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ACCOUNT PRO, BRIEF DESCRIPTION
ACCOUNT PRO is a versatile and user friendly accounting and financial
planning program, equally suitable for small to medium businesses,
institutions, and private users, who want to manage their own money
or the finances of an association or club. ACCOUNT PRO is based on
the principle of double-entry bookkeeping. It is capable of
networking and can handle up to 152 individual accounting systems.
Accounting with ACCOUNT PRO is very easy. As opposed to 'normal'
accounting programs, where erroneous transactions must be neutralized
(cancelled) and corrected by additional entries, ACCOUNT PRO allows
direct correction of such transactions anytime. Furthermore, ACCOUNT
PRO avoids the terms 'Debit' and 'Credit' for data entry. Instead, an
amount sign is used, which makes data entry faster and easier. Never-
theless, the displays and printouts of ACCOUNT PRO are in accordance
with normal accounting terminology.
In addition to the normal capabilities required for accounting,
ACCOUNT PRO has special capabilities which allow efficient financial
planning. Not only monthly budgets, but also monthly forecasts can be
entered for every expenditure and revenue account. The data of the
individual accounts is entered in easily viewable tables. Monthly and
yearly planning reports facilitate an overview of the system as a
whole. With these features, realistic forecasts of the financial
result at the end of the accounting period can be made any time.
ACCOUNT PRO does not try to be in accordance with any law or
guideline. In particular, the possibility of direct modification
of transactions (instead of reversing) might be interpreted to
be conflicting with the (only vaguely defined) requirement of
'sound accounting practice'. In cases where accounting is required by
law, it is therefore recommended that it is verified, whether or not
the use of ACCOUNT PRO is allowable.
An accounting period in ACCOUNT PRO can have a length of between two
days and one year. It can start in any month and can overlap two
calendar years.
Per accounting period, up to 16,300 (double-entry) transactions are
possible on up to 528 accounts. Transaction capacity depends on the
setup for interim data storage selected during program installation
(INSTALL.EXE) as follows:
┌────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────┐
│ │ Max. no. of transactions │
│ Interim data storage ├────────────────────────────┤
│ │ Main memory size │
│ │ 512 K │ 640 K │
├────────────────────────────┼─────────────┼──────────────┤
│ ACCOUNT's own RAM disk │ │ │
│ RAM.SYS in main memory │approx. 2,150│approx. 4,000 │
│ │ │ │
│ DOS RAM disk (VDISK.SYS │ up to 9,000 │ up to 16,300 │
│ or RAMDRIVE.SYS) in exten-│ depending on RAM disk size │
│ ded or expanded memory │ │ │
│ │ │ │
│ Hard disk │approx. 9,000│approx. 16,300│
└────────────────────────────┴─────────────┴──────────────┘
The size required for a DOS ram disk to be installed by VDISK.SYS or
RAMDRIVE.SYS can be calculated from the desired maximum number of
transactions as follows:
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ RAM disk size [in Bytes] = Max. no. of transactions x 42 │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
ACCOUNTING PERIOD
In ACCOUNT PRO, the accounting records generally consist of a series
of individual accounting 'systems', of which each one is associated
with a particular accounting period, a particular 'system' name and
particular data files. For designating of the individual accounting
systems, it is therefore recommended to use names composed of a
constant text part and a variable part which reflects the accounting
period (e.g. BOOK92, BOOK93, etc.).
An accounting period may have a length of between two days and one
year. If the period is shorter than or equal to eleven months, then it
can start on any date. If it is longer than eleven months, then it
must start on the first day of a calendar month.
Depending on the choice of interim data storage when installing
ACCOUNT PRO (INSTALL.EXE), up to 16,300 (double-entry) transactions
are possible on up to 528 accounts.
CALCULATOR FUNCTION
Whenever ACCOUNT PRO asks for input of an amount (transaction input
form and planning data input form), it also makes a calculator
available (press F8 to activate it).
Calculator operation is equivalent to that of a simple pocket
calculator usual in trade. The 'keys' of the calculator can be
'pressed' by mouse click or by pressing the corresponding key of the
PC keyboard. If using the keyboard, it should be noted that to
operate the 'keys' marked with two characters, the corresponding keys
of the PC keyboard must be pressed consecutively.
Some of the not so obvious calculator functions are explained below:
Key C : 'Clear', clears the main memory and sets the display to zero
Key MC: 'Memory Clear', clears the value in memory
Key M+: 'Memory +', adds the displayed value to the value in memory
Key M-: 'Memory -', subtracts the displayed value from the value in
memory
Key MR: 'Memory Recall', calls the value in memory into the display
Entering [R], will round the displayed value to two decimal places.
The displayed result can be copied to the input form. Pressing
[Enter] will copy the result unchanged. Pressing [N] will copy the
result as a negative value.
If [Esc] is pressed, the calculator function will be left, without
any result transfer.
CAPITAL ACCOUNT ('Structure'/'Chart of accounts' and
'Accounting period')
To store the start balances of the asset and liability accounts,
ACCOUNT PRO needs a special account, the 'capital account'. This
account can be any one of the liability accounts.
