Money Manager Ex User Manual

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# Money Manager Ex User Manual MMEX 1.3.0

## Contents

## Introduction

Money Manager Ex (MMEX) is a personal money management system, for any one starting out in keeping track of their money, and their spending habits. Based on simple principles, thus allowing anyone with little, to no knowledge of finance and general book keeping, to successfully manage their money. MMEX does this by attempting to models the real financial world, to help us (the user) maintain our personal finances. The Money Manager EX Software, is Open Source, and free to use.

The primary goal of MMEX is to simplify the process of tracking financial information, in an easy to use program that can be used as regular as necessary, to help us keep track of where our money comes from and more importantly, where our money goes, in order to make better financial decisions for our future.

Think of Money Manager Ex as a computer checkbook which enables you to balance your accounts, organize, manage and generate reports for your finances.

It is also a great way to keep abreast of your financial worth.

The purpose of this manual is to give you (the user) some basic instructions for using MMEX. This instruction manual will evolve as the program evolves. So check the help system with each update and see what's new and how to better utilize MMEX.

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## Working towards better Financial Health

Becoming organized financially requires some amount of discipline. Financial management can become complicated when there is no clear understanding of how much money we are getting, regarded as income as opposed to our expenses which is how much money we spend. Debt usually results when our cash flow is restricted because our expenses exceed our income. Then we need to borrow money to maintain our cash flow to enable us to purchase our necessary items.

The first step towards better Financial Health, is to maintain good financial records. It is only when we have a clear understanding of where our money goes, that we can make an informed decision of where to cut back on our expenses when our cash flow becomes tight. If we do need to borrow money, we can then better manage our debts as well.

Did you realize you spent $600 in buying DVD movies last year? How many times did you watch them? Do you think now that the $600 would have been better spent on the unexpected maintenance on the auto that came up yesterday? Of course there is no right or wrong answer to how you should spend your money. After all, it is you who earned that money and the right to spend it whichever way you see fit. But you can always make your money work harder for you.

Here's where personal finance software comes in. They help you slice/dice the financial data to give you better insight into what is going on. Always remember the software can only be as good as the data it has to process. Garbage In Garbage Out. But if you have started thinking of even using Personal finance software, you are well on your way to making every dollar count.

Read on how to work with Money Manager Ex.

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## Money Manager Ex Concepts

Money Manager EX models the real world to help us maintain our personal finances.

Generally we receive money from someone for a service we provide, or a product that we sell. This is regarded as Income or as a Deposit to our system. When we purchase an item or use a service, the money that we spend is regarded as an expense or Withdrawal to our system. In MMEX, the people that give us money or receive our money are regarded as the Payees of the system.

As we hopefully do not spend all the money we receive, we would obviously need a place to keep our money. This is generally, some financial institution, or several institutions or in our pocket. MMEX tags these places as Accounts.

When we spend or receive money, we see this as a transaction>, and the reason for our income or expense is our category. There will be times where we need to transfer money from one place to another, such as a withdrawal from an ATM, and this type of transaction is known as a transfer.

This can be simplified as shown in the following diagram: |

One other important thing to consider is the currency we use to perform the transactions.

With all of these things to keep track of, MMEX uses a database to store and connect all these entities together.

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### Recommendations

The database that MMEX generates, known as the .mmb file, becomes an important file for you to maintain. Depending on circumstances, security features such as encryption can be employed, which is recognized as a .emb file. This is where we can attach a password to the database, and will require a password every time MMEX is opened.

When encrypting your database, Don't forget your password.

As with any computer system, the data we produce is important to us, and therefore need to safeguard against system malfunction. MMEX has a backup system where it can produce a dated copy when the database is opened, and/or produce a dated copy of the database when changes have been detected. Up to 4 backups are maintained for each database when the system is initialized and/or when system changes have been detected, and the system shuts down.

- Always backup your .mmb or .emb database file regularly.
- Always keep backup copies on other devices to protect against hardware failure.
- When upgrading to a new version of MMEX, make sure you backup your .mmb or .emb database file before doing so.
- Use the Menu Tools→Options... to set up the level of backup required.

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## Creating a New Database

When MMEX initially starts up, it will attempt to load the last database that was opened. If no database existed, the user is presented with the option to either open an existing database, or create a new one.

If you need to create a new database file, from the Menu, Select File→New Database.

This will prompt you to specify a new name for your .mmb database file, at the location you specify. Your new database file is now created and the New Database Wizard will be displayed to help you initialize the new database and assist in creating your first account.

The New Database Wizard will request you to set the Base Currency and a User Name.

MMEX comes with a default set of currencies which you can use, to correspond to your countries currency settings. New accounts will then use this Base Currency setting as the default. This allows accounts from different countries to reflect the value in the base currency.

To help identify the purpose of the database, a User Name is requested. This is optional, as it is only used as a title on the Home Page, and in reports.

