Software of the Month Club 1998 June

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********************************************************************** -> This file introduces EASI-PLAN Micro, explains how to get started etc. It should be read by all first-time users. -> The file has been supplied as an integral part of the shareware version of EASI-PLAN Micro, a financial planner for new/small businesses, specially developed for use on a 'try-before-you-buy' basis by Invest-Tech Limited. For contact details, see end of this file. -> To print this file, type "PRINT README.TXT" at the DOS prompt. ********************************************************************** CONTENTS ======== This file (README.TXT) covers the following topics in separate sections below: 1. WELCOME 2. SUPPLIED FILES 3. GENERAL INTRODUCTION 3.1 System requirements & set up 3.2 Features - EASI-PLAN Micro 3.3 Features - EASI-PLAN Lite 3.4 Features - EASI-PLAN Pro 3.5 Help system 3.6 System requirements 3.7 Registration 3.8 Invest-Tech 4. HOW TO RUN EASI-PLAN 5. WHAT IS SHAREWARE ? 6. USER LICENCE AGREEMENT 7. REVISIONS TO EASI-PLAN MICRO ********************************************************************** The supplied file VENDINFO.DIZ also contains important information. It can be accessed by entering READ_ME.BAT at the DOS prompt. ********************************************************************** 1. WELCOME =========== EASI-PLAN Micro is an easy-to-use software package for preparing comprehensive and fully integrated financial projections, budgets, funding applications, business plans etc. for three years ahead. It can also be used for strategic planning, financial appraisals etc. It is ideal for very small businesses with annual sales from 50,000 to 250,000 pounds/dollars engaged in manufacturing, distribution or services. More powerful versions of EASI-PLAN for larger businesses, called EASI-PLAN Lite and Pro, contain additional facilities and accommodate a much more extensive range of variables. This version of EASI-PLAN Micro has been developed to encourage users to explore EASI-PLAN on a 'try-before-you-buy' basis and, if found useful, to acquire a copy of the full version of EASI-PLAN Micro or one of its other versions. EASI-PLAN is NOT free software. If you continue using it after a 30-day trial period, you must register with the author, Invest-Tech, to upgrade to the fully-operational version. In return for registering, you will be upgraded to the latest full release of EASI-PLAN and receive a spiral-bound 130+ page manual incorporating tutorial exercises etc. and access to full support. Registration details are contained in Section 3.7 below and in the REGISTER.TXT file. EASI-PLAN is fully protected by copyright. However, this shareware version may be copied in its entirety and without modification for FREE distribution to friends and, subject to the conditions set out in the VENDINFO.DIZ file, by shareware libraries etc. This permission DOES NOT APPLY to an upgraded copy of EASI-PLAN Micro. We hope that you find EASI-PLAN useful. Please register so as to encourage us to develop other shareware products. Good luck with EASI-PLAN. Brian Flanagan, Invest-Tech Limited ********************************************************************** 2. SUPPLIED FILES ================== See VENDINFO.DIZ. ********************************************************************** 3. GENERAL INTRODUCTION ======================== EASI-PLAN is a range of powerful, easy-to-use software package developed by Invest-Tech Limited to help businesses of all sizes to prepare comprehensive financial projections for three or more years ahead. EASI-PLAN can also be used by professional advisers, consultants, training organisations and financial institutions. It is suitable for businesses engaged in manufacturing, distribution or services. EASI-PLAN is available in three versions - Micro, Lite & Pro - to suit businesses of different sizes and complexities. The supplied shareware version is Micro. Based on your forecasts and assumptions, EASI-PLAN compiles integrated financial projections (P&Ls, cashflows, balance sheets & ratios) for one year ahead on a monthly basis and, in less detail, for a further two years on a quarterly basis. It produces numerous management and financial reports together with graphs for many key variables which can be displayed on the screen or printed. It also produces reports detailing all the underlying assumptions. EASI-PLAN Micro incorporates