Split Transactions are messy
I found split transactions a bit difficult.
1. I had trouble figuring out how to create a split
transaction.
-I couldn't find a menu item. - I didn't see it in the right click
menu. I searched the forums to find the CTRL-L shortcut.
I do like shortcuts, but it should be in the menu.
2 It just says "split transaction" in the summary. I would like
the option to have a "detailed view, where I can see all the
splits, maybe something like this
collapsed
Checking Account - Mortgage - $1000
expanded, Showing the splits and one for the complete
transaction
Checking Account - 2 Splits - $1000
- Mortgage Principal - $800
- Mortgage Interest - $200
Support Staff 2 Posted by Angie Rauscher on 04 Dec, 2009 06:57 PM
Dear Matt,
Thank you for your suggestions for improvements to Moneydance.
Our wiki is integrated with our feature request and bug reporting system. Please feel free to register and use these systems to help improve Moneydance by bringing bugs to our attention and requesting new features. We now also have voting on all existing tickets, which helps us determine which requests have the most demand.
Please let me know if I can be of further assistance, and thank you for your interest in Moneydance.
Angie Rauscher
Moneydance Support
3 Posted by Athene on 11 Dec, 2009 03:37 PM
Angie
This request was made by several of us with the last version of Money dance on your discussion board but I am disappointed that this feature has not been included. I participated in a lengthy exchange with one of the support team (with other customers) explaining why we wanted the more detailed reporting in the splits feature. If single items are included there is the option of adding notes about the item but if splits are used then the notes are not associated with the split. For example I purchase groceries from Tesco and also an televison. I can enter the items and categorise them but I cannot make a note for each that is associated with the split item. This kind of infomation is important when looking at guarantee periods etc.
The issue about the shortcut key was also raised many times before.
Support Staff 4 Posted by Ben Spencer on 11 Dec, 2009 03:49 PM
Hi Athene
If you hold down the alt key on your keyboard and move the mouse over a split transaction you will see a detailed view of the splits.
It is my understanding that you can enter a distinct description for each item in a split transaction. Is this not sufficient?
Sincerely
Ben Spencer
5 Posted by Athene on 11 Dec, 2009 05:40 PM
Hi Ben
Holding down the ALT shows the categories but I wouldn't regard this as a detailed description. Several of us have commented before that this doesn't allow the user to specifically link a split item with a purchase through a note field. For example:
3 - splits
Tesco - (Cat) Groceries
Tesco - (Cat) Electrical
Tesco - (Cat) Electrical
is not as detailed as (were they to be entered as separate purchases
Tesco Groceries
Tesco (Cat) Electrical (note) microwave
Tesco (Cat) Electrical (note) kettle
Microsoft money accomodates this and this has been one of the disappointing features of MD since I had the first version in 08. Previous responses to the customer requests for this to change suggested using the cat field in splits for the note but this mucks up the use of categories!
6 Posted by Mary Jo on 21 Dec, 2009 12:52 AM
AMEN!! Many of us have been asking for this major oversight with splits to be fixed, the lack of being able to put notes is a HUGE problem for me, and to see that it still hasn't been fixed in 2010 is such a big disappointment, I can't see paying for an upgrade. I end up trying to cram everything into the payee field just so that I have all the correct information available due to the program's inability to allow notes for each split item. I could care less about having a panel to access all my accounts,when there is such a sizable hole in the functionality of the software. Chalk me up as one VERY disappointed customer...I really don't know that I'll continue using the software since it appears this issue is going to not be taken care of for some time, if ever.
7 Posted by cfch on 21 Dec, 2009 11:31 AM
As a new user who is thinking of converting from Microsoft Money I completely agree.
Perhaps someone could let us know where it is on the roadmap?
8 Posted by matt8375 on 21 Dec, 2009 01:31 PM
I didn't know about the ALT option.
I think these controls need to be better documented.
Is there an option to show the transactions expanded, as if you were holding ALT on all of them?
Support Staff 9 Posted by Ben Spencer on 23 Dec, 2009 12:54 AM
Hi
There is an existing long standing trac suggestion ticket for this suggestion. Here is the link to the ticket:
http://moneydance.com/trac/ticket/943
If you register and log into trac you can vote on tickets. We get literally thousands of suggestions and we use the number of votes to help us prioritise what to implement next.
matt8375, there is not an option to expand as if you were holding alt on all of them. I am sorry if this does not meet your needs.