When starting a new accounting system, the totals of all balance sheet
accounts must be entered as transactions between the corresponding
account (as A1) and the capital account (as A2). When carrying a
system over to a new accounting period, ACCOUNT PRO will do this
automatically.
See also: New accounting system
Transactions: A1 and A2
Transactions: sign of amount
CARRY OVER TO NEW ACCOUNTING PERIOD ('Carry_over')
To start a new accounting period (the next one), select 'Carry_over'
from the main menu and enter the new period's data in the input form
which will appear thereafter.
ACCOUNT PRO will establish the totals of all balance sheet accounts
(assets and liabilities), calculate the 'Last year' figures of the
expenditure and revenue accounts and initialize the files of the new
accounting period.
If at the end of the accounting period you do not have all necessary
data available and cannot finalize the old system, you may open a new
period p r o v i s i o n a l l y and continue working with the new
files. Please note however that until the data of the old period is
complete and has been carried over f i n a l l y, you must not make
any changes to the charts of accounts of the two systems. When the
old system is carried over finally, ACCOUNT PRO updates the start
balance and the 'Last year' data of the new system, preserving all of
the transactions entered into the new system.
CHART OF ACCOUNTS ('Structure'/'Chart of accounts')
ACCOUNT PRO can handle up to 528 accounts. Any division of those into
asset, liability, expenditure and revenue accounts is possible. The
preset numbering of the accounts from 1 to 528 can be changed, and any
numbers with up to four digits can be used in any sequence. Please
note however that the account classes must be allocated as follows:
Preset no. Account class
┌──────────┐
│ 1 │\┌─────────────┐
│ │ │ Assets │
│ │ ├─────────────┤
│ │ │ Liabilities │
│ │ ├─────────────┤
│ │ │ Expenditure │
│ │ ├─────────────┤
│ │ │ Revenue │
│ 528 │ └─────────────┘
└──────────┘/
First class in chart: asset accounts
Next class in chart: liability accounts
Next class in chart: expenditure accounts
Next class in chart: revenue accounts
The account classes do not need to be immediately adjacent to one
another. Empty placeholder spaces are permissible. The account
numbers need not be in sequence. Lower numbers may follow higher
numbers.
One of the liability accounts must be designated as the 'capital
account'. ACCOUNT PRO needs this to store the balances of the asset
and liability accounts at the start of the accounting period (start
balance).
One of the expenditure or revenue accounts should be designated the
'interim account'. ACCOUNT PRO needs such an account as an interim
account for summary/split transactions.
An account is considered open (existing), after it has been given a
name. Account names may be entered under 'Structure'/'Chart of
accounts'. New accounts can be inserted into the chart of accounts or
the names and numbers of existing accounts changed, anytime in the
course of the accounting period. To insert an account between two
immediately adjacent accounts [Ins] must be pressed. To delete an
empty account placeholder space, [Del] must be pressed.
To delete an account, its name must be erased in the chart of
accounts. Prior to deleting an account, it will however be necessary
to transfer all of its transactions to other accounts.
Sample chart of accounts (private accounting system):
┌────────────────────────────┐ ┌────────────────────────────┐
│ASSETS (Nos. 1..) │ │LIABILITIES (Nos. 2..) │
│ │ │ │
│101 Petty cash │ │200 C a p i t a l account │
│102 Bank account 1 │ │210 Creditors: AMEXCO Card │
│103 Bank account 2 │ │ │
│104 Securities │ │212 Creditors: third parties│
│105 │ │213 Loan from Mr. Z │
│106 Weekend house │ │ │
│107 Life insurance │ │ │
│108 Car │ │ │
│109 Power boat │ │ │
│110 Withholding tax credit │ │250 House mortgages │
│111 House │ └────────────────────────────┘
│112 Loan to Mr. X │
│113 Debtor: Mr. Y │
│ │
│ │
│150 Debtors: third parties │
└────────────────────────────┘
┌────────────────────────────┐ ┌────────────────────────────┐
│EXPENDITURE (Nos. 3..) │ │REVENUE (Nos. 4..) │
│ │ │ │
│300 House maintenance │ │400 Salary │
│301 Interest on mortgages │ │ │
│ │ │402 Interest received │
│303 Electricity │ │ │
│304 Telephone/radio/TV │ │403 Various revenues │
│305 Taxes │ │ │
│306 Insurance premiums │ │ │
│307 Health insurance │ │ │
│308 Doctor/dentist │ │ │
│309 Membership fees │ │450 Interest from loan to X.│
│310 Newspapers/magazines │ │ │
│311 Household │ │999 I n t e r i m account │
│ │ └────────────────────────────┘
│312 Outside meals │
│313 Car operation and maint.│
│314 Boat operation/maint. │
│315 Pocket money A │
│316 Pocket money B │
│317 Clothing A │
│318 Clothing B │
│319 Gifts │
│320 Hobbies/Sport │
│321 Pleasure/Restaurant │
│322 Holidays │
│323 Major purchases │
│ │
│325 Depreciation │
│326 Unaccounted cash spent │
│327 Various expenses │
│ │
└────────────────────────────┘
LIQUIDITY ('View'/'Statistics'/'Liquidity')
In ACCOUNT PRO, liquidity is defined as cash which can be made
available at short notice. The accounts whose balances contribute
to total liquidity, must be indicated under 'View'/'Statistics'/
'Liquidity'/'Define liquidity accounts'.