facilities for graphing key results; for undertaking 'what-if' analysis; for preparing 'first-cut' three- year projections and for generating a textual summary report. EASI-PLAN is very suitable for users with limited or no prior experience of computers or financial planning as well as for more experienced users who do not wish to go to the very considerable trouble, or waste valuable time, developing their own planning system on a spreadsheet. Bear in mind that EASI-PLAN involved thousands of hours of development and years of "know-how". EASI-PLAN Micro is primarily aimed at very small businesses (typically with annual sales in the range of 50,000 to 250,000 pounds/dollars). The more powerful versions, EASI-PLAN Lite and Pro, are most suitable for larger businesses and their subsidiaries with sales from 100,000 to 99m pounds/dollars. Instead of registering EASI-PLAN Micro, you can opt to register for EASI-PLAN Lite or Pro. See below for further information. 3.1 System Requirements and Set Up ----------------------------------- To run EASI-PLAN you need the following system: * Industry-standard PC with DOS 3.30 or higher and a hard disk. * The "Micro" and "Lite" versions of EASI-PLAN needs conventional memory of 640k. "Pro" also requires 384k of expanded memory (if not being run from within Windows). * VGA, GCA, mono, Hercules or LCD display (or equivalent). A printer (dot-matrix, ink-jet or laser) is desirable. If you wish, you can run EASI-PLAN as a DOS program within Windows (an icon, EASIPLAN.ICO, has been supplied). EASI-PLAN Micro or Lite need 560k, or more, of 'free' conventional memory. This should not present any problem as it is well within the capacity of most PCs with 640k of RAM. If, for any reason, EASI-PLAN runs short of memory, it will use any expanded memory which might be available or it will create some 'virtual' memory on the hard disk. If you are using a PC with a Hercules display, you will not be able to view EASI-PLAN's graphs unless you run the supplied MSHERC.COM before you load EASI-PLAN. If you are running EASI-PLAN on a portable PC with a B/W LCD display, you may need to change EASI-PLAN's video setting once it has loaded in order to clearly distinguish the rectangular cursor which appears when you are viewing reports on the screen. To do this, press I (for Initialise) at the Main Menu, V (for Video) and L (for LCD/B&W). The Manual accompanying the full version of EASI-PLAN explains how to make these changes permanent. If, when using EASI-PLAN, the pound symbol (£L) fails to print, i.e. () appears instead of (£L), or is replaced by another character e.g. #, you can make it appear by changing the character or symbol set being used by your printer to an IBM Extended Character Set. If the pound sign is missing, you may notice that some rows get slightly knocked out of vertical alignment. If using a HP LaserJet or compatible laser printer, the default symbol set (e.g. HP Roman-8) may not print the pound sign. Check the printer manual and use the control panel to switch to another symbol set, for example, HP IBM-US or PCMultilingual. If using a dot-matrix printer, check the manual for guidance and use the control panel or dip switches to alter the character set being used. If you change the symbol or character set you may be able to keep the new settings as your permanent or default settings without upsetting any of your other software. 3.2 Features - EASI-PLAN Micro -------------------------------- EASI-PLAN Micro is primarily aimed at businesses with annual sales in the range of 50,000 to 250,000 pounds/dollars. It can handle a very wide variety of variables and financial functions. These include the following: - Sales forecasts for up to six product/market groups which can be defined by the user. - Provision for specifying the cost of materials/goods as percentages of sales and for indicating stock targets. - Direct labour inputs and four other user-definable direct/variable cost categories. - Fourteen user-definable categories of overhead expense. - Fixed assets with provision for handling depreciation, additions or disposals. - Facilities for setting different VAT rates for outputs and inputs, for specifying VAT payment months and for handling VAT on a cash-received or invoice basis. - Separate interest rates for cash balances, overdraft and long-term debt and for increasing and decreasing long-term debt. - Share issues, dividends, corporation tax and subsidies/grants. When set up for a sole