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Import Account Info Only

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Rand Miller

Jan 23, 2016 @ 10:04 PM

I imported Account Info Only on my initial import from a QIF file per the instructions in the User Guide. However, some accounts imported with a few transactions. Should I delete those before importing all account data to prevent duplication?

1. Support Staff 1 Posted by Jenny on Jan 25, 2016 @ 01:22 PM

   

   Hi Rand,

   When exporting your data from Quicken and importing to Moneydance, I'd recommend following the instructions in this article. Can you follow these steps, and let me know if you continue to encounter problems importing your data.

   This article contains a list of the possible problems you may experience after a QIF import, and how to resolve.

   Jenny
   Infinite Kind Support

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2. 2 Posted by Rand on Jan 25, 2016 @ 08:28 PM

   

   Jenny,

    

   Unfortunately, neither of the two web pages that I read nor the pages from the User Guide regarding Quicken import instructions included the paragraph that states,

    

   The "Import QIF File" will be displayed again. From this window set the "File Source:" to "From Another Program". This time do NOT check the "Import Account Info Only" box.

   1. From the "Import To:" option Select "New Account" …

   After my initial import checking "Import Account Info Only" some of my accounts were classified as the wrong type (i.e., a loan was classified as a bank account, etc.), and dozens of hidden accounts were displayed making it difficult for me to examine the accounts for errors. As there was no means of changing account types I had to delete several accounts and recreate them as the correct account type. I also went through and made accounts “Inactive” and “Hidden” as appropriate so that I could sort through the active accounts and compare them to my previous active Quicken accounts. All of that took me about 2 hours. At that point I “exported” a backup file so that I would not need to repeat that process if something went wrong with my import of data into the new accounts.

    

   Next, I ran a second import per instructions without checking “Import Account Info Only.” As I said, I did not have the benefit of the instruction to “Import To: New Account” and it seemed logical to me that I would import to the (now) Existing Accounts. Of course, that didn’t work out. No problem, I restored from my backup file and tried the import again with similar results. My accounts were full of erroneous transactions again. This time, on attempting to restore from my backup file containing correct account information, the restore did not work.

    

   Moving on, I created a new file with a “Minimal Account Set” and ran another import from my QIF file but I did NOT check “Import Account Info Only.” So now I am left with a Moneydance file with, once again, erroneous account types and no way to change them, as well as account balances that are incorrect on some accounts due to, at least in one case that I figured out, “phantom” transactions.

    

   At this point, I suppose that the only solution would be to begin all over again, “Import Account Info Only,” spend another several hours correcting account types and sorting out my hidden accounts, and trying a second import with “Import To: New Account” checked and see what I get. Then I would need to decide if it is worthwhile to try to track down the source of erroneous balances in some accounts. However daunting that task might seem to me I am more concerned with the fact that my second attempt to restore from a backup failed. I am not about to trust a program to handle my financial information if I can’t count on the ability to restore my data from a backup should that become necessary in the future. Perhaps you have some information that would answer my concern. If so, please let me know.

    

   Thank you,

   Rand

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3. Support Staff 3 Posted by Ethan on Jan 27, 2016 @ 12:39 PM

   

   Hello Rand,

   The backup and restore functions should definitely be working. Can you be a bit more descriptive about what happened when you say that "the restore did not work?" What is the full name of the file you tried to restore, including the file extension at the end? What steps did you take to try to restore it? When you say it did not work, do you mean that nothing happened, the information that appeared was incorrect, you got an error message, or something else?

   Ethan
   Moneydance Support

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4. 4 Posted by Rand on Jan 27, 2016 @ 09:10 PM

   

   Ethan,

    

   As I stated below, after my initial “Import Account Info Only” (Import #1) and correcting account types, etc., I made a backup using File/Export Backup… I then imported again from my QIF file without checking “Import Account Info Only” (Import #2) and my account balances were altogether wrong, apparently because I had checked Import to: Existing Accounts and there was one account showing in the drop down list. At that point, I restored using File/Restore from Backup… and I was back to my file as it existed as of my Export Backup. I then tried another import without checking “Import Account Info Only” (Import #3), checking “From Another Program” and (as I now know, erroneously) “Import to: Existing Account” but this time leaving the drop down box blank. After import #3, my balances were again altogether goofy so I attempted another File/Restore from Backup and, unlike the previous restore, nothing changed. I then (4:17 PM) closed the program, reopened it and tried to Restore from Backup and nothing changed.

    

   The backup file from which I was restoring is named “Qdata.moneydancearchive.”

    

   I looked at the default location for my data set, C:\Users\<username>\.moneydance\Documents, which is NOT the same location where the backup file is stored, and found a folder “backups” containing a file named “Qdata.2016-01-23.moneydancearchive” with a Date modified of the same date and time, 4:17 PM, as my closing and reopening the program and final attempt at a restore. Perhaps that is the source of some difficulty?

    

   I now wonder if I could create an altogether new data file and then restore from my backup. Assuming I could get back to a data set with at least my correct account info, perhaps I could try to import transactions and selecting “New Account” would import transactions to the correct accounts. Obviously, I am very unsure about the correct way to go about this. Your help is appreciated.

    

   Rand

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5. System closed this discussion on Apr 27, 2016 @ 09:20 PM.