I used to hate balancing my checkbook. Frankly, even the software didn’t make it much easier, until I started downloading my transactions from my bank account directly into my check register. It’s not that I don’t have the know-how, because I do know how to balance a checkbook. But I used to be notorious for putting off data entry until I got my bank statement and then I would have to spend hours entering all my transactions.
By then, I’d piled up a ton of receipts and I had to sort through them to pick out the cash, credit, debit, and check receipts. Sometimes I ended up putting cash, credit, or debit receipts into the wrong register and my numbers wouldn’t add up to the balance my statement showed. I’ve talked about in other places on this site how I now use cash for as many of my transactions as possible–any receipts for things for which I’m not going to need a receipt later get trashed immediately–and these days, my bank statements are only a page long, whereas they used to be 3 to 4 pages of transactions. This helped tremendously.
However, the single biggest time saver I found was downloading my transactions directly into my check register. I scanned for transactions that looked odd and compared them with my receipts instead of manually entering transaction after transaction.
Computer software made this possible and because I’ve been a happy user of an electronic check register (which is part of a larger piece of home finance software) for over 14 years now, I can’t imagine ever going back to paper and ink. And if you prefer a printable check register, most software offers printable checkbooks in the form of reports…which can be ordered by date, check number, or any other sorting option.
My suggestions for check registers
Money Plus (aka Microsoft Money)
Any edition is fine. I’ve been using Money since 1994. Not exclusively, but I’ve always kept my Money file going when I’ve tried something else, and I’ve always come back to the program. Say anything you like about Microsoft, but I generally like their software. It’s easy to work with, it’s reliable, and it’s useful. It’s scary that there are so many bad reviews of the program, but it works for me.
To comment on a few of the most common problems mentioned: I download my statements from my bank; I don’t download statements for credit cards because my goal is to have as few transactions in those accounts as possible and when I do, I also download from the website; I don’t use online services in any other way.
I love the charts and graphs Money creates for me, and I like the budget in Money. I also like the bills section and the cash flow forecast. It’s invaluable for telling me if I’m keeping enough money in my checking account and savings account to cover all my upcoming expenses.
)Quicken Online (free edition)
This is a reliable program that doesn’t cost anything to use. It’s a pain if you don’t have a bank account with a popular bank because Quicken won’t let you easily set up an account at a bank that’s not in their list. I tried it, and I liked the program, but my bank wasn’t available for downloading transactions through the Quicken Online software. Still, well worth a try.
(Link to Quicken Online Edition)
You Need a Budget
This is more that a basic check register, but less than personal finance software like Quicken or Money. The goal with this program is to get you to create a “spending plan” that’s a forward looking budget. It’s a great concept and the software is easy to use if you follow the You Need a Budget methodology.
Back when this was a spreadsheet only, I thought of buying it many, many times. As always, I ended up talking myself out of it because I knew I could make my own spreadsheet. So I sat down with the “methodology” and create my own spending plan spreadsheet modeled after the You Need a Budget system.
I used it happily for a year and a half.
I kept my Money file going because I wanted to accuracy of a full-fledged finance program and when I got out of debt enough to feel like I wasn’t choking on my bills I was able to relax. I quit using my complex budget spending plan, upgraded to Money Deluxe 2007 and learned how to use the built in budget.
My spending plan these days consists of a single set of numbers: bills, cash out, and savings. That’s really all I do anymore and it’s working fabulously.
(Link to You Need A Budget Pro
GnuCash
GnuCash is an open source accounting software program. You want an electronic checkbook? During setup, you can actually choose to set up only a check register. You don’t have to set up anything else, so even if you never progress beyond a simple check register, this program can work for you. Oh, and it’s free. I’ve got the program on my computer, but I’ve never fully migrated to it from Money because I’m quite happy where I’m at right now. But the day might come…
