The NBT Online Banker PERSONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT TOOL HOW TO GUIDE

Transcription

1 The NBT Online Banker HOW TO GUIDE

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Benefits and Resources... 3 Get Started Accessing and Using the Personal Financial Management Tool... 4 Customize Your Personal Finance Home Page... 5 Adding Accounts to Your Personal Financial Management Tool... 6 Accounts Overview... 7 Transactions... 9 Reports Manage Accounts Options Using the Help Button Additional Assistance...12 Frequently Asked Questions

3 When it comes to managing your personal finances, having access to the right resources counts to you, and that counts to us. Your NBT Online Banker experience includes access to a Personal Financial Management Tool to help you manage all aspects of your finances from one convenient location. Your Personal Financial Management Tool allows you the opportunity to stay more informed about your finances and take control of your financial goals. BENEFITS AND RESOURCES The Personal Financial Management Tool is a comprehensive, easy-to-use resource that puts your entire financial picture at your fingertips. You have the ability to pull in information from all of your financial accounts at NBT Bank and other institutions to give you a 360-degree view of what you re spending, what you re saving, how you re tracking against goals and so much more. This resource allows you to customize how you view and manage your money through features such as: Viewing account balances Comparing your account activity month to month Tracking and categorizing spending Setting budgets and goals Creating customized alerts Calculating your net worth Generating reports Reviewing graphs and charts of your financial activity And so much more 3

4 GET STARTED 1. To take advantage of the benefits of the Personal Financial Management Tool, you must first be enrolled in NBT Online Banker as a personal banking customer. To enroll in NBT Online Banker, visit com/personal/products-and-services/ Online-and-Mobile/NBT-Online-Banker. 2. Once enrolled in NBT Online Banker, log in to your NBT Online Banker account. 3. Select Personal Finance from the choices in your main toolbar containing NBT Online Banker services. Carefully read the disclaimer and check the I Accept the Disclaimer box. Then click the Submit button. 4. Verify or correct your personal contact information in the fields provided. Then click the Enroll button. ACCESSING AND USING THE PERSONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT TOOL All of the great conveniences of the Personal Financial Management Tool are available to you 24 hours a day, seven days a week through NBT Online Banker. Your Personal Financial Management Tool is not currently accessible through NBT Bank Mobile Banking. Get Started Tab The Get Started tab is the default home page for your Personal Financial Management experience. This page will remain accessible to you throughout your use of the Personal Financial Management Tool and is available to help you link accounts and easily access popular features. 4

5 Features Link Accounts: Stay in control of your finances by linking all of your personal accounts to the Personal Financial Management Tool: bank accounts, credit cards, investments, loans, rewards programs and more. Account Balances: Easily review your income and expenses for each of your linked accounts. This snapshot can help you quickly review your current financial standing. View Net Worth: In the Personal Financial Management Tool, you re one click away from a full assessment of your assets and liabilities. This resource will allow you to understand your net worth based upon your linked accounts including real estate, mortgages, investments, bank accounts, loans and credit cards. Dashboard: Configure your dashboard to display all of your financial information in charts and graphs that make it easy for you to keep your finances in perspective. By having all of your preferred account management tools on one page you can quickly access the information you need and then dive deeper to learn more about your activity. Track Spending: Wondering where your money goes each month? The Track Spending feature allows you to review each and every transaction with your linked accounts. You can then categorize and even split your transactions to document and understand where and how you are spending your money. Create Budgets: In your Personal Financial Management Tool, you can set goals and track your progress quickly and easily. You can even set alerts to notify you when you have met your targets and your overall goals. Configure Alerts: Stay informed of your account status or account activity by configuring personalized alerts in your Personal Financial Management Tool. Simply check the box next to the alerts that you wish to receive and adjust the values for the notifications to suit your needs. Select Update Alerts at the bottom of the screen to confirm your selections. To help get you started, your Personal Financial Management Tool has automatically loaded any accounts you maintain with NBT Bank. This does not include any External Accounts, NBT Wealth Management or NBT Financial Services accounts, NBT Bank 401K plans or NBT Bank credit cards. CUSTOMIZE YOUR PERSONAL FINANCE HOME PAGE To customize what you see on your Personal Finance home page: Select the Options button from the provided menu. Under Personal Preferences select Edit Application Preferences. Choose your default homepage from the options shown. Select Update Preferences to confirm your selection. You may change your selection at any time. 5

