Import QIF from 1994-1997 Version 7.0 DOS

jeffdai@

Wanted to combine my really old quicken date before i switched to a windows version to my new version but the QIF doesnt import correctly.  The account values and some of the transactions import wrong. Any idea why?  Im sure i can just do it the upgrade way (upgrde my 7.0 slowly until i get to a modern version) but just wondering why the QIF export/import method doesnt work with the old version and modern version?

Sherlock

QIF transaction import functionality changed significantly with Quicken Subscription releases.  For your purposes, you may want to use the free Quicken 2013 for Windows instead.  After you install Quicken 2013, I suggest you download and apply the Quicken 2013 Release R12 Mondo update.

Chris_QPW

In general I have never found a QIF export/import to work properly in any year version of Quicken, at least not without tweaks.

The first thing to understand is the limitations of the QIF syntax, for instance even though there are investment actions for stock options and such there is zero support for keeping track of "security lots" so any account with non closed options will fail.  What's more all buys/sells will become FIFO.  And there isn't any kind of currency in a QIF file the account it is imported into controls that.  And if you let Quicken create accounts it might create the wrong account types when you not using the basic ones it knows:


But the biggest problem is always the transfers.  Quicken is terrible with any transfers.  The only way I have ever got my data to import reasonably correct was to change all the transfers to regular categories.  This removes the ability to jump between the accounts for these now "non linked" transfers, but it works and it is "double book accounting" correct.
See this:
http://www.quicknperlwiz.com/changetransfers.html

BTW I actually find importing into Quicken Subscription easier than Quicken 2017 and below.

I have over a 100 accounts (mostly closed).  In Quicken 2017 the QIF imports go to the Downloaded Transactions tab.  And so I would have to do Accept All in each of these accounts.  In Quicken Subscription that remove almost all of the processing of the QIF imports and the transactions go directly into the register.  Whereas this is not ideal for importing QIF files from a financial institution, it does save doing an Accept All in every account.

GHebert

Thanks. I think you answered my worry. I will take a stripped copy of my QDF. Remove the categories. Use the QIF files I made from .csv files with the Transactions Tool from Propersoft.com to load month by month into each account. The transfers won't be linked, but they won't be messing with each other. I was worried that the double entry issue would be present but according you your work, it will be fine. I'll have a From in one and a To in the other so the amounts will match.

GHebert

It worked. I made a copy of my QDF with my bank account information. I deleted all transaction data. I read in the QIF files month by month, account by account. Numbers reconciled. Saved to a backup. Then I started categorizing and when I categorized Transfers, the totals changed. Then I realized that by using monthly QIF files matching my bank's monthly end date, the accounts did not start on the same day in November, 2017 where I started. There was no matching transaction in the other account. So, I restored, and did it again but did not categorize a transfer before the latest start date, which was November 29, 2017. This worked. All accounts had matching transactions to connect.

Since I only care about 2018, 19 and 20, the uncategorized transfers won't matter. My advice for someone who wants to do this is to restrict the start date to the account whose first entry is the latest in date. Use that as the start date, only add transactions from the other accounts at that date and the Starting Balance from that date. It is working great. If at the end, my income/expense don't match, I'll delete all transactions before November 29, 2017 and adjust my start balance for each account to the balance on the bank statement for that date.