Step-by-Step Guide: How to Convert Your Data from Microsoft Money to Quicken

The recent departure of Microsoft from the personal finance category caused me to be orphaned like thousands of other Microsoft Money users. After researching the alternatives to Microsoft Money I decided to convert to Quicken based upon the similarity to Money and the promised easy data transfer. The fact that Amazon.com had Quicken Premier 2009 on sale for less than half price for a short time was a nice bonus!

I followed the official Money to Quicken data transfer instructions and found them to be good overall but a bit lacking in details. Upon import I discovered an error in the instructions as well. To make it easier for anyone else who wants to transfer their data from Money to Quicken I decided to publish a set of corrected and enhanced instructions here.

Please note: The step numbers here do not correspond to those of the official instructions because I added some steps to help clarify the process. Do NOT attempt to follow both sets of instructions. Either use these instructions OR use the official ones. Of course, I recommend this set to make the process a bit easier.

Before You Begin

Please note the following Money data items cannot be imported, you can always enter them manually after the conversion:

• Money 2008 files with more than 10,000 transactions.
• Memorized transactions
• Online account activation information
• Budgets
• Loan accounts
• Planner information
• Classes
• Unexercised employee stock option grants
• Exchange-traded options
• Empty accounts with no transactions
• Reconciliation state of your transactions. For this reason, you should reconcile the imported transactions before adding new ones.

Make sure that:

• Quicken 2004 (or later) is installed on the same computer that Money is on.
• Account names in Money are less than 15 characters and contain no punctuation or symbols. To rename an account:
  1. Open Money’s account list.
  2. Right-click the account and select Rename.
  3. Type in a unique account name, then press Enter.
• Categories and classifications in Money are less than 15 characters and contain no punctuation or symbols. To rename a category or classification:
  1. From Money’s More menu, choose Categories & Payees.
  2. Click Categories.
  3. Right-click the category and select Rename.
  4. Type in a unique category name, then press Enter.

Step by Step Conversion Instructions

1) Back up your Microsoft Money data file. Go to File/Back Up and save a copy or even two to different places. This is a highly-recommended precaution.

2) Install Quicken. As part of the installation process you will be asked to register Quicken to have access to updates. Do so, and let the installer update Quicken to the most current version. It is not necessary to start Quicken at this point – you will do that later after you convert your data.

3) Print these instructions. The conversion process is lengthy, so having a printed set of instructions will probably help. You can also refer to them on screen, but the nice thing about having the instructions on paper is that you can jot down notes or cross off steps as you complete them.

4) Download the Money-to-Quicken Data Converter to your desktop. Run the downloaded program to install the converter to your desktop as well.

5) Open Money. (Quicken should be closed.) You’ll be creating one, possibly two reports in Money. Do not skip these reports, as they are essential to converting your data.

6) Create an Account Transactions Report:

Money 2005 – 2008

• Click the Reports tab.
• In the Income and expenses area, select Account transactions and look for the Account Transactions Report. (If you don’t see it, select Change report settings in the Other tasks list. Then select Switch from Essential Reports to Advanced Reports and click Use Advanced Reports.)

Money 2003 – 2004

• Select the Reports menu and select Reports Gallery.
• In the Pick a report or chart list, select Account Transactions.
• Click the Go to Report/Chart button.

7) In the Common tasks list, select Customize. Click the Reset button (skip this step if you don’t see one). Click Yes to any confirmation message(s) and select Customize again.

8) In the Rows & Columns tab, in the Include fields area, select the Memo, Account, Cleared status, and Category options.

9) In the Subtotal by field, select Accounts.

10) Select the Show splits checkbox, and then click OK.

11) In the Accounts field, select All Accounts.

12) In the Date range field, select All dates and click OK .

13) Select the Send to menu and select Desktop. This might take a while if you have a large data file. When the transfer is complete, click OK.

If you used Money to track investments continue on with the next step, otherwise skip to step 21.

14) Now create an Investment Transactions Report (skip to Step 21 if you have no investment transactions to import):

Money 2005 – 2008

• Click the Reports tab.
• In the Investment area, select Investment transactions. (If you don’t see it, select Change report settings in the Other tasks list. Then select Switch from Essential Reports to Advanced Reports and click Use Advanced Reports.)

Money 2003 – 2004

• Select the Reports menu and select Reports Gallery.
• Click Investments.
• In the Pick a report or chart list, select Investment Transactions.
• Click the Go to Report/Chart button.

15) In the Common tasks list, select Customize. If the Reset button is not available, proceed to step 17. Otherwise, click Reset. If a confirmation message appears, click Yes, and select Customize again.

16) Click the Rows & Columns tab, and in the Include fields area, select the Memo, Account, Transfer account, Cleared status, and Category options.

17) In the Group by field, select Investment Types and click OK.

18) In the Accounts field, select All Accounts.

19) In the Date range field, select All dates.

20) Select the Send to menu and select Desktop. This might take a while if you have a large data file. When the transfer is complete, click OK.

21) Close Money; leave Quicken closed as well.

22) Run the Data Converter you installed in Step 4. In the Data Converter window, click the Import into Quicken button. Quicken will open once the import is complete.

23) Review your transactions for accuracy.

24) Reconcile your converted transactions before adding new ones.

• Click on the account name in the left column.
• Under the “Cash Flow” button it will say either Reconcile or Reconcile Account. Click on that and follow the instructions.
• For assistance, select Contents or Quicken Help from Quicken’s Help menu, click the Index tab, and type in reconciling, accounts.

25) Set up online access. One thing that won’t transfer from Money is the online access to your accounts. To set it up:

• Click on the account name in the left column.
• Select “Set Up Online” near the top of the page.
• Follow the instructions.