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- THE PERSONAL MONEY MANAGER
- version 1.10
-
- Counterpoint Systems
- 9805 N.E. 116th Street, Suite 7193
- Kirkland, WA, USA 98034
- Compuserve: 70402,1745
-
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- SHARP is a set of worksheets and documentation for Lotus 123 or Borland
- Quattro Pro spreadsheets, which provides a powerful and easy way to manage
- personal finances. It is marketed as Shareware, which means that you are
- free to use, duplicate, and distribute the entire set of files as you
- received them, but you should pay for the software if you use it.
-
- -- SHARP registration costs $15.00 --
- -- Please send in your registration if you use SHARP --
-
- Registration will provide you with the latest version of SHARP, put you on
- a mailing list for notification of future upgrades, and will entitle you to
- technical support. Your suggestions will also be acted upon much more
- readily. On top of all this, it's just the right thing to do!
- Counterpoint Systems has spent many long hours developing and testing
- SHARP, and if you use it you should register.
-
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-
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- Lotus(R) and 123(R) are registered trademarks of Lotus Development
- Corporation. Borland(R) and Quattro(R) are registered trademarks of
- Borland International.
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - WHAT IS SHARP? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- SHARP is a set of worksheets for Lotus 123 Release 2 or later. It is also
- compatible with Borland Quattro Pro. SHARP acts like a smart checkbook
- register which splits a single checking account into several different
- "virtual" accounts, so you can keep track of all your expenses separately.
- You can split your checking account into as many as 32 separate accounts,
- such as Mortgage, Food, Utilities, IRA, College, and so forth, and SHARP
- keeps track of each account separately and also the total. This is a lot
- better than opening up 32 separate bank accounts!
-
- The balance for each separate account is always visible. Any check or
- deposit may be applied to any individual account or split up among several.
- SHARP also has a Disbursement function which automatically splits up a
- deposit (such as a paycheck) into whatever proportions you have specified
- and distributes the deposit among your accounts.
-
- SHARP also provides automatic checkbook balancing, archiving of completed
- register pages, and a compact printout of account balances.
-
- Starting and running SHARP is easy - you do not need to know any
- spreadsheet commands. Single-key commands are built in to provide all the
- functions you need. You will need to know some basic spreadsheet
- operations in order to customize SHARP for your needs, but once this is
- done you will use a set of simple SHARP commands to do all your account
- management.
-
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - SO WHY IS THIS SO GREAT? - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- "It seems like we never have enough set aside at the end of the year to
- make an IRA contribution."
-
- "We seem to be living paycheck to paycheck. Every time we get a little
- saved up, an emergency comes along and wipes it out."
-
- "How are we ever going to save enough to send the kids to college?"
-
- "I know the holiday season is supposed to be joyous, but it seems like all
- I do is dread the bills to come in January."
-
- "When is the next three-paycheck month? We can't afford the roof repair
- until then."
-
- "Where does the money go? How do we manage to dribble away every
- paycheck?"
-
- If you've heard yourself saying these kinds of things, SHARP can help turn
- your life around. Here is the key: almost all of your expenses are
- predictable. There's the mortgage and utility bills and the other obvious
- ones which come all too predictably, but actually almost all your
- expenditures can be planned for. Auto license tabs, brake jobs, tuneups,
- and tires all come due at pretty predictable intervals. Furnace cleaning,
- charitable contributions, birthday presents, insurance payments, and so on,
- most of those "surprise" expenses are actually quite regular and
- predictable. Even the spontaneous stuff like grabbing the family and going
- out to dinner can be planned for. Say you want to be able to do this about
- three times a month, you don't know exactly when. Voila - a predictable
- expense! SHARP provides an automatic way to set money aside in separate
- accounts so that all your predictable expenses are taken care of. Then a
-
- Miscellaneous account takes care of the truly surprising stuff.
