overview - countabout manual.pdf · 2021. 8. 10. · budgets: create, edit, copy, or delete...

CountAbout User Manual

Table of Contents Overview....................................................................................................................... ACCOUNTS (Add, Edit, Delete, Hide)............................................................................. Page 2 CATEGORIES (Add, Edit, Delete, Hide).......................................................................... Page 4 Transactions tab............................................................................................................ Page 6 Widgets........................................................................................................................ Page 8 Budgets tab................................................................................................................. Page 10 Reports tab.................................................................................................................. Page 12 Recurring tab............................................................................................................... Page 16 HELP.......................................................................................................................... Page 18 MY ACCOUNT............................................................................................................ Page 19 OVERVIEW When you first login to CountAbout you will be on the Transactions tab (Figure 1). This is where you will spend most of your time on the website. You will do most of your day-to-day stuff from the Transactions tab; the other tabs are for less-frequent maintenance tasks. Here is an overview of what you can do from each tab:

● Transactions: Add transactions; categorize transactions or flag them for later. Note: transactions will not appear in your registers until you categorize and approve them.

● Budgets: Create, edit, copy, or delete budgets. ● Reports: Run a report on your spending or account balances. ● Recurring: Create recurring transactions such as mortgage or rent payments.

Figure 1

Now let’s do a detailed overview of each section of the site. Remember, if you ever get stuck our support team is here to help. Just click HELP in the upper right.

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ACCOUNTS When you first login to CountAbout if you don’t have an Account it will prompt you to add one. Without an Account you can’t add transactions. Accounts are needed for manual transaction entry or Accounts can be linked to your financial institution so transactions are automatically downloaded into CountAbout. To manage your Accounts click Setup next to ACCOUNTS on the left side of the screen (Figure 2). Figure 2

To add an Account click ADD ACCOUNT (Figure 3). If you have an Account linked for automatic transaction downloading the Linked column will be checked, the status column should say OK and the Last Download column will indicate when CountAbout last successfully downloaded a transaction. Figure 3

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The Actions menu (Figure 3) will allow you to do the following with your Accounts: 1. Hide/Unhide: If you have an Account that you no longer use and don’t want it to show up in the

ACCOUNTS sidebar or drop-down lists you can simply click “Hide”. 2. Edit: You can rename your Accounts, Financial Institution name and change the Type (Banking,

Credit, Investments, Loans, Other). 3. Delete: Self explanatory.

Note: We don’t allow the deletion of Accounts with transactions, you should Hide the Account in this situation.

4. Institution Balance Only: This feature is intended for linked investment accounts, but can be used with other linked accounts. Turning this feature ON will display your CURRENT investment institution's balance in the Accounts section. WARNING: Transactions will not download for an account with this feature turned on. This feature is intended for reporting current balances.

5. QIF Import: This process is used to import transactions for a single Account. Note: This is not the place to import your entire Quicken file. That process is done from the MY ACCOUNT page.


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CATEGORIES When you create your CountAbout account we provide you with a default list of Categories. CountAbout supports complete customization of your category list. You can add, edit or delete any category. Additionally you can have as many parent/child levels as you like.To manage your Categories click Setup next to CATEGORIES on the left side of the screen (Figure 4). This displays the screen in Figure 5. Figure 4

To add a Category click ADD CATEGORY (Figure 5).

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The Actions menu (Figure 5, above) will allow you to do the following with your Categories: 1. Hide/Unhide: If you have a Category that you no longer use and don’t want it to show up in the

CATEGORIES sidebar or drop-down lists you can simply click “Hide”. Note also that no transactions from categories that are hidden will display on reports.

2. Edit: You can rename your Categories and change the parent category. 3. Delete: Self explanatory.

Note: We don’t allow the deletion of Categories with transactions. However, if you try to delete a Category with transactions you will be provided the opportunity to merge the transactions into a different category, as indicated below.

* * * END OF SECTION * * * Transactions tab

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After you link an Account your transactions will begin downloading within 24 hours and appear under the “Transactions To Approve” section (Figure 6). Here are some important points regarding the “Transactions To Approve” section:

1. All transactions need to be categorized and approved before they will appear in your ACCOUNTS or CATEGORIES registers.

2. You can approve transactions individually, APPROVE, or all at the same time, APPROVE ALL.

a. Note: Any transaction that is flagged or un-categorized will not be approved.