Asset a n d liability accounts may be considered to contribute
to liquidity. Assets will normally increase, and liabilities will
normally decrease liquidity.
The liquidity statistics table displayed under 'View'/'Statis-
tics'/'Liquidity'/'Show liquidity', can indicate, whether capital
could be invested differently, to increase revenue.
The current amount of cash which can be made available at short
notice, is shown in the last month displayed on the table.
MOUSE: HOW TO USE
ACCOUNT PRO can be operated using the keyboard or a mouse which is
fully Microsoft-compatible. If you are using a mouse, you should note
the following:
- To select from the menus, simply click the desired item with
the left mouse button.
- The right mouse button has the same function as the [Esc] key
on the keyboard
- All screen areas which appear in high intensity white on red
(high intensity white on black, with monochrome monitors) are
mouse areas. To activate the corresponding function, simply
click the area with the left mouse button.
- On the displays 'Account sheet', 'Latest transactions',
'Journal view', 'Balance and profit & loss sheets',
'Expenditure/revenue of a month', 'Yearly planning report' and
'Monthly planning report' clicking in the upper or lower half
of the screen will scroll up or down by exactly one page,
respectively (same as [PgUp] and [PgDn]).
- To enter an account no., a transaction no., a time period in a
planning table, or to select from the list of accounting
systems or from the list of help topics, simply click the
desired line or item with the left mouse button.
- In all data input forms, the cursor can be positioned at the
desired place, by simply clicking it with the left mouse
button.
NEW ACCOUNTING SYSTEM
General
-------
The procedures for creating a new accounting system with your own
chart of accounts or using one of the standard charts of accounts
supplied with ACCOUNT PRO are described further below. In both cases,
the last step will be to enter the balance sheet account current
balances prevailing at the start of the accounting period, by entering
all totals of the asset and liability accounts as transactions between
the corresponding account (as A1) and the 'capital account' (as A2).
Asset account current balances (if positive) must be entered as
positive values, and liability account current balances (if they
really represent liabilities) as negative figures.
Creating a new accounting system with your own chart of accounts
----------------------------------------------------------------
Select 'Exit'/'Load another system' from the menu, and then chose 'New
system' from the 'List of accounting systems'. Then, follow the user
instructions. ACCOUNT PRO will guide you through all necessary steps
to create a new accounting system.
Creating a new accounting system using one of the standard charts of
accounts
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Load the file which contains the desired standard chart of accounts
(e.g. PRIVPLAN) just in the same way as you would load the sample
accounting system. Then, adapt the chart of accounts ('Structure'/
'Chart of accounts'), its structure ('Structure'/Structure') and the
data pertaining to the accounting period ('Structure'/'Accounting
period') to your particular needs.
After that, you should enter the balance sheet figures prevailing at
the start of the accounting period. Following input of this data, the
new accounting system is created, and you may now enter further
transactions.
Should you not need the original file containing the standard chart of
accounts any further, you may delete it from DOS by entering DEL
Name.*. However, each time you rerun the installation program
INSTALL.EXE, the files will be recreated.
See also: Carry over to new acc. period
Transactions: A1 and A2
Transactions: sign of amount
OPTIONS: EXPORT OF DATA ('Options'/'Export data')
The following can be exported in the form of delimited ASCII files:
- Individual account sheets
- All transactions
- Balance and profit & loss sheets
- Monthly expenditures/revenues
- Yearly planning report
Delimited ASCII files (also referred to as 'comma & "" delimited
files') are ASCII files in which the numerical values and strings are
delimited by commas. Strings are additionally delimited by inverted
commas, to distinguish them from numbers.
Many spreadsheet programs (e.g. Quattro Pro, Lotus) and database
programs (e.g. PFS Professional File) can process delimited ASCII
files. Generally, a special program function (normally called
'Import') must be used for importing of delimited ASCII files. In the
case of data base programs, a suitable record structure must normally
be established, before data import can happen.
Each line of a delimited ASCII file corresponds to a line in a
spreadsheet or to a record in a data base.
Whilst all of the ACCOUNT PRO export files are suitable for
processing with spreadsheet programs, processing with data base
programs makes sense for the file 'All transactions' only, as this
file is the only export file consisting of uniformly structured
records.
If the name of the export file is not preceded by a path name,
ACCOUNT PRO will save the export file to its own directory on the
hard disk.
