I have recently been working this same issue directly with Microsoft as I to
have a Vanguard 401k account. Here is the answer I received from their Level
II technical support (and no it does not work either in MS Plus).

"The only work-around for this issue would be to either keep the
transactions as "add shares" or "remove shares", or you will have to track
the account manually by adding the transactions in yourself. Unfortunately,
there is no option or change that can be made to bring in each transaction
with the actual activity. "

Shooter

"cdh" wrote:

- quote -

Comments below. Also see the reply to Buck Turgidson ("We can't have
fighting in the war room...") which is directed equally at you.

"cdh" <cdh[at]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news7618604-3C12-4852-8492-8BE660BF7EB6[at]microsoft.com...
- quote -

Apparently in this case you don't either.

- quote -

I'm not (let me say again) debating against the feature. I'd use it if it
worked reliably and the data was of better quality. It doesn't always and
isn't always or you wouldn't have been here in the first place. On this
surely we can agree.

- quote -

Except this one.

- quote -

More power to you. But it is not a foolproof technology. And in cases where
it fails, there is an alternate solution. I never once suggested to you or
anyone else that you not use it __if it's working for you__. In the case of
this account it isn't. (Generally people who are here looking for solutions
with a downloaded data problem swear by it EXCEPT for this one instance. Of
course, that's why they were here in the first place.) So I did and do
suggest that the alternate feature is a solution to your desire to get
better data in your Money registers--if that is your ultimate objective.
It's probably the only solution at hand. (No one else has posted one last I
looked.)

- quote -

They will, no doubt, lay the problem back on Microsoft. And they may well be
right. But you can and will spend a long time on this merry-go-round if you
elect to. Or, as I've suggested, you can get there another way.

Good luck in your endeavors!

Perhaps I was overly sensitive. But the notion that downloaded transaction
data doesn't always work as advertised is just so old here that a discussion
back and forth with someone who continues to want it to work better, when
that is just such a hopeless lost cause, struck a nerve. Downloading DATA is
one way to achieve INFORMATION in your Money account registers. It is not
the only way. As noted, it has long since stopped being news here that
downloaded transaction data, for some FIs and some transactions and some
users and some versions of Money under some circumstances has, to put it
delicately, "issues".

I guess I was also overreacting to cdh's observation that it "does not seem
that you are concerned with this product doing what it advertises it can"
into which I read disappointment that I wasn't solving his problem--that no
poster here has the slightest power to solve--or something similar when I
was taking my time to suggest that there are alternate ways to the objective
noted above. I also sensed that there was some expectation I or any other
poster here should be concerned with the veracity of Microsoft's
advertising. Caveat Emptor. I don't trust a word of it.

"Buck Turgidson" <jc_va[at]hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:7tWej.28951$pq.1027[at]newsfe24.lga...
- quote -

- quote -

I guess my MSFT whine blocker is active. I never heard any whining. Just a
request for help, and an observation that the software doesn't work as
advertised. I would have to agree.

Wow, I'm really not sure what I have done to deserve a somewhat condescending
<rant> , but it was not intentional on my part. I did not post on this
community to "whine", but simply to see if someone could help me with this
issue. If you look back, you will note that my only "whining" was in
response to you telling me that I shouldn't be bothering with this feature
(because you apparently don't find useful or reliable). Your very first
response to me ended .... "quit screwing around with the downloads and just
enter the transaction data by hand."

I don't wish to continue debating the preference for or against this
feature. I understand that you don't find transaction downloading valuable,
but I've been using it for every single account of mine in money for 4 years
with no issues. For me, it is INVALUABLE and INDISPENSIBLE. Thus, my
sincere inquiry on this site to see if the collective expertise could help
(just to see if someone had run into this before or had some ideas about how
to make it work, which is what I thought was this community's purpose).

That being said, I will take your advice and give Vanguard a call. My
apologies for any frustration caused.

~cdh


"Dick Watson" wrote:

- quote -

"cdh" <cdh[at]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:77B44AFE-F08A-4B0A-924F-84C1736F77D6[at]microsoft.com...
- quote -

While my opinion about downloading is the antithesis of Dick's, some
FIs simply don't comply with the data specs. For those, you can't. In
this case I'll agree that for THIS vendor, you'll probably end up
having to manually enter the data.

