How to export Buildium transactions to Excel

Question

My property manager uses Buildium. I have asked for a CSV file of all transactions so I can easily import them into my bookkeeping. The best he has been able to do is to export a report in xls format. With some manipulation, I can create my needed columns, but there should be a better solution.

Does anyone using Buildium know how to create a simple CSV (or tab delimited) file that has columns for all (or most) transaction fields?

I would think that many property management customers would want this.

Dawn Brenengen · Answer

That just made me laugh out loud!

Can't you just open the Excel file and then save it as a CSV?

Jim Workman · Answer

So I signed up for a Buildium trial then called tech support to ask how to download a flat file of all transactions.  The very helpful support person showed me how to choose Reports -> Financials -> Income Statement Detailed and choose 'CSV' as the Report Format.  Very easy.I sent the instructions including a screen-shot to my property management company.  I later called my contact and asked if she understood everything.  She said 'We don't use Buildim.  We use Propertyware.'

Gita Faust · Answer

Not sure why you would want to. Too much work - I would only enter summary. Keep the summary and detail on file. If you are going to do that you as well pay all the bills. So there is not double entry.

Our Buildium clients give their owners our ebook.

Anyway open the file in excel and save the file as csv.

Gita Faust

Our Buildium clients give their owners our ebook.

Anyway open the file in excel and save the file as csv.

Gita Faust

Jim Workman · Answer

Thanks Gita,

Last weekend, I had success importing IIF files into Quickbooks.  I'm using your idea of the PM as customer with city/building/apartment as class/subclass/sub-subclass.

I haven't figured out how to tie the tenant to the apartment so I'm just including their name in the memo field after the actual transaction date.  (IIF files can have multiple dates, but only one is used as the journal date.)

Gita Faust · Answer

Here are few of the tools we use to import into QuickBooks

- Bay State Consulting - Transcation Pro

- Karl Irvin's tool at q2q.us to import data into QuickBooks.

Send me the Buildium file and let me look at it.

Gita Faust

Joe Smith · Answer

@Dawn Brenengen   Just kidding.

Think of a regular report where info is presented vertically to fit on 8.5" wide paper.  That is the way the Propertyware XLS file looks.  Just requires a bit of manipulation to get everything into columns.

Dawn Brenengen · Answer

Sorry, @Jim Workman! Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying. Am I missing something, or can't you just open the file in Excel, and then save it as a CSV?  This is what it looks like when I try to save an Excel file on my computer

Frank Jiang · Answer

If all you're doing is adding a few columns, a quick vba should be able to do what you're looking for.

Feel free to send me a copy (sans any proprietary info) and I'll send you back a bandaid solution.

Jim Workman · Answer

@Dawn Brenengen

I'm glad to see that you can laugh at others' misfortune;-)

Unlike the Buildium CSV file, Propertyware only prints a report in xls.  It still looks like the pdf report.  It just requires some massaging to get the columns needed for Quickbooks.

Gita Faust · Answer

So ask the property manager to be specific about repairs, maintenance and capital improvements. If the money spend increases the value of the property than it is a capital improvements.

Our property managers have agreement with landlords such as a cap on the expenses, major expenses to be approved, owners pays direct for major expenses, and so on. What is included in your agreement? Having a conversation with your manager be just the answer and a simple solution

Gita Faust

How to export Buildium transactions to Excel

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