Magnum One/Magnum One (Mid-American Digital) (Disc Manufacturing).iso/d6/ezldgr31.arc/QUIKSTRT.TXT

Text File | 1990-07-15 | 13KB | 219 lines

                        EZLedger Quick Startup


    With the EXPENSE.EXE, SALES.EXE, CONFIG.EXE, and both the EXPENSE.CFG
    and SALES.CFG files in the same directory or on the same floppy disk;
    run the CONFIG program to setup the configuration of accounts for both
    programs.  You probably need to change the account names somewhat to
    reflect the way you have your business structured, my business is studio
    photography oriented so that is what the sample configuration files
    provided with this package reflect.  Be sure to heed the warnings the
    CONFIG.EXE module gives as you consider changing "reserved" account
    names.  The menu selections should be self explanatory, if in doubt try
    the function and you will see what it does.

    When changing the color setup bear in mind that you must type in a color
    number at the prompt, hitting <ENTER> will input a value of zero and the
    color will be black so if you press <ENTER> for both the text color and
    background color you will get black on black and not be able to read the
    screen.

                    Starting the Expense Ledger

    You can begin a new file at any time, but in a business situation the
    data will be of most benefit to you at tax time if a complete accounting
    period is entered and available, so I recommend that you go back to Jan
    1 of the current year and enter your business checkbook transactions
    from that point on.  Depending on how many business check and deposit
    transactions you do in a year the capacity of the Expense ledger may
    allow a whole year's data or could require you to run it on a quarterly
    basis.  If you write 400 business checks annually, do daily deposits,
    and limit the use of the sales/collections account to a consolidated
    weekly or even monthly entry there should be room for a full years data
    within the 900 transaction capacity of the program.  Otherwise you will
    need to maintain a quarterly (3 months) data file.

    To start off, after the accounts are "configured" with the CONFIG.EXE
    module type EXPENSE at the DOS prompt, input the system date at that
    prompt, and from the main menu select the "A> Entry" command.  Input the
    date as 01-01 (Jan 1) and at the Item prompt enter the "#" symbol which
    will assign 1 as the Item number.  For "name" type in "Balance Forward"
    and at the "account" prompt enter the "$" character.  (Account code
    flagged "$" will add into checkbook balance but will not sum into a
    tabulation of "D" for deposits.  Use "D" for subsequent deposits since
    the "$" is intended for initial balance forward entries only.)  At the
    "subacct" prompt just press <ENTER> at this time, and at the "amount"
    prompt enter the dollar amount of the balance forward as of Jan 1st to
    two decimal places unless that balance forward is in whole dollars.

    If you don't know what the Jan 1 checking account balance was either
    make the best educated guess you can or create this entry but with a
    zero dollar amount at this time anyway.  You have to balance your
    checkbook to bank statements at some time and can then edit the
    computer initial balance forward to an adjusted figure that will cause
    the recalculated checkbook balance to agree with your next reconciled
    bank statement.

    Now you can begin entering checks and deposits from your check stubs.
    The first check number will have to be entered manually at the item
    number prompt, from there entering "n" will assign the next check
    number in sequence.  If skipping a "voided" check, enter the next valid
    number manually and the "n" function will pick up the sequence for the
    next check number.  If you happen to be starting this process out with
    a brand new bank account use the "#" deposit transaction item number
    sequence until you recieve your preprinted checks.  In this program
    it's not wise to have both check number and deposit transaction
    number sequences start with 1.  Each item number has to be unique for
    the "D> Change" data function to work.  Most new bank accounts begin
    the check number sequence with #101 as I remember.

    As you finish each month enter your monthly sales/reciepts figure using
    account code "C".  (You do have a monthly sales/reciepts report, don't
    you?  If not, the SALES leger version will get you started collecting
    that data in a form that is rapidly summarized on a monthly basis.)

    Remember to make periodic saves (about every 10 entries and before each
    save do a file summary - "E> Summaries" command on the main menu and
    enter zero for the month) to insure against significant work loss in
    case of power failure.  And at the end of the entry session be sure to
    save the data, the program will warn you ONCE ONLY if you attempt the
    exit the program without saving new data or data changes.  When you have
    the first whole month's data entered try out the various LIST and
    SUMMARIES options and you will begin to see just how useful this package
    can be to you.

    During each subsequent data entry session remember to load in the
    current data file before adding entries, otherwise the first save using
    the data filename will overwrite all your previous work.

    CAUTION:  BEFORE doing the end of accounting period procedure in the
              next paragraph BACKUP DATA FILES TO ANOTHER DISK OR
              DIRECTORY!!!

    At the end of an annual (or quarterly) accounting period rename the
    MAINACCT.BUS to something else (I use CHECKS88.BUS, CHECKS89.BUS,
    CHECKS90.BUS or QTR1-90.BUS, QTR2-90.BUS etc) that can be accessed using
    the SPECIAL filename option on the load/save menus.  Then you can start
    a new MAINACCT (or ALTACCT) file by making a balance forward entry as
    before and proceeding from that point.



