Importing Microsoft® Money expenses and categories

STEP 1: Creating your expenses report file in Microsoft Money

Expense categories created in Microsoft® Money can be imported into Graphic Accounts as a report file. Expenses for a full 12 month period are needed as the basis for a Graphic Accounts budget. To create such a report, start the Microsoft Money program and complete the following steps (we recommend you print out this page for reference):

On the Reports menu:
- (Microsoft 2005 to 2008 users) Click Reports tab (located near top of screen). Under Income and Expenses click Spending by Category. The default report will appear (it may be a chart). In the taskbar on the left click Customize... to open the Customize Report tab control .
- (Microsoft 2001 to 2004 users) Click the Reports Gallery option. On the left of the screen click Personal - Spending Habits, and on the right double click Where the Money Goes. This will create a default report which you can now customize. Open the Customize Report tab control by clicking Customize... (at the foot of the report).

In the Customize Report control enter the following settings:
1. On the Rows & Columns tab:
  1. Set Rows to Subcategories and Columns to Total Only .
  2. IMPORTANT - Either:
    
    Set Sort by to Subcategory (Microsoft 2004 to 2008)
    or
    Ensure Sort by amount box is NOT ticked (Microsoft 2001 to 2003)
2. On the Chart tab, set View as to Report.
3. On the Date tab, set Range to Previous Year, Last 12 months, or Custom Dates (set any 12 month period).
4. On the Category tab, first click the Clear All button, and then the Select Expense Categories button. Also ensure that the Show Subcategories option is ticked.
5. On the Details tab, set Type to Payments.
6. Now click the OK button to produce your 12 month expenses report.

To save this report in a form that Graphic Accounts can successfully import, do a right-click and select the Export... option* on the context menu which appears. The Export Report dialog will open.
*Note: Do not be tempted to choose the Export option on the main File menu, or the Export to Excel option on the context menu (Money 2005 to 2008 only). They both create file formats which Graphic Accounts cannot process.
Save the report file with a relevant name (e.g. "Expenses for Graphic Accounts.txt"), and in a location (folder) where you can easily find it. This file contains the actual data that you will import into Graphic Accounts.
Time Saver: To save the report format itself for future use with Graphic Accounts, click Add to Favorites... on the right-click context menu. Give it a relevant name such as Expenses (For Graphic Accounts). When you wish to update the categories & expenses in Graphic Accounts you can quickly call it up from the My Favorites option on the main Reports menu to produce an updated expenses file. All you need to change is the date range.

STEP 2: Importing an expenses report file into Graphic Accounts

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