Reconciliation change of category
This is kind of a show stopper. It is year end and I'm working through categorizing hundreds of transactions. They all have to have "confirm selected new transactions" run on them. When a vendor has a history of more than one categorization, MoneyDance will randomly change the category after hitting command enter. Since the focus jumps down (sometimes very far) to the next unconfirmed transaction you can often miss this bug. (I didn't see any way to turn that jumping off.) MoneyDance often moved transactions in or out of a tax deductible category. This is a very expensive bug. I'm very luck to have I noticed it. Sometimes the random change was into a split transaction. It was quite tedious to revert the splits when they happened. I then revisited some older transactions to see if it had happened before. I did find examples of this.
Maybe it's a bug only I'm experiencing. In any case it's a very dangerous bug even if it hits only one person. If you feel like pursuing this bug I'd be happy to help. But for now I'll be moving on to try a different product. I just can't afford the risk.
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1 Posted by -Kevin N. on 27 Dec, 2011 03:38 PM
Hi moneydance,
Hitting CMD-ENTER selects the currently highlighted option from the Confirmation Sidebar. What you are describing sounds like you have one of your 'Similar Payees' highlighted when you are hitting CMD-ENTER.
If you wish to preserve a txn 'as is', choose the 'Current Transaction' option from the Confirmation Sidebar.
Something that might make a little easier for you would be to segregate your downloaded / unconfirmed txns from the register. To do so, click the split window icon next to the 'New Transaction' button in the upper right-hand corner of the register. A 'X Unconfirmed Transactions' header will appear towards the bottom of the register with your unconfirmed txns under it.
HTH -Kevin N.
2 Posted by Barry on 27 Dec, 2011 04:34 PM
That split window trick makes things way easier. Thanks for that.
Regarding your first answer; I am not trying to use the sidebar. I
1) Select the transaction
2) Double click on the category field in the transaction line. Then I begin to overtype with the desired category. MoneyDance completes the category assignment as expected.
3) I tab off the field.
4) I hit commend return (I've also tried selecting "Confirm Selected New Transactions" in the "Online" menu.
5) The category changes to something else.
Are you saying the sidebar must be used? I suppose the choice it made could be the one overriding my choice in the register. This would be silly behavior.
At this point I can only say that my trust in the product is greatly diminished. At the core is the UI. I wonder how many other nonintuitive behaviors could be causing me problems?
I have encountered another UI issue regarding that sidebar. It's caused me to match an incorrect transaction. At the center of the problem was that it doesn't display the check number. For some reason it matched an identical register entry with a different check number. That one was a nightmare to find.
3 Posted by -Kevin N. on 27 Dec, 2011 05:17 PM
Hi moneydance,
As far as I know yea, the highlited option in the Confirmation Sidebar will be what gets applied to the txn when CMD-ENTER is hit.
There have been a number of posts regarding the somewhat unpolished TAB sequense required to move focus to the desired option of the Confirmation Sidebar. Also, other than mouse clicking, I have yet to discover a means to return focus back to the register once it's been given to the Confirmation Sidebar.
HTH -Kevin N.
4 Posted by Barry on 27 Dec, 2011 07:06 PM
Thanks again Kevin. You've added a ton of clarity to what I had previously thought was random.
The UI did not really pass my end of year trial by fire :-). I truly loved the last version. I really never had these kind of problems. I guess the UI was more clear.
I also have a lot of respect for the software in general. I'm a Java and Python programmer. There's some pretty cool stuff for me here. Also I love cross platform solutions. Only the UI is problematic.
Within the next week I'll have to make my final decision whether I switch software starting on the first. Your support here adds weight to sticking with MoneyDance.
5 Posted by Angie Rauscher on 27 Dec, 2011 07:57 PM
Hey Moneydance,
I'm glad the issue has become clearer. I also wanted to let you know that if you preferred the previous behavior of the software (like Moneydance 2010 for example), you're more than welcome to revert to that version. I know it's not a perfect solution, but it's possible. If you have any other questions or would like to make suggestions to improve the behavior of the software, just let us know.
Thanks for using Moneydance, and please let me know if I can be of further assistance,
Angie Rauscher
Moneydance Support
6 Posted by Barry on 03 Jan, 2012 05:24 PM
Thanks for all the help you guys. I do have a follow-on issue.