-
- It's a great way to control how you spend your money. Instead of saying in
- a vague sort of way, "Oh, yeah, we have $2000 in checking, we can afford
- that lamp", you now say "Hmm, there's $120 in the Home account, so if we
- get the lamp we'll have to wait on the new chair". The other $1880 in
- checking is in other accounts, like Mortgage, Utilities, IRA, and so forth,
- because you know you need the money there. It's simply not available for
- lamps, because you have decided you need it elsewhere.
-
- You will probably be amazed at how much extra money you'll have once you
- consciously decide where to spend it, instead of having it somehow "spend
- itself".
-
- Another benefit is the peace of mind you get knowing those long term
- expenses you dread are being planned for. You KNOW you're going to need
- new tires in three years, so you're putting $3.85 each paycheck into your
- Cars account for them. That's a whole lot better than trying to scrape up
- the $300 in a hurry when they inevitably do go bald! How about Christmas?
- The holiday season is considerably less stressful when you have several
- hundred in your Christmas account by December, all ready to go for gifts.
-
- It's also a good way to smooth out the cash flow. Each account is rather
- like a tank of water. Certain sized dollops of water are poured in at
- certain times (such as with each paycheck), and different quantities are
- siphoned off at different times to pay the bills. As long as the average
- rate of input equals the average rate of outgo, all is well and the account
- acts like a reservoir. If your paycheck comes every two weeks but the
- mortgage is due once a calendar month, simply adjust the amount allocated
- to the Mortgage account each paycheck so that the rate of dollars pouring
- in equals the rate pouring out. It no longer matters exactly how often
- deposits or withdrawals are made from the specific account, as long as the
- average rates are equal. No more desperate hanging on for those three-
- paycheck months!
-
- SHARP also eliminates the tedious and error-prone arithmetic required to
- balance your checkbook. The spreadsheet handles all the calculations.
-
-
- - - - - - - - - - WHAT EQUIPMENT DO I NEED TO USE SHARP? - - - - - - - - -
-
- An IBM PC/XT/AT compatible with DOS 2.0 or later and Lotus 123 Release 2
- or later. It has also been tested with Borland Quattro Pro version 2.0.
- SHARP is not compatible with Quattro (non-Pro) version 1.0, but there may
- be other versions which work.
-
- SHARP provides all the functions you need for normal account maintenance
- with single-key macros, but you will need to know some basic spreadsheet
- operations to be able to customize SHARP for your particular needs.
-
- SHARP also uses a printer to list account balances. The default type is
- Epson compatible, but any type may be used.
-
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - HOW IS SHARP NORMALLY USED? - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- Typically a checking account is managed like this using SHARP:
-
- 1. WRITE CHECKS, MAKE DEPOSITS
- Write checks and make deposits as you normally do. Mark down the date,
-
- number, description, and amount in a traditional paper checkbook
- register, but don't bother to figure any totals.
-
- 2. COPY CHECKS AND DEPOSITS INTO SHARP
- Every one or two weeks, start up SHARP and copy your paper register
- entries and other account transactions into SHARP. This just takes a
- few minutes. A printout can then be made showing the current balances
- in all accounts, which can be clipped to your checkbook as a reminder.
- Whenever you fill up the last page in SHARP with checkbook entries, a
- simple command will create a new blank page and you can continue.
-
- 3. MAINTAIN AND ADJUST THE ACCOUNTS
- Review your separate accounts in SHARP and make sure things are under
- control. SHARP will handle negative individual account balances just
- fine, and you may wish to use this feature to "borrow" from one account
- to another. (Your bank, however, might get a little upset should you
- allow a negative total balance.) You can freely transfer money from one
- SHARP account to another.
-
- 4. VERIFY SHARP AGAINST YOUR BANK STATEMENT
- When you receive your bank statement, sit down with SHARP and verify all
- entries against the statement. You "check off" each entry as you verify
- it, and include any bank charges or interest which appears on the
- statement just as you would checks or deposits.
