Paused using MD in 2018 - how to bring in new data?

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karen

Mar 19, 2022 @ 06:08 PM

I paused using MD in 2018 on my old 2012 vintage Mac. I have a new imac and have opened the old archive file so I would have all my accounts there, plus all my categories, etc.
How do I bring in the new transactions from Jan 1 2022 forward without messing things up.
Do I zero out all the balances on Dec 31, 2021 by making a negative entry for each account, and then just import all new data starting Jan 1 2022? Not quite sure how to do that.
I am happy to be on a new fast Mac and have purchased my upgrade. Ready to get back on track. Thanks for advice and pointing me to the right how to instructions.

  1. 1 Posted by karen on Mar 19, 2022 @ 07:10 PM

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    I did a test with my Cash on hand account, zeroing out the balance with a Dec 31 2021 entry. It worked fine. Now, should I zero out the other two checking accounts and then subscribe to Moneydance+ and let it download all the new transactions selecting Jan 1 2022 as my start date?

  2. Support Staff 2 Posted by Ethan on Mar 19, 2022 @ 09:57 PM

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    Hello,

    What you did sounds like a fine method. Another one could have been adjusting the initial balance of your account to bring your balance up to date. Still another would be to simply create a new Moneydance data file, and only open this older one if you needed to reference something from before 2018. Things may be a bit more complicated if you have investment accounts or other long-term investments for which a gap in data this large would be an issue (like a mortgage), but if things seem ok to you, it sounds like you're good to go.

    Ethan
    Infinite Kind Support

  3. 3 Posted by karen on Mar 19, 2022 @ 10:11 PM

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    Thank you, Ethan. I don't have investment accounts that I use with this so that isn't a problem. I only use MD for my business - which consists of two checking accounts and a PayPal account and a cash account. It's very simple. I don't have any need to go back to pre 2018 things. To create a new data account, will my old categories still be there? I primarily use MD to track categories of expenses for income tax preparation purposes - and it is a real time saver for that. When I link to my bank and PayPal with Moneydance plus will it automatically assign categories to payees it recognizes as frequently used, or will I have to do that manually?

  4. Support Staff 4 Posted by Ethan on Mar 19, 2022 @ 10:41 PM

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    Hello,

    If you create a new data file, it is completely new: new categories, no data for the confirmation process, etc. From what you wrote, it sounds like you probably don't want to do that. So probably one of the other methods makes more sense in your situation.

    Ethan
    Infinite Kind Support

  5. 5 Posted by dtd on Mar 20, 2022 @ 12:57 AM

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    just a user - here is what *I* would do, your mileage may vary.

    Don't delete anything - just "let it go". You can always filter old transactions so they won't show.

    First, see if OFX downloads will work for your accounts. If it does, then you don't need to spend the small monthly fee for MD+, and OFX tends to be faster on the downloads and more reliable (IF it works). If OFX doesnt work, disable and move to MD+

    Then given you go back to 2018, just download whatever they will give you. Don't worry about Jan 1, 2022, just take it all in. (You are going to have to adjust anyway).

    Once you have the download - pick a date before the first date downloaded, and put in an adjustment transaction that makes the current balance correct.

    Move on from there.

    Hope that helps give you a direction toward what you want.

  6. 6 Posted by karen on Mar 20, 2022 @ 02:49 AM

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    Thank you dtd and Ethan. I discovered that OFX is no longer supported by B of A, so I guess that means MD+ for me. All your suggestions have been helpful.

  7. 7 Posted by karen on Mar 20, 2022 @ 08:22 PM

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    Well, I subscribed to MD+ and got text and email confirmation that the connection was made with my bank, but when I went to look in Setup, it showed an account called noname and there were no linked accounts. I got messages like this:
    I tried a different message in the forum that suggested a sequence of disconnecting, refreshing, reconnecting, restarting MD, which I did. Still no luck. Now I have no account names when I go to Setup Moneydance+. What do I do next? I am eager to get this set up correctly. Thanks in advance.

  8. 8 Posted by karen on Mar 20, 2022 @ 10:31 PM

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    The setup tab tells me I'm fully connected, even though no accounts show up under the accounts tab

  9. 9 Posted by karen on Mar 21, 2022 @ 02:11 AM

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    I went through the process again and this time it seems like it worked. Who knows what happened the first time I tried, anyway ... moving ahead now.

  10. System closed this discussion on Jun 20, 2022 @ 02:20 AM.

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