The record structures (fields) of the export files are as follows:
'Individual account sheet':
┌──────╥─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┐
│Field ║ 1. │ 2. │ 3. │ 4. │ 5. │ 6. │ 7. │ 8. │ 9. │ 10. │
├──────╫─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤
│Cont. ║Day │Month│Year │Date │Text │A2 │Debit│Cred.│Bal. │No. │
├──────╫─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤
│Type ║Str. │Str. │Str. │Str. │Str. │Str. │Num. │Num. │Num. │Str. │
└──────╨─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┘
'All transactions':
┌──────╥─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┐
│Field ║ 1. │ 2. │ 3. │ 4. │ 5. │ 6. │ 7. │ 8. │ 9. │
├──────╫─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤
│Cont. ║Day │Month│Year │Text │A1 │A2 │Debit│Cred.│No. │
├──────╫─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤
│Type ║Str. │Str. │Str. │Str. │Str. │Str. │Num. │Num. │Str. │
└──────╨─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┘
'Balance and profit & loss sheets' and
'Monthly expenditures/revenues':
┌──────╥─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┐
│Field ║ 1. │ 2. │ 3. │ 4. │
├──────╫─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤
│Cont. ║Acc. │Name │Debit│Cred.│
├──────╫─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤
│Type ║Str. │Str. │Num. │Num. │
└──────╨─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┘
'Yearly planning report':
┌──────╥─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬──────┬─────────────┐
│Field ║ 1. │ 2. │ 3. │ 4. │ 5. │ 6. │
├──────╫─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼──────┼─────────────┤
│Cont. ║Acc. │Name │L.Yr.│Budg.│Actual│Act.+Forecast│
├──────╫─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼──────┼─────────────┤
│Type ║Str. │Str. │Num. │Num. │Num. │Num. │
└──────╨─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴──────┴─────────────┘
OPTIONS: FORMAT OF AMOUNTS ('Options'/'Format of amounts')
Under 'Options'/'Format of amounts' you can select the display format
for amounts. The format selected will affect all of ACCOUNT PRO's
screen displays and all of its printouts.
Six different display formats are available. Formats A to C use the
period as the decimal separator, whereas formats D to F use the comma.
With formats A, B, D and E, amounts up to 9 999 999.99 currency units
can be displayed. Formats C and F allow displaying of amounts up to
999 999 999.99 currency units.
If an amount is too high, and cannot be displayed in the selected
format, asterisks will appear in its place. In such cases you can try
to select a format, which is better suited to display high amounts
(formats C and F).
OPTIONS: PRINTER SETTINGS ('Options'/'Printer')
Page length ('Options'/'Printer'/'Page length')
-------------------------------------------------
Enter that number of lines per page (at 6 lines/inch) which your
printer can really print onto one page, and do not enter the
number of lines which would theoretically fit on a page.
If you use 11-inch endless paper, the correct setting is 66 lines
per page.
With single sheet feeders, the number of lines that fit on one
page depends on the specific printer model. You can easily
determine your printer's particular value using a word processor.
Simply set the top and bottom margins to zero and number the
lines consecutively.
The correct lines per page settings for the various HP Deskjet
printer models are as follows:
US letter (11 inch): 63 lines/page A4-paper: 67 lines/page
The DIP switches for 'Text Scale Mode' and 'Perforation Skip'
should be set to position 'OFF'.
ASCII character set ('Options'/'Printer'/'ASCII character set')
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Although some printers are declared IBM-compatible, they may not in
fact be equipped with exactly the same character set as the IBM
printers.
Quite often, ASCII codes 128 to 255 contain characters which differ
from the of IBM character set (e.g. italic characters). In such
cases, the graphic characters (┼, ├, │, etc.), which ACCOUNT PRO uses
normally for its printouts, are not available. To cope with this,
ACCOUNT PRO can be set up for the printer's character set being 'Not
fully IBM-compatible', which will cause ACCOUNT PRO to replace the
graphic characters by suitable characters pertaining to the standard
ASCII set (1 to 127).
The DIP switches of printers which are fully IBM compatible in terms
of character set, should be set to the US character set (IBM
character set).
Driver ('Options'/ 'Printer'/'Driver')
---------------------------------------
Under menu item 'Driver', you can select a suitable printer
driver or (if none of the available drivers will fit), create
your own particular driver ('Create your own driver').
To create your own particular driver, consult your printer manual
about control by escape sequences. Enter the escape sequences
required as decimal equivalents of the ASCII characters to be
sent to the printer. Separate the individual numbers by commas.
Example: In the case of an Epson printer, you would have to enter
27,48 to define the control sequence for printing with 8
lines/inch.
Interface ('Options'/'Printer'/'Interface')
---------------------------------------------
Under menu item 'Interface', you can define the printer interface
to be used. Most printers are connected to the first parallel
interface (LPT1:). Therefore, select this option in case of
doubt.
PLAN ('Plan')
In ACCOUNT PRO, to 'plan' means to establish a target for the end of
the accounting period and then from time to time to forecast, how
well that target will be reached in reality.
The purpose of planning is early recognition of any possible
deviation from the budget financial end result, and to allow suitable
corrective measures to be taken (e.g. cutting of expenses, deferring
of projects).
See also: Plan: budget
Plan: forecast
PLAN: BUDGET ('Plan'/'Account'/'Input/modify'/'Budget')
The budget figures should be established at the start of the
accounting period. They should be considered as objectives (the
targets to be reached) and should therefore n o t b e c h a n g e
d thereafter.
