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Managing Notifications in Quicken

Quick Review

What are notifications? Alerts about your finances delivered via email, push notifications to your phone, or within the Simplifi app.

Why use them? Stay informed about low balances, large transactions, bill due dates, and goal progress without constantly checking the app.

How to access:

  • Web:

    1. Hover over the left menu

    2. Select Settings

    3. Select Notifications

  • Mobile:

    1. Tap the Menu icon (three lines in upper left)

    2. Select Settings

    3. Select Notifications


Overview

Notifications in Quicken Simplifi are your financial early warning system, keeping you informed about important changes to your accounts, spending, and goals. When Ashley first started using Simplifi, they were overwhelmed by too many alerts. After customizing their notification settings, they now receive only the updates that matter most for managing their consulting business and personal finances. Let's explore how to set up notifications that work for you.


Why Notifications Matter

Life moves fast, especially when you're juggling variable income and multiple financial goals. Quicken Simplifi notifications help you:

  • Stay aware of low spending availability before overspending

  • Catch bank fees immediately

  • Know when large deposits arrive

  • Track progress toward savings goals

  • Monitor account activity


Types of Notifications

📧 Email Notifications

What they do: Send alerts directly to your inbox for review at your convenience.

Ashley's experience: Ashley enables email notifications for summary reports and reminders that don't need immediate action.

📱 Push Notifications (Mobile)

What they do: Deliver real-time alerts to your phone for immediate awareness.

Ashley's experience: Ashley uses push notifications for critical items only, keeping these to a minimum to avoid alert fatigue.

🔔 In-App Notifications

What they do: Show alerts within Quicken Simplifi when you log in.

Ashley's experience: Ashley keeps select in-app notifications enabled since they only appear when actively using Simplifi.


How to Enable or Disable Notifications

From the Web App:

  1. Hover over the menu on the left-hand side and select Settings

  2. Select Notifications

  3. Find the notification you want to adjust

  4. Click the button to enable (blue) or disable (gray)

  5. Use the toggle at the end of each row to enable/disable all notification types for that item

  6. Use the master toggle at the top to pause all notifications

From the Mobile App:

  1. Tap the Menu icon (the three lines in the upper left corner)

  2. Select Settings and then Notifications

  3. To pause all notifications, tap the Pause all notifications toggle at the top

  4. Locate the notification you'd like to change and tap on it

  5. Use the toggles to enable or disable Email, Push, or In-App notifications

  6. To disable all notifications for an item, tap the All notifications toggle

  7. Tap Update when done

Note: Changes made on either platform automatically sync. Configure once, and you're set everywhere!


Available Notifications

Here's what each notification does and how Ashley uses them:

🏆 Achievement & Progress

  • Achievement badge earned: Notifies when you earn a badge for completing financial milestones. Ashley keeps this in-app only for gentle motivation without email clutter.

  • Goal contribution: Reminds you to contribute to your savings goals. Ashley uses email reminders since she reviews finances weekly and doesn't need immediate push alerts for savings.

💰 Income & Deposits

  • Income received: Confirms when recurring income arrives. Ashley disabled this since consulting income is irregular and she manually tracks each client payment in a spreadsheet.

  • Large deposit ($500+): Alerts for deposits above the threshold. Ashley customized this to $2,000 and uses push notifications to immediately confirm client payments have arrived.

  • Extra paycheck month: Notifies during months with an extra paycheck. Not applicable for Ashley's 1099 consulting structure.

💸 Spending & Transactions

  • Available to spend low ($10 or less): Warns when spending availability drops below the threshold. Ashley customized to $500 with push alerts to prevent overspending during lean months.

  • Large transaction ($500+): Flags transactions above the threshold. Ashley keeps this at $500 with push notifications to immediately verify business expenses and catch any fraudulent charges.

  • Planned expense nearing limit (within 10%): Alerts when approaching budget limits. Ashley disabled this because she prefers checking the Spending Plan manually each morning.

  • Watchlist approaching target (within 10%): Monitors specific spending categories. Ashley uses email alerts for coffee and dining watchlists to curb discretionary spending.

  • Spending update: Compares spending between the current and prior month. Ashley disabled this because, with variable income, month-to-month comparisons aren't useful.

🏦 Account & Balance Alerts

  • Low bank account balance (below $200): Warns when balance drops below threshold. Ashley customized to $2,000 with push alerts because she needs a higher buffer for quarterly tax payments.

