tag:infinitekind.tenderapp.com,2009-01-14:/discussions/switching-from-another-personal-finance-program/2007-advice-for-managing-major-transition-from-quickenInfinite Kind: Discussion 2016-10-02T02:36:23Ztag:infinitekind.tenderapp.com,2009-01-14:Comment/398515512016-05-12T00:22:20Z2016-05-12T00:22:27ZAdvice for managing major transition from Quicken<div><p>I am a long-time Quicken user planning a transition to
Moneydance. In anticipation of this, I would appreciate any general
and special advice you could give me to ease the change, because I
know it will be a major effort, and I dread the snafus and
adaptation issues that could arise. I would like to take steps to
make the migration as easy, seamless, and issue-free as
possible.<br>
I am currently using two different Quicken files for different sets
of accounts. One is 102 MB in size, with over 20 years worth of
records and 20+ active accounts, plus more which are inactive and
hidden. (I have not archived in the past because I prefer all
records to be available for easy reference.) I use property and
investment accounts, as well as cash, banking, loan and credit card
accounts. I also use Scheduled Transactions, savings goals and
Quicken BillPay.<br>
The second account is smaller at 15 MB, with about 10 years of
records. It is simpler, with fewer accounts, no investments, fewer
scheduled transactions, and no Quicken BillPay, but I do use one
Savings Goal with this account.<br>
Do you have any advice that would help me prepare for and conduct
as smooth a transition as possible? I have not yet downloaded
Moneydance or taken any other steps towards the transition, other
than researching and deciding on your product.<br>
Thanks,<br>
Dan</p></div>Dan Ayretag:infinitekind.tenderapp.com,2009-01-14:Comment/398515512016-05-12T09:23:33Z2016-05-12T09:23:33ZAdvice for managing major transition from Quicken<div><p>Hi Dan,</p>
<p>If you haven't already, I encourage you to download our free
trial version and experiment with the program before you decide if
you would like to purchase it. The demo version is fully functional
and allows you to manually enter 100 transactions. Imported
transactions are not limited, so you'll be able to fully test
importing your data from Quicken.<br>
If you decide to purchase the program at a later date you can keep
all your data, the license key simply unlocks the ability to
manually enter more transactions. You can download the trial
version of Moneydance <a href="http://infinitekind.com/downloads">here</a>.</p>
<p>If the QIF file format is available to you when exporting from
Quicken, you should follow <a href="http://help.infinitekind.com/kb/importing-data-from-banks-and-other-programs/importing-data-from-quicken-in-qif-format">
these steps</a> to import your data. In particular make sure you
specify to Import into a <em>new account</em> rather than an
existing account. And you set the source to "From another
program".<br>
It is highly recommended to export all Quicken data into a single
QIF file, as doing so makes the import process much smoother.
Please use the option in Quicken to export "all accounts" if
available. The one exception to this is if you have accounts in
more than one currency - if thats the case, then you can follow
<a href="http://help.infinitekind.com/kb/importing-data-from-banks-and-other-programs/how-can-i-transfer-my-data-from-quicken-into-moneydance">
these steps</a> to import multiple QIF files.</p>
<p>Most customer are able to import their data without issues, that
being said the QIF file format was never really intended for
transferring all data between personal finance software and as such
it may contain inherent ambiguities that will need to be manually
corrected post import. How much manual correcting needs to be done
is hard to predict. I'm afraid that typically investment accounts
fair worse that regular accounts in this matter. The more data
you're attempting to import, then the more chance there is of the
ambiguities I mentioned.<br>
Ensuring you follow the steps precisely will give you the best shot
at getting your data imported correctly. You may also wish to refer
to <a href="http://help.infinitekind.com/kb/importing-data-from-banks-and-other-programs/possible-problems-after-qif-import-from-quicken">
this article</a> which details the possible problems you may
encounter after import and how to resolve. And of course I'll be
happy to provide assistance so we can get you up and running.</p>
<p>Regarding your automatic downloads and bill pay, Moneydance
supports Direct Connect. You can view a list of banks that support
this feature <a href="http://infinitekind.com/fi">here</a>. If your
bank is listed, you can set this up within Online --> Set Up
Online Banking. Then select 'New Connection' and choose your
financial institution from the list. You may also need to contact
them to enable Direct Connect access, and for your login
credentials (which generally differ from those used for online
banking).<br>
Without Direct Connect, the best way to get your files into
Moneydance is to use a web browser to download them from your
bank's web site. You can download into QFX, OFX or OFC files (aka
Quicken or MS Money files), any of which will import cleanly into
Moneydance.</p>
<p>I hope this information is helpful! Please let me know if you
have any questions or need assistance with the import process.</p>
<p>Jenny<br>
Infinite Kind Support</p></div>Jenny