-
- 5. BALANCE THE ACCOUNT
- When all statement entries have been verified and checked off in SHARP,
- move to the SHARP balancing work area and type in the bank statement
- balance in the space indicated. If your SHARP records agree with the
- bank, the error shown in the balancing work area will be zero. If an
- error is shown, use the tips listed in the balancing work area to check
- and revise your SHARP entries.
-
- 6. ARCHIVE
- After a statement has been verified and the account balances, SHARP will
- usually show a certain number of pages ready to archive in the message
- area at the bottom of the balancing work area. If so, a simple command
- will store all fully completed pages as an archive file and remove them
- from the register worksheet. When you quit SHARP, your archive file
- will be named XX-YY.SAV, where XX is the starting page number and YY the
- ending page number of the archive. These archive files compress very
- well using one of the fine shareware compression programs such as PKZIP
- or PAK, and then take up very little disk space.
-
-
- - - - - HOW DO I SKIP THIS TEDIOUS OWNER'S MANUAL AND GET STARTED? - - - -
-
- To start up the plain vanilla version of SHARP which comes with this
- distribution package, you will need to know two things: first, the full
- path name of the directory where your spreadsheet lives (such as c:\123),
- and second, the full path name of the directory where you keep your
- worksheet files (such as d:\mydir\123). This may be the same as the
- spreadsheet directory itself, or you may have defined a different
- directory. In 123, type /Worksheet Global Default Directory to determine
- your worksheet file directory path. In Quattro Pro, type /Options Startup
- Directory.
-
- Now simply run the INSTALL program which came with SHARP and enter these
- two path names when it asks. INSTALL will create a custom batch file
- SHARP.BAT in the root directory of your current disk, which may be moved to
-
- another directory on your PATH if you wish. INSTALL will also move all
- necessary files to the directories where they can be accessed by SHARP.BAT.
- To start SHARP after installation is complete, simply enter SHARP at the
- DOS command prompt. SHARP will start up your spreadsheet and load itself
- automatically.
-
- - - - - - - - - WHAT IS THE LAYOUT OF THE SHARP WORKSHEET? - - - - - - - -
-
- The overall layout of the SHARP worksheet looks like this:
-
- ------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- | |
- | |
- | |
- | starting page | (hidden macro area)
- | |
- | |
- | |
- ------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- | |
- | | Your screen view of this complete
- | | worksheet may be thought of as a "view
- | first register page | window", indicated by the +++ rectangle at
- | | left. By using the spreadsheet screen
- | | scrolling commands (PgUp, PgDn, Tab, and
- | | Backtab), you move the view window around
- +++++++++----------------- a register page and from page to page.
- + + |
- + view + | Pressing Home at any time takes you to the
- + + second | upper left corner of the starting page,
- +++++++++ register | where the SHARP logo appears. The
- | page | starting page also shows your initial
- | | account balances and starting page number.
- | |
- ------------------------- Pressing Alt-Z takes you to the upper left
- . . . corner of the last register page.
- Pressing PgDn twice from there gets you to
- ------------------------- the balancing work area.
- | |
- | | With a standard 80x25 character display,
- | | if you use only the PgUp, PgDn, Tab, and
- | last register page | Backtab screen scrolling commands (and
- | | don't "bump" your cursor against a
- | | vertical or horizontal screen edge), you
- | | will always stay aligned on a register
- ------------------------- page. Two PgDn or PgUp will move down or
- | | up a register page, and two Tab or Backtab
- | balancing | will scroll horizontally across an entire
- | work area | page.
- | |
- ----------- You should stay out of the hidden macro
- area.