Both these settings can later be changed if required by selecting the menu: Tools →Options

The database name will be displayed on the title bar which helps remind you which database file is open.
The new .mmb database file is not encrypted.

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### Encrypting your database file.

The database can now be encrypted as follows: on the Menu, Select File→Save Database As

1. Select your location, and select your .mmb file or create a new name for your database.
2. Change the Save As Type: to Encrypted MMB Files (*.emb), then Save
3. Enter a password for your file – You will need the password when opening the database file.

Tips:

Remember to make backups of your .mmb or .emb database files.
Database file is not encrypted: That means anyone else having the proper know how, can actually open the file and read the contents. So make sure that if you are storing any sensitive financial information, it is properly guarded.
For encrypted database files: Remember your password.

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### Switching Databases

For users having multiple databases, the user can easily switch between the databases by using the Menu item: File→Recent Files...

This will save the last five recently used files. The list will show 6 entries as the first entry on the list is the file currently being used.

Clearing the list.

When the list is cleared, all the items in the list are cleared. When MMEX shuts down, the currently opened database will be saved as the last opened file. This will appear in the recent file list as the first entry when MMEX is restarted.

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## Creating New Accounts

When creating a new database file, you will automatically be requested to create a new account.

To manually create a new account, from the Menu, Select Accounts→New Account.

This will bring up the Add Account Wizard. The wizard will assist in collecting the important information of the Name and Type of Account. The Type of Account is not changeable, but the name can changed when editing account information.

Name of the Account:
This is a required field. The recommendation is to name your accounts uniquely and in relation to real world accounts. Example: With CitiBank, we have a Savings account and a credit card Visa account. You could name your accounts as ;CitiBank Savings; and ;Citibank Visa;.

Type of Account:
MMEX currently supports eight of accounts:

Cash Accounts
  Similar to Checking Accounts with the exception that they appear in their own section on the home page and can be shown or hidden for normal day usage. For a better explanation see the account setup example.
Checking Account
  This is the most common type of account used for MMEX, and can handle most common account types, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, and credit card accounts. Also known as Bank Account, and supports three kinds of transactions. These are withdrawal, deposit and transfers.
Credit Card Accounts
  Similar to Checking Accounts with the exception that they appear in their own section on the home page and can be shown or hidden for normal day usage.
Loan Accounts
  Similar to Checking Accounts with the exception that they appear in their own section on the home page and can be shown or hidden for normal day usage.
Term Accounts
  Similar to Checking Accounts with the exception that they appear in their own section on the home page and can be shown or hidden for normal day usage. For a better explanation see the account setup example.
  These kinds of accounts cover specialized accounts such as Cash Term Accounts, Bank Mortgage accounts, Loan accounts, or investment accounts with regular income or expenditure that you need to keep track of. These accounts have their own balance section on the Home Page. These accounts also, supports three kinds of transactions.
Investment Account
  This is a specialized account type that supports Stocks and Shares. It allows Stock Portfolio's to be created within the Investment Account. This type of account allows us to track stock/bonds/mutual funds investments and possibly other investments you may own.
Asset Accounts
  These specialized account types appear under Assets in the navigation tree and assist Asset Management.
  These do NOT appear on the home page.
Share Accounts
  These specialized account types appear under a Stock Portfolio to assist the Stocks and Shares Management.
  These do NOT appear on the home page.
  These types can also be displayed by using the Menu -> View -> "Display Share Accounts" to display these under Share Accounts in the Navigation tree. This is generally not necessary, but is required in the case where a Stock is not accessing the Share account.

Credit Limit and Minimum Balance

This has been introduced for each account. Initially set to zero (0) to disable this feature.

Setting a minimum balance will warn the user when the resulting balance of entering a transaction will be below this value. The Credit Limit is the same as minimum balance, except that a positive Credit Limit will reflect a negative balance.

To properly setup accounts, you should have balance information for the accounts you want to add to MMEX. You can get this information from your most recent bank, investment and credit card statements. To track additional information about this account, optionally you can enter your account details such as Account Number, Held At, Website, Contact info and Access Info. You can enter additional notes about the account in the notes field.

Most accounts have some kind of balance in them, for example say in a credit card account, you have a current balance of $2304.67, you could put that value in the initial balance field. Going forward you only need to add transactions beyond that date when you had the balance.

The Account Status can be set to ;Open; or ;Closed;. Closed accounts are just that. They are no longer active. Setting this status is just a way to de-clutter your view in your tree view navigation pane. Permanent settings are made by changing the View Options on the Menu, Tools→Options, you can hide the closed accounts. See Tips on Navigation Tree
Currency: This is initially set to the database Base Currency setting which was initially set when creating the database. You can set the currency that is associated with this account and can be different to the base currency.

