Lost transactions after upgrading to 2.0b107

Hello, Midnight Apps. I haven't updated to 107 yet as 106 is still working (thank God). Hopefully, this can be resolved soon for everyone else.

I've worked with other smaller software companies before and the biggest downfall for them has been lack of communication. My developer friend wanted to wait until he had a fix before he replied. This would sometimes be a week or longer. People got mad, lost trust and left. I don't want this to happen to you and Cha-Ching is definitely better than the other apps out there (look and feel). Please make a blog post as to the progress or list any problems so there isn't this wall of secrecy or appearance of no solution. It can be as simple as "107 has a few issues and we will be updating soon. Here is 106 and short instructions on reinstall".

I don't want you to lose your client base and I don't want to have to go looking for another app.

The reason I say "post a blog entry" is because so many people are creating help topics here it's hard to follow up. At least we all look and check the blog on your site (last updated in Oct).

I second that. I'm glad I had a time machine backup before upgrading, as the after the upgrade ChaChing needed to upgrade the database, but all transactions added after Oct '08 were gone. I'm back to using 2.0b106 for now ...

Please help!!!! Not good when an upgrade wipes your stuff out!!! Luckily I did a backup before the upgrade...but how can I restore the db to my backup???

Just the same.... I went back in time to october.... all transactions after that was deleted...

Interestingly, I lost some transactions too, but only a few and they were all related. They were all the transactions related to a single scheduled payment, and I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but it was the only one of my scheduled payments that was uncategorized.

Same problem here: lost random transactions in checking accounts.

Same thing as the others after updating to the newer version and losing their data.

I am not losing transactions, but since 2.0b107 my totals are all screwed up, and Cha-Ching can no longer sort by amount. My account total can be $5 dollars, I add a $20 deposit, and it jumps to -$195!

I'm glad I backup often. I feel sorry for the people that don't and lost random data.

I think MidnightApps needs to stop offering this upgrade (2.0b107) to people to control damage.

F*CK F*CK F*CK F*CK, I have like $800 of missing transactions. One tiny account had only one missing transaction, that was easy to find, but the bigger account, grrrrrr. Will try and roll back to 2.0b104. This is why I try NEVER to "Install Update?", but download updates and install them myself-- I should have known better! Grrrrrrrr

I found a workaround for the problem, but it requires a little attention.

Before the database upgrade, ChaChing makes a backup of your old db.
It is placed under ~/Library/Application Support/Cha_Ching_2/ folder.
There is a ~ sign, in the filename of the old db.

(You should also save this folder regularly, if you want to create a backup of your ChaChing DB to prevent this problem)

So it's time, to download the old version of ChaChing - (in my case, 2.0b104),
than delete the real ChaChing DB, and than, delete the ~ sign from the filename (make sure to back up these files, before renaming/deleting).

Start/Restart ChaChing, and all your lost data will be back!

Hope it helps everyone!

Yes, developer, right on. Using the Cha_Ching~.2ccdb database from the Library, and the Cha-Ching (422).app that the b107 Upgrade throws in the Trash, I was able to turn myself back. (And my old version which ended up in the trash I had upgraded to b106 whenever, so that's what it says I've got).

I'm done with this crap.

I tried "developer"'s solution and it didn't work for me. I've lost about a hundred transactions thanks to Midnight Apps incompetence -- at a time when I need to get this data to my accountant. Have you noticed that none of these jerks is bothering to post on these bulletin boards or even attempt to help? Unbelievable. The developers at Midnight App should be ashamed of themselves. It's disgraceful behavior and, like Marfil, I'm done with this crap. Bye, Cha-Ching, it was nice while it lasted.

I thought I had the same problem after the b107 update - no transactions -, but a simple restart of the app brought back the data allright.

That was a different issue. When I updated, it did the same thing. After I restarted, the transactions came back (but were missing a few months' worth). Put bluntly, this is a seriously messed-up update judging by the number of complaints -- and not just in this particular forum.

What's most shocking is that the Midnight Apps developers have gone AWOL and left the inherently flawed b107 out in the wild -- so these problems will continue to replicate. To anyone reading this board who needs to get data to accountants or doesn't wish to waste three or four hours one evening replacing transactions, I would suggest you start looking into alternative apps like iBank and MoneyDance. The poster above who gently suggested that developers need to be in touch with their customers got it exactly right. It's not the flaw I mind so much (though it's irritating), it's the irresponsibility and absence on the part of the developers.

Sorry for being obsessive about this, but has anyone else noticed that no Midnight App developer has -- as far as I can tell -- replied to a single topic or forum in about three months? Hello, Juan Alvarez and the rest of the crew, where are you?