  • Projected low balance (below $500): Forecasts potential balance issues. Ashley disabled this because she found it anxiety-inducing and prefers managing cash flow manually.

  • High credit card balance (above $5,000): Monitors credit usage. Ashley disabled this since she pays in full monthly and never carries a balance.

  • Bank fee ($5+): Notifies of fees above threshold. Ashley lowered to $1 with push and email alerts to catch any fee immediately for disputing.

📅 Bills & Payments

  • Bill paid: Confirms payment completion. Ashley disabled this because she receives too many notifications with 8+ monthly bills and she can see payment status in the app.

  • Upcoming bills (next 7 days): Provides a weekly summary of due bills. Ashley uses email notifications to plan her week's cash flow needs.

  • Bills to income percentage: Shows percentage of income used for bills. Ashley checks this monthly via email to monitor if overhead is creeping up.

  • Refund status: Tracks expected refunds. Ashley uses push notifications since business expense reimbursements affect cash flow immediately.

📊 Reports & Maintenance

  • Monthly summary: Provides income and expense summary for the month. Ashley receives this via email to review during her monthly financial check-in.

  • Uncategorized transactions: Alerts about transactions needing categories. Ashley disabled this because she categorizes transactions every few days as part of her routine.

  • Credit Score: New Alert: Notifies of changes to credit file. Ashley uses email notifications to monitor for identity theft.

  • Credit Score: New Report: Alerts when monthly credit report is ready. Ashley disabled this because she only checks her score quarterly unless planning a major purchase.


Customizable Notifications

Notifications that pertain to dollar amounts or percentages can be customized:

Customizable thresholds include:

  • Available to spend low

  • Large deposit

  • Large transaction

  • Low bank account balance

  • Projected low balance

  • Bank fee

  • High credit card balance

  • Planned expense limits

  • Watchlist targets

How to customize on Web:

  1. Click the edit pencil next to the notification

  2. Enter your preferred threshold amount

  3. Click Save

How to customize on Mobile:

  1. Tap the notification you want to customize

  2. Enter your new threshold amount

  3. Tap Update


Ashley's Notification Strategy

🎯 Core Philosophy

After testing various configurations, Ashley settled on a minimal approach: only notifications that require immediate action or provide essential summaries.

The Final Setup

Ashley keeps just 10 of the 22 available notifications active:

Push Notifications (4 total):

  • Low bank balance (customized to $2,000)

  • Large deposits (customized to $2,000)

  • Bank fees (customized to $1)

  • Refund status

Email Notifications (5 total):

  • Goal contribution reminders

  • Watchlist alerts

  • Upcoming bills

  • Bills to income percentage

  • Monthly summary

In-App Only (1 total):

  • Achievement badges


Pro Tips

  1. Start minimal: Begin with only critical notifications, then add more as needed

  2. Match your workflow: Use push for urgent items, email for summaries

  3. Review regularly: Adjust thresholds as your financial situation changes

  4. Test settings: Make a small transaction to ensure notifications work

  5. Consider your routine: Set notifications that align with when you can take action


Common Issues & Solutions

🚨 "Help! I'm not receiving notifications!"

Check these items:

  • Notification settings in Simplifi

  • Phone settings allow Simplifi push notifications

  • Email notifications aren't in spam folder

  • Master toggle isn't set to pause all notifications

📊 "I'm getting too many notifications!"

Consider these adjustments:

  • Increase dollar thresholds

  • Switch some from push to email only

  • Disable non-actionable notifications

  • Use summary notifications instead of individual alerts


Best Practices

  1. Actionable only: If you consistently ignore a notification, disable it

  2. Right channel: Urgent = push, FYI = email, Reference = in-app

  3. Realistic thresholds: Set amounts that match your actual finances

  4. Regular reviews: Your needs change, so should your notifications

  5. Less is more: Better to have few meaningful alerts than many ignored ones


The Bottom Line

Perfect notification settings are personal. What works for Ashley, a consultant with variable income, might not work for someone with a steady paycheck. The key is finding the balance between staying informed and maintaining peace of mind.

Start with the essentials, add gradually, and don't hesitate to disable notifications that don't serve you. The best notification system helps you make better financial decisions without adding stress to your day.

Hint: Keep a mental note of which notifications actually change your behavior versus which ones you dismiss. After a month, disable any notifications you consistently ignore. If it's not prompting action, it's just digital noise that can increase financial anxiety rather than improve financial health.

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