Between Heaven & Hell 2/BetweenHeavenHell.cdr/500/405/acct.arc/PC-GL.DOC

Text File | 1986-06-06 | 25KB | 502 lines

                                 PC-GL MANUAL


PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

     PC-GL is a double entry accounting program which will allow a small to
medium size business to rapidly and accurately pay bills and produce
financial reports.  The program runs on a IBM PC or compatible computer with
at least one disk drive and requires at least 128k memory.

     PC-GL allows a maximum of 800 items in the chart of accounts and 4000
transactions per accounting period.  With 128k of memory the number of
transactions is reduced to about 400 per accounting period.

     PC-GL is a user supported program.  Your are encouraged to give copies
to anyone who might use it.  If you like the program and find it useful,
please contribute $35 to:

              Jerry Medlin
              310 S. Jefferson St.
              Napa, Ca.  94559

      Your contribution will entitle you to free updates of the program and
a telephone number for limited telephone assistance should you require it.
     The complete system consist of three files.

     PC-GL.COM - The compiled program written in Turbo Pascal.

     PC-GL.COA - A standard chart of accounts to use or modify for your
     purposes.

     PC-GL.DOC - This documentation in ASCII form.

     The program makes liberal use of the PC's numeric key pad both for
numbers and commands.  You can have the Num Lock on all the time even when
using the arrow keys for commands.  When inputting information, the plus <+>
key has the same effect as the return or enter key.  The minus <-> key
enters a negative number.  This makes using the numeric key pad even easier.

     To run the program, simply type "PC-GL".  If you want to specify a
drive designation and path for your data just add the drive and path
description after the program name.  i.e. type "PC-GL B:" to use the B drive
for data files.  To put data files on a subdirectory called GL the command
would be PC-GL C:\GL\    If you are going to use the standard chart of
accounts, be sure the file PC-GL.COA is on the specified drive and
subdirectory.

     A menu is then displayed for operator selection:

              Enter or Change Chart of Accounts
              Enter or Change Transactions
              Print Chart of Accounts Listing
              Print Transaction Listing
              Print General Ledger
              Print Income Statement
              Print Balance Sheet
              Print Account Summary Report
              Year End Update
              End of Processing

     Selection is made by using the up or down arrows to highlight the
desired function, then pressing <return>.




THE PROCESSING CYCLE

     Usually, accounting is done on a monthly cycle, but the PC-GL program
will allow you to use any length of accounting period.  Each time you run
the program, you will be asked "Do you want to start a new accounting
period? (Y/N)".  If you answer with a "N" the latest transactions will be
loaded and you may add additional entries.  If you answer "Y" the current
period balances will be set to zero and you may begin entering a new batch
of transactions for the new period.

     Checks and journal entries for the accounting period are entered using
the second menu selection. (Enter or Change Transactions)  Debits are
entered as positive <+> numbers and credits are entered as negative <->
numbers.

     When the transactions have been entered and checked you may begin
printing reports.  Reports may be printed in any order and as often as you
desire.  Reports may be printed to the screen first to check their
accuracy.  Should you discover a posting error after examining the reports,
you can correct the error and rerun the reports.

     The only report that must be printed to the printer each period is the
General Ledger Report.  If the General Ledger Report has not been printed to
the printer (not just the screen), you will not be allowed to end an
accounting period and start another.  The General Ledger Report shows the
opening balance for each account, all of the transactions posted to the
account for the accounting period followed by the closing balance for each
account.  Once you start a new accounting period, the printed General Ledger
Report will be your only audit trail.  To start a new accounting period
without printing the general ledger would leave no trace of how an account
arrived at its present balance.  Since organizations like the IRS want to
know how you arrived at those numbers on your tax return, the General Ledger
Report is required.  If it hasn't been printed the program will never ask
"Do you want to start a new accounting period?".


DOUBLE ENTRY ACCOUNTING

     Double entry accounting requires that the total of all debit <+>
entries must be the same as the total of all credit <-> entries.  It does
not mean that there must be a credit for every debit, only that all entries
must add up to zero.  Each accounting period consist of a series of balanced
entries with equal pluses and minuses.

     For example, all of the checks written during a month are posted to
the various expense accounts as debit <+> amounts.  The total of all of
those checks is then posted to the CASH IN BANK account as a single credit
<-> amount.  The net of all the transactions posted is therefore zero,
making a balanced series of entries.  All income amounts are entered as
credit <-> amounts and a corresponding debit <+> entry is made to the Cash
in Bank account or to Accounts Receivable.  The PC-GL program helps you when
posting transactions by displaying the balance of all transactions posted at
the upper right of the screen.  When all of the transactions for the
accounting period have been posted, the balance displayed should be zero.

