Transferring Data From One Quicken File to Another

Here in this NG, on the Quicken website support center, and on the msn Quicken Users group, there are various discussions of how to transfer information, accounts, or entire data files from one Quicken file to another. So far as I can tell, these are all elaborations of the basic QIF export / import procedure.

When I try this procedure, the data and transactions in certain accounts transfer just fine. However, try what I might, the transactions (checks written) in one of the checking accounts and the transactions in a money market fund (checks drawn on the fund) will not transfer. (Interestingly, the deposits in the checking account do transfer. Also interestingly, another checking account transfers completely without a hitch.)

In all the poking around I have done, two notable things have struck me.

First, I find no one else who mentions having such a problem.

Second, Intuit customer support bulletin KB ID#: 1174b entitled "Moving information between Quicken data files" (available on their website) addresses the question "How do I transfer information, accounts, or entire data files from one Quicken file to another?" and gives extensive detailed instructions.

Midway, it says: "Important: QIF import is available only for asset and liability accounts (including house and vehicle), credit card accounts, and cash accounts. . . . QIF import is not available for checking, savings, 401(k), or any other brokerage accounts."

That seems to be saying pretty clearly that QIF will not import checking account transactions (nor money market account transactions, if such an account is a "brokerage" account). Several Intuit customer support bulletins lay out the same procedure, but only that one contains the caveat.

If it is true that you can't transfer checking or "brokerage" accounts, it is puzzling to me that one of my checking accounts transferred successfully. Further, it is remarkable that none of the extensive posts here on this NG or in the msn group on the subject of merging files / exporting-importing data / marrying, etc. even mention such an enormous catgegory of data that can't be moved via QIF.

Does anyone here have any suggestions, enlightenment, explanations, education, or thoughts that might help. I just need to get the data and transactions in two separate Quicken files (both v. 2004) transferred into one file.

Thanks for any assistance.

Reply to
Giles Albertson
Loading thread data ...

I do not see enough information here to tell what may be wrong ... though QIF file exporting/importing is not exactly a user-information filled process.

You have not described your specific approach to the process; for example, did you attempt to export all data into one QIF file and import that QIF file? Or did you do as suggested in the faq at the MSN site and export each account to its own QIF file? I think the latter is preferrable. In fact, I think that you should pay close attention to the suggestions in that faq.

You have not noted whether the missing transactions are actually in the QIF file (in other words, did they get exported). And you have not noted whether you saw any messages during the import process. If I recall correctly, the QIF import process can hit a snag and just ignore any subsequent transactions; but I think that there is usually a message indicating a problem when this happens.

There have definitely been problems reported in this group with QIF file export/import; you Googled and found nothing?.

This pertains *only* to Q2005 and future versions (and beginning with Q2006, credit-card accounts will also not be able to import QIF files).

See above.

You're wrong about that; in fact, the loss of QIF file importing capability for most account types in Q2005 and later, is one of the most discussed topics here and in other forums. If you didn't find it, it is not because it is not there.

Reply to
John Pollard

John --

Thank you for your incredibly prompt and knowledgeable response to my post. Here is the additional information that I can provide.

GA1 [[ ]] JP = GA2 * *

[[Here in this NG, on the Quicken website support center, and on the msn Quicken Users group, there are various discussions of how to transfer information, accounts, or entire data files from one Quicken file to another. So far as I can tell, these are all elaborations of the basic QIF export / import procedure.]] [[When I try this procedure, the data and transactions in certain accounts transfer just fine. However, try what I might, the transactions (checks written) in one of the checking accounts and the transactions in a money market fund (checks drawn on the fund) will not transfer. (Interestingly, the deposits in the checking account do transfer. Also interestingly, another checking account transfers completely without a hitch.]]

=I do not see enough information here to tell what may be wrong though QIF file exporting/importing is not exactly a user-information filled process. =You have not described your specific approach to the process; for example, did you attempt to export all data into one QIF file and import that QIF file? Or did you do as suggested in the faq at the MSN site and export each account to its own QIF file? I think the latter is preferrable. In fact, I think that you should pay close attention to the suggestions in that faq.

*My approach to the process was to follow the directions. Yes, I followed the procedures and yes I paid close attention.*

=You have not noted whether the missing transactions are actually in the QIF file (in other words, did they get exported).

*The transactions are in the QIF file, but they don't get imported.*

=And you have not noted whether you saw any messages during the import process.

