QFX Import Problem

[Greg]

Previously, I reported unusual behavior from a qfx file import of credit card transactions.  I believe that I have found the problem.  It's a rather bizarre problem that perhaps somebody could explain.  I not sure if it is a bug or KMM configuration problem.  Hopefully, my explanation helps an understanding of the problem because I certainly do not understand it.

Summary of the Problem
The problem was that KMM failed to show the proper payee information from an import of a qfx file.  Upon import the 'Pay to' field listed the single letter E as payee even though there were payee names in the qfx file (there were no payee names E).  To add to the confusion this occurred for most imported transactions but not all.

The KMM version is 4.7.2 under Windows 10.  KMM was installed several weeks ago, and I have been testing how it works before I made it my personal finance program.  Currently, I am using Quicken 2015 so there are file imports.  My method to set up the KMM file consisted of creating a series of KMM files.  After each change to the KMM file I created a new file so that I had a series of KMM files representing the changes.  Consequently, I could back up the process without much effort.

The Cause of the Problem
The apparent cause of the problem was that previously I imported several qif files, one of which had an errant payee name.  The payee name was E when it should have been Earnings.  It occurred in a single transaction.  This payee E was subsequently used in the qfx file import.

Why This Was the Cause
Prior to importing the qfx file I had imported several qif files from old investment accounts; these accounts were closed and had only a few transfers.  This was done because I was learning how to import accounts from Quicken, and these files contained 'simple' transactions.  These qif file transactions were imported successfully, but I noticed in KMM's payee view that there was a payee name E.  There was a single transaction with the letter E for payee, and it came from the qif file (and Quicken).  Most likely, this was a typo from a long time ago.  Afterwards when I imported the qfx files, most of the transactions had an E in the 'Pay to' field.

Why I Believe This Is the Problem
Test 1
If I reversed the sequence of file imports by initially importing the qfx files first, the payee problem disappeared.  The correct payee information was inserted into the 'Pay to' field in KMM for all transactions.  The problem is not in the qfx file.

Test 2
To further test this idea I restarted the file imports from scratch but modified the errant transaction in the qif file.  The letter E was changed to Earnings in the qif file, and the qif files were imported successfully with no payee name E.  Next, the qfx files were imported, and the payee information was inserted correctly into the 'Pay to' field for all transactions.  The problem was corrected by merely changing a single transaction in a prior import.  Why would KMM use payee information from a prior import when the qfx file included payee information.

Test 3
I tested this idea by restarting the import process all over again but with the original files.  I imported the qif files without the corrected transaction and then imported the qfx files.  The letter E shows up in 'Pay to' field for most of the transactions but not all. I was able to replicated the problem.  But, why do some transactions import successfully?

Greg

On 3/3/2016 10:43 AM, Jack wrote:
On 2016.03.03 10:27, Greg wrote:
Jack,

Again, thank you for your assistance.

I did attempt to import the QFX files using the File/Import/QFX method.

My main credit cards are from:

  *   Citibank
  *   Capital One
  *   FIA Card Services (Fidelity branded cards)
  *   USAA

But, I am still perplexed by the way the QFX file import works.  My experience showed that an import of a QFX file had some transactions handled appropriately but most were not.  Yet, the transactions appear similar inside the QFX file.  From your statements this import method would work for some banks but not others.

Is this due to the QFX file format being under the control of Intuit?  Or, is there a bug in KMyMoney in the QFX file import?

First, understand that QFX and OFX are effectively the same thing.  The format may have initially been created by Intuit, but the standard is now published by The Open Financial Exchange Consortium.  One problem is that different OFX software (as used by the banks, but generally written and run by other software companies) interpret the standard somewhat differently, leading to subtle differences in OFX produced by each of them.

That said, I don't think there are bugs, either in the libOFX library that KMM uses, or in how KMM uses it.  Actually, although there may well be bugs, I suspect your issue is related to configuration.

So, to go back to the beginning, which version of KMM are you using, and on what platform or distribution?  If you are not uses 4.7.2, the most recent version, that would be the first thing to change, since there have been some changes in this area.

In addition, we need more details to be able to focus in on a cause.  For now, let's stick to data from just one of those institutions.  (I'm not aware of any particular problem with any of them, but I don't use any of them myself.)  Also, when you say you did attempt to import, if that was in response to this discussion, what did you originally try?

You say for one OFX file, some transactions are imported "correctly" (or at least as you would expect) and some are not.  What are the differences?  Does it have to do with matching to already entered transactions?  Does it have to do with matching on Payee name?

Have you tried to map to any of these online accounts?  This doesn't always work easily, but if it does, it will let you configure where the Payee name is detected, if that is your primary problem.

Sorry to answer with more questions then conclusions, but eventually you should be able to get it all working smoothly.

Jack

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.kde.org/pipermail/kmymoney/attachments/20160307/46c204f3/attachment.html>