-
- - - - - - - - - - WHAT IS THE LAYOUT OF A REGISTER PAGE? - - - - - - - - -
-
- \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\
- PAGE date: | Nov 3 Nov 3 Nov 3 Nov 3 Nov 5 |
- 129 ck no: | 1252 1253 1256 |
- descr: | Frndly VISA PAYCHECK Lk Wash ... xfr |
- | Market DEPOSIT Sewer |
- statemt: | **** **** **** -35.01 0.00 |
- TOTAL 11752.36 | -25.28 -149.55 1510.00 -35.01 0.00 |
- ===============|========================================== ==========|
- MISC 105.02 | -25.29 84.87 |
- STD 236.25 | 26.85 |
- FUN 95.21 | -40.66 55.38 |
- FOOD 42.30 | -25.28 240.00 |
- HOME 120.13 | -15.71 40.00 50.00 |
- UTIL 179.61 | 103.15 -35.01 |
- GIFTS 54.09 | 34.23 |
- CLTHS 58.83 | -67.89 50.00 |
- MED 8.14 | 18.46 ... |
- CARS 14.01 | 29.23 |
- GAS 45.87 | 69.49 |
- MORTG 850.19 | 420.00 |
- CNTRB 96.43 | 13.27 |
- INSUR 295.26 | 37.85 |
- XMAS 788.02 | 30.19 |
- VAC 370.05 | 46.15 |
- TBS 129.87 | 16.41 |
- IRA 1480.79 | 76.92 |
- COLLG 2962.33 | 11.01 |
- SAV 978.03 | 20.00 -50.00 |
- BIG 2841.93 | 86.54 |
- xxx 0.00 | |
- xxx 0.00 | ... |
- xxx 0.00 | |
- xxx 0.00 | |
- xxx 0.00 | |
- xxx 0.00 | |
- xxx 0.00 | |
- xxx 0.00 | |
- xxx 0.00 | |
- xxx 0.00 | |
- xxx 0.00 | |
- \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\
-
- This is an example of a typical single register page. The first thing to
- notice is that it is "sideways" from the old-fashioned paper checkbook
- register. (Only the first four columns and the last column are shown
- here.) Each entry in the SHARP register is in a column, not a row like you
- might be used to. When you enter a check or deposit into a SHARP register
- column, you first type in the date, check number, and description at the
- top. Then you move down into the body of the page (do not enter anything
- in the TOTAL cell), and type in the amount(s) across from the account(s)
- which are to be charged or credited. SHARP automatically updates the total
- of all column transactions in the TOTAL cell (right above the ==== line).
-
- SHARP automatically maintains the running balance for each of the accounts
- on a given page in the "account totals" region on the left. This region is
- always visible, even when you scroll to the right on a register page.
- SHARP also links each page to the page above so total balances are
- correctly maintained from page to page. You can also change entries on any
-
- page and the entire register will adjust to the correct totals.
-
- For example, look at the first column. This records a check, number 1252,
- written on Nov 3 to the Friendly Market, for $25.28. It was charged to the
- FOOD account. Note how checks, withdrawals, etc., are negative numbers,
- while deposits are positive.
-
- The next example is the second column, where check number 1253 for $149.55
- is used to pay a VISA bill which is broken up over several accounts. You
- can't see it here, but in the spreadsheet you can use the normal formula
- capabilities to add up several separate charges to a single account. For
- example, the $25.29 charged to MISC may actually be entered as -11.62-4.98-
- 8.69, reflecting three separate charges applied to MISC. The spreadsheet
- automatically totals this formula to -25.29.
-
- Next, the third column shows the result of a Disbursement command (Alt-D).
- When Alt-D was originally pressed in this column, SHARP asked which
- particular disbursement was desired (1 - 10, predefined by the user) and
- the total amount of the disbursement ($1510.00 here), and credited all the
- accounts as shown.
-
- The fourth column shows a check which has been checked off in the "statemt"
- row. This is done when a bank statement is received which shows the
- transaction (in this case the cancelled check has been received). All you
- need to do is type Alt-X over the **** cell to check off the entry as you
- go through and balance your checkbook. SHARP automatically copies the
- column total to the statemt cell and uses it in it's balancing
- calculations.
