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******** CheckMate Plus (tm) ********
Introductory User's Guide
Third Edition -- July 1994
Copyright 1990,91,92,93,94 by CTech, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
-------------------------------------------------------------------
CTech, Inc is a member of the
Association of Shareware Professionals
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Warranty and License Agreement
CheckMate Plus (tm) is a trademark of CTech, Inc.
Warranty
CheckMate Plus is provided AS IS without any warranty, expressed or
implied, including but not limited to fitness for a particular
purpose. CTECH, INC SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES.
IN NO EVENT SHALL CUSTOM TECHNOLOGIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT
OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES RESULTING FROM THE
USE OF THIS PRODUCT.
License
The CheckMate Plus software is the property of CTech, Inc. You are
granted a license to use this software for a limited time for the
specific purpose of evaluation before purchase. If you use CheckMate
Plus on a continuous basis, please register your copy to obtain a
permanent license.
You are free to make as many copies as you wish and may distribute
CheckMate Plus freely (in its original form, including disk-based
documentation). Recipients of copies you make are granted a
limited license to use CheckMate Plus on a trial and evaluation basis.
If the recipient wishes to use CheckMate Plus on a continuous basis,
he should register his copy.
You may not sell or ask any consideration for this product. SIGs and
BBSs may ask a nominal fee to cover their copying and distribution
costs. OEMs wishing to bundle CheckMate Plus with other products
should contact CTech for details. This User's Guide, however, may
NOT be reproduced in any form or for any reason without the
expressed written consent of CTech, Inc.
Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction 3
1.1 About Shareware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 About this Introductory User's Guide . . . . . . . 4
1.3 About CheckMate Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3.1 Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.5 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.5.1 If you got CheckMate Plus from a Disk
Vendor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.5.2 If you got CheckMate Plus from a BBS . . . . 8
1.6 Running CheckMate Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.7 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Chapter 2 Things You Need to Know 11
2.1 Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2 The "Bottom Line" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.3 The "Top Line" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.4 Online Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.5 The Calculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.6 Special Keys and Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.7 Data Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.8 Date Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.9 Using a Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.10 The Built-In Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.11 The "Search and Filter" Window . . . . . . . . 17
2.11.1 Saving Filter Definitions . . . . . . . . 19
2.11.2 Retrieving Filter Definitions . . . . . . 20
2.11.3 Deleting Filter Definitions . . . . . . . 20
Chapter 3 Accounts 21
3.1 Types of Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.1.1 Checking Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.1.2 Other Detail Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.1.3 Summary Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.2 Entering Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.3 Editing Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.4 Selecting Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.5 Account Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
i
Chapter 4 Transactions 27
4.1 Types of Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4.1.1 Transactions for Checking Accounts . . . . 27
4.1.2 Transactions for Other Accounts . . . . . . 28
4.2 Entering Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
4.2.1 Primary Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.2.2 Splitting the Transaction . . . . . . . . . 30
4.2.3 Check Stubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4.2.4 Attaching Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.2.5 Saving the Transaction . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.2.6 Picking from the Menu . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.2.7 Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.3 Editing Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4.3.1 Moving Through the Data . . . . . . . . . . 34
4.3.2 Primary Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4.3.3 Splitting the Transaction . . . . . . . . . 36
4.3.4 Check Stubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4.3.5 Attaching Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.3.6 Saving Your Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.3.7 Deleting the Transaction . . . . . . . . . 37
4.3.8 Picking from the Menu . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.3.9 Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.4 Automatic Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.4.1 On the Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.4.2 Date Activated Transactions . . . . . . . . 41
4.4.3 Running Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
4.5 The Browse Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
4.6 Closing Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4.7 Expensing Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Chapter 5 Reports 50
5.1 The Transaction Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
5.2 General Ledger Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
5.2.1 The Ledger Activity Report . . . . . . . . 52
5.2.2 The Ledger Transaction Report . . . . . . . 53
5.2.3 The "Chart of Accounts" Report . . . . . . 53
5.3 Summary Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
5.3.1 The Balance Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
5.3.2 The Income Statement . . . . . . . . . . . 56
5.3.3 Budget Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
5.4 GL Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Chapter 6 Report Printing Options 61
6.1 Report Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
6.1.1 Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
6.1.2 "Print To" Options . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
6.1.3 Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
6.1.4 Footer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
ii
6.1.5 The "Utility" Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
6.2 Report Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
6.2.1 Saving Report Parameters . . . . . . . . . 66
6.2.2 Retrieving Report Parameters . . . . . . . 66
6.2.3 Deleting Report Parameters from Disk . . . 66
6.3 "Search and Filter" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Chapter 7 Designing Custom Reports 68
7.1 Report Definition Format . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
7.1.1 Account Balances . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
7.1.2 Date Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
7.1.3 Budget Information . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
7.1.4 Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
7.2 Tips on Designing Reports . . . . . . . . . . . 76
7.2.1 Exporting Custom Reports to Spreadsheets . 77
Chapter 8 Reconciling Checking Accounts 78
Chapter 9 Printing Checks 82
9.1 Printing Your Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
9.2 Selecting a Check Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
9.3 Designing Your Own Check Layout . . . . . . . . 84
9.4 The Check Layout Language . . . . . . . . . . . 85
9.4.1 Reserved Words and Variables . . . . . . . 85
9.4.2 Command Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
9.4.3 A Simple Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
9.4.4 Layout Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
9.4.5 Built-in Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
9.4.6 Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Chapter 10 Graphics 101
10.1 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
10.2 Types of Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
10.3 Graph Printing Options . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
10.4 Graphic Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
10.4.1 "One Account" Graphics Reports . . . . . . 104
10.4.2 "Ledger" Graphics Reports . . . . . . . . 105
Chapter 11 Rebuilding and Repairing 107
11.1 Rebuilding the Database . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
11.2 Rebuilding the Index File . . . . . . . . . . . 108
11.3 Rebuilding Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Chapter 12 Backing Up Your Data 110
12.1 Data Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
12.2 Data Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
iii
Chapter 13 Financial Calculations 112
13.1 Loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
13.2 Regular Deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
13.3 Compounding a Fixed Sum . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Chapter 14 Setup and Options 114
14.1 Fiscal Year Information . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
14.2 Protecting Your "Audit Trail" . . . . . . . . . 115
14.3 The Screen Saver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
14.4 Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
14.5 Special Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
14.6 Video Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
14.7 Password Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
14.8 File Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
14.9 General Setups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
14.10 Report Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
14.11 Report Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Appendix A An Accounting Primer 124
A.1 What is Accounting? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
A.1.1 What are ASSETS? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
A.1.2 What are LIABILITIES? . . . . . . . . . . . 125
A.1.3 What is EQUITY? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
A.1.4 The Accounting Equation . . . . . . . . . . 125
A.1.5 What are REVENUE and EXPENSES? . . . . . . 126
A.2 How does it all work in real life? . . . . . . . 127
A.2.1 What are ACCOUNTS? . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
A.2.2 What are DEBITS and CREDITS? . . . . . . . 130
A.3 Accounting Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
A.3.1 The Trial Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
A.3.2 The Balance Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
A.3.3 The Income Statement . . . . . . . . . . . 139
A.4 Where does it all end? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
A.5 Final Thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Appendix B Ordering Checks 143
Appendix C How and Where to get Help 144
C.1 Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
C.2 Association of Shareware Professionals
Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Index 146
iv
Figures
Figure 7.1: A "Test" Custom Balance Sheet . . . . . . . .70
Figure 7.2: A "Test" Custom Balance Sheet with Account
Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Figure A.1: Chart of Accounts for XYZ Shoes, Inc. . . . 130
Figure A.2: Sample Transaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Figure A.3: Sample Sales Transaction . . . . . . . . . . 132
Figure A.4: Sample COGS Calculation . . . . . . . . . . 133
Figure A.5: Trial Balance for XYZ Shoes, Inc . . . . . . 136
Figure A.6: Balance Sheet for XYZ Shoes, Inc. . . . . . 139
Figure A.7: Income Statement for XYZ Shoes, Inc. . . . . 140
v
Tables
Table 2.1: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Table 2.2: Editing Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Table 2.3: Editor Editing Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Table 2.4: Search and Filter Operators . . . . . . . . . .18
Table 3.1: Top Level Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Table 9.1: Check Layout Language Reserved Words . . . . .85
Table 9.2: Check Layout Language Built-in Variables . . .86
Table 14.1: Color Toggle Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Table 14.2: Video Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Table A.1: Assets of XYZ Shoes, Inc as of Mar 1, 1987 . 127
Table A.2: Liabilities of XYZ Shoes, Inc as of Mar 1,
1987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Table A.3: Equity of XYZ Shoes, Inc as of Mar 1, 1987 . 128
vi
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 About Shareware
CheckMate Plus, like many other fine "shareware" products, has been
released by its authors to the public for evaluation. We allow and
encourage free copying and distribution of the program (in its un-
altered original form). We are committed to supporting and improving
CheckMate Plus, as well as developing additional products.
If you find CheckMate Plus useful, you should register your copy. The
shareware concept is meant to provide a full working copy to the user
for evaluation, and NOT to give away the author's hard work. If you
choose not to register, then erase or pass your copy on to someone
else. You can register by sending $60.00 (plus $5 shipping and
handling).
When you register, you will be placed on our mailing list and will
receive a new set of disks and a complete, 208-page illustrated User's
Guide. The User's Guide is 7"x9", glossy covered, typeset, offset
press printed, and perfect bound. You will also receive the latest
version of CheckMate Plus on disk, a special "utilities" disk
(including a program convert CheckMate and/or CheckMate-GL data to
CheckMate Plus format), some special offers, and one year of technical
support (by phone, fax, mail, or CompuServe). We also offer low cost
upgrades and discounts on future products to registered users.
We accept checks, money orders, MasterCard, and VISA. Make checks
payable to CTech, Inc. All payments must be in U.S. funds drawn on
U.S. or Canadian banks. Florida residents please add 5% sales tax.
Send your registration and all other correspondence to:
CTech, Inc.
PO Box 10551
Panama City, FL 32404-1551
(904) 271-0316
You may also order our products (MC/VISA) by calling TOLL FREE:
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 3
1-800-541-6234 (Orders Only)
If you are outside the United States or Canada and can't call toll
free, you may reach our order line at:
(904) 784-3446 (Orders Only)
You may also FAX your order to:
(904) 747-0138 (9600 bps, Group 3)
If you have want to make a quantity or dealer purchase, or if you need
support, call:
(904) 271-0316
Thank you for your support!
*** NOTE: One problem with shareware is that we can't completely
control distribution of older files. Consequently, our address and/or
phone numbers are subject to change over time and the ones listed
above may not be correct.
Although not planned at the moment, we may relocate our business as we
continue to grow. Our "800" order line should remain in effect
wherever we set up business. If you attempt to reach one of our
commercial lines and find them no longer in service, call our 800 line
for current phone numbers. If you can't call toll-free, then write to
us (we'll keep our PO box open and arrange forwarding of the mail).
1.2 About this Introductory User's Guide
This Introductory User's Guide fully documents all the features of
CheckMate Plus. Keep in mind, however, that CheckMate Plus is a VERY
complex program with many, many features and a disk-based manual is
only of limited use (since we can't include figures and samples).
None the less, we've tried to make this guide as complete and easy to
follow as possible.
Registered copies of CheckMate Plus come with a 200+ page, 9"x7",
perfect bound, professionally typeset manual complete with
illustrations and index.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 4
1.3 About CheckMate Plus
Thank you for evaluating CheckMate Plus... true "double-entry"
accounting that's easy enough for home use and powerful enough for
business!
In 1986, CTech, Inc (then called "Custom Technologies") released
CheckMate, an easy to use checkbook manager with a delightful user-
interface. CheckMate redefined what a checkbook database should be.
CheckMate Plus is a natural and powerful descendent of CheckMate.
We've combined checkbook management, budgeting, accounting, and
graphics into a highly polished and consistent interface.
To start, CheckMate Plus helps you easily and accurately maintain your
checking accounts (including simplifying regular monthly transactions
and printing out your checks).
You can "pre-define" checks that you write often, and even have
CheckMate Plus "remind" you when they're due. Print the ones you
want, or write them by hand. (You can freely mix the two methods).
When your statement arrives, CheckMate Plus will even help you
reconcile your account!
You can split each check twelve ways. Attach notes. Even "customize"
the check stub.
Print reports at any time. CheckMate Plus has many standard reports
(which you can customize or completely redesign!). Preview your
reports on the screen, write them to disk, or send them to the
printer. And CheckMate Plus has powerful "search and filter"
functions to let you zero in on key data.
Since CheckMate Plus is a real double-entry accounting system, you can
generate balance sheets, income statements, and budgeting reports.
And don't forget the high resolution color graphics. Whether you're
tracking a family budget or launching a business, you'll have complete
financial control effortlessly.
The best feature? EASE OF USE. CheckMate Plus sports pull-down
menus, pop-up windows, and context-sensitive help.
1.3.1 Features
o Real "double-entry" accounting that's truly easy enough for
home and powerful enough for business
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 5
o Up to 200 accounts
o Checking accounts support checks, deposits, withdrawals,
debits, credits, and ATM transactions
o Attach "notes" and "stubs" to each transaction
o Prints checks (computer form, laser, or right out of your
checkbook!)
o Helps reconcile your checking accounts
o Many powerful and flexible reports (including standard
accounting reports)
o Powerful "search and filter" functions
o Reports can go to the printer, disk, or the screen
o Data export to "WKS" format for Lotus 123, Microsoft Excel,
Borland Quattro, or virtually any spreadsheet
o Financial Calculator (Loans, Deposits, and Compounding) with
full amortization reports
o Dazzling, high resolution graphics (that you can print)!
o Multiple ways to view your data ("full screen" & "browse"
modes)
o Pop-up context-sensitive help
o Pull-down and Pop-up menus throughout
o Pop-up Calculator with rolling tape
o Password Protection
o "Budgeting" capabilities
o Automatic Transactions (pick from a menu or have CheckMate Plus
"remind" you when they're due!)
o Built-in data backup and restore
o "User-Defined" Reports
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 6
o One year of technical support (by mail, phone, fax, or on-line
with CompuServe!)
o Much, much, more!
1.4 System Requirements
CheckMate Plus requires and IBM PC, PS2, or compatible computer
running MSDOS 3.0 or above. You must have at least 640K bytes of
memory. If you have less memory, you may be able to run CheckMate
Plus, but you may find some features are restricted.
We recommend a hard disk for using CheckMate Plus, but it will run on
a floppy-only system as long as you have at least one high capacity
drive (1.2M or higher).
CheckMate Plus supports CGA, EGA, VGA, Hercules, VESA Super-VGA, and
text-only displays. If you want to display graphics, you must have a
CGA, EGA, VGA, VESA, or Hercules adapter and a compatible monitor.
CheckMate Plus will support virtually any printer without any special
setup (for printing reports). You can pass control codes to the
printer in several ways for special configurations. For text reports,
CheckMate Plus does not support PostScript printers at this time.
CheckMate Plus supports many, many printers for graphics output
(including PostScript).
CheckMate Plus recognizes the MicroSoft, Logitech, Mouse Systems, or
any compatible mouse as an input device. You must load your "mouse
driver" before running CheckMate Plus. See the documentation that
came with your mouse for more information.
1.5 Installation
1.5.1 If you got CheckMate Plus from a Disk Vendor
If you got CheckMate Plus from a disk vendor, bought the shareware
disks directly from us, or if you got it from a friend, follow these
instructions for installing CheckMate Plus.
Place the CheckMate Plus "program" disk in a floppy disk drive. Then
"log on" to that drive (that is, if you place the disk in drive "A"
then type "A:" to log on to drive "A").
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 7
Now, type
INSTALL <ENTER>
Answer the questions as the INSTALL program directs. It's that
simple!
1.5.2 If you got CheckMate Plus from a BBS
If you got CheckMate Plus from an electronic BB, follow these
instructions for installing CheckMate Plus.
Place the following files on a floppy disk (or in a subdirectory on
your hard drive):
CMPLUS.LZH
INSTALL.EXE
LHARC.EXE
Log on to the correct or directory. Now, type
INSTALL <ENTER>
Answer the questions as the INSTALL program directs. It's that
simple!
1.6 Running CheckMate Plus
To run CheckMate Plus, go to your CheckMate Plus directory (where you
told INSTALL to put the program). For instance, if you installed
CheckMate Plus on drive "C" in a directory called "CMPLUS" you would
type:
CD \CMPLUS
To get to the CheckMate Plus directory. Once there, type:
CMPLUS <data file path>
to run CheckMate Plus. The <data file path> entry is optional and
tells CheckMate Plus where to look for (or create) its data files.
Suppose, for example, that you keep your data in a subdirectory
(called "DATA") of the "CMPLUS" directory. To run CheckMate Plus,
type:
CMPLUS C:\CMPLUS\DATA
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 8
and CheckMate Plus will open its data files in the "C:\CMPLUS\DATA"
directory. Likewise, typing:
CMPLUS B:
tells CheckMate Plus to look on drive "B" for data.
You can maintain multiple "sets of books" by placing separate data
files in different directories or on different disks. If you don't
specify a data file path, CheckMate Plus will open its files in the
same directory as the program files.
+ TIMESAVER: If you need to maintain many sets of books and don't want
to remember a bunch of directory names, then create little batch files
to call CheckMate Plus with the correct directories (see your MSDOS
manual for more information).
1.7 Getting Started
When you first run CheckMate Plus, you'll have a "clean" system. That
means you'll have to define some accounts before you can start making
entries. You'll do this under the "Accounts" menu. (You can also
define accounts "on the fly" while entering transactions, so there's
no need to complete your Chart of Accounts up front).
After you've entered at least one account, you've got to select a
"control" account before entering any transactions. You'll want to
pick the account you'll use the most (probably your primary checking
account).
After selecting a control account, you're ready to use CheckMate Plus!
You can start entering checks and other transactions immediately.
Take your time and explore CheckMate Plus while you use it. Remember
that instant help is available at the touch of the [F1] key!
+ IMPORTANT: CheckMate Plus really is a full-fledged "double-entry"
accounting system. If you're unfamiliar with basic accounting
principles, read over appendix A ("An Accounting Primer") for an
introduction. For many of you, that's all the information you'll need
to effectively use CheckMate Plus. If you have more specialized
needs, you may want to get a good book, take a class, or talk to a
CPA.
Also, CheckMate Plus isn't going to "force" anyone to do strict
accounting! If all you want to do is track your checkbook, that's no
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 9
problem. In fact, you can use CheckMate Plus as just a checkbook
program now and expand into partial or full accounting at any time!
This User's Guide holds a wealth of valuable tips and timesavers. As
you become comfortable with CheckMate Plus' primary features, study
this guide and you'll be able to draw maximum productivity from
CheckMate Plus!
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 10
Chapter 2
Things You Need to Know
2.1 Menus
CheckMate Plus uses the popular "pull-down" menu system as its primary
user interface. After your start CheckMate Plus, you'll see a row of
"choices" to choose from. You may select any of the choices in one of
two ways: first, by moving the high-lighted bar to the item of your
choice (using the left or right arrow keys or the mouse) and then
pressing "return" (which we will also refer to as [ENTER]), or, by
pressing the starting letter of your choice. Either method will
instantly produce a secondary menu (with a bar that moves up and down
instead of left to right). Select individual functions in the same
manner.
Many other menus in CheckMate Plus will "pop-up" as you need them.
They work the same as the pull-down menus.
You can exit any menu without action by pressing the [ESC] key.
2.2 The "Bottom Line"
As you run CheckMate Plus, the bottom line of the screen summarizes
many of the functions available to you. It is always present, and
should speed your use of the program as you become familiar with its
many capabilities. Most of CheckMate Plus' functions are activated by
the PC's function keys. The bottom line identifies the operation of
these keys (and some others).
You should be aware, however, that CheckMate Plus has a lot of
capability, and there simply is not enough room to list all available
functions on the bottom line. We've listed those we think are most
useful. Refer to the online help and this User's Guide for others!
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 11
2.3 The "Top Line"
The right side of the top line of the screen displays the status of
your keyboard (CAPS LOCK, NUM LOCK, SCROLL LOCK). It also indicates
whether you're in insert or overwrite mode (for text entry), and
whether you've activated the "search and filter" function (FILT).
[alt-F] toggles the filter flag.
The left side of the top line is reserved for working messages. Don't
be alarmed if they flash by too fast to read... that simply means your
computer is fast!
2.4 Online Help
CheckMate Plus has built in online, context-sensitive help. Just
press [F1] at any time while running CheckMate Plus for instant help.
Some help screens have multiple pages, so use [PgDn], [PgUp], the
arrow keys, or the mouse to move through the message.
The help screens are contained in the file "CMPLUS.HLP" and this file
must be present in the program file path (the disk and directory with
the CheckMate Plus program files) at runtime.
2.5 The Calculator
CheckMate Plus includes a pop-up financial calculator. Pressing
[alt-C] anytime will pop the calculator up. The calculator has a
rolling tape to help you keep track of your math, and you can even
direct the output to the printer!
You can scroll through the tape with the up and down arrow keys,
[PgUp], and [PgDn]. The tape holds the last 100 lines entered.
If you want to use the printer, make sure it is ready before you press
[P]. The calculator will then echo all output to the printer.
Also, CheckMate Plus automatically asserts the "NUMLOCK" when the
calculator is invoked so you may use the numeric keypad on the IBM PC
(or compatibles).
You can "paste" your calculated results into any data field in
CheckMate Plus by pressing [F2]. (Make sure the cursor is in the
field you want to paste to BEFORE you activate the calculator). You
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 12
can only paste results after you "total" (i.e. when the "ENTER" block
in the calculator in not reverse video).
Press [ESC] to exit the calculator and return to CheckMate Plus.
2.6 Special Keys and Shortcuts
2.6.0.1 Shortcuts
In an effort to make CheckMate Plus as "effortless" to use as
possible, we have incorporated a number of handy "shortcuts" into
CheckMate Plus' data entry fields. Some of the shortcuts are specific
to an application (and we will describe them later), others are more
general.
For instance, any time you're entering dates, you may press the "+"
key to increment the date by one day. Likewise, the "-" key will
decrement the date by one day. Pressing "=" forces the date to be the
default (DOS) date.
Some of the fields requiring numbers (such as the Check Number and
Account Number fields) will also increment and decrement as you press
the plus and minus keys.
CheckMate Plus also has "local menus" that give you choices for
particular fields. The [alt-F10] key is CheckMate Plus' local menu
key. When you're in such a field, press [alt-F10] to pop the menu up.
(The [alt-F10] has no effect on "non-local menu" fields). Also, the
middle button of a three button mouse will pop-up local menus.
2.6.0.2 Special Keys
Here is a list of keys you should be familiar with while using
CheckMate Plus:
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 13
Key Function
[alt-F] Toggles "Filter" flag
[F1] Online help
[alt-C] Pops up the calculator
[alt-F10] Local menu key
[alt-M] Memory status
[INS] Toggle insert/overwrite
[]alt-A Pops up the Chart of Accounts
Table 2.1:
Special Keys
2.7 Data Entry
CheckMate Plus' data entry fields are among the best in the business.
As you enter data, you'll find each field "expects" a certain type of
information and will filter what you type appropriately.
Some of the fields have a limited number of valid choices. You can
still type whatever you want in the field, and CheckMate Plus will
attempt to match it to the valid options. If it doesn't match,
CheckMate Plus will "pop-up" a menu of your choices!
All of the data fields may be edited as you type. The following
control-key combinations are defined within CheckMate Plus:
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 14
Control Key Alternate Key Function
Control-D right-arrow move one character right
Control-S left-arrow move one character left
Control-F move one word right
Control-A move one word left
Control-QD END move to end of text
Control-QS HOME move to start of field
Control-E up-arrow move up one field
Control-X down-arrow move down one field
Control-G DEL delete character at cursor
Control-T delete word right
Control-QY delete field right
Control-Y delete entire field
Control-H BACKSPACE delete character left
Control-V INS toggle INSERT/OVERWRITE
Table 2.2: Editing Keys
2.8 Date Formats
Over the years, we've discovered that different people and different
lands enter and display "dates" in many different formats.
Fortunately, CheckMate Plus lets you pick from a wide variety of
formats to use (under the Setup menu).
CheckMate Plus also allows "free format" date entry in all of its date
fields. This means you can enter dates in almost any format you want
and CheckMate Plus will figure out what you mean. For instance,
2/12/90, 12 Mar 89, and Sept 10, 1987 are all legal formats to enter
dates regardless of how you want the date displayed. You need only
ensure you use some non-alphanumeric delimiter (such as a space or a
"/") between the month, day, and year. You can even leave all or part
of the date out and CheckMate Plus will use the defaults (from the DOS
date).
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 15
2.9 Using a Mouse
If you have a Microsoft, Logitech, Mouse Systems, or compatible mouse,
CheckMate Plus will recognize it as an input device. You must load
your mouse driver BEFORE running CheckMate Plus (see the documentation
that accompanies your mouse).
In data entry fields, the mouse will "drag" the cursor around as you
move it. The mouse moves the highlighted bar in menus and in the
"virtual paper" mode.