     If you are unfamiliar with double entry accounting, it is beyond the
scope of this manual to completely cover the subject.  However, all is not
lost.  The PC-GL system can also be used as a simple single entry system.
Just enter all your expenses and income to the proper account and run the
system normally.  Expenses are entered as positive <+> amounts and (this is
important!) income amounts are entered as negative <-> amounts.  To enter a
negative amount, first enter then number then press the minus<-> sign.




SETTING UP THE CHART OF ACCOUNTS

     A standard chart of accounts is provided with the program.  Although
any sequential numbering scheme will work with the general ledger program,
the one provided is in common usage by accountants.  To use the standard
chart of accounts, simply run the program with the file PC-GL.COA on the
data disk drive.  Be sure to make a backup copy of PC-GL.COA first.

     The chart of accounts can be added to at any time during the
processing period.  All chart of accounts setup and modification is done
using the <Enter or Change Chart of Accounts> selection on the menu.  This
section allows you add new COA items, delete or change existing ones, or
examine the COA by scrolling up and down the screen.  All commands are
listed at the bottom of the screen and are selected by a single keystroke.
Upon entering this section you may immediately begin adding items to the
chart of accounts or, by pressing the Escape key, you may go to the command
mode and insert, delete or change items in the chart of accounts.  You will
not be allowed to delete an account with a balance or change balance
amounts.  Changing amounts is done by posting transactions to the account.
That way you have that all important audit trail.  Upon exiting the chart of
accounts section, the chart of accounts is automatically sorted in account
number order.

     Each chart of accounts item contains the following information:

1)    ACCOUNT NUMBER - A three digit number between 000 and 998 that will be
     used for posting transactions.

2)    ACCOUNT CODE - A two digit number which determines how, and on which
     reports, the item will be printed.  (See the section on COA coding for
     details.)

3)    PRIOR YEAR % - This number will be printed on the income statement and
     is for informational purposes only.  If no prior year % is desired
     just press return for this entry and none will be printed on the
     income statement.  The prior year % is updated automatically at the
     end of the year by the Year End Update procedure.

4)    ACCOUNT DESCRIPTION - Up to 27 characters are allowed for the account
     description.

5)    CURRENT AMOUNT - The balance of all transactions entered to this
     account for the current accounting period.  If an asterisk <*> is
     entered during setup this chart of accounts entry will be treated as a
     title account on reports.  Title accounts are used to provide headings
     and totals on reports.  Transactions cannot be posted to a title
     account.  Press any other key during setup to enter a zero beginning
     balance for current and year to date.

6)    YTD AMOUNT - The balance of all transactions entered to this account
     for the current year.  Opening account balances cannot be entered when
     the chart of accounts is set up, they must be posted as transactions.

     Just remember to look at the bottom of the screen when in doubt.  Your
options will usually be printed there.

     The first item in the chart of accounts should contain the name to be
printed on all reports.  If you are using the standard chart of accounts,
just change the description of the first account from STANDARD CHART OF
ACCOUNTS to the name you want printed on your financial statements.

     Once the chart of accounts has been setup, you won't be using this
section except to occasionally add new items to the chart of accounts or
delete items with zero balances no longer in use.



ENTERING TRANSACTIONS

     All checks and journal entries for the accounting period are entered
using the <Enter or Change Transactions> selection of the menu.  This
selection also allows you to examine entries by scrolling up and down the
screen and to insert, delete or change entries.  All commands are listed at
the bottom of the screen.  You may also obtain a total of all the amounts
posted to an account during the current posting session.

     Each transaction contains the following information:

1)    DESCRIPTION - Up to 21 characters are allowed to describe the entry.
     Just pressing <return> or <+> will cause the previous entry to be
     repeated.  To enter a blank description, press the space bar then
     <return>.

2)    CHECK NO. - A five digit check or reference number.  Numbers or
     letters may be used. Pressing <return> will cause the previous number
     to be repeated.  Pressing <+> will enter a number equal to the
     previous number plus one.  (This is useful when entering a series of
     checks with sequential check numbers.)

3)    DATE - The date must be entered in MODA form.  i.e. 0108 for January
     eighth.  Pressing <return> or <+> will repeat the previous date.  Any
     day of the month higher than 31 will cause the transactions to be
     posted to the year to date balance only.  (In other words, a
     trans-action with a date of 0185 would not affect current balances
     when posted, only year to date balances.)

4)    ACCOUNT NUMBER - A three digit account number must be entered.  Once
     the account number has been entered, the program will check to see if
     the number is a valid account number.  If not, you will be asked to
     reenter the account number.  Once a valid account number has been
     entered, the corresponding account description from the chart of
     accounts will be displayed at the bottom of the screen.  If you don't
     remember the account number, enter the number 999.  You will then be
     able to use the up and down arrow keys to search the chart of accounts
     for the correct account number.