-
- The last column shows a transfer of $50.00 from SAV to HOME. Notice that
- the total of the transaction is $0.00 since no money actually entered or
- left the bank account, but only moved within it. Also, all transfers of
- this sort can be checked off with Alt-X as soon as they are entered, since
- they won't show up on your bank statement.
-
- Note that there are several unused account slots, labelled "xxx". These
- may be customized for your use (see HOW DO I CUSTOMIZE SHARP FOR MY
- NEEDS?). The starting accounts shown above may also be customized or
- rearranged.
-
- - - - - - - - - - - WHAT ARE THE COMMANDS I WILL NEED? - - - - - - - - - -
-
- All the commands you need to run SHARP are performed by spreadsheeet
- "macros". Macros are invoked on standard PC keyboards by holding the Alt
- key down and pressing a letter. See your spreadsheet manual if your
- situation is different.
-
- SHARP commands are summarized below. Even if you are an experienced
- spreadsheet jockey you should still USE ONLY THESE COMMANDS! SHARP has a
- number of hidden variables and functions that it keeps track of properly
- with these commands, and it might get confused if you try to circumvent it.
-
- Alt-A ARCHIVE all completed register pages. A page is completed when all
- transactions on the page plus all pages before it have been
- verified against your bank statement and "checked off" using the
- Alt-X command. Completed pages are no longer needed in the
- register, and should be archived to keep the register as small
- and fast as possible. Archived pages are stored as plain text
- and may be examined at any time using a word processor.
- Alt-C COPY the cell to the left into the present position. Useful for
-
- duplicating a transaction date.
- Alt-D DISBURSE a deposit or withdrawal. This causes the transaction to
- be split among several accounts, according to your predefined
- instrucions. SHARP will ask for which of ten possible
- disbursement schemes you wish to use, and the total amount of the
- disbursement. The cursor must be over the \\\\ cell at the top
- of the desired column.
- Alt-E ERASE the current cell.
- Alt-I Copy and INCREMENT the cell to the left. Useful for entering the
- next sequential check number.
- Alt-L LOAD the last saved version of your SHARP register into the
- workspace. Careful! This will demolish any work you have done
- since your last SAVE. SHARP will make sure you really want to do
- this. Useful for recovering from a dumb (big) mistake.
- Alt-N Add a NEW blank sheet to the end of the register.
- Alt-P PRINT the current account balances and date. SHARP will prompt you
- to get the printer ready. SHARP prints using compressed mode on
- Epson compatibles by default.
- Alt-Q Save the register and QUIT.
- Alt-S SAVE your work to disk. Do this regularly.
- Alt-T Move to the TOP of the next column. This is a quick way to finish
- an entry into a register column. It may be used in place of
- Enter when you have finished typing a number, or wherever you
- might be. Alt-T also realigns the register page to the screen if
- you happened to have bumped the cursor against the top or bottom
- of the screen.
- Alt-U UNDO a previous Alt-X checked-off column. The cursor must be over
- the "statemt" cell which was inadvertantly checked off.
- Alt-X "Check off" the current transaction as having been verified on your
- bank statement. The cursor must be over the **** "statemt" cell
- in the desired column.
- Alt-Z Go to the last page in the register.
-
- The SHARP register page size has been designed to fit evenly with the
- screen scroll commands in 123 (providing you use a standard 80x25 character
- screen, and not one of the high-density EGA or VGA modes). Pressing PgUp
- or PgDn twice will move you up or down exactly one register page. Pressing
- Tab or Backtab twice will take you to the exact left and right borders of
- the register page.
-
-
- - - - - - - - - - HOW DO I CUSTOMIZE SHARP FOR MY NEEDS? - - - - - - - - -
-
- While normal use of SHARP for maintaining your accounts is a simple
- operation with powerful commands predefined for you, customizing SHARP
- requires some knowledge of spreadsheet commands and editing. Therefore
- this section assumes you know the basic commands available in your
- spreadsheet.