The exchange rate for the currency can be changed using the menu: Tools →Organize Currency

Example: You live in the USA using US Dollars, and have an Italian bank account using the Euro. Most of your accounts are in USD. What is the real value of your Italian bank account? By changing the exchange rate for the Italian Euro, you can get the correct value of your accounts.

You also can mark accounts as a 'Favorite Account'. This again is used to change the accounts that are visible in the navigation bar. See Tips on Navigation Tree

Tips:

Use the toolbar icon for quick selection of the Add Account Wizard.

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### Account Setup Example:

We have a savings account with $1250, a check account with $500, a MasterCard owing $250, a Visa Card owing $475, a home mortgage loan of $230,965 and an education fund to send the children to college in the future currently at $5000 earning interest.
We would set up the following accounts:

Account Type | Account Name | Initial Balance
Check/Savings | Savings | $1,250.00
| Check | $500.00
| MasterCard | -$250.00
| Visa Card | -$475.00
Term | Home Mortgage | -$230,965.00
| Education Fund | $5,000.00

On the Home Page the balances would be $1025 for Bank accounts, and $-225,965 for Term Accounts

When a payment is made from your Savings Account to your MasterCard with a Transfer Transaction the balance on the home page remains the same. When a payment is made from your savings to your home mortgage, the balance on the home page will reflect the payment. Now you can determine the amount of money you have on a day to day basis. Regular payments can also be set up from your savings account to your mortgage account using Recurring Transactions.

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### Tip on using the Navigation Tree and Home page:

As more accounts are created the Navigation Tree and Home page can become very large.
This views can be temporarily changed to show or hide the appropriate section:

Navigation Tree: | Expand/Contract the Bank and Term Account branches using the +/- nodes on the navigation tree.
Home Page: | Using the menu: View →Bank Accounts and/or menu: View→Term Accounts

Using a mouse Right-Click on:

- Bank Accounts in the Navigation tree, will allow all accounts or only favorite accounts to be shown, temporarily changing the permanent settings, as well as other useful options.

- Any account name under Bank or Term accounts, to bring up other useful options.

To make the change permanent, change the options using the menu: Tools→Options→View Options

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### Editing Account Information

Once you have created an account, you can edit any of the account information fields in the following ways:

1. Using menu Accounts → Edit Account
   The list of account will be displayed where the required account is selected.

2. Selecting the account name in the navigation pane
   Right click to bring up the pop-up menu and select ;Edit Account;

This will bring up the account information dialog where the required fields can be changed.

- Edit the account details

- Use the ;OK; button to save the account information.

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## Creating New Transactions

Once you have created a new account, and selected the required account from the navigation tree, or the home page, the displayed account can have new transactions added as follows:

- Using the New button at the bottom of the Account View screen
- By selecting an existing transaction and using the mouse Right-Click, and select the appropriate action on the pop-up menu screen.

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### New/Edit Transaction Dialog

This dialog box will appear for new transactions. Use this dialog to enter the following details:

- Date - This is generally the date of the transaction. Defaults to current day and can be changed.
- Status - The default is None, but can be changed to Reconciled by the options settings.
- Type - Refer to Transaction Types below.
- Amount – Enter the amount fro the transaction. The 2nd amount field is associated with the Advanced Check-box and will be activated only for Transfer transactions.
- Advanced – For a transfer transaction, when the amount in the ;From; Account is different to the ;To; Account, the difference is recorded in the separate fields. This can for currency rate changes.

Transaction Status:

- Unreconciled: When you enter a transaction, it initially is in the state of ;Unreconciled;. Which means the transaction has not been reconciled with your bank/credit card company's balance.
- Reconciled: Once the transaction is checked and verified with a credit card company's balance information, it can be marked as reconciled.
- Void: If you entered a transaction that later became invalid or you canceled the transaction, instead of deleting the transaction you can also mark it as void so you have a record of the transaction.
- Flag For Followup: This status marks transactions as needing more action. For example, you receive a balance statement from the financial institution and you notice that the transaction amount is different between what you recorded and what is in the statement. You can mark it as flag for follow up so that you can followup with the financial institution.
- Duplicate: The status will be automatically be changed to duplicate if it is recognized as such.

Transaction Types:

- Withdrawal: is one where one makes a payment and is an expense.
- Deposit: is one where money is received and is an income.
- Transfer: is one where a withdrawal is made from one account and is deposited into another account.
  This type of transaction is not included in Income/Expense calculations.

Payee: This is a person or an organization to whom the money goes or comes from.

- Clicking the payee button opens up the payee dialog. You can select the payee from that dialog or create a new payee for immediate use.

Category: Category selects the kind of expense/income for the transaction.

- Clicking the category button opens up the category dialog. You can select the category from the dialog or create a new category for immediate use.

Split: This check-box will activate the Split Transactions Dialog

- Split Transactions allows multiple categories to be recorded for a single transaction.
- Can allow a transaction to have Income and Expense categories recorded as deposit and withdrawals, provided the overall transaction type is observed and remains positive, for Deposit and Withdrawal transactions.