3. The balances in the ACCOUNTS sidebar are the cumulative of your register transactions. This includes both cleared and uncleared transactions, but does not include pending transactions. If you haven’t categorized any transactions, then these balances will show $0.00.

a. Note: The exception to this are Balance Only Accounts. For Balance Only Accounts the balance shown is the financial institution balance.

4. Flagging a transaction allows you to save it for later. You might flag a transaction because you need to research it and don’t want to forget about it.

5. Downloaded transactions without a category are shown as Click to Categorize . However, when a transaction is categorized the Description/Category is memorized. Any future transactions with the same description will automatically be categorized based on the memorized Description/Category combination.

a. Note: Even with automatic categorization you will still be allowed to re-categorize your transaction. DOWNLOADED TRANSACTIONS ARE NEVER AUTOMATICALLY APPROVED AND ENTERED INTO YOUR REGISTER.

Figure 6

6. The ADD TRANSACTION button is used to manually enter transactions. Any transaction can be manually entered, even if the account is linked to download automatically. When the transaction is automatically downloaded, it will not show up on the “Transactions to Approve” list, but will be matched and marked cleared in the appropriate register since you

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had already entered all required information, such as category, transaction description and amount. If the transaction was listed as pending in the register, it will be removed from pending status. On occasion, the pending transaction will not be removed from pending status until the next time that account updates.

7. The MEMORIZED RULES button brings up the Memorized Categories screen (Figure 7). This screen allows you to further control how downloaded transactions are categorized.

Figure 7

The Reconciliation History Button allows you to compare Account Balance, Institution Balance, and Adjusted Balance over time. These entries are created before each download cycle. You can use this log to determine when your register went out of balance.NOTE - this log only snapshots your REGISTER relative

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to your bank balance. Therefore, if you have not categorized transactions then this log would show you out of balance as the register balance is only calculated on categorized AND approved transactions. Fig 7a

* * * END OF SECTION * * * Widgets What are CountAbout widgets? Our widgets are a simple way to provide information to users about their financial information. Create as many as you want! There are four types of widgets (Figure 8): Account Balance, Category Income & Expenses, Category Graph and Tag. Figure 8

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Account Balance: This type of widget allows you to see the net balance of all your accounts or just a few. For example, you may want to create an Account Balance widget to show just your checking and credit card balance to help manage how much net cash you have available after paying your credit card. Category Income & Expenses: This type of widget allows you to see the net balance of all your categories or just a few. For example, you may want to create a Category Income & Expenses widget to show just your meals and entertainment spending to help you more closely manage your discretionary spending. Category Graph: This type of widget is a graphical representation of the Category Income & Expenses widget compared against your Budget or Average Spending. This graph contains all the information you need in one easy visual to help you more closely manage your money. Each graph contains:

1. Amount of money allocated for the selected period month-to-date (MTD) or year-to-date (YTD) 2. Amount of money spent and remaining for that period

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3. An indicator (shown in grey) reflecting where spending for the period (e.g., this month) should be for the period based on the current date. This indicator provides a visual sense of whether one's spending in a particular category is outpacing budgeted or average spending.

4. Spending so far during the current period. This portion of the graph will be color coded as follows: If Spending during the period (MTD or YTD) is,

a. Less than Budget or Average Spending so far during the period (as reflected in the indicator bar), then the graph is green.

b. More than Budget or Average Spending during the period (as reflected in the indicator bar), but less than the total for the period, then the graph is yellow.

c. More than the Total for the period, then the graph is red. 5. Also, on the Category Graph, clicking on the graph displays an itemized report showing actual

transactions. Tag: The Tag widget shows the total amount received and spent for the tag selected for the specified time period. Clicking on the total amount displays a report with the actual transactions.