The fact that it doesn't work as an MSKB article says it should
doesn't mean it ever will. You can spend lots of time and energy
complaining that it doesn't work, but that is highly unlikely to
result in it being fixed, nor will it get your data into Money.
--
Chris Cowles
Gainesville, FL

<rant
I've read literally tens of thousands of postings in this newsgroup that
confirm that, as regards downloaded transaction data, Money--and the FIs as
they are the largest source of this problem by orders of magnitude--do not
do what they suggest they will. I'm immune to it as news by now.

Am I concerned that the product does not do what it advertises? Why would I
be? I have no dog in that fight. I just try to use Money like you. I
probably know of more "issues" with it than you ever will. So I avoid some
of them by, for instance, not using the largest single completely optional
and generally problematic feature: downloaded transaction data. There is not
one function of Money, besides downloading transaction data in the first
place, that is uniquely dependent on using downloaded transaction data.

As I keep noting, if you want to get the data in there in a useful way, it
can be done. If your only concern is doing it via downloaded transactions,
then, well, your situation should be self-evident. My posts never said
forget the feature. My posts say, in essence, if your concern is getting the
data right, there is a feature that will do this 100% right the first time
every time. If you don't want to make that feature work but insist on
beating your head against brick trying to make the other feature work, so be
it.

Now, if you just want to whine that Money doesn't work as advertised, please
spare us fellow users and find a better place to do it. Those of us who have
read virtually every post to this newsgroup for the better part of a decade
are already well aware that downloaded transaction data, for some FIs and
some transactions and some users and some versions of Money under some
circumstances has, to put it delicately, "issues". Have you called Vanguard
to see why their downloaded data is for c***??

</rant
"cdh" <cdh[at]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:4C955A91-0E5E-42C1-A200-75C71AFC6725[at]microsoft.com...
- quote -

I also tried creating this account as a simple investment account and still
cannot get it to work. All I want is the transactions to download like with
my ETRADE account.

Please help?



"cdh" wrote:

- quote -

Mr. Watson ... while I do appreciate you responding to my posts, it does not
seem that you are concerned with this product doing what it advertises it
can. Your very first reply to me was basically saying forget this feature
and do it manually.

One of the primary "benefits" MS advertises about Money is the online
integration (including downloading transactions). Here is something directly
from their Money site ..... *** Investing has never been easier. Money makes
it effortless to track your stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and 401(k)s. ****

That being said, I'm on this community to see if someone can help me figure
out how to get this feature working (as MS posted an article on a way to get
it to work). If you cannot help, or are not interested in this feature, that
is cool. But, simply telling me not to count on this advertised feature
isn't necessary or helpful.

Hopefully, someone else will sympothize with my request and attempt to help.

In any case, have a wonderful new year.

Best regards,
cdh




"Dick Watson" wrote:

- quote -

The fact that there's an MSKB on it--working or not--probably indicates that
it is what it is. Not all FIs cooperate and provide clean data that works
well in Money. You may think the FIs want this interface to exist for your
convenience and happiness and want it to work correctly. Truth is most of
them probably wish they'd never started down this path at all. All headache.
No business case.

To both you and Buck, if you want the data to get in Money right, there is a
way. And downloading transaction data may well not be it.

Maybe some other MVP will have a better answer for you, but I don't see them
beating a path to this thread.

"cdh" <cdh[at]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:71E3A363-51B4-4593-8CA5-911D552A0BDF[at]microsoft.com...
- quote -

Thank you, Buck .... I agree 100%. If you don't have transactions, you
cannot see performance at all. And, as you said, those transactions also
show the dividends, interest, etc.

As I noted, MS has a KB article for a fix/workaround that is NOT working.
So, this sounds like a genuine support issue (and not a preference or
perspective for managing money).

I am still hoping one of the MVP's or a MS rep can chime in a help on this
issue.

