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couple easy questions, plus no 'payee'?

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Don Osborne

30 May, 2022 08:12 PM

Hi - After testing several bookkeeping options, Moneydance is the finalist. A few questions to help me:
I have several years worth of data from another bookkeeping software in .csv format. I have successfully mapped and imported this data - was very easy! I am now considering which of these options to use, please advise:
* Delete all imported data and instead link my Wells Fargo checking account and American Express business credit card. Import all data from these sources instead, then create a journal entry to correct for any errors.
or
* Manually import from my csv up to (for example) the end of April, then attempt to link / sync from Wells Fargo and American Express starting May 1st.
Which option is best?

Also - why is there no payee in the checking account? Instead, there is a column title 'description' - more general. Is that what you intend users to use instead of payee? Thanks!

1. 1 Posted by dwg on 31 May, 2022 02:45 AM

   

   I'm a fellow user.

   The Description field is equivalent to the Payee field. While payee is relevant to written cheques, it is not all that relatable to deposits in cheque accounts, nor it is relatable to savings and other account types so the more general heading of Description is used.

   How you populate accounts with historical data is really a decision for you. There are considerations, for example:

   - Data from other financial programs could well include category data, downloaded data from financial institutions will not have such data.

   - Transaction available from automatic downloads from institutions is usually time limited 30-90 days is typical some go to about 18 months.

   - Transactions from manual downloads and importing will be limited to whatever the financial institutions offer, as stated earlier there will be no category information.

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2. 2 Posted by Don Osborne / I... on 31 May, 2022 02:50 AM

   

   Wow. Incredibly helpful. Many thanks on a holiday (in the US). All the best.
   D

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3. Support Staff 3 Posted by Maddy on 31 May, 2022 10:32 AM

   

   In addition, currently, Moneydance supports automatic downloads using Direct Connect and Moneydance +. Wells Fargo and American Express supports both methods,

   Without Direct Connect and Moneydance +, you are still able to easily import your data into the program by using the OFX or QFX file format . Alternatively, you can use the QIF file format. You can find the steps for manually importing your data in this article.

   I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions or need more assistance.

   --
   Maddy, Infinite Kind Support

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4. 4 Posted by Don Osborne / I... on 31 May, 2022 06:58 PM

   

   Thanks, Maddy, very helpful.
   Yesterday I tried to setup Wells Fargo link to my moneydance using plaid
   (online, setup MoneyDance+ and follow the directions). The link up failed
   with a weird "Error 0" message. Today, I see my Wells Fargo accounts do
   show up in online accounts, but there's no data anywhere in MoneyDance. I
   note that the same accounts appear twice, probably because I did try to
   link the banking twice, and I will delete the duplicate.

   I purposely did not set up any account ("Account, New Account") under the
   (mistaken?) assumption that MoneyDance would set up the account itself in
   conjunction with the new link to Wells Fargo. That could be why I don't
   have any data. Clicking on "download all accounts" in the Online menu
   results in message "No accounts to download."

   I missed something - probably something obvious. Could you guide me? Thanks
   for your help. -Don

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5. 5 Posted by Don Osborne on 31 May, 2022 07:01 PM

   

   Also - I don't see any OFX way of direct connecting to WF or AMEX from within "Online, Set up Moneydance+". My screen doesn't show the OFX option, just a button "Connect Accounts". I'm on a Mac.

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6. Support Staff 6 Posted by Maddy on 01 Jun, 2022 08:17 AM

   

   In order to clarify, when setting up Online banking from within Moneydance you would have to choose one method or the other for a given financial institution as outlined here and also here.

   So, you might be required to disable your current connection on the Online Banking Setup screen first, in order to stop the OFX method (if you were using this previously) to take over Moneydance + and allow your transactions to download as expected . To remove the connection, open Moneydance, select your account, then choose Online > Set Up Online Banking and select the "Disable" button to remove the connection.

   Then, in the Set Up Moneydance+ window, you'll need to click on the "None" label in order to select which account in Moneydance corresponds to the account names and numbers on the left side of the window. After doing that and selecting the Moneydance account from the menu, using the ⌘D keyboard shortcut or clicking the Download button when the account is selected will cause Moneydance to download the transactions for that account.

   Please keep us posted on your progress, Thank you!

   --
   Maddy, Infinite Kind Support

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7. System closed this discussion on 31 Aug, 2022 08:20 AM.