EASY SOFTWARE - PETTY-CASH ...............IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT...................... This program is supplied with the date format pre-set to the North American format:- Month/Day/Year If you normally write dates:- Day/Month/Year Then you must reset the format before using the program. To change the date format, select "Administration" from the main menu, then "Configuration" then "Network Common Items" You can then choose your prefered date order, date separator character and numeric format. ................................................................... OVERVIEW Welcome to Easy Software's Petty-Cash record keeping system. This program is designed for any organization that allocates cash to branch or office levels for incidental expenses. The program is very simple to operate and does not require the user to have any accounting knowledge. The program keeps a running balance of the petty-cash account plus an associated bank account if required. All the user has to do is enter each transaction: Cash Received , Cash to Bank, Cash withdrawal, Cash purchases and cheque purchases, choosing an analysis (Nominal) heading as he enters them. At the end of an accounting period the program prints a full history of all transactions in a "Bank Statement" format followed by an analysis of expenditure by nominal heading. This printout can then be forwarded to the accounts department and the system can be reset, carrying forward the current balances in cash and at the bank. The analysis (nominal) headings are not pre programmed, you can enter any heading you wish and the accounting period is not fixed, you can reset after any convenient period. USING PETTY-CASH The evaluation copy is shipped with headings and some example data so that you can test and get a feel for it quickly: Select "Make Cashbook Entries" from the main menu. The input screen appears with the current date pre entered and a choice list for the entry type displayed ( Cash Payment, Cheque Payment, Cash to Bank, Bank Withdrawal or Cash Received ) Select "Cash Payment" and press return. Cash Payment is copied to the type field and a choice list of all analysis headings is displayed. Choose the heading under which you wish the payment to be analyzed and press return. Your choice is copied to the analysis field and all you have to enter is the amount with an optional remark. If the transaction was not for the current date, just press the home key to take the cursor to the date field and edit it. Press F2 to record the transaction. The input screen repeats automatically for further transactions - Press Esc when complete. Now select the second menu item "List Cashbook Entries". First, you are offered the choice to include or exclude the remarks. Then you are asked whether the output is to go to the screen or the printer. Select "Output To Screen" and press return. Two reports are sent to the screen. The first is a full transaction record to date with running balances for Cash and Bank. The second is a period analysis. At the end of your chosen accounting period you simply print these two reports and reset the system for the next period. If you wish to see the reports in print, select "Administration" from the main menu followed by "Configuration" Select a suitable printer driver and enter the paper size you are using first. There are several other options you can choose in "Configuration" including the screen colors, menu borders and date / numeric formats. With the "administration" menu on screen, you can add and delete analysis headings with the first two menu items and the third item resets for the next period by erasing all transactions and carrying forward the Cash and Bank balances. When you are familiar with the program and are ready to start with live data, select item six ( Clear Existing Data ) on the administration menu. With "Clear the System" highlighted, press the return key to clear all data. Now select item three, "Enter new Opening Balances". Enter the current cash balance and the bank balance if you have one and press F2. Now go back to the Administration menu, select item one and enter the analysis headings that you wish to use. The system is now ready for your live data. LOOKUP PREFERENCE When you enter transactions, the choice list for transaction type is a fixed list. The list of Analysis headings however is looked up from a file containing the headings you have entered. As supplied, Petty-Cash displays the entire list of analysis headings as soon as you have chosen the entry type. This is convenient if your list of analysis headings is small. If you have entered many analysis headings, however, you may find it more convenient to restrict the length of your list by entering a wildcard lookup spec. To do this, select "Analysis Lookup Preference" on the administration menu. Select "User Select" and press F2. Now, when entering transactions, after you choose the transaction type, the cursor will enter the analysis field but no list will appear. To select the analysis heading type one or more characters of the heading you require followed by an * followed by the return key. The list will now appear but contain only those headings which begin with the character or characters you have typed. If only one analysis heading begins with the characters you have typed, it will be entered directly to the field. CORRECTIONS If you realize that you have made an error after entering a transaction, you can correct it using item three (Edit Entries) on the main menu. In order to edit an entry, you have to know its number in the records. "View entry numbers" will list records with their numbers, either for the entire period or for any one day and you can send the output to the screen or to the printer. Once you know the number for the record to correct, choose "Edit an Entry", enter the record number to edit, make your correction and press F2 to correct the record on disk. BACKUP AND RESTORE Petty-Cash includes its own built in backup system. To backup your data, insert a blank floppy disk and then select item 8 on the main menu. If your computer or hard disk ever fails, you can re-install Petty-Cash on a new machine then restore your data by inserting your backup disk and selecting "Restore Data" from the administration menu. REBUILD INDEX FILES Petty-Cash uses BTree index files. These can be corrupted if you suffer a power failure while entering records. If this ever happens, select this item to re-write them. ................................................. EVALUATION LICENCE If this is an evaluation copy of Petty-Cash, you are licensed to use it for a period of thirty days. If you wish to continue using it beyond the evaluation period, you must purchase a registered copy. The current price is $40 US or 25 Pounds UK for use on a single machine. Easy Software also provide "Site Licenses" for multiple use at discount. Please call or Fax for details. Or check our WWW page at: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/easysoftware If you are still using the evaluation copy at the end of the thirty day period, the program will remind you of your obligation to purchase a registered version. At no time, however, will it cease to function. .................................................. USER MODIFICATIONS Petty-Cash is written in Easy Base, Easy Software's relational data management system and can be user modified by copying all files to a sub directory of Easy Base. Petty-Cash is copyright Easy Software Ltd. 1996 Easy Software, however, grant to any registered user of Easy Base the right to use and modify the code in Petty-Cash provided that such modified code is for their own use and is not re-sold. All other rights are reserved. ..................................................