*I get no error or other messages.*

=If I recall correctly, the QIF import process can hit a snag and just ignore any subsequent transactions; but I think that there is usually a message indicating a problem when this happens.

*Nothing like that seems to be happening.* [[In all the poking around I have done, two notable things have struck me.]] [[First, I find no one else who mentions having such a problem.]]

=There have definitely been problems reported in this group with QIF file export/import; you Googled and found nothing?.

*Problems are reported in all three places and are rife in the 2005 edition because of Intuit's decision to leverage the import capability to force an upgrade. In the clause "I find no one else who mentions having such a problem," the words "such a problem" refer to this specific problem and to this specific Quicken edition--2004.*

*With all the careful and detailed pre-2005 advice that is available on how to merge two Quicken files, people surely must have followed it and been more or less successful. And surely they would have mentioned a problem as enormous as the checking account transactions not passing over. But that's what I don't see.*

[[Second, Intuit customer support bulletin KB ID#: 1174b entitled "Moving information between Quicken data files" (available on their website) addresses the question "How do I transfer information, accounts, or entire data files from one Quicken file to another?" and gives extensive detailed instructions.]] [[Midway, it says: "Important: QIF import is available only for asset and liability accounts (including house and vehicle), credit card accounts, and cash accounts. . . . QIF import is not available for checking, savings, 401(k), or any other brokerage accounts."]]

=This pertains *only* to Q2005 and future versions (and beginning with Q2006, credit-card accounts will also not be able to import QIF files).

*That is helpful information indeed, Can you cite a source? It does not appear in Intuit's KB ID#: 1174b bulletin itself, which, in fact, is captioned "Quicken 2004 for Windows."* [[That seems to be saying pretty clearly that QIF will not import checking account transactions (nor money market account transactions, if such an account is a "brokerage" account). Several Intuit customer support bulletins lay out the same procedure, but only that one contains the caveat.]] [[If it is true that you can't transfer checking or "brokerage" accounts, it is puzzling to me that one of my checking accounts transferred successfully.]] [[Further, it is remarkable that none of the extensive posts here on this NG or in the msn group on the subject of merging files / exporting-importing data / marrying, etc. even mention such an enormous catgegory of data that can't be moved via QIF.]]

=You're wrong about that; in fact, the loss of QIF file importing capability for most account types in Q2005 and later, is one of the most discussed topics here and in other forums. If you didn't find it, it is not because it is not there.

*We're not connecting here. I'm in 2004 and you're addressing the mess Intuit has made of 2005.* [[Does anyone here have any suggestions, enlightenment, explanations, education, or thoughts that might help. I just need to get the data and transactions in two separate Quicken files (both v. 2004)transferred into one file.]]

*Thanks again.*

*GA*
Reply to
Giles Albertson

You did not answer the most important question: did you export

*all* your accounts to one QIF file, then import that one file, or did you export each account to its own QIF file?

I am unaware of any QIF problems that are Quicken version specific. Forget looking for Q2004 QIF problems; look for QIF problems.

There is no Quicken pre-Q2005 problem with "checking account transactions not passing over".

I'll leave it to you to do some more research. This is not a debatable proposition; it is a fact.

Possibly, but it remains to be seen.

I knew that even though I had to read all this way in your original post to find it out

Well, not really. Even though you made it clear earlier in your original post that you were confusing QIF limitations that only existed in Q2005, I relied on later of your comments when I made the remarks you are now referring to. Comments like,

"That seems to be saying pretty clearly that QIF will not import checking account transactions (nor money market account transactions, if such an account is a "brokerage" account)."

That statement (your statement) is not true for Q2004. (And Quicken has no such thing as a "money market account", so I have no idea what you are referring to there). The Intuit statements you refer to in the quote above are statements that pertain only to Q2005.

So let's start from this assumption: Q2004 can import QIF file transactions from every type of account that you can create in Q2004. Then let's see if we can figure out why, in your particular case, some transactions were not imported. Start with my earlier question about whether you attempted to export/import all accounts to/from one QIF file. And if that is what you did, try exporting one QIF file from the (a) single account that you could not import, then importing that QIF file and see what happens.

Reply to
John Pollard

Hello John (and any others patient enough to be following this exchange)--

I'm removing some of the text here because it's getting unwieldy.

John, as you have stated the directions recommend account specific transfers. When I say I followed the directions, I follwed the directions. Yes, that means account-specific transfers.

