Dropping really old data

ssllii

I have been keeping my financial records on Quicken for many, many years. Now I would like to do some cleanup, e.g. archive anything over 10 years old and keep only the most recent 10 years in the current data file.
What is the best way to achieve that?

Sherlock

ssllii said:

Thank you for the reference to the FAQ. I have read that.

Maybe I will post a related question. Does it make any difference in functionality or performance by removing old, old transactions and long, long closed accounts? What is Quicken's recommendation in this regard?

Removing old, old transactions and long, long closed accounts (and performing a Copy to reclaim the space) should reduce the Quicken file size.  Functionally, you lose access to the old transactions and accounts but you may be able to squeeze more backup files on to a drive.  Performance-wise, some operations that would have processed these old transactions and accounts may be quicker but I doubt you'll notice any difference in your normal usage.

My recommendation is not to remove the old, old transactions and long, long closed accounts.  Instead, I suggest setting the Hide in Account Bar & List, Hide in Transaction Entry Lists, and Keep this Account Separate for each of the long, long closed accounts.  It may also help to prefix the name of these long, long closed accounts with one or more Z so that they'll alphabetically sort to the bottom on any lists that they appear on and may be easily be recognized as closed.  If any register does get too long, you may archive the transactions by moving the old, old transactions to an offline account you maintain like the long, long closed accounts.

Sherlock

If you haven't already, you may want to review: FAQ: Year End Copy

ssllii

Thank you for the reference to the FAQ. I have read that.

Maybe I will post a related question. Does it make any difference in functionality or performance by removing old, old transactions and long, long closed accounts? What is Quicken's recommendation in this regard?

Sherlock

ssllii said:

Thank you for the reference to the FAQ. I have read that.

Maybe I will post a related question. Does it make any difference in functionality or performance by removing old, old transactions and long, long closed accounts? What is Quicken's recommendation in this regard?

Removing old, old transactions and long, long closed accounts (and performing a Copy to reclaim the space) should reduce the Quicken file size.  Functionally, you lose access to the old transactions and accounts but you may be able to squeeze more backup files on to a drive.  Performance-wise, some operations that would have processed these old transactions and accounts may be quicker but I doubt you'll notice any difference in your normal usage.

My recommendation is not to remove the old, old transactions and long, long closed accounts.  Instead, I suggest setting the Hide in Account Bar & List, Hide in Transaction Entry Lists, and Keep this Account Separate for each of the long, long closed accounts.  It may also help to prefix the name of these long, long closed accounts with one or more Z so that they'll alphabetically sort to the bottom on any lists that they appear on and may be easily be recognized as closed.  If any register does get too long, you may archive the transactions by moving the old, old transactions to an offline account you maintain like the long, long closed accounts.

ssllii

Thank you. I have done the hiding of idle accounts.