Sincerely
Ben Spencer
10 Posted by Athene on 28 Dec, 2009 04:48 PM
Hi Ben
I am disappointed with the response. As you can see from the comments this has been a long-standing request and the ticket you point to has been supposedly open for three years and is billed as low priority. I believe that this also requires setting up a different registration. This is a deal breaker for me and I suspect it will be for others. It is just a fundamental omission and a very necessary addition. I would not pay for an upgrade or new version without this.
Athene
Support Staff 11 Posted by Ben Spencer on 28 Dec, 2009 05:02 PM
Hi Athene
Of course you are free to choose not to buy the latest version of Moneydance and continue to use your existing software. I am sorry that the feature you are requesting has not been implemented. We do not have the resources to implement all of the suggestions that users make. Something that is a "fundamental omission and a very necessary addition" to one user is a feature that is never used or wanted by other users. We cannot meet the diverse desires and preferences of all our users and we strive to implement the features that will satisfy the majority.
I realize that this is unsatisfactory for users who see a requested feature as a deal breaker and I am sincerely sorry that this is the case for you.
Ben Spencer
12 Posted by Mary Jo on 28 Dec, 2009 10:50 PM
I have to agree with Athene that this is a really frustrating response on something that is such a major omission in the software. I had never even heard of the ticket system until recently and to imply that it wasn't added because not enough people voted for it is disingenuous as best. It took considerable effort for me to get in there, register, confirm my registration and finally vote. I am sure a lot of people would never to bother doing that. It hardly means that it's not something a LOT of users would want. Heck, a quick search in this forum found at least 3 other threads mentioning it in just the last few months (not counting this one):
http://help.infinitekind.com/discussions/questions/450-entering-det...
http://help.infinitekind.com/discussions/suggestions/196-suggestion...
http://help.infinitekind.com/discussions/suggestions/164-these-are-...
Who knows how many people have asked for it over the last 3 years, but it is hardly a rare request. And that doesn't even take into account those that would like to have it but just don't take the time to ask....or just move on to other software that supplies this necessary function? I know when I asked about it over a year ago I was told a lot of people had asked about it and it would be looked at for addition in the next major release (was not told anything about having to VOTE on it getting added). I based my continued use of the software on that assurance, and now am having to re-think that as a result. Were I not so distrustful of Intuit, it would be an easy decision to go back to Quicken. But I certainly have not had an easy road using MD in other areas so it's really frustrating as I would really prefer to give my support here, but it's getting harder to do that when I see so little progress with the software, and now have good reason to not trust that the problems I have with it will be addressed anytime soon.
13 Posted by John Selden on 28 Dec, 2009 11:15 PM
I get the feeling that I'm wading into something that has already been hashed out pretty thoroughly, but I just want to weigh in to see if it helps.
On the issue of creating a split, you don't have to use a keyboard shortcut. A "Split" button appears at the top of the Category dropdown menu.
On the issue of seeing the contents of a split, can't you just double click the transaction in question, and then click on the word "Split" in the Category field? That brings up all the details.
Finally, on the issue of adding details about each split, can't you enter the explanatory information ("microwave" or "kettle" from the example above) in the split's description field? I know that "Description" usually refers to the payee in Moneydance, but I've been using the split description field as a sort of memo for a long time with no adverse results.
14 Posted by Mary Jo on 28 Dec, 2009 11:51 PM
John, I can comment on the last (since the other things are not a major concern of mine).
There are two problems with having to put all the information into the description. First, I end up with all that extra information always showing in my memorized payee list. This causes me extra work and hassle having to remove and/or edit it, when with a memo field I can just tab to it and edit over what was there previously.
Second, it makes printing detailed reports an issue. I can't select whether to include that information or not, as I can with a memo field, and it won't print it on a separate line as memos do as well. If you use splits a lot (as many of us do particularly if you use Moneydance for any kind of business use) and need to include a fair amount of additional information on the memo, this can really make trying to get reports to print cleanly and fully readable a real problem.