Intuit recognizes 2005 version specific problems. It seems apparent that a distinction between versions is at the core of this analysis. Intuit has degraded the QIF functionality for 2005 and later. I'm using 2004 and am not affected by the 2005 issues.

John, you seem to be knowledgeable and the fact that you are not aware of any such problem may pretty much answer my question.

John, maybe most of the folks here already know you and know you to be an authoritative source, perhaps even the Intuit representative on this NG. However, I'm a newcomer and would ask your forbearance if I lack appropriate deference. To evaluate the reliability of information, I consider the source. What you are saying about Intuit's KB ID#: 1174b bulletin is not borne out by anything in the statement itself.

John, as you have stated the directions recommend account specific transfers. When I say I followed the directions, yes, I exported and imported separate QIF files for each account.

Thank you again for the time and effort you have expended on this question.

GA

Reply to
Giles Albertson

I think I already made clear that there is a distinction between Q2004 and Q2005. And that I know you are using Q2004. There aren't any QIF "problems" with Q2005; Intuit has disabled the ability to import QIF files into certain accounts in Q2005; but those accounts whose QIF importing was not disabled, import just like they did in previous versions. I don't think now, and I never did think, that any difference between Q2004 and Q2005 has anything to do with our discussion. I suggest you just forget that Q2005 exists for purposes of working on your problem ... I certainly have.

Just to clarify; I know of no account types that have QIF importing problems. In my experience, QIF import problems have to do with the data itself, not the type of account.

So you have found that 100% of Intuit's (or any company's) documentation is correct and unambiguous? I'm not worring about any "deference", I just wonder what you think you have to lose here?

Your research was very limited if all you found was that one kb article; I think that leaves the burden on you to do a better job of research. This information is nearly ubiquitous; see Google for archives of this group, see Quicken Forums hosted by Intuit, see Intuit's *sales* web site and look for QIF policy (not KB articles). (Also take a look in your QIF Import dialog box in the "Important Information" box). I have Q2004 (and Q2005 and Q2002): Q2004 imports QIF files.

Did you successfully export/import your Account List? So you now have all accounts correctly defined in your new Quicken file that were in your old Quicken file?

What, if any, messages do you get when you select the checking account QIF file for import and click ok? Does it say anything like "No valid records found to import"? I presume that you do not find any transactions in the "Accept transactions into register" window?

How many transactions are in the account that does not import any transactions?

I think there can be several reasons why some transactions might not get imported. One place to start is the account header in the QIF file for the account you believe got no data imported. See if the name in the QIF header is the name in the Quicken account you import to. And actually, you can probably do without account header info (or any header into) if you are trying to import transactions for a single account, if the account already exists in Quicken. (Header records have an exclamation point in the first position).

If you get to that point - no header info - and nothing imports, I would try making a copy of the QIF file with nothing in it but a single transaction (a single transaction will consist of several "records", probably starting with a date record - "D" in postion one - and ending with a record having only a caret in position one). Then make a copy of your Quicken fileset and try importing that single transaction into the appropriate account. If that fails, try creating a new Quicken account and importing one transaction into that.

Reply to
John Pollard

. . . Truncated . . .

John, I love these last five paragraphs. Thank you. I'll report back after I try some of this.

GA

Reply to
Giles Albertson

To John Pollard --

I followed your suggestions and successfully moved the transactions from one file to the other.

It seems to me that the source of the problems I was having before could be as follows.

In the source file and the target file, some of the account names were slightly different (spacing, hyphens, etc.). Originally, I changed the account names manually to conform to each other. I was careful and I believe I made the names identical, but for whatever reason I had problems with the QIF import nonetheless.

After your last post, following your advice, to conform the account names I exported / imported the Account List rather than changed the names manually.

After that maneuver, I moved the transactions account-by-account and had no problems.

So we have success! Thank you.

And thank you for your patience and determination in the face of considerable frustration and adversity.

GA

===================================================== John Pollard wrote:

What, if any, messages do you get when you select the checking account QIF file for import and click ok? Does it say anything like "No valid records found to import"? I presume that you do not find any transactions in the "Accept transactions into register" window?

How many transactions are in the account that does not import any transactions?

I think there can be several reasons why some transactions might not get imported. One place to start is the account header in the QIF file for the account you believe got no data imported. See if the name in the QIF header is the name in the Quicken account you import to. And actually, you can probably do without account header info (or any header into) if you are trying to import transactions for a single account, if the account already exists in Quicken. (Header records have an exclamation point in the first position).

