Download .qif file from PayPal - No split information
When exporting a .qif file from PayPal, the transactions contain the sales price and the PayPal fee in split information. I have been using this information for years with Quicken. However, when I try to import this .qif file into Moneydance, the split information appears to be stripped out.
Is this a bug, or is there a setting somewhere that fixes this?
More Information
Moneydance version 2012.5 (862)
Unregistered (I really, really want to switch from Quicken if it
will do what I need it to do)
Windows 7 64-bit, 16 GB RAM
Here is an example transaction from the .qif file that I downloaded from PayPal.
^ !Type:Cash D2/13/2012
T19.07
LWeb Accept Payment Received
SWeb Accept Payment Received
$19.95 SFee
$-0.88 CX
MFlorida Walt Disney World GPS Map
PChris Colom
^
In Quicken, the transaction looks like this when imported (which
is correct):
2/13/2012 Chris Colum Florida Walt Disney World GPS Map 19.07
--Split-- Web Accept Payment Received $19.95
Fee $-0.88
In Moneydance, the transaction looks like this (which is not
correct):
2/13/2012 Chris Colum Florida Walt Disney World GPS Map 19.07
There is no split information in Moneydance. This is a very critical bug because people need to be able to track their expenses and revenue separately.
In Moneydance if I right-click and "Show Transaction Details", this is what I get. Moneydance appears to see the Split Information, but doesn't seem to reflect the split information in the account register.
915 127 Chris Colombo 2012.02.13 2013.02.16 22:44:22:047 2012.02.13
Florida Walt Disney World GPS Map ol.match-status new ol.match-type
0 ol_fitid_2 $ = -0.88; C = X; D = 2/13/2012; L = Web Accept
Payment Received; M = Florida Walt Disney World GPS Map; P = Chris
Colom; S = Fee; T = 19.07; splits:[ S = Web Accept Payment
Received; $ = 19.95; , S = Fee; $ = -0.88; ] ol.orig-txn {
"dtinit-int" = "20120213"
"name" = "Chris Colombo"
"amt" = "1907"
"fitxnid" = "$ = -0.88; C = X; D = 2/13/2012; L = Web Accept
Payment Received; M = Florida Walt Disney World GPS Map; P = Chris
Colom; S = Fee; T = 19.07; splits:[ S = Web Accept Payment
Received; $ = 19.95; , S = Fee; $ = -0.88; ]"
"dtpstd-int" = "20120213"
"fi_id" = "qif"
"dtavail-int" = "20120213"
"memo" = "Florida Walt Disney World GPS Map"
"chknum" = ""
"ptype" = "2"
}
ol.orig-payee Chris Colom ol.orig-memo Florida Walt Disney World
GPS Map ol_fi_id qif 914 114 Chris Colom 19.07 -19.07 1
I have heard great things about Moneydance technical support. I am hopeful that the stories are true. :^)
Thanks in advance for your help.
Comments are currently closed for this discussion. You can start a new one.
Keyboard shortcuts
Generic
| ? | Show this help |
|---|---|
| ESC | Blurs the current field |
Comment Form
| r | Focus the comment reply box |
|---|---|
| ^ + ↩ | Submit the comment |
You can use Command ⌘ instead of Control ^ on Mac
1 Posted by stone_moneydanc... on Feb 17, 2013 @ 06:33 AM
Hmmm. The web submission form appears to have stripped out many of the special characters in my post. I am attaching the post as a text file so that you can see all of the special characters and formatting.
2 Posted by Ben Spencer on Feb 17, 2013 @ 03:55 PM
Hi
Unfortunately there is no standard for the QIF file format. It was originally developed as a tool to assist Quicken developers diagnose uses bugs. Over the years it became popular with banks for allowing transactions to be downloaded. It also serves as the only way to export data from Quicken. What this means is that there is no right or wrong way to include information in a QIF file. Every version of Quicken does it differently and there is considerable variation from bank to bank.
I cannot think of any other cases where bank downloads include category or split information in a QIF file. There are two ways Moneydance treats a QIF file when it imports it. 1) as a bank download or 2) as a transfer of data from another program. This is controlled by the "Source" option on the QIF import window.
When Moneydance treats a QIF import as though it is a bank download it does not expect there to be any category or split information. As such this information is discarded.
Given that Paypal is providing category and split information rather than just the raw transactions it is behaving more like a personal finance program than a transaction source. Please try setting the source option on the QIF import window to "From another program"and then import the QIF file. Doing this means you won't get the auto categorization from Moneydance but you should get the category and split details.
Ben Spencer
Moneydance Support
3 Posted by stone_moneydanc... on Feb 18, 2013 @ 06:19 AM
Ben,
I am well impressed. You responded to my question with a very informative post within hours - and I posted just before midnight!
I tried your suggestion to import "From another program" and the split information came through just fine! Now I have to re-categorize the split information into my categories.
I guess I need to do a "find and replace" to replace the categories in my many, many transactions.
Split line one: Change "Web Accept Payment Received" to "Sales Income"
Split line two: Change "Fee" to "PayPal Fee"
I tried using the Advanced Search to find where Account/Category is "Web Accept Payment Received". It found all of the transactions. I then selected them and right-clicked > Batch Change > Category > "Sales Income". I was a little surprised to see that it worked and replaced the category all of the instances in split line one!
Next, I used the Advanced Search to find where Account/Category is "Fee". It found all of the transactions. I then selected them and right-clicked > Batch Change > Category > "PayPal Fee". This time I was in for a disappointment. The split line one category changed instead of split line two.
How can I do a "find and replace" that works within splits?
If I can figure this out, then (baring any other roadblocks) Quicken is out and Moneydance is in!
4 Posted by stone_moneydanc... on Feb 18, 2013 @ 06:29 AM
Nevermind. I found one of your previous posts where you solved this for another user.
I tried adding the "Search and Replace" extension and it is absolutely fabulous! So much better than the one in Quicken!!
Thanks again!
=-=-=-
Previous Post included to help others
=-=-=-
You may find the free find and replace extension meets your needs.
Select Extensions->Add
Click Next.
Select "Find and Replace"
Click Next.
Click Finish.
This will add a new menu item called "Find and Replace" to the Extensions menu.
Sincerely
Ben Spencer
5 Posted by stone_moneydanc... on Feb 18, 2013 @ 06:35 AM
As a suggestion, you may want to update your import routine to specifically look for the PayPal QIF format. It may be that there isn't a standard, but a lot of people use PayPal. PayPal has made a point of not using a "Bank Download" interface, so QIF is the best that it gets from them.
I am finding that Moneydance is so good that it really can be the next big personal finance software. Having the ability to import easily from PayPal would really be a big feature for you. Having Moneydance auto-categorize a PayPal QIF import would be very nice. Having Moneydance interface through the PayPal API to auto download the transactions would be absolute heaven!
Good luck. I really like what I see.
stone_moneydance closed this discussion on Feb 20, 2013 @ 06:37 PM.