-
- There are three aspects of SHARP which you will need to customize: the
- account names, the initial account balances, and any disbursement
- definitions you desire. If you have a non-Epson-compatible printer, you
- will also need to set up for your printer. First customize your accounts
- and initial balances and then your disbursements, since the disbursement
- names must match the accounts.
-
- Note that you will need to "unprotect" SHARP while you make changes, and
- then "reprotect" it when you are done. To unprotect in 123 enter the /
- Worksheet Global Protection Disable command, and to reprotect use /
- Worksheet Global Protection Enable. In Quattro Pro, use /Style Protection
-
- Unprotect and /Style Protection Protect.
-
- CUSTOMIZING ACCOUNTS
- SHARP provides up to 32 different accounts which you can customize as you
- see fit. The starter version of SHARP uses one possible arrangement; you
- can modify this or create a new set.
-
- The only restriction in defining accounts is that the first account is
- always considered "miscellaneous" by the Alt-D disbursement command. A
- disbursement will place fixed amounts in all other accounts besides the
- first one, and then put the total disbursement amount minus the total of
- all other accounts into the first account. If your disbursements are
- always the same total amount, your first account will also be constant, but
- if there is a fluctuation in the total disbursement amount the first
- account will take up the slack.
-
- With this in mind, you might want to retain the MISC name for the first
- account. Now you need to name and arrange all the other accounts. (See
- below for a justification of the accounts as you receive them.) Normally
- you cannot move your cursor to the account names column in SHARP, but the
- GOTO command in your spreadsheet allows temporary access to the names
- column. In 123 or Quattro Pro, type F5, A9, Enter to get to the first name
- cell on the starting page, and use your spreadsheet editing commands to
- customize the account names as required. Copy the new starting page name
- range (A9..A40) to the first (blank) page in the starter version of SHARP
- to complete the account naming process.
-
- After you have refined your budgeting skills, you may want to add, delete,
- or rearrange the account names. Adding accounts to the end of the existing
- list of accounts is easy: simply add the new name to the end of the last
- sheet in the register, and all new pages created with Alt-N from that point
- will include the new name. It is trickier to delete or rearrange account
- names in a busy register with many active pages, since each page relies on
- the previous pages to calculate balances. Because of this, you cannot
- simply rearrange the accounts on the last page, or the new account
- arrangement would not link with the old properly. You might get the old
- FOOD account adding into the new GAS account for example, if they both
- occupied the same row on their respective pages.
-
- Therefore, to rearrange active accounts you need to be careful to rearrange
- complete rows (i.e. columns A through S) throughout the entire register
- to match. The starting page (columns A and B only) should also be
- rearranged to match. This whole operation is not too difficult, but it is
- worth considering your account arrangement a little before starting to use
- SHARP.
-
- Also be sure to rearrange the accounts in each disbursement worksheet to
- match the SHARP register. See below for instructions on customizing
- disbursements.
-
- Here is the justification for the SHARP starter version accounts as you
- received them, which you may find useful in determining your own budget.
- The order is generally the most often-used accounts toward the top, to
- avoid unnecessary scrolling through the SHARP page.
-
- MISC The truly miscellaneous stuff. This account needs to be the first
- one (see discussion above).
- STD A mixed group of "standard" fixed expenses: subscriptions, auto
- license tabs, allowances, Scout fees, annual landscape expenses,
- etc.
-
- FUN A catch-all for spontaneous fun stuff, restaurants, movies, etc.
- FOOD The grocery budget.
- HOME Home improvement and maintenance: furniture, hardware store
- expenses, cleaning, etc.
- UTIL All utilities: electricity, gas, sewer, garbage, phone, etc.
- GIFTS For birthday, wedding, anniversary, and miscellaneous gifts.
- CLTHS The clothes budget.
- MED Medical expenses.
- CARS Miscellaneous auto expenses (not including the big, long-term ones
- in the TBS account).
- GAS Gasoline.
- MORTG Of course, the mortgage.
- CNTRB Charitable contributions.
