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Recordkeeping if you do all-electronic banking

kranky

kranky

Elite Member
Like many others, my bank is pushing hard for all-electronic banking - online statements, check images online, etc.

That could be quite convenient, but I don't think I want to spend my own time and resources to print out everything I might need for recordkeeping purposes. I need copies of canceled checks for income and wage tax payments, insurance, charitable donations, etc.

Having them available online "if I ever need them" isn't a satisfactory answer because I don't want to feel like I am married to my bank. If I change banks, I won't have access to anything any longer.

Does this concern anyone else?

 
Ok all you wiseacres, that requires a good system management and backup policy, it would stink to lose all of your records if your PC got a virus or similar.
 
Originally posted by: mchammer
Ok all you wiseacres, that requires a good system management and backup policy, it would stink to lose all of your records if your PC got a virus or similar.
Click to expand...

Even that is far easier to manage (IMHO) than managing hard copies of records. If my house were to burn down at any point in time, I'd lose all of the hard copies, but I'd still have 100% of my data, minus less than 3 days.

Oh, and what bank still offers cancelled checks returned to you physically? All of the ones that I know of around here only offer online access for free, and it costs to have hard copies.
 
I don't think the average PC user knows that there is a risk of losing data or how they should backup. They will learn when it happens a few times.
 
Originally posted by: GeekDrew
Originally posted by: mchammer
Ok all you wiseacres, that requires a good system management and backup policy, it would stink to lose all of your records if your PC got a virus or similar.
Click to expand...

Oh, and what bank still offers cancelled checks returned to you physically? All of the ones that I know of around here only offer online access for free, and it costs to have hard copies.
Click to expand...

Presidential Bank does.

Mark
 

I'm happy to rely on the banking information I can download into Microsoft Money. I think I have at least five years of checking/savings account transactions in its database right now, and it is easily imported into the tax programs. I save a back-up copy on a separate hard drive.
 
I download my electronic statements, and save-as my check images. I also use quicken, which in the latest version, allows me to attach the check images to a transaction to save a copy of them in quicken. I also backup quicken and statements etc. online incase my hd dies etc.

Initially I realized I was getting screwed with electronic statements because they don't include the check images that they then charge $3 each for. So I switched back to paper. Then they started charging just to receive my check images on paper. :| Frickin banks suk.
 
I realize that a lot of you don't need to keep a bunch of records at present, but you should keep copies of checks or other proof of payment for taxes, insurance, or anything that affects your tax return. I got a bill from the township for over $300 (including penalties/interest) last year claiming I hadn't made a wage tax payment in 2002. I had to find a three-year-old check to prove them wrong. (They credited it to someone else's account by accident.)

Originally posted by: paulney
WaMu keeps 7 years of statements. More than enough for me.
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7 years of checks too? That's fine, as long as you never switch to a different bank. Once you close your account, no more access to your WaMu records. Does that concern you? I don't want to HAVE to keep an account somewhere just for that.

Originally posted by: PowerEngineer

I'm happy to rely on the banking information I can download into Microsoft Money. I think I have at least five years of checking/savings account transactions in its database right now, and it is easily imported into the tax programs. I save a back-up copy on a separate hard drive.
Click to expand...
Do you keep copies of the canceled checks too?

Originally posted by: jjsole
I download my electronic statements, and save-as my check images. I also use quicken, which in the latest version, allows me to attach the check images to a transaction to save a copy of them in quicken. I also backup quicken and statements etc. online incase my hd dies etc.
Click to expand...

My bank gives me my checks back free but I know someday that will end. I figure that's what I'll end up doing - go to bank web site, click on check number, wait for image to display, Save-as, close image, go to next check I need to save, repeat... what a pain.

When you attach check images to transactions, do the images become a permanent part of your Quicken database, or are they just links to files on your PC? Can you get them back out of Quicken if you wanted to?
 
I do all of my banking online. I haven't written a check in ages. I have Adobe Acrobat and use the PDF printer to make a copy of any online invoices, payments, etc. I save them in company name-date format (like Newegg-8June2006) in a folder called "eReceipts". I keep my financial information backed up on a USB thumb drive. Piece of cake, low-hassle way to have a double backup in addition to having the records online.
 
print? no, i don't print anything
what record keeping on paper do i need from my checking account ?
 
Originally posted by: kranky
Originally posted by: jjsole
I download my electronic statements, and save-as my check images. I also use quicken, which in the latest version, allows me to attach the check images to a transaction to save a copy of them in quicken. I also backup quicken and statements etc. online incase my hd dies etc.
Click to expand...

My bank gives me my checks back free but I know someday that will end. I figure that's what I'll end up doing - go to bank web site, click on check number, wait for image to display, Save-as, close image, go to next check I need to save, repeat... what a pain.

When you attach check images to transactions, do the images become a permanent part of your Quicken database, or are they just links to files on your PC? Can you get them back out of Quicken if you wanted to?
Click to expand...

I can't remember how many years its been since bankone [chase now] began charging for return of paper checks. They were the first ones to start charging for visiting a teller (or maybe that was first chicago, who they bought 😕.)

Good think I checked...the images aren't part of the qwicken database files and are stored in a separate quicken folder. I've got to start backing them up too.

/edit: looks like quicken backs up the image files in the backup process already.
 
Originally posted by: kranky
I realize that a lot of you don't need to keep a bunch of records at present, but you should keep copies of checks or other proof of payment for taxes, insurance, or anything that affects your tax return. I got a bill from the township for over $300 (including penalties/interest) last year claiming I hadn't made a wage tax payment in 2002. I had to find a three-year-old check to prove them wrong. (They credited it to someone else's account by accident.)
Click to expand...

Saving an image of a cancelled check should be sufficient, IMHO.

Originally posted by: kranky
My bank gives me my checks back free but I know someday that will end. I figure that's what I'll end up doing - go to bank web site, click on check number, wait for image to display, Save-as, close image, go to next check I need to save, repeat... what a pain.

When you attach check images to transactions, do the images become a permanent part of your Quicken database, or are they just links to files on your PC? Can you get them back out of Quicken if you wanted to?
Click to expand...

Stop writing so many checks. 😛 I only write checks for my car payment, because the bank it is with does not accept credit card payments.

Quicken stores transaction attachments separately, but they're easily backed up as well.
 
Originally posted by: PowerEngineer

I'm happy to rely on the banking information I can download into Microsoft Money. I think I have at least five years of checking/savings account transactions in its database right now, and it is easily imported into the tax programs. I save a back-up copy on a separate hard drive.
Click to expand...

Same here - But I use QUICKEN.
 
I do use Quicken, but I need cancelled checks to support tax deductions and for proof of payment, and Quicken or Money won't satisfy that.
 
Originally posted by: kranky
I do use Quicken, but I need cancelled checks to support tax deductions and for proof of payment, and Quicken or Money won't satisfy that.
Click to expand...

You bring up an interesting point about paper checks. I make most of my payments electronically, so I depend on my downloaded bank records as proof of payment. I haven't had any problem yet...
 
Originally posted by: kranky
I do use Quicken, but I need cancelled checks to support tax deductions and for proof of payment, and Quicken or Money won't satisfy that.
Click to expand...

Copies of checks (from online services) will not suffice?
 
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