Using Tags to Organize Transactions in Quicken Simplifi
Quick Review
What: Labels that group transactions across different categories
Why: Track spending for events, projects, or purposes that span multiple categories
How: Add via transaction edit or Settings > Categories & tags
Note: Savings Goals tags cannot be edited or deleted
Overview
Tags in Quicken Simplifi let you group related transactions that have different categories or subcategories. While categories tell you what you bought, tags tell you why or for what purpose. For example, you can track the total cost of a vacation by tagging all trip expenses while still categorizing them appropriately (Gas, Hotel, Restaurants).
Ashley uses tags extensively for project tracking. When working on different client projects, they tag all related expenses (travel, supplies, meals) with the client name. This provides a complete project cost view while maintaining proper categories for tax purposes.
Creating Tags
Method 1: From a Transaction
Locate the transaction you want to tag
Hover over it and click the three dots
Select Edit transaction
Click the Tags field and type the tag name
Click Create when it appears in the menu
Click Update to save
Method 2: From Settings
Navigate to Settings (hover over left panel)
Select Categories & tags
Click the blue + Tags button (upper right)
Type the tag Name
Press Enter or click the (+) sign to save
Click Update
Ashley prefers creating tags while editing transactions since it ensures tags match real-world needs.
Common Tag Uses
Events & Trips
Vacation-2025
Wedding-Planning
Home-Renovation
Projects & Clients
Client-ABC
Project-Website
Freelance-Writing
Time Periods
Q1-2025
Tax-Year-2024
Holiday-Shopping
People
Kids-Expenses
Partner-Shared
Mom-Medical
Editing Tags
You can edit tag names, except for tags associated with Savings Goals:
Go to Settings > Categories & tags
Locate and click on the tag
Make your changes
Press Enter or click the blue checkmark
Click Update
Common edits:
Fixing typos
Making names more descriptive
Standardizing naming conventions
Deleting Tags
Tags can be deleted, except those linked to Savings Goals:
Go to Settings > Categories & tags
Hover over the tag
Click the X at the end
Click Delete to confirm
Important: Deleting a tag removes it from all transactions, but the transactions themselves remain unchanged.
Tag Strategies
For Projects
Ashley tags all client-related expenses with "Client-[Name]" format. This reveals:
Total project costs across all categories
Which clients generate most expenses
Project profitability when compared to income
For Shared Expenses
Using tags like "Shared-Vacation" or "Joint-Groceries" helps track expenses to split with others, regardless of who paid or what category.
For Tax Tracking
While categories handle most tax needs, tags can track specific deductions:
"Deductible-Donation"
"Medical-FSA"
"Home-Office"
For Goals
Beyond built-in Savings Goals tags, create tags for informal saving:
"Future-Car"
"Emergency-Fund"
"Birthday-Gifts"
Best Practices
Use consistent naming: "Vacation-2025" not "2025 Trip" and "vacation"
Keep it simple: Don't over-tag; use only what you'll actually track
Plan tag structure: Decide naming conventions before starting
Review periodically: Delete unused tags to keep list manageable
Combine with categories: Tags supplement, don't replace, good categorization
Tags vs. Categories
Categories answer "What did I buy?"
Groceries, Gas, Restaurants
Tags answer "Why did I buy it?" or "For what purpose?"
Client meeting, Vacation, Home project
Both work together for complete transaction context.
Common Mistakes
Creating similar tags: "Vacation," "Trip," "Travel" for same purpose
Forgetting to tag consistently: Missing transactions reduces usefulness
Using tags as categories: Tags supplement, not replace categories
Too many tags: Having 100+ tags makes selection tedious
The Bottom Line
Tags in Quicken Simplifi provide flexible transaction grouping across categories. Use them for projects, trips, shared expenses, or any spending you want to track as a group. Keep tag names consistent and purposeful, and remember that good tagging supplements, rather than replaces, proper categorization.
Hint: Create a simple tag naming convention before you start tagging transactions. Ashley uses prefixes like "Client-" for client work, "Trip-" for travel, and "Project-" for home improvements. This consistency makes tags easier to find in the dropdown list and ensures you don't accidentally create duplicate tags with slightly different names (like "Vacation2025" and "2025-Vacation" for the same trip).