Dear Mister Cha-chin;

I am French living in Switzerland. And here Swiss people like very much the exactness! (they make famous swiss watch)

Regrettably your very very beautiful software 2.0b 107 (I am graphic designer) is really no more exact for some weeks! Indeed when that I bring in a expense, and then close the software, when I open again CC the expense is missing , or some other expenses disappeared!!! Sometimes I duplicate a expense several times and these also disappear when I open again the software. You have understood Mister Cha-chin that the life with your magnificent software became impossible, surrealist, crazy even. I am oblige to backup EVERY time I create an expense if the count is OK.

You will also understand, I am sure of it, that to work with your magnificent software becomes difficult. You know well that the accounts are a precise domain which does not tolerate the inaccuracy....

When I use transfer between 2 accounts(swiss franc and Euros) it is ....catastrophic !!!!!

Then dear mister Cha-chin, it is the moment to put you in the work seriously so that definitively 2 + 2 = 4 and not 6 or 18 or - 5.

I try to return in older version of CC...impossible...

I ask you to contact me as quickly as possible by email: guyhaselbauer@gmail.com or by phone +41582427081. It's URGENT!!!!!. Merci

PS: I love the symbol of CC but...it is not suffisant to use it

Well, it's pretty much time to leave Cha-Ching. Unfortunately, Midnight Apps's buggy CSV export "feature" doesn't work too well -- meaning that all of your hard work inputting tags and split transactions won't come through! Good work, Midnight Apps! If anyone has any solution to the problem of exporting -- even without the metadata -- please let us know. Cha-Ching is rock-bottom of the heap, I have to say. I'll be making sure to leave hostile reviews wherever I see Cha-Ching cited as a possible money manager.

The b107 (build 443) lost all my transcactions from the last 3 months. Upon the relaunch after the upgrade, the main window was blank and CC crashed.

It's a chance I don't manage any critical data with Cha-Ching, I only use it to keep trace of activities in a secondary account. It may be not critical but it's no fun either...

Back to b106 from my SuperDuper backup...

Upgrading to b107 did the same to me (good thing I have hourly Time Machine backups.) I loved that this new version has multiple currency support, but it should be yanked off the server ASAP until this problem is fixed. Separately, I wish you hadn't introduced categories - aren't they redundant when you started out with tags? Please include a way to disable them.

So if they're not helping us, may be we can help ourselves.

Has anyone figured out yet how to perform the upgrade without loosing the data?

To repeat, Skip this Version. Maybe skip all versions given that Cha-Ching's developers can't be bothered to check their own forums. It's really quite remarkable that they're STILL allowing downloads of a patently flawed build.

Hey, Midnight Apps - when you're back from vacation would you mind fixing your crappy software?

Yep, whatever I do, none of the transactions after mid-October make it past the "database upgrade". So skip this version and enjoy the pointlessness of this support site.

I didn't lose any transactions after upgrading.

Someone in another forum has found their Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/midnight_apps. Maybe barrage them with complaints?

I've found a solution to exporting your data from Cha-Ching. Owing to the developers' trying to lock you in to their software, Cha-Ching only allows you to export via CSV -- an ancient format of little use. What you need to do is export via CSV and then convert that data into something useful like QIF, which is used by all financial apps (Quicken, Money, MoneyDance, iBank, etc.) I'm sure there are other ways to do this, but I found a little app called QIF Master (costs $16) that works like a charm turning Cha-Ching's crappy CSV into QIF. The only downside is that you'll have to enter the categories/tags. The good news is that QIF Master remembers what you've inputted for previous entries, so the process is pretty fast. I turned 1,000+ transactions around in about 20 minutes. It takes a few minutes to make sure you have the right formatting, but even I worked it out quickly. Make sure you select "CSV" for the conversion.

I should add that I have no relationship with the developer, apart from (a) buying his software; and (b) I'm sending him an email congratulating him on a great product.

The link is here: http://thewoodwards.us/sw/QIFMaster/

It looks a bit barebones, but it works and it liberates you from Cha-Ching forever.

What app are you moving to that doesn't import .csv?

Mdotbb, most, probably all, apps will import CSV. That's not the issue. The problem lies in tidying up the data in as efficient a way as possible. Cha-Ching's CSV formatting stinks. In the new app, you can go through every transaction if you like adding categories and so on, but QIF Master automates and simplifies the process. Hence you save many tedious hours emigrating from Cha-Ching.

I agree the export is woefully inadequate. I run iBank in parallel for this very reason.

b107 gave me the same problems listed here, I was also encountering problems with b104 which is what they're currently offering on their website for download. I wanted to get back to b106 which was the stable one for me. Here's the link for a direct download from them for b106:

http://midnightapps.cachefly.net/chac...

If you download that, open b106 and do a "Revert" to your old database, either with a manual backup you've done, or by using the Cha_Ching~.2ccdb file mentioned above, it should work like a charm and have you up and running without any bugs. At least it did for me.... can't vouch for anyone else. Let me know if you have trouble implementing this fix and I'll see if I can help you figure it out (even though I'm not a Midnight Apps developer).

I haven't given up hope on them yet, though I think they should definitely focus more on public relations =P