Happy New Year (to everyone!)
cdh


"Buck Turgidson" wrote:

- quote -

- quote -

I have a Vanguard 401k. In their bond fund for example, each month there
are 4 entries for interest. I assume each one is based on the source, e.g.
before tax, after tax, employee contribution, etc.

That would get a little tedious to enter all of those every month.

Additionally, Money's way of recording transactions prevents you from having
a performance picture. If you start out with $1,000, and end up with $1,500
for the year, is your return 50% or 0%? Is the $500 gain all contributions
and no dividends or capital gains? You have no way of knowing.

And you can see how well that all works in this case... Like I said, if your
goal is to manage your finances, nothing is stopping you from moving past
this issue.

I've never downloaded a transaction. Money still save me lots of time and
effort managing my personal finances. If I downloaded transactions, there
would be lots of (different) effort in a) keeping the whole thing working
for all accounts, b) doing the match/accept dance, c) adding value to the
data that just doesn't and never will come from the FIs, and d) fixing all
of the data normalization problems that do come with the FI data.

If, OTOH, your goal is to download data, I can't help on this one. Sorry.

"cdh" <cdh[at]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:951B6C95-9723-4416-9D50-D94ECD980B5A[at]microsoft.com...
- quote -

Thank you for your response. While I appreciate your feedback, I have a
different perspective about MSMoney (and software in general). In addition
to helping manage your finances, I believe it is also supposed to save time,
add productivity, and provide data accuracy (the purpose of software in
general). We are not accountants and shouldn't have to manually enter
hundreds upon hundreds of transactions a month. That is why Microsoft and
the FI's provide the capability to download transactions in the first place.

That being said, I download all my transactions (Chase/ING banks, BofA/Citi
credit cards, Etrade investments, etc) with no problems whatsoever. My only
issue is with this "retirement" account. As I said, Microsoft published a
workaround (for this advertised feature) that is not working, and that is why
I am seeking help.

I am still hoping that someone can help me.

Best regards,
cdh


"Dick Watson" wrote:

- quote -

As always, if you view the point of Money as downloading transaction data,
this is a problem that may not be solvable. If, OTOH, you view the point of
Money as helping you manage your personal financial life, then quit screwing
around with the downloads and just enter the transaction data by hand.

"cdh" <cdh[at]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:B6194717-0B20-4E5D-94CD-5B1B2DBB2A0C[at]microsoft.com...
- quote -

I also tried to simply change the 401k account to a non-retirement account
(so that it was a tax-exempt investment account). I still cannot get the
individual transactions to download.

Someone please help.




"cdh" wrote:

- quote -

NOTE: I'm on MS Money 2007 (purchased Plus but haven't installed yet).

I have been unable to find a way to get my actual transactions provided by
my 401k website (Vanguard) to download into MS Money. After hours of
research and attempts, I found out that MS Money only takes the summary
position information from the 401k account when "downloading transactions"
and simply "Add Shares" to adjust your position to the current date (and does
nothing with the cash account). See the FAQ item from Vanguard's website
(bottom) confirming this issue.

Microsoft advertises a "workaround" for this apparently by changing the
account from "401k" retirement account to a "Other (For Employees)"
retirement account .... see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/822766 and
http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...hootingOFX.doc (page 20). However, this did not work for me.

Does someone know how I can get this to work to download the actual
transactions? Is this feature any better in PLUS?

Thanks.





****** FROM VANGUARD'S WEBSITE ************************

<b> When I download into Microsoft Money, I only see my account holdings. Why
don’t my transactions download?</b
Microsoft has chosen to implement 401(k) and similar employer-sponsored
retirement accounts by providing only the account's holdings in the Microsoft
Money account. When you download and import an OFX file for an employer plan
account from Vanguard, Money will update your holdings using "Add Shares" or
"Remove Shares" transactions as appropriate, but the actual transactions that
were performed within your account will not appear in your Money register.

You may wish to read "View transactions and history information in your
401(k) or 403(b) account" within Microsoft Money's Help area. For more
information on how Microsoft Money provides account information for your
retirement accounts, we recommend that you contact Microsoft directly and
specifically reference this Help file.

************************************************** **