6 ADDING ACCOUNTS TO YOUR PERSONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT TOOL The Personal Financial Management Tool allows you to manage all different aspects of your personal finances by allowing you to connect to your bank accounts, loans, investments, credit cards, rewards programs and more. Linking to Your Accounts To link your Personal Financial Management Tool to an account, you must already have online access to the account through the provider. If you wish to add an account that you do not presently have online access to, simply follow the steps outlined under Manually Add an Account. 1. Click on the Get Started tab and select the Link Another Account button OR at the top right of your screen above the main navigation menu, select Link an Account. 2. Using the menu on the left side of the screen, you may search for the account you wish to add by category. You may also leverage the search function at the top of the window or choose from the list of account options provided. 3. Once you have located your desired financial service provider, enter the requested account information or login credentials associated with your account. Then select Link Account. If you were unable to locate the provider, please proceed to the instructions for Add an Account Manually. 4. If added successfully, you will receive a message that your account has been added, and it will appear in your account listing. If not, you will receive a message providing instruction from the account provider on how to proceed. If the account failed to be added successfully, it will be added to your account listing, but still require you to complete the required steps with your financial service provider before your account information fully populates in your Personal Financial Management Tool. 5. To add a piece of real estate to your Personal Financial Management Tool portfolio, select Other from the account types provided on the menu. 6. Complete the fields provided to allow the real estate calculator, powered by Zillow.com, to calculate the estimated value of the property. 6

7 Manually Add an Account If you do not have existing online access to an account through your financial service provider, you may choose to add the account manually. These types of accounts need to be manually updated with transactions, as they will not be able to be updated automatically. You may also track offline assets (such as cash, precious valuables, etc.) and liabilities using this feature. 1. Select Create a Manual Account in the upper right corner of the Personal Finance screen. 2. Enter your account information in the fields provided. Based upon the account type selected, additional fields may populate for entry. Select Save and your account will be added to the Personal Financial Management Tool. 3. Your manually added accounts will be part of the calculation of your assets, liabilities and net worth. Update the accounts manually to keep your records as accurate and comprehensive as possible. ACCOUNTS OVERVIEW The Accounts Overview tab provides access to multiple resources to help you review and manage accounts you have connected to the Personal Financial Management Tool. Account Summary: The Account Summary page allows you to quickly review the balances associated with each of the accounts you have connected to your Personal Financial Management Tool. On this page you will also be notified as to when your account information was most recently updated and whether any of your account connections require attention. A symbol indicates that the account requires attention. By clicking on the symbol, a message will appear providing direction as to what action needs to be taken, if any, to correct the issue. 7

8 ACCOUNTS OVERVIEW continued Dashboard: Configure your dashboard to display all of your financial information in charts and graphs that make it easy for you to keep your finances in perspective. By having all of your account management tools on one page you can quickly access the information you need, then dive deeper to learn more about your activity. You may customize the way the modules appear by selecting the Options tab and then selecting the Change Dashboard Layout option. Net Worth Statement: Your Net Worth Statement is a great tool to help you understand what comprises your total net worth. On this page, the account information connected to your Personal Financial Management Tool is categorized into assets and liabilities. This page also shows you the percent change that has occurred from the previous month to help you see whether or not your financial standing has improved. Selecting the View Net Worth Chart option allows you to review more detailed information regarding your assets and liabilities in charts and graphs. This page also details the percent change for each individual asset and liability to help you identify areas that may require closer attention or consideration. Investments: This resource assists you in adding your investments to your Personal Financial Management Tool. Link accounts such as stocks, mutual funds, 529 Savings Plans, 401Ks, IRAs, bonds and CDs to help you capture all aspects of your financial makeup. Rewards: Track your rewards programs by linking those accounts to your Personal Financial Management Tool. View earned airline miles, accrued points or cash back programs attached to credit cards or other accounts on one convenient screen. Real Estate: Monitor your home s equity on the Real Estate tab. This page allows you to see how the value of your property changes month to month and monitor any loans associated with the properties you have linked to your Personal Financial Management Tool. Bill Reminders: This screen allows you to review a summary of upcoming bills for your linked accounts. Please keep in mind that you will not be able to pay your bills through the Personal Financial Management Tool. Bills should be paid on the Bill Pay tab of NBT Online Banker or through your respective financial account providers. 8