* * * END OF SECTION * * * Budgets tab To create a budget in CountAbout, click on the Budgets tab, click on ADD BUDGET name your budget (e.g. “Joe’s Budget”), and select the year for which you want to create a budget (Figure 9). Figure 9

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The COPY BUDGET button is useful when copying a previously created budget and renaming it or changing the year. Once you have created a budget it will appear on the Budgets tab screen. The Actions menu (Figure 10) will allow you to do the following with your Budgets: 1) Hide/Unhide: If you have a Budget that you no longer use and don’t want it to show up in Budget selection lists you can simply click “Hide”. However, an active budget cannot be hidden, so unclick Active first. 2) Edit: The Edit button allows you to change the budget year and budget name. 3) Delete: Self explanatory. Note: we don’t allow the deletion of an Active budget. So unclick active to delete a budget. Figure 10

Once you have created a budget you will want to click the DATA ENTRY button so you can begin entering amounts. Here is a step-by-step guide for entering amounts (Figure 11):

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Figure 11

1) Estimate the amount you expect to spend in each category and enter that amount in the “Yearly” field. a) Tab out of the “Yearly” field or click anywhere else and CountAbout will auto fill each month. b) Alternatively, you may enter each month individually, and CountAbout will keep a running total that will populate the “Yearly” field. This may be helpful for some categories in which you have no expense for 10 of 12 months (“tuition” for example, or if there is seasonal fluctuation for a category such as “travel”). 2) As you scroll through the budget items you may find that you don’t need all the categories (the “Pets” category, for example) and those can be hidden or deleted from the CATEGORIES page. (If you later decide to become a pet owner, you can unhide or re-add the category.) 3) At any time you can edit your budget if you find that your initial estimates do not reflect actual expenses. 4) After you have a budget in CountAbout, you’ll be able to compare your actual spending to your budget estimates in one or more categories, and copy your current budget at the start of a new year, making changes as appropriate.

* * * END OF SECTION * * * Reports tab CountAbout has four types of reports, Category, Account, Tag and Compound. A Category Report (Figure 12) is a “span of time” report. For example, the spending on the Pets category for January 1 to January 31. The key parts of this report are:

1. Report name: The title at the top of the report when it prints. a. Note: Reports can be exported to a csv file after the report window opens.

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2. Start and End date: The span of dates for your Category activity. 3. The results of the report can be compared against the active budget or not. 4. Report Type: There are 3 types of Category reports, In Detail , In Total or Both.

a. In Detail : This type will show each Category individually and totals for the selected category.

b. In Total : This type will show the total for a Category. Note: If a parent category is selected any activity reported is “rolled up” into the parent.

c. Both: Creates a report in detail and total of selected categories. 5. Save Report: Option to save the report for later. All saved reports will be displayed when clicking

on the Reports tab. Just click on RUN at the bottom of the report to get a current report. You may change any parameters you like prior to clicking RUN.

6. Category selection: Click to highlight the categories you want on your report. Click again to unselect. Figure 12

An Account Report (Figure 13) is a “point in time” report. For example, the balance of my Checking account on December 31. The key parts of this report are:

1. Report name: The title at the top of the report when it prints. a. Note: Reports can be exported to a csv file after the report window opens.

2. Select date: The date of your Account balances. 3. Save Report?: Select Yes or No. 4. Account selection: Click to highlight the Accounts you want on your report. Click again to unselect.

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Figure 13

A Tag Report (Figure 14) is also a “span of time” report. For example, a report of all transactions “Tagged” Tax Deductible for January 1 to December 31. The report is like a category report, except you select Tags instead of Categories. Figure 14

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A Compound Report (Figure 15) is the last “span of time” report. It is also like a category report, but adds the ability to select accounts and tags in addition to categories. Figure 15

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* * * END OF SECTION * * * Recurring tab Recurring transactions are used to automate transactions that occur on a consistent schedule. For example, you can automate your car payment every month. After you have entered a recurring transaction the

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Recurring tab (Figure 16) will show the recurring transactions and an Actions menu. From the Actions menu you can: 1) Enter Now: Enter the transaction now into CountAbout instead of waiting for the transaction to be created based on the schedule. 2) Edit: Edit your transaction and change any of the fields, which are described below. 3) Delete: Self explanatory. Figure 16

To setup your recurring transactions click ADD RECURRING TRANSACTION. On the Add/Edit a Recurring Transaction screen (Figure 17) you will see the following options:

1. Transaction Date: This will be the date of the first recurring transaction. 2. Account: The Account you want your recurring transaction to originate. 3. Transaction Type:

a) Deposit: For additions to your Account. b) Withdrawal: For subtractions from your Account. c) Transfer: For transferring money to another Account.

Note: If you select Transfer the Category selection list in Figure 17 will change to say “Destination Account”.

