Dealing with a large QIF file

[Cliff McDiarmid]

Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2017 at 8:11 AM
From: "jeffrey black" <beastmaster126 at hotmail.com>
To: "lab at lincolnbaxter.com" <lab at lincolnbaxter.com>, "cliffhanger at gardener.com" <cliffhanger at gardener.com>, "Colin Law" <clanlaw at gmail.com>
Cc: "gnucash-user at gnucash.org" <gnucash-user at gnucash.org>
Subject: Re: Dealing with a large QIF file
On 12/24/2017 8:08 PM, Lincoln A Baxter wrote:
> On Mon, 2017-12-25 at 00:46 +0000, cliffhanger at gardener.com wrote:
>>    Thanks. Yes one can import one at a time but this cheque ac from
>>    Quicken is huge and has references to other card accounts as
>> categories
>>    within it. These accounts don't exist anymore and gnucash is
>> trying to
>>    create them as part of the import. This is something I'd like to
>> avoid.
>>    Hope this makes sense. Cliff
>>
>>    -------- Original Message --------
>>    Subject: Re: Dealing with a large QIF file
>>    From: Colin Law
>>    To: Cliff McDiarmid
>>    CC: gnucash-user at gnucash.org
>>
>>      You should be able to export one account at a time from Quicken,
>> I
>>      think. Then import them one at a time.
>>      Colin
>>      On 24 December 2017 at 19:02, Cliff McDiarmid wrote:
>>      > Hi
>>      >
>>      > I'm importing a large QIF file(a current a/c)about 6000
>> entries.
>>      > There are about a dozen other a/c's from Quicken, now closed,
>>      > associated with this large file. When importing, Gnucash seems
>> to
>>      > want to create these defunct a/c's to 'balance the books'. I
>>      assume
>>      > there isn't any way of avoiding this. The whole thing looks
>> like
>>      it
>>      > will be horrendous. I've imported some small credit card a/c's
>>      already
>>      > with success, but they were not any of these other closed
>>      accounts.
>>      >
>>      > Any advice please.
>>      > thanks
>>      >
>>      > Cliff
> You might want to try editing the QIF file, and change all the
> different categories referring legacy card accounts to one name. Call
> it "Legacy Card" or something like that.
>
> In Quicken there was not enforcement of consistency of category
> names... Quicken just said "ok" to what ever you put it. It is pretty
> loosy goosy. But after you get things into GC, you can clean it up. I
> was start, as a said, with the pre cleanup. It is likely to make your
> conversion easier.
>
> Lincoln
>
>
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>Don't worry about it, you are making a mountain out of a mole hill.  I
>transferred all of my Quicken data, more than 20 years to Gnucash in one
>shot.  I can not recall the link that told how to do it at the moment. 
>Export all your quicken data and let GnuCash import ALL of the data. 
>GnuCash will work it's "magic".

>To make a long story short, do not worry about the closed accounts.  Let
>GnuCash create them.  Make a top level account for each type of account,
>IE. Closed credit cards.  Once done and you get a chance to correct all
>the erroneous entries (read that as using a hidden "corrected balance
>account") that Quicken allowed then just edit the accounts and change
>them to children of master accounts, "Closed credit cards", "Unused
>checking", etc.  Hide the master account of "unused" whatever.  In my
>case I needed to remember transactions from closed accounts for warranty
>and shall we say domestic problems for the entire 20+ years.  None of
>which I wanted to see but; necessary for my financial "sayftey".

>While GnuChash does no have all the "Fancy n Nancy, flashy ability" of
>commercial programs it is a real accounting system.   I greatly wish I
>had the ability to donate one USD to each and every developer.

Thanks Jeffery.  I have reached the point now where I'm doing as you suggest.  There are many alterations to make.

regards

Cliff