Moneydance is buggy
I originally thought Moneydance was going to be a capable
replacement for my Quicken. But the more I use it, the more
frustrated I'm getting because it won't even let me make simple
edits.
I can't input my kid's 529 accounts that are off line because the
boxes that I want to enter data are greyed out and not
editable.
Now I've made a few stock trades and when I try to assign lots to
the sale, a error window pops up saying, "you have allocated an
incorrect number of shares" although I've allocated the exact
number of shares.
If I can't get these issues resolved, I'm going to have to look at
other programs because this is completely unacceptable.
2 Posted by -Kevin N. on 08 Oct, 2011 03:07 PM
Hi docwon,
Certain fields are greyed out in a txn dependant upon which 'Action' field option is chosen.
When entering lot amounts into the 'Shares Allocated' column of the 'Lots Matchng Window' make sure to press ENTER after each entry.
HTH -Kevin N.
3 Posted by docwon on 08 Oct, 2011 03:30 PM
The trouble is, the action field is also greyed out. So I can't change it.
4 Posted by docwon on 08 Oct, 2011 05:39 PM
For lot matching, I can hit enter all I want but it still has the error message.
I'm somewhat computer savvy. I've tried every possible thing I can think of. The program just won't let me change certain things.
5 Posted by -Kevin N. on 08 Oct, 2011 07:15 PM
Hi docwon,
To assist the Moneydance Support Staff in helping you, provide the following:
Version of Moneydance
Operating system and version
Version of Java installed
You should be able to glean this information from the first few lines of text displayed in the Console Window listed under Moneydance's Help menu. Just copy and paste the information into your next post.
Also provide any error message(s) included in the Console Window or displayed elsewhere.
HTH -Kevin N.
Support Staff 6 Posted by Ben Spencer on 09 Oct, 2011 11:32 AM
Hi Johnny
I believe I understand the problem with not being able to edit the action on an investment transaction.
If you enter a transfer from a bank account selecting the investment
account as the other side of the transfer you are not permitted to
edit the action on the transaction from within the investment
register. The transaction is fixed as a Xfr since editing the action
could orphan the other side of the transaction.
What do you need to change the action on this transaction to? If you
need to purchase shares you should create an additional transaction of
type buy.
Ben Spencer
Moneydance Support
7 Posted by docwon on 09 Oct, 2011 01:42 PM
Starting Moneydance 2011 (791)
Settings Folder: /Users/johnnywon/.moneydance
OS: Mac OS X 10.7.1 x86_64
Java: 1.6.0_26 (Apple Inc.)
Ben, My checking account automatically downloads these transactions. They are used to purchase shares in my kids 529 plans which don't have a ticker so I have to manually insert that I bought certain shares at this price. I've been doing it for years using Quicken. I've tried to go to the Checking register to see if I could change the action there so I can edit it on the other side. I get these choices to chose from.
CkCrd
Dep
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I think what you are asking me to do is to go back and manually enter all these transactions which is not helpful. Since picking shares bought and prices paid doesn't change the amount of the transaction, I don't see why that would "orphan" the transaction in my checking register. The amount stays the same.
On the other matter of lot matching, the box that pops up is says info on top and says...
You have allocated an incorrect number of shares.
I've attached a screen shot.
8 Posted by -Kevin N. on 09 Oct, 2011 02:09 PM
Hi docwon,
From your screenshot, it doesn't appear that you've entered any amount into the 'Shares Allocated' column.
Click on the first item on the left. (The 09/21/2011 sale) then try entering 1000 into the 'Shares Allocated' column on the right. Hit ENTER. Do the same for the other sale item on the left. Make sure to hit ENTER after each entry into the 'Shares Allocated' column.
HTH -Kevin N.
Support Staff 9 Posted by Ben Spencer on 09 Oct, 2011 02:41 PM
What do you want to change the action to in the investment account? If you need to enter a purchase cant you enter an additional buy transaction?
Ben Spencer
Moneydance Support
10 Posted by docwon on 09 Oct, 2011 03:00 PM
Hi Kevin,
Sorry, that screen shot was taken after I hit the enter button and the dialog button pops up. The lots were allotted before I hit that button which reset it to zero.
Ben, so your answer is to go back to my checking register and re-enter the transaction manually instead of being able to just edit the transaction in my investment register?
11 Posted by docwon on 09 Oct, 2011 03:10 PM
Kevin,
Here is the screen shot before I hit enter. Then the one after I hit enter. The pop up box comes up and it sets the shares to ZERO.
12 Posted by docwon on 09 Oct, 2011 03:18 PM
Ben, I tried doing what you proposed. I created another transaction moving money from my checking acct to my investment account. It still doesn't allow me to change anything. I put money into a TSP or thrift savings plan. The money buys shares in C, G, S, or I funds that is not tracked on the indexes. I go to the site to see how many shares I bought and at what price and manually enter this data. The point is that I am not allowed to manually enter the data.
