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WinCheck User's Manual
Copyright 1991-93 Wilson WindowWare, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
and recording, for any purpose without the express written
premission of Wilson WindowWare. Information in this document is
subject to change without notice and does not represent a
commitment by Wilson WindowWare.
The software described herein is furnished under a license
agreement. It is against the law to copy this software under any
circumstances except to create a backup of the program for your
personal use.
Trademarks
IBM, PC/XT, PC/AT, and PS/2 are registered trademarks of
International Buisiness Machines Corporation.
Microsoft Windows and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation.
Barbie is a registered trademark of Mattel, Inc.
Word for Windows, Visual BASIC, and Excel are trademarks for
Microsoft Corporation.
LaserJet is a trademark of Hewlett-Packard.
Quicken is a registered trademark of Intuit, Inc.
Lotus 1-2-3 is a registered trademark of Lotus Developement
Corporation.
WinCheck is a trademark of Wilson WindowWare, Inc..
About This Manual
This manual is divided into the following sections:
Introduction Installation and
introductory
information.
Getting Started A walk through of
WinCheck's features with
the tutorial account.
Starting a New Account Information on starting
your first Checking,
Checking and Savings or
Credit Card account.
Configuring Information on
WinCheck configuring the WinCheck
program to your
specifications.
Transactions A brief overview of the
types of transactions
that can be made with
WinCheck.
The WinCheck Menu A brief run down of the
Items and Keys function of each menu
item and a listing of
the keyboard shortcuts.
The Register Information about
viewing and using the
Register window.
The Statement Information about
viewing and using the
Statement to reconcile
your account.
Categories and Detailed information on
Subcategories creating categories and
subcategories in order
to classify your
transactions.
The WinCheck Budget With the use of
Manager categories, this
section describes
setting up a budget for
your expenses.
Split Transactions Information on
splitting a transaction
over several
categories.
Common Transactions Information on setting
up Common transactions
for transactions made
on a regular basis.
Printing Checks Everything you need to
know about using the
Form Designer create
template for printing
checks.
Reports Information on printing
standard and custom
reports.
How To Examples of using
WinCheck.
Command Files Technical information
concerning WinCheck's
Command Language.
Appendix A Tips and Techniques for
using WinCheck
Appendix B WinCheck's messages
and their meanings.
Appendix C List of some common
questions and answers
about WinCheck.
Appendix D Information for those
updating from previous
versions of WinCheck
Appendix E Information on ordering
and using computer
checks.
Introduction
WinCheck is a personal finance manager for Microsoft Windows.
With WinCheck it is possible to enter and track the following
transactions for mulitple checking, checking and savings, or credit
card accounts.
Transaction Types
Interest Accrued
Cash Machine Advances
Misc Bank Charges
Transfers to or from Savings and Checking
Debit and Credit Cards
WinCheck will manage all of these transactions, making it easy
to balance your checkbook, record a savings account's history or a
keep track of credit card transactions.
System Requirements
IBM PC or compatible with a minimum of 12 megabytes of memory
Microsoft Windows 3.0 or later
Hard disk with >> 1MB space
A mouse is also strongly recommended.
MS-DOS or PC-DOS version 3.1 or later
WinCheck Installation
The installation program for WinCheck is a Windows application,
so Microsoft Windows will need to be running prior to running the
Setup program. To start the Setup program, put the appropriate
disk into the floppy drive and from the File menu of the Windows
Program Manager choose Run. Beside the text "Command Line:", type
the drive that contains the floppy disk followed by the filename
WSETUP.EXE (i.e. A:\WSETUP.EXE). This will start the WinCheck
setup program.
Setup prompts you for a location to install WinCheck and copies
over all of the necessary files to this location. Near completion
of the Setup program, a Program Group called WinCheck and
program icon are created (if your Windows shell is the Program
Manager). The default icon for the WinCheck program is a red
check mark on a green background. To change the icon, select the
icon by clicking on it once with the mouse and choose Properties
from the File menu. In the File Properties dialog, click on the
Change Icon button. Clicking on the View Next button will thumb
through the available icons. Once you have an icon you would like
for the program, press Ok to select the icon and Ok again to leave
the File Properties dialog.
When you first start the WinCheck program the Load Account
dialog will contain the intials TUT. This is the account ID for
the WinCheck tutorial file. To get up to speed with WinCheck,
use this file with the walk through tutorial in the next
section.
Notes: If you are updating from a previous version of WinCheck,
refer to the information in the README.TXT file (the readme
file will appear as an icon in the WinCheck window or look to
page 180 of this manual.
The WinCheck program does not modify your AUTOEXEC.BAT or
CONFIG.SYS files. You may want to add WinCheck to your path if
you will be running the program from the Windows command line.
Getting Started with WinCheck
The following topics will be discussed in this section:
The WinCheck Screen
Writing Your First Check
Working with the Check Statement and Register
Editing and Splitting Transactions
Printing a Cash Flow Report
Creating a Custom Report
The tutorial account included with WinCheck is an excellent
place to begin learning to use the program. The WinCheck
tutorial file includes sample data for January, February and March
of 1991.
To start the WinCheck program with the tutorial data, do the
following:
Start WinCheck by double clicking with the mouse on the WinCheck
icon in Program Manger. Where is the icon? The WinCheck
installation created a group called WinCheck and in this
group is the WinCheck icon. To access this group go to the
Window menu at top of the Windows Program Manager and choose the
WinCheck from the Window menu. Within the WinCheck group is an
icon labeled WinCheck (double click on this icon to start the
program).
Note: If WinCheck is on your path, then it is also possible to
start WinCheck by choosing Run from the File menu of Program
Manager and typing WinCheck for the "Command Line:".
Otherwise, type the fully qualified name of WinCheck (such as
C:\WinCheck\WinCheck).
Upon startup of the WinCheck program, you will be prompted for
the account to load. To load the Tutorial account, choose TUT from
the drop down listbox (click on the down arrow). The keyboard
equivalent to clicking on the down arrow with the mouse is to press
ALT+Down Arrow on the keyboard. Once you have selected TUT, click
on the OK button or press Enter on the keyboard. If you have
already started the WinCheck program and need to load the TUT
account, choose Load Account from the File menu and choose the TUT
account from the drop down listbox.
When loading the Tutorial file, the Balances Dialog will appear
with the balance values for Savings and Checking as well as the
date of the last transaction. Press OK to exit the Balances dialog
and view the account Register for March of 1991. WinCheck
automatically loads the account Register that is closest to the
current date. In the case of the TUT account, March 1991 is the
last month with transactions in the tutorial file.
The WinCheck Screen
There are two visual aids besides the menu at the top of the
screen: The Control Bar of icons across the top of the screen
(mouse required) and the Status Line along the bottom of the
WinCheck screen. The Control Bar allows for quick operation of the
program by placing icon buttons of common operations below the
menu. There are fifteen buttons that execute common WinCheck
operations and an "Acct:" listbox on the far left that lists open
accounts. The TUT acronym is listed now, to indicated that the
Tutorial file is open. The Status Line displays the description of
the account (WinCheck Tutorial File) and the current balance
information. The caption just above the menu lists the open month,
the account ID, and whether the open window is a Statement or a
Register. For example:
WinCheck - Current Month 03/91 - [TUT: Register for March,
1991]
The menu bar is just below the description information. One letter
of each menu item is underlined. This letter is underlined to
indicate the ALT combination to activate the menu. In otherwords,
to activate the File menu from the keyboard, you would type ALT+F
(for File). To activate the File menu using the mouse, click on
the word File.
There are three arrow buttons in the upper right corner of the
WinCheck screen. The top two buttons are use to control the
size of the WinCheck program screen and third button below is
used to control the size of the Register or Statement window.
Click on the third icon and the Register window will be reduced in
size.
Click on the Down Arrow along the title of the Register window and
the Register will be reduced to an icon at the bottom of the
screen.
Double click on the Checkbook Icon or press Enter to restore the
Register window again.
Finally, click on the Up arrow along the frame of the Register
window to Maximize the window to it's original position.
Controlling the size of the program screen:
Click on the Up and Down arrow in the far upper right corner to
reduce the size of the WinCheck program from a full screen
application.
Click on the Down arrow to minimize the WinCheck application.
Double click on the WinCheck icon at the bottom of the screen
to switch back to WinCheck.
Finally, click on the Up arrow to maximize the WinCheck program
to full screen.
Writing Your First Check
To write a check, click on the check icon button (the tiny blue
check) on the Control Bar, or press F3, or choose Check from the
Checking menu. Any of these actions bring up a blank check
transaction.
Note: When clicking an icon button, you only need to click on it
once. Double clicking will bring up a message stating that only
one new open transaction may be open at a time. If this message
box appears, press the OK button and continue.
In the resulting check, click on the down arrow to view current
transaction categories. Categories are a means to classify your
transactions into certain groups such as "Entertainment" or
"Business". The keyboard equivalent to clicking on the down arrow
with the mouse is to press ALT+Down Arrow on the keyboard.
Steps for completing the check:
1. Select the "Health Club" category from the drop-down listbox
(click on down arrow).
2. Press the Tab key twice to jump to the Date field and type
03/30/91.
(For the purpose of this tutorial, we have changed the date to
be within the month of March to match the other tutorial data.
Normally, you would leave the current date that is
automatically inserted with a new transaction.)
3. Press the Tab key again to advance to the "To:" field.
4. Type NorthWest Fitness.
5. Press the Tab key once to advance to the dollar amount field
and type 23.34.
The check is now complete.
6. Click on the OK or press Enter on the keyboard to record the
check transaction.
To view the check in the Register window, use the vertical scroll
bar to scroll to the end of the month (or use the Page Down key
when Num Lock is off). The default sorting routine for the
Register is to sort by Date, so the transaction will appear near
the end of the Register window data.
From the Data menu choose Sort and pull to the right with the mouse
to view the sorting options. The current sorting option is by
Date, as indicated by the check mark. Choose by Number as the
sorting method for the data in the Register window.
When the Register is sorted by number, all of the transactions
without check numbers (such as deposits) will appear at the top of
the Register window with the checks below in ascending order.
Working with the Check Statement and Register
WinCheck is capable of viewing several Statements and Registers
from the same or different accounts, all at one time. To view a
check Statement, choose Display Check Statement from the Acct menu.
In the resulting dialog, WinCheck displays the available months
(in this case January 1991-March 1991). "Available months" are
those months that actually contain data. For example, April will
appear in the "Pick a month to view" dialog once a transaction has
been made with an April date.
Choose January 1991 and press Enter or click on the OK button. The
Statement differs from the Register in that the transactions are
grouped according to type (Deposits, Checks, etc).
Click with the mouse of the Window menu or press ALT+W. At the
bottom of the Window menu is a listing of the open Register and
Statement windows.
The two open windows are listed with a check by number 2,
indicating that the Statement window for January, 1991 is the
active window.:
1: TUT: Register for March, 1991
2: TUT: Statement for January, 1991
Choose Tile (from the Window menu) and view both windows at the
same time.
Switch back and forth between windows by clicking with the mouse
anywhere in the January Statement window or the Register for March
window. Choose the TUT: Register for March, 1991 from the Window
menu to activate the March window. Now, click on the Up arrow to
the left of the window title bar to maximize the Regsiter window.
The Column Headings for this Register are:
ChkAmt: The amount of the Checking transaction.
ChkBal: Your running balance for Checking.
BnkChk: "The Bank's Opinion" on your running balance.
SavAmt: The amount of the Savings transaction.
SavBal: Your running balance for Savings.
BnkSav: "The Bank's Opinion" on your running balance.
The column widths for the Register and Statement windows can be
adjusted with the mouse. To adjust the width of the columns,
position the mouse between the two columns (such as ChkAmt and
ChkBal) columns so that the mouse cursor changes to a line with
arrows on either side. Now, click and drag the mouse to the right
to expand the width of the ChkAmt column. Expand the width of the
ChkBal column, by clicking on the right edge of the column and
dragging to the right with the mouse. To save these changes for
future editing sessions, choose Memorize Heading Columns from the
Data menu.
To sum a portion of the transactions in the active check
Statement, click with the mouse on check number 3287 to Safeway
and drag the mouse through check number 3291 to Cellular One. Once
all five transactions are selected click on the sigma icon button
from the Control Bar, press the + key on the keypad, or choose Sum
Highlighted Amts from the Data menu. Any of these actions will
bring up a dialog of Sum Transaction totals.
The keyboard method for selecting transactions is to press and hold
the Shift key while using the Up and Down arrow keys on the
keyboard to extended the selection. To remove the selection click
anywhere in the Statement window or press the Up arrow on the
keyboard (without holding down the Shift key).
If you need to manipulate numbers not necessarily within
transactions, click on the calculator icon located on the Control
Bar (it's the 6th icon button from the right) or choose Calculator
from the Data menu. To close the Calculator, press ALT+F4 or click
twice on the close bar in the upper left corner.
The colors and fonts that WinCheck is using are totally
customizable. For example, to change the Statement screen font, do
the following:
1. Choose Fonts from the File menu.
2. In the box labeled "Font Usage" choose the option for the
Statement Window (ALT+W).
3. Choose a Typeface such as Helv.
4. Choose 14 for the Size.
5. Click on the Apply button or press ALT+A. to see the changes
made to the statement window below.
6. Now, click within the Underline box or press ALT+U.
7. Again click on Apply button or press ALT+A. to see the changes
made to the statement window below.
8. Choose OK to exit the dialog once you are satisifed with the
font.
To change the Statement window background color, do the following:
1. Choose Colors from the File menu.
2. In the Description box, select Statement Window.
3. Click with the mouse on an alternative color such as light blue
(from the keyboard press ALT+C and use the Up and Down arrows
on the keyboard to select a color).
4. Click on the Apply button or press ALT+A to see the changes to
the check statement window.
5. Choose OK to exit the dialog once you are satisfied with the
colors.
Editing and Splitting Transactions
Choose Close Active Register/Statement from the Acct menu to close
the Statement window. To expand the size of the Register window,
click on the Up arrow button to the right of the window text, TUT:
Register for March, 1991. To edit a transaction in the Register
window, you would double click with the mouse on the item to edit
(or press Enter when the selection bar is on the item).
Double click on the checking deposit dated 03/14 to bring up the
checking deposit information. Any of the items in this dialog can
be changed. As a primer to the categories feature of WinCheck,
choose Split... from the list of categories in the upper left
corner (click on the down arrow). Split... is the first item in
the drop down list box, followed by all of the custom categories
for the tutorial account. After selecting Split..., click on the
OK button to bring up the Split Transaction dialog. Within the
following dialog, change the amount from 3100.00 to 1000.00 and
then click on the down arrow to select "Royalty" as the category.
Click on the Add button to add this split.
Next, change the amount field to 1100.00 and select "Band Income"
for the category. Again, click on Add to add this split to the
checking deposit transaction. Finally, choose the "Model Fees"
category for the remaining 1000.00 dollars,and click on Add. When
no dollar amount remains in the amount field, all of the
transaction has been split to separate categories.
Cash Flow Report
To print or view the check register information in a Report format,
choose Report Generator from the Acct menu.
1. In the WinCheck Report Generator dialog, select January 1991
for the starting and ending date (report just for the month of
January).
2. Below the "Choose a Report Type" label select Checking: Cash
Flow.
3. Click on the Preview button or press ALT+V.
This allows you to preview the cash flow report for January
before printing. If the dialog in the lower right corner is
obstructing the viewing of the data, click on the title bar
labeled "WinCheck Print Preview" and drag the box about the
screen.
4. Click Stop to return to the Report Generator Dialog.
Click on the Print button to print a Cash Flow report for January
1991 or Exit to return to the WinCheck Register window (refer
to the Configuring WinCheck chapter for information on
configuring WinCheck for printing checks and reports).
Creating a Custom Report
There are several reports included with the WinCheck program
(such as Checking:Cash Flow), and it is also possible to create
your own custom reports. To create a custom WinCheck report
for the tutorial data:
1. Choose Report Generator from the Acct menu.
2. Select January 1991 as the starting month and February 1991 as
the ending date.
3. Click on the Add button to design a custom report.
4. In the following dialog type in Credits for the filename of the
upcoming custom report, and press OK.
5. In the Report Description field you can type text to better
describe your custom reports. For this example, type "Barbie's
Credit Report" as the description.
6. Set the 1st Sorting method to "Date", the 2nd to "Amount", and
the 3rd to "Original Order" (click on the down arrow and select
from the list of available sort keys).
7. Deselect the box labeled Debits or press ALT+B from the
keyboard.
A gray segmented bar appears below the report description field.
This bar is used to indicate the data and width of each column.
Double click within the first segment of the bar (to the far left)
to bring up the Column Attributes dialog. In this dialog you can
choose the type of data that will be displayed in the column.
Choose the Date option and click on the OK button.
Place the mouse cursor on the line between the first two columns so
that the cursor changes to a line with an arrow on either side.
When the mouse cursor has changed to the double arrow, click the
mouse and drag to the left. This will shorten the width of the
"Date" column. Now, double click within the second column and
choose Amount for the column attributes.
Next double click within the third column, choose Description from
the column attributes dialog and click on the OK button.
To preview the report with data from January and February, click on
the Preview button. The resulting report will display only those
transactions which added money to Barbie's account (credits).
Click on the Stop button or press ALT+S to return to the previous
dialog. Once returned to the WinCheck Custom Report Maker
screen, click on the OK button. The custom report will now appear
in the list of reports as "Barbie's Credit Report".
This report can be printed at any time by selecting a starting and
ending month and then clicking on the Print button. Additionally,
the report can be edited at any time by selecting "Barbie's
Category Report" and the clicking on the Edit button.
Now you are ready to start entering your data.
Starting a New Account
The following sections will be discussed in this section:
How to Open a New Account
Account Information
Credit Card Accounts
How to Open a New Account
Once you have gone through the Getting Started section, it is time
to start your own account. To start a new account, double click on
the WinCheck icon in Program Manager or choose Load Account
from the File menu if the program is already running.
To open a new account, type a unique (not used before) acronym for
the new account (up to 3 characters). For example, you might use
your initials if the account will be a personal checking account.
If the acronym is one that WinCheck does not recognize a dialog
will appear with the following message:
Open new Account XXX
(where XXX is the three letter account name)
Pressing the Yes button will open a new account, No will return you
to the open account dialog, and Cancel will exit the WinCheck
program or abort the loading of a new account.
Choose Yes to open a new account under the acronym name. This will
be the Account ID. The Open New Account dialog will appear with the
following options for accounts:
Jump ahead to page 21 for information on opening a new credit card
account.
If you select "Checking or cash" or "Checking and Savings", the
Account Info dialog will appear. The information in this dialog
concerns the newly opened account. Information about the account
can be entered in at this time and later edited or changed by
choosing Account Info from the Acct menu.
Account Information
The Description field is helpful in remembering the type or purpose
of the account. For example, if you had an account ID of JAE, you
might want to add a description such as "The Johnson's Personal
Checking Account". The description information is used to further
explain the purpose of the account and will appear in the Status
Bar at the bottom of the WinCheck screen.
In the fields near the bottom of the Account Info dialog, type the
starting balances for your Savings and/or Checking accounts. There
are two fields for entering dollar amounts, one for "Your Balance"
and one for the "Bank's Balance". The value for the Checking Your
Balance field would be the current balance from your checkbook.
The value for the Checking Bank's opinion, is the balance from your
latest bank statement. If you cannot find your last bank
statement, just enter the same value for Your Balance and the
Bank's.
If you selected "Checking or Cash" in the Open New Account dialog,
the savings fields will be greyed out. However, if "Checking and
Savings" was selected in the Open New Account dialog, the Checking
and Savings balance fields will be black. Type in values for
Savings Your Balance and Savings Bank's Balance (generally these
values would be the same).
After pressing OK in the Account Info dialog, the Select Checkbook
dialog will appear. This dialog is used to specify the checkbooks
that are tied to the new account.
With this personal checking account, there may be several
checkbooks tied to it. For example, one checkbook for each member
of the household and a checkbook for the printer checks (you can
have as many checkbooks as you want tied to an account).
1. Beside Checkbook Name, enter the name for one of your
checkbooks. For example, enter Shirley Johnson's Personal
Checkbook or Printer Checks (if you will be printing checks).
2. Next open your physical checkbook and get the number of the
next available check (blank check) and type this number in the
field labeled Next Blank Check #.
3. Then type the check number of the first check in your checkbook
in the First Check # in Book field and the last check number in
your checkbook in the Last Check # in Book field. The First
Check # in Book value is usually the same as Next Blank Check
if you are starting a new account. The Last Check # in Book
might be the last check number in the last book of checks that
you presently have for the account.
4. Click in the Endstub check box if this is the type of checks
you are using (this will change the tabbing order in the write
check dialog).
5. Once the correct check numbers are entered and a checkbook
name, press the Add/Modify button to add the checkbook.
You can continue adding additional checkbooks at this time or add
them later. Press OK to exit this dialog.
Note: Like the Account Info dialog, the information in the Select
Checkbook dialog is revisable at a later time by choosing Select
Checkbook from the Acct menu.
After pressing OK the Balances dialog may appear with a listing of
the current Savings and Checking balances and the last transaction
date. Since this is a new account the Last Transaction date will
be the first day of the current month, i.e. 04/01/91 if the new
account was started in April (press F2 at any time to obtain the
Balances dialog).
Both the Balances dialog and the Select Checkbook dialogs are
optional startup dialogs indicated in the Account Settings dialog
(from the Acct menu).
The Register window that results will have two transactions if
Checking and Savings was selected:
The Register window will have the one transaction is Checking or
Cash:
To change the starting balances for Checking or Savings, choose
Account Info from the Acct menu.
Opening a Credit Card Account
If the account you are opening is going to be used to track credit
card transactions, choose "Credit Card" in the Open New Account
dialog. The Account Info dialog will appear with an X in the box
labeled "Credit Card Account". In the Description field, type a
description for the credit card account such as Business Account -
VISA.
The "Credit Limit" is the maximum dollar amount that your bank will
allow you to spend on your credit card (for example $1,000.00
limit). The balance fields (Your Balance and the Bank's Balance)
should both be set to the dollar amount that is charged on your
account when this account is started. If you do not know the
current balance of your credit card, you can approximate the value
until your credit card statement arrives. Once the statement
arrives, change the balance figures (Your Balance and the Bank's
Balance) so that they match the beginning balance on the credit
card statement.
After pressing OK the Balances dialog may appear with a listing of
the current Balance (amount charged on your credit card) and your
Credit Limit. Since this is a new account the "Last Transaction"
date will be the first day of the current month (press F2 at any
time to view the information in the Balances dialog or look to the
information on the Status Bar at the bottom of the screen).
The Register window will have the one transaction labeled Starting
Balance.
To change the starting balances for the Credit Card account, choose
Account Info from the Acct menu.
Refer to the section on Transactions for information on the types
of transactions in WinCheck.
Configuring WinCheck
The following topics will be discussed in this section:
Printer Configuration
WinCheck Color Selection
Font Selection (Screen and Check Printer)
Account Settings
Select Checkbook
Account Info
Backing Up your Data Files
Password Protecting your Files
Printer Configuration
Prior to printing reports and checks, the appropriate printer
driver needs to be active and on the correct printing port. If you
have been printing from Windows previously, we can assume that the
printer driver is installed. Run the Windows Control Panel to
ensure that your printer driver is active and configured for a
printer port (such as LPT1). Refer to the Windows documentation
for additional information on configuring your printer via Control
Panel.
To access the setup screen for the active printer driver (within
WinCheck), choose Windows Printer Setup from the File menu. In
the resulting dialog labeled Select Printer to Configure, select a
printer and click on the OK button. If the printer you select is
active in the Windows Control Panel, then the Windows printer setup
screen will result.
In contrast, if the selected printer is not active, the following
error will result:
Unable to access printer driver. Check to make sure the printer
is active via the control panel.