The left button acts like the [ENTER] key and the right button
emulates the [ESC] key. If you have a three button mouse, the middle
button will activate local menus (just like [alt-F10]).
2.10 The Built-In Editor
CheckMate Plus has a very simple built-in text editor. You'll use
this editor when you're working with "stubs" or "notes" in
transactions, or while defining custom reports or check layouts (for
printing checks).
The editor is not fancy, but it will get the job done. Many of the
keys you can use while editing are the same you use in any of the data
entry fields.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 16
Control Key Alternate Key Function
Control-D right-arrow move one character right
Control-S left-arrow move one character left
Control-F move one word right
Control-A move one word left
Control-QD END move to end of line
Control-QS HOME move to start of line
Control-QR jump to top line
Control-QC jump to bottom line
Control-E up-arrow move up one line
Control-X down-arrow move down one line
Control-G DEL delete character at cursor
Control-T delete word right
Control-QY delete line right
Control-Y delete entire line
Control-H BACKSPACE delete character left
Control-V INS toggle INSERT/OVERWRITE
Control-KR read text file
Control-KW write text file
Table 2.3: Editor Editing Keys
Although the editor has many basic editing keys, it doesn't have "cut
and paste" features (yet). You can, however, export the text to a
file (press control-KW and enter a filename). You can then use your
favorite text editor to manipulate the data.
Control-KR reads a file into the editor. BE CAREFUL! The file
"overwrites" anything already there.
2.11 The "Search and Filter" Window
At some times while running CheckMate Plus, you'll want to search for
specific items and disregard others. At those times you'll be able to
pop-up the "Search and Filter" window.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 17
You specify the items you want by setting up "equations". The "search
and filter" window has six lines, each with five fields:
Variable This first field is where you specify the particular
variable you're trying to match. You can type the
variable in yourself, or press [alt-F10] (the local
menu key) or the middle mouse button to pop-up a menu
of variables.
OP In the second field, enter the "operator". For
instance, if you want to exactly match the variable,
enter a "=" here. This is also a menu field (and
[alt-F10] will pop-up a menu of choices). Here are
the operators and what they do:
= Exact Match
* "Any" Match
> Greater Than
< Less Than
>= Greater Than or Equal To
<= Less Than or Equal To
<> Not Equal To
Table 2.4: Search and Filter Operators
Most of the operators are self-explanatory, but the
"*" deserves more detail. You'll use this primarily
when searching for text. Suppose, for instance, you
want to find all checks written to "El Paso County".
You could use the "=" sign and search for "PayTo = El
Paso County", but you could also use the "*" and
search for "Payto * County". In other words, when
you use "*" instead of "=", CheckMate Plus will match
any check with the word "county" in the payto field.
When you use "=", you must type in the text to match
EXACTLY.
Note that "Payto * County" will match any check
written to "El Paso County", but it will also match
checks written to "Denver County", "County Line
Barbecue", or any check with the word "county" in the
payto field.
Match #1 How this field behaves depends on the "variable" you
choose (in the "Variable" field). In most cases
you'll just enter text here. Some variables,
however, require numbers, "YES/NO", or dates.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 18
And/Or You can "compound" the search for data with the
And/Or field. As you may have guessed, you can enter
either "AND", "OR", or nothing in the field.
Here's how it works. Suppose you want to find all
transactions between $100 and $200. You'd enter:
Amount >= 100.00 And <= 200.00
See how you've specified a "range" of amounts?
Similarly, suppose you wanted to find all checks with
check numbers less than 500 and greater than 1000?
You'd enter:
Check Number < 500 Or > 1000
You can use these operators and specify "ranges" for
virtually any variable (including straight text).
If you leave the "And/Or" field blank, CheckMate Plus
will ignore the second half of the match operation.
OP This second OP field works like the first one above
(but it's for the second half of the operation).
Match #2 This second "Match" field works like the first one
above (but it's for the second half of the
operation).
You can enter up to six operations. In order for a transaction to
match, it must satisfy all of the lines you enter!
Press [ESC] after you've entered your "filter definition" to return to
your work.
+ IMPORTANT: Even though you've set the filter definition, it has no
effect until you turn it "on". The [alt-F] key toggles the filter
state on and off. When you see the word "FILT" on the top line of the
screen, the filter definition is active. You can toggle it on and off
at any time!
2.11.1 Saving Filter Definitions
As you can see, you can get quite detailed in specifying match
criteria. If you've entered a complicated sequence (and want to save
it to use again later), press [F10] (while you're in the "Search and
Filter Window") and CheckMate Plus will store it on disk. You'll have
to enter a name for the "Filter Definition" so you can pick the one
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 19
you want later. You can have as many as forty definitions saved at
one time.
2.11.2 Retrieving Filter Definitions
To retrieve a definition you've saved, enter the "Search and Filter
Window" and press [F9]. CheckMate Plus will pop-up a menu of
definitions previously saved. Pick the one you want from the menu.
2.11.3 Deleting Filter Definitions
To delete a definition (from the disk), pick the one you want to get
rid of (as described above). Then press [F8]. CheckMate Plus will
prompt you to confirm before actually deleting the definition.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 20
Chapter 3
Accounts
3.1 Types of Accounts
CheckMate Plus focuses around checking accounts since practically
everyone works through them (both home and business). But to
accurately track the flow of money, you'll also need to work with some
other types of accounts. CheckMate Plus defines three major
categories of accounts: checking accounts, other detail accounts, and
summary accounts.
Checking accounts refer to your primary bank accounts (of course).
The "other detail accounts" are your expenses, sources of revenue,
liabilities (debt), assets other than checking accounts, and your
equity. (If you have an accounting background, you no doubt recognize
these categories). Summary accounts are actually "summations" of
accounts (so you can group accounts into totals). You won't be able
to directly access summary accounts.
In order to "nicely" divide the different account types, accountants
have (over the years) devised a more or less "standard" numbering
convention. CheckMate Plus uses a form of that standard.
1 - 19999 Assets (Cash, Property, anything you have of value)
2 - 29999 Liabilities (Any debts that you owe)
3 - 39999 Equity that you hold
4 - 49999 Revenue (Pay, Interest, Sales, etc)
5 - 59999 Expenses (Utilities, Food, Rent, etc)
All detail accounts (checking accounts and other detail accounts) have
five digit account numbers (such as 10000 or 50015). Summary accounts
have one to four digits and "sum together" the detail accounts that
"fill out" the numbers. For example, the summary account "100" would
be the sum of accounts 10000 through 10099. The summary account
"1000" would only sum accounts 10000 through 10009, while the top
level account ASSETS (account number 1) sums all asset accounts
(10000-19999).
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 21
When you run CheckMate Plus for the first time, it creates six special
accounts. The first five are the top level summary accounts:
Account Number Name
1 Assets
2 Liabilities
3 Equity
4 Revenue
5 Expenses
Table 3.1: Top Level Accounts
The last account CheckMate Plus automatically creates is a detail
account. CheckMate Plus uses it to make sure your books are always in
balance. We call this account "Non-Accounted for Funds" and its
account number is 39999 (it is an EQUITY account). As you make
entries in CheckMate Plus, any time you do not "balance" a
transaction, CheckMate Plus automatically assigns the funds to this
account. Remember, however, that you can always change the
transactions later!
CheckMate Plus won't let you modify or delete any of these six special
accounts.
3.1.1 Checking Accounts
Checking accounts are assets (since they represent money you have).
They are also detail accounts (which means you can directly transfer
money to and from them). Therefore, they can have account numbers
between 10000 and 19999.
CheckMate Plus treats checking accounts in a special way since you'll
be doing much of your day to day business directly with them.
CheckMate Plus builds in the capability to print checks (including
addressing them for window envelopes), reconcile (with you bank
statement), and track other types of transactions (such as deposits,
services charges, and ATM transactions).
3.1.2 Other Detail Accounts
You'll also be able to setup accounts to track your other assets,
liabilities, equity, revenue, and expenses. These accounts are also
"detail" accounts and will have five digit account numbers (as
described above).
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 22
These accounts are more general, however, and you won't have (or need)
as many options as you have with with checking accounts.
3.1.3 Summary Accounts
You'll find "summary" accounts useful for assembling accounts together
in logical groups. You may, for example, want to list accounts 10000
(Checking Account), 10001 (Savings Account), and 10008 (Petty Cash)
under summary account 1000 (Cash Assets).
1000 Cash Assets
10000 Checking Account
10001 Savings Account
10008 Petty Cash
You can direct CheckMate Plus to report the summaries (with customized
reports) for a more general analysis of your financial condition.
3.2 Entering Accounts
This section of the User's Guide describes how to set up the different
accounts available in CheckMate Plus.
You define accounts by selecting "Enter New Accounts" from the
"Accounts" menu. You'll see a secondary menu asking whether you want
to enter a checking account or an "other" account.
If you select "other", you'll see a third menu from which you can
select "summary" or other "detail" accounts.
There are some subtle differences between the different types of
accounts.
All of the fields (in the "Enter Accounts Window") are explained
below:
Account Name The name for the account (such as "United Bank",
"Mortgage", or "Utilities Expense". This name will
appear on all account menus, account fields, and
reports.
Opening Balance Enter the "balance" of the account on the date you
want to start tracking it. This may or may not be
its current balance. It is a good idea to start an
accounting system on January 1st, so you may want to
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 23
"back enter" the data back to the first of the year
(or whenever your accounting year begins).
After you enter the opening balance, you must tell
CheckMate Plus on which date the balance applied.
Remember you may enter the date in any format you
choose.
Next Check Number
This field applies to checking accounts only. Enter
the next check number you'll enter in CheckMate Plus.
Address on Checks
This field applies to checking accounts only. Enter
"YES" if you want addresses to appear in the check
entry form (and on the checks you print).
Account Number CheckMate Plus fills this number in for you (but you
may change it if you wish). This is the general
ledger account number for the account you're
entering. Remember that detail accounts must always
have five digits.
You may press the plus or minus keys in this field to
increment or decrement the number. You may not have
two accounts with the same number.
Check Layout This field applies to checking accounts only. This
is a "menu field", so you may either type in a
defined check layout or press [alt-F10] to pop the
menu up. CheckMate Plus comes with three predefined
layouts, but you may also enter your own (discussed
later in this User's Guide).
Contra Account This field applies to all account types except
checking. Contra accounts are special in accounting.
If you don't know what contra accounts are, then
leave this field "NO" (the default). If you do know,
the field is self explanatory.
Budget Information
Press [F3] while entering the account to pop-up the
"Budget Setup Window". Here you can enter budgeting
data that CheckMate Plus uses in preparing reports.
[ESC] returns you to the Account Entry Window.
The "quarters" in the budget window are based on the
start of your fiscal year (see "Fiscal Year Setup"
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 24
under the "Setup" menu). You can, for instance,
choose to start your accounting year on October 1st
(rather than January 1st). In this case, The 1st
Quarter would include October, November, and December
(instead of January, February, and March).
After you set up the account, press [F10] to save the information and
add the account to your Chart of Accounts. The window will clear and
you can enter more accounts (or press [ESC] to return to the Accounts
Menu).
3.3 Editing Accounts
You can modify (or delete) accounts after you've entered them, but
there are some restrictions. Select "Edit Accounts" from the
"Accounts" menu. A secondary menu will appear which lists all
existing accounts. Pick the account you want to edit from the list.
You can change any of the fields in the "Edit Accounts Window" (the
same fields you saw while entering the account). Press [F10] to save
your changes, or press [F9] to delete the account.
CheckMate Plus records account numbers in the transactions. You can
change an account's number, but CheckMate Plus has to search
completely through the data file and update each applicable
transaction. This process can be time consuming (if you have a lot of
transactions), but it is absolutely necessary.
If you delete an account, CheckMate Plus will search the database and
remove all references to the account. This could very likely leave a
number of transactions out of balance! In this case, CheckMate Plus
automatically assigns the debits and credits to the "Non-Accounted for
Funds" account.
Press [ESC] to return to the "Accounts" menu.
3.4 Selecting Accounts
CheckMate Plus is transaction oriented, and you'll spend most of your
time entering transactions.
You can select which account CheckMate Plus will treat as the control
account by activating "Select Control Account" under the "Accounts"
menu. Pick the account you want to treat as the default for
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 25
transaction entry/edit, reports, printing checks, etc. The control
account's name and number appear in the lower right hand corner of the
screen.
CheckMate Plus remembers your control account and will automatically
select it the next time you run the program. We anticipate you'll
spend most of the time with your primary checking account as the
default.
+ NOTE: Only "detail" accounts will appear on the select menu since
you can't post transactions directly to summary accounts!
You'll automatically return to the "Accounts" menu when you select
your control account. You can also press [ESC] to exit the "Select
Control Account Menu" without changing the control account.
3.5 Account Status
When you select "Account Status" from the "Accounts" menu, CheckMate
Plus will pop-up your Chart of Accounts. Pick one from the menu and
CheckMate Plus will display pertinent information about that account.
The opening balance is the same as the one entered while defining or
editing the account. The current balance is "as of" the date of the
last transaction entered for that account.
If the account is a "summary" account, the numbers CheckMate Plus
displays are "summations" of the accounts underneath it. CheckMate
Plus also shows the range of accounts beneath each summary account.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 26
Chapter 4
Transactions
4.1 Types of Transactions
4.1.1 Transactions for Checking Accounts
Checking accounts are special in CheckMate Plus. Here is a list of
transactions you can enter in checking accounts:
Checks Checks will most likely be the most common
transaction you'll enter. As you'll see below,
CheckMate Plus includes a multitude of data fields to
completely describe your checks. Each check is a
credit (in accounting terms) to your checking account
(which is an ASSET account).
Withdrawals Withdrawals (other than checks or ATM withdrawals)
will be rare in checking accounts, but we have
included them for completeness. Withdrawals are
credits to checking accounts.
Deposits Deposits are money you put in the checking account.
(CheckMate Plus has other transaction types you can
use for bank credits, such as interest earned). Each
deposit is a debit to your account.
Bank Debit A "bank debit" is money the bank takes from your
account (a service charge, for instance). If you
have any accounting background, you'll realize that a
bank debit is actually a credit to your checking
account (which is an ASSET account). We call it a
"bank debit" because that is usually what the bank
calls it on your statement.
Bank Credit A "bank credit" (which is actually a debit to your
checking account) is money the bank puts into your
account (such as interest earned).
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 27
ATM Deposit An "ATM deposit" is simply a deposit you make at an
automatic teller machine (ATM). There is nothing
special about this type of deposit, we just added the
"ATM" to the name since ATMs have become so common.
An ATM deposit is a debit to your checking account.
ATM Withdrawal Like the ATM deposit described above, an "ATM
withdrawal" is just a withdrawal made at an automatic
teller machine. An ATM withdrawal is a credit to
your checking account.
4.1.2 Transactions for Other Accounts
You can directly post transactions to other detail accounts, but you
have (and need) only two options (either DEBIT or CREDIT).
Debits A debit increases an ASSET or EXPENSE account and
decreases LIABILITY, EQUITY, or REVENUE accounts.
(This is standard accounting practice). CheckMate
Plus helps you remember when to use debits (vs
credits) with helpful menu descriptions as you make
entries.
Credits As you might expect, credits increase LIABILITY,
EQUITY, and REVENUE accounts and decrease ASSET and
EXPENSE accounts. Once again, CheckMate Plus helps
you keep debits and credits straight with helpful
menus.
+ NOTE: There is an exception the the above rules. Although ASSETS
are ordinarily debit accounts (and debits INCREASE them), you can have
a CONTRA ASSET account, which, while still an ASSET, is a CREDIT
account. You may have contra accounts in any of the account
categories except checking. Contra accounts are a more advanced
accounting concept, and most of you will probably not need them. We
have included the capability for those that do.
4.2 Entering Transactions
The first menu on the menu bar is the "Transactions" menu (since
you'll most likely spend much of your time in CheckMate Plus entering
transactions). From the "Transactions" menu, select "Enter
Transactions" to begin transaction entry.
A menu with transaction choices will appear. Checking accounts have
seven choices (check, withdrawal, deposit, bank debit, bank credit,
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 28
ATM deposit, and ATM withdrawal). All other accounts will have two
choices (debit or credit).
We'll concentrate on entering checks since they are the most complete.
The other transaction types are similar, but have fewer data fields.
4.2.1 Primary Data
The first thing you'll see when you select "Check" from the
"transaction type" menu is the primary data entry screen.
Check Number CheckMate Plus automatically assigns each check with
the "next check number". You can override CheckMate
Plus' choice by pressing the up-arrow key (to move up
to the check number). Pressing the plus and minus
keys will increment and decrement the check number
respectively.
Date The date of the transaction. The default is the
system (DOS) date. Remember that you can press the
plus and minus keys to increment or decrement the
date (or you can enter it free format).
Amount The next field is the "amount" field (which, of
course, is the amount of the check). After you enter
the amount, the "spelled out amount" will appear and
the current account balance will update.
TO The "TO" field is who you're writing the check for
(the Payee).
Address If you told CheckMate Plus that you wanted to print
addresses on the checks (while you were defining the
account), you'll have three lines to enter the
Payee's address under the Payee's name.
For This is the "memo" or "for" line on the check. You
can enter a short note here.
Vendor Acct # Many vendors want you to write your account number on
the checks you send them so they can properly credit
your account. That's what this field is for.
Comments You have 67 characters to enter miscellaneous
comments about the check in the "comments" field.
Tax Ded This is a YES/NO flag you can use to designate checks
as tax deductible. Marking checks in this way makes
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 29
it easy to generate a report of tax deductions at
year's end.
Marked Like the "Tax Ded" flag, you can "mark" a check with
this YES/NO flag. This is a general purpose field,
that is, you can use it for whatever you want.
Printed If you're using CheckMate Plus to print checks,
CheckMate Plus will mark this field for you when you
print the check. If you mix writing checks by hand
and printing them, be sure and mark this field for
the checks you write out (otherwise CheckMate Plus
will want to print them). If you're not printing any
checks, you don't need to bother with this field.
Cleared CheckMate Plus marks this field during the
reconciliation process. Be careful if you mark this
field yourself, since the "Date Cleared" should match
the statement date on which the check cleared.
Date Cleared If the transaction has cleared, this field holds the
statement date (from the bank statement that the
check appeared on). CheckMate Plus maintains this
date so it can completely re-create a statement at
any time. You should never have to enter this date
manually as CheckMate Plus enters it during the
reconciliation process.
4.2.2 Splitting the Transaction
The transaction itself is only half of the story. CheckMate Plus lets
you "split" the transaction twelve ways to account for the flow of
money. Press [F3] while in the "primary data" screen and the "split
transaction" window will appear.
You'll notice that CheckMate Plus fills in the first line of the
transaction for you (in fact, you can't edit the first line in the
"split" window!). CheckMate Plus knows whether to enter a debit or a
credit and positions the cursor on the next line in the "account
number" field.
Acct# Enter an account's number here. If you can't
remember the number of the account you want, press
the local menu key ([alt-F10]) or press the middle
button on the mouse to pop-up a pick list. You can
also use the plus and minus keys to scroll through
the numbers and search for the right account. The
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 30
account's name will automatically appear to the right
of the number.
Description The "description" field is for you to enter notes to
yourself (so that the ledger transaction and activity
reports will make sense to you later). CheckMate
Plus fills the first description in for you (a check
number or the "Memo" from other types of
transactions).
+ TIMESAVER: Many times the "description" that you
want to enter will be the the payee's name (that you
entered on the check). Press [F3] while in any
"description" field and CheckMate Plus will "paste"
the payee's name directly in.
Debit/Credit Enter an appropriate debit or credit in the next two
fields. You can have either a debit or credit (but
not both on the same line).
CheckMate Plus totals the transactions as you enter the amounts. When
the transaction is in "balance" (i.e. when debits=credits"), the
"Unaccounted For" field will be zero.
+ TIMESAVER: At ANY time while you're "splitting" the transaction, you
can "force" the transaction to "balance" by pressing [ PgDn]. When
you do this, CheckMate Plus will adjust the debit (or credit) on the
line the cursor is on to make the transaction balance. You'll find
this key most useful while entering the "last" line of a transaction.
You can return to the primary data entry screen by pressing [ESC].
4.2.3 Check Stubs
While entering checks, you can press [F4] to pop-up the "Stub" window.
This is a text "pad", and you can use CheckMate Plus' built in editor
to type in text that you can print on check stubs later. (See "Things
That You Should Know", chapter 2 for information on using the editor).
The "stub" pad has 20 lines and 130 columns.
If the stub contains any text, CheckMate Plus will display "*STUB" as
a visual cue on the primary data entry screen (so you can easily
locate transactions with stubs).
+ NOTE: The "stub" is available for all transactions, not just for
checks. You can't print them for other transaction types, but you can
use them for additional notes.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 31
4.2.4 Attaching Notes
If you need space for additional comments or notes, press [alt-F4] to
pop-up the "Notes" window. Like the check stub, this window is a text
"pad" and you can use CheckMate Plus' built in editor to enter your
notes.
The "notes" pad has 10 lines and 70 columns.
As with the stub, is the note pad contains any text, CheckMate Plus
will display "*NOTES" as a visual cue on the primary data entry screen
(so you can easily locate transactions with notes).
4.2.5 Saving the Transaction
Once you've entered the transaction, press [F10] to save it and update
all the proper account balances. You may press [ESC] to abort saving.
(CheckMate Plus will prompt you to confirm as this will cause you to
lose the data you've entered).
+ NOTE: If you enter transactions out-of-date sequence (specifically
if you enter transactions that "pre-date" other transactions),
CheckMate Plus must update running balances as well as current
balances. This may take some time (if CheckMate Plus has to scan
through and update many transactions).
4.2.6 Picking from the Menu
You've probably noticed that many of the checks you write from month
to month "repeat". For instance, you probably write either a mortgage
payment or a rent check each month, as well as utilities, telephone,
newspaper, etc.
CheckMate Plus lets you define checks (and other transactions) and add
them to a menu. While you're entering checks you can pop this menu up
with [alt-F2] and "pick" the transaction you want. This is a
tremendous timesaver!
You can define as much or as little of the transaction as you like,
and fill in the rest as you actually enter the check. If the amount
of the check changes each time you write it (such as your utility
bill), you can even have CheckMate Plus "jump" to the amount field
after you pick the transaction from the menu!
The menu may have more entries than can show on the screen at one
time. Use the arrow keys, [PgUp], [PgDn], or the mouse to scroll
through the choices.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 32
4.2.7 Utilities
While you're entering transactions, you can press [F2] at any time to
pop-up the "Utilities" menu. The options available on the menu will
depend upon the type of transaction you're entering. Here are the
choices you may see:
Add Account You may find you want to add accounts while
"splitting" the transaction. From the "Utilities"
menu, select "Add Account" and you'll be able to add
as many accounts as you wish. [ESC] returns you to
the transaction you're entering.
Edit Transactions
If you want to "edit" old transactions while you're
entering a new one, select this option from the
"Utilities" menu.
Memorize Select "Memorize" from the "Utilities" menu if you
want to add this transaction to the pop-up menu (so
you can repeat it later) or if you want to add it to
the menu or date activated list.
Stub Layout This option applies only to checks, and will
determine how to print the stub while printing the
check. When you select this option, another menu
appears.
Automatic Select
This is the default stub layout. In the automatic
mode, CheckMate Plus determines whether to print the
"Accounts Payable" stub (which is a list of accounts
that you've split the check across) or the custom
stub (which you enter by pressing [F4]). CheckMate
Plus looks at the custom stub first. If the first
line of the stub is blank, it prints the automatic
stub. Otherwise it will print the custom stub.
No Stub
If you choose "No Stub", CheckMate Plus will not
print a stub when you print the check (even if the
check layout calls for one). If necessary, CheckMate
Plus will print blank lines on the stub (to keep the
check alignment correct).
Custom Stub
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 33
This option forces CheckMate Plus to print the custom
stub (which you enter when you press [F4] ) even if
it is empty (in which case CheckMate Plus will print
blank lines).
Accounts Payable
If you choose this option, CheckMate Plus will always
print the "Accounts Payable" stub even if the custom
stub is filled in. The accounts payable stub looks a
lot like the "split transaction" screen (that is, it
is a list of the accounts that you're "splitting" the
check across).
Print the Check You can print the check you're entering as you enter
it. Just select "Print Check" from the "Utilities"
menu. Be sure that your check is in the printer and
ready before you select "Print Check", however, since
CheckMate Plus will print the check immediately.
Rebuild Account This option will only appear on the menu if the
control account needs to be "rebuilt" to update the
running balances.
4.3 Editing Transactions
Editing transactions is much like entering transactions, but there are
some substantial differences. This section documents those
differences.
4.3.1 Moving Through the Data
When you select "Edit Transactions" from the "Transactions" menu,
you'll enter the "Edit Transactions Window". The transaction you see
will depend on two things:
o The current control account
o Whether or not the "Filter Flag" is set
CheckMate Plus only displays transactions for the control account,
and starts with the last transaction entered. If the "filter flag" is
set, then the transactions displayed must also match the "search and
filter" pattern you've set up (provided that the filter flag is
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 34
active). [alt-F] toggles the filter flag. While the filter is
active, the word "FILT" appears on the "top line" of the screen.