trader/partnership, EASI-PLAN can handle income tax, drawings and cash introductions. - Facilities for phasing out opening balance sheet values and for setting different payment terms (ranging from cash sales to four+ months credit) for current-year trade creditors and debtors. - Preformatted account layouts for either a limited company or a sole trader (or partnership). By altering or disregarding certain variables, EASI-PLAN can handle most types of manufacturing, distribution and service businesses as explained in its User Manual. EASI-PLAN incorporates many special facilities including the following: - QUIK-PLAN to enable a user produce first-cut projections for three years quickly (i.e. within about 15 minutes). - Fast-entry function keys for inserting constant values etc. - Six-page textual summary report to compliment graphs and tabular reports. - Set-ups for laser and dot-matrix printers. - Selective "what-if" or sensitivity analysis covering months and/or quarters for the three years. - Facility to suppress the printing of rows which contain zero values. 3.3 Features - EASI-PLAN Lite ------------------------------- EASI-PLAN Lite is primarily aimed at businesses with annual sales in the range of 100,000 to 1,000,000 pounds/dollars. It uses 000's pounds instead of single pounds as its basic currency denomination. It can handle a much wider variety of variables and financial functions including the following: - Sales forecasts for up to ten product/market subgroups within two main groups which can be defined by the user. Different VAT rates can be set for each main group. - Provisions for specifying the cost of materials/goods as percentages of sales and for indicating stock targets for each main group. - Direct labour inputs and four other user-definable direct/variable cost categories. - Nineteen user-definable categories of overhead expense. - Fixed assets with provision for handling depreciation, finance leases and additions or disposals. - Facilities for setting different VAT rates for inputs & capex, for specifying VAT payment months and for handling VAT on a cash-received or invoice basis. - Separate interest rates for cash balances, overdraft and long-term debt and for increasing and decreasing long-term debt. - Share issues, dividends, corporation tax and subsidies/grants. - Facilities for phasing out opening balance sheet values and for setting different payment terms (ranging from cash sales to four+ months credit) for four groups of current-year trade creditors and debtors. - Preformatted account layouts for either a limited company or a sole trader (or partnership). By altering or disregarding certain variables, EASI-PLAN can handle most types of manufacturing, distribution and service businesses as explained in its User Manual. EASI-PLAN Lite incorporates the following additional facilities: - Fast-entry function keys for inserting incrementing assumptions in various forms etc. e.g. initial value increased by a fixed percentage each month. - The six-page textual summary report can be printed directly or exported as an ASCII file for inclusion in other documents. - An advance facility to enable rolling 12-month projections to be maintained without having to re-enter assumptions. - Assumptions and projections can be exported to Lotus 1-2-3 and many other spreadsheets for editing, desktop publishing, consolidation etc. - Global, as well as selective, "what-if" or sensitivity analysis covering months and/or quarters for the three years. Users can register to acquire Lite instead of Micro. Alternatively, they can upgrade, at a discount to its normal price, to Lite when they outgrow Micro. 3.4 Features - EASI-PLAN Pro ----------------------------- EASI-PLAN Pro is the most powerful version in the EASI-PLAN range. It is suitable for larger businesses, professional advisers etc. It is mainly aimed at businesses with annual sales of between 1 million and 99 million pounds/dollars. Pro handles many more variables than Lite - it contains 10,500 built-in formulae (vs. 6,500 for Lite) and can accommodate up to 3,000 assumption values (vs. 2,000 for Lite). Pro has additional facilities including: - Projections for five years instead of three. - Special graph printing utility which gives users a higher degree of control over the appearance of graphs than is possible by using Lite in conjunction with DOS's Graphics program. - Facility for comparing monthly actuals and projections with additional reports and related graphs. - Special function key for entering assumptions based on a seasonal pattern etc. specified by the user. - Facilities to defer the actual cash payments relating to certain categories of expenses, capital expenditure, grant receipts, dividends etc. in some of the Monthly Assumption Reports. - Automatic importation of data from spreadsheets using a a file linking technique. Pro uses more memory than Lite or Micro. It requires 384k or more of expanded memory (EMS) or needs to be run as a DOS program from within Windows. Users can register to acquire Pro instead of Micro. Alternatively, they can upgrade, at a discount to its normal price, to Pro when they outgrow Micro. 