4. Split: To create a split transaction, like your paycheck. 5. Repeat Period: Selecting Repeat period displays the drop-down list which includes Weekly, Every 2

weeks, Twice a month, Every 4 weeks, Monthly, Every 2 months, Quarterly, Twice a Year and Yearly.

6. Days: The Days in advance to enter this Recurring transaction into your register OR into your list of transactions to approve.

7. If you select Register Entry an email will be sent on the day the transaction is created. 8. If you do not want an email reminder then set Days = 0 and Register Entry OR set Days = any

number and Approve First. 9. Category or Account: The display will depend on your Transaction Type selection from item #3

above. 10. Transaction Description: The description when the transaction is created. 11. Amount: The amount of the transaction when the transaction is created. 12. Check No.: The check number when the transaction is created.

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13. Memo: The memo when the transaction is created. Figure 17

* * * END OF SECTION * * * HELP The help screen (Figure 18) is where to go when all else fails. From the help screen you can:

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1) Knowledge Base: An accumulation of frequent support topics. We continually update this based on user support requests. 2) Request support: For security reasons all initial support is done via email. If necessary we are happy to jump on the phone. 3) Suggest Feature: This is the opportunity for you the user to contribute to the development of CountAbout. We rely heavily on user feedback to help shape future development. 4) User Manual: The place to download the manual you are reading. Figure 18


MY ACCOUNT

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The My Account page (Figure 19 & 20) is where you go to maintain your CountAbout account. From this screen you can:

1. User Options: a. If the first option is turned ON then the Parent category is displayed after the child category

in lists. For example GAS - (Auto & Transport). If this option is tuned off then only the Cjhild category - GAS - is displayed.

b. If the second option is turned on then uncleared REGISTER transactions will be cleared automatically. If set to OFF then uncleared REGISTER transactions will NOT be cleared automatically

c. If the third option is set to ON then categories and subcategories with $0 will display in lists. If set to OFF then categories and subcategories with $0 will not display in lists.

d. The fourth options allows you to define how many lines will display in a register. e. Remove Unused Categories: Selecting this will remove all categories and subcategories

not used in transactions, widgets, reports, budgets, or a recurring transaction. Parent categories will not be removed if there is an undeleted subcategory.

2. Subscribe: CountAbout relies on subscriptions to keep the lights on. In return for a small fee you get access to our great website, 100% privacy and an ad free experience.

3. Email: You can change your email to a new address. a. Note: For security reasons any email change request results in an email to the old

address with a link to cancel the change. 4. Password: Change your password. 5. Enable MFA: We STRONGLY recommend that you enable MFA. Multifactor authentication (MFA)

combines two independent credentials: what you the user knows (your password) and what you the user has (your phone). The goal of MFA is to create a layered defense and make it more difficult for an unauthorized person to access your account.

a. What if I lose my device? When you establish MFA you will be required to set a secret question and answer. These will be of your own choosing and in the event you need to remove MFA you will contact [email protected]. We will ask you your secret question and you will need to provide your answer. If correct we will remove MFA protection so you can get into your account. If you answer incorrectly then that’s a problem.

b. Note: you will need the Google Authenticator app from the Android or Apple stores to enable MFA

6. Quicken Import: Clicking this button will send an email with instructions on how to prepare your ENTIRE Quicken file for import into CountAbout.

a. Note: This feature is for converting your entire Quicken history. To import transactions to an individual Account already in CountAbout see page 3.

b. Successful Quicken importing can only be done once. 7. Mint Import: Clicking this button will send an email with instructions on how to prepare your ENTIRE

Mint account for import into CountAbout. a. Note: This feature is for converting your entire Mint history. To import transactions

to an individual Account already in CountAbout see page 3. b. Successful Mint importing can only be done once.

8. Export Data: You can export your data to a .csv file anytime, with a single click. This is the kind of file you could open in a spreadsheet program.

9. Delete Account: Sends an email to confirm your account deletion. Don’t do that. It’s a bad idea for multiple reasons:

a. We won’t have you as a subscriber anymore and that will make us sad. b. Once you click delete in the email confirmation that’s it. Your data is no more.

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Figure 19

Figure 20

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* * * END OF MANUAL * * *

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overview - countabout manual.pdf · 2021. 8. 10. · budgets: create, edit, copy, or delete...

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