While you're editing, you can use the following keys to move through
the data file:
[F7] This key moves backwards one transaction. If the
filter flag is set, then CheckMate Plus keeps moving
backward until a match is found.
+ SPECIAL NOTE: CheckMate Plus has a special feature
we call "field integrity". This means that you'll
stay on the same field as you move through the
database. For instance, if you're on the "check
number" field and press [F7], CheckMate Plus will
skip over any transactions that don't have a check
number (such as deposits or withdrawals).
[F8] This key moves forward one transaction. The action
is the same as the [F7] key discussed above.
[F5] This key "jumps" to the first transaction of the
control account. If the filter flag is set, it
searches for the first "matching" transaction. Field
integrity is not preserved when you use this key.
[F6] This key "jumps" to the last transaction of the
control account. If the filter flag is set, it
searches for the last "matching" transaction. Field
integrity is not preserved when you use this key.
[alt-J] This is a special search key. When you press [alt-J]
you'll see a window appear where you may enter a
"date to jump to". Enter a date and press [ENTER].
CheckMate Plus will jump to that date (or as close as
it can get). The cursor jumps to the date field
(field integrity is not preservered), and the
transaction does not have to match the "search and
filter" pattern!
CheckMate Plus checks to see if the current transaction has been
modified before it will move forward or backward through the file. If
you've made any changes, CheckMate Plus prompts you to save your
changes before proceeding.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 35
4.3.2 Primary Data
There is very little difference between editing a transaction and
entering a transaction (discussed above). Those changes are
documented here:
Balance While entering transactions, the balance CheckMate
Plus shows is the account's current balance. While
editing, CheckMate Plus shows the account's running
balance (that is, the balance of the account when the
transaction was originally entered).
It's not an easy thing to keep this running balance
correct. If you change the amount or date of a
transaction (or any amounts or accounts in the
transactions "split" window), you may disturb the
accuracy of the running balance. When this happens,
CheckMate Plus will make the balance "blink" while
you're editing. As you exit the editing function,
CheckMate Plus will ask if you want to "rebuild" the
account (and fix the "blinking"). If you choose not
to rebuild it, CheckMate Plus will continually ask
over and over (at strategic times in the program).
Remember, you may also change other accounts (in the
split window). If CheckMate Plus determines that one
of these is out of balance, it will warn you when you
next "select" that account as the control account
(and ask you if you want to rebuild it). Rebuilding
any account fixes all of them.
4.3.3 Splitting the Transaction
Press [F3] to "split" the transaction.
The biggest difference between "editing" and "entering" in the split
window is that you'll be restricted somewhat while "editing". As when
entering, you can't edit the first line of the transaction (you can do
this in the "primary data" window). Also, you won't be able to change
the Account Number of the account that "owns" the transaction. (The
account that "owns" a transaction is the account that was the control
account when you entered the transaction).
4.3.4 Check Stubs
Press [F4] to edit the "stub".
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 36
Remember that each transaction has only one stub (regardless of how
many accounts you've split the transaction across). So if you edit
the stub (and the control account doesn't "own" the transaction),
you'll see the stub that you originally entered. Any changes you make
will appear in the other accounts as well.
If the stub contains any text, CheckMate Plus will display "*STUB" as
a visual cue on the primary data entry screen (so you can easily
locate transactions with stubs).
4.3.5 Attaching Notes
Press [alt-F4] to edit the "notes".
Like the "stub" (discussed above), each transaction has only one note
pad. Any changes you make to the note pad will appear for all the
accounts in the transaction.
As with the stub, is the note pad contains any text, CheckMate Plus
will display "*NOTES" as a visual cue on the primary data entry screen
(so you can easily locate transactions with notes).
4.3.6 Saving Your Changes
After you've made your changes, press [F10] to save them (or [ESC] to
abort). If you try to abort changes (with [ESC] or by "moving" to
another transaction), CheckMate Plus will ask you to confirm your
intentions before you lose your edits.
+ NOTE: If you modify a transaction's date or any of it's amounts (in
the primary or split windows), CheckMate Plus has to update the
running balances of all affected accounts. CheckMate Plus uses a
sophisticated method of intermediate balances to speed up this
operation. Transactions modified within a few days or weeks of the
last transaction in your data file will update very quickly. Older
transactions can take much more time (depending on how large your data
file is). We anticipate you'll be making changes to older
transactions very infrequently (if ever).
4.3.7 Deleting the Transaction
You can delete a transaction by pressing [F9]. CheckMate Plus will
prompt you to confirm before actually deleting the transaction.
You can delete a transaction even if the current control account
doesn't "own" the transaction.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 37
The transaction will "disappear" from ALL of the accounts in the
transaction, and all of the accounts will need to be rebuilt. When
you press [ESC] to exit the edit mode, CheckMate Plus will ask you if
you want to "rebuild". CheckMate Plus rebuilds all accounts at once,
so you won't have to rebuild each account individually. We don't do
it automatically since you may be doing a lot of editing and each
rebuild can take several minutes (if you have a very large data file).
YOU CAN'T RECOVER A TRANSACTION AFTER DELETING IT!
4.3.8 Picking from the Menu
You can "pick from the menu" by pressing [alt-F2] while editing any
transaction. Bear in mind, however, that picking a menu transaction
will completely replace the current transaction, including the "split"
accounts!
Remember that you can press [ESC] to abort your edits (as long as you
haven't pressed [F10]) if you change your mind about the menu choice.
4.3.9 Utilities
While you're editing transactions, you can press [F2] to pop-up the
"Utilities" menu. The options available on the menu depend upon the
type of transaction you're editing, and whether or not you need to
"rebuild" the control account.
Add Account You can add accounts while editing by selecting this
option from the "Utilities" menu.
"Search and Filter"
Select this option to define the "search and filter"
pattern you want to match (as you move through the
database).
Memorize You can add transactions to the menu or "date
activated" list by "memorizing" the transaction.
Select this option from the "Utilities" menu and
follow the menus.
Stub Layout (Checks only). See "Entering Transactions" for a
complete description of the "stub layouts" available
to you.
Print the Check (Checks only). Pick this option to immediately print
the check. May sure that your check is in the
printer and ready before you select this option!
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 38
Rebuild Account This option will only appear on the menu if the
control account needs to be "rebuilt" to update the
running balances.
4.4 Automatic Transactions
This section discusses how to enter and edit "automatic" transactions
(transactions that appear on the menu or date activated transactions).
4.4.1 On the Menu
Automatic transactions that are "on the menu" are those that appear
when you press [alt-F2] while entering or editing transactions.
4.4.1.1 Defining Menu Transactions
There are two ways to add a transaction "to the menu". One method is
to "memorize" transactions as you enter or edit them (see the above
sections about the "Utilities" menu). The other way is to select
"Enter Auto Transactions" from the "Transactions" menu. You'll see
another menu appear asking whether you want to add "menu" transactions
or "date activated" transactions. Select "menu" (since we are
defining "menu" transactions here).
Next you'll see a familiar menu (asking for a transaction "type").
These are the same options you have while entering "regular"
transactions.
The "Enter Automatic Transactions" form is only slightly different
than the "Enter Transactions" form:
Check Number There is no field to enter a check number, since
CheckMate Plus will assign one when you pick this
transaction off the menu.
Date You can't enter a date, since you'll assign a date
when you select the transaction.
Amount This is a special field for "automatic transactions".
+ TIMESAVER: If the amount for this transaction will
routinely change (your utilities bill, for example),
leave the amount zero and CheckMate Plus will
automatically jump to the amount field when you
select this transaction from the menu!
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 39
Marked There is no "marked flag" for automatic transactions.
Printed There is no "printed flag" for automatic
transactions.
Cleared There is no "cleared flag" for automatic
transactions.
Cleared Date You can't enter a cleared date, since "automatic
transactions" can't "clear" until you pick them from
the menu.
Name At the bottom of the primary data entry screen, you
can (and must) enter a "Name" for this automatic
transaction. This Name will appear on the menu in
alphabetical order. You may not have duplicate
names!
Important! Each "automatic transaction" is specific
to the control account you have selected when you
enter it. Each "automatic transaction" is also
specific to the "transaction type" you're entering.
You can have duplicate names as long as the
duplicates are not in the same account and the same
transaction type!
This means, however, that an "automatic transaction"
you put on the menu for one account WILL NOT appear
on the menu for any other account.
+ SPECIAL NOTE: CheckMate Plus orders the "names"
alphabetically, but the names are CASE SENSITIVE.
This means that "Tom" will appear BEFORE "anna"
(since an upper-case "T" is alphabetically before a
lower-case "a"). "Anna", however, will come before
"Tom" (as long as "Anna" begins with a capital "A").
CheckMate Plus also displays a highlighted bar at the bottom of the
screen to remind you that you're entering an "automatic transaction"
(versus a regular one).
Remember you can also predefine the "split" (press [F3]), the "stub"
(press [F4]), and the "notes" (press [alt-F4]).
+ TIMESAVER: You can "pop the menu up" while entering "automatic
transactions" (just as you can while entering "regular" transactions).
Just press [alt-F2]. This can save you time if you're entering
multiple (but similar) automatic transactions.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 40
The "Utilities" menu is available while entering "automatic
transactions". Press [F2] to pop it up.
Press [F10] to save the automatic transaction after you've finished
entering your data. It will now appear "on the menu" for this account
and transaction type. Press [ESC] to abort saving.
4.4.1.2 Editing Menu Transactions
If you want to "edit" your menu transactions, select "Edit Auto
Transactions" from the "Transactions" menu, and then select "menu"
from the next menu that pops up.
CheckMate Plus will take you to the first "menu transaction" that
you've defined for this account. Just as while editing "regular"
transactions, you have the following "movement" keys available to you:
[F7] This key moves backwards one transaction.
[F8] This key moves forward one transaction.
[F5] This key "jumps" to the first automatic transaction.
[F6] This key "jumps" to the last automatic transaction.
Since "menu transactions" don't have "dates" associated with them,
CheckMate Plus orders them alphabetically by name. CheckMate Plus
also orders them by transaction type. This means that all checks will
appear first, followed by withdrawals, deposits, etc.
You can edit the menu transaction just as you do "regular"
transactions. The "stub", "notes", and "split" windows are all
available. You can also pop-up the "menu" with the [alt-F2] key, and
the "Utilities" with the [F2] key.
Press [F10] to save your changes, or [ESC] to abort. You may delete
the transaction altogether by pressing [F9]. If you've made changes
and attempt to abort or move to another transaction (without saving
the changes), CheckMate Plus will prompt you to confirm before letting
you loose your work.
4.4.2 Date Activated Transactions
"Date Activated" Transactions are transactions you "program" to to
notify you when they need to be entered. This is really a slick
feature, and one that we think you will greatly appreciate.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 41
CheckMate Plus will NOT activate ANY transaction unless you want it
to! "Date activated" transactions simply "remind" you when they're
due and help you enter the data. They will not become "real
transactions" without your confirmation.
You have several options while programming these entries. Obviously,
you can enter a "date" on which the transaction will become "active"
(that is, when it's due). But you can also set the transaction to
"repeat" after you enter it.
For instance, suppose you set up a "date activated transaction" to
remind you to pay your rent on June 26th. Since you pay rent every
month, you can tell CheckMate Plus to automatically set the rent
payment to recur on July 26th (and then August 26th, September 26th,
etc). This would be "monthly" repeat.
CheckMate Plus has six "repeat options". They are:
o Never (Use once, and then ERASE the automatic transaction)
o Monthly (Repeat on the same date every month)
o Weekly (Repeat on the day every week)
o Bi-Weekly (Repeat on the same day every two weeks)
o Quarterly (Repeat on the same date every three months)
o Yearly (Repeat on the same date every year)
Repeat options have two basic types: "day" repeats (weekly and bi-
weekly) and "date" repeats (monthly, quarterly, and yearly). "Day"
repeats are "day" sensitive (Monday, Tuesday, etc) while "date"
repeats are day of the month sensitive (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc).
+ NOTE: Remember that some months have more "days" than others! If
you want CheckMate Plus to remind you of a transaction on the last day
of each month, be sure and enter "31st" even if the first month you
enter doesn't have 31 days! In other words, it is perfectly legal to
enter "Feb 31, 1990" as the date to activate a transaction. CheckMate
Plus knows that February really doesn't have 31 days, and will
"remind" you of this entry on the 28th. After you actually enter the
transaction at the end of February, CheckMate Plus will update the
activation date to "Mar 31, 1990".
"Date activated transactions" are similar to "menu transactions". You
have the same options while entering or editing them. Remember that
if the "amount" changes from entry to entry, leave that field "zero"
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 42
and CheckMate Plus will jump to it automatically (so you can enter the
actual amount).
+ TIP: If you have a transaction that occurs "semi-monthly", make TWO
monthly entries. For instance, members of the Armed Forces are paid
twice a month (on the 1st and 15th). This is NOT the same as "bi-
weekly". To make this work, enter TWO monthly transactions, the first
one to activate on the 1st and the second one on the 15th.
4.4.2.1 Defining Date Transactions
Just as with "menu transactions", there are two ways to enter a "date
activated transaction". One method is to "memorize" transactions as
you enter or edit them (see the above sections about the "Utilities"
menu). The other way is to select "Enter Auto Transactions" from the
"Transactions" menu. You'll see another menu appear asking whether
you want to add "menu" transactions or "date activated" transactions.
Select "date activated".
Next you'll see a familiar menu (asking for a transaction "type").
These are the same options you have while entering "regular"
transactions.
The "Enter Automatic Transactions" form is only slightly different
than the "Enter Transactions" form:
Check Number There is no field to enter a check number, since
CheckMate Plus will assign one as you pick this
transaction off the menu.
Date You can't enter a date, since the date will depend
upon when you elect to activate the transaction.
Amount This is a special field for "automatic transactions".
+ TIMESAVER: If the amount for this transaction will
routinely change (your utilities bill, for example),
leave the amount zero and CheckMate Plus will
automatically jump to the amount field when you
select this transaction from the menu!
Marked There is no "marked flag" for automatic transactions.
Printed There is no "printed flag" for automatic
transactions.
Cleared There is no "cleared flag" for automatic
transactions.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 43
Cleared Date You can't enter a cleared date, since "automatic
transactions" can't "clear" until you activate them.
Repeat At the bottom of the primary data entry screen, you
can enter a "repeat option". The different options
are discussed above.
This is a menu field. You can type the option in, or
press [alt-F10] (or the middle button on the mouse)
to pop the menu up.
Important! Each "automatic transaction" is specific
to the control account you have selected when you
enter it. This means a "date activated" transaction
will only activate for the account that is the
control account when you enter it.
CheckMate Plus also displays a highlighted bar at the bottom of the
screen to remind you that you're entering an "automatic transaction"
(versus a regular one).
Remember you can also predefine the "split" (press [F3]), the "stub"
(press [F4]), and the "notes" (press [alt-F4]).
+ TIMESAVER: You can "pop the menu up" while entering "automatic
transactions" (just as you can while entering "regular" transactions).
Just press [alt-F2]. This can save you time if you're entering
multiple (but similar) automatic transactions.
The "Utilities" menu is available while entering "automatic
transactions". Press [F2] to pop it up.
Press [F10] to save the automatic transaction after you've finished
entering your data. CheckMate Plus will now "remind" you when it is
due. Press [ ESC] to abort saving the automatic transaction.
4.4.2.2 Editing Date Transactions
If you want to "edit" your date activated transactions, select "Edit
Auto Transactions" from the "Transactions" menu, and then select "date
activated" from the next menu that pops up.
CheckMate Plus will take you to the first "date activated transaction"
that is scheduled to activate for the control account. Enteries are
sorted first by transaction type (check, deposit, etc) and then by
"activation date", so the first transaction you see may not actually
be the next one to activate. Just as while editing "regular"
transactions, you have the following "movement" keys available to you:
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 44
[F7] This key moves backwards one transaction.
[F8] This key moves forward one transaction.
[F5] This key "jumps" to the first automatic transaction.
[F6] This key "jumps" to the last automatic transaction.
You can edit the menu transaction just as you do "regular"
transactions. The "stub", "notes", and "split" windows are all
available. You can also pop-up the "menu" with the [alt-F2] key, and
the "Utilities" with the [F2] key.
Press [F10] to save your changes, or [ESC] to abort. You may delete
the transaction altogether by pressing [F9]. If you've made changes
and attempt to abort or move to another transaction (without saving
the changes), CheckMate Plus will prompt you to confirm before letting
you loose your work.
4.4.2.3 Automatic "Reminder"
CheckMate Plus automatically searches for due (and overdue)
transactions each time you start the program. It will pop up the
"Reminder Window" if it finds any. The "Reminder Window" lists the
account with transactions due (or overdue) and asks you whether or not
you want to process the transactions on the spot. Just answer YES or
NO.
A separate "Reminder Window" will appear for each account that needs
processing.
If you select "YES", CheckMate Plus will run the date activated
"script". You'll see each due transaction appear one at a time. You
may modify them if you wish. Press [F10] to save each transaction
(and CheckMate Plus will update its "activation date"), [F7] to "skip"
a transaction (if you do this, CheckMate Plus will NOT update its
"activation date"), or [ESC] to stop running the script.
Once you've gone through all of the due transactions (or have pressed
[ ESC]), CheckMate Plus will automatically return to the main menu.
If you opt NOT to process the transactions, CheckMate Plus will
continue to "remind" you every time you run the program until you
either process the transactions, change their activation date, or
delete them (see "Editing Date Transactions" above).
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 45
4.4.2.4 "AUTOEXEC.BAT" Reminder
Registered copies of CheckMate Plus come with a small "command line"
utility called "REMINDER.EXE". REMINDER scans your CheckMate Plus
index file (CMPLUS.IX) looking for any transactions that are due and
will display a simple screen message (and pause) if it finds any.
If you place REMINDER in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, it will remind you
when you have transactions due every time you turn your computer on
(without having to run CheckMate Plus).
Remember, this utility comes on a bonus disk when you REGISTER your
copy of CheckMate Plus!
4.4.3 Running Scripts
You can run the "menu" and "date activated" transactions as "scripts".
Scripts "move through the list of entries" one by one. You may modify
each transaction as you go. Press [F10] to save the transaction,
[F7] to "skip" this transaction, or [ESC] to stop running the script.
Once you've gone through all of the due transactions (or have pressed
[ ESC]), CheckMate Plus will automatically return you to the
"Transactions" menu.
4.4.3.1 Menu Script
Select "Run Automatic Scripts" from the "Transactions" menu, and then
select "menu". CheckMate Plus will step you through all of the menu
transactions for the control account.
4.4.3.2 Date Script
Select "Run Automatic Scripts" from the "Transactions" menu, and then
select "date activated". CheckMate Plus will step you through all of
the "date activated" transactions that are due (or overdue) for the
control account.
If you press [F10] to save the transaction, CheckMate Plus will update
its "activation date" (see "Date Activated" transactions above.
4.5 The Browse Window
CheckMate Plus has a "browse" feature which lets you view your
transactions in a "check ledger" format (one line per transaction).
Select "Browse Transactions" from the "Browse" window.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 46
4.5.0.1 Activating the Browse Window
Before you can start browsing, CheckMate Plus presents you with a
"Browse Setup Window". You can do two things in this window: set
browse dates and the "search and filter" pattern.
Browse Dates You can enter the "starting" and "ending" browse
dates before browsing. CheckMate Plus sets up the
browse window by searching through the database for
"matches" (see below). Setting the date boundaries
can significantly reduce the file accesses that
CheckMate Plus has to make and speed things up
significantly.
If you leave the dates blank, CheckMate Plus will
search the entire file.
Search and Filter
Press [F2] in the "Browse Setup Window" to activate
the "search and filter" window. You can enter a
pattern here (every transaction the browser presents
must match this pattern). Remember that the "search
and filter" pattern is not active unless you turn it
on ([alt-F] toggles the "filter flag"). While
the filter is active, the word "FILT" appears on the
"top line" of the screen.
Once you've set up for the browse, press [F10]. CheckMate Plus will
search the database and then pause to ask if you want to sort the
entries by check number and transaction type. Answer "yes" or "no",
and CheckMate Plus will open the "Browse Window".
The "Browse Window" lists each transaction on a single line. The
following keys will move you around in the window:
Up Arrow Move up one transaction.
Down Arrow Move down one transaction.
[PgUp] Move up on screen.
[PgDn] Move down one screen.
[Home] Move to first transaction.
[End] Move to last transaction.
The mouse will also move you through the transaction list.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 47
You can press the [SPACE BAR] while browsing to "mark" transactions.
CheckMate Plus actually sets the "marked" flag to YES when you do
this. This is useful if you want to mark transactions for a report
(using the "search and filter" to only print "marked" transactions).
If you press [ESC] in the "Browse Window" CheckMate Plus will return
you to the "Transactions" menu.
4.5.0.2 Editing while Browsing
At any time while you're browsing, you can press [ENTER] (or the left
button on the mouse) to edit the currently highlighted transaction.
The "Edit Transaction Window" will appear. Press [ESC] to return to
the browser.
4.6 Closing Transactions
CheckMate Plus lets you maintain active transactions indefinitely.
Over time, however, CheckMate Plus' performance will decrease as it
constantly has to search an ever larger database.
As the necessity to maintain "old data" decreases (the data may be
several years old, you may want to "close" the older transactions.
Select "Close Transactions" from the "Transactions" menu to pop-up the
"Close Transactions Window".
You have a single option here (the PURGE date). Enter a date here and
press [F10]. Since you can't reverse this procedure, CheckMate Plus
won't accept a default date (you must enter a valid date) and will
prompt you to confirm your intentions before proceeding.
The purge will erase all transactions prior to the "purge date".
CheckMate Plus then updates the opening balance and opening dates of
all accounts. If you have "closing" accounts (for REVENUE and
EXPENSES) specified (see "Fiscal Year Information" in chapter 13),
CheckMate Plus will transfer all REVENUE and EXPENSE balances to them
as it purges the transactions.
This procedure affects ALL accounts, not just the control account! It
would be a good idea to make a backup before you proceed!
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 48
4.7 Expensing Transactions
It's easy to make mistakes in the day-to-day operation of any
accounting system. It's particularly easy to forget to balance a
transaction by "splitting" it.
If this happens to you, your books will be out of balance (an
unacceptable situation if you're trying to maintain a double-entry
system!). CheckMate Plus will dump the variances to account 39999.
Fortunately, CheckMate Plus makes it easy to track down these bad
transactions, no matter what account they're in! Select "Expense
Transactions" from the "Transactions" menu and CheckMate Plus will
search your entire database (from start to finish). As it comes
across a bad transaction, it will open the "edit" window and let you
make the necessary changes. (Press [F3] to "split" the transaction).
When you finish correcting a transaction, press [F10] to save your
changes. Then press either [F7] or [F8] to proceed to the next
transaction. If you press [ESC] from the primary data screen (not the
"split" window), CheckMate Plus will abort the expensing process and
return you to the "Transactions" menu.
CheckMate Plus will automatically change the "control account" when
necessary. It will find all out-of-balance transactions (and you
won't need to change the control account manually). CheckMate Plus
will restore your original control account when you're done expensing
transactions.
Transactions are considered "out-of-balance" when:
o The sum of debits in a transaction don't equal the sum of
credits
o Any debit or credit in a transaction doesn't have a valid
account associated with it
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 49
Chapter 5
Reports
CheckMate Plus has many reports and many options for each report.
Some of these options (such as margins, page size, printer setups,
etc) are common for all and are discussed in the next chapter, "Report
Printing Options".
In this chapter, we'll describe most of the general purpose reports
you can print and zero in on their unique options.
5.1 The Transaction Report
The "Transaction Report" is account specific. This is what you'd call
your checkbook ledger (for checking accounts... you can print this
report for other accounts as well).
This report acts on the control account only. Select the account you
want to report on (from the "Accounts" menu) before printing.
Select "Transaction" from the "Reports" menu. CheckMate Plus will
present another menu with some "date range" options.
Month Select "Month" to limit the report to a specific
month and year. You can specify a particular month
before printing.
Year This option will print all transactions within an
accounting (or fiscal) year. You set the fiscal year
in the "Fiscal Year Setup Window" under the "Setups"
menu. You can change the year before you print.
1st-4th Quarter Select any of the four quarters to limit the report
to a specific three month period within the current
fiscal year. You set the fiscal year in the "Fiscal
Year Setup Window" under the "Setups" menu.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 50
Between Any Two Dates
Select this option if you want to specify the range
of dates that will appear on the report. This is the
most flexible option.
This report may also be printed to a "WKS" (or spreadsheet) file for
use in your favorite spreadsheet program.
After you've selected a "date range", CheckMate Plus will take you to
the "Transaction Report Window". Set any options you wish, and then
print the report by pressing [F10]. See the next chapter "Report
Printing Options" for much more information about the options
available.