If this error results, refer to your Windows manual for information
on configuring printers using the Windows Control Panel.
Select Printer to Configure Dialog
This is the dialog that results when selecting Windows Printer
Setup from the File menu. With the mouse (or use the up and down
arrows to move the selection bar), select the printer to configure.
OK Brings up the setup dialog for the selected
printer driver. For example, if PCL/HP LaserJet
on LPT1: is selected and the OK button is
choosen (or Enter is pressed on the keyboard),
the setup dialog for the LaserJet driver will
display.
CANCEL Allows you to exit the dialog without
configuring a printer.
The OK and Cancel buttons in the resulting Windows printer setup
dialog (i.e. LaserJet setup dialog) will accept changes (OK) or not
accept changes (CANCEL), before returning you to the WinCheck
screen.
Select Printing Devices Dialog
From this dialog, you can select the printing devices for printing
reports and checks. This dialog was implemented with the idea that
you may want to print your checks to a different printing device
than the device you use for printing your reports. For example,
you may be printing your checks on a dot matrix printer on COM1 and
the reports on a Laser Printer on LPT1. Choose Select Printer(s)
for Checks/Reports from the File menu to access this dialog.
The printer drivers listed in the drop down listboxes besides
Checks and Reports are the printers currently installed in the
Windows Control Panel Printers dialog. Select an active printer
for the check printing and the printing of reports.
USE DEFAULT Clicking this button will set the Reports and
Checks to the printer listed as the defualt
printer in this dialog. The default printer
selection is an entry within the WIN.INI file.
To set the default printer double click on the
Printers icon from the Windows Control Panel.
Refer to the Windows documentation for
information concerning setting the active and
defualt printer.
PRINTER SETUP... Brings up a window of printer drivers to
configure. This window is the same as when
choosing Windows Printer Setup from the File
menu. Only "active" printers can be configured
from the resulting dialog (look to the previous
topic; Windows Printer Setup)
OK Accepts the changes made in this dialog, i.e.
changes to the report and check printing
drivers.
CANCEL Exits this dialog without recording changes to
the printer driver selections.
WinCheck Color Selection
Many of the colors used in the WinCheck program can be
configured by choosing Colors... from the File menu. Select the
item to color from the list of description labels (i.e. Statement
Window). The selected color in the listbox to the right will
change to reflect the selected item. If the description item is
currently a dark color, a white box will appear around the dark
color; similarly, if the description item is currently a light
color, a black box will appear around the color. To change the
color, click with the mouse on any other color selection. To see
the changes, click on the Apply button or continue to make changes
in the color selections.
First select the description, then the color, and so, on until all
the colors are what you would like. When pressing the Apply button
all of the color changes will be visible and recorded.
Keyboard users can access the description text by pressing ALT+D
and then using the Up and Down arrow keys to select a description
item. Then press ALT+C to move the focus to the color dialog.
Again use the Up and Down arrow keys to select a color. ALT+D will
return you to the description list again to make another selection
or type ALT+A to apply the color change. Press Alt+O to exit the
dialog without making changes to the WinCheck colors.
Apply Applies the color change(s) without leaving the
dialog. The screen behind the dialog will
refresh to represent the color change.
OK Exits the dialog. Be sure to press the Apply
button to save the changes before pressing OK.
The transactions dialogs appear with various colors. For example,
the check dialog has a light blue backgound and the Misc.
transactions have a hot pink background. If you are on a color
system and would like to have a grey backgound for all of the
transaction dialog, deselect the Transaction Wallpaper option in
the Account Settings dialog. To access this dialog, choose Account
Settings from the Acct menu.
Font Selection (Screen and Check Printer)
The Select Font dialog allows you to choose fonts for the Register
Window, Statement Window, and Check Printer. To access this
dialog, choose Fonts... from the File menu.
To change a font using the mouse, first select Register Window,
Statement Window, or Check Printer from the Font Usage box. Then
select the desired typeface by clicking on the font name in the
Typeface box. Finally, choose a point size from the Size box of
available fonts. Click on the Apply button to see and record the
changes. To exit the dialog and not save changes choose the OK
button.
Keyboard Navigation in the "Select a Font" dialog
1. Press ALT+F to jump to the Font Usage box.
2. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to select an item (Register
Window, Statement Window, or Check Printer) from the Font
Usage box.
3. Press ALT+T to the focus to the Typeface box. Use the Up and
Down arrow keys to select a typeface.
4. Finally, press ALT+S to jump to the Size box. Select a font
size (measured in points) for the selected typeface.
5. Press ALT+A to apply the change. Press ALT+O to exit the
dialog without applying changes.
In addition to the font selection, you can choose from three
character formats in the Select Font dialog: Bold, Italic and
Underline. Click on the check box to mark a character attribute
with the mouse or use the keyboard accelerator keys; ALT+B for
Bold, ALT+I for Italic and ALT+U for Underline.
APPLY Applies the color change(s) without leaving the
dialog. The screen behind the dialog will
refresh to represent the font change.
OK Exits the dialog. Be sure to press the Apply
button to save changes before pressing this
button.
Account Settings
Choosing Account Settings from the Acct menu will allow you to
choose preferences for your individual WinCheck account. These
settings are not system wide, but rather are based on the active
account. The dialog has the name of the current account in the
title bar (for example, TUT: Account Settings).
Note: Any modifications made in this dialog will only affect the
active account. Depending upon the option, the modifications will
not take effect until a new Statement/Register window is opened or
the account is reloaded. This is the case for items such as
Password Protection, Sorting, and Headings.
Bank This field contains the day of
Statement the month on which your bank
Starts on day statement begins. The default
of month: for this field is 1.
For example, if you were to
indicate a 15 in this field,
items in the Statement window
would start on 15th of the
selected month and run to the
14th of the following month.
Register Determines how the Register will
Sorting be sorted initially. This can
be changed for each Register
window at any time; by choosing
Sort from the Data menu. The
register sorting option will be
the initial sorting method in a
new Register. Refer to page X
for a description of the
different sorting options
available from the Data menu.
Statement Determines how the Statement
Sorting will be sorted initially. This
can be changed for each
Statement window at any time, by
choosing Sort from the Data
menu.
Headings If checked, the Headings will be
displayed when a Register or
Statement window is opened for
this account. The Headings are
the field items just below the
window title for the Statement
and Register (i.e. Date,
Description, Your Balance...).
If you enable or disable this
option, the Heading appearance
will not take affect on the
active window (only when a new
window is opened). This option
is intended to set the intial
setting for the Headings. To
change the appearance of the
Headings at any time (without
affecting the intial status)
choose Headings from the Tools
menu.
Remind/Auto This option is used to indicate
Payment the number of days that you
advance would like to be reminded in
notice advance of making a Common
transaction. For example, let's
assume you have several Common
transactions set up with the
Remind option (in the Common
Transaction Properties dialog).
The value in the Remind/Auto
Payment advance notice field can
be used to set the number of
days notice you would like
before being reminded to make
the transaction. The default
value for this field is 0,
meaning that you would be
reminded on the date of the
transaction (no advance notice).
Changing the value to 3 will
mean that three days prior to
the date of the transaction, you
will be reminded to make the
transaction upon loading the
account. For example, assume
the following common transaction
appears as follows in the Common
Transactions Properties dialog
(choose Properties from the
Common menu):
:05/04 Shorewood Apartments
650.00
Then this means that:
This item appears on the
Common menu.
This item is as a reminder
item (WinCheck will
Auto Clear When this option is selected (X
Deposits, ATM in the box), any Deposits
(Savings or Deposits) or Cash
Machine (ATM) transactions will
automatically be marked as
cleared. The Cleared box in
either of these transactions
will automatically be marked.
The cleared box in other
transactions will remain blank
by default until you reconcile
your account or manually check
the Cleared box. Remove the X
in the cleared box by clicking
within the box.
Prompt for Select this check box and
Checkbook WinCheck will prompt for you to
select a checkbook on startup of
the program. Deselect this
option if you only have one
checkbook tied to the active
account or do not want to be
prompted on startup.
Savings Deselect this check box (no X)
Account to disable the tracking of a
Savings account within the
active checking account. Leave
this box unchecked and the
SavAmt, SavBal, BnkSav columns
will not appear on the Check
Register/Statement windows.
Transaction If checked, the transactions
Wallpaper dialogs will appear with various
colors (i,e, checks are blue and
Misc. transactions are hot
pink). Deselect the Transaction
Wallpaper option and all of the
transaction dialogs will have a
gray background. Transaction
Wallpaper is only available on
Color systems.
Toolbox on If checked, the Toolbox appears
startup when you start WinCheck
(mouse systems only). Turn the
Toolbox on or off at anytime by
selecting Toolbox from the Tools
menu.
Balance on If checked, the Balance dialog
startup appears when you load an
account. Balance can be
displayed at any time by
pressing F2 or enabling the
Status Line at the bottom of the
screen (selectable via the Tools
menu).
Password If checked, the password entered
Protection in the edit fields will be
required to access the account.
The text entered into the
Password and Verify fields
should be the same. Valid
passwords are any string of
characters up to 15 characters
long. Upon the loading a
password protected file, you
will be prompted for the
password. Refer to page Error!
Bookmark not defined.
additional information on
password protecting your files.
OK Saves preference changes made in
this dialog.
CANCEL Uses previous preferences.
Select Checkbook
The Select Checkbook feature allows you to tie more than one
checkbook to one Checking/Savings account. This might be used if
more than one person carries a checkbook for an account or if you
have printer checks and hand written checks. The Select Checkbook
dialog is a startup option in the Account Settings dialog (from the
Acct menu).
Edit the following options by choosing Select Checkbook from the
Acct menu.
Account: Beside this text string will be the Account ID
for the active account and the description text
for the account. The description for the
account is entered in the Account Info dialog
from the Acct menu.
Checkbook Name: This edit box allows you to assign names and
associated check numbers to a particular
checkbook name. For example, you might have a
checkbook called Printer Checks and one called
John's Checkbook. Look to the next page for an
example using this field.
EndStub This check box indicates the "tabbing order" in
the check transaction dialog box. If this box
is marked, WinCheck will use the EndStub tab
order described below. If the box is not
marked, then the conventional check tab order
will be used.
The Tab order for Conventional checks is as follows:
Pay Account
Date
To:
Dollar Amount ($)
Check Number (#)
Tax Deductible
Cleared
OK button
Cancel button
Write Another check button
Details button
Print current check button.
The Tab order for Endstub checks is as follows:
Pay Account,
Dollar Amount ($)
Date
To:
Check Number (#)
Tax Deductible
Cleared
OK button
Cancel button
Write Another check button
Details button
Print current check button.
Next Blank Check #: If you open your real checkbook, and look at
the next check you are going to write, this is
the number that should appear in this field.
First Check # in Book: This field should contain the first check
number in your checkbook.
Last Check # in Book: This field should contain the last check
number in your checkbook.
Example:
You might have a checkbook name of Printer Checks for the checks
that you print.
Checkbook name: Printer Checks
Next Blank Check #: 20234
First Check # in Book: 20000
Last Check # in Book: 25000
Additionally, there is also the checkbook that you carry around
with you writing checks on local businesses. This checkbook could
have the following settings:
Checkbook name: John's Checkbook
Next Blank Check #: 534
First Check # in Book: 101
Last Check # in Book: 901
Why enter names and numbers for seperate checkbooks?
1. If you enter in names and check numbers for each checkbook, then
you can switch from checkbook to checkbook and WinCheck will
place the correct next blank check number when bringing up a
blank check. For example, your printer checks may have a check
number range of 20000 to 25000 while your personal hand held
checkbook may have a check number range from 1250 to 2250.
2. It is possible to print a seperate report for each checkbook
name. This way you can see how much is being spent from each
checkbook named. Refer to page X for information on printing a
report for each checkbook name.
Account Info
The Account Info dialog records information about the individual
account ID. This dialog appears when starting a new account, but
the information can be edited at any time by selecting Account Info
from the Acct menu.
The leftmost item in the dialog is the account ID of the active
account. For example, if you have the April Register for the
Tutorial account open, the account ID, TUT, will appear beside
Account:. Beside the account ID is a check box to indicate whether
or not the current account is a credit card account used to track
credit card transactions. The primary differences between a credit
card account and a regular Savings or Checkbook account are as
follows:
1. The transaction amounts for money you spend with the credit
card are added to (instead of subtracted from) the running
balance. The transaction amounts for money you deposit/pay
into the credit card are subtracted. As you charge more, the
balance grows.
2. When the Credit Limit in the Account Info dialog is reached,
successive transactions will appear in Red (as long as
Register Negative Balance is set to Red in the WinCheck
Color Selection dialog. See page Error! Bookmark not
defined.
When the Credit Card Account box is marked, the balances at the
bottom will appear as follows:
Your Balance Bank's
Balance
Balance 0.00 0.00
Credit Limit 0.00 greyed
The credit limit is the maximum dollar amount that your bank will
allow you to spend on your credit card (such as $1,000.00 limit).
If the bank increases (or decreases) your credit limit at any time,
change this value and press OK to record it (your balance will
update to reflect the modifications). The balance fields (Your
Balance and the Bank's Balance) should both be set to the dollar
amount that is charged on your account when this account is
started. Refer to page 18 for information on starting a new credit
card or savings/checking account.
When the Credit Card Account box is NOT marked, the bottom of this
dialog will appear as follows:
Your Balance Bank's
Balance
Checking 0.00 0.00
Savings 0.00 0.00
When the Savings Account box in Account Settings dialog is not
checked (clear) the balance box will appear as below:
Your Balance Bank's
Balance
Checking 0.00 0.00
Savings greyed greyed
The Savings Account check box in the Account Settings dialog
disables the tracking of a Savings account, so balance figures are
greyed.
The next item in the Account Info dialog is the description text.
This text is used to describe the account (more detail than the
account ID). For example the WinCheck tutorial account has an
account ID of TUT and a description of WinCheck Tutorial File.
It is this description that appears in the Status Line at the
bottom of the WinCheck screen.
Linking one account to another is also an option in the Account
Info dialog. There are two types of account linking in WinCheck:
Hot Links, and links that are not so hot, which we will
refer to as Cold Links. When you type in an Account ID beside
Linked From Account the current account becomes linked (cold link).
Check the box labeled Hot Link and the accounts becomes linked
dynamically (hot link).
Hot Link The type of link where the current account's starting
balance depends upon another accounts ending balance in
order to calculate its own running balance. With a Hot
Link, two accounts are linked dynamically so that changing
the balance of the first account affects the balance of
the second (current) account at any time.
Cold Link When you select cold link, the ending balance of the
other account to link from is figured only when you press
OK in this dialog. If the other account's balance
changes, the balance will not reflect in the new account.
You should only use this type of link for completed
accounts. For example, if you have a 1990 account that
has all of its transactions reconciled, you could cold
link the 1991 account to it. If there are still
transactions in 1990 that have not cleared, the link
should stay hot.
Once the cold link has been established, you can move the old
account off of your WinCheck directory. If you move a hot
linked account off of the WinCheck directory, the Link will
turn cold.
For more information on linking accounts, please refer to the
section of Working with Multiple Accounts and Windows.
Backing up your Data Files
WinCheck includes a simple way to back up your account data to
the A or B drive. Choose Select Backup Drive from the File menu to
automate the backups of your WinCheck data files. The Don't
make backup option is on by default. To enable the backup of your
data files, choose A or B to backup data to the A or B floppy disk
drives.
OK Accepts the backup preference indicated. The
backup preference can be:
Backup to drive A:
Backup to drive B:
Don't make backup.
If Don't make Backup is indicated, then
WinCheck's backup feature is disabled
until A or B is selected at a later time.
CANCEL Exits the Select Backup Drive dialog without
changing the backup selection.
If A or B is selected in this dialog, the user will be prompted to
backup files when the account is closed. This could be when
exiting the program or when selecting Close Account from the File
menu. Insert a disk in drive A or B respectively when prompted to
backup the account files. Choose OK when the disk is placed in the
drive and the account files will be backed up to the floppy disk.
Choosing Cancel will close the account without backing up the
data/account files.
The Backup feature of WinCheck will backup all of the account
files for all open accounts. This is equivalent to copying *.JAE
(an example account ID) to a floppy diskette from the DOS prompt.
If you have not made changes to your account or do not wish to
backup the files when closing an account, choose Cancel when
prompted to backup the files. To permanently disable the backup
prompt when closing an account, choose Select Backup Drive from
the File menu and choose the Don't make Backup option.
Backing up data files for a single account
1. Open the account to backup.
2. Choose Select Backup Drive from the File menu and select the A
or B drive. Press OK (or <ENTER>).
3. Close the account that you would like to backup by choosing
Close Account from the File menu.
4. Select the account that you would like to backup from the Close
Account dialog and press OK.
WinCheck will prompt for you to insert a backup disk into the
drive indicated in the Select Backup Drive dialog.
5. Choose Select Backup Drive from the File menu, select "Don't
make Backup" and press OK.
Backing up your data files is an important safeguard when using any
computer software program. Another good idea is to have multiple
backup disks. Cycle through the disks. This way, you can have a
"history" of your banking for future reference.
Password Protecting your Files
WinCheck allows for password protection of account files by
choosing Account Settings from the Acct menu. The title bar of the
resulting dialog will include the Account ID for the active account
(i.e. TUT: Account Settings). To enable Password Protection for
the account listed in the title bar, mark the Password Protection
box by clicking within the box with the mouse (keyboard users can
press ALT+T to mark or unmark the box). Once marked, the Password
and Verify fields will not longer be greyed. Press the Tab key
once to advance to the Password field or click with the mouse
within the Password field. Type a maximum of 15 characters into
the Password and Verify fields. As you type the characters,
asterisk characters will appear within the fields. Type the same
password for the Password and Verify fields.
For your safety, Wilson WindowWare will not assist users in
recovering data due to forgotten or lost passwords.
Transactions
The following topics will be discussed in this section:
Transaction Dialogs
Transaction Details
Checking Deposit/Payment
Savings Deposit
Savings Withdrawal
Cash Machine (ATM)
Miscellaneous
Credit/Debit Card
Transfers Between Accounts
TRANSACTION DIALOGS
The transaction dialogs are the dialogs used to record such things
as the writing of checks, making of deposits, and the withdrawaling
of money from a cash machine. Below is a the transaction dialog
that you would use to record a check written from your checking
account:
Use the TAB key to move between fields, buttons and check boxes.
Check or uncheck the boxes in a dialog by clicking in the box with
mouse or by using the keyboard accelerator. For example the l for
the Cleared check box is underlined indicating that ALT+L will
toggle an X in and out of the Cleared check box.
Additionally, there are keyboard accelators for the following
buttons:
ENTER or OK
ALT+o
ESC or CANCEL
ALT+C
ALT + A ANOTHER
ALT + D DETAILS
ALT + P PRINT (only available in
check transaction)
F5 Decrements the current date
by a day when the cursor is
in the Date field.
F6 Increments the current date
by a day when the cursor is
in the Date field..
Following is a description of the different buttons in the
transaction dialogs.
Add Adds the transaction
information entered
into the transaction
dialog box.
Cancel Does not add the
transaction and returns
you to the active
Register or Statement
window.
Another Adds the transaction
and clears the edit
fields so that another
transaction of the same
type can be made (i.e.
another check can be
written).
Details Brings up the
Transaction Details
dialog that allows you
to enter additional
information about the
transaction.
Print This button will only
appear if the
transaction is a check.
Press the Print button
and WinCheck will
print the information
in the dialog to a
Check. Before printing
a check for the first
time, refer to the
chapter on printing
checks.
Note: A maximum of 4 transaction dialogs can be displayed at any
one time. Only one blank or new transaction dialog of the same
type can be displayed at one time. For example, you can bring up
four written checks from the Register or Statement windows, but
only one blank check can be displayed at a time.
The category listbox (box with a down arrow beside it) located in
the upper left of the transaction dialogs allows you to specify the
transaction category. By default, all transactions are Personal.
To add a new category, simply type the new category into the edit
field of the drop down list box. If the category has previously
been added/entered, select the category from the listbox by
clicking on the down arrow (or press ALT+Down Arrow from the
keyboard). You can add, modify or delete categories, by choosing
Edit Categories from the Acct menu. Refer to the chaper on
Categories and Subcategories for more information.
The following message will result if one or more of the items in a
transaction are left blank:
This transaction has blank fields(s). Please select an option:
Discard Choose this option to
close the transaction
dialog without
entering the
transaction into your
account.
Accept Accepts the
transaction with the
incomplete data.
Fill in Blanks Returns you to the
transaction dialog so
that you can complete
the transaction.
If the date or the check number are left blank WinCheck will
automatically insert the current date or next check number. The
next check number is determined when you select a checkbook. See
the chapter on pooping cats for more information on setting up
checkbooks.
TRANSACTION DETAILS
This dialog allows you to enter additional information about a
transaction. To access this dialog, choose the Details button in
any transaction dialog or press ALT+D. Information entered in the
Memo Line field(s), Mail To, Address, City/State, and Zip fields
can be printed on checks (use the WinCheck Form Designer to
indicate the placement and inclucion of these fields). Text
entered into the Comments box cannot be printed on checks. The
comment information is meant to further describe the transaction
with up to 128 characters. If typing more than one line of comment
text, press Enter near the end of the line (no automatic word
wrap).
Checking Deposit/Payment:
If you are in a Checking/Savings account, then this dialog is used
to make checking deposits to the active account. If the active
account is a Credit Card account, use this dialog to make a payment
to your credit card account (refer to the chapter on Working With
Multiple Account and Windows for additional information on
transferring money between accounts).
There are three ways to make a deposit to your checking account or
payment to your credit card account:
1. Choose Deposit/Payment from the Checking menu
2. Click with the mouse on the icon button that appears
3. Press F4
It is also possible to use Misc from the Checking menu to indicated
a Deposit/Payment. If you choose Misc, you can describe the type
of deposit in the Description field (i.e. "Direct Deposit", or
"Bank Credit"). This is most helpful when adding direct deposits
and paychecks to the Common menu (refer to the section on Common
Transactions for additional information).
If you are using the Misc Checking dialog to indicate a deposit, be
sure to check the Credit Account box (press ALT+R to mark the
Credit Account box). If Credit Account is not marked, the amount
will be deducted from your balance instead of credited (or added
instead of substract in the case of a credit card account).
Savings Deposit:
If you are in a Checking/Savings account, then this dialog is used
to make Savings deposits to the active account. If the active
account is a Credit Card account, the items below the Savings menu
will be greyed and the Control Bar buttons for Savings
transactions will be greyed as well.
To make a Savings deposit, choose Deposit from the Savings menu or
click on the icon on the Control Bar. If the Savings deposit is
really just a transfer of money from your Checking account, use
the Checking to Savings transfer dialog (choose Within Same
Account from the Xfers menu).
Note: Deposit transactions can be automatically flagged as
"Cleared" in the Account Settings dialog (Auto Clear Deposits,
ATM). Click with the mouse in the box labeled Cleared to clear or
unclear a transaction. To clear a transaction from the keyboard,
tab to the Cleared field and then use the Spacebar key to toggle
the X in the box. It is also possible to clear and unclear a
transaction later in the the Register or Statement windows (refer
to the sections of the Register and the Statement).
Savings Withdrawal
Use the Savings Withdrawal dialog to record withdrawals from your
Savings account. If the active account is a Credit Card account,
the items below the Savings menu will be greyed and the Control
Bar buttons for Savings transactions will be greyed as well.
To withdrawal money from your Savings account, choose Withdrawal
from the Savings menu or click once on the icon on the Control
Bar. If the withdrawal from Savings is really just a transfer of
money from your Savings to Checking, use the Saving to Checking
transfer dialog (choose Within Same Account from the Xfers menu).
Cash Machine (ATM):
The Savings and Checking ATM dialogs allow you to indicate cash
machine withdrawals from either your Savings or Checking account.