Note:

Do not use the same category for Deposit and Withdrawal transactions, as this will upset overall balance figures.

Transaction Number: is a field to enter any kind of number associated with the transaction like check number.

Notes: This field can be used to record any special notes with regards to the transaction. The button under Notes can be used to select commonly used field notes.

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### Editing and Updating Transactions

Editing existing transactions can be achieved in a number of ways:

- By selecting the transaction and then clicking the edit button.
- Double-clicking the selected transaction.
- Pressing enter on the selection.

Any of these actions will open the transaction dialog box containing the details of the selected transaction. Make the changes and click OK to save the changes.

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### Transaction Filtering in Accounts

Transactions can be filtered by either fixed filters or, by using the Transaction Filter in the Account View. This will allow the user to limit the visible transactions to those defined by the appropriate filter. These filtered transactions can then be easily selected and individually modified.

These visible transactions can also be deleted in bulk if so desired.

Note:

Caution is advised when deleting transactions.

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### Reconciling and Balancing Transactions

Unreconciled Transactions:

- This means that they have not been verified with the statement from the financial institution.

Reconciled Transactions:

- A transaction can be considered reconciled when the details of the transaction match that from the financial institution.

In MMEX, reconciled and unreconciled transactions are shown by different icons. When bank details are not checked against a bank statement, the user can select to set the default as Reconciled when creating transactions in the Options settings.

Tips:

To mark a transaction as reconciled, just select the transaction and hit the 'r' or 'R' key. To mark a transaction as unreconciled, just select the transaction and hit the 'u' or 'U' key.

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### Flagging transactions for followup

Some transactions might have some issues that you want to follow up on. Mark these as with status of flag for followup. This is indicated in MMEX with a different icon.

Tip:

To mark a transaction as requiring followup, just select the transaction and hit the 'f or 'F' key.

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## Working with Currencies

As MMEX can be used in many countries, MMEX need to consider the currency for the country of use. When creating a new database, the Base Currency is set to the currency used in the user's country. If the user's currency setting is not listed in the default currencies, the user can create their own currency Listing.

MMEX allows us to work with more than one currency. Each account has its own currency setting, and will default to the base currency. When we set accounts with different currencies, the transactions we create in these accounts will reflect the currency of the account.

When transactions in different currencies are detected, MMEX will display a Currency Summary on the Home Page. This will reflect the amount and conversion rate for each currency being used.

You can manage Currencies by using the menu item: Tools→Organize Currency.

To Add a new Currency:

- Use the Add button in the Currency Dialog
- Provide a suitable name for your new currency.
  Note: This name is not changeable, but the currency can be deleted if not being used.
- Adjust the currency values in the Currency Manager.
  The Currency Manager is also available when editing a currency.
- Use the Update button to save the changes before closing.
  Note: All changes will be lost if the Update button is not used before Closing.

When more than one currency is being used, the Conversion to Base Rate needs to be set. This will allow the value of the currency to properly reflect the value at the base rate.

To allow Automatic Currency updates, the Currency Symbol needs to be set for the particular currency being used.

To use the menu item: Tools→Online Update Currency Rate, the following must occur:

- Activate the option from the Tools→Options... Others page.
- Set the Currency Symbol for all currencies requiring update.
- Set the base currency value 1

Tips:

Use the toolbar icon for quick selection of the Organize Currencies dialog.
Use the up/down keys to navigate the currency selection.

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## Working with Categories

Categories indicate the reason an expenditure is made or an income is received.

A Category is generally used to record Income or Expenses. Because MMEX allows us to transfer money between accounts, it is also recommended to use categories to record transfers. This will allow us to determine what money is being transferred for a specific reason, such as a repayment to a loan. This will not be seen as an income or expense in the overall picture. Using the same category for an income and an expense will upset balance figures.

Example: If we want to record the the value of running a car, we would set up the following:
Category: Car,
Subcategory: Fuel, Maintenance, Registration, Insurance, Fuel Reimbursed
The first 4 subcategories are used to record expenses. If we are reimbursed for fuel costs for any reason, we would need to use Fuel Reimbursed as an Income subcategory. This would then allow us to determine the correct amount we are spending on fuel to run the car. This will become clearer when we are using Budgets.

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### Split Categories

When adding a new transaction, we can use more that one category to record a transaction. This is known as a split category.

The overall split category transaction is either a withdrawal or a deposit. Although the categories within the split, need to reflect the overall transaction type, each category can be classified as a withdrawal or deposit within the split.

Split categories can easily be viewed for a transaction by using a pop-up menu selection when a split category entry exists.

Note:
Withdrawal Screen: Deposits are displayed as negative.
Deposit Screen: Withdrawals are displayed as negative.

Managing Our Categories

You can manage Categories by using the menu item: Tools→Organize Categories.
Once the category dialog opens, you can add new categories and subcategories.