If you recognize after some time that the budget figures will not be
reached in reality, then you should adapt the forecast figures only
(leaving the budget figures intact).
See also: Plan
Plan: Forecast
Plan: Take over
Plan: Last year data
PLAN: FORECAST ('Plan'/'Account'/'Enter/edit'/'Forecast')
The forecast should be revised from time to time, according to the
latest actual development.
The 'Budget' figures serve as target figures and should not be
changed, once they have been finalized.
When entering the forecast for the first time, the 'Last year' or the
'Budget' figures can easily be taken over, where appropriate: In the
amount field of the planning table, enter [L] or [B], respectively,
or for bulk take over, select 'Take over budget as forecast' from the
menu.
See also: Plan
Plan: budget
Plan: take over budget
PLAN: LAST YEAR DATA ('Plan'/'Account'/'Enter/edit'/'Last_year')
The 'Last year' values are generated automatically when an accounting
system is carried over to a new accounting period. They are intended
to facilitate establishment of the new budget. Where appropriate, they
can be copied to serve as budget values. 'L' must be entered instead
of a budget value, for this purpose.
See also: Plan
Plan: budget
Plan: forecast
Plan: take over budget
PLAN: MEMORANDA ('Plan'/'Account'/'Enter/edit'/'Memo')
To avoid forgetting the considerations made when having entered the
forecast data for an account, memos on planning can be attached to
the expenditure and revenue accounts.
If a memo has been attached, the word (MEMO) is displayed in the
upper right corner of an account's planning table.
To delete a memo on planning, the memo must be activated and then the
[F3] key pressed.
PLAN: MONTHLY REPORT ('Plan'/'Monthly report')
The monthly planning report compares the monthly totals of 'Budget',
'Forecast' and 'Current' of the individual accounts and their sum.
The 'Current' figures comprise all transactions made in the current
month.
The accounting period as a whole, can be overviewed under the menu
item 'Yearly planning report'.
See also: Plan
Plan: Budget
Plan: Forecast
Plan: Last year data
Plan: Yearly planning report
PLAN: TAKE OVER BUDGET ('Plan'/'Take over budget as forecast')
The budget is normally established at the beginning of the
accounting period. At this time, the forecast figures are identical
to the budget figures. If you select 'Plan'/'Take over budget as
forecast' from the menu, ACCOUNT PRO will copy the figures of the
budget column to the forecast column, for all or for specific
accounts.
See also: Plan
Plan: budget
Plan: forecast
PLAN: TYPE DEFINITION ('Plan'/'Account'/'Enter/edit'/'Type_def.')
In the area of planning, a distinction can be made between accounts,
concerning the forecasted balance at the end of the accounting
period. Accounts whose end balance is not well known at the
beginning of the accounting period can be distinguished from those
whose end balance is already rather well known, by assigning the
corresponding account type as follows:
Type V (variable): The (estimated) end amount (Actual+Forecast)
may assume any value, lower, equal or higher
than the budget. This is the default case and
no specific indication is necessary.
Type F (fixed) : The (estimated) end amount (Actual+Forecast)
must be at least equal to the budget, but might
also be higher. This applies normally to
accounts like 'Salary', 'Insurance premiums',
'House rent', etc., where the end amount is
generally well known at the start of the
accounting period.
For accounts designated as type F (fixed), the total of
'Actual+Forecast' on the planning table will flash, if the above
condition is not fulfilled. Also, the account's budget marker (Bf) on
the chart of accounts will flash in this case. This is intended to
indicate to the user, that he should revise the forecast of the
concerned account, as otherwise the yearly report would render an
unrealistic result.
See also: Plan
Plan: budget
Plan: yearly planning report
PLAN: YEARLY REPORT ('Plan', 'Yearly planning report')
The yearly planning report compares the yearly values of 'Last Year',
'Budget' and 'Actual + Forecast' of the individual accounts and
the yearly totals.
The 'Actual' values contain all transactions until and including the
'last month with complete transactions'. For the further months, the
'Forecast' figures are used to form the values of 'Actual +
Forecast'.
Similar information for the current month can be displayed under
menu item 'Monthly planning report'.
See also: Plan
Plan: budget
Plan: monthly planning report
Plan: forecast
Plan: last year data
STATISTICS ('View'/'Statistics')
ACCOUNT PRO allows evaluating the data entered according to
statistical criteria:
- monthly expenditure and revenue
- monthly liquidity
See also: Liquidity
STRUCTURE ('Structure')
Select 'Structure'/'Chart of accounts' from the menu, if you want to:
open new accounts
change account names and numbers
delete accounts
Select 'Structure'/'Structure' from the menu, if you want to:
enter or modify the division into asset, liability,
expenditure and revenue accounts
Select 'Structure'/'Accounting period' from the menu, if you want to:
enter or modify the accounting system name, the start
or end date of the period, or name and number of the
capital or interim account
TRANSACTIONS ('Transactions')
General
-------
Transactions can be processed under the 'Transactions' item of the
main menu or by pressing [F1], [F2], [F3] or [F4] when an account
sheet or the 'latest transactions' are displayed on screen. In the
case of the latter possibility, it should be noted that [F10]
(recalculation) must be pressed after processing, for the effect of
any changes to become visible on screen.
