Using bank exports (CSV, QIF,...) to avoid the overhead that comes from processing bills

[Tom Van Braeckel]

Dear list,

I searched (the mailing-list archives, Google and the wiki) but could not
find a way to use the exports from my bank to spare me from manually having
to create, post and pay every bill that I get.

One solution I can think of is by *not* using the MKB-features (= business
features) and just using regular transactions for bills. I would then use a
script that adds the opposing account (which can often be deduced from the
transaction description) to the QIF file, and then import this QIF file. I
would then use a "transaction report" to extract and sum up the numbers for
when I'm filing my tax report.

Such an approach would save me from:

   - manually having to create and input bills, because they would
   automatically be created when I import the (enriched) QIF file
   - posting bills, because a "bill" would just be a (possibly split)
   transaction which is implicitly posted when it's created
   - marking the bills as paid, because I would know they were paid since
   they appeared in my bank export

But then I would miss out on the MKB features such as the "expired bills"
report...

So my question is: How can I use bank exports to automate (part of) the
whole bill processing workflow ?
What do you think about my idea, or what other approaches would you
recommend ?

Thanks for the help !

Tom.

PS: There's someone willing to pay for a related feature
here<http://n4.nabble.com/Hiring-a-GnuCash-developer-for-a-few-days-work-td1457805.html>
.