3.5 Help system ---------------- EASI-PLAN is entirely menu-driven and incorporates very comprehensive context-sensitive help facilities. These include extensive menu prompts, error trapping, on-line Help Pages, pop-up Hint & Guidance Windows and annotated variable descriptions. 3.6 Specification ------------------ ================================================================= Micro Lite Pro ----------------------------------------------------------------- Number of reports 29 30 31 Number of graphs 13 14 20 Approximate maximum number of user assumptions 1,200 2,000 3,000 Approximate total number of built-in formulae 4,000 6,500 10,500 ================================================================== 3.7 Registration ----------------- EASI-PLAN Micro is not FREE software. If you decide that you would like to retain and continue to use EASI-PLAN after a 30-day trial period, you must register with Invest-Tech, the author and copyright holder. In return for registering, you will be upgraded to the latest fully-operational release of EASI-PLAN Micro with its 100+ page spiral-bound printed manual (incorporating tutorial exercises etc.) and gain access to full support. Invest-Tech Limited is 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 members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442-9427 USA, FAX 616-788-2765 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. The Registration Fees for EASI-PLAN are given below. See REGISTER.TXT for further details. =========================================================== Fee (IR) Fee (stg) Fee (US$) Pounds Pounds See See Notes See Notes Notes ---------------------------------------------------------- EASI-PLAN Micro 30 30 45 EASI-PLAN Lite 45 45 70 EASI-PLAN Pro 60 60 95 ---------------------------------------------------------- Note 1 Plus VAT at 21% for Irish customers and for purchasers in other EU States who are NOT registered for VAT. Note 2 No VAT applies to customers in EU States (other than Ireland) who are registered for VAT and who quote their VAT number at time of ordering. Note 3 No VAT applies to purchasers outside the EU. Note 4 Users outside the UK and Ireland should add 10% to cover additional post and packing. Note 5 You can also register EASI-PLAN Micro via "PsL" (Public software Library) or CompuServe (see REGISTER.TXT for details). You can also upgrade and register directly with Invest-Tech via our World Wide Web (WWW) site on the Internet using a credit card and its special built-in forms. See bottom of file for details of its location. Our Web site, called PlanWare, contains downloadable versions of *ALL* our financial planners for businesses and the home. It also offers useful advice in the form of text files on such topics as business planning, cashflow forecasting etc. as well as lots of other interesting stuff. 3.8 Invest-Tech Limited ------------------------ We are management consultants specialising in financial and business planning software. Formed in 1983, Invest-Tech is a Registered Practice within the Institute of Management Consultants in Ireland. Our banker is Bank of Ireland, Dublin, and our auditors are Deloitte & Touche, Dublin. Shareware versions of EASI-PLAN Lite and Pro are also available. Look for files called EASI*.ZIP. In addition to EASI-PLAN Micro, Lite and Pro, our range of financial planning software includes the following products: PERS-PLAN: A personal or household cashflow and financial planner which can be used to plan 12 months ahead. It accommodates a very wide range of income and expenditure variables and can handle income tax, interest, credit card calculations etc. Supplied with a 90-page manual. Price: 20 pounds (sterling or Irish) excluding VAT (US$30). A shareware version is available in a file called PERSP*.ZIP. YOUR-PLAN: Shareware version of PERS-PLAN