Choose Cash Machine (ATM) from the Checking or Savings menu
respectively. Both options are also available from the Control
Bar:
Cash Machine (ATM) withdrawal from Checking.
Cash Machine (ATM) withdrawal from Savings.
In the Savings and Checking ATM dialogs, choose from a list of
common withdrawal amounts of cash (20, 40, 60, 80 or 100 dollars)
or type in any other amount in the field marked as Other. Before
typing a value into the Other field, click with the mouse in the
circle to the left of the word Other or use the Down Arrow key on
the keyboard to move the selection to the Other field.
Note: These transactions can be automatically flagged as "Cleared"
in the Account Settings dialog (Auto Clear Deposits, ATM). Click
with the mouse in the box labeled Cleared to clear or unclear a
transaction. To clear a transaction from the keyboard, tab to the
Cleared field and then use the Spacebar key to toggle the X in the
box. It is also possible to clear and unclear a transaction later
in the the Register or Statement windows (refer to the sections of
the Register and the Statement).
As with any of the transaction dialogs, pressing F5 or F6 while in
the Date field will decrement or increment the date by a day.
Interest Accreued/Charged:
If you are in a Checking/Savings account, then this dialog can be
used to track the interest earned. If the active account is a
Credit Card account, use this dialog to track interest charged to
your Credit Card account.
The Credit Account box will automatically be checked if the active
account is a Checking/Savings account and unchecked if the active
account is a Credit Card account.
You could enter Checking or Saving Charges with this dialog and
uncheck the box labeled Credit Account, but this is more fitting
of a Miscellaneous transaction (see below).
Miscellaneous
Use this transaction type when the others do not fit your needs or
you want to use a description field. As noted above, it is
possible to use the Savings or Checking Interest dialogs for
debits (charages) by deseleting the box marked Credit Account.
The reason you might not want to do this is because the
transaction will appear with a description of Interest Checking or
Interest Savings in the Register and Statement windows. If these
transactions were made as Misc transactions, you could enter text
such as Bank Charges for the description text.
Type the description of the transaction into the Description
field, change the date if necessary and enter an amount. If the
transaction adds money to your account/balance, check the Credit
Account box. By default, Credit Account is not checked meaning
the amount will be subtracted from your balance.
Credit/Debit Card
This dialog is used to debit money from a Checking/Savings account
or a Credit Card account. In a Credit Card account you can record
a credit card transaction by clicking on the credit card icon on
the Control Bar or by choose Credit/Debit Card from the Checking
menu.
In a Checking/Savings account, use this dialog to subtract money
from your account when you use your ATM card. For example, most
supermarkets and some gas stations allow you to use your ATM card
as a debit card to pay for the goods.
Transfer Between Accounts
WinCheck is capable of transferring money from Savings to
Checking (or vice versa) in the same account or different
accounts.
When selecting Winthin Same Account -> from the Xfers menu there
are two options:
Savings to Checking
Checking to Savings
Select either item and a dialog will appear. Indicate the amount
to transfer and change the date if necessary. Note that the
Cleared box is not marked by default.
The Transfer Between Account dialog is used to transfer money from
one account to another. The transfer options are pictured below.
The active account is listed in the From field. Type the
destination account ID in the To field and the amount to transfer
in the Amount field. Adjust the Date if necessary and press OK to
make the transfer.
It is also possible to transfer money using the Pay Account option
in the Check and Misc dialogs. Refer to the section on Working
with Multiple Account and Windows for more information.
The WinCheck Menu Items and Keys
The following topics will be discussed in this section:
WinCheck Menus and Menu Items
Keyboard Shortcuts
Menus and Menu Items
The following is the menu bar for the WinCheck window:
FILE
ACCT
DATA
CHECKING
SAVINGS
XFERS
TOOLS
WINDOW
COMMON
HELP
The following is the menu bar for the WinCheck Form Designer
Window:
FILE
HELP
The underlined character indicates the ALT key combination for
keyboard usage, i.e. ALT+F to activate the File menu from the
keyboard.
FILE (WinCheck Window)
Load Account Brings up the Load dialog to load
a different or new account.
Close Current Brings up a list box of open
Account accounts. Select the account to
close and choose Ok (Cancel to
leave the dialog without closing
an account).
Select Backup Choose to backup data files to
Drive... drive A or B when closing the
account file.
Check Form Brings up the WinCheck Form
Printer Designer. With this Designer you
Setup... can create templates for printing
checks to any type of check form,
landscape or portrait.
Select Brings up a dialog to select
Printer(s) printing devices. With this
for dialog it is possible to set a
Checks/Reports particular printer driver for the
printing reports and another for
the check printing (printer
drivers need to be active and on
separate ports, i.e. COM1 and
LPT1).
Windows Allows you to configure an active
Printer Setup printer by bringing up the
Windows Printer Setup dialog for
the printer driver selected.
Colors... Customize the colors used for
statement and register items,
i.e. (Register Negative Balance
or Statement Slider Bar Text).
Fonts... Select fonts for the display of
the Register and Statement
windows or for the printing of
checks (i.e. Choose Helvetica 12
point for the display of the
Register and Courier 12 point for
the printing of checks).
Exit Choose this to exit the program.
WinCheck Account information is
automatically saved upon exiting
the program.
ACCT
Account Brings up a dialog with
Info... information about the active
account.
Account Brings up a dialog of settings
Settings... for the active account. The name
of the active account is listed
in the Account Settings dialog
box, i.e. TUT: Account Settings
for the tutorial account
settings.
Display Check Brings up the "Pick a Month to
Register... View" dialog where you can select
a Register to view for a
particular month, i.e. January
1991.
Display Check Brings up the "Pick a Month to
Statement... View" dialog where you can select
a Register to view for a
particular month, i.e. January
1991.
Display Displays the current balances for
Current the active account (check and
Balance savings balances, both your
opinion and the banks opinion
based on cleared transactions).
Close Active Closes the active Statement or
Register/Stat Register Window. The active
ement Statement or Register can also be
closed by double clicking on the
"close bar" in the upper left
corner of the window. Note: This
will close the window, but not
the account (use Close Account
from the File menu). It is also
possible to close the Statement
or Register windows by pressing
ALT+ - (hyphen) and then press C
for Close.
Select With this menu item you can
Checkbook select a checkbook that is tied
to the active account. For
example you may have two
checkbooks attached to your
personal account, one for
yourself and one for your spouse.
With this dialog you can select
an alternative checkbook or add
another to your account (each
checkbook has an option to set
the first, last and next blank in
the checkbook)..
Find Brings up the Find Transaction
dialog to find transactions based
on a criteria (i.e. amount or
keyword) and display the
resulting transactions in a
dialog box.
Edit Brings up the Edit Categories
Categories... dialog where you can edit
existing categories (i.e. change
expense to bills) or add a new
category or subcategory such as
Personal:Food)
Budgeting... With the WinCheck Budget
Manager you can set up budgeting
amounts for each of your
categories. For example you can
set a budget amount of $100.00
for Personal:Food expenses and
$50.00 for Utilities.
Report The WinCheck Report Generator
Generator... allows you to print your data
with any of the predefined
reports (i..e. Cash Flow) or
design your own custom report.
Export Exports the data from the active
Register Register to a tab delimited text
file.
Run/Edit Brings up the WinCheck
WinCheck Commander to edit or run a WinCheck
Command File Command file.
DATA
Print Checks Prints the selected check(s) from
the active register using the
form loaded with the Check Form
Printer Setup command from the
File menu.
Sum Sums the selected transactions
Highlighted from the active register or
Amts statement, and displays the
amount.
Clear Tags selected transaction(s) in
the Check Register or Statement
as cleared by the bank. When the
transactions have been cleared,
they appear with an asterisk (*)
beside the date and a check mark
beside the dollar value. The
BnkChk and BnkSav columns in the
Check Register indicate the
"Banks opinion" of your account
balance based on the cleared
status of transactions.
UnClear Toggles "cleared transactions" to
uncleared (no asterisk or check
mark).
Delete Deletes selected transaction(s)
from the Check Statement or
Register (deleting a transaction
from either the Statement or the
Register will also delete the
transaction from the
corresponding Statement or
Register. The Register and
Statement are just different
format for looking at the same
data).
Calculator... Brings up the Windows Calculator
program over the top of WinCheck.
Recalc When Recalc is checked,
WinCheck will recalculate the
running balance each time a
change is made that would affect
the balance (i.e. write a check
or make a deposit). When recalc
is not checked, WinCheck will
not recalculate the balance until
Recalc is selected again from the
Data menu. This makes the entry
of multiple transactions quicker
as a recalculation of the balance
is not performed after each
transaction is made.
Display When checked, only the
Uncleared transactions that have been
marked as "cleared" will display
in the Check Statement. This
menu item does not appear when
the active window is a Check
Register.
Sort
(for Check
Register)
By Date Sorts transactions in the active
Check Register by date.
By Number Sorts transactions in the active
Check Register by check number.
All of the checks will appear
below transactions such as
Checking Deposits, Savings ATM,
Savings Deposits, Savings
Withdrawals, etc....
Date, Number Sorts the contents of the active
Check Register by date and then
by check number if more than one
check was written on a particular
day.
Number,Date Sorts the contents of the active
Check Register by check number,
then date. This means that
transactions without a check
number (i.e. checking deposits)
will be sorted by date, and
transactions with a check number
will be sorted by check number.
Amount Sort transactions by amount, from
the smallest amount to the
largest.
Original Order Sorts the Register transactions
into the original data entry
order (the order that the
transactions were entered).
Sort
(for Check
Statement)
Checks by Date Sorts the check section of the
active Check Statement by date.
Checks by Sorts the check section of the
Number active Check Statement by number.
CHECKING
Check F3 Activates the Check dialog for
writing a new check.
Deposit/ Activates the Deposit dialog for
Payment F4 recording a deposit transaction
into your checking account. or
Payment. Use this item to record
"deposits" in a Checking/Savings
account or "payments" in a credit
card account.
Cash Machine Activates the Cash Machine dialog
(ATM) for recording a cash machine
withdrawal from your checking
account.
Credit/Debit Activates the Credit/Debit Card
Card Savings for If your current
account is a credit card than
this transaction is a credit card
transaction and the amount will
be Added to your balance. If the
active account is a
Checking/Savings account, then
this transaction will Subtract
money from your account your
account.
Misc Activates the Misc dialog for
recording miscellaneous charges
or credits to your checking
account. Mark the check box
labeled "Credit account" if the
amount is to be credited to your
checking account instead of
deducted.
Interest Activates the Checking Interest
accrued/ dialog, in order to record
charged interest on your checking account
or charges to your checking
account. The Credit box is
marked by default for interest
accrued or you can deselect the
Credit box to indicate a charge
to your checking account.
SAVINGS
Withdrawal Activates the Savings Withdrawal
dialog for interest accrued or
you can deselect for recording
withdrawals from your the Credit
box to indicate a charge to
savings account.
Deposit/ Activates the Savings Deposit
Payment dialog for recording deposits
into your savings account.
Cash Machine Activates the Savings ATM dialog
(ATM) for recording a cash machine
(ATM) withdrawal from your
savings account.
Credit/Debit Activates the Credit/Debit Card
Card Savings dialog for credit or
debits from your savings account.
Misc Activates the Misc dialog for
recording miscellaneous charges
or credits to your savings
account. Mark the check box
labeled "Credit account" if the
amount is to be credited to your
savings account instead of
deducted.
Interest Activates the Savings Interest
accrued/ dialog, in order to record
charged interest on your checking account
or charges to your savings
account. The Credit is marked by
default for interest accrued or
you can deselect the Credit box
to indicate a charge to your
savings account.
TOOLS
Under the Tools menu there are four visual options for the
WinCheck program:
Control Bar
Status Line
Headings
Toolbox
All of the tools toggle on and off. When a check mark appears
beside an item such as the Control Bar, it means that the Control
Bar is in use. To turn off the display of the Control Bar, select
the Control Bar item from the Tools menu so that there is not a
check mark beside the item.
What is the "Control Bar"? The Control Bar is a row of icon
buttons placed just below the menu bar (mouse required). Each of
the icon buttons performs a different WinCheck function. All
of the functions are also available with the keyboard, by selecting
the item from the menu with an ALT key combination. For example to
use the calculator from the keyboard type ALT+D to drop down the
Data menu and then press L for the Calculator menu item.
Note: Click on the icon buttons once with the mouse to bring up the
dialogs. Clicking twice will bring up a message advising you not
to make multiple transactions.
The first item on the Control Bar is the Acct box, allows you to
open accounts and view a listing of open accounts. Click on the
down arrow to view a listing of open accounts or type an account ID
into the box to load an account (i.e. TUT). It is also possible to
load an account from the File menu with the Load Account. The
remaining items on the Control Bar are all icon buttons for various
functions for WinCheck. Refer to the table below for a
explanation of each icon button.
1. Brings up the Credit/Debit
Card dialog.
2. Brings up the check
writing dialog.
3. Brings up the Checking
Deposit/Payment dialog.
4. Activates the Savings
Withdrawal dialog.
5. Activates the Savings
Deposit/Payment dialog.
6. Brings up the Checking ATM
dialog for cash machine
withdrawals from your
checking account.
7. Brings up the Savings ATM
dialog for cash machine
withdrawals from your
savings account.
8. Brings up the Misc
Checking transaction
dialog.
9. Brings up the Misc Savings
transaction dialog.
10. Brings up the Windows 3.0
Calculator program.
11. Clears selected
transaction items.
12. Unclears selected
transaction items.
13. Displays the total amount
for selected transactions
in the register or
statement.
14. Prints Checks for selected
transaction items.
15. Brings up the Find
Transaction dialog.
The Status Line is the grey bar of information at the very bottom
of the WinCheck screen. When this option is selected from the
Tools menu, the description of the account as it is specified in
the Description field is displayed at the bottom left of the
screen. To change the description of the account, choose Account
Info from Acct menu. The other two items on the status line (Chk:
and Sav:) are the running balances or dollar amounts for savings
and checking. Both of these values are "Your Opinion" of the
balance versus the "Bank's Opinion", which is based only on cleared
transactions. If the open account is a credit card account (as
indicated in the Account Info dialog from the Acct menu), then the
status line will indicate the balance (Bal:) and the credit limit
(Limit:) for the credit card account.
When Headings is selected from the Tools menu, the headings will
appear above the columns of data in the Register and Statement
windows. The Headings appear just below the window title for the
Statement and Register and are such things as Date, Description,
Your Balance etc....
Finally, there is the Toolbox option (mouse required) also under
the Tools menu. This option will bring up a box of icons that
perform tasks similar to the Control Bar. You can write checks,
make withdrawals, and record Misc, ATM and Deposit transactions.
Additionally, you can transfer money to or from Savings to Checking
within the same account. To transfer money between different
accounts choose Between Different Accounts from the Xfers menu (you
can also transfer "Within Same Account" from the Xfers menu).
The Toolbox can be moved about the screen by clicking on the bar
containing the word "Toolbox" (at the top of the box) and dragging
the mouse. Select Toolbox from the Tools menu to activated and
deactivate the Toolbox or press ALT+SPACEBAR and then C to
deactivate/close the Toolbox.
WINDOW
Cascade Cascades the open
Register/Statement windows (all
of windows appear in a staggered
stack).
Tile Tiles the Register/Statement
windows horizontally (left to
right) so that all open
Register/Statement windows can be
viewed at once.
Arrange Icons Arranges any minimized
Register/Statement icons at the
bottom of the screen left to
right.
Edit Open This item will bring up a listbox
Transaction... of open transaction windows. It
is possible to have four
transaction windows open at one
time and change the focus (change
the active transaction window) by
selecting a transaction from
Select Transaction to Activate
dialog. This is the keyboard
equivalent to clicking with the
mouse on the dialog frame of an
open transaction. It is possible
to have four completed checks
open, but it is not possible to
open four blank checks at one.
Only one empty transaction dialog
of each type is allowed at one
time (i.e. one new/blank check
and one checking deposit).
The numbered items that may appear at the bottom the Window menu
are the names of the open Register and Statement windows. For
example, 1 TUT: Register for March, 1991 means that the Register
windows for the month of March is open. A check mark indicates the
active window. So that if there is a check mark before 1 TUT:
Register for March, 1991, it means that this window is currently
the active window. Select any of the numbered items to switch to
the another open Register or Statement window. Look to page 154 of
this manual for additional information on managing multiple
windows.
Common
Add -> Allows for the creation of
common transactions:
Check, Checking Deposit/Payment,
Checking Misc., Checking Interest
accrued/charged, Savings
Withdrawal, Savings Deposit,
Savings Misc., Savings Interest
accrued/charged.
A common transaction is a
transaction that is made on a
regular basis, such as a car
payment. Common Transactions are
added to the bottom of Common
menu by default. Indicate
whether you want an item to
appear on a menu or not with the
Common Transaction Properties
dialog to avoid cluttering up
this menu.
Edit/Delete... Allows you to change or delete
Common Transactions.
Properties... From the Common Transaction
Properties dialog, set up
properties such as Automatic Pay
and Print to make and print the
transaction (check) on a certain
date or Remind to remind you to
make a transaction on a
particular date. With each
common transaction you can select
from a list of properties (see
page x for more information).
Acct These menu items represent the
ID/Date/ common transactions created with
Transaction/ the Add menu choice. When you
$$ select a common transaction, the
appropriate transaction dialog
may appear or the check may be
printed depending upon the
properties for the transaction.
For example:
JAE: 05/24 Shorewood Apartments
$580.00
JAE: 05/15 Seattle City Light:
Varies
JAE: 05/16 Ford Motor Company:
$346.90
JAE: 05/18 Piano Rentals R' Us:
$36.00
JAE: 05/01 Paycheck:
$1000.00
Refer to page 116 for additional
information on Common
Transactions. Also refer to the
pages listed in the index under
the "Categories" topic.
HELP
Index Displays the Index of the OnLine
help information.
Overview Displays Overview information for
WinCheck.
Keyboard Displays the Keyboard Controls
for WinCheck.
Commands Displays information about the
WinCheck Menu Commands.
Help on Help Activates the Microsoft Windows
Index to Using Help.
About Displays the WinCheck About
dialog which includes the version
number of the WinCheck
product.
Keyboard short cuts
General Shortcut Keys
Key Function
F1 Activates the OnLine Help Index.
F2 Displays Current Balance.
F3 Activates the Check dialog for
writing a check.
F4 Activates the Checking
Deposit/Payment dialog for
recording a checking deposit (or
payment?).
F5 While in a Transaction Dialog, F5
will increment the date in the
date field (each time F5 is
pressed the date will increase by
a day).
F6 While in a Transaction Dialog, F6
will decrement the date in the
date field (each time F6 is
pressed the date will decrease by
a day).
F7 Activates the Cash machine
withdrawl from Checking
transaction dialog.
F8 Brings up the Find Transaction
dialog.
F9 Brings up the Windows Calculator.
DEL Deletes the selected
transaction(s) from the Register
or Statement window (Num Lock
Off).
+ Sums the selected transaction(s)
from the Register or Statement
window.
CTRL+U Select transactions or a single
transaction and use CTRL+U to
unclear the selected
transactions.
CTRL+C Select transactions or a single
transaction and use CTRL+C to
clear the selected transactions.
CTRL+R Same as selecting Display Check
Register from the Acct menu. The
"Pick a Month to View" dialog
will pop up with a selection of
months to open for the active
account.
CTRL+S Same as selecting Display Check
Statement from the Acct menu.
The "Pick a Month to View" dialog
will pop up with a selection of
months to open for the active
account.
CTRL+F6 When multiple windows are open,
use CTRL+F6 to rotate through the
open windows (see page .
CTRL+F4 Closes the active Register or
Statement window.
SHIFT+F5 Arranges the open Register and
Statement windows into a
staggered stack of windows
(Cascades the windows).
SHIFT+F6 Tiles the open Register and
Statement windows horizontally
left to right.
Keys for Scrolling Through the Register or Statement Windows
KEYS: ACTION:
Up or Down Move up or
arrows (Num down one
Lock off) transaction at
a time
Page Up or Move up or
Page Down (Num down a screen
Lock off) of data at a
time
Home Move to the
beginning of
theRegister
End Move to the
end of the
Register
ALT+E Jumps to
the Date
field.
ALT+M Jumps to
the Amount
field.
ALT+T Jumps to
the To:
field.
ALT+Y Jumps to
the Pay
Account
field.
ALT+R Toggles the
Credit
check box
on and off.
ALT+L Toggles the
Cleared
check box
on and off.
ALT+X Toggles the
Tax
Deductible
check box
on and off.
ALT+A Presses the
Another
Button
ALT+D Presses the
Details
Button
ALT+P Presses the
Print
Button
ENTER Presses the
OK Button
ESC Presses the
Cancel
Button
The Register
The following topics will be discussed in this section:
The Register Appearance
Sort Options for the Register Window
Reconciliation of Transactions
Deletion of Transactions
Modifications of Transactions
Changing Transactions from one Date to Another
Viewing your Running Balance
Printing the Register Window Data
Exporting the Register Window Data
Adding Transactions to the Register
Scrolling Through the Register
Finding Transactions
The Register:
The Check Register can be used for many different operations:
1.Reconciliation of transactions.
2.Deletion of transactions.
3.Modification of transactions.
4.Moving transactions from one date to another.
5.Viewing your running balance.
6.Finding Transactions (although you can also use the Find
function from the Acct menu).
The Register Appearance
The Register is a window with a caption (header) and a list box of
transactions. The Headings provide labels to identify the
information in each column. The Headings will, however, only
appear if Headings is checked under the Tools menu. The Register
window displays your Checking and Savings transactions, as well as
your running balance and the bank's running balance. The bank's
running balance differs from your running balance in that only
"cleared" transactions are considered in determining the running
balance.
If an asterisk appears by the date and a check mark beside the
dollar amount of the transaction, this indicates that the
transaction has been cleared by the bank. To clear a transaction,
select the transaction and press CTRL+C, or choose Clear from the
Data menu, or click with the mouse on the check mark icon button
on the Control Bar. To change a cleared transaction to
"uncleared", press CTRL+U, or choose Unclear from the Data menu,
or click with the mouse on the check mark icon with a slash
through it on the Control Bar.
The following columns are the first three to appear in the
Register window:
Date The date the transaction was made. To change the date,
double click on the transaction, edit the Date field,
and choose OK.
# The check number when applicable (blank if transaction
is not a check).
Description If the transaction is a check, then the description
column text will contain the check recipient (i.e.
Ted's Auto Repair). If the transaction is anything
other than a check, then the description field will
describe the type of transaction, i.e. Checking
Deposit, Savings Withdrawal, or Checking ATM. Misc
Checking and Savings transactions will display the
transaction description text in this column.
The next six columns will appear if the active account is not a
Register window for a credit card account (the credit card account
option is indicated upon startup and within the Account Info
dialog from the Acct menu) and savings account tracking is
indicated by marking the Savings Account box in the Account
Settings dialog (from the Acct menu).
ChkAmt The values below this column indicate the amount of the
Checking transaction.
ChkBal Your running balance of the entered transactions
regardless of the cleared status.
BnkChk The bank's running balance of your account based upon
cleared transactions.
SavAmt The values of the Savings account transactions (i.e.
deposits and withdrawals).
SavBal Your running Savings account balance regardless of the
cleared status.
BnkSav The bank's running balance of your Savings account,
based upon cleared transactions.
The Bank's running balance is based on cleared transactions only,
so it may rarely match your balance. ChkBal indicates your
balance. This is updated with every transaction you make. In a
idealistic system where all transactions instantly clear the bank,
this would be your true running balance. However, banks are
usually a few days behind in clearing transactions, hence the need
for a "BnkChk" column. Only those transactions that have been
marked as "cleared" will show up in this column. Generally, you
only clear transactions when you reconcile your bank statement.