All the previous data that was imported from Quicken shows on the MD register as it should, shares bought and price. Any other suggestions?
The whole reason I didn't go with iBank was because they only did dollar cost averaging without the ability to pick lots.
13 Posted by docwon on 10 Oct, 2011 12:29 PM
OK... I guess I just have to create new transactions rather than use the downloaded ones from my banks. Maybe this problem can be fixed on an update.
The constant error messages when I try to attribute lots to my stock sales is really annoying and has to be fixed. This is the whole reason I bought Moneydance instead of iBank.
Support Staff 14 Posted by Ben Spencer on 10 Oct, 2011 05:55 PM
I am not suggesting creating an additional transaction in the checking register. I am suggesting creating the transaction that you want in the investment register. You are allowed to manually enter the data. It is a two transaction process. There is a transfer from the checking register to the investment register (This puts the cash in the investment account needed to make the purchase.) and there needs a buy transaction to purchase the securities. Go into the investment register and click the new transaction button and create a new transaction with the buy action. Use this buy transaction to purchase the securities.
Ben Spencer
Moneydance Support
15 Posted by zeke on 10 Oct, 2011 06:26 PM
docwon
The basic issue is that there is no way to do a single transaction in Moneydance from your bank account to shares. This isn't a problem to be fixed, unfortunately it's just the way money dance works. Any transaction to, say, your kids' 529 acct is treated by moneydance as two separate transactions (transfer of cash from bank to investment account and purchase of shares from investment account) even tho in real life it is only one. If you're dealing w/ regular payroll deductions, it is simple to set up a scheduled buy transaction in your investment account, which you can edit when you have the accurate price - that's basically what I do. If you want to make the purchases look like a single transaction in your investment account register, you can create/schedule a buyxfr transaction in your investment account (be aware that moneydance still treats this as two transactions) and then merge the downloaded checking transaction w/ the checking account side of the buyxfr transaction. Otherwise there is no way around other than to manually enter the additional buy transaction in your investment account to complete the downloaded transaction. Manually adding similar transactions can be made relatively painless by choosing the duplicate transaction option in the pop-up menu for an existing transaction.
16 Posted by docwon on 10 Oct, 2011 08:39 PM
OK guys. Thanks for your help and this is acceptable.
Now, how about the more important matter of why I can't assign lots of stocks I sold because MD won't let me.
See my screen shots. This is what's really annoying because I can't determine capital gains and this is the reason I chose MD over iBank.
17 Posted by -Kevin N. on 10 Oct, 2011 09:54 PM
Hi docwon,
Are you able to lot match the 10/26/2006 sale?
The screenshots appear to be of the 11/08/2006 sale.
You may need to start with the first sale, the 10/26 sale and if I remember correctly, you'll need to match all of the sales before clicking 'OK'.
I have to confess though that it's been a long time since I've dealt with this area of the program.
HTH -Kevin N.
18 Posted by docwon on 11 Oct, 2011 01:47 PM
Kevin,
Looks like we finally figured it out. You have to assign all the lots before hitting ENTER. You can't do it incrementally.
Now the trouble is, screwing around with it for awhile has caused another problem. When I go to assign lots, there are some sell lots that don't have any buy transactions to assign lots from. The window is blank. Is there a way to undo everything so I can start from scratch? And of course, it does give me an error message when I hit enter.
19 Posted by -Kevin N. on 11 Oct, 2011 02:20 PM
Hi docwon,
Glad to hear that you're making progress.
I take it that you've double checked the amounts in the 'Shares Allocated' column.
Short of removing the amounts for each entry in the 'Shares Allocated' column, I think that the only way to undo the Lot Matching data that was previously entered would be to access your most recent backup data file prior to the Lot Matching.
I can't say for certain, but I don't think that resetting the Cost Basis back to 'Avg. Cost' would do the trick.
Let us know how you make out. OK?
-Kevin N.
20 Posted by docwon on 11 Oct, 2011 06:26 PM
"I can't say for certain, but I don't think that resetting the Cost Basis back to 'Avg. Cost' would do the trick."
Yep.... I already tried that. It didn't work.
Is there a way to go into each transaction in the register and try to unmatch lots that way?
21 Posted by bondholder on 19 Oct, 2011 07:15 PM
Hi docwon,
To un-match lots you've allocated, you can use the Edit Lots button under the "Securities Detail" tab. You may need to go back through all the purchase transactions and set the "shares allocated" to zero for each of them. A rule of thumb is to allocate lots in date order of sales starting at the earliest. It is true that you need to make all allocations before leaving the "Lots" window.
[If you are working with UK capital gains rules, you sometimes have to match purchases with a later sale. MD does not help; it only lets you match with earlier purchases. For a work-around, you can manually modify the dates of the transactions to reverse their order.]
MD is terribly buggy, but has a good selection of features. Worth being patient with it.
bondholder