- INSUR Insurance: auto, life, etc.
- XMAS Christmas expenses (gifts, extra charity donations, the tree, new
- decorations, party expenses, etc.)
- VAC Save for next summer's vacation.
- TBS The Big Three: tires, brakes, and shocks. These are the expensive
- maintenance items which always seem to catch you unprepared.
- IRA Individual Retirement Account accumulation. Invest elsewhere when
- appropriate.
- COLLG College for the kids or yourself. Invest elsewhere when
- appropriate.
- SAV Generic savings, can be used for "deferred consumption" to cover
- unplanned-for appliance failure, roof repair, or unexpected
- shortages.
- BIG The account to save for the big items: new car, major furniture,
- etc.
-
- INITIAL ACCOUNT BALANCES
- This is something you will need to do only when you first start using
- SHARP, since the balance is dynamically maintained from that point on. The
- process is the same as customizing the account names: use the spreadsheet
- GOTO command (F5 in 123 or Quattro Pro) to temporarily access the B9..B40
- range and initialize the amounts. Notice that the overall total is
- maintained automatically in cell B7, and must match the total amount in
- your bank account. If you are not sure of your exact total at the time you
- start using SHARP, you can estimate and then adjust as necessary when your
- next statement comes.
-
- A note on initial balances: to take advantage of the "reservoir" effect of
- the SHARP accounts, you should make sure that your initial balances are
- sufficient to prevent a negative balance when the worst case situation
- arises. For example, if you make a disbursement into your mortgage account
- bi-weekly but write a mortgage check on the calendar month, your mortgage
- account will be at its lowest just before a three-disbursement month. When
- you initialize your mortgage account balance, determine how close you are
- to a three-disbursement month and seed your mortgage account accordingly.
-
- CUSTOMIZING DISBURSEMENTS
- Disbursements are defined in ten separate worksheets named DISBxx.WK1,
- where "xx" is a number from 1 to 10. SHARP asks you which of these
- disbursements you wish to use whenever you type the Alt-D command. In the
- starter version of SHARP which you have, DISB1 has been defined as a
- generic paycheck disbursement, with the other DISBxx worksheets left blank
- and ready to fill in as you require.
-
- To customize a disbursement, start up your spreadsheet (not SHARP), and
- load the desired DISBxx.WK1 worksheet. The format of a DISBxx worksheet is
- shown below. You will need to edit the account names to match the account
-
- definitions in your SHARP register, and define the disbursement amount for
- each account (except the first, since it is a "slush fund" which takes up
- the slack between the total amount and the sum of all other accounts). You
- will also enter the expected total disbursement amount in the TOTAL cell,
- and a two-line description of the disbursement. The scratchpad area is
- used for figuring disbursement amounts. You may wish to examine the
- calculations provided in the starter version of DISB1 to learn some
- techniques for determining disbursement amounts.
-
- The range A1..B40 contains the names of all your accounts and the amount to
- disburse to each. The accounts and their sequence must match the account
- definitions in your SHARP register, or
- A B N your disbursement will not work as you
- ------- ----- ... ------- expect.
- 1 | | |
- | | | The disbursement amounts in column B
- | | | must not refer to other cells in the
- | Acct | | worksheet, or the disbursement into the
- | Defn | | SHARP register will not work. (This
- | Area | | applies at least to 123 Release 2.) If
- | | | you figure a disbursement amount in the
- | | Scratchpad | scratchpad area, you cannot simply
- | | | "point to" the result in column B; you
- | | Area | will need to repeat the resulting number
- 40 | | | in column B. Formulas which use fixed
- ------- | numbers are allowable in column B,
- | | however.
- | |
- | | The scratchpad area is used for figuring
- ... ... disbursement amounts. You can use any
- normal spreadsheet functions here, and
- | | then copy the results to column B as
- 60 | | required.