I've switched to just using the reconciliation panel on the right rather than working with the register to assign categories when accepting transactions. I do see how you can select a different category from what is suggested in that panel. So far so good.
However I don't see how to create a split from the reconciliation panel. Of course, if I create the split in the register it will just be overwritten. So there must be some way to set up the split before accepting the transaction. How is that done?
7 Posted by -Kevin N. on 03 Jan, 2012 05:33 PM
Hi moneydance,
The Split entered into the register should not get overwritten if you choose the 'Current Transaction' Confirmation choice from the Confirmation Sidebar.
HTH -Kevin N.
8 Posted by Barry on 04 Jan, 2012 03:37 PM
Hi Kevin,
Thanks (again).
I usually enter the category at the same time as accepting the downloaded transaction. It seems that in all cases except for a split the categorization can be done at the same time as the "accept" using the reconciliation panel. In fact that's the only convenient way to do this for a merge.
It seems that what your saying is that in the exceptional case that the category should be a split then you have to assign that directly in the register and then save there. Only then can you use the reconciliation panel.
Is that correct?
Regards
Barry
9 Posted by -Kevin N. on 04 Jan, 2012 04:08 PM
Hi Barry,
I find that categorization has become, for the most part, automated. In other words Moneydance has 'learned' the proper Category to extend to a particular Description.
Are you also finding this to be true or are you required to repeatedly enter the Category for a given Description?
It is my understanding that for any downloaded (blue dot) txn that is then edited, (whether a Split txn or not) in order for those changes to be preserved, the 'Current Transaction' Confirmation choice must be applied.
Just as an FYI, if your intention is to avoid the mouse as much as possible, then after editing a txn and hitting ENTER, TAB twice to move focus to the Confirmation Sidebar. The UP and DOWN ARROW keys can move focus about the Confirmation Sidebar. If you find that there is a Confirmation choice that can not be reached with the ARROW keys, hit TAB again and try the ARROW keys once more. When focus is on the desired Confirmation choice hit ENTER to accept it.
The one main issue with this method is that other than mouse-clicking back to the register, I've yet to discover a means to return focus back to the register through the use of the keyboard.
HTH -Kevin N.
10 Posted by Barry on 04 Jan, 2012 05:32 PM
Hi Kevin,
Many of my transactions are mixed tax deductible and not tax deductible and in different proportions. So for a particular vendor it might be purely tax deductible, not tax deductible, or a mix. In the last case I need a split. Moneydance seems to be about 25% correct in its guess with regard to these vendors. So these must be categorized manually.
I agree with your understanding regarding the blue dot. I find there is an inconsistency in reconciliation with regard to splits. I didn't explain it well. I wanted your confirmation in my understanding. Let me say it better:
A transaction is downloaded and appears with a blue dot and default category (which I never want to use).
1) If I wish to merge with another register entry then I only work with the recon panel and click the merge button.
2) If I wish to accept Monydance's suggestion of a category then I only have to work with the recon panel and accept the suggestion. In this case the altered transaction is saved and accepted with one click.
3) If I wish to alter the transaction to a different single category I can select it in the recon panel and and click accept. In this case the altered transaction is saved and accepted with one click.
In these three cases the register item is altered, saved, and accepted using only the recon panel.
4) If I wish to alter the transaction to a split then I must work directly within the register to setup the split and save. Only then can I go to the recon panel and accept the current register entry.
Would you say this is a correct analysis?
Regards,
Barry
11 Posted by -Kevin N. on 04 Jan, 2012 05:40 PM
Hi Barry,
Correct on all counts as far as I can see.
As you've discovered, there is sometimes more than one way to accomplish things in Moneydance.
-Kevin N.
12 Posted by Barry on 04 Jan, 2012 05:58 PM
Hi Kevin,
That inconsistency in approach between reconciling splits versus non-splits is going to throw me a lot since I tend to work on auto pilot :-). I can't always work in the register because I won't get the benefit of the recon panel's merge and suggested category buttons. I can't always work in the recon panel since it doesn't handle splits.
You had also suggested splitting the window so that only unaccepted transactions appear in the lower part. That was a fabulous suggestion. But even there there is a fundamental UI flaw. When you accept the transaction it immediately disappears from that part of the page so you can't do a quick visual confirmation that the categorization was correct. Consider OmniFocus, for example. When you click off a transaction as done it doesn't remove it from the list. Rather it marks it as done until you manually click a "clean-up" button.
