Keeping track of manufactured spend
Mar 20, 2014, 12:11 pm
#106
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 193
I'm well versed in excel, but excel doesn't work for iPad or iPhone. So I prefer to use the google spreadsheet which can be easily accessed on all of my devices.
Google spreadsheet is pretty robust these days and even supports more complicated excel formulas like indexing, sumifs, and nested if statements. I use google spreadsheets to track all of my MS purchases, costs of those purchases and cash back earned on purchases. I also run all of that data through a dashboard (summary) so I can see my monthly MS spend, net cost/gain, and how much has been put on which cards. I think google spreadsheets are the way to go until Microsoft provides excel cloud support for iPhone and iPad.
Google spreadsheet is pretty robust these days and even supports more complicated excel formulas like indexing, sumifs, and nested if statements. I use google spreadsheets to track all of my MS purchases, costs of those purchases and cash back earned on purchases. I also run all of that data through a dashboard (summary) so I can see my monthly MS spend, net cost/gain, and how much has been put on which cards. I think google spreadsheets are the way to go until Microsoft provides excel cloud support for iPhone and iPad.
+1. The ability to manipulate on the fly is a huge bonus and google spreadsheets has everything I can imagine anyone tracking MS could need; its pretty robust. Can't beat adding a transaction in the parking lot after purchase.
Mar 20, 2014, 12:38 pm
#107
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 227
I use several spreadsheets in Google Drive. I like this because I can work on them with my phone, on my tablet, my home computer, or work computer.
For cards / AOR tracking… Issuing bank, last 4 of card, application and approval date.. spend requirement notes (cell colored red/green if pending/met), notes about keeping or closing, annual fee and notes about the benefits.
I also keep another spreadsheet for VR tracking. Date purchased, PIN, last four of the card (that is what shows on the receipt), date loaded and to what loaded. This has made it a lot easier to buy VRs in advance, keep them organized and easily know what resource the money was loaded to. I started doing this to keep a record in case of a MVD audit/request… but now it’s habit.
As far as amount spent and % of which card is what.. I don’t track that. Each back is happy to tell me how much is on each card. Oh, I do use Mint.com to see them all at a glance… a few times a month I add up all debt vs. all “banked” (VRs, OV, MOs, beans, loaded on debits, bank balances, etc etc) to see how far apart the balances are. This helps me identify if I “lost” something somewhere in the documentation.
For cards / AOR tracking… Issuing bank, last 4 of card, application and approval date.. spend requirement notes (cell colored red/green if pending/met), notes about keeping or closing, annual fee and notes about the benefits.
I also keep another spreadsheet for VR tracking. Date purchased, PIN, last four of the card (that is what shows on the receipt), date loaded and to what loaded. This has made it a lot easier to buy VRs in advance, keep them organized and easily know what resource the money was loaded to. I started doing this to keep a record in case of a MVD audit/request… but now it’s habit.
As far as amount spent and % of which card is what.. I don’t track that. Each back is happy to tell me how much is on each card. Oh, I do use Mint.com to see them all at a glance… a few times a month I add up all debt vs. all “banked” (VRs, OV, MOs, beans, loaded on debits, bank balances, etc etc) to see how far apart the balances are. This helps me identify if I “lost” something somewhere in the documentation.
Mar 20, 2014, 12:41 pm
#108
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 227
I'm well versed in excel, but excel doesn't work for iPad or iPhone. So I prefer to use the google spreadsheet which can be easily accessed on all of my devices.
Google spreadsheet is pretty robust these days and even supports more complicated excel formulas like indexing, sumifs, and nested if statements. I use google spreadsheets to track all of my MS purchases, costs of those purchases and cash back earned on purchases. I also run all of that data through a dashboard (summary) so I can see my monthly MS spend, net cost/gain, and how much has been put on which cards. I think google spreadsheets are the way to go until Microsoft provides excel cloud support for iPhone and iPad.
Google spreadsheet is pretty robust these days and even supports more complicated excel formulas like indexing, sumifs, and nested if statements. I use google spreadsheets to track all of my MS purchases, costs of those purchases and cash back earned on purchases. I also run all of that data through a dashboard (summary) so I can see my monthly MS spend, net cost/gain, and how much has been put on which cards. I think google spreadsheets are the way to go until Microsoft provides excel cloud support for iPhone and iPad.
Mar 20, 2014, 2:05 pm
#109
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Sweet Home Chicago
Programs: Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 646
I use 1Password app for account information and I'll give another huzzah! for Google Sheets. Makes it really easy to access all your spending history on all your devices. No worrying about using the most recent version back on your laptop.
Mar 20, 2014, 2:18 pm
#110
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 274
Mar 20, 2014, 3:01 pm
#111
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Sweet Home Chicago
Programs: Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 646
Mar 20, 2014, 5:47 pm
#112
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 939
Any one of these tools has the potential to suck you in if you are big into customizing it. I take the macro approach and only worry about weekly/monthly/quarterly/annual net gains.
My main concern is accurately tracking xfers from all the different types of accounts (prepaids, checking, savings, investments, etc) and syncing new trxns. For this a quicken-like software gets the job done. Could I spend countless hours on excel getting it just the way I like it? You bet! But, IMO, that time could be best used making $$$ rather than looking at colorful pie charts I spend min/hours/days to perfect.
But to each their own.
My main concern is accurately tracking xfers from all the different types of accounts (prepaids, checking, savings, investments, etc) and syncing new trxns. For this a quicken-like software gets the job done. Could I spend countless hours on excel getting it just the way I like it? You bet! But, IMO, that time could be best used making $$$ rather than looking at colorful pie charts I spend min/hours/days to perfect.