5.1.0.1 Customizing
CheckMate Plus lets you "customize" the Transaction report to some
degree. Press [F3] while you're in the "Transaction Report Window"
and CheckMate Plus will pop up the "Customize Transaction Report
Window".
Here you can specify the fields you want to appear on each line and
how much space each field will take. If you don't want a particular
field to appear, set its length to "zero". Amounts are "right-
justified" in their fields.
CheckMate Plus computes the characters per line you'll need for the
report. Make sure you set the "Report Parameters" correctly (see next
chapter, "Report Printing Options"). Press [F10] to save your
customizations to disk. [ ESC] takes you back to the "Transaction
Report Window".
5.2 General Ledger Reports
Unlike the "Transaction" report discussed above, the "General Ledger
Reports" present information on ALL (detail) accounts you've defined.
When you select "Ledger" from the "Reports" menu, you'll see another
menu with three choices:
The "Ledger Activity" report lists each account and its activity for
the specified period. The "Ledger Transaction" report displays each
transaction in ledger form (much like the "Split" window you see while
entering transactions). The "Chart of Accounts" menu is simply a
listing of all your ledger accounts (in logical order).
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 51
5.2.1 The Ledger Activity Report
After you pick "Activity Report" from the Ledger Reports menu, you'll
be prompted to specify a "date range" for the report.
Date Ranges:
Month Select "Month" to limit the report to a specific
month and year. You can specify a particular month
before printing.
Year This option will print all activity within an
accounting (or fiscal) year. You set the fiscal year
in the "Fiscal Year Setup Window" under the "Setups"
menu. You can change the year before you print.
1st-4th Quarter Select any of the four quarters to limit the report
to a specific three month period within the current
fiscal year. You set the fiscal year in the "Fiscal
Year Setup Window" under the "Setups" menu.
Between Any Two Dates
Select this option if you want to specify the range
of dates that will appear on the report. This is the
most flexible option.
After you've selected a "date range", CheckMate Plus will take you to
the "Ledger Activity Report Window". You can also limit the range of
accounts that will appear on the report.
+ NOTE: CheckMate Plus must search the database (between the date
ranges) once for each account to be printed. If you have a lot of
accounts and a lot of transactions, CheckMate Plus may have to work a
long time to set up the report. Narrowing both the date range and the
account range can speed things up considerably.
This report may also be printed to a "WKS" (or spreadsheet) file for
use in your favorite spreadsheet program. The report will be slightly
different in this form, however... CheckMate Plus will not print the
headers for each account and will omit the dashed lines between them.
We assume you'll want to manipulate the columns within the
spreadsheet, and the headers would be inconsistent with the format of
the rest of the worksheet.
Set any options you wish, and then print the report by pressing [F10].
See the next chapter "Report Printing Options" for much more
information about the options available.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 52
5.2.2 The Ledger Transaction Report
After you pick "Transaction Report" from the Ledger Reports menu,
you'll be prompted to specify a "date range" for the report.
Date Ranges:
Month Select "Month" to limit the report to a specific
month and year. You can specify a particular month
before printing.
Year This option will print all transactions within an
accounting (or fiscal) year. You set the fiscal year
in the "Fiscal Year Setup Window" under the "Setups"
menu. You can change the year before you print.
1st-4th Quarter Select any of the four quarters to limit the report
to a specific three month period within the current
fiscal year. You set the fiscal year in the "Fiscal
Year Setup Window" under the "Setups" menu.
Between Any Two Dates
Select this option if you want to specify the range
of dates that will appear on the report. This is the
most flexible option.
After you've selected a "date range", CheckMate Plus will take you to
the "Ledger Transaction Report Window".
This report may also be printed to a "WKS" (or spreadsheet) file for
use in your favorite spreadsheet program. The report will be slightly
different in this form, however... CheckMate Plus will not print the
final debit and credit totals, and will also omit the headers for each
transaction (and dashed lines inbetween). We assume you'll want to
manipulate the columns within the spreadsheet, and the headers and
totals would be inconsistent with the format of the rest of the
worksheet.
Set any options you wish, and then print the report by pressing [F10].
See the next chapter "Report Printing Options" for much more
information about the options available.
5.2.3 The "Chart of Accounts" Report
Pick "Chart of Accounts" from the Ledger Reports menu to print a
listing of all your accounts (including summary accounts).
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 53
Each account's number and name are listed in this report (and also
whether the account is a "debit" or "credit" account).
Set any options you wish, and then print the report by pressing [F10].
See the next chapter "Report Printing Options" for much more
information about the options available.
5.3 Summary Reports
"Summary" reports "summarize" the activity of all your accounts into
three specific reports:
o Balance Sheets
o Income Statements
o Budget Reports
"Balance Sheets" are like a "snapshot" of your account balances on a
specific date.
"Income Statements" (also called "Profit/Loss Statements") show the
change in your account balances between two dates. Income statements
are generally only concerned with REVENUE and EXPENSE accounts.
"Budget Reports" compare the actual activity of either your income or
expenses with the values you've "budgeted" (when you set up or edit
the accounts).
Select "Summary" from the "Reports Menu". You can then pick "Balance
Sheet", "Income Statement", or "Budget Report".
5.3.1 The Balance Sheet
When you pick "Balance Sheet" from the Summary Reports menu, CheckMate
Plus gives you yet another menu with three choices, a "standard"
balance sheet, a "custom" balance sheet, and a "trial balance".
5.3.1.1 The Standard Balance Sheet
CheckMate Plus will generate a "textbook" balance sheet when you pick
this option. You'll see the "Balance Sheet Report Window" and will
have two specific options (in addition to the ones common in all
reports). First, you must specify a date for the balance sheet
(remember, this is a "snapshot" of account balances on that date!).
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 54
You can also have CheckMate Plus display account numbers (before each
account name) on the report.
This report may also be printed to a "WKS" (or spreadsheet) file for
use in your favorite spreadsheet program. The report will be slightly
different in this form, however... CheckMate Plus will not print the
final debit and credit totals. We assume you'll want to manipulate
the columns within the spreadsheet, and the totals would be
inconsistent with the format of the rest of the worksheet.
Press [F10] to print the report. See the chapter "Report Printing
Options" for more information on formatting and controlling the
report.
5.3.1.2 Customized Balance Sheets
If you prefer to design your own balance sheet, you can do so in
CheckMate Plus. (See chapter 7, "Designing Custom Reports"). In
fact, you can design up to forty different balance sheets.
Selecting "Custom" from the Balance Sheet menu will pop up a menu of
balance sheets you've defined. Pick the one you want, and you'll find
yourself in the "Custom Report Window". See chapter 6 ("Report
Printing Options") for a complete discussion on printing and
formatting the report.
You can print your custom reports directly to a WKS (spreadsheet)
file. There are some restrictions and potential problems, however.
Columns in WKS files must be of fixed length, and your text and
numeric columns may not line up as they would if you printed them to
paper, the screen, or a text file. For best results, make sure that
you carefully divide your report into columns and don't overlap text
and numbers.
[F10] prints the report, [ESC] backs you up one menu.
+ NOTE: Even though we call these "custom BALANCE SHEETS", you can
really design any type of report you wish. The difference between a
"balance sheet" and an "income statement" is primarily the calculation
that take place. Balance sheets report balances on a specific date,
while income statements report activity (or the change in balance)
between two dates. When you design your custom reports, keep this
distinction in mind, and select the model that fits your requirement.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 55
5.3.1.3 The Trial Balance
Select "Trial Balance" from the Balance Sheet menu to print a
"textbook" trial balance. The trial balance simply lists ALL (detail)
accounts and their balance (as of the date you enter).
Since the purpose of the trial balance is to make sure that
debits=credits for all accounts, CheckMate Plus omits account number
39999 (Non-Accounted for Funds) from this report.
This report may also be printed to a "WKS" (or spreadsheet) file for
use in your favorite spreadsheet program. The report will be slightly
different in this form, however... CheckMate Plus will not print the
final debit and credit totals. We assume you'll want to manipulate
the columns within the spreadsheet, and the totals would be
inconsistent with the format of the rest of the worksheet.
Press [F10] to print the report.
5.3.2 The Income Statement
When you pick "Income Statement" from the Summary Reports menu,
CheckMate Plus gives you yet another menu with two choices, a
"standard" income statement or a "custom" income statement.
5.3.2.1 The Standard Income Statement
As with the balance sheet (above), CheckMate Plus will generate a
"textbook" income statement when you pick this option.
Since income statements report balance changes between two dates,
CheckMate Plus will ask you for a "date range" (by popping up the
"date range" menu).
Date Ranges:
Month Select "Month" to create an income statement for a
specific month and year. You can specify a
particular month before printing.
Year This option will print an income statement for an
entire fiscal year. You set the fiscal year in the
"Fiscal Year Setup Window" under the "Setups" menu.
You can change the year before you print.
1st-4th Quarter Select any of the four quarters to limit the report
to a specific three month period within the current
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 56
fiscal year. You set the fiscal year in the "Fiscal
Year Setup Window" under the "Setups" menu.
Between Any Two Dates
Select this option if you want to specify the range
of dates for the income statement. This is the most
flexible option (but you can't generate any budget
information).
Month & YTD This option displays the income statement totals for
the selected month directly alongside the totals for
the fiscal year (of the selected month).
Month & QTD Use this option to display income statement totals
for the selected month directly alongside the income
statement totals for the quarter (of the selected
month).
Three Consecutive Months
Select this option to display income statement totals
for three consecutive months (starting with the
selected month).
Once you've picked a "date range", you'll see the "Income Statement
Report Window" and will have some specific options (in addition to the
ones common in all reports and the specific date range). First, you
can have CheckMate Plus display account numbers (before each account
name) on the report. You can also tell CheckMate Plus to display
"budget information".
The "budget information" CheckMate Plus displays is the ratio of the
account's ACTUAL balance versus its BUDGETED balance (for the same
"date range"). You enter the budget information while you define or
edit each account (under the "Accounts" menu). Budget information is
only available for month, YTD, and the individual quarter reports.
This report may also be printed to a "WKS" (or spreadsheet) file for
use in your favorite spreadsheet program. The report will be slightly
different in this form, however... CheckMate Plus will not print the
final totals. We assume you'll want to manipulate the columns within
the spreadsheet, and the totals would be inconsistent with the format
of the rest of the worksheet.
Press [F10] to print the report. See Chapter 6, "Report Printing
Options", for more information on formatting and controlling the
report.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 57
5.3.2.2 Customized Income Statements
If you prefer to design your own income statement, you can do so in
CheckMate Plus. (See chapter 7, "Designing Custom Reports"). In
fact, you can design up to forty different income statements.
Selecting "Custom" from the Income Statement menu will pop up a menu
of income statements you've defined. Pick the one you want, and
you'll find yourself in the "Custom Report Window". See chapter 6
("Report Printing Options") for a complete discussion on printing and
formatting the report.
You can print your custom reports directly to a WKS (spreadsheet)
file. There are some restrictions and potential problems, however.
Columns in WKS files must be of fixed length, and your text and
numeric columns may not line up as they would if you printed them to
paper, the screen, or a text file. For best results, make sure that
you carefully divide your report into columns and don't overlap text
and numbers.
[F10] prints the report, [ESC] backs you up one menu.
+ NOTE: Even though we call these "custom INCOME STATEMENTS", you can
really design any type of report you wish. The difference between a
"balance sheet" and an "income statement" is primarily the calculation
that takes place. Balance sheets report balances on a specific date,
while income statements report activity (or the change in balance)
between two dates. When you design your custom reports, keep this
distinction in mind, and select the model that fits your requirement.
5.3.3 Budget Reports
When you pick "Budget Report" from the Summary Reports menu, CheckMate
Plus gives you yet another menu with two choices:
Expense Budget Report
Income Budget Report
Since budget reports compare balance changes between two dates with
budgeted values, CheckMate Plus will ask you for a "date range" after
you select the report you want to print. The date range options are
limited to "month boundaries" (because you enter budget values by the
month).
Date Ranges:
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 58
Month Select "Month" to create a budget for a specific
month and year. You can specify a particular month
before printing.
Year This option will print an income statement for an
entire fiscal year. You set the fiscal year in the
"Fiscal Year Setup Window" under the "Setups" menu.
You can change the year before you print.
1st-4th Quarter Select any of the four quarters to limit the report
to a specific three month period within the current
fiscal year. You set the fiscal year in the "Fiscal
Year Setup Window" under the "Setups" menu.
+ NOTE: CheckMate Plus stores budget values for the current fiscal
year only. You enter (or change) budget values when you enter or edit
accounts (under the "Accounts" menu). Therefore, budget reports can
only be as accurate as the budget data you enter... and you may change
the budget values at any time. Hence, it usually isn't possible to
generate budget reports for previous years.
5.3.3.1 Expense Budget Report
CheckMate Plus will generate a comparison of your actual expense with
your budget values when you pick this option.
Once you've picked a "date range" (discussed above) you'll see the
"Expense Budget Report Window".
Press [F10] to print the report. See Chapter 6, "Report Printing
Options", for more information on formatting and controlling the
report.
5.3.3.2 Income Budget Report
CheckMate Plus will generate a comparison of your actual revenue with
your budget values when you pick this option.
Once you've picked a "date range" (discussed above) you'll see the
"Income Budget Report Window".
Press [F10] to print the report. See Chapter 6, "Report Printing
Options", for more information on formatting and controlling the
report.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 59
5.4 GL Analysis
The "GL Analysis" report analyzes your general ledger to determine if
your books are in proper balance. If they're not, the report tells
you why and recommends a course of action to correct the errors.
Specifically, there are two reasons your books may be out of balance.
First, sum the "opening balances" of all your debit accounts must
equal the sum of the "opening balances" of all your credit accounts.
Your debit accounts are your ASSETS and EXPENSES. LIABILITIES,
EQUITY, and REVENUE are all credit accounts. Remember, however, that
contra accounts will be opposite what you expect!
If CheckMate Plus determines your opening balances are improper, you
can edit each account under the "Accounts" menu to fix the problems.
The second reason your books can be out of balance is if one or more
transactions are not properly balanced. In this report, CheckMate
Plus identifies the control account and the date of each suspect
transaction. To fix these, you should run the "Expense Transactions"
option under the "Transactions" menu. CheckMate Plus will
automatically find each bad transaction.
Press [F10] to print the report.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 60
Chapter 6
Report Printing Options
This chapter details the options you have for formatting and
generating reports. For specifics on the reports themselves, see the
previous chapter ("Reports").
6.1 Report Options
Every report you can generate in CheckMate Plus has an "options"
window associated with it. Among other report specific options
(discussed along with the reports themselves), here are the general
options you'll have available:
o Report Date
o Print to Screen, Printer, or File
o Report Title
o Report Footer
Let's take a closer look at these different options...
6.1.1 Date
The "Report Date" is the date CheckMate Plus will print on the title
line of the report. It has nothing to do with the data in the report!
It is simply meant to show when the report was generated. The default
is the current (DOS) date.
6.1.2 "Print To" Options
CheckMate Plus lets you print your reports to the screen (which we
call "virtual paper"), your printer, or to a disk file in ASCII
format. Some reports also have the option to print to a disk file in
"WKS" format (suitable for most spreadsheet programs).
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 61
To select your printing option, move the cursor to the "Print To"
field and type "Screen", Printer", or "File". This is a "menu field",
so you can also press [alt-F10] (or the center button on the mouse) to
pop the menu up.
6.1.2.1 To the Screen
One problem with printing reports to the screen is that the screen is
often too narrow to show the complete report. CheckMate Plus uses
Virtual Paper to display reports on the screen.
When you select printing "to the screen", CheckMate Plus formats the
report exactly as if you were printing to the printer (including
titles, footers, and margins). CheckMate Plus then opens the "Virtual
Paper" window, and writes the report there.
Virtual Paper displays as much of the report as it can (in the
window). If each line is longer than you you can see on screen, you
can scroll the window (with the left/right arrow keys, the TAB keys,
or the mouse).
You can also scroll the window up and down with the up/down arrow
keys, [ PgUp], [PgDn], [Home], [End], or the mouse.
CheckMate Plus presents the "highlighted bar" as a straight edge for
your use while viewing the report.
Virtual Paper is a marvelous tool for viewing reports prior to
spending lots of time (and money) printing them to paper. The only
drawback is memory usage. In order to allow forward and backward
scrolling, CheckMate Plus must store the entire report in memory.
This can take lots of your precious RAM!
Fortunately, CheckMate Plus uses on the fly "run length encoding" of
white spaces to dramatically reduce the memory requirements for most
reports. Also, CheckMate Plus releases memory that it doesn't need
(in fact, CheckMate Plus is constantly allocating and deallocating
memory throughout the program operation).
Obviously, the more RAM available to CheckMate Plus the less likely
you'll see CheckMate Plus complain. But even with as little as 512K
bytes available, CheckMate Plus should be able to handle all but the
largest reports in Virtual Paper.
6.1.2.2 To the Printer
Select "Printer" in the "Print To" field to generate a hard copy of
your report. You can change the printer port (LPT1, LPT2, COM1, and
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 62
COM2) in the "Report Parameters" window (see next section, "Report
Parameters").
+ NOTE: If you tell CheckMate Plus to print to a printer that is off,
off-line, or doesn't even exist, what will happen next depends on YOUR
COMPUTER and your ROM BIOS. Some computers will return execution to
CheckMate Plus. CheckMate Plus then displays an appropriate message
and stops trying to print. Other computers will simply "hang" until
you fix the problem (i.e. turn on the printer, etc). You may have to
"reboot" your system if your computer does this (and there is NOTHING
that CheckMate Plus can do about it!).
6.1.2.3 To an ASCII File
If you want to write the formatted report to a disk file in ASCII
format, enter "File" in the "Print To" field before you start
printing.
You'll have to enter a legal DOS filename in the "File Name" field.
You can specify the entire name, including a "path" (in the space you
have available). CheckMate Plus will promptly notify you if it can't
create the report file.
6.1.2.4 To a WKS File
Many of CheckMate Plus' reports can be printed directly to a disk
file in "WKS" format. This stands for "worksheet" and can be read by
most spreadsheet programs (such as Lotus 123, Microsoft Excel, and
Borland Quattro). If this option is available for a specific report,
you'll see "WKS File" as a choice on the "Print To" menu.
+ NOTE: On some reports printed in WKS format, CheckMate Plus will
omit some items normally printed (usually totaled amounts and/or
headers and separators). The title lines at the top of reports are
also not printed. CheckMate Plus does this because we assume you'll
want to manipulate the data inside the spreadsheet, and the additional
items would get in your way. When generating WKS files, CheckMate
Plus does not create any formulas.
You'll have to enter a legal DOS filename in the "File Name" field.
You can specify the entire name, including a "path" (in the space you
have available). You can also specify an extension. We recommend
using ".WKS" (since most spreadsheets associate that extension with
WKS format files). For example, enter a name such as "TRANS.WKS" when
you want to print your transaction register to a WKS file.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 63
6.1.3 Title
The report "Title" appears on the title line (just below
company/personal information and on the same line as the report date).
You can enter this title in the "Report Title" field.
Some reports "pre-initialize" the title. If so, you can change it
before you start printing.
6.1.4 Footer
The report "Footer" appears at the bottom of every page (on the same
line as the page number). You can customize the footer in the "Report
Footer" field.
6.1.5 The "Utility" Menu
While you're setting your report options (before you print the
report), you can pop a "utility" menu up by pressing [F2].
The "utility" menu has two options: "Set Report Parameters" and "Set
Search and Filter". These options are discussed in detail in the
following sections.
6.2 Report Parameters
When you select "Set Report Parameters" from the "Utilities" menu, the
"Report Parameters Setup Window" will appear.
The "Report Parameters" let you set items such as margins, line
lengths, the printer port, and any setup or exit control strings you
want to send to your printer. We put these items in a separate (less
accessible) window since we anticipate you won't be changing them very
often. You can set default values for all these fields (see the
chapter "Setup and Options").
Margins You can set the "margins" (top, bottom, left, and
right). Express the top and bottom margins as a
number of lines, and the left and right margins as a
number of characters.
+ NOTE: CheckMate Plus assumes that you're using
"fixed width" fonts for your reports (rather than
proportionally spaced fonts). Most printers do use
(or at least have the option to use) fixed width
fonts.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 64
CheckMate Plus does not support "postscript" printers
(for text reports) at this time.
Paper Sizes Paper size is a function of the number of lines per
page you can print and the number of characters on
each line. These numbers are absolute (i.e. they
include margins).
Most printers put 66 lines on a page. Many laser
printers, however, require built-in top and bottom
margins. The Hewlett Packard LaserJet, for example,
can only print 60 lines per page.
The number of characters per line you print will
usually be determined by either the width of the
paper (most paper is 8.5'' wide) or by the "pitch" of
the print. For instance, if your printer has a
"compressed" mode (17 characters per inch), you can
print 132 characters on a standard letter-sized sheet
of paper.
+ NOTE: You can use the "Printer Setup Strings"
(discussed below) to "command" your printer into
compressed mode.
Page Control You can tell CheckMate Plus to "pause" after each
page to let you feed paper (if you're not using a
laser printer or continuous feed paper).
Printer Port CheckMate Plus lets you direct your printed reports
to LPT1, LPT2, COM1, or COM2. Set your printer port
in the "Printer Port for Reports" field. (This is a
"menu field", so press [alt-F10] or the center mouse
button to "pop" the menu up).
Setup Strings CheckMate Plus lets you define printer "setup" and
"exit" strings to control such things as margins,
character pitch, attributes, etc. CheckMate Plus
sends the "setup" strings to your printer before it
starts the report and the "exit" strings after the
report is completed.
For instance, you may want to "command" your printer
to print 17 characters per inch for some of the
reports. You would enter the proper "control codes"
in the "Printer Setup Strings" field.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 65
You'll probably want to use the "exit" strings to
reset your printer (for normal operation).
The printer control codes can be found in your
printer manual. The format for entry is
\<decimal code>\<decimal code>\....
The back-slashes delimit the codes. Here is an
example:
\27\85
This string represents an <ESC> 'U'. (That's an
escape-capital-U). This is a popular means of
defining printer codes.
6.2.1 Saving Report Parameters
Press [F10] while in the "Report Parameters Setup Window" to save your
setups for later use. CheckMate Plus will ask you for a name (to
associate with the setups).
6.2.2 Retrieving Report Parameters
To retrieve a set of previously defined parameters, press [F9] while
in the "Report Parameters Setup Window". If you've previously saved
any setups, CheckMate Plus will present you with a menu to select
from.
6.2.3 Deleting Report Parameters from Disk
To delete a setup you've previously saved, first "retrieve" the
desired setup (as described above). Then press [F8]. CheckMate Plus
will prompt you to confirm your intentions before actually deleting
the setup.
6.3 "Search and Filter"
Many reports search the transaction database. You can limit the
search by setting a "search and filter" pattern for each transaction
to "match". Select "Set Search and Filter" to pop-up the "Search and
Filter" window.
Remember that the "search and filter" pattern doesn't have any effect
unless the "filter flag" is set. (The word "FILT" will appear on the
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 66
"top line" of the screen when the filter flag is active. Press [alt-
F] to toggle the filter flag on and off.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 67
Chapter 7
Designing Custom Reports
CheckMate Plus has a host of built-in reports. You may, however, wish
to customize some of them to meet your specific needs.
You may customize your summary reports. These are the reports that
show account balances and activity. In particular, you can customize
two specific types of reports: balance sheets and income statements.
You select the type of report you want to customize from the
"Maintenance" menu. Pick either "Define Custom Balance Sheets" or
"Define Custom Income Statement". Both selections will pop-up another
menu with two options: "Enter new Report Definitions" or "Edit
existing Report Definitions".
If you select "edit", CheckMate Plus will present a menu of previously
defined reports (if any exist). Select the report you want.
+ NOTE: Even though we call these "BALANCE SHEETS" or "INCOME
STATEMENTS", you can really design any type of report you wish. The
difference between a "balance sheet" and an "income statement" is
primarily the calculation that takes place. Balance sheets report
balances on a specific date, while income statements report activity
(or the change in balance) between two dates. When you design your
custom reports, keep this distinction in mind, and select the model
that fits your requirement.
You'll enter and edit your report definitions with CheckMate Plus'
built in editor. (See Chapter 2 for more details). When you're done
with your entries, press [F10] to save your definition to disk. Press
[F9] to delete a definition that you're editing.
The rest of this chapter is devoted to the actual report definition
format.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 68
7.1 Report Definition Format
We've made every possible effort to make the report definition format
as simple as possible in CheckMate Plus. We realize that a feature is
not really useful unless people use it. We think you'll find
CheckMate Plus' report definition format very easy to master.
+ NOTE: In any definition language, you must "trade off" flexibility
with ease-of-use. In order to make the report definition language
truly easy to use, we've restricted its flexibility somewhat. We hope
we've hit the optimum balance.
The report definition format is very simple. Essentially, all you
have to do is type the report just as you want it to appear when you
print it. Look at this example:
This is a Test Balance Sheet.