Date input field
----------------
Enter the date in the form 'day.month' or simply press [Enter] to
enter the actual date. To leave the date field blank, press [Down
Arrow] or click another field with the mouse. No entry of the calendar
year is necessary, not even then, if the accounting period covers
periods of two subsequent calendar years. As each calendar month is
present only once in any accounting period, ACCOUNT PRO will
automatically allocate a transaction to the appropriate calendar year.
Transactions on the first day of the accounting period are permitted
in connection with the capital account only. This will ensure that the
'balance carried forward' appears as the first entry on the account
sheets.
Amount input field
------------------
See under 'Transaction: sign of amount'
A1 and A2
---------
See under 'Transactions: A1 and A2'
Description input field, memos on transactions, 'open items'
------------------------------------------------------------
See under 'Transactions: memos/'open items'
Automatic transactions (VAT, sales tax, discount)
-------------------------------------------------
See under 'Transactions: automatic tr.'
Summary/split transactions
--------------------------
See under 'Transactions: summary/split'
Standard transactions
---------------------
See under 'Transactions: standard tr.'
TRANSACTIONS: A1 AND A2
The abbreviations A1 and A2 stand for account and counter-account.
In a double-entry bookkeeping system, every transaction is affecting
two different accounts (the account A1 and the counter-account A2).
One and the same amount is always debited (or credited) to one
account and in the same time credited (or debited) to the other
account.
ACCOUNT PRO avoids the terms 'Debit and 'Credit' in its data input
forms. Instead, the amount is entered as a negative or positive
value, which defines primarily in conjunction with account A1,
whether the amount is debited or credited to the accounts.
See also: Transactions: sign of amount
TRANSACTIONS: AUTOMATIC TRANSACTIONS (VAT, sales tax, discount)
A special kind of standard transactions (see 'Transactions: standard
tr.') with a percentage instead of an amount, allows automatic
processing of transactions to reflect VAT, sales tax and discount.
ACCOUNT PRO will automatically add a tax or discount transaction to
a main transaction previously made.
Tax amounts are always calculated based on the gross amount (which
includes the tax). Discount is always calculated based on the payment
amount (from which discount has already been deducted). The main
transaction must therefore be made for the corresponding basic amount.
The content of the relevant standard transactions must be as
follows:
a) VAT paid (example with asset account no. 117 'VAT paid' and a
tax rate of 14%):
╔═════╤═════════════╤════╤════╤═══════════════════════╗
║DATE │AMOUNT *) │ A1 │ A2 │DESCRIPTION ║
╟─────┼─────────────┼────┼────┼───────────────────────╢
║█████│12.28070175% │ 117│████│14% VAT p. ████████████║ **)
╚═════╧═════════════╧════╧════╧═══════════════════════╝
*) Amount = 14/114 = 12.28070175%
b) VAT received (example with liability account no. 263 'VAT
received' and a tax rate of 14%):
╔═════╤═════════════╤════╤════╤═══════════════════════╗
║DATE │AMOUNT *) │ A1 │ A2 │DESCRIPTION ║
╟─────┼─────────────┼────┼────┼───────────────────────╢
║█████│-12.28070175%│ 263│████│14% VAT r. ████████████║ **)
╚═════╧═════════════╧════╧════╧═══════════════════════╝
*) Amount = -14/114 = -12.28070175%
c) Sales tax (example with liability account no. 264 'Sales tax'
and a tax rate of 6.2%):
╔═════╤═════════════╤════╤════╤═══════════════════════╗
║DATE │AMOUNT *) │ A1 │ A2 │DESCRIPTION ║
╟─────┼─────────────┼────┼────┼───────────────────────╢
║█████│-5.83804% │ 264│████│6.2% S. tax████████████║ **)
╚═════╧═════════════╧════╧════╧═══════════════════════╝
*) Amount = -6.2/106.2 = -5.83804%
d) Discount given (example with expenditure account no. 438
'Discount given' and a discount of 2%:
╔═════╤═════════════╤════╤════╤═══════════════════════╗
║DATE │AMOUNT *) │ A1 │ A2 │DESCRIPTION ║
╟─────┼─────────────┼────┼────┼───────────────────────╢
║█████│2.040816326% │ 438│████│2% Disc. g.████████████║ **)
╚═════╧═════════════╧════╧════╧═══════════════════════╝
*) Amount = 2/98 = 2.040816326%
e) Discount received (example with revenue account no. 720
'Discount received' and a discount of 2%):
╔═════╤═════════════╤════╤════╤═══════════════════════╗
║DATE │AMOUNT *) │ A1 │ A2 │DESCRIPTION ║
╟─────┼─────────────┼────┼────┼───────────────────────╢
║█████│-2.040816326%│ 720│████│2% Disc. r.████████████║ **)
╚═════╧═════════════╧════╧════╧═══════════════════════╝
*) Amount = -2/98 = -2.040816326%
**) The description can have a maximum length of 10 characters,
because ACCOUNT PRO needs the remaining 13 characters to insert
the number of the associated main transaction.
