How to download your bank activity to your Quicken account

One of the main features that make the Quicken program so appealing is that you can download your online bank transactions directly into Quicken.You can streamline the process of downloading your financial information with Quicken's connections to more than 4,000 banks, credit cards and brokers. You can have all of your financial information at your fingertips with the use of a single password!

If you have online banking and your bank, credit union, brokerage, or other financial institution will download transactions into Quicken then you are set.To see if your financial institution is able to download into Quicken check the Quicken Financial Institution List that is found on Quicken's official website (Note that you need to select banks, brokerages or credit card providers from a drop down list to view online banking providers). Be aware that some financial institutions will charge a fee, have an application process, outline additional terms/conditions/fees for data downloads so you should talk with a bank representative before beginning the downloading process in order to be fully informed of all the consequences regarding your bank downloads.

This type of banking is possible through what is referred to as a Web Connect file.A Web Connect file is used for online banking and it provides online account access to your financial institution for statement downloads. Many financial institutions offer Web Connect files, as well as online banking for Quicken users.

To begin downloading your financial institution information you will need to enable a Web Connect account as follows:
1. From your financial institution's Web site, select the option to download your account information as a Web Connect (QFX) file. If prompted, save the file to your Microsoft Windows desktop. If your computer is configured to automatically start Quicken when a QFX file is downloaded then there is no need to save the file to your desktop and you can skip to step 3.
2. From the Quicken File menu, choose Import, and then choose Web Connect file.
3. Locate and select the Web Connect file, and then click Open. If prompted to process the transactions or save them for later processing, select Have Quicken process these transactions now, and then click OK.

Things to watch for ...
- If this is the first time you have downloaded information for this account, or if Quicken cannot determine which account to download the transactions into, you will be prompted to identify the Quicken account you use to track this financial information.
- If you have set up an existing Quicken account for this account, click Use existing Quicken account, and then choose the account from the list.
- If you have not yet set up a Quicken account for this account, click Create a new Quicken account, and then click Continue.

4. Click Continue. Your recent account history will be sent from your financial institution to Quicken. Depending on the amount of information being sent, you may see a progress bar indicating how much of the transfer is complete. When your recent account history has been transferred, accept the downloaded transactions into Quicken.
5. After the first download and processing of your financial information you can make subsequent downloads from the Online Center window by clicking Update/Send.

Keep in mind that with Web Connect you cannot send e-mail, make online transfers or online payments through the Quicken program.You must use Direct Connect to perform these functions.Direct Connect may not be available through all financial institutions so ask your institution if they support the Direct Connect download format.Your financial institution, as well as Quicken support staff can help you as you download for financial information.