To Add a new Category:

1. Select Categories at the root of the tree (At the top)
2. Type the new category name into the text box
3. Use the the Add button

The new category will appear at the bottom, and will be resorted when the dialog box is re-opened.

To Add a new Subcategory:

1. Select the category that you wish the subcategory to belong to
2. Type the new subcategory name into the text box
3. Press the Add button

You can also change the names by selecting the category/subcategory in the list , modify the name in the text box, then use the Edit button. Use a similar action to delete the category/subcategory in the list.

Note: You cannot delete categories which are being used by any transactions.

Ensure that no transactions use this category/subcategory, combination. This can be done by:

- Editing the transaction and changing the category/subcategory.
- Deleting the transaction using this category/subcategory.
- Using the menu item: Tools →Relocation of... Categories, where you can move all categories of a particular name to an alternate category/subcategory combination.

This would then make the category free so it can then be deleted.

Tips:

Use the toolbar icon for quick selection of the Organize Categories dialog.
Use the up/down keys to navigate the tree selection.
Don't use the same category for Income and Expense, as this will cause incorrect balance calculations.

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## Working with Payees

Payees are the people or institutions that give us money, or
the people or institutions who we pay, for our goods and services.

You can manage Payees by using the menu item: Tools→Organize Payees.

Once the payee dialog opens you can add new payees, edit or delete existing payees.

To Add a new Payee:

- Enter the name of the payee in the Filter Payees box
- Use the Add button

You can also select the payee in the list, then use the Edit or Delete button to perform the required action.

Note: You cannot delete payees which are being used by any transactions.

To delete a payee, ensure that no transactions use this payee. This can be done by:

- Editing the transaction and changing the payee.
- Deleting the transaction using this payee.
- By using the menu item: Tools→Relocation of... Payees, where you can move all payees of a particular name to an alternate name.

This would then make the payee free so it can then be deleted.

Tips:

Use the toolbar icon for quick selection of the Organize Payees dialog.
Use the up/down keys to navigate the payee selection.
Use the % as a wild-card to match many characters in the filter.
Use _ to match a single character in the filter.

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## Importing From WebApp

MMEX has a light WebApp that can be installed on every PHP webserver like NAS, shared hosting or other PHP local installation.
You can download all needed files from project page .
To start-up WebApp you only have to:

- unzip file in a folder on your webserver or upload files through FTP
- rename htaccess.txt in .htaccess (on Windows you need to do it from CMD and "rename" command)
- enable PDO_SQLite if needed

Then simply open your browser to the folder URL, fill first settings and insert correct URL and GUID in MMEX settings (import/export tab).

Now at every start-up MMEX will contact WebApp for new transaction that will be downloaded and imported in desktop database.

All main transaction linked settings will be automatically synced to WebApp, in this way you can have all your account and payees ready to use inserting new transaction.

To obtain more information about set-up and installation see wiki pages.

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## Importing From QIF Files

Quicken Interchange Format (QIF) is an open specification for reading and writing financial data to media (i.e. files). A QIF file typically has the following structure:
!Type:type identifier string
[single character line code]Literal String Data
...
^
[single character line code]Literal String Data
...
^
Each record ends with a ^ (caret).
See example QIF transaction
!Type:Bank Header
D6/ 1/94 Date
T-1,000.00 Amount
N1005 number
PBank Of Mortgage Payee
^ End of transaction
QIF is older than Open Financial Exchange (OFX). The inability to reconcile imported transactions against the current account information is one of the primary shortcomings of QIF. It is commonly supported by financial institutions to supply down-loadable information to account holders.
MMEX can import transactions from specific types of QIF formats into an account.
The types are the following: (You can find the type of QIF by opening in a text editor)
!Type:Bank Bank account transactions
!Type:Cash Cash account transactions
!Type:CCard Credit card account transactions
Important Note (1): The date format option has to match that of the date format in the QIF file, otherwise, date parsing by MMEX will fail and will result in transactions having incorrect dates.
Important Note (2): After importing from QIF, all transactions will have a ;Follow Flag; as it its status. You can mark all transactions with this flag using the bulk status setting commands using the right click menu in the account view.

