Scott
Wed Oct 29 17:12:15 CST 2003
"Sam" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:000001c39e3f$10d775f0$a401280a@phx.gbl...
> I lost all my info when i upgraded to XP, thanx
> Microsoft. I'm rebuilding my Money 2oo3 file, back to
> the first of the year, currently only up to May. I can't
> seem to put my current info into another file to rebuild
> so i don't blow out what i have done, any suggestions.
>
> sam
I can see two possibilities here:
1) You created a new file, downloaded the last 6 months of transactions from
each of your financial institutions, have fixed inter-account transfers,
etc, but want to continue adding data from hard copy from January 1st to May
1st.
2) You created a new file, began entering past transactions from January
1st to May 1st, but also want to be able to enter current transactions and
have an accurate ending balance.
In either case, make a copy of your file using Windows Explorer, then open
the copy, whether by doubleclicking on the file, or selecting it with File >
Open in Money.
Change your backup options to prompt before backing up, so that you can
rename your backup file (Money overwrites the last hard disk backup by
default, which can be unsafe when your Money file is a work-in-progress)
For option 1: Write down current ending balances for each account, enter a
session's worth of past data (this can take weeks to finish), then use the
written and current ending balances to determine how big an adjustment you
need to make. Go into Account Details for each account, then adjust the
starting balance by that amount to restore the proper ending balance.
For option 2: Enter an "Account Adjustment" transaction (August or
September may be a good date to use) in each account that makes your current
ending balances agree with your financial institutions' ending balances for
your starting point (month of October, current statement period, etc), then
enter your current transactions normally. As you continue to enter
transactions for the "middle period", write down your ending balance, then
adjust the "Account Adjustment" as necessary to restore the proper ending
balance.
Either of these scenarios could take weeks or months to complete, which
means you'll have to balance. *NEVER* change the "Starting Balance" in the
Balance dialog to match your bank statement. Keep the starting balance that
Money suggests, enter the "Ending Balance" from your statement, then balance
normally. You may have to clear hundreds of transactions each time, but you
should be able to balance. Whenever you successfully balance all of your
accounts, you can use your current (work-in-progress) file as your primary
file, and save your original file as a backup.
I started using Money in December 2001, and by the beginning of 2003 I had
input
most of my financial history going back to late 1986. Inputting past data
*is* possible if you're careful, and keep multiple backups in case something
goes wrong.
--
Scott Tyler
agent_scotty-at-hotmail-dot-com