Support Staff 15 Posted by Angie Rauscher on 29 Dec, 2009 02:00 AM
On Mon, Dec 28, 2009 at 6:51 PM, Mary Jo <
***@tenderapp.com<tender%***@tenderapp.com>
> wrote:
16 Posted by Diane Franklin on 05 Jan, 2010 02:54 PM
I am a brand new MD user and just generated a report of my YTD transactions. The split transactions do not show up at all in the report, thereby giving false totals by category. This is very disturbing since I need to track business expenses, some of which are split into the cost of an item plus the shipping costs related to an item.
Am I missing something here? Is there a way to get these items to show up in a report?
If not, this is a serious flaw in this program which, so far, I have liked in most respects, except for the hassle required in making changes to categories.
Support Staff 17 Posted by Angie Rauscher on 09 Jan, 2010 07:37 PM
Diane,
Split transactions are showing up in Transaction reports I am running using Moneydance 2010r2 build 735. If you are not using the most recent version (2010r2 build 735), please update to that version. You can download the update [here]http://moneydance.com/other). This update has resolved a few key issues our users have been experiencing. Please let me know if your issue persists and we will look into other solutions. When responding, please include your OS and the version of Java you are using.
Please let me know if I can be of further assistance, and thank you for your interest in Moneydance.
Angie Rauscher
Moneydance Support
18 Posted by Diane Franklin on 09 Jan, 2010 08:30 PM
Hi Angie,
I have solved the Split Transaction problem. The reason they were not
showing up before was because I had the incorrect date range. Once I put in
the right date range, I was able to see them. I am using the most
up-to-date version of MD on a Mac, with Snow Leopard 10.6.2. I'm not sure
where to find out what version of Java I'm using.
Thanks for your help,
Diane
Support Staff 19 Posted by Angie Rauscher on 11 Jan, 2010 06:19 PM
Diane,
I am glad to hear you have resolved this issue. Please let me know if you need additional assistance.
Angie Rauscher
Moneydance Support
Angie Rauscher closed this discussion on 11 Jan, 2010 06:19 PM.
Angie Rauscher re-opened this discussion on 25 Aug, 2010 09:13 PM
Support Staff 20 Posted by Angie Rauscher on 08 Jun, 2011 06:45 PM
Hi all,
Oh, Sadly I was incorrect. We're still working on how to implement this.
My apologies,
Angie Rauscher
Moneydance Support
Angie Rauscher closed this discussion on 08 Jun, 2011 06:45 PM.
Athene re-opened this discussion on 11 Jun, 2011 04:17 PM
21 Posted by Athene on 11 Jun, 2011 04:17 PM
Angie - I am so disappointed with this. I've just paid for an upgrade on the assumption from your email that this feature was now included and have just discovered that although it looks as though there should be a row for a memo now in Splits, it isn't possible to enter anything. Not only that but my new license key doesn't work.
22 Posted by Mary Jo Sminkey on 12 Jun, 2011 03:21 AM
Same here, I bought the upgrade specifically for this feature only to find out it wasn't done after all. It could have been avoided if there was a reasonable way for upgraders to test, but the program won't let me even try entering a single transaction without buying since I already have more than the limit. They ought to fix that as well, you should be able to get some kind of trial period with no limit on transactions, and then restrict people after the trial period is over.
Support Staff 23 Posted by Angie Rauscher on 15 Jun, 2011 03:04 PM
Athene- I do apologize for this, it was a mistake on my part. I'm not entirely sure what you mean by the new license key not working, would you please start a new thread and provide more detail on this, or email me directly at Angie (at) Moneydanc (dot) com?
Mary Jo- I'm sorry for the inconvenience, I will pass on your input on the trial period to our developers. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance,
Angie Rauscher
Moneydance Support
24 Posted by Sanford on 17 Oct, 2011 01:39 AM
I want to switch from Quicken mac. to Md. The problem is when preparing the check register with MD for my accountant, i cannot find a way to select/print category splits. I am able to do this with Quicken.
Does MD support printing of category splits?
Thank you
Sanford
Support Staff 25 Posted by Ben Spencer on 20 Oct, 2011 06:18 PM
Hi Sanford
We are just about to release MD2011r2 stable. The developers tell me that it should be available tonight.
In MD2011r2 stable the Transactions report from MD2010 has been reinstated. This report will allow you to select a particular account and will show the transactions in that account including the automatic expansion of all splits.
Ben Spencer
Moneydance Support