If the active account is a credit card account or a Checking
account with the Savings Account selection unmarked in Account
Settings, the following column headings will be displayed (after
Date, # and Description):
Amount Amount of the transaction.
Your Balance Your running balance for the credit card or checking
account based upon the entered transactions.
Bank Balance The running balance based upon the cleared
transactions.
The Register list box is a Multiple Selection list box meaning
that more than one item can be selected at a time. To select one
item, click on it (or use the arrow keys to move to it). To
select a block of items, press and hold the SHIFT key while using
the Up and Down arrow keys, or click and drag the mouse. This
could be helpful to clear a group of checks at one time when your
bank statement arrives. To select non-contiguous transactions
(transactions not listed one right after another), press and hold
the CTRL key and click with the mouse on the transactions you
would like to select. After selecting a group of checks, press
the Up or Down once or click anywhere within the Register window
to remove the selection(s).
You can select up to four transactions in the Register and press
the Enter key to bring up all four of the transaction dialogs at
one time. You might do this to view or edit a group of
transactions at one time. Also, you can use the Sum Highlighted
Amts command when a group of transactions is selected. Choose Sum
Highlighted Amts from the Data menu or press the + key on the
numeric keypad. Finally, you might select a group of transactions
and press the Del key on the keyboard (num lock off) or choose
Delete from the Data menu. When doing this you will be prompted
to delete selected transactions (Answer Yes or No).
In Summary, select multiple transactions to do the following:
1. Clear and Unclear transactions by selecting Clear or Unclear
from the Data menu or press CTRL+C to clear the selected
transaction(s) and CTRL+U to unclear the selected
transaction(s).
2. Bring up the original transaction dialogs for editing/viewing
purposes (maximum of four).
3. Sum the selected transactions with the Sum Highlighted Amts
command from the Data menu.
4. Delete selected transactions by pressing the Del key or by
choosing Delete from the Data menu.
Multiple Registers and Statements from different months and
different accounts can be open at once. For example you could
open the May 1991 Register window for your credit card account,
the June 1991 Register window for your checking account, and the
June 1991 Statement window for your checking account. If you were
to view the Window menu by clicking on the word "Window" or by
pressing ALT+W, you can see a listing of all of the open windows.
For example:
CCC: Register for May, 1991
JAE: Register for June, 1991
JAE: Statement for June, 1991
This might be helpful when you are balancing your checkbook and
need to look at the transactions for the past two months. Or you
may want to switch back and forth from Statement windows of your
Personal and Business account. Refer to the section on Working
With Multiple Accounts and Windows for additonal information.
Note: It is not possible to have multiple Register or Statement
windows open for the same month and account. For example, it is
not possible to have the July Register for the JAE account open
more than once. Your computer's memory and menu space are the
only limitations to the number of different windows you can have
open at one time.
Sorting Options for the Register Window
When selecting Sort from the Data menu, the following sorting
options are available for the Register window:
By Date Sorts transactions in the active Check Register
by the date of the transaction.
By Number Sorts transactions in the active Check Register
by check number. All of the transactions
without a check number, such as Checking
Deposits, Savings ATM, Savings Deposits,
Savings Withdrawals, will appear above the
listed of sorted checks (ascending order from
smallest check number to the largest).
Date, Number Sorts the contents of the active Check Register
by date and then by check number if more than
one check was written on a particular day.
Number,Date Sorts the contents of the active Check Register
by check number, then date. This means that
transactions without a check number (i.e.
checking deposits) will be sorted by date, and
transactions with a check number will be sorted
by check number.
Amount Sort transactions by amount, from the smallest
amount to the largest.
Original Order Sorts the Register transactions into the
original data entry order (the order that the
transactions were entered).
NOTE: Each window has it's own sort options.
Changing the sorting option will change the
sorting method for the active window only. The
default sorting methods for the Statement and
Register windows is indicated in the Account
Settings dialog from the Acct menu. The sort
option indicate in Account Settings will be the
sort option used when initially opening a
Statement or Register window.
Reconciliation of Transactions:
To reconcile (clear) a transaction(s), select the transaction and
choose Clear from the Data menu (or press CTRL+C). Once cleared,
these transactions will now have an asterisk by the date and a
check mark beside the amount. The "BnkChk" column will also
update to reflect the change in the Bank's balance. When you
have reconciled every transaction that your bank knows about
(those that appear on your monthly bank statement), compare the
"BnkChk" balance with the Bank's balance on the printed bank
statement. If they match up, you have a balanced account!
Pressing the F2 key will bring up the current balances of your
account at any time or view the balance on the Status Bar at the
bottom of the WinCheck screen.
Deletion of Transactions:
To delete a transaction, select it, and then choose Delete from
the Data menu or press the Del key on the keyboard. The
following warning message will appear:
Are you sure you want to Delete the selected Transaction(s)?
Choose Yes to delete and No to leave the transaction as is (no
deletion). If you choose to delete a transaction, be certain you
mean to do this as the data must be reentered if you change your
mind.
Modification of Transactions:
To modify a transaction(s), select the transaction(s), and double
click the mouse, or press the Enter key. The transaction(s) will
appear on the screen in their respective dialogs so the
information can be edited. You can have a maximum of 4
transaction dialogs open at any one time.
ChangingTransactions from one Date to Another:
Bring up the transaction dialog by double clicking on it in the
Register window, and change the date. When bringing up a
transaction to modify the cursor is already placed in the date
field. Press F5 to decrement the date by a day or F6 to
increment the date by a day. You can press the F5 or F6 keys
repeatedly or manually type in the new date. Click on the OK
button or press Enter to record the change. If the Register
window is sorted by date, then WinCheck will automatically
move the transaction to the new place in the register. If you
change the month or year, the transaction will dissapear from the
current register and appear in the destination register (if it is
open).
Viewing your Running Balance:
For the most accurate reflection of your running balance, set the
sorting to be by Date. This can be done by selecting the by
Sort-> By Date option from the Data menu. This will track your
transactions in a chronological way. Keep in mind that your
running balance will almost always be different than the bank's,
this is due to uncleared transactions. As long as you keep your
running balance (ChkBal) above zero, and none of the checks you
deposited bounced, you should never get "Fan Mail" from your
bank.
Printing the Register Window Data
To print the Register data, choose the Report Generator from the
Acct menu. Select the month or months that you wish to print.
Then, select a report. Most likely you will want Register Sorted
by Date, Number. Print or preview the report as you desire.
If you select a transaction or multiple transactions from the
Register window, and then press the Print button on the Control
Bar (Or choose "Print Checks" from the Data menu), the checks you
selected will be printed. If you selected transactions that are
not checks, WinCheck will automatically skip over them in the
printing process.
Exporting the Register Window Data
To export the Register data, choose Export Register from the Acct
menu when a Register window is open and active. The export
function will allow you to export the data from the Register
window to a Tab or Comma delimited text file. A tab or comma
delimited text file is compatible with most any spreadsheet, word
processor or database program.
The Export Filename dialog will prompt for the column delimiter
(Tab or Comma) and a filename. Unless otherwise specified, the
file is exported to the WinCheck program directory. To
specify another location you will need to indicate the full path.
For example, C:\EXCEL\FEBREG.XLS to export the Februrary register
window data to the Excel program directory.
When you export the data from a register window to a file, the
category field will be used to separate transactions. The amount
values are listed below the category columns.
CHECKING DEBITS Pets Utilities
11/01/91#103 Phil's Cat Cabana 45.96
11/02/01#104 Pacfic Power Company 23.33
The exported transactions are grouped into the following groups
when exported with the Export function.
CHECKING CREDITS
CHECKING DEBITS
SAVINGS CREDITS
SAVINGS DEBITS
If the information from the Export Register function is not
exactly what you are looking for, it is possible to export data
based upon a custom report. The custom report can have the
following columns of data in any order that you would like:
(Blank), Date, Check #, Description, Amount, Category, Sub-
Category, Cleared, Memo 1, Memo 1, Checkbook Name, Your Balance,
Bank's Balance.
Refer to the section on Reports for additional information on
exporting custom report data.
Adding Transactions to the Register
To add a transaction to the Register you can:
1.Select a transaction button from the Control Bar.
2.Select a transaction from the Checking or Savings menu.
3.Use a Function key. F3 to write a check, F4 to make a
Checking deposit and F7 to make a Cash Machine withdrawal from
Checking.
4.Select a Common transaction from the Common menu.
5.Run a WinCheck Command File to add transactions. See page
xx for a listing of the WinCheck Command File functions.
Note: Transactions that you make when the Register window will
automatically appear in the appropriate Statement window. The
Statement and Register windows display the same data, just in
different formats.
Scrolling Through the Register
ACTION: KEYS:
Move up or down one Up or Down arrows (Num Lock
transaction at a time off)
Move up or down a screen of Page Up or Page Down (Num
data at a time Lock off)
Move to the beginning of Home
theRegister
Move to the end of the End
Register
Finding Transactions (F8)
To find a transaction, choose the Find... option from the Acct
menu or click on the magnifying glass button on the Control Bar.
In the Find Transaction dialog you can fill in search keys in
order to find transactions. You can make the key as detailed or
vague as you wish. Generally, the more detailed the search keys
are, the quicker the search process becomes. You can also specify
the search range to be either the current month, all months with
data for the active account, or a range of months such a 01/91 to
10/91.
FIND Transaction Dialog
Search Range Determines the dates/months to search.
Possible selections:
Search Current Month Only
Search ALL months
Search from: (fill in month/year
i.e. 1/91 3/91).
Trans: Allows you to search for a particular type of
transaction such as Checking Deposit or Check.
Leave the Trans field to All* to search through
all transaction types.
Category: Allows you to search for a transactions with a
particular category such as Pets or Business.
Leave the Category field at All* to search
through all transactions regardless of category.
Amount: Indicate the transaction amount that you are
looking for, such as 34.00. This field can be
helpful during reconciliation of your checkbook.
Say your checkbook is off by $2.54, you can
search for transactions with an amount of 2.54.
If the Amount field is left blank, then the
WinCheck will consider any amount
(wildcard).
Check #: If "Check" is selected as the transaction type
above, then this field will appear in black
(instead of greyed out). Indicate the number
for a check if you know the number. If the
Check field is left blank, then the search will
consider any check number (wildcard).
Keyword: The Keyword field is for Checks and
Miscellaneous transactions only. For example,
choose Check in the Trans field and type Texaco
in the Keyword field to checks written to Texaco
(checks with the word Texaco in the To: field of
the check).
Another example for Miscellaneous transactions
might be a search for monthly bank fees. In the
Find Transaction dialog choose Misc Checking and
type Fee in the Keyword field. Click the
Search button and all Misc Checking transactions
with the word Fee in the Description field will
be displayed.
If the Keyword field is left blank, the search
will consider all descriptions (wildcard).
Search Starts the search process. The speed of the
search is effected by the number of "wildcards"
and the range of months selected. For example,
a search for a specific check number will take
less time then a search for any transaction with
an amount of 45.00 dollars. Also a search in
the current month only will take less time then
a search from 01/91 to 10/91.
Cancel Leaves the Find Transaction dialog without
searching.
Once you have entered a search criteria and pressed the Search
button, WinCheck will display all of the transactions that meet
the criteria in a list box. Double clicking on the transaction
item or select the View button when a item is highlighted to
display the original transaction dialog. The "original transaction
dialog" is the dialog that was used to make the transaction. For
example, if the item found is a check, double clicking on this item
will bring up a Check transaction dialog with the information
originally typed in for the transaction.
Pressing the View & Register button when a transaction is selected
will display the original transaction dialog and open the
appropriate Register or bring the Register to the front if already
opened. If no transactions are found, the list box will be empty.
Press Cancel to leave the Select Transaction dialog and return to
the WinCheck screen.
Sample Search
If you would like to find all bank fees that you have recorded to
your Checking account, you would do the following:
1. With a Register or Statement window for the account open before
you on the screen, choose Find from the Acct menu, press F8 or
click with the mouse on the magnifying glass icon on the
Control Bar.
2. Choose "Search ALL Months" as the Search Range.
3. Choose Misc Checking from the Trans field (click on the down
arrow to select Misc Checking from the list of possible
transactions).
4. Type the word fee in the Keyword field.
5. Click on the Search button.
WinCheck will now search all of the Misc Checking transactions
(for the active account) for the word "fee" in the Description
field.
Sample Search
In order to add a comment to a checking deposit In March 1991, you
could do the following:
1. With a Register or Statement window for the account open before
you on the screen, choose Find from the Acct menu, press F8 or
click with the mouse on the magnifying glass icon on the
Control Bar.
2. Choose "Search From," as the Search Range and type 03/91 in
both boxes to the right.
3. Choose Checking Deposit from the Trans field (click on the down
arrow to select Checking Deposit from the list of possible
transactions).
4. Click on the Search button for a list of checking deposits for
the month of March.
5. Select a transaction item and click on the View button.
6. Click on the Details button for the Checking Deposit/Payment
dialog.
7. Type a comment such as Deposit made from Birthday checks in
Comments box in the resulting Transaction Details dialog.
8. Press OK to exit and save changes made in the Transaction
Details dialog. Press OK to return to exit the Select
Transaction dialog or choose to view another transaction
(Checking Deposit) in the list.
If more than 100 matches are found for a search criteria, the
following message will appear:
More than 100 items matched the search key. The total dollar
amount is still correct, but only the first 100 are displayed.
Anytime your search key finds more than 100 items, you might want
to consider including additional search keys (for example, a
specific amount or transaction type). Also, it is possible to
create a report and Print or Preview the report with the
WinCheck Report Generator.
The Statement
The following topics will be discussed in this section:
The Statement
The Statement Appearance
Reconciliation of Transactions
Sort Options for the Statement Window
Deletion of Transactions
Modifications of Transactions
Changing Transactions from one Date to Another
Printing the Statement Window Data
Adding Transactions to the Statement
Scrolling Through the Statement
Finding Transactions
The Statement:
The Check Statement can be used for many different operations:
1.Reconciliation of transactions.
2.Deletion of transactions.
3.Modification of transactions.
4.Changing transactions from one date to another.
5.Finding Transactions in the Statement Window of by using the
Find function.
The Statement Appearance:
The major difference between the Register and the Statement is the
range of items displayed. The Register displays the items as they
would be in your physical check register. The Statement displays
items as they would appear on a Bank statement. Transactions are
seperated out according to type such as checks and deposits.
Register Windows display transactions for a month. Statement
windows display transactions for a month long cycle (i.e. Jan 15
through Feb 15). Choose Account Settings from the Acct menu to
specify the start of the bank cycle in the Bank Statement Starts on
day of month: field.
The Statement is a window with a column headings and a list box or
transactions seperated by type. The Headings are labels for the
columns below. Choose Headings from the Tools menu to toggle the
Headings on and off.
The five Statement window headings are as follows:
Date The date the transaction was made. To change the date,
double click on the transaction, edit the Date field,
and choose OK.
# The check number when applicable (blank if transaction
is not a check).
Description If the transaction is a check, then the description
column text will contain the check recipient (i.e.
Fred's Bar and Grill). If the transaction is anything
other than a check, then the description field will
describe the type of transaction, i.e. Checking
Deposit, Savings Withdrawal, or Checking ATM. Misc
Checking and Savings transactions will display the
transaction description text in this column.
ChkAmt The values below this column detail the amount of the
Checking transaction.
SavAmt The values below this column detail the amount of the
Savings transaction.
The Statement list box is a Multiple Selection list box meaning
that more than one item can be selected at a time. To select one
item, click on it (or use the arrow keys to move to it). To
select a block of items, press and hold the SHIFT key while using
the Up and Down arrow keys, or click and drag the mouse. This
could be helpful to clear a group of checks at one time when your
bank statement arrives. To select non-contiguous transactions
(transactions not listed one right after another), press and hold
the CTRL key and click with the mouse on the transactions you
would like to select. After selecting a group of checks, press
the Up or Down once or click anywhere within the Statement window
to remove the selection(s).
You can select up to four transactions in the Statement and press
the Enter key to bring up all four of the transaction dialogs at
one time. You might do this to view or edit a group of
transactions at one time. Also, you can use the Sum Highlighted
Amts command when a group of transactions is selected. Choose Sum
Highlighted Amts from the Data menu or press the + key on the
numeric keypad. Finally, you might select a group of transactions
and press the Del key on the keyboard (num lock off) or choose
Delete from the Data menu. When doing this you will be prompted
to delete the selected transactions (answer Yes or No).
In Summary, select multiple transactions to do the following:
1. Clear and Unclear transactions by selecting Clear or Unclear
from the Data menu or press CTRL+C to clear the selected
transaction(s) and CTRL+U to unclear the selected
transaction(s).
2. Bring up the original transaction dialogs for editing/viewing
purposes (maximum of four).
3. Sum the selected transactions with the Sum Highlighted Amts
command from the Data menu.
4. Delete selected transactions by pressing the Del key or by
choosing Delete from the Data menu.
Multiple Registers and Statements from different months and
different accounts can be open at once. For example you could
open the May 1991 Register window for your credit card account,
the June 1991 Register window for your checking account, and the
June 1991 Statement window for your checking account. If you were
to view the Window menu by clicking on the word "Window" or by
pressing ALT+W, you can see a listing of all of the open windows.
For example:
CCC: Register for May, 1991
JAE: Register for June, 1991
JAE: Statement for June, 1991
This might be helpful when you are balancing your checkbook and
need to look at the transactions for the past two months. Or you
may want to switch back and forth from Statement windows of your
Personal and Business account. Refer to the section on Working
With Multiple Accounts and Windows for additonal information.
Note: It is not possible to have multiple Register or Statement
windows open for the same month and account. For example, it is
not possible to have the July Register for the JAE account open
more than once. Your computer's memory and menu space are the
only limitations to the number of different windows you can have
open at one time.
Reconciliation of Transactions:
An asterisk beside the date and a check mark beside the dollar
amount indicates that the transaction in the Statement window has
cleared the bank. To reconcile (clear) a transaction, select the
tranaction in the Statement window and choose Clear from the Data
menu, or press CTRL+C, or click on the check mark icon on the
Control Bar. To Unclear a transaction, select the transaction an
choose Unclear from the Data menu, or press CTRL+U, or click on
the check mark with a slash through in on the Control Bar.
When reconciling your checkbook once your bank statement arrives,
choose Display Uncleared Only from the Data Menu. When doing
this, only those transactions that have yet to clear the bank will
appear. As you clear transactions they will disappear from the
Statement window because only uncleared transactions are listed.
This can be helpful in determining when all the checks have
cleared or or in finding those transactions that have not yet
cleared the bank.
To print a listing of the uncleared transactions for the month or
group of month, use the Report Generator and select the Checking
or Savings Statement Sorted by Number, Date - Uncleared. Look
ahead in this section to Printing the Statement Window Data for
more information.
Sorting Options for the Statement Window
When selecting Sort from the Data menu, the following sorting
options are available for the Statement window:
Checks by Date Sorts the check section of the active
Statement window by date.
Checks by Number Sorts the check section of the active
Statement window by number.
NOTE: Each window has it's own sort options.
Changing the sorting option will change the
sorting method for the active window only. The
default sorting methods for the Statement and
Register windows is indicated in the Account
Settings dialog from the Acct menu. The sort
option indicate in Account Settings will be the
sort option used when initially opening a
Statement or Register window.
Deletion of Transactions:
To delete a transaction, select it, and then choose Delete from
the Data menu or press the Del key on the keyboard. The
following warning message will appear:
Are you sure you want to Delete the selected Transaction(s)?
Choose Yes to delete and No to leave the transaction as is (no
deletion). If you choose to delete a transaction, be certain you
mean to do this as the data must be reentered if you change your
mind.
Modification of Transactions:
To modify a transaction(s), select the transaction(s), and double
click the mouse, or press the Enter key on the keyboard. The
transaction(s) will appear on the screen in their respective
dialogs so the information can be edited. You can have a maximum
of 4 transaction dialogs open at any one time.
Changing Transactions from one Date to Another:
Bring up the transaction dialog by double clicking on it in the
Statement window, and change the date. When bringing up a
transaction to modify, the cursor is already placed in the date
field. Press F5 to decrement the date by a day or F6 to
increment the date by a day. You can press the F5 or F6 keys
repeatedly or manually type in the new date. Click on the OK
button or press Enter to record the change. If the Statement
window is sorted with Checks by Date, then WinCheck will
automatically move the transaction to a new location in the
Statement window. If you change the month or year, the
transaction will dissapear from the current Statement and appear
in the destination Statement (if it is open).
Printing the Statement Window Data
To print the Statement, enter the Report Generator from the Acct
menu. Select the month or months that you wish to print. Then,
select a report. There are four Statement reports to choose from
in the Choose a report type box:
Checking: Statement Sorted by Number, Date
Checking: Statement Sorted by Number, Date - Uncleared
Savings: Statement Sorted by Number, Date
Savings: Statement Sorted by Number, Date - Uncleared
Click on the Preview button to view the report or click on the
Print button to print the report.
Adding Transactions to the Statement
To add a transaction to the Statement you can:
1. Select a transaction button from the Control Bar.
2. Select a transaction from the Checking or Savings menu.
3. Use a Function key. F3 to write a check, F4 to make a
Checking deposit and F7 to make a Cash Machine withdrawal from
Checking.
4. Select a Common transaction from the Common menu.
Note: Transactions that you make when the Statement window is
visible will automatically appear in the appropriate Statement
window. The Statement and Register windows display the same data
just in different formats.
Scrolling Through the Statement Window
ACTION: KEYS:
Move up or down one Up or Down arrows (Num Lock Off)
transaction at a time
Move up or down a screen of Page Up or Page Down (Num Lock Off)
data at a time
Move to the beginning of the Home
Statement
Move to the end of the End
Statement
Finding Transactions (F8)
To find a transaction, choose the Find... option from the Acct
menu or click on the magnifying glass button on the Control Bar.
In the Find Transaction dialog you can fill in search keys in
order to find transactions. You can make the key as detailed or
vague as you wish. Generally, the more detailed the search keys
are, the quicker the search process becomes. You can also specify
the search range to be either the current month, all months with
data for the active account, or a range of months such a 01/91 to
10/91.
FIND Transaction Dialog
Search Range Determines the dates/months to search.
Possible selections:
Search Current Month Only
Search ALL months
Search from: (fill in month/year
i.e. 1/91 3/91).
Trans: Allows you to search for a particular type of
transaction such as Checking Deposit or Check.
Leave the Trans field to All* to search through
all transaction types.
Category: Allows you to search for a transactions with a
particular category such as Pets or Business.
Leave the Category field at All* to search
through all transactions regardless of category.
Amount: Indicate the transaction amount that you are
looking for, such as 34.00. This field can be
helpful during reconciliation of your checkbook.
Say your checkbook is off by $2.54, you can
search for transactions with an amount of 2.54.
If the Amount field is left blank, then the
WinCheck will consider any amount
(wildcard).
Check #: If "Check" is selected as the transaction type
above, then this field will appear in black
(instead of greyed out). Indicate the number
for a check if you know the number. If the
Check field is left blank, then the search will
consider any check number (wildcard).
Keyword: The Keyword field is for Checks and
Miscellaneous transactions only. For example,
choose Check in the Trans field and type Texaco
in the Keyword field to checks written to Texaco
(checks with the word Texaco in the To: field of
the check).
Another example for Miscellaneous transactions
might be a search for monthly bank fees. In the
Find Transaction dialog choose Misc Checking and
type Fee in the Keyword field. Click the
Search button and all Misc Checking transactions
with the word Fee in the Description field will
be displayed.
If the Keyword field is left blank, the search
will consider all descriptions (wildcard).
Search Starts the search process. The speed of the
search is effected by the number of "wildcards"
and the range of months selected. For example,
a search for a specific check number will take
less time then a search for any transaction with
an amount of 45.00 dollars. Also a search in
the current month only will take less time then
a search from 01/91 to 10/91.