9 TRANSACTIONS All Accounts: On the All Accounts tab you may review all of the transactions associated with each of the accounts you have added to your Personal Financial Management Tool. Use the drop-down menus to sort transactions by type. You may change the category assigned to transactions by selecting the category description of the transaction and choosing your preferred option from the drop-down menu. Manage Categories: The Personal Financial Management Tool offers an extensive list of categories to help you sort your transactions. You may further personalize the categories under the Manage Categories tab. You may change the name of an existing category or even add sub-categories to help you track your expenses more specifically. Any changes made to your categories will then be reflected in the drop-down menus. Custom Categorization Rules: The Personal Financial Management Tool uses its database to try to best assign a category to each transaction; however, sometimes you may find that the category assigned isn t the best fit, or you may have a recurring transaction that you would like to see categorized a specific way. The Custom Categorization Rules feature allows you to request that a transaction be categorized in a particular way if the transaction description contains a specific word, phrase or vendor name or even a specific transaction amount. How to Split a Transaction: To help you track expenses more accurately, your Personal Financial Management Tool gives you the ability to split the expense of a single transaction across multiple categories. To do so, select Split next to the transaction you wish to address in the provided drop-down menu. You may then develop new descriptions for the transaction, choose categories and record amounts for specific components of the transaction. You may split the transaction multiple times to be as specific as you like. 9

10 REPORTS One of the greatest advantages of using your Personal Financial Management Tool is to be able to assess your habits to help you make more informed financial decisions. The Reports tab allows you to generate a variety of reports to help you work toward achieving your financial goals. Spending Analysis: Spending Analysis reports analyze your expenses or purchasing habits. The bar graph allows you to monitor the trend of your spending habits on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis. Identify heavy or low spending periods to see if you need to change your habits or adjust how you manage your cash flow. You may also monitor your net income (income expenses = net income) to keep your cash flow on track. Expense Analysis: Expense Analysis reports allow you to review your transactions by category in an easy-to-read pie graph. This report can help you see which categories of your expenses are the largest and smallest to help you calibrate your spending habits. Spending by Category: The Spending by Category report allows you to review how your expenses trend over a selected period of time within a particular spending category. Use the bar chart or line graph to see if your expenses in a particular category go up or down during a stretch of time. 10

11 Budget vs. Actual Spending: The Budget vs. Actual Spending report allows you to review how your spending habits are tracking toward your monthly budget. You can set or change your monthly budget for each spending category at any time by selecting the Create Budget icon on the Get Started tab. You may also select Set Budget Goals from the menu under Reports. Credit Card Utilization: The Credit Card Utilization report allows you to see how much you have leveraged your credit card for expenses in relation to your card s credit limit. Personalized Reports: The Personalized Report tab allows you to sort transactions by the basic or advanced settings to generate a report that is specific to your needs. Set Budget Goals: In your Personal Financial Management Tool, you can set goals and track your progress quickly and easily. You can even set alerts to notify you when you have met your targets and your overall goals. 11

