Error Importing Quicken QIF file

[Bill Gribble]

On Fri, Jan 19, 2001 at 01:35:54PM -0800, Kenneth Cheung wrote:
> I recently started trying the gnucash problem.  When I was trying to
> import a quicken qif file, the program crashed and gave the
> following error message:
> Error: xaccSplitRebalance: no common split currencies

You can't safely import multi-currency QIF files in either the
released or the development version of gnucash.  The 1.4.x (released)
series gives you a chance to set the currency of various accounts, but
doesn't do this safely, and it's very possible to run into the problem
you describe.  The 1.5.x series removes the possibility of setting the
currencies, but you can still run into the problem if you have a
Retained Earnings (equity) account in a currency other than the one
you are importing.

"No common split currencies" in this case just means that you are
trying to compare USD and CAD to each other for equality, which is an
apples and oranges kind of thing.  

We have some ideas about how to fix this, but ATM nobody's working on
it because there are some tough questions about international
accounting that we don't have answers for yet.  And yes, we have read
books on it :) it's just that I have yet to find any reference for
dealing with multiple currency personal holdings/transactions, which
are (surprisingly) a lot more difficult to deal with than
international business accounting AFAICT.  Not that your problem
involves multicurrency transactions -- I don't know that it does --
but your problem is an instance of the general problem that also
includes multicurrency transactions.

Did that help, or make things worse? :) 

Bill Gribble