Error importing Westpac bank statements

Clare BristowClare Bristow Member Posts: 3
edited January 2019 in Accounts Business Range
Hi,

I am using Reckon Accounts Plus 2017 and attempting to import Westpac NZ bank and credit card statements.

Whilst using Accounts Plus 2016 I had no problem with this.

I am able to import ASB and ANZ bank statements into 2017 without any trouble.

The error message I am getting is:
Errors were encountered wihile attempting to convert:
file name.qif
Please ensure that this file is a valid qif.


Having read a number of others queries on this topic I can confirm:
- I am downloding the correct Quicken format
- When I open the qif file the date is correctly formateed, eg, D31/12/17
- The qif file starts with !Type:Bank
- I am saving the qif file to my desktop and then uploading
- there are no files already listed in the online banking screen for either of these accounts.


I have compared the qif file with the ones from ASB and ANZ and can see no differences other than the file size.
The ASB and ANZ files are 2KB and the Westpac one 64kb for a similar number of transactions.

Can anyone help please?

Many thnaks.


Comments

  • Michelle ThomasMichelle Thomas Member Posts: 2
    edited January 2019
    I have the same problem with reckon hosted 2018 while trying to import a westpac bank statement file. I was advised by Reckon support to check with westpac as they may have changed their QIF file format recently. I haven’t contacted them yet though
  • Clare BristowClare Bristow Member Posts: 3
    edited January 2019
    Thanks Michelle.  Did Reckon support suggest where to start finding the right person to speak to at Westpac? 
  • Michelle ThomasMichelle Thomas Member Posts: 2
    edited January 2019
    No they didn’t but I have sent westpac a message via online banking so will let you know what they say when they get back to me. I find it hard to believe we are the only westpac Reckon users having this issue, surely if westpac changed something like this Reckon would know about the issue by now?
  • brendonbrendon Member Posts: 2
    edited January 2019
    Same issue for me, reckon small business 2015. Everything worked fine last time i imported statements - but now have this issue. Seems most likely westpac are the culprit. 
  • brendonbrendon Member Posts: 2
    edited January 2019
    Aha, i've found the issue. It is indeed with westpacs .QIF file export feature. This appends multiple lines of ‘NULNULNUL...’  to the end of the file.

    The files are valid if you delete this from the end of the file before importing them.
    - In notepad or similiar this will look like whitespace below the last ^
    - In a hex editor or similar these are nulls.

    I have no idea how to get this to the right people at westpac so emailed my local bank contact, feel free to forward to the correct team if anyone knows.
  • Clare BristowClare Bristow Member Posts: 3
    edited January 2019
    Thanks Brendon; it sounds like you have the solution.
    I haven't had chance to give it a go but will have a look at the weekend.
    Many thanks for posting what you've found out, I appreciate it.

  • Mike MaltbyMike Maltby Member Posts: 26
    edited January 2019

    Thanks for the solution Brendon. It was starting to get annoying.. For anyone not sure how to get rid of the Null's this is what I did: Edit the QIF file with Notepad. You won't see anything after the last ^ but if you drag your mouse down the page you will see that you are selecting text. When you get to the end release the mouse,  delete then save the file.
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