How to start from scratch
Eamonn Herlihy
I have hit some importing problems.
How do I totally clear Moneydance so as to start again from scratch?
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1 Posted by Eamonn Herlihy on Sep 07, 2018 @ 03:19 PM
How do I totally clear all my accounts etc in Moneydance so that I can re-attempt my imports?
2 Posted by -Kevin N. on Sep 07, 2018 @ 03:43 PM
Hi Eamonn Herlihy,
To delete all transactions from an account register:
Make sure that the 'All' filter is applied.
Highlight any transaction in the register.
Use key-combo CTRL-A.
(All transactions in the register should now be highlighted.) Tap the 'Delete' key on your keyboard.
-Kevin N. (not a member of MD support)
3 Posted by Eamonn Herlihy on Sep 07, 2018 @ 03:48 PM
Thanks for prompt response, Kevin.
However, my problem is NOT how to delete transactions from an account.
I want to re-create an account as if for the very first time.
When I start a new account with the 'old' name, it tells me it already exists, though I cannot see it anywhere.
(I must use exact names so as to import QIF files from Microsoft Money.)
Thanks,
Éamonn
[email blocked]
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4 Posted by -Kevin N. on Sep 07, 2018 @ 04:00 PM
Hi Eamonn,
Can you confirm that when you deleted the account that you did so as follows.
Open Moneydance to the account in question.
From the Moneydance menu bar, go to Account > Delete Account
Accept the prompt.
The reason that I want to confirm this is because it is possible to remove an account from the left side bar. However, removing an account from the left side bar does not delete it. It simply removes it from the left side bar.
-Kevin N. (not a member of MD support)
5 Posted by Eamonn Herlihy on Sep 07, 2018 @ 07:21 PM
Really nice of you, Kevin, to take the trouble to help.
As a beginner, I am discovering all sorts of strange things about this program's behaviour but hope that I will have the patience to stick with it.
I believe I have found the answer to my accounts-deletion question by scrubbing the documents in my Money's and folder - once I'd found it!
I then set up my (five) new accounts, which appeared in dashboard under the 'base-cash' (whatever that means). At this first stage, they neatly matched the listing under Tools->Accounts. So I thought: this is great!
Then I started to import my Microsoft Money files, meticulously following Moneydance's guide for this exact exercise. However, when I imported my first Microsoft file to my matching Moneydance file I noticed that one of the other account names (listed under Tools->Accounts) was duplicated - and showing a different balance. My next file import also duplicated a (different) account.
All hard to describe and I would likely bore you to death by going on and on but it certainly is mystifying.
Hopefully I shall perhaps be wiser when I browse through the extensive Moneydance knowledge-base etc.
Meanwhile, many thanks once again.
Regards,
Éamonn
[email blocked]
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6 Posted by Eamonn Herlihy on Sep 07, 2018 @ 07:47 PM
Henry, thanks for your recent email.
Kevin wrote earlier with some helpful suggestions, which no doubt you will now have on file.
I am forwarding below a copy of my last response to Kevin, which I think sums up my present (confused) situation. Any further help would of course be very gratefully received.
Regards,
Éamonn
[email blocked]
From: Eamonn Herlihy
Sent: Friday, 7 September, 20:20
Subject: Re: How to start from scratch [Problems #47467]
To: [email blocked]
Really nice of you, Kevin, to take the trouble to help.
As a beginner, I am discovering all sorts of strange things about this program's behaviour but hope that I will have the patience to stick with it.
I believe I have found the answer to my accounts-deletion question by scrubbing the documents in my Money's and folder - once I'd found it!
I then set up my (five) new accounts, which appeared in dashboard under the 'base-cash' (whatever that means). At this first stage, they neatly matched the listing under Tools->Accounts. So I thought: this is great!
Then I started to import my Microsoft Money files, meticulously following Moneydance's guide for this exact exercise. However, when I imported my first Microsoft file to my matching Moneydance file I noticed that one of the other account names (listed under Tools->Accounts) was duplicated - and showing a different balance. My next file import also duplicated a (different) account.