If you get to that point - no header info - and nothing imports, I would try making a copy of the QIF file with nothing in it but a single transaction (a single transaction will consist of several "records", probably starting with a date record - "D" in postion one - and ending with a record having only a caret in position one). Then make a copy of your Quicken fileset and try importing that single transaction into the appropriate account. If that fails, try creating a new Quicken account and importing one transaction into that.

Reply to
Giles Albertson

I just purchased Quicken 2011 and also found that QIF docs cannot be transferred between Quicken Files.

However, here is a solution that is not that awkward. I will use an example that hopefully is clear.

Issue - you have a quicken file containing one or more accounts and you want to set up a second quicken file with the same accounts, but you want to modify your accounts so you can give them to someone else. Let's say you want to add some accounts to one file that you don't want in the other file.

let us say File #1 has 2 accounts: 2010checking and 2010SocSecChecking and its main data file is QDATA.QDF.

1) Set up a folder on your desktop so you can find it and name it Quicken Transfers. Then Copy the QDATA.QDF file for File #1 (the file you are transferring from) into the Quicken Transfer folder on your desktop. Rename that file from let's say QDATA.QDF to 2010QDATAMary.QDF. REMEMBER to backup your QDATA.QDF file just in case.

2) Double click on 2010QDATAMary.QDF and quicken will open showing the same accounts as in file #1. Your categories and memorized items will be present, which is very nice.

3) Next, Add one or more accounts to the new File with names that are unique from those showing in the list. In the example we are following, let's name those unique accounts 2010MaryChecking and 2010MarySSChecking

4) Click on the account 2010Checking and using the Shift Key, select all of the transactions in the account and copy all transactions.

5) Click on the account 2010CheckingMary and right click in the uppermost transaction line and select paste all transactions.

6) Repeat this proceedure for each account to populate the new accounts with the corresponding transactions. E.g., copy all transactions from

2010SocSecMary to 2010SSMary.

7) Now delete all of the accounts that you do not want using this proceedure for each account, one at a time:

a) Right click on an account and in the dropdown box at the bottom left click on "Go to Account List".

b) when the account list opens, look for an account that you want to delete and on that line you will see an EDIT box. Click on this and a new window will open.

c) In this new window, in the lower left corner is a Delete Account button. Click on this and a new window will open. Type YES to confirm that you want to delete the account and then OK. The account is permanently gone.

d) Repeat the 3 steps under item 7 until all of the account you do no want in File #2 are deleted and only the newly populated accounts remain.

First time it seems slow, but once you get the hang of it, it is not so bad.

8) finally, copy the 2010QDATAMary.QDF and paste it into the folder where quicken stores its primary QDF files (this could be in My Documents/Taxes/2011/quicken, or whereever you found the QDATA.QDF file you started with). Recall that you used an UNIQUE name when you renamed QDATA.QDF to 2010QDATAMary.QDF, so you will not overwrite any other QDATA file. When you are certain that all is as you want it and quicken is opening the right file, you can delete the file in the transfer folder. A good way to check to see which file quicken is opening is to rename the desktop file with an X in front of it. then you can see what file is opening by looking at the top of the quicken window where the file name appears.

just one last thing. Quicken will open the file last opened. So be certain that when you start quicken the first time after going through the above proceedure, that you open Quicken by double clicking on the

2010QDataMary.QDF file you copied into My Documents - otherwise the file on the desktop may open instead. That will keep the x2010QDATAMary file from opening.

Hope this helps. Quicken support was no help to me so I had to come up with a method. Seems silly that Quicken doesn't not have a simple method for such a useful action. Maybe they do, but tech support appears not to be aware of it.

PS i hope I have put in all the steps for you. PLEASE backup your QDATA file maybe twice and store it somewhere safe, just in case you get tangled up. Turn off the TV, put the kids to bed and do this in the quiet of your home office.

Best wishes, Skye

Giles Alberts> Here in this NG, on the Quicken website support center, and on the msn

-------------------------------------

Reply to
Skye

Hint: Start quicken NOT by starting Quicken, but by double-clicking on the qdf file you want to open. Even better, make shortcuts to the qdf files you will be working with. Place the shortcuts (in a folder) on the desktop. Edit the icons to be different. This makes it much easier and quicker (pun) to start the file you want to use.

Reply to
Han

BeanSmart website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.