5)    AMOUNT - The amount is entered calculator style without using the
     decimal point.  Debit entries are entered as positive numbers and
     credit entries are entered as negative numbers.  To enter a negative
     number, enter the number in the regular manner followed by the minus
     <-> sign instead of the enter or plus <+> sign.

     The balance of all the transactions posted for the period, and the
total for the current check number are constantly displayed at the upper
right of the screen.  The check balance will help when posting a single
check to multiple accounts.

PRINTING CHECKS

     Checks may be printed at any time from the command mode.  Just use the
up and down arrows to point to the check you want to print then press <P>.
You will then be asked to enter the following information:

     >Check Date - Enter the check date as MO/DA/YR or press return to
     enter the month and day you entered for the check and the system date
     year.
     >Pay to - Enter the name you want the check made out to or press
     return to enter the name you used for the description.
     >Street Address and City State & Zip - Enter the address you want
     printed on the check or press return for no printed address.




     For most checks this means that all you do to print a check is point
at the check, press <P>, then press the return key four times.
     If you have distributed a check to several accounts by making multiple
entries with the same check number, the program will total all of the
amounts for the selected check number before printing the check.  If you
press the <P> by mistake, the escape key will get you out.  After you enter
the City State & Zip, the check will print.

     Checks are printed on standard preprinted accounts payable checks.
Set the printer to begin printing under "DATE" on the first page of the
check form.  The checks may be ordered from a number of suppliers including
NEBS (New England Business Services).  The NEBS form number is 9020.


PRINTING REPORTS

     To print any of the available reports just select the report from the
main menu.  First you will be asked to input a report date to be printed on
the report.  Alphabetic and numeric dates are acceptable. i.e. January 31,
1984.  Pressing return will enter the system date for the report date.
After a date is entered you will be able to choose printing to the printer,
the screen or to a file.

     If you choose to print to a file you will be prompted for a file
name.  The program will print the report to that file exactly as it would
have been printed to the printer.  These files are regular ASCII files and
can be read by most word processors.  Specifying a file name of LPT2: will
allow you to print to a second printer.

YEAR END CLOSEOUT

     At the beginning of a new accounting year all profit and loss account
balances are set to zero using this selection.  In addition, the prior year
percentages are updated to reflect the year just ended.  The program will
ask for the account number of your capital account, then the profit or loss
for the year just ended will be posted to that account.  If you are using
the Standard Chart of Accounts, the capital account would be account number
465.  This section should be used only once a year and cannot be done unless
the General Ledger has been printed.


END OF PROCESSING

     When processing is completed you must exit the program using this
selection.  You will be asked if you want to end processing.  Any answer
other than "Y" will return you to the main menu.
     If you have entered any transactions, you will be asked to enter a
three month abbreviation for the month just processed.  The only acceptable
answers are one of the three character month abbreviations or the number
13.  The number 13 is for use by those organizations that use a 13 month
accounting year.
     If you had just completed the month of February you would enter FEB.
The program would then save three files to the disk:

               PC-GL.COA - The latest chart of accounts
               PC-GL.TRN - The latest transactions
               FEB.TRN   - A backup copy of the transactions

     The last file saved is saved so that later you may review all the
transactions posted to an account for the past year using the Print Account
Summary Report selection of the menu.  Until you have at least one month's
data saved to the disk, the Print Account Summary Report will not have any
transactions to summarize.




CHART OF ACCOUNTS CODING

     If you use the standard chart of accounts or a modified version of the
standard chart of accounts, it is not necessary to be familiar with chart of
account coding.  Just delete the unwanted chart of account items. This
information is provided for those who want to use their own chart of
accounts or produce special reports.

     The first number of the two digit code is a number from 1 to 9 which
determines the account type.

              1.  ASSETS
              2.  LIABILITIES
              3.  INCOME (OR SALES)
              4.  COST OF SALES
              5.  GROSS PROFIT
              6.  OPERATING EXPENSES
              7.  OTHER INCOME
              8.  OTHER EXPENSES
              9.  NET PROFIT

     The GROSS PROFIT (#5) and PROFIT OR LOSS (#9) are generally used only
once in each chart of accounts for totaling purposes.  The COST OF SALES
(#4), GROSS PROFIT (#5), OTHER INCOME (#7) and OTHER EXPENSES (#8) can be
omitted if your applications doesn't require those categories.


     When printing the income statement and balance sheet, the sign for the
balances of accounts with odd numbered account codes is reversed.  For
instance income amounts (#3) normally have credit balances and are carried
as minus numbers in the general ledger.  When printed on the income
statement they will be printed as positive numbers.