All hard to describe and I would likely bore you to death by going on and on but it certainly is mystifying.
Hopefully I shall perhaps be wiser when I browse through the extensive Moneydance knowledge-base etc.
Meanwhile, many thanks once again.
Regards,
Éamonn
[email blocked]
7 Posted by -Kevin N. on Sep 07, 2018 @ 10:00 PM
Hi Eamonn,
If you've already created the account structure in Moneydance that mimics the structure in MS Money then when you go to File > Import in Moneydance and select a QIF file that you exported from MS Money, you should then see the 'Import QIF File' import form in Moneydance.
When selecting options in the 'Import QIF File' form:
For the 'Import To:' option, select the 'Existing Account' radio button and select the appropriate account from the drop-down list. (doing so should prevent duplication of accounts)
For the 'File Source:' option, select the 'From Another Program' radio button. (doing so should provide for importing your Categories from MS Money.
Date Format, Decimal Character and Currency type should be self-explanatory.
DO NOT checkmark the box 'Import Account Info Only'.
Click OK
Repeat for each account.
As someone who has been through this process (maybe 7 or 8 years ago) I can tell you that it is not a trivial procedure (especially when importing investment accounts).
My small piece of advise is to pay no attention to the account balances as you import your accounts. The balances of accounts that include transfers will change as each account is added.
I continue to use MS Money along side of Moneydance as something of a checks-and-balances. I think that some of the reporting in MS Money is stronger than that of Moneydance.
Good luck with the import. Don't worry about providing 'the gory details'. :) Sometimes they provide the necessary insights into what may be causing an issue.
-Kevin N. (not a member of MD support)
8 Posted by Eamonn Herlihy on Sep 08, 2018 @ 02:27 PM
Thanks, Kevin N.
You look like being my lifesaver, especially as you've travelled the same route.
One of my puzzles is this:
Moneydance's 'Importing from MS Money' Guide emphasises the need to create both an Investment type account and a Bank type account for each MSMoney Investment Account. Really not sure how to handle this, as (say) one of my MSMoney 'Investment' accounts is a single account within MSMoney. Moneydance states that it would be treated as two accounts internally within QIF and to be sure to import the cash portion into the 'bank' version of my newly-created Moneydance account. But how on earth can I distinguish the 'cash' portion from the 'investment' portion of my MSMoney Investment Account??
Hope all this makes sense. I am probably making a fundamental error or false assumption somewhere.
I find myself wondering if I should completely forget about importing anything and create a totally new set of accounts within Moneydance.
Regards and a million thanks once again.
Regards,
Éamonn.
[email blocked]
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9 Posted by -Kevin N. on Sep 08, 2018 @ 03:07 PM
Hi Eamonn,
In the account settings for investment accounts in MS Money, there is an option to 'Track cash transactions' (see screenshot)
I did choose to track cash transactions for my investment accounts.
If you did too, then you will be offered an option to export as a 'Regular' type account (as opposed to an 'Investment' type account) for the 'Cash' transactions.
What I remember doing to export the cash transactions for my investment accounts was to simply name each of them per their parent investment account name. For example for an investment account named Fidelity 1234, I would simply create a 'Regular' type of export named Fidelity 1234_Cash.
If you did not choose to track cash transactions for your investment accounts then the point is moot There will be no 'Regular' type accounts listed for you to export.
HTH -Kevin N. (not a member of MD support)
10 Posted by Eamonn Herlihy on Sep 10, 2018 @ 03:32 PM
Kevin,
Thanks so much once again—who else would take such trouble?
Until I go back into my MSMoney account (now on an older 'retiring' machine) I shall have no idea what the setting was. But I do not remember being offered any sort of binary choice, such as you've described, at the export stage.
My old machine on WindowsXP had MSMoney ActiveSynched with an iPAQ PDA and, as far as I am concerned, it really is a crying shame that Microsoft stopped supporting their software and, one might add, that iPAQ discontinued their PocketPCs. (Unbelievably, perhaps, mine still works apart from the fingerprint recognition.)