Cancel Leaves the Find Transaction dialog without
searching.
Once you have entered a search criteria and pressed the Search
button, WinCheck will display all of the transactions that meet
the criteria in a list box. Double clicking on the transaction
item or select the View button when a item is highlighted to
display the original transaction dialog. The "original transaction
dialog" is the dialog that was used to make the transaction. For
example, if the item found is a check, double clicking on this item
will bring up a Check transaction dialog with the information
originally typed in for the transaction.
Clicking on the View & Register button when a transaction is
selected will display the original transaction dialog and open the
appropriate Register or bring the Register to the front if already
opened. If no transactions are found, the list box will be empty.
Press Cancel to leave the Select Transaction dialog and return to
the WinCheck screen.
Sample Statement Search
If you are reconciling your checkbook and need to find all of your
$20.00 cash machine withdrawals, you would do the following:
1. With a the Statement window for the account open before you on
the screen, choose Find from the Acct menu, press F8 or click
with the mouse on the magnifying glass icon on the Control Bar.
2. Choose "Search Current Month Only" as the Search Range (the
default).
3. Choose Checking ATM from the Trans field (click on the Down
Arrow to beside the Trans field or press ALT+N and use the Up
and Down arrow keys on the keyboard).
4. Press ALT+M to jump to the Amount field or click in the field
with the mouse. Type 20.00 for the search amount.
5. Click on the Search button or press ALT+S.
WinCheck will now search the active Statement window data for
ATM Checking transactions (cash machine withdrawals) of $20.00. In
the resulting dialog, WinCheck lists the Date, transaction type
or description field text, and the transaction amount. The c just
to the right of the value indicated the cleared status. This is
helpful when reconciling the Checking ATM transactions for the
month in that you can use the Find function to find all of the
Checking ATM transactions. Select a Checking ATM transaction
without a c beside the amount, and choose View. Now mark the box
labeled "Cleared" if the cash machine withdrawal ha cleared the
bank.
Sample Statement Search
If you are near the end of balancing your checkbook and your
balance and the bank's balance are off by $34.52, you might do the
following in order to find a transaction:
1. With a Register or Statement window for the account open before
you on the screen, choose Find from the Acct menu, press F8 or
click with the mouse on the magnifying glass icon on the
Control Bar.
2. Choose Search Current Month Only or Search ALL Months as the
Search Range.
3. Leave the Trans and Category fields as ALL*, so that all
transaction and categories are considered in the search.
4. Press ALT+M to jump to the Amount field or click in the field
with the mouse. Type 34.52 for the search amount.
5. Click on the Search button or press ALT+S for a list of all
transactions for $34.52.
All $34.52 transactions will be listed in the resulting dialog.
Cleared transactions will appear with a small c to the right of
the amount.
6. Any transactions without a c(cleared status) that appear on
your physical bank statement as cleared, should be selected and
Viewed (click on the View button or press ALT+V).
7. Now, mark the box labeled "Cleared" if the transaction has
cleared the bank (appears on your physical bank statement).
If more than 100 matches are found for a search criteria, the
following message will appear:
More than 100 items matched the search key. The total dollar
amount is still correct, but only the first 100 are displayed.
Anytime your search key finds more than 100 items, you might want
to consider including additional search keys (for example, a
specific amount or transaction type). Also, it is possible to
create a report and Print or Preview the report with the WinCheck
Report Generator.
Categories and Subcategories
The following topics will be discussed in this section:
What are Categories and Subcategories?
Adding/Creating Categories and Subcategories
Viewing Existing Categories/Subcategories
Deleting a Category or Subcategory
Modifying a Category or Subcategory
Moving a Category to a Subcategory
Printing a List of Existing Categories/Subcategories
If You Use Subcategories
What are Categories and Subcategories?
Categories and Subcategories are a means to classify your financial
transactions into groups such as Personal and Business. This is
helpful in creating a budget with the WinCheck Budget Manager
or when printing reports with the Report Generator (refer to page X
of Getting Started for a custom category report). You can set up
your categories in the Edit Categories dialog or add the categories
as needed when making transactions.
In addition to categories such as Entertainment and Utilities, you
can set up subcategories for the categories. For example, you
might want to use the default Personal category with subcategories.
In other words, instead of having a category called Personal and
one called Food, or you could indicate that Food is a subcategory
of Personal. To indicate a subcategory, type the name of the
category followed by a colon (:) and then the name of the
subcategory:
Personal:Food
There is not a practical limit to the number of categories or
subcategories. Below are two possible scenarios for setting up
categories:
Personal:Food Personal
Personal:Utilities Food
Personal:Rent Utilities
Personal:Phone Rent
Phone
The advantage to setting up subcategories for a major category such
as Personal is that you can generate a report for all of your
Personal expenses and then separate reports for Personal:Food and
Personal:Utilities. This way you could determine how much you were
spending on Personal expenses and then how much was spent on
Personal:Utilities, Personal:Food, Personal:Pets....
If Personal and Utilities were separate categories then you could
generate a report for Personal and Utilities. In this case, the
expenses made towards Utilities would not be included in the total
Personal amount. For example, let's say you spent $200.00 on
Utilities for 1991 and $1000.00 on Personal expenses. If Personal
and Utilities are separate categories, then the $1000.00 value does
not reflect the $200.00 spent on Utilities.
Example Categories:
Rent or Entertainme Pets
Mortgage nt
Utilities Software Sports
Business Clothing Necessities of
Life
Hobbies Travel Books
Music Fun Medical
Insurance Personal Lunch Money
Maintenance
Example Categories/Subcategories:
Mortgage Pets
Franklin Cats
Home Fish
Other Home Snails
Rental
House
Insurance Entertainment
Life Movies
Car Plays
Medical Pool
If you are using WinCheck to track business expenses, then the
subcategories are especially helpful. At the end of a given year
you can print a report listing the total dollar amount of Business
expenses and then separate reports for each subcategory. The
subcategory reports would lists the individual transactions and a
total for the subcategory (monthly and or yearly total).
Business:Advertising
Business:Demo Disks
Business:Postage
Business:Payroll
The following is an Account Register Report Sorted by Category (for
March 1991):
Account Register Sorted by Category
Date # Description Amount Sub-Category
04/02/91 3484 Postmaster 12.05s Postage
04/24/91 3544 Postmaster 5.08 s Postage
04/27/91 3547 PostMaster 38.86s Postage
$55.99
The above report lists all of the Business:Postage expenses for the
month of March 1991.
If you do not want to print a report, but want to view all
transactions for a particular category, you can:
1. Create a custom report and choose to Preview the report.
2. Use the Find feature of WinCheck (with 100 or fewer
transactions).
For this example, we want a listing of all Personal:Gifts
transactions so that we can make sure that we remembered all the
gifts we needed to purchase for the month.
Method 1:
1. Choose Report Generator from the Acct menu.
2. Select the current month from the list boxes labeled Starting
Month and Ending Month. Choosing the same month for the
starting and ending month will allow you to print/preview data
from one month only.
3. Select the Checking: Account Register Sorted by Category from
the box labeled Choose a report type.
4. Click on the Edit button, or press ALT+E.
5. Check the box labeled Show Only One Category. Then choose
Personal:Gifts from the drop down listbox to the right. If you
do not have this category in your account, select a category
you wish to view.
6. Click on the Preview button or press ALT+P.
Method 2:
1. Choose Find from the Acct menu, or press F8, or click with the
mouse on the magnifying glass icon on the Control Bar.
2. In the Find Transaction dialog, leave the default Search Range
at Search Current Month Only. Select Check from the drop down
listbox beside the Trans field. Select Personal:Gifts from the
drop down listbox beside the Category field.
The above selections will result in a search through the current
month (the month of active Register or Statement window) for check
transactions that have a category of Personal:Gifts.
3. Choose OK to start the search.
At the bottom of the dialog is the Total Dollar Amount for the
transactions listed in the box. This is a quick means for seeing
how much was spent on this category for the month. To print a
listing of the transactions and the total dollar amount, use the
WinCheck Report Generator and the report entitled Account
Register Sorted by Category.
4. The search results will appear in a dialog box with the option
to View the selected transaction. Selecting an item in the box
and clicking on View button (ALT+V) will bring up the original
check dialog (similar to double clicking on the item from the
Register or Statement windows).
Adding/Creating Categories and Subcategories
There are two ways to create/add new categories:
1. Type the unique (new) category name into the drop down list box
or category names. Personal is the default category for new
transactions, but you can select a category from the drop down
listbox or type in a new category name.
2. Choose Edit Categories from the Acct menu. In the Edit
Categories dialog you can add new categories as well as delete
and modify (rename) categories/subcategories (see below).
Viewing Existing Categories/Subcategories
To view the existing categories or subcategories choose Edit
Categories from the Acct menu. The top edit box in the Edit
Categories dialog lists all of your current categories in the order
that they were entered (i.e. Personal, Business, Cats...). Click
with your mouse on the down arrow to view a listing of all the
current categories (the keyboard equivalent is to press ALT+<Down
Arrow> to drop the listbox down or CTRL+Down Arrow to cycle through
the categories one at a time). It is also possible to view the
existing categories by bringing up a new or existing transaction.
The transaction dialog will have a listing of the available
categories and subcategories in a drop down listbox (click on the
down arrow).
Categories are limited to 32 characters and can contain spaces
(such as Band Income). Each category can have any number of
subcategories. It is not possible to have a subcategory of a
subcategory. For example, Pets:Cats:Food is not valid.
WinCheck will change this to Pets:Cats-Food.
The colon character is used to indicate a subcategory and thus
cannot to used within a category name. For example, entering
Pets:Cats:Dogs will result in an error message and Cats-Dogs will
be recorded as a subcategory to Pets.
Adding a Category or Subcategory
To add a category to the current account using the Edit Categories
dialog, do the following:
1. Choose Edit Categories from the Acct menu.
2. Press the Tab key once to advance to the New Description box,
or click in the box with the mouse.
3. Type a Category name such as Mortgage or Business:Postage.
4. Click with the mouse on the Add button or press ALT+A.
Deleting a Category or Subcategory
To delete a category from the list of categories in the top
listbox, do the following:
1. Choose Edit Categories from the Acct menu.
2. Choose the category that you would like to delete from the drop
down listbox (click on the down arrow or press <ALT>+<Down
Arrow>). Pressing <CTRL>+<Down Arrow> on the keyboard will
cycle through the items in the listbox one at a time.
3. Once the category is displayed in the listbox and edit box
below, click with the mouse on the Delete button or press
<ALT>+<D> on the keyboard. When deleting a category, you will
see the message warning:
Warning: Deleting a category can leave transactions with
unresolved categories. Continue?
This message is meant to make sure that you intend to delete the
category. Deleting a category is a permanent decision.
Transactions that were defined as the deleted category will revert
to the default category Personal. In other words, if you have a
check with a category of Pets and you delete the Pets category,
then the check's category will become Personal.
It is not possible to delete or modify the category Personal. You
can, however, add subcategories to the Personal category. The
following error will result when trying to delete or modify the
Personal category:
Cannot Edit or Delete Category 'Personal'.
The Personal category is the default category for WinCheck and
it is not editable.
Modifying a Category or Subcategory
If you later decided that Mortgage should really be Mortgages, you
can modify the category with the following steps:
1. Choose Edit Categories from the Acct menu.
2. Choose the category that you would like to modify from the drop
down listbox (click on the down arrow or press <ALT>+<Down
Arrow>). Pressing <CTRL>+<Down Arrow> on the keyboard will
cycle through the items in the listbox one at a time.
3. Press the Tab key once to advance to the New Description field.
4. Type a new name for the category list above the New Description
text.
5. Click with the mouse on the Modify button or press <ALT>+<M> on
the keyboard.
Modifying a category will change that category description
throughout your entire register. For example, changing Business
to Pleasure will affect every Business transaction in your
account.
Moving a Category to a Subcategory
1. Choose Edit Categories from the Acct menu.
2. Choose the category that you would like to move from the drop
down listbox (click on the down arrow or press <ALT>+<Down
Arrow>). Pressing <CTRL>+<Down Arrow> on the keyboard will
cycle through the items in the listbox one at a time.
3. Press the Tab key once to advance to the New Description field.
4. Move the cursor to the beginning of the field by clicking with
the mouse at the beginning or using the Left Arrow key.
5. Once at the beginning if the field, type a category name
(either existing or new). For example, if you wanted to move
the category Cat Toys to be a subcategory of Pets, you would
change the field from Cat Toys to Pets:Cat Toys.
6. Click with the mouse on the Modify button or press <ALT>+<M> on
the keyboard.
You will then be prompted with a variation of the following
message:
Move category 'Utilities' to subcategory
'Personal:Utilities'?
Choose Yes if you mean to move the category to a subcategory
status.
Another possible message:
This category already has subcategories. It is not possible
to move this category to a subcategory.
This message will result if you try to move a category that has
subcategories to a subcategories status. For example, if you have
a category named Food:Grocery and you try to move this to the
Personal category, the above error will result. This occurs,
because it is not possible to have a category named
Personal:Food:Grocery.
It is not possible to move a Subcategory to a Category status by
using the Modify command. If you wanted to change Personal:Food to
just Food, you would need to delete Personal:Food and add the
category Food. When deleting a category, all transactions that
were using the category will revert to WinCheck's default
category, Personal.
Note: The OK button in the Edit Categories dialog is used to exit
the dialog. If you want to Add, Modify or Delete a category,
choose the corresponding button. Pressing OK only exits the
dialog.
Printing a List of Existing Categories/Subcategories
From the WinCheck Report Generator, choose the Categories and
Budget Information report. WinCheck will print a list of the
Categories and subcategories, along with budgeting information for
each category when applicable. Please refer to page xx for
information on Budgeting.
If You Use Subcategories
If you use subcategories, WinCheck will automatically create a
subcategory called Miscellaneous for each category. For example,
consider the following list of subcategories:
Pets
Cats
Fish
Snails
If you enter a check like:
WinCheck will categorize this as Pets:Miscellaneous. For this
reason, you should not create a specific subcategory called
Miscellaneous. Doing so will produce two Miscellaneous
subcategories in your reports.
Budgeting
The following topics will be discussed in this section:
WinCheck Budget Manager
Setting a Budget Amount
Using the Report Generator to Print a Budget Report
WinCheck Budget Manager
The WinCheck Budget Manager dialog appears when you select
Budgeting... from the Acct menu. In this dialog you can set a
budget value for each of your categories. For example, you can set
an estimated budget value of $200.00 for Personal:Food per month.
After setting a budget value for each of your expense categories
such as Food or Utilities, you can use the Report Generator to
print a report of your budgeted values compared to the actual
values spent.
The large listbox in the Budget Manager dialog lists all of the
categories for the active account. Subcategories are listed below
the category name. For example, Personal, Utilities and Mortgage
are all categories, while Food and Charity are subcategories of the
Personal category.
Setting a Budget Amount
1. Select a category or subcategory from the box on the left.
2. Press the Tab key once to jump to the Budget field or click
with the mouse in the field labeled Budget.
3. Type the budget amount. such as 200.00. A currency symbol such
as a dollar symbol ($) is not needed.
4. To set the value, click on the Set Budget to this Amt button or
press ALT+S.
5. Once the budget values are set, click on the Exit button to
leave the dialog or press ALT+E on the keyboard.
If there are Personal transactions that you make that do not have a
subcategory indicated, then these values will be recorded as
Personal:Miscellaneous transactions. This being the case,
Miscellaneous will appear as a subcategory in the Budget Manager
dialog, like:
Personal
Groceries 1000.00
Espresso/Lunch Money 2343.00
Entertainment 250.00
Miscellaneous 100.00
TOTAL: 3693.00
Categories with subcategories can have budget values for each
subcategory only. In the example above, the Miscellaneous
subcategory is used to set a budget value for transactions with a
Personal category (no subcategory was used).
NOTE: It is not necessary to set a budget amount for categories
that are not expenses, such as a Paycheck category. If the income
categories are not given budget values, they will be omitted from
the budget report. All categories with a budget value of 0.00 are
excluded from the budget report (explained in the next section).
Using the Report Generator to Print a Budget Report
Before reading this section on the WinCheck Report Generator,
walk through the step by step guide on using the report generator,
starting in the Getting Started section.
Once you have set budget values for all of your expenditure
categories like Food and Utilities, choose Report Generator from
the Acct menu. In the WinCheck Report Generator dialog, choose
a starting and ending month. If you wanted to print a report for
one month, the starting and ending months would be the same (for
example: Starting Month May 1991 and Ending Month May 1991). To
generate a report for all of your data, choose the earliest month
in the "Starting Month" box and the latest month in the "Ending
Month".
Choose the Checking: Budget Report from the dialog of available
reports . Click on the Preview button or press ALT + V to view the
report data. The data will preview on the screen as it will be
printed, along with a dialog box in the lower right.
NOTE: If you click on the title bar of the dialog in the lower
right (the text that reads "WinCheck Print Preview"), you can
move the box in the lower right around the screen. Click with the
mouse and drag the mouse to move the box. This may be necessary to
see the data in the lower right section of the screen.
The Budget Report below lists the money spent in the column labeled
Flow and the amount budgeted in the Column labeled Budgeted. The
final column details the difference between the budgeted amount and
the amount spent. If the amount in the Difference column is a
positive number, then the amount spent is below the amount
budgeted. If the amount is a negative number, then the amount
spent is over the budgeted value.
For example:
In the report below the Personal expenses are $170.25 under the
budgeted value and the Food expenses are $292.23 over the budgeted
value.
Page 1 June 2, 1991
Checking Cash Flow Report for January, 1991 to February 1991
INFLOWS
Flow Budgeted Difference
Personal -729.75 900.00 170.25
Food -692.23 400.00 -292.23
Newspaper -9.50 10.00 0.50
Utilities -449.50 500.00 50.00
Mortgage -2,245.85 2,3000.00 54.15
Garden -145.56 250.00 104.44
Services
Totals: -$4,272.39 $4,360.00 $87.61
Splitting Transactions
The following topics will be discussed in this section:
What is Splitting a Transaction?
The Split Dialog
Examples of Splitting a Transaction
Translations From Other Software Packages
What is Splitting a Transaction?
Splitting a transaction allows you to classify where certain
amounts of a transaction are spent/received. Here are some
examples of when you would want to split a transaction:
1. You make a deposit of many checks. Some of these checks are
Personal, and some are Business. You can specify the source of
the income for this deposit by splitting it across personal and
business categories.
2. You want to itemize the deductions on your paycheck. You could
enter a separate transaction for each deduction, or you could
enter one transaction consisting of all of the deductions, and
then itemize them by splitting the dollar amounts across
categories.
3. You write a check that covers multiple categories. For
example, you might go to a large store and make a few personal
purchases, a gift purchase, and a business transaction. You
can split the amount across all of the categories.
Note: In some other software packages, splits are entered as
positive and negative numbers. There are cases where you
would enter positive amounts and negative amounts in the
same transaction, with the transaction amount equaling
0.00. Please refer to the Translations From Other
Software Packages section.
You may want to walk through the Getting Started section which
includes an example of splitting a transaction.
The Split Dialog
To split a transaction, make sure the category is indicating
Split.... Verify that the dollar amount of the transaction is
correct. Once all of the information for the transaction is
correct, enter the transaction by pressing OK, Another, or Print
(checks only). The Split Dialog will appear on the screen.
When in the split dialog, the following fields will be displayed:
Amount This is the amount you wish to assign to a category.
Amount This is the amount you have already assigned to a
Accounted category
For
Amount This is the amount you still need to assign to a
remaining category
Note: The OK button will not function until you have accounted
for all of the transaction.
When splitting a transaction, you will do the following steps:
1. Indicate a dollar amount for a category.
2. Indicate the category/subcategory.
3. Press the Add button to add this category to the Summary of
Splits.
4. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until all money has been accounted for.
It is possible to modify one of the entries in the Summary by
following these steps:
1. Select the entry to modify in the Summary List.
2. Type the new amount or change the category/subcategory.
3. Press the Modify button to make the change.
It is possible to delete one of the entries in the Summary by
following these steps:
1. Select the entry to delete in the Summary List
2. Press the Delete button.
Examples of Splitting a Transaction
You have written a check to your stockbroker for $1000.00. Of
the thousand dollars $500 is for a stock purchase,
$250.00 is to deposited into your money market, and
$250.00 is for a margin call.
1. Write a check for $1000.00 and choose Split... from the drop
down list box in the upper left of the check. The Split...
category is a WinCheck category that when used will allow
you to split a transaction among several categories.
2. Once the check is completed and Split... is selected as the
category, choose OK or press Enter to bring up the Split
Transaction dialog.
3. The initial value in the Amount field will be the amount of the
transaction ($1000.00 in this case). Remove 1000.00 and type
500.00 into the Amount field.
4. Press the Tab key to jump to the category list box and select
Stock from the drop down list box of categories. If Stock is
not listed as a category, type the word Stock into the field.
This will add Stock as a category. It is also possible to
Edit, Delete, and Add new categories and subcategories by
choosing Edit Categories from the Acct menu. Refer to page
Error! Bookmark not defined.
categories.
5. Click on the Add button or press ALT + A. Notice how the
Amount Accounted for and Account Remaining fields have changed.
6. Now type 250.00 into the Amount field, select Money Market for
the category (or type it if necessary), and press Add.
7. Finally, set the remaining $250.00 in the Amount field to a
category called Margin.
8. Press OK to accept the split information.
Your paycheck is for $1000, and you had $147.23 deducted for Fed,
$78.23 for State, and $74.34 for FICA taxes withheld.
Your net pay was $700.20, the deductions were $299.80.
1. Add a Checking Deposit for $700.20, and select a category such
as Payroll:Net. Press OK to enter this deposit.
2. Add a Checking Misc transaction. For the description, type
Payroll Deductions: Accounting Amount. Type 299.80 for the
amount. Check the Credit checkbox. Choose a category such as
Payroll:Gross minus Net. Check the Cleared checkbox. Press OK
to accept the transaction.
3. Add a Checking Misc transaction. For the description, type
Payroll Deductions. Bring up the Calculator by pressing F9.
Add 147.23+78.23+74.34 to get 299.80. From the Edit menu of
Calculator, select Copy. Close Calculator (or press the down
arrow button at the upper right). Position the blinking caret
on the Amount field. Press <Shift>+<Ins> to paste the amount
into the field. Select Split... as the category.
4. Once the transaction is completed and Split... is selected as
the category, choose OK or press Enter to bring up the Split
Transaction dialog.
5. The initial value in the Amount field will be the amount of the
transaction ($299.80 in this case). Remove 299.80 and type
147.23 into the Amount field.
6. Press the Tab key to jump to the category list box and select
your federal category (such as Taxes:FED) from the drop down
list box of categories. If Taxes:FED is not listed as a
category, type the word Taxes:FED into the field. This will
add Taxes:FED as a category. It is also possible to Edit,
Delete, and Add new categories and subcategories by choosing
Edit Categories from the Acct menu. Refer to page Error!
Bookmark not defined.
7. Click on the Add button or press ALT + A.
8. Now type 78.23 into the Amount field, select Taxes:State for
the category (or type it if necessary), and press Add.
9. Finally, set the remaining $74.34 in the Amount field to a
category called Taxes:FICA.
10. Press OK to accept the split information.
Translations From Other Software Packages
In some other software packages, it is possible to enter a
transaction for the amount 0.00, and then split the transaction as
follows:
100.00 Consulting
-100.00 Cash
This example indicates how you cashed a consulting check. WinCheck
takes a different approach to this scenario. The above
example would actually be two different transactions in WinCheck:
a Deposit and a Withdrawal. Here is how you would do this
type of transaction in WinCheck:
1. Make a deposit for 100.00. Set the category to Consulting.
2. Make a Checking Misc for 100.00. Set the category to Cash.
Common Transactions
The following topics will be discussed in this section:
What are Common Transactions?
Adding a Common Transaction (Memorizing)
Using a Common Transaction (Recalling)
Editing a Common Transaction
Deleting a Common Transaction
Common Transaction Properties
Automatic
Automatic & Print
Delete
Menu
Menu Pay
Menu Pay & Print
Remind
Adding or Changing Common Transaction Properties
Examples of using Common Transactions
Common Transactions:
What are Common Transactions?
Common Transactions are those transactions that you make on a
regular basis. For example Common Transactions could be the
monthly car payment, the monthly mortgage payment, or the bi-
monthly paycheck deposit. Transactions that you make on a regular
basis can be automated by making them "Common Transactions" and
adding them to a menu labeled Common. The following is an example
of transactions added to the Common menu:
JAE: 05/01 First of the month paycheck: $1000.00
JAE: 05/01 Paycheck Deductions $299.80
JAE: 05/15 Seattle City Light: Varies
JAE: 05/16 Ford Motor Company: $346.90
JAE: 05/18 Piano Rentals 'R' Us: $36.00
JAE: 05/24 Shorewood Apartments $580.00
The check to Seattle City Light is for a different amount each time
you write the check. WinCheck will prompt you for the amount
when you select this transaction.
If multiple accounts are loaded into WinCheck, or if there are
more common transactions than can fit on the Common menu, WinCheck
will group the common transactions and place them on pop-out
menus:
Hint: If you have a number of Common transactions under the Common
menu, consider removing transactions that are automatically made
from the menu. This can be done by removing all of the Menu
properties from the transaction. Please see page xx for more
information on Common transaction properties.
Adding a Common Transaction (Memorizing)
To add/create a Common Transaction, choose Add from the Common
menu. A list of transaction types will pop out to the side of the
main Common menu.
Possible transaction types:
Check
Checking Deposit/Payment
Checking Misc
Checking Interest accrued/charged
Savings Withdrawal
Savings Deposit/Payment
Savings Misc
Savings Interest accrued/charged
Note: The Savings options will be greyed if the active account is
a credit card account as indicated in the Account Info dialog from
the Acct menu. The Savings options will also be greyed if Savings
Account is not selected in the Account Settings dialog (from the
Acct menu).
After selecting the type of transaction, fill in as many or as few
fields as you wish. Leave the Amount or the $ field blank if the
transaction has a variable amount (i.e. the electricity bill varies
from month to month). Do fill in the date of the transaction. The
year and month are not important as these will automatically
reflect the current month and year when you actually recall the
transaction. When adding Common Transactions, just use the
current month and year and change the day if necessary.
The date of the transaction is used to determine the placement on
the Common menu and the day for automatic transactions. The list
of common transactions are sorted by date under the Common menu.
If you have a group of transactions that you wish to be adjacent to
each other under the Common menu, give them all the same Day.
When you actually recall one of these common transactions, the
current date will be filled in the date field. For example if you
chose JAE: 05/16 Ford Motor Company: $346.90 on May 21st, the
transaction date will appear as 05/21/91. This date can however be
edited prior to pressing Enter or click on the OK button to record
the transaction.
Also, be sure to add details to the transaction if you want them to
be included every time you make this transaction. For example, if
you are using WinCheck to print checks, you might want to put
the address of the recipient in the Transaction Details dialog or
your account number for the Memo line (both the Memo line and
Address can be printed on the check). Now, the next time you need
to make the transaction, choose it from the Common menu instead of
typing in the information again.
Using a Common Transaction (Recalling)
Recalling a transaction will actually record a copy of the Common
transaction in your Register and affect your balance. This is
usually done on the dreaded "Day of Bills" or on the cherished
"Payday".
Example listing of items added to the Common menu:
JAE: 05/15 Seattle City Light Varies
JAE: 05/16 Ford Motor Company $346.90
JAE: 05/18 Piano Rentals 'R' Us $36.00
Two of the common transactions listed above have a set amount that
is paid each month. However, the payment to Seattle City Light
varies depending upon how much electricity is used during the
month. This being the case, the Amount field was left blank when
creating the Common transaction.
When "Seattle City Light" is selected from the Common menu, the
check dialog will appear with:
The current date
The next blank check number
The category type
The Description or "To:" field text
0.00 for the amount.
To make the transaction, fill in the correct value in the amount
field, and press the OK or Print button to complete the
transaction.
When defining a dollar amount in the Common transactions, you will
still be able to change the dollar amount "on the fly" when
actually recalling these transactions. For example, your may wish
to make a double payment to Ford Motor Company. If the transaction
does not have the Menu Pay or Menu Pay and Print option enabled
(see page xx for Common Transaction Properties), you will still
have an opportunity to change the amount (or any of the information
on the check) before completing the transaction.
When the list of common transactions is visible in the common menu,
and you have one of your common transactions selected, the next
check number will be displayed in the status line. This is helpful
for the Menu Pay and Menu Pay and Print properties.
Editing a Common Transaction
1. Choose Edit/Delete... from the Common menu.
2. Select the transaction to edit from the list of Common
Transactions. Do this by pressing the down arrow or by
clicking with the mouse on the transaction name.
3. Click on the Edit button or press ALT+E to bring up the
transaction dialog for editing purposes.
Double clicking with the mouse on a Common Transaction entry
will also bring up the transaction for editing purposes.
4. Edit the items in the transaction dialog. For example, change
the Transaction Details by clicking on the Details button and
edit or add detail information. Once edited press OK to record
the changes.
5. Press OK to exit the Common Transactions dialog.
Deleting a Common Transaction
1. Choose Edit/Delete... from the Common menu.
2. Select the transaction to delete from the list of Common
Transactions. Do this by pressing the Down Arrow on the
keyboard or by clicking with the mouse on the transaction name.
3. Once selected, click on the Delete button or press ALT+D to
delete the common transaction. A message box will then appear
asking:
Delete Common Transaction
JAE: 05/16 Ford Motor Company $346.90 ?"
4. Choose Yes to delete the transaction and No to return to the
Common Transaction dialog without deleting a common
transaction.
5. Press OK to exit the Common Transactions dialog.
Common Transaction Properties
Once you have added Common Transactions to the menu, you can change
the properties or attributes for the transaction. For example, if
you choose Properties from the Common menu, you will notice that
your Common transactions have a M to the left of them. For
example:
M :05/03 Cellular One 50.00
M :05/10 Pets Are People Too 24.00
M :05/23 Gifts for the PlentyVaries
This "M" option for the common transactions is the default for
WinCheck and simply means that the transaction will appear on
the Common menu. When you select an item with a "M" beside it,
there will be an X in the "M: Menu" check box below.
The Menu option is the WinCheck default, but can be removed
from a transaction by selecting the transaction and clicking in the
Menu check box to remove the X (or press ALT+M from the keyboard).
Other properties for common transactions include:
A: Automatic. Transaction occurs on indicated date.
AP: Automatic & Print. Check written on date and printed.
D: Delete this from the common list once paid.
M: Menu. This transaction is on the Common menu (default).
MP: Menu Pay. When selected pays w/o interaction.
MPP: Menu Pay & Print. When selected, pays and writes check.
R: Remind. Reminds you to make this transaction.
The above options are broken into groups indicated by the lines
across the screen. For each group you can have one option
selected. For example, you can select Automatic , Automatic &
Print, but not both . It is ok to have neither option set in a
group, as long as at least one option is checked. You can, combine
options from the different grouped properties. For example, you
can set a transaction for both Menu Pay and Automatic (by
indicating both), or Remind and Automatic. With Menu Pay and
Automatic indicated, you could make the transaction by selecting it
from the menu, or by letting WinCheck make it for you (see
Automatic below). With Remind and Delete selected, you can be
reminded to make the transaction that will be deleted from the menu
once completed.
A:Automatic
Use this option when you would like transactions to occur
automatically on a set date. An example for this might be a direct
deposit. When you load an account that has an Automatic
transaction, you will be prompted with the following prompt:
About to make these Automatic Transactions.
There are three options for the above prompt:
Skip Skips making this
transaction until next
month.
Continue Makes/completes the
transaction.
Postpone Postpones the transaction
until the next time you load
the account.
AP: Automatic & Print
This transaction property is identical to the Automatic transaction
with one exception. When you load an account that has an Automatic
& Print transaction, you will be prompted to make the transaction.
If you choose to make the transaction, the check will be printed.
If the item is not a check and this property is applied, the
transaction will be made but nothing will be printed.
D: Delete
This transaction property is designed for one time transactions.
Transactions that need to be made once (possibly with a reminder)
and then removed from the menu. An example for this property type
might be the check you write to the IRS. The IRS check should have
the Delete and Remind properties (D,R).
M: Menu
This transaction property is automatically added to each new common
transaction that is added by choosing Add from the Common menu.
When this option is selected, the common transaction will appear on
the menu. There is no practical limit to the number of common
transactions. This property must be used for transactions with a
variable amount.
This transaction must have a dollar amount to use these
properties.
This message will appear if the transaction amount is variable and
a property other than (or in addition to) Menu is indicated for a
property. For example, if you have the following common
transaction:
JAE: 05/15 Seattle City Light Varies
you will not be able to apply the Menu Pay or Automatic properties
as these properties require a fixed dollar amount.
MP: Menu Pay
The Menu Pay transaction property is for complete transactions
(including the amount) that can be made when the item is selected
from the Common menu. For example, you may be taking piano
lessons. Every time you have a lesson, you pay your teacher
$30.00. However, because of your time consuming project of writing
Windows programs, your lessons are sporadic. Every time you take a
lesson, you could choose the check to your piano teacher from the
Common menu.
MPP: Menu Pay & Print
The Menu Pay & Print transaction property is exactly like the Menu
Pay property, except that it will also print the check. If this
transaction is not a check, then the transaction will still be
made, but nothing will be printed.
R.: Remind
The Remind transaction property is for common transactions that you
would like WinCheck to remind you on. When you load an account
that has a Remind transaction, you will be prompted with:
The following transactions need to be made.
There are five options for the above prompt:
Pay Selected Pays any of the selected
transactions.
Pay All Pays all of the listed
transactions.
Pay and Pays and Prints the selected
Print transactions (checks will be
Selected printed).
Pay and Pays and Prints checks for
Print All all of the listed
transactions (transactions
that are not checks will not
be printed).
Cancel Loads the account without
making any of the reminder
transactions.
In addition to the remind option you can indicate the number of
days in advance that you would like to be reminded. Choose
Account Settings from the Acct menu to indicate the advance notice.
Remind/Auto Payment 0
advance notice
For example, if you have several Common transactions set up with
the Remind option (in the Common Transaction Properties dialog),
then the value in the Remind/Auto Payment advance notice field can
be used to set the number of days notice you would like before
being reminded to make the transaction. The default value for this
field is 0, meaning that you would be reminded on the date of the
transaction (no advance notice).
Changing the value to three will mean that three days prior to the
date of the transaction, you will be reminded to make the
transaction upon loading the account. For example, consider the
following common transaction (Viewed from the Properties Dialog):
M,R :05/04 Shorewood Apartments 650.00
M This item appears on the Common menu.
R This item is as a reminder item (WinCheck will remind you
to make this transaction).
If you run WinCheck on the first, second, third, or fourth of
the month, you will be reminded if the "Remind/Auto Payment
advance notice" field is set to 3. If you did not run WinCheck
anytime between the first and the fourth of the month, you will be
reminded the next time you run WinCheck.
Adding or Changing Common Transaction Properties
1. Choose Properties from the Common menu.
2. In the listbox at the top of the resulting dialog, choose the
transaction to add or change properties. Do this by using the
Up or Down Arrows on the keyboard or by clicking with the mouse
on the transaction name.
3. Select or deselect a property by clicking in the check box with
the mouse. The keyboard equivalent would be to use the ALT key
with the underlined character. For example, ALT+A toggles the
X in and out of the Automatic properties check box.
4. Click with the mouse on the Apply button or press ALT+Y to
apply the property addition or change.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 for each common transaction you wish to
modify.
6. Press OK to exit the Common Transactions Properties dialog.
Examples of Using Common Transactions
Bills paid by check
For each bill, add a common transaction of type Check. Fill in the
fields and the details. Be sure to specify the category if it is
not Personal. If the bill is the same amount every time, you may
consider changing the properties to Menu Pay or Menu Pay & Print
for speedier bill processing (the faster the better when it comes
to bills).
Payday!
Your paycheck is for $1000, and you had $147.23 deducted for Fed,
$78.23 for State, and $74.34 for FICA taxes withheld. Your net pay
was $700.20, the deductions were $299.80. You want your Cash Flow
Report to look like this:
Checking Cash Flow Report for June, 1991 to June, 1991
INFLOWS
Payroll
Net 700.20
Gross minus Net 299.80
===============
$1,000.00
-------------------------------------------------------
Total $1,000.00
OUTFLOWS
Taxes
FED 147.23
State 78.23
FICA 74.34
===============
$299.80
-------------------------------------------------------
Total $299.80
=======================================================
Difference $700.20
This method involves three separate transactions. The first
transaction is the actual amount deposited into your account. This
will show up on your bank statement, and you can find it on your
WinCheck Register or Statement for easy reconciliation. The
second and third transactions are "invisible" to your bank: your
bank will not place these on your register, since they never got to
see the money that Uncle Sam held back. For this reason, we
cleared these transactions. This way, you will not have to worry
about clearing them during reconciliation. The second transaction
is the amount of money that you earned before Uncle Sam. The third
transaction gives it back to Uncle Sam.
Although this may seem like a lot of work, there are many
advantages to this method:
1. Since these transactions are memorized, you only have to go
through this ordeal once. WinCheck will do all of the work
for you when you select the Common Transactions from the menu.
2. Reconciliation will be consistent, because the only uncleared
transaction is the one that you need to worry about during
reconciliation.
3. Reports will be accurate. Since the first and second
transactions are crediting your account, you will be able to
determine how much money you earned. A Cash Flow report will
show you how much money you actually got (Payroll:Net), how
much money you gave to Uncle Sam (Payroll:Gross minus Net), and
total up both the amounts so you can see how much your Gross
income was. Also, your deductions will be itemized
accordingly.
Here are the steps to record payday in this fashion:
1. Add a common transaction as a Checking Deposit for $700.20, and
select a category such as Payroll:Net. Press OK to enter this
common transaction.
2. Add a common Checking Misc transaction. For the description,
type Payroll Deductions: Accounting Amount. Type 299.80 for
the amount. Check the Credit checkbox. Choose a category such
as Payroll:Gross minus Net. Check the Cleared checkbox. Press
OK to accept the transaction.
3. Add another common Checking Misc transaction. For the
description, type Payroll Deductions. Type 299.80 into the
amount field. Select Split... as the category. Be sure the
Credit checkbox is not checked. Check the Cleared checkbox.
4. Once the transaction is completed and Split... is selected as
the category, choose OK or press Enter to bring up the Split
Transaction dialog.
5. The initial value in the Amount field will be the amount of the
transaction ($299.80 in this case). Remove 299.80 and type
147.23 into the Amount field.
6. Press the Tab key to jump to the category list box and select
your federal category (such as Taxes:FED) from the drop down
list box of categories. If Taxes:FED is not listed as a
category, type the word Taxes:FED into the field. This will
add Taxes:FED as a category. It is also possible to Edit,
Delete, and Add new categories and subcategories by choosing
Edit Categories from the Acct menu. Refer to page Error!
Bookmark not defined.
7. Press the Add button or press ALT + A.
8. Now type 78.23 into the Amount field, select Taxes:State for
the category (or type it if necessary), and press Add.
9. Finally, set the remaining $74.34 in the Amount field to a
category called Taxes:FICA.
10. Press the OK button to accept the split information.
Direct Deposits
Direct deposits are just like your normal paycheck, except that
they happen automatically. There are two types of ways your pay
period is determined: Weekly or Bi-Monthly. Weekly paychecks
usually happen every other week. Therefore, the date of the payday
is not consistent month to month. Bi-Monthly paychecks are usually
deposited on the 15th and last day of the month. Here are the
steps for each type of paycheck.
Weekly
1-10. Please follow Steps 1-10 from above. Add the three items
only once. Pick an arbitrary date, such as the 1st of the
month.
11. Select Properties from the Common Menu. You should see the
payroll deposit and the payroll deductions.
12. Select the payroll deposit. Check the Menu Pay checkbox by
clicking on it. Press the Apply button.
13. Do the same for both of the payroll deductions.
14. When you get paid, select the three items from the Common
menu, one at a time. The current data will automatically be
used instead of the first of the month.
Bi-Monthly
1-10. Please follow Steps 1-10 from above twice. For the first
set, use the 15th of the month (or the day you get paid) as
the date of the transactions. For the second set, use the
28th of the month. Even though some months have 31 days in
them, one particularly month has 28. By tagging your second
payday to happen on the 28th, you will be sure of the
transaction. If you desire, you can Edit the common
transaction each month to reflect the new date.
11. Select Properties from the Common Menu. You should see the
payroll deposit and the payroll deductions.
12. Select the payroll deposit. Check the Automatic checkbox by
clicking on it. Uncheck the Menu checkbox. Press the Apply
button.
13. Do the same for the payroll deductions.
14. WinCheck will automatically make these payments for you.
Automatic Payments
Some bills are automatically paid by the bank. These could include
automatic mortgage payments, or other loan payments.
1. Add a common Checking Misc transaction. For the description,
type something like Automatic Mortgage. Type the amount of the
mortgage. Fill in the other fields as necessary. Press OK to
accept the transaction.
2. Select Properties from the Common Menu. You should see the
automatic payment.
3. Select the automatic payment. Check the Automatic checkbox by
clicking on it. Uncheck the Menu checkbox. Press the Apply
button.
Printing Checks
The following Topics will be discussed in this section:
Overview
The Form Designer Menu
Steps for printing Your First Check
Fine Tuning the Check Form Template
Form Attributes
Inserting the Check Field Attributes
Editing, Deleting, and Moving Template Fields
Printing Checks
Check Printing Queue
Printing Previously Entered Checks
Printing a Group of Checks
Indicating the Printer Font for the Checks
Overview
Why Print Checks?
Writing checks with the WinCheck program will save you time.
Instead of writing your checks by hand and entering them into
WinCheck, you can enter and print checks in one step. Additionally
printed checks present a clean, professional appearance.
WinCheck can print checks to any blank check form that fits in
your printer. This is possible through the use of the WinCheck
Print Form Designer. The Form Designer allows you to create, edit
and save templates for printing on your check forms. Once you have
created a template form, checking writing is a very simple process.
However, designing check templates can also be simplified if you
purchase check forms that match those supplied with this program.
The Standard Dot Matrix Template was designed to print on checks
that are compatible with the Quicken software package. NEBS a
manufacturer of checks forms, and can be reached at 1-800-225-9550.
Be sure to have the correct account numbers imprinted on any checks
you order. For detailed information concerning ordering checks,
please refer to Appendix E: Ordering and Using Computer Checks at
the back of this manual.
If you have check forms other than those explained above, you might
print a test check with the Standard Dot Matrix Template or
Standard LaserJet Template (depending upon whether you have a dot
matrix or laser style printer) and then make minor adjustments to
the template as needed. Look to the section entitled "Steps for
Printing your First Check".
Form Designer Menu
The WinCheck form designer allows you to create or edit forms
to print checks. There are several options you use from the Form
Designer Window:
New Form This option will save the
Template... active template and clear
it from the screen so
that a new template can
be created.
Load Form Choose Load Form Template
Template... to load one of your
previously created
templates. This will also
define your default
printing template.
Save Form Saves the active form
Template.. template to it's current
filename.
Save Form Template Saves the active form
As... template by prompting you
for a filename and
description. This allows
you to save the active
template to new/different
name and description.
Descriptions are helpful
when loading templates.
Instead of knowing that
EPSN9 is the filename for
your Epson dot matrix
2543 template form, a
description can contain
additional information
about the template like
the order number and type
of printer (Epson FX-100
Blue 2543 Checks)
Form Attributes Change the form
attributes for the active
template. This is the
same as double clicking
with the left mouse
button on the form
designer window.
Print Test Form Prints a test form of the
placement of the check
attributes. Use this
option to print the field
to a blank piece of paper
and then compare this to
actual check (if you hold
the printed test form and
the blank to a light
source, you can
determining if your
template is printing
correctly).
Go Back to Exits the Form Designer
WinCheck and returns you to the
WinCheck screen.
Steps for Printing your First Check:
1. Purchase computer check forms from Financial Registers (see the
enclosed Computer Forms Catalog) or from your favorite dealer.
If you use or order the forms included with the WinCheck
product, then you will not need to design check templates.
Check templates for the Financial Register check forms are
included with WinCheck.
2. Start up the WinCheck program, but do not put the check
forms in your printer just yet.
3. Choose Check Form Printer Setup from the File menu. The
resulting screen is the WinCheck Check Form Designer
window. It is here that you will design your template for
printing checks from the main WinCheck program.
4. If you will be using one of the sample checks included with
WinCheck, choose Load Form Template from the File Menu.
Select the Standard Dot Matrix Template from the list of
templates. Click on the OK button or press Enter on the
keyboard. Skip ahead to step number 10.
If you are printing to a Laser printer check form with the
check in the middle of the page, select Standard LaserJet
Template and skip ahead to step number 10.
5. If you are using a form other than those mentioned above,
choose Form Attributes from the File menu and indicate the size
information for of your checks. Look to the following section
on "Fine Tuning the Check Form Template" for information on all
the items in the Form Attributes dialog.
6. Insert, delete or move fields as needed. Refer to page X for
information on doing all of these actions.
7. Choose Print Test Form from the File menu with plain paper
loaded in you printer. Once the field names are printed onto a
piece of paper, hold this sheet up against the Financial
Register check forms or your check form. Check that the fields
are printing in the correct locations. To do this, hold both
papers up to a light source such as a lamp
To move a field to a new position on the template window, move the
cursor over the field (the cursor will change from an arrow to a
hand), click and hold the left mouse button while moving the
mouse.
8. Repeat step 7 until the template fields line up with the proper
locations on the blank check.
9. Save the template by choosing Save From Template from the File
menu. Indicate a description for the template such as My first
neato nifty template with WinCheck and a filename (maximum
of 8 characters with no file extension needed as WinCheck
will automatically add .WCT).
10. Load the printer with the your check forms.
11. Now you are ready to print checks! Choose "Go Back to
WinCheck" from the File menu and jump ahead in this
section to the Printing Checks heading.
Fine Tuning the Check Form Template
Double click with the left mouse button on the blue background of
the form designer window or choose Form Attributes from the File
menu. This will bring up the Form Attributes dialog box for
describing size information about the form.
Form Attributes
Description: In addition to a 8 letter
filename such as
EPSON.WCT, this optional
field provides additional
information about the
form. For example, you
could type the order
information for the check
form or a description of
the template usage.
Examples might include:
9025 Multipurpose Check
Epson FX-100 Blue Checks
Dot Matrix IC 120-VL
Checks
The maximum number of
characters for this field
is 128.
Lines per inch This defines the number
of lines per inch your
form is designed for.
Almost every form is
designed for 6 lines per
inch which is the default
value in WinCheck.
Characters per inch This defines the number
of characters per inch
your form is designed
for. Almost every form
is designed for 10
characters per inch which
is the default value in
WinCheck.
Form Vertical Size This defines the number
(lines): of lines for a single
check. With a ruler
measure the height of
your check in inches.
Now take the number of
inches and multiply this
number by the number of
lines per inch. For
example, if you have a
check that are 3.5 inches
tall/deep, and you are
printing at 6 lines per
inch, then your vertical
size would be 21 lines (3
x 6 +3).
Note: If you are printing
laser checks that have
one check in the middle
of the page, measure from
the top of the page to
the bottom on the check
to determine the vertical
size. If you are using a
dot-matrix printer,
calculate one check
height in lines. If
three checks fit on a
page, you indicate this
in the "Forms per page"
field.