     The second number of the two digit code determines the totaling level
for an account on the income statement and balance sheet.  The total level
is used to determine what totals and subtotals appear on reports.  Each
higher total level totals all previous lower account numbers.  The best way
to understand how the totaling level works is to experiment.  Just change
the number and reprint the report to see how it looks.  Chart of account
coding can be changed at any time without causing problems.

Total Level:

0    The balance and description will print only on the general ledger
     report.  When printing the balance sheet or income statement, the
     balance (if any) will be totaled and printed into the next higher
     number.  i.e. The total for a series of 0 coded accounts will print
     into the next account numbered 1 or higher.

1    Used for most accounts.  On the balance sheet the account balance will
     be printed in the first column.

2    Prints total of all previous 0 and 1 accounts.  Prints in the middle
     column of the balance sheet.

3    Prints total of all previous 0, 1, and 2 accounts.  Prints in the
     right hand column of the balance sheet.

4    Used for subtotal accounts such as TOTAL ASSETS, OPERATING PROFIT etc.

5    Used for the NET PROFIT account on both the balance sheet and income
     statement.  If the balance sheet does not contain a level 5 account,
     the balance sheet will not balance.




     On the income statement and balance sheet, any number higher than 1
will be preceded by a blank line.  The number 9 will cause the printer to
start a new page.  The use of a 9 is be restricted to title accounts with no
balance.

     Accounts used only for totaling the balances of previous accounts or
for printing titles on a statement are title accounts.  A title account is
created by entering an asterisk in the current balance column of an
account.  You cannot post any transactions to a title account.  Most
accounts with a totaling level higher than 1 will be title accounts.


HANDLING BEGINNING AND ENDING INVENTORY

     If your application doesn't require that beginning and ending
inventory show on the income statement, you should skip this section.  It
discusses a commonly used but somewhat confusing technique to properly
display beginning and ending inventory on a computerized income statement.

     Any transaction with a date that contains a day of the month higher
than 31 will be posted as a year to date transaction only.  It will not
affect the current period balance.  This is moderately useful for making
adjustments to the year to date balances, but it's principal value lies in
making the beginning and ending inventory work properly on the income
statement.

     If we assume that the inventory at the beginning April was $25000.00
and the inventory at the end of April was $29000.00, the following series of
entries would be required:


Description          Ref #        Date      Acct #       Amount
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Inventory           GJN04         0430       151        29000.00
Inventory           GJN04         0430       151        25000.00-
Beginning Inv.      GJN04         0430       601        25000.00
Ending Inv.         GJN04         0430       696        29000.00-
Ending Inv.         GJN04         0484       696        25000.00
Beginning Inv.      GJN04         0484       601        25000.00-


     Notice that the last two entries are year-to-date entries because the
day of the month is higher than 31.  If the beginning and ending inventory
accounts start at zero (as would be the case at the beginning of the year),
the last two year-to-date entries should be omitted.


ADDING A LITTLE COLOR

     If you have a color monitor and wish to have colors other than the
normal black and white you may specify the colors when you run the program.
Just include the decimal values for the colors after the path designation
separated by spaces.  The first number specifies the color for borders, the
second specifies the color for all data, the third number specifies the
prompt colors and the last number the background color.  For example, if you
run PC-GL by typing:  PC-GL C:GL\ 6 14 10 1 you will be telling the program
to look for data on drive C in the sub directory GL and use brown borders,
yellow data, light green prompts on a dark blue background.  Beware - the
program does not check to see if the colors are valid (or tasteful).  Once
you decide what you want, put the command in a batch file to avoid typing
errors.





HELPFUL HINTS

     When using the <C> Change selection to change a chart of account item
or a transaction, you don't have to reenter each field.  Just press the
return key to skip to the next field.

     The <T> Total selection for transaction entries is useful for checking
balances.  It can also be used to add up all the purchases so you can make
an ending inventory calculation based on a desired cost of sales.

     It is helpful to remember that PC-GL uses data that has been loaded
into random access memory.  New data is not saved to the disk until you end
processing or select the <S> Save option from the Enter or Change
Transactions section of the program.  This also means that if you make a
mistake on the opening question (Do you want to start a new accounting
period?) you can just boot the computer and start over.  Your previous data
is still on the disk.

     The Account Summary Report will summarize all the transactions posted
to a particular account number for the past 12 months.  It will look at all
the transaction files on your disk that start with a three character month
abbreviation.  In other words, it will look at JAN.TRN, FEB.TRN, MAR.TRN
etc. and print all the transactions made to the selected account number.
You can use this report each January for summarizing payments for 1099
forms.  The 1099 is that form the government wants every year reporting
payments to individuals of over $600.

     PC-GL is written in Turbo Pascal.  The source code is available for
$95.

     TO PRINT THIS MANUAL:
Turn on your printer and set it to the top of the page.
Enter  COPY PC-GL.DOC LPT1: