How do I add accounts?
The first thing to do with iBank after creating a document is to set up your accounts. Start by creating an iBank account for each financial account you have in real life (e.g. checking, savings, credit card, mortgage, 401k). You may also want to add a cash account to keep track of the money in your pocket.
To begin, click the plus (+) button on the left side of the toolbar and choose "Add Account," or choose Account > New Account. The new account assistant will open to walk you through the process of creating an account. Several different methods are available for managing your accounts. Please take a moment to review the following options, then read the article that is most appropriate for the account you want to add:
- Direct Access
- This is a subscription download service offered by IGG Software that allows you to view all of your financial transactions in iBank as soon as they become available in your online accounts. Set up your account login details just once, then update everything with a single click. Direct Access supports thousands of financial institutions, large and small.
- Direct Download/Bill Pay
- Also known as OFX or "Direct Connect," this service provides one-click transaction updates and support for online bill pay. IGG Software does not charge for direct downloads or bill pay, but many institutions require a separate enrollment and charge a monthly fee for these services. Fewer institutions support this protocol than Direct Access. Ask your financial institution about OFX Direct Connect and online bill pay for more information.
- Web Download
- Most financial institutions provide transaction downloads on their websites, even when other download services are not supported. If your bank is not available through Direct Access or direct download, or if you prefer a more hands-on approach to updating your accounts, you can choose to use web download. iBank provides an integrated browser to streamline the process of downloading and importing transactions from the web into your accounts. This method is less convenient than the other two, but typically does not involve an enrollment process or additional fees.
- Manual
- You may have accounts that are not held at any financial institution, such as personal loans, private assets, or cash in your wallet. iBank can help you keep track of these accounts with tools for manually recording and editing transactions. Continue reading below for more information.
Manual account setup
If the account is not managed by a financial institution (e.g. a private asset or personal loan), or if you do not want the account to be connected to an online account, select the "Asset or liability not held at any financial institution" and click "Next" to proceed. iBank will skip the download configuration process for the account.
This option can be used to postpone download configuration for any new account. You can always configure Direct Access or direct download at a later date by selecting the account in the source list and choosing Account > Set Up Online Access. To set up web download, double-click the account and enter a URL and Bank name in the pop-up account inspector.
Entering basic account info:
On this screen, enter a name for the new account, choose the account type, and choose a default currency. Click "Next" to continue.
Entering cost basis (investment accounts only):
If you chose to create an investment account, iBank will prompt you to enter cost information about the securities in your portfolio:
For each lot of shares you currently hold, click "Add Lot" and enter the security symbol, date of purchase, number of shares, and amount paid (total or per share). Enter the amount of commission paid as well, if applicable. If iBank doesn't recognize the symbol you entered, it will prompt you for additional information about that security. Add lots until your entire cost basis is accounted for in the list; feel free to edit or delete lots as needed. When everything is present and accounted for, click "Next" to continue.
It pays to be meticulous when recording your cost basis! Missing or incorrect cost data can cause iBank to miscalculate the value of your investments when you generate reports. Request a copy of your transaction history from your brokerage, if necessary, to ensure that you are recording the correct information about your lots.
Configuring loan settings (loan accounts only):
If the account is a loan, iBank will walk you through the process of configuring your loan details. For more information, see Tracking Loans.
Entering the account balance (non-loan accounts):
The last step, if the account is not a loan, is to enter the balance of the account. In most cases, you'll want to enter the current balance and today's date. If you want to start tracking the account from a particular date in the past, however, you can enter that date and the the amount of money that was in the account on that date. Keep in mind the following:
- Credit cards, lines of credit, and liabilities typically carry a negative balance. Take care to enter the balance with a minus sign (-) to indicate that it is negative, i.e. money you owe rather than money you have available to you.
- For an investment account, only record the cash balance. Do not include the market value of shares that are held in the account. In most cases, the cash balance should be 0.
Finishing the account setup:
Once the account configuration is complete, the new account will be added to the source list, and iBank will show you a "Congratulations" screen to notify you that the account setup was successful.