Author Topic: Re: New User - Silly Questions! (Read 5932 times)

Peter65 · « **on:** August 24, 2015, 07:17:52 PM »

Think I'm a good way up the learning curve with BG, couple of problems where I cant find out to do something, but am pretty sure solutions exist, I just cant find them.

First, if a transaction is in the wrong account - is that Visa receipt on my credit card or current account, and cant remember the card number, so just post it to one and move it later - how do I move a transaction from one account to another while reconciling statements? I cant edit the account field in BS42103.

Similarly editing a transaction from debit to credit - where it this carried out please?

Secondly, I've found my categories imported from MS Money are interpreted as sub-categories in BS408 when selecting categories for reports. How do I move transactions from one category (or sub-category) to another please? (A work around is to define category groups, but I still have a number of transactions that are orphaned).

Finally, does anyone have any tips for creating reports that will analyse the data by month without manual transfer from individual BG reports for a number of consecutive periods into Excel? I like to compare expenditure by category month by month.

Peter

ideasguy · « **Reply #1 on:** August 24, 2015, 10:09:26 PM »

Hi Peter and welcome to the forum

RE:

Quote

First, if a transaction is in the wrong account - is that Visa receipt on my credit card or current account, and cant remember the card number, so just post it to one and move it later - how do I move a transaction from one account to another while reconciling statements? I cant edit the account field in BS42103.

Similarly editing a transaction from debit to credit - where it this carried out please?

The Fix button in screen BS421S01 will allow you to fix both these cases.
Explained in this paragraph of the User Guide, with screenshot.
http://www.bankgenie.net/UserGuide/421/421.html#Fixing
Note that you have to use the Exclude button to move the transaction to the 999997 statement before you can use the Fix button.

Quote

I've found my categories imported from MS Money are interpreted as sub-categories in BS408 when selecting categories for reports.

I don't see how that could possibly have happened Peter.
In BS408, double click on a transaction. Get into screen BS421S03.
Is the category and sub category correct (compare it to MS Money) for the transaction under edit?
Send me an email with landline number and I'll give you a call to look at that.

Quote

How do I move transactions from one category (or sub-category) to another please? (A work around is to define category groups, but I still have a number of transactions that are orphaned).

In Bank Genie 4/Pro 4, you have to edit each transaction individually and make corrections.
Bank Genie Pro 5 (under development) already has a mass editing function.
Category groups would not change the category of a transaction so I would not recommend that approach.

Quote

Finally, does anyone have any tips for creating reports that will analyse the data by month without manual transfer from individual BG reports for a number of consecutive periods into Excel? I like to compare expenditure by category month by month

That report is one to be added to Bank Genie Pro 5.
Currently you can use the <MO and MO> buttons in the Transaction Analyser program to give you a very fast visual analysis, month at a time.
Click the Reports tab in Transaction Analyser to get the figures grouped in Category summarised, detailed etc.

Hope that helps!

ContraOboe · « **Reply #2 on:** August 25, 2015, 11:34:28 AM »

I had never even noticed the FIX button before. Very useful!

ideasguy · « **Reply #3 on:** August 25, 2015, 02:07:27 PM »

RE: this topic description I would comment that there's no such thing as a silly question.
I'm pleased to see others are reading these postings and finding some of those little gems!

Spike Milligan hilariously said he was a man of may parts, few of them working.
Bank Genie is a program of many buttons, some perhaps not apparent

PS - fortunately working, and there when needed to save the day on occasions

derram69 · « **Reply #4 on:** August 25, 2015, 03:31:38 PM »

Reading others "silly questions" answer the ones some of us dare not ask in case we are thought of as being dumb LOL

ideasguy · « **Reply #5 on:** August 25, 2015, 06:46:17 PM »

In that case, lets invite all those reading this to ask "that" question they would like to, but have been too shy to ask

Its bound to be of general interest and we might all pick up a tip or two.

barryl · « **Reply #6 on:** August 25, 2015, 08:00:00 PM »

The other standard gem is:

"No such thing as a silly question, only a silly answer"

(I am an educator)

ideasguy · « **Reply #7 on:** August 25, 2015, 10:46:37 PM »

No silly answers here of course

Peter65 · « **Reply #8 on:** September 02, 2015, 07:31:22 PM »

From a few posts above:

I've found my categories imported from MS Money are interpreted as sub-categories in BS408 when selecting categories for reports.

I don't see how that could possibly have happened Peter.
In BS408, double click on a transaction. Get into screen BS421S03.
Is the category and sub category correct (compare it to MS Money) for the transaction under edit?
Send me an email with landline number and I'll give you a call to look at that.

I spoke with George about this, who explained how BG handles imports, and after inspecting the QIF export files in Notepad concluded the simplest way to explain what is happening is down to the way MS Money treats categories and sub-categories in its export files, which means the MS Money category is only included in the BG analysis if there are transactions in the category itself, but BG reports from the selected sub-categories into the relevant category into the summary reports.

In practice, this means all I have to do is select the correct sub-categories once for each report and save the format - which is exactly the process I was doing in MS Money anyway.

Peter65 · « **Reply #9 on:** September 02, 2015, 07:44:25 PM »

Forgot to add:

I came to BG with a lot of experience of general use of analytical tools such as Excel as well as 15+ years use of MS Money. BG was not intuitive for some matters, but it is much much more flexible than I expected, and a couple of sessions soon identified how to replicate how I had been using MS Money, but then I discovered BG often had a much more straightforward way, and with a bit of help from George and this forum concluded that I should have switched to BG years ago. It allows me to carry out much more extensive analysis than I was able to do in MS Money. BG is not perfect, and is missing a few important features which George assures me are coming soon, but it doesnt impose a one size fits all style on its use. So if anyone is struggling, persevere!

barryl · « **Reply #10 on:** September 03, 2015, 06:45:02 AM »

I completely agree with your comment. I moved from Quicken after having helped George develop the QIF import feature (essential!).

The difference between Quicken and MS Money so far as export / import is concerned is that Quicken (can) specifically export a list of all categories which can then be imported to BG, whereas MS Money does not have that feature so the categories have to be discovered from the transactions.