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## Importing From Universal CSV Format

To alleviate the problem of users having to pre-format their bank transaction CSV files into the fixed format MMEX requires, MMEX also allows users to import CSV files where the order of fields is completely freeform. To use this importer, select the account you want to import into and then select the order of fields in the CSV file by picking and choosing from the list of possible fields. MMEX will now import the CSV file using the format information specified by the user. MMEX can import from a wide variety of formats. One of them is a fixed format CSV file. This file format exactly matches the CSV format that MMEX can export. So it can be useful to move data from one .mmb database file to another .mmb database file. To easily see the format of the CSV file, you can try exporting an account to a CSV file and then analyzing the format created.
The CSV field options are as follows:
Date - Date of the transaction (In the format specified in Options→DateFormat)
Payee - To whom the transaction was made. In the case of a transfer transaction, this indicates the name of the account from which the transfer was made or to the account the transfer was made.
Amount (+/-) - The transaction amount. If it is a positive value it is a deposit, negative value is a withdrawal (there is an option to reverse this).
Category - The category of the transaction
SubCategory - The subcategory of the transaction
Notes - Transaction Notes
Number - Transaction Number
Withdrawal - An +ive amount that is considered as a withdrawal. (Do not use if specifying Amount (+/-))
Deposit - An +ive amount that is considered as a deposit. (Do not use if specifying Amount (+/-))
Don't Care - Ignore this field
Note that the transactions from a CSV file can only be imported into a single MMEX account.
Important Note (1): The date format option has to match that of the date format in the QIF file, otherwise, date parsing by MMEX will fail and will result in transactions having incorrect dates.
Important Note (2): After importing from QIF, all transactions will have a ;Follow Flag; as it its status. You can mark all transactions with this flag using the bulk status setting commands using the right click menu in the account view.

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### Tips for creating CSV Files

- When creating your CSV file be sure that you remove the commas from your deposits and withdrawals. This can be done easily through a program such as Excel or OpenOffice Calc.

- Or you can change the delimiter to be used by MMEX by choosing Tools→Options and changing the ;Import/Export Settings; in the ;General; option settings.

- You do not need to include balance values in your CSV File.

- Note that the transactions from a CSV file can only be imported into a single MMEX account.

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## Importing From XML File

Importing from XML for recognizes XML file in Excel format named "XML Spreadsheet 2003" in Excel. This is the recommended import method if required to import transactions from Excel. Method of import and field selection is same as importing from CSV.

### Notes

- Import is done from the first worksheet in the workbook.

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## Exporting to CSV Files

MMEX can export to a fixed format CSV file. This file format exactly matches the CSV format that MMEX can import. So it can be useful to move data from one .mmb database file to another .mmb database file. To easily see the format of the CSV file, you can try exporting an account to a CSV file and then analyzing the format created.
The general format is as follows:
Date - Date of the transaction (Displayed in the format specified in Options→DateFormat)
Payee - To whom the transaction was made. In the case of a transfer transaction, this indicates the name of the account from which the transfer was made or to the account the transfer was made.
Transaction Type - This can either be ;Withdrawal; or ;Deposit;
Amount - The transaction amount as a positive value
Category - The category of the transaction
SubCategory - The subcategory of the transaction if any (otherwise blank)
Notes - Transaction Notes
Note that the transactions from an account can be exported to a single CSV file.

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## Exporting to XML Files

MMEX can export to an XML file. The XML format is compliant with Excel and can be read by it.
The general format is the same as CSV.
Note that the transactions from an account can be exported to a single XML file.

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## Exporting to QIF Files

MMEX can export an account to a file of the format: QIF.

This format can also be used by MMEX to reload into an account.

Caution: Although Transfer transactions will be reloaded into a single account, they will not function correctly.

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## Recurring Transactions

These are transactions that will be entered into the data base at some future date, and can be set up to repeat at regular intervals. These transactions can remind us of pending bill. The future transaction date is provided as 'Date Paid' and 'Date Due' allowing the bill to be entered between a range of dates or on a single date when the two dates are the same.

These transactions:

- Are displayed as reminders on the Home Page within 15 Days of the 'Date Paid' date.
- Can be set up to be automatically entered on the transaction 'Date Paid' date with the transaction having the 'Date Due'.
- Can be set up to advise us to enter the payment at the 'Date Paid' date, allowing us to adjust or delay payment to the 'Date Due'.
- When a transaction is being entered manually, the 'Date Paid' can be reset to today's date by using the 'Date Reset' icon.

Recurring Transactions can be created directly from an existing transaction in an account or by accessing the Recurring Transactions from the navigation tree or from the menu item Tools→Recurring Transactions. This will display the Recurring Transactions page.

To create a new transaction, use the New button. Setting up the Recurring Transactions Details:

- Select the dates using the 'Transaction Dates' calendar. If necessary, adjust the 'Date Paid' date to a date before the 'Due Date'

- Except for Repeats: In x Days/Months, the 'Date Due' date will have been set by the calendar.

- Select the Repeats as ;daily;, ;weekly; etc.
- Payments Left:
  - Enter the number of times this will occur.
  - No number means: Repeat indefinitely.
- For Repeats: In x Days/Months
  - Set the 'Date Due' of the activity, (possibly already set).
  - Set the period in Days or months depending on the selection.
  - Use the Next button to advance the date to the Date Paid.
  - Changing the 'Period' field will reactivate the Next button. Once the transaction has been entered, the activity becomes inactive.
- Repeats: Every x Days/Months
  Similar to regular repeats with the exception that the period is stated in Days or Months
- Set up the Transaction Details section, similar to creating new transactions.