For immediate automatic input of tax or discount transactions, you
must first enter a main transaction with the gross amount (in case of
VAT or sales tax) or the net payment amount (in case of discount).
Thereby, account A1 must always be a balance sheet account (assets and
liabilities). In case of discount, A1 must be that asset account, from
which/to which the payment has been made. The main transaction must be
'accepted' by pressing [F10], as usual. Subsequently, the appropriate
standard transaction must be called by pressing [ALT]-x (or [ALT]-[Z]
and selecting the appropriate standard transaction) and be 'accepted'
with [F10].
For later automatic input of a tax or discount transaction pertaining
to a main transaction made earlier, you can call for a copy of the
concerned transaction by pressing [F4], transform the copy into the
tax or discount transaction by pressing [ALT]-x (or [ALT]-[Z] and
selecting the appropriate standard transaction) prior to pressing
[F10], and accept the transformed transaction with [F10].
To modify a tax or discount transaction made earlier, you can call
that transaction for editing by pressing [F2], insert the appropriate
data by pressing [ALT]-x (or [ALT]-[Z] and selecting the appropriate
standard transaction) prior to pressing [F10], and accept the modified
transaction with [F10].
TRANSACTIONS: SUMMARY/SPLIT TRANSACTIONS
When a transaction is entered, this will generally cause ACCOUNT PRO
to book the transaction amount onto two accounts only (A1 and A2).
Summary/split transactions, where an entry on one account is counter-
weighted by entries on several other accounts, are nevertheless
possible with ACCOUNT PRO, by means of an 'interim' account (see also
'Chart of accounts'), which will only temporarily (ad interim) have a
current balance other than zero.
The way summary/split transactions work in ACCOUNT PRO, is explained
hereafter, using the example of a payment, which concerns several
accounts: Assume, you have given your bank the order to pay several
bills which concern various accounts. The bank has done so and sent
you a voucher which states that an amount equivalent to the sum of
all bill amounts has been charged to your bank account.
This can be properly reflected in ACCOUNT PRO as follows:
First, enter all the individual bill amounts as transactions between
the interim account (as A1) and the specific account concerned (as
A2). Thereby, the amount signs are the same as if you would use the
bank account as A1. Then, enter a transaction between the bank
account (as A1) and the interim account (as A2), with an amount
corresponding to the total of all bills, and a negative amount sign
(as usual, if an expenditure is charged to an asset account). This
transaction will reset the current balance of the interim account to
zero, which must always happen after summary/split transactions have
been entered.
If you use the 'Transactions' item of the main menu, ACCOUNT PRO will
provide special assistance for handling summary/split transactions:
As soon as you start booking any amounts onto the interim account,
ACCOUNT will display the current balance of that account. The last
one of the summary/split transactions, which should reset the interim
account current balance to zero, can easily be made by pressing the
[S] key when in the amount field of the transaction input form. This
will cause ACCOUNT PRO to insert the interim account current balance
displayed into the amount field.
For correcting erroneous entries, it is recommended to call up a
display of the interim account ('View'/'Account') and to make any
corrections directly from there.
TRANSACTIONS: MEMOS/OPEN ITEMS
Memos attached to transactions
------------------------------
The description in the transaction input form can have a maximum
length of 23 characters. If this is not sufficient or if otherwise
desired, a memorandum can be attached to the transaction. Pressing
[F9] when in the transaction input form will display the memo input
form. Transactions with memos attached are marked with '*)' at the
right end of the description input field. To display the memo of a
transaction, the transaction must be 'edited' (F2 or 'Transactions'/
'Edit'), and [F9] pressed. To delete a memo, the memo must be
displayed, and [F3] pressed. Subsequently, [F10] must be pressed to
'accept' the changed transaction.
Open items
----------
Transactions can be marked as 'open items' and an optional memo
can be attached in the same time. This function may be useful for
managing e.g. unpaid bills. To mark a transaction as an 'open item',
[F9] must be pressed when in the transaction input form. The memo
input form appearing thereafter, may be (but needs not to be) filled
out. Pressing [F9] will mark the transaction with '#)' at the right
end of the description input field.
To delete a transaction's 'open item' mark, the transaction must be
'edited' (F2 or 'Transactions'/ 'Edit'), and [F9] pressed. Subsequent
pressing of [F3] will delete the mark as well as an eventual memo
attached. If F10 is pressed however, the memo will be preserved and
the transaction be marked with '*)' as having a normal memo attached.
In any case, the transaction must subsequently be 'accepted' as
changed by pressing [F10].
Under 'View'/'Account sheets'/'Open items', all transactions of an
account marked as 'open items' can be displayed for a specific period
of time.
Under 'Reports'/'Account sheets'/'Particular account sheet'/'Open
items', all transactions of an account marked as 'open items' can be
printed out for a specific period of time.
