Track Account Balances & Recurring Expenses

The Microsoft Access Account Balances and Recurring Expenses template allows you to track your daily account balances for all of your accounts, including checking accounts, credit card accounts, asset accounts, and so on.

You can also track pending transactions and create saved transactions for those activities that you regularly perform manually, such as making credit card payments.

Furthermore, you can keep track of recurring transactions so you have a list of all your monthly, quarterly, and annual bills, among others. With just one click of a button, these transactions will be added to your accounts, saving you a significant amount of work and time.

If you load up all the information from all your accounts, you can also use this to track your net worth. This template incorporates many extra features, drawing from many of my other templates.

Videos

•  01. Introduction (5:05) - Free
•  02. Explainer Video (30:35) - Paid
•  03. Update 1 (5:15) - Free
•  04. Update 2 (17:06) - 2023-08-27 - Free
•  05. Update 3 (7:56) - 2023-08-27 - Free
•  06. Explainer Video for Update 3 (30:35) - Paid

Prerequisites

If you're primarily interested in just using this template, that's perfectly fine. However, if you're intrigued about how it was constructed and want to modify it to suit your specific needs, I have a series of TechHelp videos that explain the design process.

• Account Balances Excel 1: https://599cd.com/ExcelAcctBal
• Account Balances Access 1: https://599cd.com/AccountBalances
• Expense Tracker: https://599cd.com/ExpenseTracker

Links

Here are some links to additional videos and templates that have features I included in this template. While these are entirely optional, if you're interested in understanding how some components of this database were constructed, these videos provide detailed explanations.

• Move Up Down Using Keyboard: https://599cd.com/TechHelpMoveKeys
• Access Search Template: https://599cd.com/SearchTemplate
• Access Save Position Template: https://599cd.com/SavePos
• Notes Anywhere: https://599cd.com/NotesAnywhere
• Average Monthly Expenses: https://599cd.com/AvgMoExpenses
• MCA Loan: https://599cd.com/MCALoan

Sample Database

If you'd like to download a sample copy of the database template, you can do so here. This is a non-editable ACCDE version of the template which will let you see it work in action. The sample database will allow you to add, edit, and delete data for your own company or personal expenses. The full version, of course, is completely unlocked, offering you full access to the editable ACCDB database and source code. This locked sample database only functions for one company or personal profile. However, with the paid version, you can use it with an unlimited number of companies or personal profiles as you have the capability to switch the backend database files.

•  Demo Database Download - Free

The sample database requires 64-bit Access 2013 or higher. If you're still using 32-bit Office, read this.

Full Developer Database

Once you have purchased the full developer database template, come back to this page and download the full template. This will give you access to the ZIP file containing the Template ACCDB file. The full version will run on 32-bit or 64-bit Access 2007 or higher. Be sure to watch the Explainer Video (above).

•  Full Database Download - Paid

Purchase Template

Please be sure to read the Before You Purchase section below before buying this template.

Features

• Track Daily Account Balances
• Multiple Account Types
• Manage Pending Transactions
• Create "Saved" Transactions
• Process Recurring Transactions
• Calculate Net Worth
• Lots More!

You have the ability to track each of your different accounts, whether they're checking accounts, savings accounts, credit cards, loans, investments, assets, or anything else you'd like to add. You have full control over the list of account types. You can also assign a color scheme to each account; for example, I prefer to color-code each bank or credit card company for easy identification. The system allows you to keep track of your maximum balance, pending transactions, and other related information. It will calculate your actual balance after all pending transactions have been processed. Moreover, you can set warning levels to indicate which accounts urgently need a deposit. The last date each account was updated will be displayed, and if an account hasn't been checked online in a while, you'll receive a visual notification.

There's a status screen on the main menu that displays the actual balances of all your various account types. Moreover, it can calculate your net worth. An additional feature is the ability to jot down important notes on the main menu, ensuring you'll see them the next time you open the database.

On the transactions form, you'll find a list of all your pending transactions. For each transaction, you can provide a name, specify which account the money is being transferred to or from, indicate the transaction's amount, and set the transaction's date. Once a transaction is cleared, all you need to do is check the "Clear" checkbox; the transaction will then be archived and stored for future reference.

If you frequently carry out certain transactions, like deposits into your savings account or settling a credit card bill, you can list them on the "Saved Transactions" form. When it's time to execute one of these transactions, you simply select it and click the "Process Transaction" button. This feature saves you the effort of inputting the same transaction details over and over again, which can be quite time-saving.

Alongside the Saved Transactions, which are manually processed by you at irregular intervals, there's also the Recurring Transactions form. This form is used to manage regular transactions that occur on a set schedule, such as weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly. Typical examples of these would be utility bills, quarterly pest control fees, annual season passes, and other such regularly occurring expenses. When you click on the "Mark Paid and Add Transactions" button, the respective amounts will be appended to your transactions list. The Recurring Transactions form will then update the date paid and automatically adjust the next due date according to the frequency you specified.

These are the main features of the Account Balances template. I initially developed this in Excel many years ago to manage my own personal finances and I've wanted to upgrade it to Access for quite some time. Finally, I've done it. If you want to understand this database more thoroughly before purchasing it, I highly recommend you watch the TechHelp videos to gain a good understanding of how it was constructed.