ASSETS
Cash
Checking Account
Building
-- etc --
LIABILITIES
Accounts Payable
Salaries Payable
-- etc --
EQUITY
-- etc --
.end
Here's how the report will look when CheckMate Plus prints it:
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 69
------------------------------------------------------------------
XYZ Shoes, Inc
PO Box 0000
Anytown, USA
(555) 555-5555
"Our Shoes Smell Good"
------------------------------------------------------------------
May 5, 1994
------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a Test Balance Sheet.
ASSETS
Cash
Checking Account
Building
-- etc --
LIABILITIES
Accounts Payable
Salaries Payable
-- etc --
EQUITY
-- etc --
Page 1
Figure 7.1: A "Test" Custom Balance Sheet
While you define the report, keep in mind that CheckMate Plus will put
the text on the same lines and in the same columns as you enter them.
It's that simple.
Notice that we ended the report definition with ".end". The ".end"
command tells CheckMate Plus when to end the report. You must place
the command in column one. The ".end" won't show up on the report
when you print it.
7.1.1 Account Balances
Of course, the reports won't be of much use if you can't print actual
values. CheckMate Plus makes this easy, too. To print an account's
"balance" enter the account's number within brackets, like this:
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 70
{#1} or {#10000}
The first expression will cause CheckMate Plus to print the balance of
account #1 (ASSETS). The second expression prints the balance of
account 10000. Notice the pound sign ("#") preceding the account's
number.
The "balance" will take up as much space as you allow with the
brackets. If you want the balance to take up twelve spaces, for
instance, enter the balance as such:
{#1 }
The number will be right-justified in the field (so you can line up
columns of numbers) and will include commas and two digits after the
decimal point. The length CheckMate Plus will print includes the
brackets. (This makes it easy to design the report. Everything
prints exactly as it appears while you enter it). Let's expand our
earlier example to include the balances:
This is a Test Balance Sheet.
ASSETS {#1 }
Cash {#10000 }
Checking Account {#10001 }
Building {#10002 }
-- etc --
LIABILITIES {#2 }
Accounts Payable {#20000 }
Salaries Payable {#20001 }
-- etc --
EQUITY {#3 }
-- etc --
Here's how our ammended report will look when CheckMate Plus prints
it:
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 71
------------------------------------------------------------------
XYZ Shoes, Inc
PO Box 0000
Anytown, USA
(555) 555-5555
"Our Shoes Smell Good"
------------------------------------------------------------------
May 5, 1994
------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a Test Balance Sheet.
ASSETS 145,732.35
Cash 1,685.11
Checking Account 1,642.69
Building 101,987.88
-- etc --
LIABILITIES 89,038.05
Accounts Payable 1,345.00
Salaries Payable 3,150.00
-- etc --
EQUITY 54,430.43
-- etc --
Page 1
Figure 7.2: A "Test" Custom Balance Sheet with Account Values
See how CheckMate Plus let's you line up the columns?
+ NOTE: Remember that the value CheckMate Plus will print depends upon
the type of report you define. "Balance Sheets" will print the actual
balance of the account (on the balance sheet date). "Income
Statements" will print the change in the balance of the account
between two dates.
7.1.1.1 Period Offsets
"Period offsets" apply to "income statements" only!
In addition to displaying balances for the income statement date
specified, you can also specify "offsets" from the current date. For
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 72
example, if you wanted to display income for account 40001 (for one
month) you could enter it as such:
Revenue = {#40001 }
However, if you wanted to see the revenue for account 40001 for this
month and last month, you would specify it this way:
Revenue
This Month = {#40001 } Last Month = {#<-1>40001 }
In fact, you can specify up to 24 offsets... in BOTH directions.
{#<-5>40001 }
{#<-4>40001 }
{#<-3>40001 }
{#<-2>40001 }
{#<-1>40001 }
{#40001 }
{#<+1>40001 }
{#<+2>40001 }
{#<+3>40001 }
....
7.1.2 Date Information
You can instruct CheckMate Plus to display date information as well.
Specifically, when you print account values with date offsets, you can
match the date displayed with the account value.
For instance, suppose you designed a report that shows your total
revenue for the last three months. You'd display the values like
this:
This Month Last Month Month before Last
{#<-0>4 } {#<-1>4 } {#<-2>4 }
To make the display more useful, you should display the actual month
titles. For example, if the current month is April 1994, the display
would look like this:
Apr 94 Mar 94 Feb 94
{#<-0>4 } {#<-1>4 } {#<-2>4 }
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 73
You can do this by using the "" operator, as such:
{ } { {
{#<-0>4 } {#<-1>4 } {#<-2>4 }
7.1.3 Budget Information
7.1.3.1 Actual Budget Values
CheckMate Plus can print budget information on your reports. The
format is identical to the "balances", except you use a "^" instead of
a "#" inside the brackets. For example,
{^50000 }
will tell CheckMate Plus to print budget information for account
number 50000. CheckMate Plus will print the budget information
(you've previously entered) over the period of time the report spans.
This information really only makes sense for "income statements" (and
allows you to create custom budget reports).
7.1.3.2 Period Offsets
In addition to displaying budget values for the income statement date
specified, you can also specify "offsets" from the current date. For
example, if you wanted to display budgets for account 50000 (for one
month) you could enter it as such:
Budget = {^50000 }
However, if you wanted to see the budget for account 50000 for this
month and last month, you would specify it this way:
Budget
This Month = {^50000 } Last Month = {^<-1>50000 }
In fact, you can specify up to 24 offsets... in BOTH directions.
{^<-5>40001 }
{^<-4>40001 }
{^<-3>40001 }
{^<-2>40001 }
{^<-1>40001 }
{^40001 }
{^<+1>40001 }
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 74
{^<+2>40001 }
{^<+3>40001 }
....
7.1.3.3 Percentage of Budget Values
You can also have CheckMate Plus print budget ratios on the report.
The format is identical to the "balances", except use a "%" instead of
a "#" inside the brackets. For example,
{%50000 }
will CheckMate Plus to print budget ratio for account number 50000.
CheckMate Plus prints the budget information as a percentage of the
actual balance over the same period of time. The budget information
really only makes sense for "Income Statements".
7.1.4 Calculations
At times, you'll need to perform some calculations before printing.
CheckMate Plus lets you "embed" calculations in the report.
Suppose, for instance, that you need to calculate PROFIT for your
Income Statement. Since PROFIT=REVENUE-EXPENSES, you can't derive
profit from any one account's balance.
If you start a line in the report definition with a period ("."),
CheckMate Plus will treat that line as a calculation line (it won't
print in the report). They work like this:
.Profit=#4-#5
"Profit" becomes a variable. Here we have assigned it the value of
account number 4 (REVENUE) minus the value of account number 5
(EXPENSES). You can then use "Profit" inside the braces (just like
balances and budget information). Hence, these lines in the report
will print the profit:
.Profit=#4-#5
Profit = {Profit }
You can embed the "calculation lines" anywhere in the report, so long
as column 1 has a period! The variables may be reused. You can even
include numbers in the calculations. For example:
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 75
.Total=100+#1-300/2
This is a valid calculation line. The calculations can include
multiplication ("*"), division ("/"), addition ("+"), and subtraction
("-"). The standard mathematical order of precedence applies, and you
can use parentheses in the expression.
You can also use the variables you define in subsequent calculation
lines. For instance, you can use the variable you just created in the
following line:
.NewTotal=Total/100 +14.5
Just remember you must define the variable before you use it in a new
calculation!
7.2 Tips on Designing Reports
If you think about designing your reports for a minute, you can see
how much flexibility you really have. You can enter any text you
want, and arrange the values to print alongside it. This means you
can "summarize" the report as you see fit.
Here's where "summary" accounts are particularly useful. Suppose, for
instance, you have three bank accounts (numbered 10000, 10001, and
10002). You can define a summary account number 1000 and call it
"Cash in Banks". Then you can define an report that would print out
like this:
10000 First Bank 1,232.12
10002 Second Bank 756.55
10003 Third Bank 2,334.00
Total 4,322.67
Here's what the actual definition would look like:
10000 First Bank {#10000 }
10002 Second Bank {#10001 }
10003 Third Bank {#10002 }
Total {#1000 }
+ IMPORTANT: Remember that for the above example to work properly, you
can't have any accounts numbered 10003 through 10009! Refer to
Chapter 3 for more information on "summary" accounts.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 76
You could also do the above summation with variables and calculation
lines (see above).
You can see that with a little imagination, you can design some very
powerful and useful reports. You can create up to 40 "balance sheets"
and up to 40 "income statements" for a total of 80 custom report
definitions.
7.2.1 Exporting Custom Reports to Spreadsheets
Custom reports can be "printed" to WKS files (suitable for most
spreadsheet programs). If you want to export data to a spreadsheet
file, enter "WKS File" in the "Print To" field before you start
printing.
Spreadsheets typically work with columnar data, so you may find your
text alignment is a bit off the mark. This is because spreadsheets
deal with fixed column lengths, and typically don't allow text to flow
over data columns. You may want to experiment to find a report
definition that suits you.
Text is exported as text labels, dates are exported as "dates".
Numbers are exported as "reals".
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 77
Chapter 8
Reconciling Checking Accounts
One of CheckMate Plus' most useful features is checking account
reconciliation. CheckMate Plus goes beyond most checking account
programs in that it can completely re-create bank statements at any
time!
CheckMate Plus does this by recording the date each transaction clears
(and it does this automatically). Select "Reconcile" from the
"Reports" menu to start reconciling (this option only appears on the
menu if the current control account is a checking account).
Checking account reconciliation is a five step process:
o Enter the "statement" date from your bank statement. This is
important!
o Enter the "Beginning Balance" from your bank statement.
o Enter the "Ending Balance" from your bank statement.
o Mark transactions that have cleared on this statement. You can
also enter any "new" transactions (such interest earned,
service charges, or transactions you "missed" during the month)
while you mark them.
o Print the "Reconciliation Report".
8.0.0.1 Your Statement Date
Your first step is entering the statement date (from your bank
statement). This is important because CheckMate Plus will save this
date (in the "date cleared" field) for every transaction on the
statement.
The statement date should be clearly marked as such on your bank
statement. Sometimes it is called the "ending date" or "closing
date". Enter the date and press [F10]. CheckMate Plus will take you
to the next step (the "beginning balance").
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 78
8.0.0.2 Your Beginning Balance
Your bank statement should list a "beginning balance" (sometimes
called "balance last statement" or "last month's balance". This is
the amount your bank says you had after last month's statement.
CheckMate Plus will calculate what it believes your beginning balance
should be. If you have been using CheckMate Plus on a regular basis
and balanced your checkbook every month, the number CheckMate Plus
comes up with should exactly match your bank's number.
If the number doesn't match, you can do one of two things. First, you
can go back to your previous months and correct the previous months.
This could be quite tedious, however, if you haven't been keeping up
to date with CheckMate Plus. Your other option is to simply change
the number CheckMate Plus calculated to the one on your bank
statement. This will let you proceed with the reconcile process.
When the numbers match, press [F10] to move on to the next step (the
"ending balance").
+ NOTE: If you have been faithfully using CheckMate Plus to reconcile
your accounts, it's still possible your beginning balance won't match
what CheckMate Plus calculates. If this happens, check to see if you
have any uncleared transactions that are over three months old. Be
default, CheckMate Plus will only look back three months for uncleared
items, and could miss ones older than that. If this happens to you,
go to the "General" window under the "Setup" menu. From there you can
change the "Uncleared Transaction Search" to look further back.
If it still doesn't match, try running "Rebuild Accounts" (under the
"Maintenance" menu). If something has corrupted your running balance,
this rebuild should straighten it out.
8.0.0.3 Your Ending Balance
You should find an "ending balance" clearly marked on your statement.
Sometimes you bank calls it the "balance this statement" or "this
month's balance".
Whatever it's called, this is the balance your bank claims you have
this month. (Remember, your bank doesn't know about any transactions
that haven't cleared yet). Enter this balance and press [F10] to
continue the reconcile process.
8.0.0.4 Clearing Transactions
You're now ready to mark all the transactions that have "cleared"
your bank (and show up on this statement). CheckMate Plus first asks
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 79
if you want to sort the transactions by check number and transaction
type. If you answer yes, you'll see checks listed first (in number
order) followed by your deposits, debits, and credits (lumped
together). If you answer no, your transactions will appear in date
sequence only. Check numbers could be mixed up, and deposits, debits,
and credits will be interspersed in your data.
After selecting your sort option, you'll see the "Reconcile Window"
appear. (This window is very similar to the "Browse Window"). Each
transaction takes one line. Transactions that have "cleared" are
marked with "arrows" at each end.
To mark a transaction as cleared, press the [SPACE BAR] while the
highlighted bar is on top of it. You should see the "arrows" appear,
indicating it has been cleared. Pressing the [SPACE BAR] on top of a
transaction that's already marked will "unclear" that transaction.
As you mark transactions as cleared, you'll notice the field called
"Your Balance" will change. The object is to get "Your Balance" to
match the "Bank's Balance". When these numbers match, your statement
is balanced! Go through your statement carefully, and mark all the
transactions as cleared.
At this point, you may find you need to enter some more transactions.
These may be transactions you forgot to enter, or they could be
"monthly events" (like service charges or interest). If you need to
enter some transactions, just press [F3] and CheckMate Plus will
present the familiar "enter transactions" menu. When you're done
entering the new transactions, just press [ESC] until you're bank in
the "Account Reconciliation" window.
+ IMPORTANT: Be sure and enter the correct date for these
transactions! The date must be on or before the "statement date" or
the transactions won't appear while "clearing". You should also be
careful to check if any of the new transactions you enter come after
the "statement date". (Sometimes banks will show service charges or
interest on the day following the statement date). If this is the
case, then mark those transactions as occurring on the statement date
(or they won't appear in the reconciliation window).
At any time while you're clearing transactions, you can review your
status by pressing [F9]. CheckMate Plus will display a window with
pertinent information about your reconciliation.
When you've successfully reconciled your account, your ready to print
your "Reconciliation Report". Press [F10] to move on to this step.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 80
8.0.0.5 The Reconciliation Report
Because CheckMate Plus records the "date cleared" for every
transaction, the "Reconciliation Report" should have exactly the same
information as your bank statement.
While you're in "Reconciliation Report Window", set any options you
wish and then press [F10] to print.
The report should list all transactions that cleared on this bank
statement. At the bottom of the report, CheckMate Plus will list six
additional items:
Balance Last Statement
Balance This Statement
Number of Checks and Debits
Number of Deposits and Credits
Total of Checks and Debits
Total of Deposits and Credits
Most bank statements also include these lines. If all is well, the
numbers on the report should match you statement exactly. If not,
carefully compare the report to the statement to track down the error.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 81
Chapter 9
Printing Checks
In this chapter, we'll discuss how to use CheckMate Plus to print your
checks. You can use pin-feed checks, laser checks, or even "single"
checks right out of your checkbook!
+ NOTE: Before you can print any checks, you must have assigned a
"check layout" to the account you're using. You do this while
entering (or editing) accounts under the "Accounts" menu.
You don't have to print every check. Many CheckMate Plus users print
some checks and write others by hand. This is easy to do in CheckMate
Plus... just make sure you manually set the "PRINTED" flag while
you're entering (or editing) the checks you write by hand.
+ TIMESAVER: If you're not printing any checks (that is, you're
writing them all by hand), just "ignore" the "PRINTED" flag! You
don't have to set it to "YES".
9.1 Printing Your Checks
You can print your checks at two different times: while you're writing
them (one at a time) or in "batch". In either case, you'll have to
properly align the check in the printer before printing. This may
seem difficult at first (especially with individual checks), but it
becomes second nature with a little practice.
+ SPECIAL NOTE: Most dot-matrix printers have "pull tractors", which
means you have to feed and extra check up to the tractor each time you
print. This means you must discard one check each time you print, and
could mess up the check "numbers". If you're buying pin-feed checks
for CheckMate Plus, we suggest you order them without preprinted check
numbers (and let CheckMate Plus print the number on the check).
You can only print checks from the currently active control account.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 82
9.1.0.1 Printing while Editing
At any time while you're entering (or editing) a check, you can print
it by popping up the "utilities menu". The "print check" option
appears. Select it to print your check immediately.
Make sure your printer and check are ready before you select this
option! CheckMate Plus prints the check immediately.
After printing, CheckMate Plus will mark the check's "PRINTED" flag to
"YES".
9.1.0.2 Printing in "Batch"
If you so choose, you can have CheckMate Plus print all your checks
at one time (in batch). Select "Print Checks" from the "Reports"
menu. (The "Print Checks" option will only appear if the current
control account is a checking account). CheckMate Plus will display
the first check to print.
At this point, you have some options. You may print each check (one
at a time) by pressing the [SPACE BAR]. CheckMate Plus will pause
between each one. (This is the way you'll want to print checks if
you're feeding them into your printer one at a time).
If you want to print all the checks one after another (without pausing
between each one), press [F10]. You can press [F10] anytime, even if
you've already printed some checks with the [SPACE BAR].
If you discover you've already written a check that's to be printed,
you can press [F2] to have CheckMate Plus mark it as printed without
actually printing it! We added this feature in case you're mixing
writing checks by hand and printing them. We suggest you manually
mark the check as printed while you enter it. But if you forget, you
can correct it here.
Before CheckMate Plus can print any checks, it must "parse" the check
layout and make sure there are no "syntax" errors. CheckMate Plus'
check writing language is by far the most powerful in the industry,
with many features and maximum flexibility. (See "Designing Your Own
Check Layout" for more information).
If CheckMate Plus finds an error in your check layout, the "Error in
Check Layout" window appears (with an error message and error
location). At this point you have two options. Press [F2] to
immediately enter the "Editing Check Layout" window. CheckMate Plus
will jump to the error. Make your corrections, press [F10] to save
them, and CheckMate Plus returns to the task of printing your checks.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 83
You can repeat this "loop" as many times as necessary to perfect your
layout.
Pressing any other key in the "Error in Check Layout" window causes
CheckMate Plus to abort printing checks and return to the menu.
Press [ESC] to abort printing checks. After CheckMate Plus has
printed all your checks, you automatically return to the "Reports"
menu.
9.2 Selecting a Check Layout
Before you can print checks with CheckMate Plus, you must tell
CheckMate Plus how your checks are "laid out". You can have up to 40
unique check layouts. CheckMate Plus comes with three layouts
preinstalled:
o NEBS 9025 (pin-feed check with stub)
o NEBS 9027 (laser printer check with stub)
o NEBS 9029 (pin-feed check without stub)
These checks are manufactured by New England Business Service, INC
(NEBS). You received a package with this User's Guide containing
information and an order form. If you didn't get one or you've
misplaced it, call us at (904) 271-0316 and will send the complete
package to you.
You can modify these definitions, and even create your own! (See
"Designing Your Own Check Layout" below). You may have up to 40
definitions.
You "assign" a check layout to each checking account while you enter
(or edit the account). See "Chapter 3: Accounts" for more
information.
9.3 Designing Your Own Check Layout
To design or modify a check layout, select "Define Check Layout" from
the "Maintenance" menu. You'll see another menu with two options:
"Enter new Check Layout" or "Edit existing Check Layout".
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 84
If you select "edit", CheckMate Plus will present a menu of previously
defined layouts (if any exist). Select the layout you want.
You'll enter and edit your check layouts with CheckMate Plus' built in
editor. (See Chapter 2 for more details). When you're done with your
entries, press [F10] to save your layout to disk. Press [F9] to
delete a layout you're editing.
The rest of this chapter is devoted to the check layout "language".
CheckMate Plus' layout language is modeled after the "PASCAL"
programming language. If you have any programming experience, you
should have no trouble mastering the layout language. If you're a
novice, or if you're uncomfortable with programming, you may want to
find a more experienced friend to help you (or consider using one of
the NEBS checks discussed above).
9.4 The Check Layout Language
Defining a check layout is considerably different than designing a
custom report. We wanted to give the user an unparalleled capability
for spacing lines, changing fonts, and manipulating text and values as
the check is being printed. To be able to do these types of things,
you have to be able to issue "commands" to the printer rather than
simply drawing a "template" of the check.
9.4.1 Reserved Words and Variables
Let's start with a list of "reserved" words. These are the actual
commands that CheckMate Plus expects in your layout. We'll detail
each of these in subsequent sections.
Begin End Page Pause
NewCheck FillersOn FillersOff CommasOn
CommasOff Column SkipLines Write
Writeln Stub Variable PrintTo
Input PrinterString
Table 9.1: Check Layout Language Reserved Words
You also have access to these built-in variables for each check.
Again, we'll elaborate on each one later:
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 85
Date Check Number PayTo For
Vendor Acct# Comments Amount Tax Ded
Marked Address 1 Address 2 Address 3
Amount String
Table 9.2: Check Layout Language Built-in Variables
9.4.2 Command Sequence
The check layout language is a "free format language". The only
ordering requirement is that each layout starts with the "begin"
keyword and ends with the "end" keyword.
begin
.
.
(your layout here)
.
.
end
Notice that the "end" doesn't require a "." before it (as the report
definitions do).
In between the "begin" and "end", you can enter commands in any order
you desire. You can have more than one command on a line. All
commands are separated by semicolons (";"). Here's an example:
begin
SkipLines(8); column(10);
FillersOn;
write(Amount String,L,61,0);
FillersOff;
end;
(We'll discuss what the actual commands do shortly). You can also
embed comments in the layout. The comments are for your benefit --
(they don't print or affect the printer in any way).
Enter comments between braces ("{" and "}"). All comments must fit on
a single line.
begin
SkipLines(8); {Start on line # 9}
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 86
column(10); {Start in column 10}
FillersOn;
write(Amount String,L,61,0);
{write the spelled out amount}
FillersOff;
end;
9.4.3 A Simple Example
Now let's generate a very simple example layout. Let's assume that
our checks have the date on line 3 in column 55. We want to print the
payee's name on line 6 in column 4 (and we have 40 spaces available to
print in). After the payee's name (also on line 6) is the dollar
amount of the check, starting in column 58 with 13 spaces available.
Finally, we want to print the "spelled out amount" (such as Ten &
45/100 ***** dollars) on line 8. We'll start in column 4 and we have
64 spaces available.
Here's the layout:
begin
SkipLines(2); {Start on line 3}
column(55);
writeln(Date,L,12,0); {Print the date}
writeln; {Go to line 5}
writeln; {Go to line 6}
column(4);
write(PayTo,L,40,0); {Write payee}
FillersOn;
column(58);
write(Amount,R,13,0); {Write the amount}
writeln; {Go to line 7}
writeln; {Go to line 8}
column(4);
write(Amount String,L,64,0);
FillersOff;
SkipLines(6); {Eject the check}
NewCheck; {Set up for next check}
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 87
end
Now let's discuss each of the command:
SkipLines(2) This command tells CheckMate Plus to skip the first
two lines of the check and start on line 3.
column(55) Now we're telling CheckMate Plus to advance to column
55 of the current line.
writeln(Date,L,12,0)
The "writeln" command instructs CheckMate Plus to
write the date at the current column. The "12" means
we have twelve spaces available in which to print the
date. The "L" means to left-justify the date in the
12 character field. Finally, the "0" is an "option
number". This number will have different meanings
for different variables. Every time we do a writeln,
we go to column one of the next line.
writeln Next we did two writeln's (without any parameters).
This just means that we'll skip two lines (we could
also have used the "SkipLines" command again).
column(4) Now we advance to column 4 to print the payee's name.
write(PayTo,L,40,0)
Like the "writeln" command, the "write" command
prints the variable. But unlike the writeln, we do
not advance to the next line after we're done!
This command tells CheckMate Plus to print the
payee's name left-justified in a 40 column field.
FillersOn This command tells CheckMate Plus to "fill" blanks
with asterisks ("*"). You'll see why when you look
at the next two commands.
column(58) Advance to column 58. We're still on the same line
with the payee's name.
write(Amount,R,13,2)
This command writes the amount of the check. The "R"
means right-justified in a 13 character field. Since
fillers are on (see above), and leading blanks are
converted to asterisks while it's printed. For
example, "100.00" would appear as "*******100.00".
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 88
The "2" (in the options field) tells CheckMate Plus
to print two digits after the decimal point.
writeln Now we do two more writeln's to advance to line 8.
column(4) Go to column 4.
write(Amount String,L,64,0)
This writes the "spelled out amount". The fillers
are still on, so the asterisks will fill in all
trailing blanks.
FillersOff Turn fillers off for the next check.
SkipLines(6) Push the current check out.
NewCheck This command resets CheckMate Plus' internal counters
for the next check.
Are you getting the idea? Now let's look at CheckMate Plus' layout
commands in more detail.
9.4.4 Layout Commands
9.4.4.1 Begin
The "Begin" command takes no arguments. You must start each layout
with a "Begin". Also, you don't place a semicolon after the "begin".
Example:
begin
9.4.4.2 Column(<column number>)
The "Column" command takes one argument (the column you want to move
to).