TRANSACTIONS: SIGN OF AMOUNT
ACCOUNT PRO uses the terms 'Debit' and 'Credit' in its displays and
printed reports only. When entering transactions, the amount sign
will determine whether an amount is debited or credited to an
account.
The rule for the amount sign is very simple:
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│"'+' increases the current balance of account no. A1, if │
│ A1 is an asset account" │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
From that follows logically:
'-' decreases the current balance of an asset account (when A1),
or '-' makes the normally negative current balance of a liability
account (when A1) even more negative.
When entering transactions, it is recommended that you assume an
asset or a liability account to be A1. This is almost always
possible, as transactions between expenditure and revenue accounts
are quite rare. You can imagine an asset account to be a pot filled
with a certain volume of money, and a liability account to be a hole
lacking the volume of money which would fill it. If for example, you
need to enter a petty cash expense (with petty cash being account
A1), then it is easily conceivable that the amount must be entered as
negative, as the volume of money in the pot is quite obviously
becoming smaller.
With a liability account as A1, it is equally simple: If for example,
you need to reflect a purchase paid for by credit card (not the
actual payment to the credit card organization), then it is equally
conceivable that the amount must have a negative sign, as obviously
the hole (your debt) becomes deeper.
Therefore, the following principle is also valid:
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ If A1 is a balance sheet account (assets and liabilities), │
│ then each expense must be entered as a negative, and each │
│ revenue as a positive amount. │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
See also: Transactions: A1 and A2
TRANSACTIONS: STANDARD TRANSACTIONS
Under the key combinations [ALT]-[A] to [ALT]-[R], 18 standard
transactions can be stored. To define and store a standard
transaction, the transaction input form must be called (with 'Trans-
actions'/ 'Add' or [F1], [F2] or [F4] in the account sheet display)
and filled in completely or partly. Then, [ALT]-[F10] must be pressed
(instead of [F10] as usual), and the key indicated (A...R), under
which the transaction shall be stored.
Whenever the transaction input form is displayed, the standard
transactions can be called with [ALT]-[x], where [x] stands for one of
the keys [A] to [R]. Thereby, only those entry fields will be
overwritten, which correspond to non-empty fields of the standard
transaction.
Entering [ALT]-[Z] in any of the fields of the transaction input form,
will display a list of the standard transactions. From this, the
desired standard transaction can be selected by pressing the
corresponding key.
REPORTS: PRINTING ('Reports')
Before printing out any reports, you should set up ACCOUNT PRO for the
printer used ('Options'/'Printer').
ACCOUNT PRO provides easy on-screen access to all information, and
printing out of accounts is not necessary at all. For the case
however, where complete printouts of all accounts must be available
from time to time, ACCOUNT PRO has the special capability of avoiding
paper wastage. ACCOUNT PRO keeps a record of the transactions it has
printed, except when printing out an individual account, and you can
later ask ACCOUNT PRO to print any 'unprinted' transactions only
('Reports'/'Account sheets'/'Unprinted transactions'). ACCOUNT PRO
will then only reprint such pages where changes have occurred (added,
edited or deleted transactions) and skip any unchanged pages.
At the end of this operation, ACCOUNT PRO will ask you whether the
printout is OK. If you answer with 'Yes', all transactions will be
marked as printed. If you answer with 'No', then ACCOUNT PRO will
consider the printout as having never occurred.
VIEW ('View')
ACCOUNT PRO is so designed that all information is easily accessible
on-screen at all times.
Under the 'View' item of the main menu, all principal displays of
ACCOUNT PRO can be accessed:
o Account sheet
- Entire sheet (up to approx. 1,250 entries can be displayed.
The exact number depends on how ACCOUNT PRO
has been installed, on the size of the
current accounting system, and on memory
available. If an account contains more
transactions than can be displayed, then
you can ask ACCOUNT PRO to display the
transactions pertaining to a shorter period
of time: one month only, or a sufficiently
short 'period')
- Month (the entries and the account turnover are
displayed for a particular month)
- Period (the entries and the account turnover are
displayed for a particular period of time)
- Current bal. (displays the account's current balance
quickly; especially useful for large account
sheets)
- Open items (displays all transactions marked as 'open
items' for a selectable time period)
o Latest transact. (displays all transactions entered since
loading of the current accounting system;
is particularly useful for easy detection of
erroneous entries)
o Journal view (displays all transactions sorted according to
transaction number (A) or sorted according to
date/transaction no. (B); display A is
particularly useful to find erroneous entries
(wrong date or wrong account number) which
may have 'disappeared' anywhere in the
system.
o Balance and pro- (displays the balance sheet per the selected
fit & loss sheets date and the profit & loss sheet for the
period between the start and the selected
date; for the sheets to be meaningful, it is
necessary that the transactions are complete
up to the selected date.
o Statistics
- Expenditure/ (the statistical expenditure/revenue
revenue table is useful to indicate an eventual
general trend)
- Liquidity (the statistical liquidity table may be useful
to indicate whether some capital could be
invested differently to yield more revenue.
The total amount that can currently be
liquified, is shown on the last line
displayed)
o Expenditure/reve- (the current balances of all expenditure and
venue of a month revenue accounts are displayed)