How do I add a 401(k)/403(b) account?

Select the type of account you would like to add to Quicken. 

If your bank or brokerage is listed on the screen, click it.

If your bank or brokerage is not listed on the screen, start typing its name. After you type a few characters Quicken displays a list of possible matches. If you see what you are looking for, go ahead and click the name of your bank or brokerage. If you don't see what you are looking for, click Back and try again.

If you have set up Quicken to track multiple currencies, select one from the list. If you decide you need to change the currency for the account, you can do so only if you haven't entered any transactions except the opening balance.

Quicken needs this information so it can download your account information. For most banks and brokerages, you can use the same user ID and password you use to log in to their website. If you don't have a user ID and password right now, add the account manually. You can always activate it to update transactions or send payments later on.

Sometimes Quicken needs more information to determine what type of account you have, or at what branch the account resides at before it can access it. If you are not sure, here are some tips that may help you:

Account Type

If different types of accounts are shown, such as checking (Chequing in Canada), savings, or credit card, choose the account type that applies to you.

State or Location

Some banks and brokerages use a state or region to classify accounts. If you see your state listed, this is probably the option to select.

Bank Mergers

Did your local bank or credit union merge with a larger bank? If you see your old or pre-merger bank name listed, this is probably the option to select.

Having trouble? Contact your bank or brokerage for instructions.

After you tell Quicken how to access your bank or brokerage, it goes online and downloads information about the accounts you hold there. Quicken then asks you to provide a bit more information about the accounts.

We have found the following

This is a list of your accounts that Quicken has detected at your bank or brokerage.

Account Type

You may see various items in this list: Checking (Chequing in Canada), Savings, Credit Card, Brokerage, IRA or Keogh plan, or 401(k). Choose one that best matches the purpose of your real-world account.

Add, Ignore, or Link

Quicken needs to know what you want to do with the accounts it has found. Keep in mind that you don't need to set up all of the accounts it finds; just the ones that you want to track in Quicken.

Choose Add to create a new Quicken account in which to download your transactions. If you are new to Quicken, this is probably the option that you want.

Choose Link to download your transactions into an existing Quicken account. If you have previously set up the account in Quicken, but are not yet downloading transactions into it, this is probably the option you want.

Choose Ignore to disregard one of the accounts that Quicken has found. No account will be created, and transactions for that account will not be downloaded into Quicken.

Nickname (Optional)

Enter the name you want to use to refer to the account in Quicken. This name will appear in reports, and in the Quicken interface. If you don't enter a nickname, Quicken will use the name provided by your financial institution for the account.

Used mostly for

If you are using Quicken Business & Personal choose the primary use of the account: Personal (which is the default), Business, or Rental Property. Your selection determines where in the Quicken interface (on which tab) the account appears. You can change this from the Account List later if you wish. the account appears. You can change this from the Account List later if you wish.

You will receive confirmation that your account, or accounts, have been added to Quicken. Depending on the type of account you are adding there may be other steps you need to take. This screen will tell you what you need to do, if anything, to start using the accounts. Congratulations!

If you have chosen to use mobile as a part of your Quicken Registration, on this screen, you will get an option to sync the added account to the cloud. If you wish to add this account to the cloud, select the Sync to Quicken cloud for Mobile / Alerts check-box next to the account that you have added.

You will see this option only if you have chosen to Use Mobile as part of the registration. If you wish to view your accounts in mobile or to receive custom account notifications, click the Mobile and Web tab and follow the instructions.

Enter a name for the account. The name you type will appear throughout Quicken to distinguish this account from others. Use any combination of letters, numbers, spaces, and other characters except these: [ (left bracket), ] (right bracket), / (slash), : (colon), | (bar), ^ (caret).

1. Enter a name for this account.
   Account names usually appear in alphabetical order in Quicken. If you and your spouse both have a 401(k) account, or you have 401(k) accounts from previous employers, begin each account name with something similar, such as "401(k) for Terry" and "401(k) for Chris." This way, all your 401(k) accounts will appear next to each other in lists throughout Quicken.

1. Enter the ending date from your statement.

   Caution

   If you're entering information from your financial institution's website instead of from a paper statement, and if this date is today's date, then don't download transactions for this account until tomorrow. This is necessary in order to reconcile your Quicken account data with account data posted by your financial institution.

2. Enter the name of your employer and whether this is your current employer or a previous one.
3. Identify the owner of this account: you or your spouse. Quicken uses this information to assign the correct tax-related category to transactions.

Select the appropriate check box. If you have loans, indicate how many.

If you selected the checkbox to indicate that you have a loan, Quicken helps you track it in a loan account.

1. Enter a description (for example Home Down Payment).
2. Enter how much you currently owe.
3. Do you want Quicken to add a loan account to track how much you owe? If so, select the Set up account checkbox.
4. Enter the original amount you borrowed for this loan.

Do the following for each security you hold in this account:

1. Under the Ticker field, enter the ticker symbol for the security. If you know the security ticker, Quicken will download the name for you.
   • If you don't know the ticker symbol, click the button labeled Ticker Symbol Lookup.
   • If the security doesn't have ticker symbol (for example, a proprietary security sold by your financial institution), enter a security name in the Security Name.
   • Don't enter bonds in this dialog. When you're finished setting up securities, open the transaction list, click Enter Transaction, and then choose Bond Purchase.
2. When you've finished for each security, click Next.

Do the following for each security you hold in this account:

1. Enter the number of shares and total market value. (If your financial institution doesn't report the number of shares, you can enter the market value.)
2. Select the appropriate security type: Stock, Mutual Fund, or Other.
3. Click Next.

1. Confirm your settings from the previous setup windows.
2. Check to see that your information is correct:
   • Is the statement date correct?
   • Are all your securities (mutual funds) listed?
3. Click Previous to return to previous windows and make changes.
4. When you're finished, click Done.
   After you click Done, you'll see summary graphs and reports in the 401(k) account Summary tab. Some of the details won't matter much yet, because you've only entered one statement.
5. When you're ready to enter your next statement, open the account, click  (the Account Actions icon), and then choose Update 401(k) Holdings.