available from good libraries in the UK, US etc. Only covers a six month period and handles fewer variables than PERS-PLAN. Look for a file called YOURP*.ZIP. BANK-PLAN: Specialist cashflow planner for small businesses covering 12-months ahead. Runs 'stand-alone' with similar general structure to EASI-PLAN. Compliments EASI-PLAN. Price: 30 pounds (sterling or Irish) excluding VAT (US$45). Shareware version is available - look for a file called BANKP*.ZIP. CASH-PLAN: More powerful and advanced version of BANK-PLAN aimed at larger businesses. Price: 50 pounds (sterling or Irish) excluding VAT (US$80). FIN-PLAN: Wide range of comprehensive and fully-integrated financial planners (P&Ls, cashflows, balance sheets, ratios etc.) covering 12-months plus 8/16 quarters. Versions are available to run on Lotus 1-2-3 (any release for DOS or Windows). Extensive menus with numerous features and facilities. Easily expanded by user. Price: 50 pounds (sterling or Irish) excluding VAT (US$80). Comprehensive descriptions, specifications and 'demos' are available for each of the foregoing products. ********************************************************************** 4. HOW TO RUN EASI-PLAN ======================== EASI-PLAN can be installed via Windows (recommended) or DOS. Via Windows: ----------- a) Unzip the supplied archive file "EASI*.ZIP" (most probably you have already done this if you are reading this message). b) Move all the extracted files into a new sub-directory (EASIM3 is the recommended name). c) Use Program or File Manager ("File | Run") to run "Easiplan.exe". This installation program will extract files, create a new Program Group, and set up icons for EASI-PLAN and its text files within this Group. d) Switch to the EASI-PLAN Program Group, click on the "Try Easi-Plan" icon and away you go.. Via DOS: ------- a) Unzip the supplied archive file "EASI*.ZIP" (most probably you have already done this if you are reading this message). b) Move all the extracted files into a new sub-directory (EASIM3 is the recommended name). c) Unzip a further file called "EASIPLAN.EXE" which will be located within the EASIM3 sub-directory. Note that this is another archive file and is NOT an executable - if you try to run it directly from DOS as an executable you will get an error message. d) Run an introductory program called GO.BAT by typing "GO". This will lead you into EASI-PLAN. If your PC uses a very old display, do not select this option - choose e) below. *or* e) Type "EP MASTER" to load EASI-PLAN along with a set of specimen assumptions in a file called MASTER.ASS. If you register your copy of EASI-PLAN and wish to continue running it through DOS, you should type "EP X". Press RETURN to ignore the 'File does not exist' message and then use the cursor keys and RETURN to select the desired *.ASS file in response to the instruction "Enter Data File Name" which appears at the top of the screen. If more than five such data files exist, press the F3 Function Key to display them all within a larger window. Things to know before exploring EASI-PLAN ----------------------------------------- Before exploring EASI-PLAN, you need to know that: All commands are executable from a Main Menu, sub-menus or function key menus. At any stage, the Main Menu can be retrieved by pressing the F10 function key once. You can access context-sensitive Help Pages by pressing F1 at any time. Whenever a report is being displayed on the screen, you can use certain function keys to perform the actions explained in the menu strip displayed at the bottom of the screen. Additional function key commands can be used to call up special facilities for entering data etc. These can be accessed by holding down the ALT key on the keyboard while tapping one of the indicated function keys (press ALT+F1 for help). If you get lost at any stage, try pressing the function key F10 to return to the Main Menu. If a system error is encountered, press the RETURN key (or CTRL+BREAK) and then F10. If a 'secured cell' message is encountered, press RETURN to clear it. Running the registered version of EASI-PLAN through Windows ----------------------------------------------------------- (This is only relevant if you have remotely upgrade your copy of EASI-PLAN to the registered version and wish to run it on an ongoing basis through Windows - see Register.txt and the Upgrade command in the Main Menu.) If you are already running the shareware version of EASI-PLAN through Windows, you will *still* need to