[moneydance] Dead to support@moneydance.com

[Fuzzy Fox]

Katahdin <MoneyDance at intermod.net> wrote:
>
> If you are using MD or any software to reconcile, the data that you're
> reconciling should come from another source "OTHER" than the source
> that you're reconciling TO.  Otherwise, why bother to reconcile. It
> will ALWAYS agree, and if your bank NEVER makes a mistake there is no
> need to go through the reconciliation procedure.

I was of this same opinion, and in fact, I am still one of those who
never downloads, I just manually enter my receipts and then compare them
to the paper statement that comes from the bank.

But people on this list eventually convinced me that downloading makes
sense (when it's available) and that there are two schools of thought
that can be followed.

Here is a summary post that I made to this list some time ago, regarding
one of MD's features:


From: Fuzzy Fox <fox at foxtaur.com>
To: General discussion related to Moneydance <moneydance-info at moneydance.com>
Subject: Re: Reconcile "As Of" checkbox disabled.
Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2006 22:07:28 -0600

Jon Hall <ravenskana at mac.com> wrote:
>
> I guess I don't understand the point of the feature and why it behaves
> the way it does.  I was able to reconcile without entering a date for
> my other accounts, but what would have been harmed if I had been able
> to manually enter the date?  On the other side, what point does it
> serve for accounts that have downloaded transactions?  In what case
> would I want to uncheck the box?

You might have downloaded transactions with dates that are later than
your paper statement's date.  As such, you'd want to check "As Of" and
then give the date on the paper statement, so that Moneydance knows that
you do not want to consider transactions that were downloaded after that
date.

There are two schools of thought on downloading:

1.  Downloading is a data-entry convenience.  I do not check the data as
    I download it, I just dump it into Moneydance, and I will check it
    over when my paper statement comes.

If this describes you, then you want to un-check the "As Of" setting,
and then manually check off items as you compare them to the statement. 


2.  When I download data, I compare the downloaded data as I enter it,
    with the receipts in my wallet, or with my own mental recollection
    of what I've spent.  As a result, I am doing my own "reconcile"
    throughout the month, and when my paper statement arrives, it is a
    waste of my time to go through the whole comparison once again.  I
    just want my statements to match, and not to be bothered with the
    comparisons again.

If this describes you, then you want to keep "As Of" checked, and make
sure you enter the date that appears on your paper statement. 
Moneydance will then mark all downloaded transactions BEFORE this date
with the diamond symbol, indicating they have already been checked off,
and very likely appear on the paper statement.  Transactions downloaded
AFTER the given date will NOT be marked.

Using this scheme, you can simply compare the balance of the statement
with the balance arrived at by Moneydance.  If they match, you are
reasonably assured that everything balances, and you can finish the
reconcile in short order.


It is hard for Moneydance to describe all of this in a simple checkbox,
so it is left unstated.  :)

-- 
 Fuzzy Fox <fox at foxtaur.com>
  "Why a man would want a wife is a big mystery to some people.
   Why a man would want two wives is a bigamystery."