These transaction will be displayed as: Upcoming Transactions >on the home page within 15 days of the due date.

Note:

When we enter the transaction, we can change the amount, payee, category, status and date if required.
Entering a transaction before it is due , will gray out the transaction in the associated account until the day it becomes active.
To use the Cash Flow Reports we need to set up recurring transactions.

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## Stocks and Shares

MMEX allows you to track Stocks and Shares. The total Stocks are added to your total financial worth.

Further details: Stocks, Shares and Share Dividend Management in MMEX

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## Assets

MMEX allows you to track fixed assets like cars, houses, land and others. Each asset can have its value appreciate by a certain rate per year, depreciate by a certain rate per year, or not change in value. The total assets are added to your total financial worth.

### Asset Management

Assets are accessed via the Tools Menu or via the Navigation Menu

- Assets are created in the Asset Management window.
- A new asset will allow the creation of an asset account
- A new asset will also create a new transaction to the Asset Account or any other account.
- Asset transactions are added to an asset and tied to an account.
- New Asset Transactions are achieved by selecting the Asset and adding a transaction.
- Editing an Asset transaction is achieved by editing the transaction from the account the Asset transaction resides.
- Normal transactions can be associated with an asset when an Asset Account is created.
- Asset Transactions can be treated as Income/expense or as transfers depending on the state of the "Transfer" check box.

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## Transaction Report Filter

MMEX allows you to search for transactions that meet certain criteria. This can be done using the Transaction Filter, located Account View or as a Transaction Report.

For a Transaction Report, the resulting list of transactions can be printed or saved as a HTML file.

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## Reports

MMEX allows a variety of reports.
All the reports can also be printed if required using the menu: File→Print...→Current View

Select the appropriate report under the Reports node in the navigation tree. Some reports require some user input, some do not. Once you view a report, you can print the report using the print options in the menu.

Financial Year Reports: (Required by various countries)

These reports generally do not start at the beginning of the calendar year, and appear as branches of the main report titles. These reports cover:

1. Previous Financial Year.

2. Current Financial Year.

By default the start date of a financial year is 1st July of the year.

The start date can be changed by the user to start on any day of any month, within a 12 month period by using the menu Tools→Options then selecting the General panel.

Transaction Reports:

1. This allows the user to generate specific reports based on selected user requirements.

2. Also known as the Transaction Report Filter.

A Transaction Report is generally used to locate specific transactions made within Bank or Term type accounts. This report can also be used to display specific details for a particular account.

Transaction Report - transfer transactions may upset balance totals.

Since a transfer transaction is a withdrawal from one account and a deposit to another account, a transaction report done on multiple accounts looses the reference point for determining weather the transaction is a deposit or withdrawal.

When a transaction report is used for a specific account, it will generate a report that will match the account details. The reference point for transfers in known for this report, which will reflect in the report having correct balances displayed.

Cash flow Reports

This report projects the amount of funds available, based on future commitments.

Future commitments are determined from the Recurring Transactions that are set up for the various accounts. The report will then use the Recurring Transactions for the various accounts, and reflect forward 10 years on a monthly basis. This becomes a prediction of the amount of money that may be available each month based on current payments.

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### Printing

MMEX supports printing of all reports that can be viewed.

The print options are available under the menu, File→Print... Current View

Recommendations:

- Use the page setup option to reformat the page if necessary
- Use the print preview option to check the layout of the report before printing.

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## MMEX Options

You can modify some run time behavior of MMEX by changing the options in the Options Dialog.

Access from the menu with Tools→Options

General Panel |
--- | ---
User Name Optional | This field is used as a title on the Home Page, and on Reports. Leaving this field blank, will remove the Home Page and Report titles.
Language | This is the language used by the MMEX GUI. MMEX might require a restart before all GUI elements have the new language.
Base Currency: | The base currency setting is used to set the currency of the database. Individual accounts will use this as the default, but can be changed if different currencies as required.
Date Format: | The date format setting is used to control how dates should be displayed and also how dates should be parsed when importing QIF, CSV files.
Financial Year | Sets the start Day and Month for a Financial Year period, as opposed to a calendar year. This is used in Budgets and Reports.
Database Backup | Sets the way the backups are performed when MMEX starts. Create a new backup when MMEX Starts This copies the database to a new file with today's date, when MMEX Starts. The file will not be over written when MMEX starts up again. When there are more that 4 backup files, the oldest file is deleted. Update database changes to database backup on exit. When MMEX shuts down, the existing database will be copied to a backup database file for that day when changes to the database have been detected. When changes are made on the same day, the existing backup is over written. When there are more that 4 backup files, the oldest file is deleted.

