Video:How to Pay Bills Manually in Quicken

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Transcript:How to Pay Bills Manually in Quicken

Hi, I'm Don Schechter for About.com Money. Today I will show you how to pay your bills manually using Quicken.

When to Pay Bills Manually in Quicken

If a bill is not available to pay online you may want to pay it manually using Quicken. This way Quicken will add it as a transaction to your account register and the check will be neatly printed. This is a great feature especially if you're using Quicken for your small business or any other professional setting.

How to Pay Bills Manually in Quicken

Once you've got Quicken open, go up to Cash Flow on the toolbar at the top. Click write checks. If you have multiple accounts select the one from which you want to write the check. Just as if you were hand writing a check, enter the payee name and the numerical amount of the bill. If you have written a check or entered a transaction to this payee before you can click the arrow and choose from your payee list the one you want.

How to Change Date, Address, and Category

The date is automatically the current date. You can change it to post date it if you want by clicking on it. If necessary enter the payees address. On the category line, enter a category which will help organize your spending in Quicken. If you want give the check more than one category click the split button. Here you can enter as many categories as you like and type memos for each one. This is a great feature to keep detailed records of where your money goes. You can also type a memo on the check itself.

If you want to change the way the date is presented or other settings for the check, click options on top. When you click record check Quicken automatically records it in your register which you can see directly below the check. It also fills in the amount in words for you according to the numerical amount you typed in.

How to Print a Check through Quicken

If you've already set up your printer, click print at the bottom of the window. If this is the first time you are printing a check, make sure your printer is set up first. Go to the file menu and click printer set up then For printing checks. Select your printer from the drop down list. Choose page oriented. Then choose the check style you're using from the drop down menu. Choose a partial page printing style from these choices. Now turn your printer on and click the align button. Ill choose to print one check on a page and then print a sample. To move the placement of the check on the page use the vertical and horizontal arrows. Click OK when you're satisfied with the placement of the check on the page. To change the font of your checks, click the font button in the check printer setup window. You can also add a logo from your computer. I just want to print the check though, so I will click OK.

Go up to the file menu and click print checks. Put the checks in your printer like you would letterhead. Enter the check number of the next check in your registry. If you have unprinted checks and want to print those as well select all checks. At the bottom you can select how many checks to print on a page. I just have one. Click OK. After your checks have printed, make sure they printed correctly. If they have, click OK.

Thanks for watching. For more information please visit us at money.about.com.