- ------------- ... -------
-
- The MISC account disbursement shows the difference between the total you
- enter in the TOTAL cell and the sum of all other disbursements. This is
- the same way a disbursement works when Alt-D is entered in the SHARP
- register.
-
- If you keep all your work within the A1..N60 range as shown, SHARP will be
- able to print the entire disbursement worksheet in compressed mode on one
- sheet. If this is not important, you may extend beyond the range shown and
- change your print range.
-
- PRINTER CUSTOMIZATION
- This is only necessary if your printer is not Epson compatible. The only
- thing you need to do here is install a different compressed mode control
- code in the SHARP and DISBxx worksheets. In 123, this is done using the
- /Print Printer Options Setup command, and in Quattro Pro you use /Print
- Layout Setup-string. You will need to know the control code(s) your
- printer requires to enter its compressed (132 characters per column) mode.
-
-
- - - - - - - - - I SCREWED SOMETHING UP! HOW CAN I FIX IT? - - - - - - - -
-
- SHARP uses protected and hidden cells to avoid the problems of accidentally
- wiping out part of the structure of the worksheet. DO NOT remove the
- protection status or SHARP may be seriously damaged! SHARP also makes a
- backup copy of itself whenever you start it up, so you can always recover
-
- to the point where you were before starting the current session.
-
- There are several degrees of screwup in SHARP, as in anything else. The
- simple mistakes can be corrected using Alt-E to erase a mistaken cell or
- Alt-U to undo a mistakenly checked off "statemt" cell.
-
- The next level of screwup can be recovered from by using the Alt-L command
- to reload the last-saved version of SHARP. You did just recently save your
- work using Alt-S, didn't you? Alt-L may be necessary if you disable
- SHARP's protection and damage the worksheet, or if you prematurely
- terminate one of SHARP's commands and the worksheet is left in an improper
- state.
-
- If you are really accident-prone you may somehow actually save a botched
- version of SHARP, so that reloading with Alt-L won't help. In this
- unlikely event, you can still start over from where you first started this
- session of SHARP. Exit SHARP by using the Alt-Q command (or rebooting, or
- whatever). Next use the DOS copy command in your spreadsheet files
- directory as follows:
-
- copy sharp.bak sharp.wk1
-
- Do not delete the file named SHARPTAG.SAV. Now restart SHARP and all will
- be well.
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - SHARP VERSION HISTORY - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- 1.10: Fixed Alt-X bug (would operate on any cell). Fixed Alt-D bug (1st
- column in register would mess up all subsequent Alt-D). Fixed bug
- in archive page counter at end of register. Made Alt-C, I, and E
- more bulletproof. Cleaned up display of all commands. Added Alt-T
- and startup macro. Added Quick Command Reference, startup screen,
- and INSTALL program. General improvements to document. Added
- Quattro compatibility.
-
-
- - - - - - - - - WHAT A GREAT PROGRAM! HOW DO I PAY FOR IT? - - - - - - -
-
- With regular use of SHARP, you should have no trouble budgeting to pay for
- it! Please fill out the form below and send along with $15 US funds to the
- address shown. You will receive (along with the warm glow of satisfaction
- from being honest and responsible) the latest version on 5-1/4" 360K floppy
- disk and notification of updates, and be entitled to technical support.
-
- Thank you for your support,
-
- Counterpoint Systems
- 9805 N.E. 116th Street, Suite 7193
- Kirkland, WA, USA 98034
-
-
-
- NAME ________________________________________________________________
-
-
- ADDRESS _____________________________________________________________
-
-
- CITY, STATE, ZIP ____________________________________________________
-
-
- SPREADSHEET USED ______________________ VERSION _____________________
-
-
- COMPUTER ____________________________________________________________
-
-
- DISPLAY: MONO ____ CGA ____ EGA ____ VGA ____ OTHER _____________
-
-
- COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS? ____________________________________________
-
-
- _____________________________________________________________________
-
-
- _____________________________________________________________________
-
-
- _____________________________________________________________________
-
-