I've been Googling about the transferability of MSMoney (the traditional version, not the Sunset version!) to Windows 10 but it seems to involve some Registry tweaking with the Explorer entries. I considered it not worth the risk, especially as the ActiveSynch facility would most likely not be any longer available. Hence my decision to move to Moneydance (well reviewed by Which? and others), with which my 'Activesynching' would now be done via Android tablet and mob. tel.)
Since your last email, I've worked my way systematically through the Users' Guide, Q. & A., etc. and have come to a decision:
As already hinted, I shall set up Moneydance with a totally fresh set of accounts and a revised/simplified set of categories for my Cash and Current Registers. As compensation for no longer having several years' of transaction history, I shall export a whole lot of reports from MSMoney in an appropriate format for future interrogation. Thereafter, it will be R.I.P MSMoney and R.I.P iPAQ with a heavy heart, as that partnership has served me faithfully and well over many, many years. (Still looking for somewhere to migrate my Outlook 2010 contacts listing to!. They were also ActiveSynched to my iPAQ. Probably Google Contacts, but that remains to be decided.)
Doubt very much that you will have heard the last from me, Kevin, as all new software can throw up the most unexpected challenges.
Meanwhile, once again, my gratitude for your amazing helpfulness.
Regards,
Éamonn.
[email blocked]
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11 Posted by -Kevin N. on Sep 10, 2018 @ 04:01 PM
Hi Eamonn,
I am using the Sunset version of MS Money with Windows 10 Home 64.bit without incident or registry hacks. From what I've read, the registry hacks were only necessary with the very early releases of Win 10.
Since you've express a reluctance to part with MS Money, I feel that I should make you aware of a free, app called Pocketsense.
Pocketsense is a program that can connect to those financial institutions that provide direct connections to their OFX servers so that you can download an OFX file and automatically import it into MS Money. It also downloads stock quotes from Yahoo and Google. It essentially restores the full functionality to MS Money.
I've been using Pocketsense for years now. I actually use it with an older version of Moneydance as well (MD 2011) to import transactions.
Pocketsense is a little geeky but the developer's website walks you through every step. He also remains actively involved in troubleshooting and it's continued development.
If you're interested, here's the link to the Pocketsense website:
https://sites.google.com/site/pocketsense/home/msmoneyfixp1
I should point out also that currently Moneydance's ability to download stock quotes is severely throttled back due to it's use of Aphavantage as it's stock quote source. Something to the tune of 4 or 5 stock quotes per minute.
There are some clever Moneydance users who are working on a better solution. You can read up on that endeavor here:
http://help.infinitekind.com/discussions/investments/3771-third-par...
-Kevin N. (not a member of MD support)
12 Posted by Eamonn Herlihy on Sep 10, 2018 @ 04:36 PM
Thanks yet again, Kevin
The registry hacks I mentioned were, I THINK, about getting traditional MSMoney to work with Windows 10.
The reviews of Sunset MSMoney I've read were mostly unanimous that it is geared towards the US market, not the UK one.
I've noted your reference to Pocketsense. I can indeed see its relevance to those with online banking accounts. I have decided at present NOT to use my bank's online facility at present.. All of which is perhaps just as well, because Moneydance seems to list just USA banks. Hopefully they will cover the UK banking network before too long.
Regards,
Éamonn
[email blocked]
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13 Posted by -Kevin N. on Sep 10, 2018 @ 05:57 PM
Hi Eamonn,
Ah, OK. You're on the other side of the pond. :)
I'm here in the US.
-Kevin N. (not a member of MD support)
14 Posted by Eamonn Herlihy on Sep 10, 2018 @ 06:02 PM
Thanks, Kevin.
The 'pond' you're talking about is somewhat bigger than the one I usually refer to: the 'pond' between Gt. Britain (I live in London) and my country of origin: Ireland.
As mentioned earlier, I am quite likely to be in touch again.
Regards,
Éamonn
[email blocked]
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System closed this discussion on Dec 10, 2018 @ 06:10 PM.