Missing Category Info: Importing QIFs into MS Money

[Elias N]

Hi everyone,

I'm at a loss trying to import category information with my QIF files into MS Money. I'm importing transactions using the format below, but the categories never come through.

!Type:CCard
D05/01'2024
MEye test and glasses
T-180.00
POptrix
LHealthcare:Eyecare
^

I've tried various "L" line formats but nothing seems to work. The transaction is successfully imported into Money but the category is always dropped.

My setup:
* Application: MS Money 2005, UK, v14.0.120
* Environment: Windows 11 running on Parallels (Mac Mini M2)

Any insights or tips into why the categories aren't importing would be much appreciated. Or if anyone has similar experiences and knows workaround solutions, please share!

Thanks in advance!

Elias

[Cal Learner]

Make a copy of your Money file to experiment. See if importing the QIF as a recovered account works better than importing as a statement for this purpose.

[Elias N]

Brilliant - thank you, Cal! Importing the QIF as a recovered account did the trick. Money seems to hold onto category information during recovered-account import, unlike when importing as a statement.

[Himanshu]

On Thursday, January 11, 2024 at 5:32:44 PM UTC-5 elias.n...@gmail.com wrote:

Brilliant - thank you, Cal! Importing the QIF as a recovered account did the trick. Money seems to hold onto category information during recovered-account import, unlike when importing as a statement.

On Thursday 11 January 2024 at 00:59:00 UTC Cal Learner wrote:

Make a copy of your Money file to experiment. See if importing the QIF as a recovered account works better than importing as a statement for this purpose.

Using the recover account method has two issues:

1. It doesn't seem to apply Payee Name Rules, i.e. instead of the Payee Name, it comes in as whatever is in the statement which includes name, store number, city, etc.

2. Transaction matching doesn't seem to apply.

Any workarounds? Both statement import and recover account methods leave something to be done manually.

[Cal Learner]

Himanshu:

1. If you wanted to use recovered account method, you could do manipulation of the strings in the .QIF file, if you are able and motivated. The method had in mind that the imported QIFs were prepared by Microsoft Money.

2. Not sure which matching you mean. If you mean matching the two legs of a transfer, or to match investment transactions to the corresponding cash transactions,  then you need to import the .QIF files all at once.

=============================

If you want to do the QIF export/import, export each of your accounts
choosing meaningful name.  I would suggest this: start the name of
the QIF file for the investment accounts with an number,
and start the name of QIF files for the cash accounts associated
with the investments with a letter.  Thus you might have
1BrownInvestment.qif and BrownInvestmentCash.qif.  This would cause
the investment account to be processed prior to the associated cash
account.  When the BrownInvestment got created, you would specify
that you want to track the cash transactions.  Then specify that
the cash transactions account for BrownInvestment was where the
BrownInvestmentCash.qif transactions get sent.

Then File->Import ALL AT ONCE using Ctrl+<click> to select files.
Specify "New or Recovered" account when asked.

Of course you will use a different filename for the new file, and
you will have both versions to choose from when done.  I would also
set up the backups to make sure they are using different names.

==================================

If, on the other hand, you are looking to bring in transactions, some of which already exist in the register, you would want to delete the duplicates in the QIF before import as recovered accounts. The transactions are normally in the file in chronological order, that could help you delete a block of transactions.