follow most of the procedure described below. You should open the Properties box for your installed copy of EASI-PLAN (click on the EASI-PLAN icon and use Program Manager's File Properties command) and then follow the instructions given below for steps 4 & 5. To set up the registered version of EASI-PLAN to run within Windows, run Program Manager and proceed as follows: 1. Select the Applications Group which you want to contain EASI-PLAN. 2. Select File and New options from the Program Manager's menu. 3. When the New Program Object box appears, select Program Item and OK. 4. When the Program Item Properties box appears, proceed as follows: - Type "EASI-PLAN Micro" as the Description. - Type "C:\EASIM3\EP X" as the Command Line. Make sure you enter a single space between EP and X. This command assumes that EASI-PLAN has been installed to the EASIM3 sub-directory on a hard disk called C. - Enter "C:\EASIM3" as the Working Directory. - Select Change Icon and select OK when the Change Icon message box appears. - When the next Change Icon box appears, enter "C:\EASIM3\EASIPLAN.ICO" as the File Name and select OK. - Once you return to the Program Item Properties box select OK twice to complete installation. 5. To run EASI-PLAN within Windows, double-click on its icon and wait while it loads. Press RETURN to ignore the 'File does not exist' message and then use the cursor keys and RETURN to select the desired *.ASS file in response to the instruction 'Enter Data File Name" which appears at the top of the screen. If more than five such data files exist, press the F3 Function Key to display them in a larger window. ***** If using Windows 3.1 - WATCH OUT **** If you try to display graphs when running EASI-PLAN in a DOS Window within Windows 3.1 (i.e. less than full screen) when running in Enhanced Mode, the graphs may not show and the display may lock. To unlock it, return to a full DO screen by pressing ALT+RETURN. Always use a DOS full screen when displaying EASI-PLAN graphs. Using a LCD display ------------------- If you are running EASI-PLAN on a portable PC with a LCD display, you will probably need to change EASI-PLAN's video setting once it has loade in order to clearly distinguish the rectangular cursor which appears whe you are viewing reports on the screen. To do this, press I (for Initialise) at the Main Menu, V (for Video) and L (for LCD/B&W). The Manual explains how to make these changes permanent. Other Information ----------------- The following text files contain more detailed information about EASI-PLAN etc.: Register.txt - Registration details, form etc. Readme.txt - Comprehensive introduction to EASI-PLAN To read a text file: - Enter "TYPE *.TXT|MORE" *or* - Use DOS Edit or Windows Notepad. ********************************************************************** 5. WHAT IS SHAREWARE ? ======================= "Shareware" is a method of software distribution designed to give users a chance to test a package before purchase at a very competitive price. Copyright rules apply to shareware and the authors retain all the rights except as indicated in their licence agreements. As you will see from EASI-PLAN, shareware does not signify cheap (in the nasty sense) or poor quality software. ********************************************************************** 6. USER LICENCE AGREEMENT ========================== See VENDINFO.DIZ. ********************************************************************** 7. REVISIONS TO EASI-PLAN Micro ================================ r3.0 24th April 1995 ---------------------- First release of EASI-PLAN Micro. Based on r3 of EASI-PLAN Lite. r3.3 15th October 1995 ----------------------- Minor changes including change to method of calculating tax in 3rd year. Addition of info on Web site etc. r4.0 2nd June 1997 ------------------- Minor changes. Membership of ASP. ********************************************************************** EASI-PLAN Micro (c) Copyright Invest-Tech Limited 1992-97 All Rights Reserved Invest-Tech Limited 27 Ardmeen Park, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland Irish Tel: 01-283 4083 UK Tel: 01232-315454 (Call 9 to 9 weekdays and 10 to 6 weekends - GMT/BST) Fax: 278 2391 Fax codes: Irish:01- UK:00-353-1- Inter'l:+353-1- CompuServe: 100606,2665 Internet: brianf@iol.ie WWW Site URL: http://www.planware.ie/resource/planware ********************************************************************** To print this file, type "PRINT README.TXT" *** End of README.TXT file ***