Example:
column(10);
+ NOTE: If you're already past the desired column, CheckMate Plus
issues a carriage return without a line feed (to return to column 1)
and then moves to the correct column. Some printers will
automatically advance one line when they receive a carriage return
without a line feed. Others printers will ignore the return and stay
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 89
at the same column. The best thing to do is avoid the circumstances
that would cause CheckMate Plus to issue the carriage return.
9.4.4.3 CommasOff
"CommasOff" takes no arguments. This command causes all subsequent
numbers to be printed without commas. For instance, the number
"1,454,778.45" would appear as "1454778.45".
Example:
CommasOff;
9.4.4.4 CommasOn
"CommasOn" takes no arguments. This command causes all subsequent
numbers to be printed with commas.
Example:
CommasOn;
9.4.4.5 End
The "End" command takes no arguments. You must end each layout with
the "End" command. The "End" command does not have a semicolon after
it.
Example:
end
9.4.4.6 FillersOff
"FillersOff" takes no arguments. This command causes all subsequent
variables and text to be printed with "blanks" in the unused space.
To better understand, look at "FillersOn" below.
Example:
FillersOff;
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 90
9.4.4.7 FillersOn
"FillersOn" takes no arguments. This command causes all subsequent
variables and text to be printed with asterisks ("*") in the unused
space. You'll want to turn fillers on while printing the amount and
amount string on the check (to make the check harder to modify). For
example, "FillersOn" will cause the number "100.00" to print as
"*****100.00" and "One Hundred & 00/100********". ALL text and
variables are affected by "FillersOn". "FillersOff" (above) will turn
the fillers off again.
Example:
FillersOn;
9.4.4.8 Input(<variable>,<prompt>,<response length>)
The "Input" command requires three arguments:
o A variable to assign the input to
o A "prompt" message
o The length of the input response
When CheckMate Plus finds this command in the check layout, it will
pause, display the "prompt message", and wait for you to enter the
variable. You must have defined the variable with the "Variable"
command before using it in an "Input" command. The variable can be
any type, but it must be user-defined (as opposed to built-in).
The "response length" is how much space CheckMate Plus will give you
to enter the variable. The maximum length is 70 characters.
Example:
Input(Message,'Enter your message:',25);
9.4.4.9 NewCheck
"NewCheck" takes no parameters. This command resets internal counters
within CheckMate Plus. You should issue this command once at the end
of the layout.
Example:
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 91
NewCheck;
9.4.4.10 Page
The "Page" command takes no arguments. The "Page" command sends a
form feed to the printer. You can use this to eject single checks or
when printing laser checks.
Example:
Page;
9.4.4.11 Pause
The "Pause" command takes no arguments. When CheckMate Plus
encounters this command, it will display a "pause message" and wait
for the [SPACE BAR]. This is very useful for printing individual
checks (the ones you tear out of your checkbook). You can have
CheckMate Plus pause to adjust the check or lower the paper bail bar.
Example:
Pause;
9.4.4.12 PrinterString(<decimal number>,<decimal number>,...)
"PrinterString" takes multiple arguments (from one to as many that
will fit on the line). This command lets you send control codes to
your printer (to change the font, line spacing, pitch, or anything
else your printer supports). You may, for instance, want to place the
printer in "italic mode" to print the payee's name.
Enter each character to be sent to the printer as a decimal number
representing the ASCII code for that character. (You'll find these
codes in your printer's manual). Separate each code with a comma.
Example:
PrinterString(27,15,45);
+ NOTE: If you use the "PrinterString" command to change the pitch or
width of the characters, CheckMate Plus can't accurately keep track of
the current character "column". You may have to "experiment" to place
text and variables exactly where you want. We suggest issuing a
"column(1)" command to send the current character position back to
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 92
column 1. Some printers can't properly handle the carriage return,
however (see the "Column" command above).
9.4.4.13 PrintTo(<destination>)
The "PrintTo" command requires a single argument: where you want to
send the check output. The "destination" you enter is a text string
up to 66 characters long.
If your printer is LPT1, then enter 'LPT1' as your destination. Other
choices may be LPT2, COM1, COM2, etc. You can also enter a filename
with a complete file path (although we don't know why you'd want to
print checks to a file).
If you don't use the "PrintTo" command in your layout, CheckMate Plus
will default the output to LPT1.
Example:
PrintTo('LPT1');
9.4.4.14 SkipLines(<number of lines to skip>)
"SkipLines" takes one argument: the number of lines you want to skip.
CheckMate Plus issues a carriage return and line feed for each line,
and sets the current column to 1.
Example:
SkipLines(5);
9.4.4.15 Stub(<left margin>,<chars/line>,<starting line>,<lines to
print>)
The "Stub" command takes four arguments:
o The left margin (number of characters)
o Characters per Line
o Stub line to start printing
o Total number of lines to print
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 93
The "left margin" is the number of characters CheckMate Plus will skip
before printing each line. "Characters per Line" is the number of
characters CheckMate Plus will print after the left margin. "Stub
line to start printing" is the first line of the stub CheckMate Plus
will print (that is, it "skips" the lines above it). Total number of
lines to print is the number of stub lines CheckMate Plus will print.
+ IMPORTANT: CheckMate Plus lets you print a custom stub or an
"accounts payable" stub. (See "Stub Layout" in Chapter 4 for more
information). Most of the above parameters refer to the custom stub.
The "accounts payable" stub recognizes only the "left margin".
"Characters per Line" defaults to 75; "Stub line to start printing"
defaults to 1, and the "Total number of lines to print" defaults to
15. If you're going to mix custom and accounts payable stubs, it
would be a good idea to set the "stub" parameters with these defaults
so the custom stub will exactly match the accounts payable stub.
Example:
Stub(3,75,1,15);
9.4.4.16 Write(<variable or text>,<justification>,<field
length>,<option>)
The "Write" command prints a variable or text string at the current
column on the current line. The "Write" command takes three or four
arguments (depending on what you're writing):
o Variable or Text
o Justification
o Field Length
o Option (for variables only)
The first argument is either a variable or text. If the argument
starts (and ends) with a single quote (') then CheckMate Plus treats
it as a text string rather than a variable. You can "write" all the
built in variables as well as any you define yourself (see the
"Variable" command).
"Justification" is how you want the text or variable to print in its
field. Enter a "L" for left-justified, "R" for right-justified, and
"C" for centered. For instance, if you wanted to print the word
"Test" in a field 8 characters long, here's how it would appear (the
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 94
"|" character denotes the start and end of the field. It doesn't
print):
Left-Justified: |Test |
Right-Justified: | Test|
Centered: | Test |
"Field Length" is how many character spaces the text or variable can
occupy.
The "option" argument is valid only for variables. In most cases,
you'll leave this field a zero ("0"). For any "numeric" variables
(such as "amount" or user-defined reals and integers, the "option"
represents the number of digits to display after the decimal point
(usually two). See "Built-in Variables" for more information.
Examples:
Write(PayTo,L,35,0);
Write('This is a test',C,40);
9.4.4.17 Writeln(<variable or text>,<justification>,<field
length>,<option>)
The "Writeln" command is identical to the "Write" command, except that
a carriage return and linefeed are sent to the printer at the end of
the command (and the current column is reset to 1).
You can also issue a "Writeln" command with no arguments (which forces
the printer to advance on line and sets the column counter to 1).
Examples:
Writeln(PayTo,L,35,0);
Writeln('This is a test',C,40);
Writeln;
9.4.4.18 Variable(<variable name>,<type>,<size>)
This command lets you define your own variables (for printing,
inputting data, or for use in expressions). The "Variable" command
takes two or three arguments, depending on the variable type:
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 95
o Variable name
o Variable type (string, real, or integer)
o Variable size (string only)
The variable "name" may be any combination of letters and numbers up
to twenty characters long. You may also use any "printable"
characters (including spaces) other than commas, semicolons, and the
plus ("+") sign. Names are not case-sensitive. Each variable's name
must be unique.
You can define three types of variables: strings, reals, and integers.
Strings are "text", reals are "floating point numbers", and integers
are "whole numbers".
"Variable size" is available only when you're defining a "string".
Strings can be any length from 1 to 255 characters long. (Note,
however, that CheckMate Plus will only print out to 132 columns).
Examples:
Variable(Total,real);
Variable(Message,string,40);
Variable(Number,integer);
9.4.5 Built-in Variables
Here is a detailed list of the built-in variables you can print (and
their associated "options" if any). Use the "options" with the
"Write" and "Writeln" commands (see above).
9.4.5.1 Date
The "Date" variable represents the transaction date. When you print
the "date" (using "Write" or "Writeln"), you can affect the printing
with the following "options" (see the "Write" command above):
Options:
o 0: displays the date as MMM DD, YYYY (i.e. Nov 25, 1990)
o 1: displays the month and day as MMM DD (i.e. Nov 25)
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 96
o 2: displays the year as YYYY (i.e. 1990)
o 3: displays the month as MMM (i.e. Nov)
o 4: displays the day as DD (i.e. 25)
o 5: displays the year as YY (i.e. 90)
o 6: displays the month as MM (i.e. 11)
o 7: displays the date as MM/DD/YY (i.e. 11/25/90)
o 8: displays the date as MM/DD/YYYY (i.e. 11/25/1990)
o 9: displays the month and day as MM/DD (i.e. 11/25)
o 10: displays the date as DD/MM/YY (i.e. 25/11/90)
o 11: displays the date as DD/MM/YYYY (i.e. 25/11/1990)
o 12: displays the date as MMM DD, YYYY (i.e. Jan 25, 1990)
o 13: displays the date (as you've set under "General Setups")
9.4.5.2 Check Number
This variable holds the current "Check Number" (an integer).
9.4.5.3 PayTo
The "PayTo" variable holds the name of the "payee" on the check. It
is a string variable up to 35 characters long.
9.4.5.4 For
The "For" variable holds the "For" field on the check. It is a string
variable up to 25 characters long.
9.4.5.5 Vendor Acct#
The "Vendor Acct#" variable holds the "Vendor Account Number" on the
check. It is a string variable up to 30 characters long.
9.4.5.6 Comments
The "Comments" variable holds the "Comments" on the check. It is a
string variable up to 67 characters long.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 97
9.4.5.7 Amount
The "Amount" variable holds the "amount" of the check. When you print
the amount, the "option" field controls the number of digits displayed
after the decimal point (usually 2).
9.4.5.8 Tax Ded
The "Tax Ded" variable is YES or NO. It is a string variable up to 3
characters long.
9.4.5.9 Marked
The "Marked" variable is YES or NO. It is a string variable up to 3
characters long.
9.4.5.10 Address 1
"Address 1" is the first address line on the check. It is a string
variable up to 35 characters long.
9.4.5.11 Address 2
"Address 2" is the second address line on the check. It is a string
variable up to 35 characters long.
9.4.5.12 Address 3
"Address 3" is the third address line on the check. It is a string
variable up to 35 characters long.
9.4.5.13 Amount String
The "Amount String" is the "spelled out amount". It is a string
variable up to 130 characters long.
9.4.6 Expressions
CheckMate Plus' layout language also permits you to enter
"expressions" and assign the results to a user-defined variable. You
can then further manipulate or print the variable.
Here is the expression syntax:
<user defined variable>=<expression>;
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 98
Notice that expressions also end with semicolons. The left side of
the equation MUST be a user-defined variable (of any type).
9.4.6.1 Numeric Expressions
If the variable on the left side of the equation is either an integer
or a real, then the expression and all factors in it must be numeric.
You can freely mix reals and integers in the expressions. The final
result will be the same type as the variable you're assigning it to.
You can use all standard operators (multiplication ("*"), division
("/"), addition ("+"), and subtraction ("-")) as well as parentheses
to control the order of precedence. If you don't use parentheses, the
order of precedence is: multiplication and division (in order of
appearance), then addition and subtraction (in order of appearance).
These are "standard" rules of precedence.
Here's an example:
variable(Number,real);
Number=10+20/4;
"Number" now holds the value "15". Here's a more complex example:
variable(Number,real);
variable(Total,real);
Number=10+20/4;
Total=(Number+3)*2;
The variable "Number" now holds "15", while the variable "Total" holds
"36". Remember you can include the built-in variables in the
expression and you can use the "Input" (see above) command to assign
values at print time.
9.4.6.2 String Expressions
If the variable on the left side of the equation is a string, then
all factors in the expression must be either string variables or text.
String expression can use only on operator: concatenation ("+").
Here's an example:
variable(Message,string,30);
Message='Hi there';
The variable "Message" now holds the string "Hi there". Let's make
the example a little more complex:
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 99
variable(Message,string,30);
variable(Name,string,20);
Message='Hi there';
Name='John';
Message=Message+'! My Name is '+Name+'.';
Now the variable "Message" holds the string "Hi there! My Name is
John."
Remember you can use the "Input" command (see above) to assign text to
variables at print time. You can also use "built-in" string variables
in the expression. Can you see you can put together complex messages
to print on the check?
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 100
Chapter 10
Graphics
In addition to text reports, CheckMate Plus has a variety of graphic
reports that can help you "visualize" your financial status.
10.1 System Requirements
CheckMate Plus can display graphs on most PC graphics hardware. It
supports CGA, EGA, VGA, Hercules, and VESA Super-VGA graphics.
CheckMate Plus can also print graphs to virtually any printer (dot
matrix, ink jet, LCD, or laser).
10.2 Types of Graphs
CheckMate Plus can print eight different kinds of graphs, depending on
the kind of report and the number of data points to be printed. The
eight types are as follows:
3D Bar Graph
Layered 3D Bar Graph
Vertical Bar Graph
Horizontal Bar Graph
Line Graph
Area Graph
3d Pie Chart
Pie Chart
The pie charts are only available with "single variable" reports with
fewer than 8 "months" selected. If you choose more than 8 months, you
won't see the pie charts as choices. Also, if any of the data is
"negative", CheckMate Plus can't display the chart and will print an
error.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 101
10.3 Graph Printing Options
Before CheckMate Plus can display (or print) the graphic report you
choose, you need answer several questions about your hardware and/or
resolution desires.
The "Graph Printing Options" window has a number of fields you can
set. Most of these fields are only available when you're printing to
a file or a printer. Let's look at the fields one at a time:
Print To You have three options here. You can print to the
screen, a printer, or a file.
If you select screen, CheckMate Plus will use the
graphics display driver you selected in the "Video
Setup" window (under the "Setup" menu). If you have
the wrong driver selected, you may have to reboot
your machine (so be careful). If you're printing to
the screen, you can't modify any of the other fields
in the window.
If you select "Printer", CheckMate Plus needs to know
what your printer is, what port it's connected to,
and what orientation and resolution you desire.
If you select "File", you need to specify a file name
(to hold the graph).
Printer This is a "menu field", so put the cursor here and
press [alt-F10] to pop-up a menu of available
choices. You'll see the following list:
Canon Laser (and Compatibles)
Epson, 9 pin (and Compatibles)
Epson, 24 pin (and Compatibles)
IBM Proprinter (and Compatibles)
IBM Proprinter X24 (and Compatibles)
IBM Quietwriter (and Compatibles)
HP LaserJet II (and Compatibles)
HP LaserJet III (and Compatibles)
HP LaserJet 4 (and Compatibles)
HP DeskJet (and Compatibles)
HP DeskJet 500C (and Compatibles)
HP DeskJet 550C (and Compatibles)
Postscript (and Compatibles)
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 102
Nearly all printers fall in one of the above
categories. If you're unsure about your printer,
consult your printer manual or call your printer's
manufacturer.
You must specify a printer, even if you're printing
to a file. This is because CheckMate Plus must know
what format to create while building the file.
Orientation You must select either "Landscape" or "Portrait".
Resolution You have three choices here: low, medium, or high.
Low resolution prints the fastest. High resolution
is much slower, but produces a much better output.
Printer Port (Available only when printing to a printer). This is
a "menu field". Press [alt-F10] to pop-up a menu of
printer port choices.
File Name (Available only when printing to a file). Enter a
legal DOS filename here. You may also specify a
drive and directory name. BE CAREFUL! If you select
a file name that already exists, CheckMate Plus will
"overwrite" that file with the new data.
You can save your options (to be your "defaults") by pressing [F5].
After you've selected your options, press [F10] to print the graph.
10.4 Graphic Reports
The graphic reports in CheckMate Plus center around either a single or
multiple accounts. When you first select "Graphics" from the
"Reports" menu, CheckMate Plus will pop-up a menu asking which option
you want: "One Account" or "Ledger".
If you select "One Account", CheckMate Plus pops up yet another menu
with three options:
Account Activity
Budget Analysis
Account Balance
Alternatively, selecting "Ledger" pops up a menu with these choices:
Expenses vs Income
Expenses by Month
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 103
Income by Month
Debt Trend Analysis
Debt to Equity
Debt to Assets
Let's examine each of the two menus one at a time.
10.4.1 "One Account" Graphics Reports
10.4.1.1 Account Activity Graphics Report
When you select this option, CheckMate Plus displays a window asking
for a title, a subtitle, a starting month, and a "number of months" to
display.
This graph shows all "activity" (in the current control account only)
over the range of months you specify. Press [F10] after you've
entered your options and CheckMate Plus will pop up the "graph type"
menu. Make your choice and CheckMate Plus will open the "Graph
Printing Options" window (see above).
While the graph is on the screen, press any key to exit.
10.4.1.2 Budget Analysis Graphics Report
After selecting this option, CheckMate Plus displays a window asking
for a title, a starting month, and a "number of months" to display.
This graph displays the "actual" activity of the control account next
to the "budgeted" activity of the control account. Press [F10] after
you've entered your options and CheckMate Plus will pop up the "graph
type" menu. Make your choice and CheckMate Plus will open the "Graph
Printing Options" window (see above).
While the graph is on the screen, press any key to exit.
10.4.1.3 Account Balance Graphics Report
When you select this option, CheckMate Plus displays a window asking
for a title, a subtitle, a starting month, and a "number of months" to
display.
This graph shows the "balance" (of the current control account only)
at the end of each month (of months you specify). Press [F10] after
you've entered your options and CheckMate Plus will pop up the "graph
type" menu. Make your choice and CheckMate Plus will open the "Graph
Printing Options" window (see above).
While the graph is on the screen, press any key to exit.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 104
10.4.2 "Ledger" Graphics Reports
10.4.2.1 Expenses vs Income Graphics Report
This graph displays the total "revenue" next to the total "expenses"
of each month you specify (for ALL accounts in your chart of
accounts). Press [F10] after you've set your options. CheckMate Plus
will pop up the "graph type" menu. Make your choice and CheckMate
Plus will open the "Graph Printing Options" window (see above).
While the graph is on the screen, press any key to exit.
10.4.2.2 Expenses by Month Graphics Report
This graph displays the total "expenses" for each month you specify
(for ALL accounts in your chart of accounts). Press [F10] after
you've set your options. CheckMate Plus will pop up the "graph type"
menu. Make your choice and CheckMate Plus will open the "Graph
Printing Options" window (see above).
While the graph is on the screen, press any key to exit.
10.4.2.3 Income by Month Graphics Report
This graph displays the total "revenue" for each month you specify
(for ALL accounts in your chart of accounts). Press [F10] after
you've set your options. CheckMate Plus will pop up the "graph type"
menu. Make your choice and CheckMate Plus will open the "Graph
Printing Options" window (see above).
While the graph is on the screen, press any key to exit.
10.4.2.4 Debt Trend Analysis Graphics Report
This report graphically shows the "balance" of your debt
(liabilities) at the end of each month (over the range you specify).
Press [F10] after you've set your options. CheckMate Plus will pop up
the "graph type" menu. Make your choice and CheckMate Plus will open
the "Graph Printing Options" window (see above).
While the graph is on the screen, press any key to exit.
10.4.2.5 Debt to Equity Graphics Report
This graph displays your total debt ("liabilities") next to your
total "equity" for each month you specify (for ALL accounts in your
chart of accounts). Press [F10] after you've set your options.
CheckMate Plus will pop up the "graph type" menu. Make your choice
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 105
and CheckMate Plus will open the "Graph Printing Options" window (see
above).
While the graph is on the screen, press any key to exit.
10.4.2.6 Debt to Assets Graphics Report
This graph displays your total debt ("liabilities") next to your
total "assets" for each month you specify (for ALL accounts in your
chart of accounts). Press [F10] after you've set your options.
CheckMate Plus will pop up the "graph type" menu. Make your choice
and CheckMate Plus will open the "Graph Printing Options" window (see
above).
While the graph is on the screen, press any key to exit.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 106
Chapter 11
Rebuilding and Repairing
We've tried hard to make CheckMate Plus as reliable as possible.
There are times, however, that you may need to "rebuild" or "repair"
CheckMate Plus' data files. In this chapter we'll discuss each of the
rebuild options (and the circumstances under which you may want to use
them).
One of the three options under the "rebuild menu" should fix 99% of
the problems you may encounter. If you still have difficulties,
contact Custom Technologies directly.
When you select "Rebuild the Database" from the "Maintenance" menu,
CheckMate Plus pops up the "rebuild menu" with these options:
Complete Rebuild
Rebuild Index Keys
Rebuild Accounts
Now let's look at each option.
11.1 Rebuilding the Database
The "Complete Rebuilt" option is the most robust rebuild feature
available. This function actually creates a whole new file by
scanning the original file from start to finish. It then generates a
completely new index file.
CheckMate Plus does this by first creating an empty "working" file and
writing "active" records to it one by one. You can specify where this
"working" file will be. (If you have a RAM disk, specify it for the
"working" disk to greatly speed things up). In any case, you must
have sufficient free space in your "working" directory to completely
copy the data file. Once the "working" file is complete, CheckMate
Plus erases the original file and copies the "working" file back to
the original drive and directory. After the original file has been
replaced, CheckMate Plus proceeds to regenerate every index key.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 107
+ NOTE: This method of rebuilding, although somewhat slow, offers
maximum safety in the event of an error, unexpected power loss, or
lack of space.
You'll want to use this procedure if you data file becomes corrupted
for any reason. (DOS is a funny animal, and you never know what
strange combination of events may cause you problems). This procedure
also "compacts" the file (since it doesn't copy deleted records). If
you've closed transactions or deleted a lot of records, this could
significantly reduce the disk space you data file consumes.
+ NOTE: CheckMate Plus reuses deleted records before it expands its
data file size, so you don't necessarily need to run this procedure
after you delete or close transactions.
After you've entered the "working" file path, press [F10] to begin the
rebuild.
11.2 Rebuilding the Index File
CheckMate Plus also lets you rebuild your "index" file at any time.
This rebuild is less robust but much faster than the "complete
rebuild" (and requires far less disk space).
What CheckMate Plus does here is erase the index file and scan the
data base, adding an index entry for each record. Use this procedure
if transactions seem to appear more than once while editing, browsing,
or printing reports. It may also find transactions that appear to be
missing.
Press [F10] to start the procedure.
11.3 Rebuilding Accounts
The "Rebuild Accounts" option works on the account values (rather than
the data file structure). This procedure computes the running
balance, the last cleared transaction, and some other account specific
values for all accounts in your data file.
CheckMate Plus will automatically ask to run this routine any time it
thinks it needs to, but you run it manually here. You'll usually need
to run this procedure if you add, delete, or modify transactions out
of date sequence.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 108
Press [F10] to start the rebuild. Remember this procedure affects all
accounts, not just the current control account.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 109
Chapter 12
Backing Up Your Data
CheckMate Plus has built in routines to backup and restore your data
to a floppy disk. You should do this frequently to prevent accidental
data loss (from file corruption, inadvertent data entry or deletion,
or hardware failure). You'll find these options under the
"Maintenance" menu.
12.1 Data Backup
To backup your data, select "Backup the Database" from the
"Maintenance" menu. CheckMate Plus will pop up a window asking you to
specify the "drive" you want to put your backup on.
CheckMate Plus' backup routines are designed to be extremely simple to
use. We hope the simplicity encourages all users to make regular,
frequent backups. Hence, the backup window asks only for a drive
letter.
Usually, you'll select either drive "A" or "B". Then press [F10] and
CheckMate Plus will display a window instructing you to place a
formatted diskette into the drive. Press [F10] to continue the
process.
If CheckMate Plus detects that a backup file already exists on the
drive, it will ask you if it's OK to overwrite the file. Answer "YES"
to continue or "NO" to abort the procedure.
CheckMate Plus will "compress" the data as it backs it up. Our
experience shows an average compression of 65% (or nearly two-thirds).
This means you can store a file three times larger than if you simply
copied the file to the floppy. If the backup is successful, CheckMate
Plus reports it as such and gives the "ratio" of the size of the
compressed file to the original. This number will usually be around
35% (100% - 65%).
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 110
+ NOTE: It's best to keep your backups on floppy disks (rather than
your hard drive) just in case your hard drive itself fails. If this
happens, you would lose your data and your backup!
It's also a good idea to keep more than one backup disk, just in case
something goes wrong with your first one.
12.2 Data Restore
Hopefully, you'll never need to use this option! If you do, select
"Restore the Database (from a Backup)" from the "Maintenance" menu.