Form Horizontal This value describes the
Size (inches): horizontal printable area
left to right. The
default value for this
field is 8, figuring a
left and right
unprintable area of a
quarter inch (.25). The
value, 8, is correct for
most laser printers
printing portrait checks,
but if you are using a
printer with a different
unprintable area or
printing landscape you
will need to change this
value.
Forms per page This defines the number
of checks that fit on a
single printer page (8.5
X11). The valid range
for this field is 1-5.
The "Forms per page"
value is important in
determining the size
check queue that
WinCheck will use when
printing checks. As you
print checks, this queue
will fill up. If your
form per page value is
set to 1, than a check
will physically print
after choosing to print a
check. If your form per
page value is set to 3,
than a check will not
physically print until
you choose to print 3
separate checks. When
the queue is full (or
when you exit WinCheck),
the contents of
the print queue will
print.
The WinCheck print
queue is designed to
allow laser printer forms
with three checks per
page to print all three
checks at once (on the
same page). Also without
the print queue (forms
per page) users of dot
matrix printers would
need to "wind the printer
back" because there is an
automatic form feed after
each print job. This form
feed or page eject after
each print job is a
limitation of Windows.
Therefore, by specifying
a number of checks per
page, you can print a
page full of checks at a
time.
Overall Horizontal This field is used for
Offset in 1/8 ultra fine tuning of the
chars: printed output. The
WinCheck form
designer allows you to
move the items on the
printer template by full
character increments.
For further fine tuning
of the text on the
printed check, this field
can be used to shift all
of the text horizontally
by eighths of character
increments. For example,
typing a 3 in this field
will shift all of the
text on the printed check
horizontally by 3/8ths of
a character. The default
value for this field is
0.
Overall Vertical This field is used for
Offset in 1/8 ultra fine tuning of the
chars: printed output. The
WinCheck form
designer allows you to
move the items on the
printer template by full
character increments.
For further fine tuning
of the text on the
printed check, this field
can be used to shift all
of the text vertically by
eighths of character
increments. For example,
the printed amount on the
check is not quite
printing on the amount
line. Instead, the value
is hovering over the
amount line. To bring
the text down so that it
is printing exactly on
the line, use this field
to adjust the vertical
placement of the text on
the check. The default
value for this field is
0.
Landscape Check the box labeled
"Landscape" if you check
forms should be printed
in Landscape orientation
instead of portrait.
Inserting the Check Field Attributes
If you are using one of the supplied templates, then you will see
that there are several fields that have been inserted onto the
check form. To insert fields for a check template, double click
the right button on the mouse on the form designer window or press
the Insert key on the keyboard. This will bring up the Check Field
Attributes dialog.
Available fields include:
Field Example
Date 05/13/91
Day 13
Month 05
Year 91
Amount (dd.cc) ****$65.47
Memo Line 1 Telephone Bill for 555-1212
(note about check the
transaction)
Memo Line 2 Account# 8593-435 (payment
to credit card company might
include the your account
number on the memo line).
Recipient 123 Main Street
Address Anytown, USA 123456
(Don't you wish you lived
there?)
Pay to the U.S. West Communications
Order of: (contents of To: field in
the check transaction
dialog)
Check Number 8909
Amount (dd Sixty-Five and 47/100
Dollars and cc
Cents)
Text Your Company Name (text that
you want to appear on every
check printed). Choose Text
in the Check Field
Attributes dialog and type
characters in the edit box.
These characters are part of
the "text field" and will
appear on each check.
In addition to the Check Field type, the width and height of the
fields is indicated in this dialog. This is done by inserting
values into the "Chars Wide:" and "Lines Deep" fields. For
example, you will probably want to indicate 3 or 4 lines deep for
the Recipient Address field and 1 line for the Memo Line
field(s). The lines deep field can be any value between 1 and
11. The Chars Wide field can be any value between 1 and 112.
The field can also be resized with the mouse by grabbing an edge
(Color systems only).
Editing, Deleting, and Moving Template Fields
You can edit the form on the workspace with the mouse only. To
edit a field that has been inserted onto the template, position the
cursor over the field (the cursor will change from an arrow to a
hand) and double click the left mouse button. This will bring up
the Check Field Attributes dialog so that you can change the number
of characters wide (Chars Wide), the number of lines (Lines Deep),
or the Field Type.
For example, double click on the date field (which appears as
MM/DD/YY on the screen) and change the field type to the Check
Number field with a Character width of 6 and a height of 1 line.
To remove a field from the template, position the mouse cursor over
the field (the cursor will change from an arrow to a hand) and
press the Delete key on the keyboard.
To move a field to a new position on the template window, move the
cursor over the field (the cursor will change from an arrow to a
hand), click and hold the left mouse button while moving the mouse.
Printing Checks
Once the check form template is designed, you are ready to begin
check printing. Choose Check from the Checking menu, or press F3,
or click on the tiny blue check icon from the Control Bar. This
will bring up an empty check dialog. Complete the check amount and
To: field information and then click on the Details button with the
mouse (ALT + D from the keyboard).
If your template includes Memo field(s) and a Recipient Address
field, then be sure to add information in this dialog that you like
printed on the check. Information from the Comments field in the
Transaction Details dialog will not be printed on the check. Press
OK to exit the Transaction Details dialog (with the information
entered saved). Now press the Print button or press ALT + P from
the keyboard.
Note: If your check form page has more than one check per page (as
indicated in the Form Attributes dialog of the WinCheck Form
Designer), then the check will be entered into the check printing
queue. When the queue is full, all of the checks in the queue will
be printed. Pressing Print saves the check into the data file just
as pressing the OK button.
Check Printing Queue:
Windows expects an entire page to be printed at a time. To
overcome this limitation, WinCheck has a check queue. As you
print checks, WinCheck will add them to the check queue. When
the check queue is full (i.e. a page is full), then the entire page
of checks will print.
On some printers it is possible to change the page size within the
printer driver. Check with Windows Control Panel to see if your
printer supports this. If your printer can accept a page size
change, then you can change the size of the page to reflect the
size of the check. In this case, it is possible to leave Forms per
page at 1 and have each check print individually. As long as Forms
per page is greater than 1, the print queue will be employed.
Printing Previously Entered Checks
If you want to print a previously entered check, select the check
entry from the check Register and choose Print Checks from the Data
menu (or press CTRL + P). It is also possible to bring up a
previously entered check (press Enter or double click with the
mouse when selected) and choose the Print button from the Check
transaction dialog.
Printing a Group of Checks
To select a range of transactions that appear together on the
Register, hold down the SHIFT key and use the Up or Down arrow
keys. A discontinuous selection cannot be made without a mouse.
To make a discontinuous selection with the use of a mouse, press
and hold the CTRL key while click on transactions in the Register
window with the mouse.
Once selected choose Print Checks from the Data menu or press
CTRL + P on the keyboard.
Indicating the Printer Font for the Checks
The font used for the printed checks is indicated by choosing Fonts
from the File menu (outside of the Form Designer window). Choose
Go Back to WinCheck from the File menu to exit the Form
Designer.
1. Choose Fonts from the File menu.
2. Select "Check Printer" in the box labeled Font Usage. Do this
by clicking in the circle with the mouse or Tab to the Font
Usage box and then use the Up and Down arrows on the keyboard.
3. Now select the Typeface and Size by clicking with the mouse on
the name and point size desired. The keyboard equivalent would
be to press ALT + T or ALT + S to switch the focus to the
Typeface of Size box. Use the Up and Down arrows to select an
item in the box.
4. Choose from Bold (ALT + B), Italic (ALT + I) or Underline
(ALT + U) for text attributes. These attributes will be
applied to all of the text on the printed checks.
To apply the changes made in the above steps, click on the Apply
button or press ALT + A. Choose OK to exit the dialog without
changing the font selection.
Note: The font selection and attribute (i.e. Bold) will be
applied to all of the text on the printed check. WinCheck
does not support the seperate font formatting of items on the
printed check.
Selecting the Check Printer
To change the printer you are printing your checks to, you must
first close the WinCheck Form Designer. Choose Go Back To
WinCheck from the File Menu. Refer to page xx for complete
information on printer selection.
1. Choose Select Printer(s) for Checks/Reports from the File
Menu.
2. Change the printer in the Checks: field to the printer you
wish to use.
3. Press OK to accept the printer.
Printing Reports
The Following Topics will be discussed in the section:
Overview
Standard Reports
The WinCheck Report Generator
Custom Reports
Exporting Data
Sample Reports
Overview
The WinCheck Report Generator allows you to print and created
many different reports for your financial data. Possible reports
include a report of the transactions in your check Register for
perhaps a Budget or Cash Flow report. Additionally, if none of the
supplied reports suit your needs, WinCheck provides a means to
creating your own custom reports.
Standard Reports
WinCheck includes a group of standard reports. Some of these
reports are internal to the program (such as the Cash Flow reports)
and others are custom reports that were created with the Report
Generator and included with the product. The Reports included with
WinCheck, are as follows:
Cash Flow
Budget Report
Profit/Loss
Register Sorted by Date, then Number
Register Sorted by Category
Register- Credits
Register- Debits
Register Separated by Checkbook
Statement Sorted by Date, Checks sorted by Check Number
Statement- Uncleared Transactions Only
Statement- Cleared Transactions Only
Please refer to the Sample Reports for an example of each of these
types of reports.
The WinCheck Report Generator
WinCheck's Reports are created, edited, printed, previewed, and
exported from the WinCheck Report Generator. Select Report
Generator from the Acct menu. The Report Generator dialogs
includes a range of months to report, a list of available reports,
the number of rows and columns per page, and buttons to do various
functions.
Starting Month This is the starting month
from which you want to
include data from for the
report.
Ending Month This is the last month from
which you want to include
data from. To print only
one month, select the same
month in the starting and
ending month.
Choose a Report Type The list of available
Internal and Custom reports
is displayed in the box
below this text. Custom
reports are those reports
that list a group of
letters to left of the Edit
button. In the picture of
the Report Generator dialog
above, the letters RSBC
indicate that the selected
report is a custom report
(filename RSBC.RPT).
Custom reports are fully
editable. The Edit,Delete,
and Export buttons are
available for custom
reports only. Internal
reports are those reports
that do not have an
external RPT file.
Rows When printing reports, this
is the number of lines per
page.
Columns When printing reports, this
is the number of characters
across the page.
Preview Previews the report on the
screen.
Print Prints the report to the
selected report printer
(refer to the section on
Configuring WinCheck
for information on
configuring your printer).
Export If the selected report is a
custom report, this button
will export the report to a
file.
Exit Returns to WinCheck.
Edit... If the selected report is a
custom report, this button
will bring up the Custom
Report Maker dialog so that
the report can be modified.
Delete If the selected report is a
custom report, this button
will delete the report.
Add... Activates the Custom Report
Maker to create a new
report. Walk through the
report examples within the
Getting Started section or
read ahead in this section.
Memorize This allows the values in
Rows and Columns fields to
be used as default in the
future.
Custom Reports
The Custom Report Maker allows you to view/print your data
according to your specifications. For example, you may want to
print out a list of transactions with Auto as the category in order
to determine the amount spent on car expenses. Or, you may want to
print your account Register or Statement window data sorted by the
transaction amount. WinCheck's Custom Report Maker will create
unique reports tailored to your account(s).
Using the Tutorial account, the following steps will walk you
through creating a report with all of the transactions separated
and subtotaled by category. To load the TUT account (the Tutorial
account), choose Load Account from the file menu and choose TUT.
1. Choose Report Generator from the Acct menu.
2. Select January 1991 for the starting month, and March 1991 for
the ending Month.
3. Press the Add... button to create a custom report.
4. For the Filename field, type BARBIE.
5. The Based On list will list all of the other custom reports. We
will create this report from scratch. Select ***Don't Base New
Report on anything***.
6. Press OK to enter the WinCheck Custom Report Maker
7. Type Category Report into the Description field. This will be
the description listed in the previous dialog.
8. The Sorting Method has three levels of sorting. The 1st sorting
method is the most important method. Usually this is Date or
Number. However, if you want to separate your transactions by
categories (such as in this report), you would specify this to be
Category.
9. In order to have a subtotal for each category, check the Subtotal
box.
10. Set the 2nd sorting method to be Date. A subtotal after each
date change is not needed, so leave this box unchecked.
11. Set the 3rd sorting method to be Check Number. A subtotal
after each check number is not needed, so leave this box
unchecked.
12. The Filters section is where you specify the type of
transactions you wish to view/print. There are five types of
filters available:
Credits/Debits/Both
Cleared/Uncleared/Both
Tax Deductible/Not Tax Deductible/Both
One Category/All Categories
One Checkbook/All Checkbooks
13. For this report, we want to view every transaction. Therefor,
we will leave the Credits, Debits, Cleared, Uncleared, Tax
Deductible, and Not Tax Deductible boxes all checked. This means
that any transaction that is cleared, uncleared, etc will appear
in the report. If a filter box is checked, then transactions
that have that filter attributes will be printed.
In addition to the above filters, you can also view one
particular category, or all categories. If the Show Only One
Category box is checked, then the selected category in the field
to the right will be the only one printed. The same theory
applies for the Show Only One Checkbook filter. This is helpful
for printing a list of the checks that you (or your spouse)
wrote. The checkbook names and check ranges are indicated in the
Select Checkbook dialog (from the Acct menu).
The Date Options gives you two choices of how you want to print
your report. Print Each Month will keep the sorting options for
each month separate. If you select Group All Months, then
WinCheck will combine all months and then sort all of the data.
The latter sort option is the slower of the two. Speed of
printing and viewing will depend upon the number of transactions
within the range and the speed of the computer. You may want to
fine tune your report with a small range of months before
selecting a large number of months and the Group All Months
option.
14. To define six columns for the report type 6 in the Number of
Columns field and press the Apply button. The slider is now
divided into six sections.
15. Using the mouse, double click on the first segment of the
slider. A list of possible column headings will be displayed.
Select Date and press the OK button.
16. Double Click on the second segment of the slider, set it to
Check #, and press OK. Repeat this for the third segment,
Description.
17. For the fourth segment choose Amount and check the Total
Column box (press ALT+T from the keyboard). This will give you a
subtotal amount underneath the amount column.
18. For the fifth and sixth columns, set them to Category and
Subcategory respectively.
19. Now, use the mouse to adjust the widths of the columns. Click
and drag on the vertical line between the columns to adjust the
width. Be sure to take advantage of the entire length of the
slider bar.
20. Press the Preview button to take a peek at the report. The
Continue button will allow you to view the second page of the
report (when applicable) and Stop will return you the previous
dialog.
21. Once you have fine-tuned your report (for example, the column
widths), press OK to save the report and the description to list
of available reports.
Exporting Data
WinCheck can export the custom reports to an ASCII file,
delimited by tabs or commas. All major spreadsheet programs, word
processors, and databases can read in plain ASCII text.
Exporting a custom report
1. Select a custom report name from the list of reports. Custom
reports will display a filename to the left of the Edit button
when selected and the Export button will not be greyed.
2, Press the Export button in the Report Generator dialog.
3. You will then be prompted for a filename. Indicate the name of
the file you wish to export your report to, and whether you
want tab or comma delimited files. Once you are ready to
export, press the OK button.
If a filename only is indicated, then the export file will be
placed in the WinCheck program directory. It is also
possible to indicate a full path for the exported file. For
example, C:\EXCEL\JANREP.TXT.
Sample Reports
Account Register Sorted by Date, Number (Pre-fab Custom Report)
Account Register Sorted by Date, Number
Date # Description Amount C
----------------------------------------------------------
01/04/91 Checking Deposit 2,783.93 C
01/05/91 3287 Safeway 143.87 C
01/08/91 3288 George Kilroy 9.50 C
01/08/91 3289 Seattle City Light 127.43 C
01/08/91 3290 U.S. West Communications 64.25 C
01/08/91 3291 Cellular One 97.85 C
01/08/91 3292 Wells Fargo Mortgage Co 2,245.85 C
01/08/91 3293 Metro Utilities 64.97 C
01/08/91 3294 Smith Lawn and Garden Care 145.56 C
01/10/91 3295 Safeway 97.34 C
01/10/91 3296 A&J Pharmacy 34.45 C
01/11/91 Checking ATM 100.00 C
01/14/91 Checking Deposit 3,100.00 C
01/15/91 3297 West Seattle YMCA Health Club 45.00 C
01/15/91 3298 Laura's Hair Studio 65.00 C
01/17/91 3299 Barker Plumbing and Supplies 95.00 C
01/18/91 Checking ATM 100.00 C
01/18/91 3300 Safeway 195.45 C
01/18/91 3301 Hi-Yu Arts and Crafts 27.34 C
01/22/91 Bank Dings 22.45 C
01/22/91 Checking to Savings 2,000.00 C
01/22/91 3302 Security Pacific Bank - Visa 645.37 C
01/22/91 3303 American Express 325.23 C
01/22/91 3304 Garrett's Ferraris 1,847.45 C
01/22/91 3305 Texaco 47.45 C
01/22/91 3306 Sally's Salon 69.99 C
01/22/91 3310 Safeway 159.45 C
01/23/91 3307 Safeway 96.12 C
01/23/91 3308 Newsweek 53.01 C
01/28/91 Checking Deposit 3,545.00 C
==========================================================
$533.59
Account Register Sorted by Date, Number (Pre-fab Custom Report)
Statement Sorted by Number, Date
Date # Description Amount C Memo 1
------------------------------------------------------------------
01/04/91 Checking Deposit 2,783.93 C Royalties from M
01/14/91 Checking Deposit 3,100.00 C Band Income
01/28/91 Checking Deposit 3,545.00 C Modeling Income
------------------------------------------------------------------
$9,428.93
01/05/91 3287 Safeway 143.87 C
01/08/91 3288 George Kilroy 9.50 C Newspaper
01/08/91 3289 Seattle City Ligh 127.43 C Acct:342-39-A-2
01/08/91 3290 U.S. West Communi 64.25 C Acct:(206) 555-
01/08/91 3291 Cellular One 97.85 C Acct:101030045
01/08/91 3292 Wells Fargo Mortg 2,245.85 C Acct:345-56-222
01/08/91 3293 Metro Utilities 64.97 C Acct 33-9823
01/08/91 3294 Smith Lawn and Gae 145.56 C GardenService
01/10/91 3295 Safeway 97.34 C
01/10/91 3296 A&J Pharmacy 34.45 C
01/15/91 3297 West Seattle YWCA Club 45.00 C HealthClub
01/15/91 3298 Laura's Hair Stud 65.00 C
01/17/91 3299 Barker Plumbing aies 95.00 C Fix Frozen pipes
01/18/91 3300 Safeway 195.45 C
01/18/91 3301 Hi-Yu Arts and Cr 27.34 C
01/22/91 3302 Security Pacific isa 645.37 C Acct 4111-2222-3
01/22/91 3306 Sally's Salon 69.99 C
01/23/91 3307 Safeway 96.12 C
01/22/91 3303 American Express 325.23 C Acct: 3703-111222
01/23/91 3308 Newsweek 53.01 C Newsweek 18 months
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-$6,782.89
01/11/91 Checking ATM 100.00 C
----------------------------------------------------------
-$400.00
01/22/91 Bank Dings 22.45 C
----------------------------------------------------------
-$22.45
01/22/91 Checking to Savin 2,000.00 C
----------------------------------------------------------
-$2,000.00
===========================================================
$223.59
Cash Flow Report (Standard Report)
Checking Cash Flow Report for J1991 to March, 1991
INFLOWS
Personal 3,000.00
Royalty 9,351.79
Band Income 7,300.00
Model Fees 11,635.00
----------------------------------------------------------
Total $31,286.79
OUTFLOWS
Personal
Food 1,620.73
Health Club 135.00
Credit Cards 4,946.66
Computer 823.67
Charity 3,500.00
Miscelleneous 8,418.37
===============
$19,444.43
Utilities 1,280.46
Car Pymt 5,542.35
Bank Fees 67.92
Home
Mortgage 6,737.55
Garden Svc 436.68
===============
$7,174.23
----------------------------------------------------------
Total $33,509.30
===========================================================
Difference -$2,222.51
Working with Multiple Accounts and Windows
The following topics will be discussed in this section:
Opening/Loading Accounts
Closing Accounts
Working with Multiple Register and Statement Windows
Transferring Money Between Accounts
Opening/Loading Accounts
WinCheck allows you to open several accounts at one time and
switch back and forth form account to account. For example, you
can have your business account, you personal checking account, and
your credit card account all open at one time. You can have a
maximum of six accounts open at one time.
You are prompted on startup of the WinCheck program for an
Account ID to open. Additionally, you can open other accounts by
choosing Load Account from the File menu. When you select Load
Account, you will see the familiar Load Account dialog that appears
on startup of WinCheck. Click on the down arrow with the mouse
or press ALT+Down Arrow to drop down the selection of account to
open. WinCheck will search the program directory for account
files and pose the account ID's in this list box. Type in an
account ID or select one from the list. If you type an account ID
for an account that has not been previously opened, WinCheck
will prompt you to open a new account? Choose the Yes button to
open a new account, No to return to the Load Account dialog and
Cancel to return to the WinCheck program without loading an
account.
It is also possible to load an account from the Control Bar by
clicking on the down arrow beside the "Acct:" text and typing an
account ID into the box. The Acct box lists all of the open
accounts and does not list all available accounts. However, the
Load Account dialog (from the File menu) does list all available
account IDs.
LOAD ACCOUNT DIALOG
OK Loads the account listed or typed into the drop
down listbox of the Load Account dialog. If the
account ID has not been used previously, WinCheck
will ask if you would like to open a new
account? (Yes/No/Cancel).
CANCEL Does not load new account.
HELP Brings up the Overview of the WinCheck
Online help system.
Note: If the account is password protected, you will be prompted
for a password upon loading an account file. Refer to the section
on Configuring WinCheck for information on password protecting
your files.
Closing Accounts
After opening several accounts you may want to close one or more
accounts. To view a listing of all open accounts click on the down
arrow beside the "Acct:" text on the Control Bar. To close an
account, choose Close Account from the File menu. The resulting
dialog will contain a listing of all open accounts. The accounts
are listed according to the account ID's and descriptions for the
open accounts. For example:
TUT: Tutorial Account
GAK: Greg's Visa Card Account
The account description is indicated in the Account Info dialog
from the Acct menu and can be changed at any time.
When exiting the WinCheck program, by choosing Exit WinCheck
from the File menu, all of the account files and windows
will automatically be closed and saved.
CLOSE ACCOUNT DIALOG
OK Closes the selected account in the listbox of
open accounts.
CANCEL Exits the Close Account dialog without closing
an account.
Working with Multiple Register and Statement Windows
In addition to opening several accounts at a time, you can open
Register and Statement windows for different months for each of the
open accounts. The number of Register and Statement windows has no
practical limit. However, it is not possible to open two Register
or Statement windows for the same month within the same account.
To open a Register window press CTRL+R or choose Display Check
Register from the Acct menu. The "Pick a Month to View" dialog
will result with a list of all months that contain data. Choose
any of the listed months and choose OK. The active account is
listed in the drop down list box at the top of the dialog. To open
a Register window from another open account, select the account ID
from the list.
Note: It is not possible to open a Register or Statement window
for an account that is not already open. Open the account first
with the Load Account command and then the account will appear in
the Pick a Month to View list box.
To open a Statement window press CTRL+S or choose Display Check
Statement from the Acct menu. The "Pick a Month to View" dialog
will result with a list of all months that contain data. Choose
any of the listed months or accounts and choose OK to a Statement
window.
PICK A MONTH DIALOG
Select the month and year to open (i.e. April 1991) as well as the
Account ID. The Account ID's of the open accounts are listed in
the drop down listbox at the top of the dialog. Choosing a
different account ID (if more than account is open), will change
the listing of available months/years. The list of available
months is determined by the data files found within the WinCheck
program directory. For example, MAY91.TUT is the data file
for May 1991 of the Tutorial account.