I guess the reconciliation UI has some growing pains to go through.
I can't thank you enough Kevin for all your feedback. It's added so much clarity to the reconciliation process in Moneydance.
Regards,
Barry
13 Posted by -Kevin N. on 04 Jan, 2012 06:06 PM
Hi Barry,
I'm glad that I could help.
As you say the confirmation process will probaly be polished with time.
I was wondering if the 'Similar Payees' option has proven to be of any help to you with regard to like-named vendors with differenft Categories.
-Kevin N.
14 Posted by phil on 04 Jan, 2012 06:50 PM
Barry posted and Kevin confirmed:
4) If I wish to alter the transaction to a split then I must work directly within the register to setup the split and save. Only then can I go to the recon panel and accept the current register entry.
I have tried that, and no matter where I attempt the split the Category panel does not show a "Split" entry at the top EXCEPT when I manually enter a new (blank) transaction in the register. This does not help me for transactions already entered manually or downloaded online whether they are confirmed or not.
What am I missing?
-- Phil Kane -- (WinXP-SP3, MD 2011r3. Build 803)
15 Posted by -Kevin N. on 04 Jan, 2012 07:15 PM
Hi Phil,
Put a downloaded (blue dot) txn into EDIT mode. (Highlight it and hit ENTER)
Bring up the Split window. Key-combo CTRL-L
Enter the Split line items in the Split window. Clck DONE.
The txn remains in EDIT mode in the register. Hit ENTER.
The 'Current Transaction' section of the Confirmation Sidebar should now reflect the fact that the txn contains splits.
Click the 'Confirm' button within the 'Current Transaction' section of the Confirmaton Sidebar so as to preserve the changes made to the txn.
HTH -Kevin N.
16 Posted by phil on 04 Jan, 2012 08:02 PM
Thank you so much. The Ctrl-L combo was not intuitive but it works!
== Phil Kane
17 Posted by -Kevin N. on 04 Jan, 2012 08:25 PM
Hi Phil,
Just as an FYI...
There's a list of key-combos on pg. 54 of the Moneydance User Guide.
-Kevin N
18 Posted by Barry on 06 Jan, 2012 12:04 AM
Hi Kevin,
Regarding "I was wondering if the 'Similar Payees' option has proven to be of any help to you with regard to like-named vendors with different Categories.". I'll do a reconciliation this weekend and report back.
Barry
19 Posted by -Kevin N. on 06 Jan, 2012 12:12 AM
Hi Barry,
I've discovered a possible anomaly with regards to the 'Similar Payee' option.
I posted about it here:
http://help.infinitekind.com/discussions/bugs/445-similar-payee-vs-...
-Kevin N.
20 Posted by Barry on 11 Jan, 2012 02:15 AM
Hi Kevin,
This past weekend I tried to get more details of my process. Unfortunately all the complex reconciliation happens with my Discover card. I avoid automatic download of these transactions. Rather I manually download a QFX file once a month. The automatic downloads for Discover result in duplicate entries. So I have not much more to report regarding reconciliation problems or solutions.
I studied your bug report. The situation you describe is close to my problem case. I have a couple of payees which have previous split transactions and previous single category transactions.
I was thrown a bit by step 3. Every transaction that I download which gets a blue dot starts with a single default category (which I have set to "bank charge"). I've never seen it put a blue dot on an existing transaction. Also, I've not seen it default a new blue dot transaction in a clever way based on past transactions. Is this related to that fact that I have "Automatically Merge Downloaded Transactions" unchecked?
If you could explain a bit more I'd appreciate it. Categories assigned in error during reconciliation are the things scaring me the most at the moment.
Barry
21 Posted by -Kevin N. on 11 Jan, 2012 04:29 AM
Hi Barry,
I DO have AMDT enabled. This probably accounts for the blue dot (in my bug report) being applied to the existing Split txn in my register as opposed to appearing as a single Category txn.
I'm not sure if it's supposed to make a difference when it comes to Category maching but I've found that I experience better Category matching results with AMDT enabled.
The way I undertand it is that MD is supposed to 'learn' from prior entries and suggest Catagory matching based on those prior entries whether AMDT is enabled or not. But who knows? It works well for me so I keep it enabled.
HTH -Kevin N.
Barry closed this discussion on 19 Feb, 2012 05:20 PM.