View Options Panel |
--- | ---
Account View | This sets the Navigation tree's visible accounts, according to status.
Transaction View | This determines which transactions are seen as default in the Account View.
Font Size | This will set the font being used on the Home Page and in Reports.
Tree View Expand Section | Sets the account types being expanded when in the navigation tree is refreshed.
Home Page Expand Section | Sets the account types being expanded when the home page is refreshed.

Colors Panel |
--- | ---
| Allows the user to modify colors in MMEX to suit his/her style.

Import/Export Panel |
--- | ---
CSV Limiter | This is used as the delimiting character when parsing CSV files. This is useful to modify from the default ',' when dealing with currencies that use ',' to denote decimal points in amounts.
WebApp settings | Set URL and GUID of your WebApp installation to allow data sync. Parameters can be found in WebApp 'Guide' page.

Others Panel |
--- | ---
New Transactions | Changes the default settings for the New/Edit Transactions Dialog
Stock Quote Web Page | This URL is used by the Refresh button on the Stock Investments page. This URL is also used by the New/Edit Stock dialog, to display the web page for the listed stock. The default is yahoo finance. Alternatively other sites can be used if necessary.
Use Original date... | Activate to use the date of the transaction date when using paste transaction, in account view.
Use sound... | Activate to plays a sound when a transaction is entered.
Enable online currency... | Activate to allow currencies to be updated via the internet.

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## Frequently Asked Questions

### How can I contribute?

You can contribute by

- Reporting bugs
- Translating to your language
- Helping spread the word
- If you are a C++ expert, by helping extend MMEX developing code.
- If you are really very happy because you saved a lot of money by using MMEX, you can donate to the MMEX project.

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### What's the reason for the EX in the name of the software?

Originally I developed a personal finance software called Money Manager. It was written in .NET and more of a learning exercise than serious software development. It grew far beyond the original design. The software was frozen and work began on a new version which had a similar user interface and features, but written in C++.

Usually Microsoft names their second version of their improved software APIs with an Ex extension as in doSomething() and doSomethingEx(). So I just followed the model and tacked on a 'Ex' to the end.

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### Is the .mmb format proprietary? And, Is my data safe?

No | .mmb file is not proprietary.
| MMEX uses SQLite databases to store user data. That means that the .mmb file is a regular SQLite database. SQLite is one of the smallest, free relational database systems around and there are tons of tools to open and access SQLite databases. SQLiteSpy and SQLite Browser (http://sqlitebrowser.sourceforge.net/) are two such utilities. Once you open the database using these tools, you can do anything you want with the data.
Yes | Your data is completely safe.
| The data is self contained on your PC, (or USB stick if you have made it portable). To further protect your data, encryption can now be added. This applies a password to your database file, and can only be opened by MMEX or any other software if you have the correct password.

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### Can MMEX run from a USB Key?

Yes.

MMEX is a portable application which means ability to run without installation, for example, from USB flash drive. If MMEX finds mmexini.db3 in its folder, it assumes portable mode. Copy mmex's files to USB Key and copy yours mmexini.db3 to mmex's folder on that drive.

To make MMEX portable:

1. On Windows (assume F:\ is USB flash drive)
   Copy ;C:\Program Files\MoneyManagerEx; to F:\
   Copy ;%APPDATA%\MoneyManagerEx\mmexini.db3; to F:\MoneyManagerEx
   Copy your database file to any folder on F:\
2. On Unix (assume /media/disk is mounted USB flash drive)
   Compile mmex from sources as usually,
   and make install prefix=/media/disk
   cp ~/.mmex/mmexini.db3 /media/disk/mmex/share/mmex
   or if you want to copy mmex which has already installed in /usr
   cp /usr/bin/mmex /media/disk/mmex/bin
   cp /usr/share/mmex /media/disk/mmex/share
   cp /usr/share/doc/mmex /media/disk/mmex/share/doc
   cp ~/.mmex/mmexini.db3 /media/disk/mmex/share/mmex

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### How do I know MMEX is not trying to steal my sensitive financial information?

Generally, with any closed source program, you have to depend upon the vendor's word regarding safety of the data. But with MMEX being open source, you can verify this claim yourself.
Even if you are not a C++ expert, you can rest assured that anyone can access the source code at any time and verify the legitimacy of MMEX's intentions.
MMEX does connect to the internet only to send anonymous usage statistics or when checking for an update.
You can disable this in Options->Network
Here is a sample of data that MMEX will send:

Version | Operating System | Language | Country | Resolution | Start Time | End Time
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
1.2.0 Portable | Windows 8 (build 9200), 64-bit edition | english | United States | 1366x768 | 2014-05-01 09:00:00 | 2014-05-01 09:01:30

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### How do I print account statements using MMEX?

To print a statement with transactions from any arbitrary set of criteria, use the Transaction Filter to select the transactions you want and then do a print from the menu. File→Print...→Current View

The Transaction Filter is accessed from Reports→Transaction Reports on the Navigation Tree, or
from the Quick Navigation buttons in the top left hand corner of MMEX.

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