Obviously, you can't "restore" from a backup if you've never made a
backup, so you must have run "Backup the Database" at least once
before.
Place your backup diskette in a drive and select it the "Restore the
Database" window. Then press [F10] to continue. CheckMate Plus will
look for the backup file. If it finds one, it will tell you when it
was made and warn you that if you restore it, you'll lose any work
you've done after that date and time. Because this procedure can't be
reversed, CheckMate Plus will ask you twice before proceeding with the
restore.
After CheckMate Plus restores the file, it will automatically build a
new index file.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 111
Chapter 13
Financial Calculations
CheckMate Plus has some very useful routines for doing financial
calculations. They're unrelated to CheckMate Plus' primary functions,
but we think you'll appreciate their availability.
When you select the "Finance" menu, you'll see three choices: Loans,
Regular Deposits, and Compounding.
The financial calculation windows are "calculation independent". That
means that given all but one of the primary variables, CheckMate Plus
can calculate the last one. While you're in the windows, leave one of
the variables "zero" and fill in the rest. Press [F4] and CheckMate
Plus will display the missing value!
You may also press [F5] to "amortize" the calculation (and print an
amortization report).
13.1 Loans
Select "Loans" from the "Finance" menu to open the "Loan Calculation"
window. Enter all but one of the of the "numbered" fields and press
[F4] to calculate the last one.
Press [F5] to open the "Loan Amortization Report Window". (You have
the same formatting options here that you have for any report in
CheckMate Plus. See "Report Printing Options", chapter, for more
information).
You can also specify the "payment range" you want to print. Press
[F10] to start printing after you've setup your options.
+ NOTE: The "total Interest paid" value in the amortization report may
differ slightly from the "Loan Calculations Window". This is because
the amortization report can "adjust" the final payment slightly to
exactly "pay off" the loan.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 112
13.2 Regular Deposits
"Regular Deposits" are savings accounts, regular bond purchases, or
any savings program where you deposit a set amount of money at set
intervals. For instance, you may be contributing $100 per month for
30 years as a retirement plan.
Select "Regular Deposits" from the "Finance" menu to open the "Regular
Deposits" window. Just as in the "Loan" window, enter all but one of
the of the "numbered" fields and press [F4] to calculate the last one.
Press [F5] to open the "Deposit Amortization Report Window". (You
have the same formatting options here that you have for any report in
CheckMate Plus. See "Report Printing Options", chapter, for more
information).
You can also specify the "deposits range" you want to print. Press
[F10] to start printing after you've setup your options.
13.3 Compounding a Fixed Sum
"Compounding a fixed sum" means depositing a lump of money once and
letting it "grow" over time.
Select "Compounding" from the "Finance" menu to open the window. Just
as in the "Loan" window, enter all but one of the of the "numbered"
fields and press [F4] to calculate the last one.
Press [F5] to open the "Compounding Amortization Report Window". (You
have the same formatting options here that you have for any report in
CheckMate Plus. See "Report Printing Options", chapter, for more
information).
You can also specify the "compounding ranges" you want to print.
Press [ F10] to start printing after you've setup your options.
+ NOTE: Daily compounding (i.e. compounding 365 times per year) is
fairly common, but will result in a huge report. Compounding daily
for twenty years, for instance, generates 7,300 lines! In these
cases, CheckMate Plus will selectively print "intervals" (say, every
fifth line).
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 113
Chapter 14
Setup and Options
In this chapter, we'll explore the many setups and options available
to you for customizing CheckMate Plus.
Select "Setup" from the main menu bar to pull-down the "Setup" menu.
14.1 Fiscal Year Information
Pick "Fiscal Year" from the "Setup Menu" to open the "Fiscal Year
Setup Window". Here you can set your current and past fiscal year(s).
The first option you have is "Current Fiscal Year Start". You may
start your "fiscal year" on the first day of any month and year. The
month you enter here is important as CheckMate Plus uses this date
while generating reports. You may change this date at any time
without corrupting your data in any way, so you may change the date
(and even go back to re-create past reports).
One standard practice in accounting is to clear expense and revenue
accounts at the end of each year (so you can start a new fiscal year
with a clean slate). The balances of the expense and revenue accounts
are transferred to an "equity" account, often called "Profit/Loss
1989", "Retained Earnings 1990", or the like. Once you choose to
close a year, you can't go back and modify the numbers without making
"reverse entries". You can do this with CheckMate Plus (see "Close
Transactions" under the "Transactions" menu) or you can have CheckMate
Plus "simulate" closing past years.
The "Fiscal Year Setup Window" has space for 10 "past years". For
each year you enter, CheckMate Plus lets you assign an "equity"
account to clear all expenses and revenues to. IMPORTANT! CheckMate
Plus only "simulates" clearing the values! This way, you can keep
your transaction detail and the ability to modify past transactions
for over ten years! The only time you'll see the balances transferred
is when you print accounting reports (such as balance sheets and
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 114
income statements). You won't see them transferred when you look at
account balances in the "enter" or "edit" features of CheckMate Plus.
You enter "Past Years" as "years" only ("1989" for example). The
starting and ending months depend upon the starting month of your
"Current Fiscal Year Start". After you enter each year, you can
specify the account you want to clear each year to. This must be an
"equity account" (account numbers will range from 30000 to 39999).
You must create these accounts before you can specify them here, and
they must be detail accounts.
+ NOTE: You don't have to specify past years if you don't want to!
CheckMate Plus will simply carry balances forward for any years not
specified. What we've given you is maximum flexibility unparalleled
in the industry.
Also remember you can make the assignments permanent when you "Close
Transactions" under the "Transactions" menu. When you do this, you'll
no longer be able to view or edit those past transactions (since
CheckMate Plus will erase them) but you will see the accumulated
balances appear in the correct equity accounts.
Press [F10] to save your "Current Fiscal Year Start" and all "past
year" data.
14.2 Protecting Your "Audit Trail"
Because CheckMate Plus allows you to retain many years worth of
information, we included an "audit trail lock" which lets you assign a
"password" to your audit trail. If you choose to activate the "audit
lock", CheckMate Plus won't let you edit or delete any transactions or
accounts entered before the current system date (unless you know the
"audit lock" password). This password is completely separate from the
system password (See "Password Setup" below).
Select "Audit Lock" from the "Setup" menu to enter the "Audit Lock
Setup Window". You have three options here.
First, you have a YES/NO question asking you whether or not you want
to lock data edit capability. The default is "NO".
Next, you'll see the "Last Date Run". CheckMate Plus automatically
updates this each time you run. You can't "fool" CheckMate Plus,
however, because CheckMate Plus will never set this date "back" (so
changing the DOS date won't help). We included the date here so you
can manually set it back for a single session.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 115
The last item you can enter is the "audit lock password". You'll have
to enter this password each time you try to edit or delete a
transaction or account that was entered before the "Last Date Run".
Once you enter this password and turn the "audit lock" on (by
answering "YES" to the above question), press [F10] to save the
configuration.
+ IMPORTANT!: Once you've turned the "audit lock" on, you won't be
able to get back into the "Audit Lock Setup Window" unless you know
the "audit lock" password!
If you forget your password, you'll need to send your data files to
CTech and we will manually change it for you. We charge a nominal fee
for this service. Call (904) 271-0316 for more information.
14.3 The Screen Saver
When you select the "Screen Saver" option from the "Setup" menu, the
"Screen-Save Setup" window will appear. In this window, you can
enable or disable the screen saver feature. You can also indicate how
long that you want CheckMate Plus to wait before it will blank the
screen, and customize the message that CheckMate Plus displays while
the screen saver is active. Remember that the screen will only go
blank if no keyboard activity is detected for the indicated length of
time.
+ NOTE: Delay times are approximate, and can vary based on CPU speed.
You must press [F10] to save your setup to the disk.
After the screen blanks, CheckMate Plus will display a slow-scrolling
message indicating that the screen save feature is active. Press any
character key to restore the screen to normal operation.
14.4 Colors
If you have a color monitor, you can customize the screen colors in
CheckMate Plus. Select "Colors" from the "Setup" menu to enter the
"Color Setup Window".
Notice that CheckMate Plus displays a "sample" window (so you can see
what your color choices will look like). The cursor will be in the
"window colors to customize" field. When you first enter the "color
setup window", the window colors to customize will be the "Main
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 116
Colors". If you want to change, say, the MENU colors, press [alt-F10]
to pop-up the "window select" menu. Pick "Menu Colors" (and the
"sample window" will change to reflect the current menu colors).
You can modify each window's foreground (bright characters), midground
(dim characters), background color, and "reverse" color.
For example, to modify a window's background color, press [F5] (and
CheckMate Plus will "toggle" the color). Keep pressing [F5] until you
find the color you want.
Here are the color toggle keys:
[F3] Toggle Foreground Color
[F4] Toggle Midground Color
[F5] Toggle Background Color
[F6] Toggle "Reverse" Color
Table 14.1: Color Toggle Keys
Once you've setup all the colors (in all the windows that you want
to), press [F10] to save your choices to disk. [ESC] returns you to
the "Setup" menu.
14.5 Special Effects
CheckMate Plus has a lot of "bells and whistles" which are fun to
watch and pleasing to use. Some people, however, would prefer to
modify or turn off their operation.
You can modify the way CheckMate Plus opens and closes "windows" by
choosing "Special Effects" from the "Setup" menu. The "Special
Effects Setup" window will appear.
If you don't want CheckMate Plus to give an audible 'opening window"
click, then set the "do you want sound effects" field to "NO".
If you want the windows to "explode" and "implode", then leave the "do
you want exploding windows" field "YES". Otherwise mark it "NO".
You can even set the speed for the exploding and imploding in the
"speed for exploding windows". Set this field to "zero" for the
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 117
fastest windows. Numbers 1 through 9 will gradually decrease the
exploding speed. This field will have no effect if you have exploding
windows turned off!
Remember to press [F10] if you want to save your setups to disk.
14.6 Video Setup
CheckMate Plus can display some nice graphical reports (if you have a
graphics display card in your computer). To select your video option,
select "Video" from the "Setup" menu.
This field is a "menu field", so you can press [alt-F10] to pop up
your choices. The seven options you have correspond to the following
display types:
No Graphics (no graphics card installed)
CGA 640 x 200 dots, 1 color
EGA 640 x 350 dots, 16 colors
VGA 640 x 480 dots, 16 colors
Hercules 720 x 350 dots, 1 color (monochrome)
VESA SVGA 800 x 600 dots, 16 colors
VESA SVGA 1024 x 768 dots, 16 colors
Table 14.2: Video Options
If you're unsure as to the type of display you have, try "VGA". It
will work with most of today's systems. Otherwise, check with your
computer's manufacturer or your salesman.
Select your option, and press [F10] to save it. Press [ESC] to return
to the "Setup" menu.
14.7 Password Setup
For security, you may password protect each CheckMate Plus data file
you create. Select "Passwords" from the "Setup" menu to reach the
"Password Setup" window.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 118
Enter the "password" you want in the "Password" field. It can be up
to eight characters long and is not case sensitive.
CheckMate Plus won't require a password unless you set the "Require
Password at Program Start" to "YES" (and save your changes with
[F10] ). Once you do this, CheckMate Plus will ask for your password
before it will let you into the program.
You'll also not be able to enter the "Password Setup Window" unless
you know the password.
+ NOTE: CheckMate Plus associates the password with the data file, so
reinstalling CheckMate Plus or erasing CMPLUS.OPT (the options file)
WILL NOT defeat the security!
If you forget your password, you'll need to send your data files to
CTech and we will manually change your password for you. We charge a
nominal fee for this service. Call (904) 271-0316 for more
information.
14.8 File Paths
Selecting "File Paths" from the "Setup" menu causes the "Data and
Program Directories" window to appear. This window simply displays
the currently active program and data file directories (you can't
modify them here).
The program file directory is the directory you were in when you
started CheckMate Plus. You entered the data file directory on the
command line when you started CheckMate Plus:
cmplus <data file directory> <ENTER>
14.9 General Setups
Select "General" from the "Setup" menu to pop-up the "General Setup
Menu".
Date Format You can pick from a variety of "date formats".
CheckMate Plus will display all dates in this form.
This is a "menu field", so you can press [alt-F10] or
the middle button on the mouse to pop-up a menu of
choices.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 119
You can enter free-format no matter which format you
choose. CheckMate Plus will rearrange the date to
match your format.
Separator Some of the date formats have "separators". For
instance, 7/05/90 uses a "/" for a separator. You
can change that separator here.
+ NOTE: If you choose the minus sign ("-") as a
separator, you won't be able to use the minus sign to
"decrement" the date while you're entering or
editing.
Currency Symbol You may set CheckMate Plus' currency symbol here.
You must enter this symbol as an ASCII decimal value.
The value for a dollar sign ($) is 36.
Check/Cheque Spelling
You can tell CheckMate Plus to spell "check" as
"cheque" in most places throughout its operation.
The only exceptions will be text fields that you
entered prior to turning this option on. (This will
be particularly true in the "split" window. The
spelling "check" will still appear for any
transactions entered before changing the spelling
option).
Comma/Decimal Point Order
CheckMate Plus can "reverse" the order in which it
displays commas and decimal points in numbers. For
instance, the number
1,234.56
can be entered and displayed as
1.234,56
To make your display selection, put the cursor on the
field and press [ alt-F10] to pop up the menu.
Numeric Format Accountants tend to avoid using the minus sign to
represent negative numbers. They prefer to enclose
the number in parentheses. CheckMate Plus let's you
choose how you want to display negatives. The
parentheses appear only on the reports (and not while
entering data).
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 120
After you've set the options, press [F10] to make your changes
permanent. [ESC] returns you to the "Setup" menu.
14.10 Report Defaults
CheckMate Plus has many options for controlling the output and format
of printed reports. You can set these options at print time, but you
can also define default settings (so you don't have to change them
every time you print a report).
Select "Report Printing" from the "Setup" menu to pop-up the "Default
Report Parameters Setup Window".
Margins You can set the "margins" (top, bottom, left, and
right). Express the top and bottom margins as a
number of lines, and the left and right margins as a
number of characters.
+ NOTE: CheckMate Plus assumes that you're using
"fixed width" fonts for your reports (rather than
proportionally spaced fonts). Most printers do use
(or at least have the option to use) fixed width
fonts.
CheckMate Plus does not support "postscript" printers
at this time.
Paper Sizes Paper size is a function of the number of lines per
page you can print and the number of characters on
each line. These numbers are absolute (i.e. they
include margins).
Most printers put 66 lines on a page. Many laser
printers, however, require built-in top and bottom
margins. The Hewlett Packard LaserJet, for example,
can only print 60 lines per page.
The number of characters per line you print will
usually be determined by either the width of the
paper (most paper is 8.5" wide) or by the "pitch" of
the print. For instance, if your printer has a
"compressed" mode (17 characters per inch), you can
print 132 characters on a standard letter-sized sheet
of paper.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 121
+ NOTE: You can use the "Printer Setup Strings"
(discussed below) to "command" your printer into
compressed mode.
Page Control You can tell CheckMate Plus to "pause" after each
page to let you feed paper (if you're not using a
laser printer or continuous feed paper).
Printer Port CheckMate Plus lets you direct your printed reports
to LPT1, LPT2, COM1, or COM2. Set your printer port
in the "Printer Port for Reports" field. (This is a
"menu field", so press [alt-F10] or the center mouse
button to "pop" the menu up).
Setup Strings CheckMate Plus lets you define printer "setup" and
"exit" strings to control such things as margins,
character pitch, attributes, etc. CheckMate Plus
sends the "setup" strings to your printer before it
starts the report and the "exit" strings after the
report is completed.
For instance, you may want to "command" your printer
to print 17 characters per inch for some of the
reports. You would enter the proper "control codes"
in the "Printer Setup Strings" field.
You'll probably want to use the "exit" strings to
reset your printer (for normal operation).
The printer control codes can be found in your
printer manual. The format for entry is
\<decimal code>\<decimal code>\....
The back-slashes delimit the codes. Here is an
example:
\27\85
This string represents an <ESC> 'U'. (That's an
escape-capital-U). This is a popular means of
defining printer codes.
To save you default options to disk, press [F10]. [ESC] returns you
to the "Setup" menu.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 122
14.11 Report Headings
When you select "Report Headings" from the "Setup" menu, CheckMate
Plus opens the "Report Heading Setup Window".
You can enter up to ten lines of information (and CheckMate Plus will
center each line as you go).
CheckMate Plus prints these lines at the top of the first page of each
report (except for blank lines at the bottom).
Press [F10] to save your headings, and then [ESC] to return to the
"Setup" menu. Press [ESC] without pressing [F10] to abort the changes
you've made.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 123
Appendix A
An Accounting Primer
This short tutorial is intended to give you a start into the world of
classical accounting. It is by no means exhaustive, but it should get
you going. If you run a small business, this primer will help, but
you should still obtain a complete text or hire an accountant (or
bookkeeper) to help you with some of the more difficult subjects.
Since CheckMate Plus follows standard accounting rules, virtually any
accounting text will be compatible. If you're a casual or home user,
don't be frightened if this primer makes things seem complicated! For
home use, the rules of accounting can be can be greatly relaxed.
A.1 What is Accounting?
Accounting is the term we apply to the discipline of maintaining
complete and accurate financial data. Over the years, some well
defined practices and conventions have developed. Adhering to these
conventions will make your accounting data compatible with other
people's data, and consequently it will be easier for others to
understand. This is what we refer to as "classical" accounting.
For business, proper accounting can spell the difference between
success and failure. The fruits of the accounting system are the
reports you can generate. These reports can help you analyze your
cash flow and make decisions based on past and present performance.
Having these reports available can you give you the competitive edge
you need to succeed. Also, most banks, as well as the IRS, will want
to see your balance sheet and income statements before doing business
with you!
To start, we must divide your holdings, debt, expenses and income. We
will group these items under 5 categories: ASSETS, LIABILITIES,
EQUITY, REVENUE, and EXPENSES.
A.1.1 What are ASSETS?
Assets are money, land, items, etc that you have in your possession.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 124
Essentially, they are anything that holds any value. You do not have
to own something for it to be an asset. For instance, the bank may
hold the deed to your home while you pay off the note. But since the
use of the home is under your control, it is still an asset to you.
We will see below how we can balance this asset with a corresponding
debt (or liability). Assets can take many forms. If someone owes you
money, for instance, then you have an asset in the form of a note or
an IOU.
A.1.2 What are LIABILITIES?
Liabilities are any debts you owe. In the example above, we have an
asset (our home). But we also owe money against the home, and that is
a liability. Not all liabilities need be bank loans. In a business,
money we owe to our employees (in the form of pay) is a liability.
Income tax we owe the government is also a liability, as is rent due,
etc. In short, any time we owe money or services we have a liability.
A.1.3 What is EQUITY?
Equity is the difference between our assets and our liabilities. The
equity in your home, for example, is the difference between the value
of your home (your asset) and the money you owe (your liability).
Your total net worth, then, is the delta between all of your assets
and the total of your liabilities.
A.1.4 The Accounting Equation
It is the above relationship that forms the principle behind classical
accounting. We can state that relationship as such:
ASSETS - LIABILITIES = EQUITY
If we do a little math, we can rearrange the above equation:
ASSETS = LIABILITIES + EQUITY
This equation is referred to as the ACCOUNTING EQUATION. Remember
it... it is important!
The principle of this equation is clear. If you increase your assets,
then something else has to change to keep the equation true. Let's
say you buy a car, and hence increase your assets (you now have a
car). To keep the above equation true, you must do one of three
things:
1) Decrease another asset (pay cash or trade for the car)
2) Increase a liability (borrow the money for the car)
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 125
3) Increase your equity
The first two options are straightforward and are easily understood.
The last option is a little more difficult to understand until we
further explore how we can make changes to equity.
A.1.5 What are REVENUE and EXPENSES?
The three categories we discussed above describe your financial status
in a "static" way. There is no way to either increase nor decrease
your net worth (equity) by merely adding assets or liabilities.
Revenue and expenses provide this avenue.
Revenue is money you take in, usually in exchange for goods or
services. Revenue has the characteristic of INCREASING your equity.
That is, an asset will increase (such as cash) with NO corresponding
increase in a liability. Not all money you take in is revenue. Money
you receive in payment of a debt, for example, increases an asset
(cash) but also decreases another asset (the note you hold). The net
effect is that your equity is unchanged. In the above example, you
could obtain the new car by working for it, or maybe by winning it in
a contest. In either case, we have increased our equity by the same
amount we have increased our assets (the price of the car).
Expenses reduce your equity. A good example is your power bill. You
pay the bill with cash, and your assets are reduced. But you did not
reduce a liability, and you did not increase another asset. The
electricity was consumed! Whether or not goods or services are
"consumed" is one good way to tell expenses apart from liabilities.
In the case of a business or a corporation, you can increase
or decrease the company's equity in another fashion. When you sell
stock, you DIRECTLY increase the equity in the company. But it is not
YOUR equity in the company that has increased, but the person who
bought the stock. In fact, a company can have many, many owners.
That is why we will often refer to equity as OWNER'S EQUITY.
But lets' get back to revenue and expenses. There is yet another
relationship we should document here. This one is more familiar:
PROFIT (or LOSS) = REVENUE - EXPENSES
Notice if expenses exceed revenue, we have incurred a LOSS. Let me
take a minute to point out that (LOSS) here is in parentheses.
Accountants typically do not like to use negative numbers, but rather
indicate a negative amount by enclosing it in parentheses. In
CheckMate Plus, we give you the option of using either convention. In
either case, the difference between revenue and expenses will tend to
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 126
either increase or decrease our equity. Also notice if equity
changes, then either assets or liabilities must change. Let's say we
incur a loss, and equity decreases. To make the accounting equation
remain true, we must either draw on assets (maybe take cash to pay the
loss) or increase liabilities (perhaps borrow money to make up for the
loss).
Revenue and expenses are actually only extensions of equity. We give
them their own categories since it is useful to treat them separately
while computing profit or loss.
A.2 How does it all work in real life?
To try and tie the above principles together, let's hypothesize a
small company, called XYZ Shoes, Inc. We will draw on this example
throughout the remainder of this primer.
A.2.1 What are ACCOUNTS?
Accounts are the accountant's method of separating and detailing
individual items under each of the above categories. You can think of
an account as the dollar value of each item. We will give each
account a descriptive name, as well as an account number.
Accounts are logical entities, and it may be difficult to physically
separate them from one another. This is OK, because we don't need
to... we merely need to track the current value of each account.
Things may be starting to seem confusing. An example here is in
order. Consider our ASSETS category. We will use accounts to break
down and detail the assets of the XYZ Shoe company:
Cash: 1,485.11
Checking Account: 1,642.69
Building: 101,987.88
Inventory: 9,251.11
Pickup Truck: 13,000.00
Office Furniture: 4,400.00
Office Equipment: 7,550.85
Accounts Receivable: 2,264.76
Table A.1: Assets of XYZ Shoes, Inc as of Mar 1, 1987
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 127
Each item we listed has become an account. The total of all the
listed accounts will be the total assets for XYZ. Now let's list the
liabilities and equity accounts:
Accounts Payable: 1,345.00
Salaries Payable: 3,150.00
Sales Tax Payable: 437.25
Income Tax Payable: 0.00
Mortgage: 84,055.80
Table A.2: Liabilities of XYZ Shoes, Inc as of Mar 1, 1987
Initial Capital: 54,430.53
Profit/Loss: 0.00
Table A.3: Equity of XYZ Shoes, Inc as of Mar 1, 1987
We are assuming (for the purpose of this example) that the above data
was true on Jan 1, 1987. Profit/Loss is zero, since we have incurred
no expenses nor made any revenue in the new year. We will follow
the example and see how the profit builds.
If you total the amounts above, you'll see the accounting equation is
satisfied. But don't bother just yet... we will prove it in a minute.
Now lets construct our "Chart of Accounts", which is simply a listing
of all our accounts. We will also add our REVENUE and EXPENSE
accounts while we are at it.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 128
------------------------------------------------------------------
XYZ Shoes, Inc
PO Box 0000
Anytown, USA
(555) 555-5555
"Our Shoes Smell Good"
------------------------------------------------------------------
Chart of Accounts Report Mar 1, 1987
------------------------------------------------------------------
1 ASSETS
10000 Cash DB
10001 Checking Account DB
10002 Building DB
10003 Inventory DB
10004 Pickup Truck DB
10005 Office Furniture DB
10006 Office Equipment DB
10007 Accounts Receivable DB
10008 Purchases DB
2 LIABILITIES
20000 Accounts Payable CR
20001 Salaries Payable CR
20002 Sales Tax Payable CR
20003 Income Tax Payable CR
20004 Mortgage CR
3 EQUITY
30000 Initial Capital CR
30001 Profit/Loss CR
39999 Non-Accounted For Funds CR
4 REVENUE
40000 Sales CR
40001 Misc Income CR
5 EXPENSES
50000 Cost of Goods Sold DB
50001 Salary Expense DB
50002 Utilities Expense DB
50003 Interest Expense DB
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 129
50004 Misc Expense DB
XYZ Shoes, Inc. Page 1
Figure A.1: Chart of Accounts for XYZ Shoes, Inc.
