a new non-Quicken product. Quickenonline was 99% of what I needed. Mint is 50%.

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I have to agree with mburdsall and all other comments on this thread. Users of Quicken Online feel that the loss of the "Upcoming Transaction" section, which is separate from the "Cleared Transaction" section, is a deal breaker for Mint, and as a Quicken Online user I absolutely agree.

Mint is not an adequate planning and budgeting tool without this function. I'm checking to see if any "Mint team employees" are "tracking" this issue and so far this is the closest I've found.

Aysa, if Mint DOES NOT LISTEN TO ITS CUSTOMERS ON THIS POINT, IT WILL BE MAKING A VERY BIG BUSINESS MISTAKE. Search the forum for "recurring transactions" or "bill reminder" and you will faint away dead at the number of people desperate for this function (and these are just the people willing to sit down and write about it!).

I will not be using Mint if this functionality is not brought forward from Quicken Online and I'll be just mad enough to discontinue doing business with Intuit because of it (i.e., I won't buy a desktop version, if this is where you think you'll force people unhappy with the low functionality of Mint to go).

Fair warning has been given. Mint MUST wake up and walk right, or we'll all going to walk out come August 29th.

This is a non-trivial feature, especially what I need, so I would be willing to pay for it--at least $10/month.

I need to know--BEFORE I spend what little discretionary cash I have at any given time--what that transaction will do to my cash flow (now and as far in the future as that transaction has an impact.)

Back when I had very little income and had trivial expenses, this was not a meaningful requirement, but now the number of monthly transactions I have--coupled with varying "in" and "out" dates for some cash sources (like expense reimbursements) and special or non-regular payments--is beyond what I can easily manage without some sophisticated forecasting.

I need this so badly that I am reverting back to the monster spreadhseet I used pre-Mint, but that is OH-SO-PAINFUL!

Pretty-please, Mint, take your game up another notch. Thanks!

I completely agree. I'm a longtime MS Money user. As that is going away, I'm considering my options. I use the Cash Flow forcast all the time and it is an essential part of personal money management. I'm honestly really confused why Mint doesn't have this??!! It will probably make or break my decision to stay with Mint.com.

I agree, cash flow forecast and a financial calendar are essential features that are missing from Mint. Certain bills need to be paid on a particular day of the month, and I need the ability to know (based on income that is paid on particular days of the month), whether there will be sufficient funds to cover the bills.