But to each their own.
Mar 20, 2014, 6:45 pm
#113
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: LAX
Programs: AA, TY, UR, UA, US, WN, MR, SPG
Posts: 1,453
Any one of these tools has the potential to suck you in if you are big into customizing it. I take the macro approach and only worry about weekly/monthly/quarterly/annual net gains.
My main concern is accurately tracking xfers from all the different types of accounts (prepaids, checking, savings, investments, etc) and syncing new trxns. For this a quicken-like software gets the job done. Could I spend countless hours on excel getting it just the way I like it? You bet! But, IMO, that time could be best used making $$$ rather than looking at colorful pie charts I spend min/hours/days to perfect.
But to each their own.
My main concern is accurately tracking xfers from all the different types of accounts (prepaids, checking, savings, investments, etc) and syncing new trxns. For this a quicken-like software gets the job done. Could I spend countless hours on excel getting it just the way I like it? You bet! But, IMO, that time could be best used making $$$ rather than looking at colorful pie charts I spend min/hours/days to perfect.
But to each their own.
My excel sheet is the macro approach, quite literally. I use macros for everything.
Mar 20, 2014, 11:04 pm
#114
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 252
I myself prefer to use Google Drive. I have some Google Spreadsheets:
- One spreadsheet for tracking opening bonus requirements (i.e. spend 3k, get 50k miles). I put every transactions into this file. One tab for each credit card. It shows me how much I have spent and how much I have yet to spend.
- One spreadsheet to keep track of the info of all my credit cards, like: name, credit limit, cash advance, APR, etc... No sensitive information like CC number, etc.
- One spreadsheet to keep track of all my MS activities. This is a work in process. The original is an Excel file, but I decided to move it to Google because of the limitations of the Excel approach: the file resides in one place, can't access it from any device easily, etc. Right now I'm still using the Excel file, but can't wait to abandon Excel for good.
- One spreadsheet in which I keep track of all my points for all the programs: points earned, redeemed, balance.
There is probably a way to merge a couple of these spreadsheets into a single spreadsheet with multiple tabs. Never put sensitive information in this spreadsheets. In case you are hacked, the hacker doesn't get any of your financial information.
Mar 21, 2014, 6:08 am
#115
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Warm, sunny Florida
Posts: 251
I tried Quickbooks online but it wouldn't let me split payment properly on a moneymaker like the officemax $15 off $250 visa gift cards. If I bought $1000 and the credit card charge is 1000 + 34.65 - 60, it would not let me do the 1000 as a transfer to uncashed gift cards + mark the 34.65 as a purchase fee and mark the 60 as cash back. I could do journal entries to resolve but did not like the extra step. Any tips?
Mar 21, 2014, 9:08 am
#116
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 245
This is my first time using QB desktop so bear with me. At least on desktop version, I made a couple of dummy accounts, one of which I call "Plastic Expenses." Any time I purchase a VR, for example, I put in the category $500+$3.95 fee for a total transaction of $503.95. I then "invoice" CVS for $500. Once I cash out my VR, I mark that invoice as paid. All I'm left with is the $3.95 fee in that expense category.
I can do it fine in excel but couldn't create a negative split when identifying downloading transactions.
I'll see if I can find a trial of Quicken and do it in there as another poster indicated.
Mar 21, 2014, 9:33 am
#117
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Warm, sunny Florida
Posts: 251
That part worked fine for me but what if CVS is having a promotion where you get $10 instant off if you buy a $500 VR. They sell you a $500 VR with a $3.95 fee but only charge you $493.95 to your credit card. How do you account for the $10 discount they gave you which I would count as either a purchase discount or cashback?
I can do it fine in excel but couldn't create a negative split when identifying downloading transactions.
I'll see if I can find a trial of Quicken and do it in there as another poster indicated.
I can do it fine in excel but couldn't create a negative split when identifying downloading transactions.
I'll see if I can find a trial of Quicken and do it in there as another poster indicated.
Mar 21, 2014, 3:10 pm
#118
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 170
I find Yodlee labs useful for MS tracking. Now Yodlee can link Bluebird accounts in addition to credit card data. I can cross reference the VR and CC spend by creating categories and sub categories of my choice. Mint.com does not offer me category flexibilty.
This saves me time and reduces logging into BB accounts except for first week of the month.
This saves me time and reduces logging into BB accounts except for first week of the month.
Mar 21, 2014, 7:38 pm
#119
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: San Antonio
Programs: AS MVP
Posts: 2,276
I tried Quickbooks online but it wouldn't let me split payment properly on a moneymaker like the officemax $15 off $250 visa gift cards. If I bought $1000 and the credit card charge is 1000 + 34.65 - 60, it would not let me do the 1000 as a transfer to uncashed gift cards + mark the 34.65 as a purchase fee and mark the 60 as cash back. I could do journal entries to resolve but did not like the extra step. Any tips?
Edit: it would probably be easier to just accept them all as misc expenses and then edit each one in the chart of accounts.
Last edited by KennyBSAT; Mar 21, 2014 at 7:49 pm
Mar 22, 2014, 8:51 am
#120
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: NC
Programs: CITI, Barclay, Fidelity Amex, CC
Posts: 128
Edit: Ah, I see at least one of you uses iPassword. Anyone else use it? Looks great.
Last edited by birdhands; Mar 22, 2014 at 8:57 am