Entering Your Own Data

Once you have become familiar with the various elements of the MI program and the way they are linked to your data, you will want to begin using MI operationally with your own data. The following is a step by step procedure for setting up MI with your own data.

1. Delete the sample data. To delete the sample data and prepare the databases to accept your own personal data click the ERASE ALL DATA button on the Setup & Maintenance page.
2. Define Portfolios. To create a new portfolio click Define then choose Portfolios. In organizing your finances, you should consider dividing your assets into enough portfolios to show the finest level of detail that you require when reporting on a single portfolio. At the minimum, we recommend that a portfolio be created for each category of tax treatment (taxable, tax deferred, tax exempt, etc.) that applies to your assets.
3. Define Investment Objectives. To define a new investment objective Click the Define button on the Portfolios & Transactions page then choose Investment Objectives. MI uses investment objectives to classify the allocation of assets in asset allocation reports and charts. Your definition of investment objectives should reflect the type of asset allocation output you desire.
4. Define cash accounts and enter transactions. To define a new savings/cash account click the Define button and choose Cash/Savings-Accounts. Once you have defined a cash account you may enter cash transactions using Cash Accounts button on the Portfolios & Transactions page. Enter an opening balance as an initial deposit. We suggest that for old accounts, you use the balance at the beginning of a year as your opening balance and enter only deposits and withdrawals that are subsequent to that date.
5. Define securities and enter trades. To define a new security select Define and the type of security to be defined. Start with securities that you currently own then follow up with indexes and securities that you want to track for comparative analysis and possible later purchase. After a security has been defined you may record purchases and sales of that security using the button for that security type. Note: When entering old security transactions, it is important to enter them in chronological order.
6. Enter investment income. To enter investment income click the Income button on the Portfolios and Transactions page then choose the type of asset from which the income was derived. We suggest that you limit your data entry to the current tax year.
7. Enter or import current and historic price quotes. Security price quotes may be entered or imported using the options on the Quotes & Splits page. If you do not have a source of historic price data, you may wish to limit your price entries to the current prices and build from there. If you choose this course, be aware that the Net Worth chart and Portfolio Change report will be accurate only from this date forward. To gain some additional accuracy you might consider entering historic price quotes monthly going back to when each security was originally purchased. See Appendix A for information on downloading historic quotes.

After completing this initial setup, maintaining accurate records of your finances is a matter of entering new transactions when they occur and downloading, importing or entering current price quotes for securities.