Features Added to Template

Here is the list of added features for Gold or Platinum members who have been following along with the extended cuts or downloaded the database after the Account Balances Video Part 9. These features were not included in the TechHelp videos:

• Move up and down with the keyboard. Also made ENTER go down like in Excel
• Added sort labels to all three forms
• Account Summary on the main menu; shows balances and total net worth
• AccountType IsCredit doesn't calculate towards your net worth
• Save Window Position code so that the database will remember its position
• Added my code to collapse the ribbon and navigation pane
• Included an option for each account to show on account list
• Added Show All checkbox and set its after-update event
• Added top/bottom account move buttons
• Double-click Pending to move it to Balance
• Added unbound notes on the main menu
• New Process Transaction Form
• Payment amount will equal to balance on saved transactions.

Features Added to Updates 1 & 2

Updates 1 & 2 were mostly minor changes and fixes - things that I discovered I wanted to add or modify over the past month or so that I've been working with my personal data. The more you work with software, the more you realize how you want it to work. The videos above explain the changes, but it's nothing major.

Features Added to Update 3

These are features added to Update 3 of the template. There were three really big features added, so I put together a video explaining those, and then a second explainer video covering them in more detail, plus the other minor additions and modifications I've made since update 2. The big new features are:

• Parse Pending Payments - copy and paste a list of pending items and the database will add them all up
• Script Editor - use to get data from a webpage, such as your bank or credit card balance
• AutoFilter Account - only show the transactions for the account you're currently working with

Other minor changes include:

• For saved transactions if the amount is 0, and balance is 0, use the Needed field for the amount
• Added a DoShutdown reminder notice for me. Use it if you want.
• New account setting: PendingTypicallyNegative. I got sick of always answering "yes." It does it automatically now if you set this value to true.
• For saved transactions, I added an Instant option so that if money is instantly removed or added to an account balance as soon as you process it, the database will adjust your balance immediately. Note that I added fields to back-end tables: added AccountFromInstant and AccountToInstant to SavedTransactionT and RecurringTransactionT
• I changed the KeyDown event so that ENTER goes across - it just matches better the way I use the database. I know I originally wanted it to behave like Excel, but I changed my mind. My prerogative. I left the code in there and just remmed it out for you if you want to switch it back.

Before You Purchase

A few important notes before you purchase this template:

• Please note that this is designed to be a standalone template. If you purchase the database you will get the unlocked source code and you can modify it yourself however the coding in the database is quite complex and I will not support you if you're trying to make changes to it yourself.
• Please watch the Explainer Video, above. This template isn't very difficult to use but if you don't follow the instructions carefully you may run into problems. If you post a comment saying that it's not working, and you didn't follow the instructions, I'm going to say "I told you so."
• Backup. Backup. Backup again! Always make a backup copy of your database and your other financial information before relying on this database. If you're not sure how to do that, please see my Backup video.
• Please bear in mind that Microsoft Access in and of itself isn't inherently secure. I wouldn't advise storing sensitive financial information on a shared network or computer in Microsoft Access alone, as it's quite simple for others to access your table data. If security for your database is a necessity, I wholeheartedly recommend my Security Seminar. For particularly sensitive data, I suggest using SQL Server as your data storage solution.
• Remember, we do our best to help you here in the Forums on the website, but technical support is not guaranteed.

Possible Future Upgrade Ideas

If you have ideas on things you'd like to see added to this database, please post a comment below. If a particular feature garners enough interest or if I consider it to be a particularly good idea, then I will definitely consider adding it.

License

For internal use only. This template does NOT come with a royalty-free license. You may only customize the template for your business needs and for use within your organization at one location ONLY. You may not resell or distribute any form of this template to others without express written permission. Contact me for additional information on obtaining a license to distribute if you plan on including this template in a product you are reselling. Additional licenses are required if you plan on using this template with more than ten (10) employees or in multiple locations within your organization.

Not a Finished Product

Please keep in mind that most of my template databases are not designed to be finished products that are ready to go in a working environment. My templates are meant as starting points for you to customize for yourself so you don't have to reinvent the wheel. This requires that you have a basic understanding of Microsoft Access development. To work on most of my databases you should have completed my Access Beginner series and the first couple levels of my Expert series at a minimum. Most of my databases require knowledge of SQL and VBA as well. 

Customize For Your Needs

If you would like to discuss customizing this template for your needs, and integrating it into your current setup, please see my consulting page for details. While I no longer accept custom jobs that are specific to a single user, I may include your features in a future version of this template if they have mass appeal. If you are looking for custom enhancements made to this template just for you, visit my Developer Network.

Technical Support

Please note that technical support is NOT guaranteed for any of my courses, seminars, or templates. If you require help with modifying this template, you may post a question in the Forums, however an answer to your question is not guaranteed. If this template comes with an accompanying Seminar, then you should purchase that Seminar to see how the database was constructed. If not, then you should have taken the suggested courses. Most of my templates are designed on a Developer level and you should have a thorough understanding of SQL and VBA before attempting to modify them. If you have a problem with one of my databases, I will only support the unmodified database exactly as it's downloaded from my site. If you have modified it in any way, it may not be something I can help you with. You can post in the Forums, and I may be able to help you, but if the issue doesn't exist in my unmodified database, it's not something I can support.

Questions?

Got sales or customer service questions about this template? Feel free to contact me. If you have technical "how do I" questions about this template, you discover a bug, or want to suggest a new feature, then please post your comments below.

Keywords

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