                         Starting the SALES Ledger


    What kind of a start you get here depends on what information is
    available from your previous method of keeping sales records.  If you
    have sales tickets or a sales log that has the date, name, sales
    department, and amount collected it will be pretty simple.

    You can, of course, start in with any date.  But as with the Expense
    Ledger and Checkbook module the data will be of most value to you if it
    represents full "accounting periods".  Most will probably run the Sales
    ledger on either a quarterly or monthly basis rather than trying to use
    a data file for a full annual period.  The summarized sales data will be
    of most use to you if available for the same accounting period as your
    sales tax report.  For me this was always quarterly so I copied the data
    file over to a floppy for storage and later reference and began a new
    file for each quarter.

    Assuming you have configured the Sales accounts with the CONFIG.EXE
    module in the same manner as with the Expense Ledger accounts, take a
    list of your accounts recievable or balances due you on unpaid accounts
    where clients owe you a balance.  Start the SALES program and begin
    entering transactions in much the same manner as with the Expense Ledger
    module.  The first entries will be all the balance due ones and if these
    are a carryover from a previous year, handle the dates in the following
    manner.  In the MM-DD format enter the month as 00 regardless of what
    month the recievable was generated in.  For what would normally be the
    two digits for "day" enter two digits of the month so that an entry for
    July 21st of the previous year would be 00-07.

    (The reason for doing this is that the "F> Sort by date" command will
    consider a 07-21 date to be July 21st in the current year and will sort
    it into that position when invoked.  To prevent confusion you will
    always want recievables from a previous year to remain at the beginning
    of the current file.)

    Use account code "N" for all recievables.  Account "N" will not sum into
    any of the sales reports and so will not "inflate" your sales figures.
    When all of the recievables from the previous year are entered begin
    entering the current years sales transactions coding each with its
    proper account code.  Any that reflect a balance due will need two
    entries, one for the money collected and one for the balance due coded
    to account "N".  Do not use the "subacct" code for collections but you
    may use this field to hold the proper sales dept account code for a
    recievable entry that is coded "N".

    As a client comes in to pay a balance due, use the name search to find
    the recievable entry on them (you need the item number to edit the
    entry), then select "D> Change" command to access and edit the
    recievable entry.  If the balance is paid in full re-enter the data but
    use the current date, correct account code, and the amount.  If a
    partial payment is made, re-enter the data using current date, account
    code "N" (there is still a recievable amount due) and enter the sales
    dept code in subacct, and the new balance due.  Then make a new
    sales/collection entry to reflect the payment just made and the next
    full file summary will recalculate the recievables amount showing at the
    main menu.

    When you have a full month's data entered, do a quick file summary (The
    "E> Summaries" command with zero for the month) to update the
    recievables, save the file, and play around with the various ways to
    search for and list data to become familiar with the information now
    available to you.  Your monthly sales report?  Printout the monthly
    summary and you have it ready to slip into your monthly sales report
    file folder.  This figure can then be entered in the Expense Ledger
    using account code "C" there so that it is available for that program to
    figure your profit/loss.

    CAUTION:  BEFORE doing the procedures described below BACK UP ALL DATA
              FILES TO ANOTHER DISK OR DIRECTORY!!!

    If you run the Sales ledger on a monthly basis because that is your
    sales tax accounting period (or you have over 300 sales/recievables
    transactions monthly) then you need to close out the current month file
    and begin a new one.  First be sure you have a good final save on your
    working data files after doing a full file summary, then copy them to
    renamed MAINACCT.INC (and ALTACCT.INC) files...Something like JAN90.INC
    and ALTJAN90.INC to insure retaining the data intact for later audit or
    reference.  (I recommend copying them over to separate floppies for
    storage.)  Follow this by reloading the first one to be closed and use
    the "T> Xfer recievables to new file" command.  This scans the file for
    recievable (account code "N") transactions, renumbers the item number
    field value (do not save the old file after this), and writes the new
    info to a file called TRANSFER.INC.

    If the file used to generate the TRANSFER.INC was MAINACCT.INC then the
    MAINACCT.INC needs to be deleted (you did save it to a renamed storage
    file on another disk, didn't you?) and the TRANSFER.INC renamed to
    MAINACCT.INC.  If you use the ALTACCT.INC data file for a second
    business location or venture follow the same procedure with that one.

    The new file now has the recievable entries already in place and if the
    file just closed was the end of year (Dec 31) you will need to edit the
    recievables and change the date to a 00-MM format.

    Those using the Sales ledger on a quarterly basis will need to do the
    above transfer procedures at the end of each quarter.  The monthly
    summaries will be of value for the monthly sales report.



                             Final note:

    Good luck and BACKUP data files frequently.  The greatest potential for
    losing data files will be from getting in a hurry with the end of
    accounting period "close old file" and "begin new file" procedures.  Be
    careful the old file you've been working on is not overwritten with the
    new file before you've copied the old one to another disk.

    Proper and wise backup practice will allow you to recover from this
    kind of disaster a lot easier.