12 MANAGE ACCOUNTS Account Groups: The Account Group feature allows you to group your linked accounts into like categories to help you sort through your accounts quickly and easily. For instance, you can create groups such as credit cards, checking accounts, investments, or whatever helps you stay organized. Manage Sites and Accounts: Under the Manage Sites and Accounts tab you may review the status of each account linked or manually added to your Personal Financial Management Tool. This page will allow you to review an account connection error, edit your account information or deactivate an account connection. OPTIONS You can further manage your preferences while using the Personal Financial Management Tool under the Options tab. This page allows you to manage sites and accounts, configure alerts, change your auto-login settings, edit application preferences, change your dashboard layout, edit dashboard display, manage transaction categories and disable the Get Started tab. USING THE HELP BUTTON On the bottom of each screen within the Personal Financial Management Tool you will find access to a Help button. When you select Help, you will go to an index that provides step-by-step instructions on how to use the Personal Financial Management Tool. The information available through the Help button corresponds with the tab you are on in the Personal Financial Management tool. That information will change as you navigate to a different tab. ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE If you are in need of additional assistance to use your Personal Financial Management Tool, please contact our Call Center at NBT. BANK ( ) or [email protected]. 12

13 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS What is the Personal Financial Management Tool? The Personal Financial Management Tool is available to personal banking customers through NBT Online Banker. It allows you to aggregate your personal financial information on one platform to help you get a complete picture of your finances. Your Personal Finance tab in NBT Online Banker comes equipped with features to help you manage your income and expenses so that you are one step closer to reaching your financial goals. You will be able to review account balances, categorize transactions by type, create budgets and goals, set up personalized budget and account alerts, calculate your net worth and much more. How do I enroll in the Personal Financial Management Tool? To enroll in the Personal Financial Management Tool you must first be enrolled in NBT Online Banker as a personal banking customer. If enrolled, simply log in to NBT Online Banker and click on the Personal Finance tab. Read and accept the disclaimer, and then you will be able to take advantage of its great features. Is there a fee associated with the Personal Financial Management Tool? No. The Personal Financial Management Tool is available at no cost to NBT Bank customers. When I click on the Personal Financial Management Tool, my browser says Yodlee Logout Redirect. What is Yodlee, and is this supposed to happen? The Personal Financial Management Tool feature of NBT Online Banker is powered by Yodlee, and it is possible that your browser will notify you of the use of the platform before proceeding. What is the difference between linking an account and creating a manual account? Linking an account allows you to connect an account to the Personal Financial Management Tool using the online account and password already established through the financial service provider. This allows the resource to automatically update account information such as your balance and individual transactions. Creating a manual account allows you to manually add assets and liabilities you may not have online access for, but would like to track in your total net worth statement or other account management features. If I change my login information on one of my account s web sites, will I also have to change it in my Personal Financial Management Tool for it to update properly? Yes. Your Personal Financial Management Tool requires that all login information for each of your linked accounts be current to ensure your account information is correct. If your login information changes, the Personal Financial Management Tool will inform you that there is a problem connecting to that account. What happens if I click Update all Accounts, but my information doesn t update? Try refreshing your browser, or click on another page within the Personal Finance tab and then return to the Accounts page. This allows the information to refresh for your viewing. If the account is still indicating that there is an error, your financial service provider s website may be temporarily unavailable. What do I do if one of my accounts will not automatically update? If your account will not update, please visit your financial service provider s website and ensure that you are still able to log in to your linked account. You may be experiencing an issue with that site that is causing the Personal Financial Management Tool s connection to be disrupted. I would like to link an account but can t find my provider when I search. How can I add my account? If you are unable to find your financial service provider through the search feature you may still add your account to the Personal Financial Management Tool manually. Select Create a Manual Account in the upper right corner of the screen while you are on the Personal Finance tab. Next, enter the information required and select Save. 13

14 I have created a manual account, but I am not finding a place to enter manual transactions. When created manually, only certain account types will allow for the manual entering of transactions. Account types that may not allow you to add manual transactions include Bills or Other Assets. One of my transactions keeps showing up with an incorrect category; how do I change this? To change the category associated with a single transaction from a vendor, click on the category description next to the vendor and select your preferred category from the drop-down menu. This will only change and save the category associated with that particular transaction. To permanently assign a category for a transaction from a particular vendor, visit the Transactions menu and select Custom Categorization Rules. You may then create a categorization rule that allows you to specify a certain category to be assigned based upon the vendor or transaction amount for any future transactions that match the description provided. These rules may be changed or adjusted at any time. How do I make a budget? Under the Reports tab, select Set Budget Goals and choose from the array of options to set specific monthly budget goals for specific aspects of your personal finances. At the top of the page, you may also select your preferences for the types of alerts you would like to have sent to your address. Moving forward, you can regularly review how you are tracking in relation to your goals by selecting the Budget vs. Actual Spending report under the Reports tab. What is the Dashboard and how do I customize it? The Dashboard is an easy way to review multiple aspects of your financial composition at one time. It provides snapshots of convenient reports that provide information such as an analysis of your expenses, your net worth statement, account balances, recent transactions and more. To change the layout of the Dashboard, select Options from the main menu and then select Change Dashboard Layout from the list of provided options. Use the arrows to change the position of a particular feature within the page. To change what information you see on your dashboard, select Edit Dashboard Display under the Options menu. This will allow you to choose what information is loaded onto your personal dashboard. Can I export my Personal Financial Management Tool history into Quicken? No, at this time you cannot export the data from your Personal Financial Management Tool to Quicken. You may export your NBT Bank history to Quicken or another program of your choice by selecting Accounts (located in the top left of your screen) and then select Export History. The Export Transactions button at the bottom of your Personal Financial Management Transactions screen will allow you to export your transaction history into an Excel spreadsheet through a.csv file. What length of transaction history will be available in the Personal Financial Management Tool? Your Personal Financial Management Tool will begin collecting and storing data for your transaction history the moment you enroll. This history will continue to build and remain available as long as you are enrolled in the service. How do I un-enroll in the Personal Financial Management Tool? To un-enroll in the Personal Financial Management Tool, it is recommended that you first delete each of your accounts that have been linked or added to the Personal Financial Management Tool. To do so, select Options and then select Manage Sites and Accounts from the provided menu options. For each account, select Deactivate Account and confirm your action. Once you have deleted your accounts, please contact the NBT Bank Call Center at NBT.BANK ( ) or [email protected]. My Accounts Summary screen isn t displaying all of my accounts. How do I correct this? The Accounts Summary screen allows you to view all of your accounts or account groups that you have established. On the upper right side, select the drop-down menu next to View and ensure that All Accounts is the selected option. Then select Show. Likewise, you can limit the view of your accounts to certain groups by changing that selection. 14

15 Can I view my Personal Financial Management Tool through NBT Bank Mobile Banking? The Personal Financial Management Tool is not currently available through NBT Bank Mobile Banking. However, if you would like to use a smartphone or tablet to access your Personal Financial Management Tool, simply visit nbtbank.com from your device s browser and log in to NBT Online Banker. One of my linked accounts has a warning message that states a Manual Update is Required. Aren t my linked accounts supposed to update automatically? Your linked accounts will update automatically as long as the connection isn t disrupted by the account s financial service provider. Select Manage Sites and Accounts from the Manage Accounts menu. Above the account in question select Edit Account Login Information to ensure all fields have been properly completed. If the problem persists, check your account information on the financial service provider s web portal. You may need to update your user information on that site before proceeding with its connection to NBT Bank s Personal Financial Management Tool. When I split a transaction, why does the tool sometimes add another split with a negative dollar amount? A split with a negative dollar amount will be added to correct or offset a value that has been entered that exceeds the original transaction amount. The combined value of your split transactions cannot exceed the original dollar amount of the transaction. Where can I obtain more detailed information on how to use the Personal Financial Management Tool? On the bottom of each screen within the Personal Financial Management Tool you will find access to a Help button. When you select Help, you will go to an index which provides step-by-step instructions on how to use the Personal Financial Management Tool. The information available through the Help button corresponds with the tab you are on in the Personal Financial Management tool. That information will change as you navigate to a different tab. Why might the balance or category value be different on certain screens in the Personal Financial Management Tool? A difference in displayed account balances or category totals may be due to a difference in date range for the information displayed. For instance, one screen may be set to show information for the past 30 days while another is set to show information for the past two weeks. Please review your settings to see if that corrects the issue. 2/2016 Member FDIC