We used CheckMate Plus to print the chart. See the account numbers?
The five major categories are numbered '1' through '5', and each
account under them begins with the same number. This is a common and
logical way to number and group your accounts. The 'DB' and 'CR'
stand for 'debit' and 'credit'... we are just about to get around to
that...
A.2.2 What are DEBITS and CREDITS?
It makes sense when you use cash to pay a loan, you decrease an asset
(cash) and decrease a liability (the loan). It is easy to visualize,
but not so easy to document. Accountants use a system of 'debits' and
'credits' to document the flow of value. Also, remember accountants
avoid the use of negatives wherever possible.
Every account has a balance. We saw that the sum of the asset
accounts must equal the sum of the liability and equity accounts. We
will say, arbitrarily, that assets have DEBIT balances and both
liabilities and equity have CREDIT balances. Therefore, the total
debit balance equals the total credit balance.
Whoa! You may well be wondering how we decided to assign "types" to
the balances. It is strictly a way of looking at the data. If we say
assets have debit balances and both liabilities and equity have credit
balances, we have merely transformed the accounting equation into this
form:
DEBITS = CREDITS
Take a minute and let this sink in. The concept is the same... we
have just changed the notation. When you understand the difference
between a debit and a credit, you'll be over a major hurdle in
understanding the basic premises of accounting.
Now lets transform this notation into practice. An asset carries a
debit balance. This means that when we wish to INCREASE the asset we
must DEBIT the account. So, if I start with $50 in an account, and I
make a $100 debit, I now have $150 in the account.
Most people unfamiliar with accounting may scratch their head at this
point. Does it seem backwards? After all, when the bank DEBITs my
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 130
account, my assets DECREASE, not increase. True, BUT the debit is
from the bank's point of view, not yours! The debit did increase the
bank's assets (at your expense!). That is why we refer to the
transaction types as BANK DEBITS and BANK CREDITS (in checking
accounts), so there is no confusion on whose point of view is
prevailing.
Conversely, we will credit a liability or equity account to increase
it. Can you see that when we want to DECREASE a liability we will
debit it? Let's look at the payment of a loan again. We have two
accounts... one called 'CASH' and one called 'LOAN'. CASH is an
asset (debit) account and LOAN is a liability (credit) account. When
we make payments on a loan, both accounts must decrease (cash is
obviously less, and now we owe less). Let's see it work:
Pay $50.00 cash (credit CASH $50)
Lower loan $50.00 (debit LOAN $50)
See what we have done? We have credited CASH and debited LOAN, and
the sum of the debits ($50.00) equals the sum of the credits ($50.00).
It may still not be crystal clear, but give it a little time. What we
have documented above is a TRANSACTION. The transaction affects the
balances of our accounts. As always, we MUST make sure the accounting
equation is satisfied. To do this, the transaction must not disturb
the overall balance of the equation. Hence, all debit entries in a
transaction must equal all credit entries in the transaction!
Incidentally, here is how CheckMate Plus would document the
transaction. Notice that the sum of debits and credits do indeed
equal.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Jul 1, 1990
Acct# Account Name Description Debit Credit
----- ---------------- ----------------- ------------ ------------
10000 Cash Payment to LOAN 50.00
20005 LOAN Reduce LOAN 50.00
------------ ------------
50.00 50.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Figure A.2: Sample Transaction
The above transaction is a "double-entry" transaction since we made
two entries (to show how the money flowed from one account to
another). Now you can see why people call true accounting systems
"double-entry" systems. In real life, however, money often flows
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 131
to and from many accounts in the same transaction. CheckMate Plus
will let you make up to twelve entries per transaction.
Let's see how this would work. Assume Mr. Jackson walks into XYZ's
showroom and wants to buy a pair of alligator skin boots with inlaid
gold and ruby trim. The price on the shoes (on sale) is $999.95. Mr.
Jackson has good credit, and decides to pay $200 cash and make the
rest in weekly installments of $50. How would this transaction be
recorded?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mar 22, 1987
Acct# Account Name Description Debit Credit
----- ----------------- ---------------- ------------ ------------
10007 Accounts Receivab On Credit 849.95
20002 Sales Tax Payable 5% Sales Tax 50.00
40000 Sales Mr. Jackson 999.95
10000 Cash Down Payment 200.00
------------ ------------
1,049.95 1,049.95
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Figure A.3: Sample Sales Transaction
In a single transaction, we have made four entries. We have increased
(debited) two assets, CASH and ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE. We have also
increased (credited) a liability (SALES TAX PAYABLE) and a revenue
(SALES). Mr. Jackson has paid $200 and still owes $849.95 for a total
of $1049.95 (including sales tax).
You should take a moment to see how future transactions will develop.
Every time Mr. Jackson makes a payment on his boots, we will debit
(increase) CASH and credit (decrease) ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE. Also, when
we pay the state our sales tax due, we will credit (decrease) CASH and
debit (decrease) SALES TAX PAYABLE. For you folks in business...
notice how the sales tax never found its way into either revenue or
expenses? It shouldn't, since the collection and paying of sales tax
does not affect our profit or loss!
Speaking of profit and loss... how much profit did we make when we
sold the boots? Well, the cost of the boots falls into the account
COST OF GOODS SOLD. But rather than calculate profit on every sale,
XYZ uses the End-of-Period Adjustment method. At the end of each
month, XYZ will take an inventory of all shoes in stock. The
difference between the current (closing) inventory and last month's
(opening) inventory is entered into the journal. As we make purchases
during the month, we enter them into an account called PURCHASES.
Since the change in inventory will include these purchases at month's
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 132
end, we must also "clear" our PURCHASES while we calculate the COST OF
GOODS SOLD.
The difference between the two is COST OF GOODS SOLD for the month.
To illustrate, suppose XYZ had $9,251.11 worth of shoes at the end of
February. At the end of March they had $9,145.00 worth of shoes in
stock. During March, they bought $1,628.02 worth of new shoes. What
is the COST OF GOODS SOLD during March?
First, calculate the change in Inventory during the month of March.
You do this by subtracting the balance of Inventory at the end of
February from the balance of Inventory at the end of March:
Inventory at end of February: 9,251.11
Inventory at end of March: 9,145.00
--------
Change in Inventory 106.11
Now, record the transaction as follows:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mar 31, 1987
Acct# Account Name Description Debit Credit
----- ----------------- ---------------- ------------ ------------
10003 Inventory Change in Inventory 106.11
10008 Purchases Clear Purchases 1,628.02
50000 Cost of Goods Sold For March 1987 1,734.13
------------ ------------
1,734.13 1,734.13
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Figure A.4: Sample COGS Calculation
The COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) for March was $1,734.13. I realize this
is kind of a whirlwind approach to accounting methods. Remember, this
is a simple primer designed to get you started off. There have been
entire volumes written on accounting, and we can't hope to cover all
the subjects here. If you need to do serious business accounting, we
heartily recommend that you get yourself a good book or an accountant
to help you!
Hopefully you now can visualize this subject of debits and credits.
We also hope you have a grasp on the concepts of profit and loss. We
will now pursue that topic in more detail.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 133
A.3 Accounting Reports
At the end of each accounting period (usually a month or quarter),
you'll generate a series of accounting reports. There are two general
types of reports (ledger and summary).
Ledger reports are very detailed. These are your ACTIVITY REPORT and
your TRANSACTION REPORT.
In short, the activity report lists all accounts sequentially and the
debit and credit summary of each. If you make end-of-month
adjustments (like the one discussed above for COST OF GOODS SOLD),
this report will help you collect the figures you need. The other
report, your TRANSACTION REPORT, details all entries for the month and
serves as your permanent record that these entries were made.
In a "manual" accounting system, you have to POST the each period's
transactions before you can generate the "summary" reports. This
involves transferring all debits and credits for each transaction to
the corresponding accounts in the ledger. This can be tedious and
long! Thank goodness the computer (and CheckMate Plus) will do it for
us. CheckMate Plus actually posts "on the fly" as you create your
summary reports. (This is a very powerful feature, as it let's you
"backup" if you need to!).
Now let's discuss the "summary reports" (which are the Balance Sheet
and the Income Statement). These are the real fruits of all your
effort in maintaining an accounting system!
A.3.1 The Trial Balance
In "manual" accounting systems, accountants generate a "trial balance"
before they actually "post". Since CheckMate Plus let's you post "on
the fly", you can generate this trial balance at any time!
All a trial balance is is a list of detail accounts and their
corresponding debit or credit balance. If everything's OK, the total
of credits should equal the total of debits. Accountants use the
trial balance to make sure no "balancing" mistakes were made while
entering transactions.
If the trial balance fails (i.e. debits<>credits), you've must find
and fix the error before creating a final Balance Sheet and Income
Statement.
+ NOTE: CheckMate Plus "forces" your books to balance by automatically
"balancing" transactions that are not "balanced". It assigns excess
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 134
funds to a special account (Non-Accounted for Funds). CheckMate Plus
will omit this account in the Trial Balance, however, so you can track
down mistakes.
Here's a sample Trial Balance for XYZ Shoes:
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 135
----------------------------------------------------------------------
XYZ Shoes, Inc
PO Box 0000
Anytown, USA
(555) 555-5555
"Our Shoes Smell Good"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Trial Balance Mar 31, 1987
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Account Debit Credit
-------------------------------- ------------- -------------
10000 Cash 1,685.11
10001 Checking Account 1,642.69
10002 Building 101,987.88
10003 Inventory 9,145.00
10004 Pickup Truck 13,000.00
10005 Office Furniture 4,400.00
10006 Office Equipment 7,550.85
10007 Accounts Receivable 3,114.71
10008 Purchases 1,471.98
20000 Accounts Payable 1,345.00
20001 Salaries Payable 3,150.00
20002 Sales Tax Payable 487.25
20003 Income Tax Payable
20004 Mortgage 84,055.80
30000 Initial Capital 54,430.43
30001 Profit/Loss
40000 Sales 12,488.79
40001 Misc Income 320.00
50000 Cost of Goods Sold 10,537.13
50001 Salary Expense 1,200.00
50002 Utilities Expense 125.33
50003 Interest Expense 128.59
50004 Misc Expense 288.00
------------- -------------
156,277.27 156,277.27
============= =============
XYZ Shoes, Inc. Page 1
Figure A.5: Trial Balance for XYZ Shoes, Inc
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 136
A.3.2 The Balance Sheet
Remember the accounting equation? The way we prove we have followed
all the rules is through our BALANCE SHEET. The balance sheet can be
very detailed or very general. CheckMate Plus will generate a balance
sheet that will list ALL of your asset accounts and show how they
balance against ALL of your liability and equity accounts. This is a
very detailed balance sheet. If we summarized the data (which you can
do by customizing your reports), you could produce a general balance
sheet. The balance sheet is a snapshot of the company's holdings and
debt at a given instant. It does not reflect the passage of any time,
but rather shows an entity's current worth.
An example is worth a thousand words. Below is an example for
XYZ Shoes. Notice the total of assets does indeed equal the total of
liabilities and equity.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 137
----------------------------------------------------------------------
XYZ Shoes, Inc
PO Box 0000
Anytown, USA
(555) 555-5555
"Our Shoes Smell Good"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Balance Sheet Mar 31, 1987
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BALANCE SHEET
(as of Mar 31, 1987)
* ASSETS
10000 Cash 1,685.11
10001 Checking Account 1,642.69
10002 Building 101,987.88
10003 Inventory 9,145.00
10004 Pickup Truck 13,000.00
10005 Office Furniture 4,400.00
10006 Office Equipment 7,550.85
10007 Accounts Receivable 3,114.71
10008 Purchases 1,471.98
--------------
Total Assets 143,998.22
==============
* LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Liabilities
20000 Accounts Payable 1,345.00
20001 Salaries Payable 3,150.00
20002 Sales Tax Payable 487.25
20003 Income Tax Payable 0.00
20004 Mortgage 84,055.80
--------------
Total Liabilities 89,038.05
Equity
30000 Initial Capital 54,430.43
30001 Profit/Loss 0.00
39999 Non-Accounted For Funds 0.00
plus REVENUE 12,808.79
less EXPENSES 12,279.05
--------------
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 138
Total Equity 54,960.17
--------------
Total Liabilities + Equity 143,998.22
==============
XYZ Shoes, Inc. Page 1
Figure A.6: Balance Sheet for XYZ Shoes, Inc.
A.3.3 The Income Statement
The Income Statement, on the other hand, does reflect a change from
earlier period to the present. It is simply the difference between
REVENUE and EXPENSES for a given period. You can create monthly,
quarterly, and yearly reports, and, like the balance sheets they may
be very general or very specific. CheckMate Plus will let you
automatically create very detailed monthly, quarterly, or yearly
income statements. An example (for XYZ shoes) is presented below.
The data is all hypothetical.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 139
----------------------------------------------------------------------
XYZ Shoes, Inc
PO Box 0000
Anytown, USA
(555) 555-5555
"Our Shoes Smell Good"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Income Statement Mar 31, 1987
----------------------------------------------------------------------
INCOME STATEMENT
(Mar 1, 1987 to Mar 31, 1987)
* REVENUE
40000 Sales 12,488.79
40001 Misc Income 320.00
--------------
Total Revenue 12,808.79
* EXPENSES
50000 Cost of Goods Sold 10,537.13
50001 Salary Expense 1,200.00
50002 Utilities Expense 125.33
50003 Interest Expense 128.59
50004 Misc Expense 288.00
--------------
Total Expenses 12,279.05
--------------
Total Profit (Loss) 529.74
==============
XYZ Shoes, Inc. Page 1
Figure A.7: Income Statement for XYZ Shoes, Inc.
These reports are produced at the end of an accounting PERIOD, usually
a month, and are called End-of-Period Reports. You'll also want to
create end-of-year reports, which are essentially reports created
after your last month and BEFORE you do your end-of-year maintenance
(discussed below).
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 140
These reports offer a wealth of information. As you produce reports
each month, you can draw additional information by comparing new
reports with old. These reports will also be helpful while
filing taxes (or surviving an audit) and when negotiating with the
bank for loans.
Home users have the opportunity to see trends in their spending and to
quantify their net worth. Few individuals or families REALLY know
where they are financially. CheckMate Plus can help you make your
dollars go farther by showing you where they went in the past!
A.4 Where does it all end?
We aren't quite finished yet. There is still one more topic to
cover... ending the accounting year. At some point we want to
consolidate cumulative data and "reset" our books. This is the end-
of-year routine.
We do NOT zero out our current balances at the end of a year. Rather,
at the start of any year, our current balance for each account should
equal the last year's balance for that account. This makes sense,
when you think about it, but there is an exception.
Remember REVENUE and EXPENSES are actually subsets of EQUITY? We keep
them separate during the year so we can quickly assess our profit/loss
picture. At the end of the year, however, we want to zero the revenue
and expense accounts and start with a clean slate.
Anytime we change an account's balance we must make a corresponding
change to another account (remember the accounting equation!). In
order to "zero" our revenue and expenses, then, we must make balancing
entries to some other appropriate account. This balancing account is
usually called "Profit and Loss" or "Retained Earnings." Since the
profit (or loss) for the year is the difference between revenue and
expenses, these names are both appropriate. For this discussion, lets
call the account PROFIT/LOSS. This account, by the way, is an EQUITY
account.
So what do we do? Well, we simply transfer the balance of each
revenue account to PROFIT/LOSS. Since revenue accounts are CREDIT
accounts, we do this by DEBITING each revenue account and CREDITING
PROFIT/LOSS. So debits and credits are equal, and all revenue
accounts now have a current balance of zero.
Now repeat the process with all expense accounts. Our debits and
credits are reversed now, however, since expenses are DEBIT accounts.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 141
Can you see PROFIT/LOSS now holds the DIFFERENCE between revenues and
expenses?
CheckMate Plus automates the end-of-year routines as well. When you
start a new accounting year, all you have to do is change the "Fiscal
Year Start" and CheckMate Plus knows to treat EXPENSES and REVENUE as
"clean" on that date. You can assign all previous profits (or losses)
to a specific account under equity (for the balance sheet). Now we
are ready for a new year and can track our profit and loss situation
independently of previous years' data!
A.5 Final Thoughts
I certainly hope this primer has been of some use. It is not meant to
be a substitute for formal education, since it is much to brief to
cover many of the aspects of accounting you'll encounter as you run
your home or business. It should give you a push, however, and
perhaps make talking to your bookkeeper a little easier.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 142
Appendix B
Ordering Checks
CheckMate Plus automatically supports checks from NEBS Computer Forms.
When you register, you'll receive a package containing ordering
information along with the printed User's Guide.
CheckMate Plus supports the following NEBS formats automatically:
NEBS 9025 (multipurpose check with stub)
NEBS 9029 (multipurpose check without stub)
NEBS 9027 (laser check with stub)
If you want to contact NEBS directly, call NEBS at
1-800-388-3810
*IMPORTANT!* You must give them this mail code number:
95024
They can send you information or take your order over the phone.
We can also send you a sample package with complete ordering
information. If you'd like to order checks before you register, call
CTech, Inc at (904) 271-0316 and ask for the NEBS sample package.
We'll gladly send it to you without any pressure to register (we want
you to be completely satisfied with CheckMate Plus before you pay for
it).
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 143
Appendix C
How and Where to get Help
C.1 Technical Support
Technical support by telephone, mail, or FAX is ordinarily reserved
for registered users. We'll help you ONE TIME before you register to
help install CheckMate Plus for evaluation or to answer general
questions.
If you have questions or require technical support, call our technical
support line. Before January 15, 1995, call (206) 698-7754. After
January 15, the area code is changing, and you should call (360) 698-
7754. Do not call our toll-free order number with questions, as the
operators there can't help you (they are completely unfamiliar with
the program's operation). Our FAX number is (904) 271-0317.
You may write us a letter if you wish, but we are often swamped with
letters and it may be some time before you receive a reply.
CTech, Inc.
PO Box 10551
Panama City, FL 32404-1551
You can also reach us for technical support on CompuServe. We are
topic 7 in the PC Vendor A Support Forum. Just type "GO PCVENA" at
any CompuServe prompt.
Technical support is available to all users (registered or not) on
CompuServe with no time limit.
If you're not a CompuServe subscriber and would like a FREE IntroPak,
call 1-800-848-8199 and ask for operator 154. The IntroPak includes
FREE sign-up and $15 online credit (so you can explore CompuServe
without spending a dime!). This free offer is courtesy of CompuServe
and CTech, Inc.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 144
C.2 Association of Shareware Professionals Statement
This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware
Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware
principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-
related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly,
ASP may be able to help.
The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an
ASP member, but does not provide technical support for member's
products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road,
Muskegon, MI 49442-9427 or send a CompuServe message via Mail to ASP
Ombudsman ID: 70007,3536. You may also FAX your message to the ASP
Ombudsman at 616-788-2765. For faster service be sure to include your
phone number.
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 145
Index
[alt-C] 12, 14 audit lock 115
[alt-F] 12, 14 audit lock password 116
[alt-F2] 38 audit trail 115
[alt-F10] 13, 14 AUTOEXEC.BAT reminder 46
[alt-J] 35 automatic "reminder" 45
[alt-M] 14 automatic transactions 39
.end 70
[F1] 12, 14 B
[INS] 14 backup 110
(multiplication 99 Balance 36
balance sheet 136
A Balance Sheets 54
account number 24, 127 Bank Credit 27
account status 26 Bank Debit 27
accounting 124 Begin 85, 89
accounting equation 125, bottom line 11
131 browse 46
accounting reports 134 browse window 46
Accounts 21 budget 24, 75
accounts 127 Budget Reports 54
deleting 25 built-in variables 96
editing 25
accounts payable stub 34 C
activation date 46 calculator 12, 14
addition 99 CGA 7, 101, 118
Address 1 86, 98 Chart of Accounts 14, 128
Address 2 86, 98 check layout 24, 83, 84,
Address 3 86, 98 85
addresses 24, 29 designing 84
alt-A 14 language 85
Amount 86, 98 preinstalled 84
Amount String 86, 98 Check Number 86, 97
ASCII 61, 63 check number 24, 29
ASP 145 check printing 34, 38, 82
Assets 21, 124 checking accounts 21, 22
Association of Shareware Checks 27
Professionals 145 checks
ATM Deposit 27 ordering 143
ATM Withdrawal 28 printing 82
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 146
Cleared 30 End 85, 90
clearing transactions 79 end-of-month adjustments
colors 134
customizing 116 end-of-year routines 142
Column 85, 89 Equity 21, 125
COM1 93 exit strings 65, 122
COM2 93 Expenses 21, 126
CommasOff 85, 90 exploding windows 117
CommasOn 85, 90 expressions 98
Comments 86, 97 numeric 99
comments 29, 86 string 99
compounding a fixed sum
113 F
CompuServe 144 FillersOff 85, 90
concatenation 99 FillersOn 85, 91
contra accounts 24, 28 filter definition 19
control account 9, 26 filter definitions
cost of goods sold 133 deleting 20
Credits 28 retrieving 20
credits 130 saving 19
currency symbol 120 filter flag 12
custom reports 68 financial calculations
custom stub 34 112
fiscal year 114
D floating point numbers 96
data entry 14 For 86, 97
data file path 8
Date 86, 96 G
date 29 getting started 9
date activated graph type 104
transactions 41 graphics 101
Date Cleared 30 account activity 104
date format 119 account balance 104
Date Formats 15 budget analysis 104
dates debt to assets 106
entering 13 debt to equity 105
Debits 28 debt trend 105
debits 130 expenses by month 105
Deposits 27 expenses vs income 105
detail accounts 21, 22 income by month 105
directories 119
division 99 H
double-entry 131 hard disk 7
headings
E report 123
Editing Keys 15 help 9, 12, 14
editor 16 Hercules 7, 101, 118
EGA 7, 101, 118
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 147
I O
income statement 139 operator 18
Income Statements 54 order of precedence 99
Input 85, 91 overwrite 12, 14
insert 12, 14
installation 7 P
integer 96 Page 85, 92
Page Control 122
J page control 65
Justification 94 Paper size 121
paper size 65
L parentheses 120
laser checks 82, 84 passwords 118
laser printers 121 past years 114
LaserJet 121 paste 12
Last Date Run 115 Pause 85, 92
Liabilities 21, 125 pausing the printer 65
lines per page 65 PayTo 86, 97
loans 112 pin-feed checks 82, 84
local menu key 13 PRINTED 82, 83
local menus 13 Printed 30
loss 127, 132 printer 7
LPT1 93 Printer Port 122
LPT2 93 printer port 64, 65
printer strings 65, 122
M PrinterString 85, 92
margins 64 printing checks in
mark 30 "batch" 83
mark transactions 47 printing to a WKS file 63
Marked 86, 98 printing to an ASCII file
Memorize 33 63
memory requirements 7 printing to the printer
Memory status 14 62
menu key 14 printing to the screen 62
menu transactions 39 PrintTo 85, 93
Menus 11 profit 126, 132
Mouse 16
mouse 7 R
mouse driver 7 real 96
MSDOS 7 rebuild 107
multiple "sets of books" rebuild menu 107
9 rebuilding
accounts 108
N complete 107
NewCheck 85, 91 index 108
Non-Accounted for Funds reconciliation 30, 78
22, 25 repair 107
notes 32, 37 repeat options 42
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 148
report date 61 Special Keys 13
report footer 64 split 30, 36
report headings 123 split window 36
report parameters 64 statement date 78
report title 64 string 96
report utilities 64 Stub 85, 93
reports stub 36
analysis 60 Stub Layout 33
balance sheet 54 stubs 31
budget 58 subtraction 99
chart of accounts 53 summary accounts 21, 23
custom balance sheet system requirements 7
55
custom income T
statement 58 Tax Ded 86, 98
default parameters 121 tax deductible 29
designing 68 technical support 144
general ledger 51 top line 12
income statement 56 transaction report
ledger activity 52 customizing 51
ledger transaction 53 transactions
options 61 closing 48
printing 61 deleting 37
reconciliation 81 editing 34
summary 54 entering 28
transaction 50 expensing 49
trial balance 56 trial balance 56, 134
restore 110
Revenue 21, 126 U
reverse entries 114 utilities menu 33, 38
running balance 36 report 64
running CheckMate Plus 8
running scripts 46 V
Variable 85, 94, 95
S variable 18
savings 113 variables 75
screen saver 116 Vendor Account Number 97
script 45 Vendor Acct# 86, 97
scripts 46 VESA Super-VGA 101
search and filter 12 VESA SVGA 118
Search and Filter VGA 7, 101, 118
Operators 18 video 118
Search and Filter Window virtual paper 61, 62
17
setup strings 65, 122 W
SkipLines 85, 93 whole numbers 96
sound effects 117 Withdrawals 27
special effects 117 WKS 61
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 149
working messages 12 Writeln 85, 95
Write 85, 94
CheckMate Plus Introductory User's Guide 150