OK Opens a Register or Statement window for the
specified month/year and account ID.
CANCEL Does not open a Register or Statement window.
Note: The icons above the OK button in this dialog do not perform a
particular function. They are for your visual enjoyment only.
WinCheck reads your account files from the directory in which
the WinCheck program is installed, i.e. C:\WinCheck.
Switching Between Open Windows
Once you have several windows open, you can view a list of the open
windows and switch from account Statement/Register to account
Statement/Register with the numbered items listed at the bottom of
the Window menu.
Below is a sample listing of open windows from the KAE and TUT
accounts:
1 KAE: Statement for April, 1991
2 TUT: Register for March, 1991
3 TUT: Statement for September, 1990
4 KAE: Statement for May, 1991
The above information indicates the open Register and Statement
windows for the KAE and TUT accounts. Again, there is no practical
limit to the number of windows that can be opened at one time.
However, depending upon the resolution of your display, only so
many window names can be listed under the Window menu.
The active menu under the Window menu is indicated by a check mark
before the number of the window. Choose any of the numbered window
listings to change the active window. This can be done via the
keyboard by pressing ALT+W to drop down the Window menu, and then
typing the number of the window to switch to. With the mouse,
select the window to change to as you would with other menu items.
Additionally Tile and Cascade are available from the Window menu to
change the placement of your open windows. Choose Cascade to
arrange all of the open windows in a stack. When this is done the
title bar for each window is visible so that the window can be made
active by clicking on the title bar (i.e. TUT: Register for July,
1991) with the mouse. With multiple windows open, use CTRL+F6 to
rotate through the open windows (CTRL+F6 will switch the focus to
the next window and bring the window to the front).
Choose Tile from the Window menu to tile all of the open windows on
the screen, left to right. The tile option allows you to see a
portion of each window horizontally. Each window has a title bar
that describes the data in the window (KAE: Register for October,
1991) and a scroll bar for scrolling through the data. Click with
the mouse on the Up and Down arrows on the scroll bar or press Page
Up/Page Down on the keyboard (Num Lock off) to scroll Register or
Statement window.
Closing Open Register and Statement Windows
After opening several windows you may want to close one or more of
the Statement or Register windows. A listing of all open windows
is listed at the bottom of the Window menu. There are several ways
to close a Register or Statement window with each described below.
With the Register or Statement window to close before you on the
screen, do one of the following:
1. Choose Close Active Register/Statement from the Acct menu.
2. Double click on the close bar in the upper left corner of the
window frame.
3. Press CTRL+F4.
Transferring Money Between Accounts
With WinCheck it is possible to transfer money from account to
account, or from Savings to Checking (or vice versa) in the same
account. Additionally you can set up links between accounts with
the Links Between Accounts command. From the menu item labeled
Xfers, you have the following options for transfers:
Xfers
Within Same Account
Savings to Checking
Checking to Savings
Choosing either of these options, will result in a transaction
dialog with the name of the account you are working with (i.e.TUT)
and the transfer type (i.e. Savings to Checking) in the title bar
at the top of the dialog. Type in a value to transfer and mark the
"Cleared" box if the transfer has cleared the bank (i.e. the bank
knows of the transfer).
Between Different Accounts
Checking to Checking
Savings to Savings
Checking to Savings
Savings to Checking
Choose any of the transfer options to transfer money between the
open account and any other account. When selecting any of the
transfer types listed about, the "Transfers Between Accounts"
dialog will appear. In this dialog the current account ID is
inserted into the "From:" field. Press the Tab key to advance to
the "To:" field. In this field type the account ID for the account
that you are transferring money into. Press the Tab key again to
type in a transfer Amount and again to change the date if
necessary. Choose the OK button to make the transfer.
Links Between Accounts
Linking one account to another is an option in the Account Info
dialog or by choosing Links Between accounts from the Xfers menu.
This option allows you to link the beginning balance of one account
to running or ending balance of another account. There are types
of account linking in WinCheck: "Hot Links" and links that are
not hot, which we will refer to as "Cold Links".
Hot Link
Cold Link
Hot Link The type of link where one account depends upon another
accounts balance in order to calculate its own running
balance. With a Hot Link, two accounts are link
dynamically so that the balance of the first account
affects the balance of the second (linked) account.
For example: KEB is (Hot ) "Linked from Account" GER in the
Account Info dialog. This means the Account Info dialog
appears with the following information:
Account KEB
Linked from Account: GER
There is an X in the Hot Link check box
The starting balance for account KEB is set to the current
balance of account GER. If the balance of the GER account
changes, the starting balance of the KEB account will
update/change to reflect the change made in the GER
account..
Cold Link A link where the starting balance of one account is
linked to the balance of another account. The cold link
differs from the hot link in that the link is not dynamic.
The starting balance of the linked account is based on
another account, but the starting balance does not change
to reflect changes in the other account.
For example: KEB is "Linked from Account" GER in the Account Info
dialog. This means the Account Info dialog appears with
the following information:
Account KEB
Linked from Account: GER
The starting balance for account KEB is set to the current
balance of account GER. If the balance of the GER account
changes, the starting balance of the KEB account will not
update/change.
For example, a cold link will base the starting balance of the
current account on another account, but this value (starting
balance) will not change when the balance of the other account
changes.
To unlink an account from another, select the account ID in the
"Linked from Account" field and press the delete (Del) key on the
keyboard. The balance figures at the bottom of the screen should
appear in black to indicate that the account is not linked. Choose
OK to unlink the account or Cancel to cancel the changes made and
leave the link intact.
Transferring Money From Checking to Credit Card Account
If you need to transfer money from a checking account to a credit
card account (i.e. a payment), use the "Pay Account" item in the
check transaction dialog. Open a blank check (press F3) with your
checking account active, and in the Pay Account field type the
Account ID of your credit card account. This will write a check to
the credit card account. In other words, X amount of money will be
subtracted from your checking account and X amount of money will be
deposited into your credit card account. Since transactions in the
credit card account are added to the balance, writing a check to a
credit card account works like a deposit and will be subtracted
from the balance.
For example, your checking balance is currently $1,000.00 and your
credit card account balance is $346.00. It's the end of the month
and it's time to pay off you credit card. To do this open the
checking account and write a check. In the Pay Account field for
the check, type the Account ID for your credit card account. When
you press OK, $346.00 dollars will be subtracted from you checking
account and your credit card balance will be $0.00 (paid in full).
How To?
This section will cover some of the How To issues of using WinCheck
Complete the steps using the tutorial account (TUT) or
just read through the steps outlined below.
Daily Activities
Once you have started your account with WinCheck, there are a
few activities you may do quite often:
1. Enter checks you wrote while away from your computer. This
can be done by pressing F3, or by choosing the Check icon on
the Control Bar, or by choosing Check from the Checking Menu.
2. Enter checks written at home or the office. This can include
bill paying, or other expenses. WinCheck can print the
checks on any available blank check that will fit in your
printer. WinCheck can keep track of an endless number of
Common Transactions that occur on a rather regular basis. For
example, payday can be entered as a common transaction,
allowing you to make your payroll deposit with a single menu
choice. Also, regular bills such as mortgage and car payments
can be automatically paid. Refer the section on Common
Transactions for more information.
3. Enter deposits, transfers, ATM (cash machine) withdrawals, or
Misc transactions.
Less Common Activities
There are some other activities that you may not do as often:
1. Reconcile and Balance your account(s). When your bank
statment arrives you can mark all of your banking transactions
that have cleared your bank. Afterwards, you can compare your
balance to the bank's balance, and as long as they match, your
account is balanced.
2. Create Common Transactions. Here you can define a transaction
that will happen on a repeat basis (i.e. Car Payment, etc).
3. Create Check Form Templates, or load templates. The WinCheck
Form Designer allows you to create a template to print
on any form.
4. Print reports. WinCheck's Report Generator Dialog has a
list of available reports and the ability to create custom
reports. Refer to the section on Reports for more information.
5. Change WinCheck settings. Refer the section on
Configuring WinCheck.
6. Design a budget and print budget reports. Refer the section
on Budgeting.
Writing Checks:
To write a check from the active account do ONE of the following:
Click on the second icon button from the left (the tiny blue check)
Press F3
Choose Check from the Checking menu
WinCheck has two dialogs for entering checks: Endstub and not
Endstub (conventional). The only difference between the two types
of checks is the tab ordering of the fields and the title bar for
the dialog. To select Endstub tab ordering as described on page X,
choose Select Checkbook from the Acct menu and mark the box labeled
Endstub. If the box is clear, than you are using conventional
tabbing order. The check dialogs will have the following text in
the title bar of the transaction dialog if they are the Endstub
type:
TUT: Endstub Check #101
Where TUT is the account ID and #101 is the next blank check
number.
Checks that are not defined as Endstub in the Select Checkbook
dialog will have a title bar as follows:
TUT: Check #101
Where TUT is the account ID and #101 is the next blank check
number.
1. In the check dialog, click on the down arrow to drop down a
list of available categories (the keyboard equivalent would be
to Tab to the list box and press ALT+down arrow).
2. Select a category from the list or type in a category not
listed to create a new category.
3. Next, press the Tab key twice to jump to the Date field. You
can leave the current date that is automatically inserted with
a new transaction or manually change the date (F5 moves the
date back a day and F6 advances the date forward a day).
If you enter an invalid date, WinCheck will prompt with the
following error message:
The date is incorrect. Please use MM/DD/YY format.
4. Press the Tab key to advance to the "To:" field and type the
name of the check recipient, such as Safeway.
5. Press the Tab key once to advance to the dollar amount field
($) and type the transaction amount, such as 34.00.
The check is now complete. Choose OK to record the check
transaction, Another to record the transaction and write
another check, or Print to print the check to your printer.
Choosing Details will bring up the Transaction details dialog
as explained on page x.
If you enter an invalid dollar amount such as 6g5.78, WinCheck
will inform you of it's interpretation of the number in
a dialog titled Amount Verification. In this dialog WinCheck
will list the Original Entry (6g5.78) and it's Corrected
Amount (65.78). Type in the correct value for the transaction
and press Enter or click on the OK button.
Entering Checks written while away from home
Example:You go shopping at the grocery store, pick up some
videos at the video rental outlet, and have an espresso
at the coffee shop.
1. Select "Check" from the Checking menu, or press F3, or click
on the tiny blue check icon on the Control Bar.
2. Select a category from the drop down list box of categories.
You might want to add a category called Groceries or make
groceries be a subcategory of Personal, Personal:Groceries.
Refer to the section on Categories and Subcategories for more
information.
3. Let's say that you wrote the check for groceries two days ago.
So, with the focus on the date field (click on the date field
or press the Tab key until the date field is selected) press
the F5 key twice to decrement the current date by two days (F6
will increment the date).
4. Type in the name of the grocery store in the "To:" field and
the amount of the check beside the dollar sign ($).
5. When the fields are complete, click on the Another button or
press ALT + A from the keyboard.
6. Repeat steps 2-5 for the check written to the video store
except choose a category such as Personal:Videos, Personal, or
Video Rentals.
7. Repeat steps 2-5 for the check written to the coffee shop,
except press the OK button instead of Another.
Setting up WinCheck for Bill Paying
Bill paying is quickest and easiest if you add periodical bills
(i.e. monthly and/or weekly bills) to the Common menu. The
following steps describe the steps needed to add your monthly
mortgage or rent payment to the Common menu:
1. Choose Add-> from the Common menu and select Check as the
transaction type.
2. In the resulting check, choose a category for the transaction
such as:
Category:Subc Personal Personal:M
ategory :Rent ortage
Category Rent Mortgage
3. The day of the month in the Date field is normally the day that
the bill is paid (the check is written). So if your rent or
mortage is due leave the month and year as is and change the
day to 1 (or 06/01/91).
4. Fill in the check recipient in the To: field (for example. the
name of the mortgage company or apartment complex).
5. In the $ field type the transaction amount. If the dollar
amount varies for each time you get the bill, fill in a dollar
amount of 0.00 or leave it blank.
6. Press OK and the transaction will be added to the Common menu.
The following steps describe the steps needed to add a monthly
checking account service fee to the Common menu:
1. Choose Add-> from the Common menu and select Checking Misc as
the transaction type.
2. The day of the month in the Date field would be the approximate
date your bank statement arrives. So if your bank statement
arrives on the 13th of the month, leave the month and year as
is and change the day to 13 (or 06/13/91).
3: In the Description field type Service Fees or Monthly Checking
Fees.
4. In the amount field, type the set rate that you are charged
each month or leave the field blank to indicate that the amount
varies from month to month.
5. Choose a category for the transaction such as Service Fees or
Bank Fees.
6. Press OK and the transaction will be added to the Common menu.
7. Press ALT+O or click on the Common menu see the items below the
Common menu. The Common menu should now have a transaction
with the date indicated in the steps above and the description
entered above (Service Fees).
The following steps describe the steps needed to add a monthly Visa
payment from your Checking account to your Credit Card account:
1. Choose Add-> from the Common menu and select either Checking
Misc or Check depending upon whether you pay the credit card
bill by check or by transferring money from one account to
another.
2. The day of the month in the Date field would be the approximate
date your Credit Card payment is due or mailed. So if your
bill is normally due on the on the 20th of the month, leave the
month and year as is and change the day to 20 (or 06/20/91).
3: In the Description field type Visa Card Payment or Credit Card
Payment.
4. Since the amount paid towards your credit card usually varies
from month to month, leave the amount field blank or type 0.00.
5. If you are tracking your credit card transactions, Tab to the
Pay Account: field and type the account ID for your credit card
account (such as TUT or JAS)
6. Choose a category for the transaction such as Visa or
MasterCharge.
7. Press OK and the transaction will be added to the Common menu.
To make any of the Common Transactions made in the steps above,
simply select the transaction from the Common menu. In addition to
the adding transactions to the Menu (by default) there are several
other Common Transaction Properties such as Remind and Automatic.
Look to the section on Common Transactions for information on the
Common Transaction Properties.
Your Bank Statement Arrives
Note the beginning date for your Statement and choose Account
Settings from the Acct menu. In the field labeled Bank Statement
Starts on may of month: type the starting day for your bank
statement (1-31).
1. Open up a Statement window for the month of the bank statement.
If you have transactions from the previous month that did not
clear, you may need to open last month's Statement window as
well. Choose "Display Check Statement" from the Acct menu and
pick a month to view.
2. Choose Display Uncleared Only from the Data menu for each of
the open Statement windows. The top line in the Statement
window will now list the open month and the text UNCLEARED
CHECKS. If your Bank Statement Starts on may of month: is
something other than 1, than there will be two headings for
Uncleared Checks. For example: May, 1991 UNCLEARED CHECKS and
June, 1991 UNCLEARED CHECKS.
The result is a list of the transactions that have not yet
cleared the bank. In the Statement window you have two options
for sorting the checks; Checks by Date or Checks by Number.
Both of these sorting options are available by selecting Sort->
from the Data menu. Other items such as Checking Deposits,
Transfers, and Savings Misc items are sorted by date in the
Statement window.
3. Compare the transaction amounts on the bank's statement with
your statement to make sure the amounts agree. For example,
make sure that check number 234 is recorded as a debit of
$34.00 on the bank's statement as well as your WinCheck
check statement. If the amounts disagree, either contact your
bank or change your transaction amounts to reflect the bank's
statement (afterall the bank is never wrong).
4. Once the transaction amounts agree (checks, deposits,
transfers...), clear the transactions that are listed on the
bank's statement. To do this select an item to clear and click
with the mouse on the check mark icon on the Control Bar or
press CTRL + C. You can select multiple continuous
transactions by holding down the SHIFT key while using the
arrow keys on the keyboard. Discontinuous selections are made
by holding down the CTRL key and clicking on transactions with
the mouse.
Continue to clear items until all of the items on the bank
statement are marked as "cleared" in the WinCheck program.
5. Enter in any bank service fees (if any) by using the Misc
Checking transaction dialog. Choose Misc from the Checking
menu or click on the icon that appears as a Question mark with
a C to the side.
6. Check your balance by pressing F2 or choose Display Current
Balance from the Acct menu. The Bank's Balance should match
Your Balance if you have not made any transactions that do not
appear on the bank statement.
If you have made deposits or written checks that do not yet
appear on the bank statement, then your balance will not match
with the banks. Open the month's Register to examine the
"Bank's Balance" figure on the closing day of your bank
statement.
Payday!
Add your paycheck(s) to the Common menu so that once payday
finally arrives you can select an item from the Common and the
transaction is made. Additionally, the common transaction can to
marked for "Automatic" meaning that once payday arrives the
transaction is made automatically. A more detail means of
setting up paychecks can be found in the section on Common
Transactions.
To set up your paycheck as an Common Transaction, do the
following:
1. Choose Add from the Common menu and then choose Checking Misc.
2. Change the day in the date field to be the day of the month on
which you get paid (i.e. the first = 09/01/91, or the fifteenth
= 09/15/91). Leave the year and month as they are currently.
3. Press the Tab key and type Description text such as First of
Month Paycheck, End of Month Paycheck, or Royalty Paycheck.
4. Tab to the Amount field and type the amount of your paycheck.
If this value varies leave the Amount field blank and fill in
the amount when you select the Common Transaction from the
Common menu. If you would like to track the deduction of
taxes, refer to the section on Common Transactions for a step
by step guide.
5. Click with the mouse in the Credit Account box or press ALT+R.
Note: If the Misc transaction is not marked as "Credit
Account" the amount entered will be subtracted instead or added
to your account.
6. Click on the OK button and the transaction will be added to the
Common menu.
Press ALT+O or click on the Common menu see the items below the
Common menu. The Common menu should now have a transaction
with the date indicated in the steps above and the description
entered above.
Items under the Common menu are sorted by date. Now next time
you need to make the paycheck deposit, you will choose the item
from the Common menu and the transaction dialog will pop up.
Press OK to make the deposit or Cancel to not make the deposit.
In addition to making your paycheck deposit a common transaction
you can assign an "Automatic" property for the transaction.
1. To do this choose Properties from the Common menu.
2. In the list box at the top of the Common Transaction Properties
dialog, select the description for your paycheck deposit (i.e.
"First of Month Paycheck").
3. Once selected, mark the box labeled A: Automatic. Transaction
occurs on indicated date.
4. Click on the Apply button or press ALT + A.
A Night on the Town
Example:Let's say you head downtown, withdraw $50 from the cash
machine, charge dinner to your credit card, and write a
check to the local convenience store.
1. The cash machine withdrawal was from your checking account, so
select Cash Machine from the Checking menu, or press F7, or
click on the icon button on Control bar that appears as a cash
machine with a C. Indicate the dollar amount and press OK
Note that the Cleared box is marked automatically if "Auto
Clear Deposits , ATM" is selected in the Account Settings
dialog. If the Cleared box is marked, then your bank's balance
is updated immediately after making the transaction.
2. Press F3, or choose Check from the Checking menu, or click with
the mouse on the Control Bar icon that appears as a tiny blue
check. Complete the information in the check dialog and press
OK.
3. To record the credit card transaction, load your credit card
account by choosing Load Account from the File menu. If have
not already opened an account to track your credit card
transactions refer to page the section on Starting a New
Account for information on starting a new credit card account.
4. Choose Credit/Debit from the Checking menu or click on the
blue, white, and red icon from the Control Bar. Choose a
category for the transaction such as Personal or Entertainment
(or you could create a subcategory for Personal, such as
Personal:Dining Out or Personal:Entertainment). Enter the name
or the restaurant in the "To:" field and the amount of the
charge in the "Amount:" field. Click with the mouse inside the
box labeled Cleared or press (ALT+L) to mark the transaction as
cleared. If the transaction is marked as cleared, then the
transaction will be reflected in both Your Balance and the
Bank's Balance for the Register.
Transferring Money from Checking to Savings
Example:It's near the end of the month and there is an
incredible sum of money still remaining in your Checking
acocunt. You decide to transfer $200.00 from Checking
to Savings.
1. Open the TUT account if not already open (choose Load Account
from the File menu).
2. Choose Within Same Account from the Xfers menu.
3. From the Pop out menu, choose Checking to Savings.
4. Change the date if necessary and type 200.00 for the transfer
amount in the Amount field.
5. The bank knows of the transfer, so mark the box labeled Cleared
by clicking the mouse in the Cleared box (or press ALT+L from
the keyboard).
6. Click on the OK button or press Enter to record the transfer.
If the month of the tranfer transaction was July, you will need to
open the July Register to view the transaction. The transfer will
appear as a Checking to Savings transaction for $200.00.
Additionally, there will be a $200.00 credit in the SavAmt column
(+200.00).
WinCheck Commander
The following topics will be discussed in this section:
The WinCheck Commander
The Command File Language
Sample Command Files
WinCheck Commander
The WinCheck Commander is used to Edit and Run run WinCheck
Command files. WinCheck command files are ASCII files
with a series of commands to automate functions within the
WinCheck program.
To create a new command file choose Run/Edit WinCheck Command
File... from the Acct menu. Type in a filename with a WCB
extension in the filename box and click on the New button.
To run a WinCheck Command file, select the filename and click
on the Run button.
To edit a WinCheck Command file, select the filename and
choose Edit. This will bring up the contents of the command file
into a Windows Notepad window.
The Command File Language
Keyword Action Syntax Example
ADDBEGIN Begin to ADDBEGIN ADDBEGIN
Add
Transaction
Resets
all fields
to default
values.
AMOUNT Specify AMOUNT=dddd.cc AMOUNT=432.82
Amount of
transaction
If not
specified,
default
value is
0.00.
CATEGORY Specify CATEGORY=ccc:sss CATEGORY=Fun:Games
Category/
Subcategory
of
transaction
If not
specified,
the default
category is
Personal.
CHECK# Specify CHECK#=nnn CHECK#=1234
Check # of
transaction
Default
check # is
0.
CLEARED Specify CLEARED=(Y|N) CLEARED=Y
Cleared
Status of
transaction
If not
specified,
the default
is
CLEARED=N.
CREDIT Specify CREDIT=(Y|N) CREDIT=N
Credit
Status of
transaction
If not
specified,
the default
depends on
the type of
the
transaction
For
example,
checks will
default to
CREDIT=N,
while
deposits
will
default to
CREDIT=Y.
DATE Specify DATE=(intlfmt) DATE=03/09/9
Date of
transaction
If no (United
date is States
specified, example)
the current
date is
used.
MONTH Specify MONTH=mm MONTH=01
Month.
Default is
current
month.
YEAR Specify YEAR=yy YEAR=91
Year.
Default is
current
year.
DESCCRIPTION Specify DESCRIPTION=ddd DESCRIPTION=Safeway
Description
Default
depends on
transaction
For
example,
the default
description
for a check
is to leave
this field
blank,
while the
default for
a checking
deposit is
Checking
Deposit.
DELETE Delete the DELETE DELETE
"Key"
Transaction
END! End of END!=(A|K) END!=A
Specificati
on.
Perform the
action (Add
or locate
transaction
from Key).
KEYBEGIN Start to KEYBEGIN KEYBEGIN
define
Search Key.
Set all
fields of
search key
to the
default
values.
MODIFY Modify MODIFY MODIFY
transaction
found with
the search
key.
SPLITAMOUNT Specify SPLITAMOUNT=n,dd.cc SPLITAMOUNT=1,32,12
split
amount for
transaction
No default.
SPLITCATEGORY Specify SPLITCATEGORY=n,cc SPLITCATEGORY=1,Fun:Games
split
category
for
transaction
No default.
TYPE Specify TYPE=tt TYPE=302
transaction
type. See
the table
below for
type
values.
Default is
Checking
Misc.
MEMO1 Specify MEMO1=mmmm MEMO1=Acct#123-456-789
Memo1 for
transaction
Default
is blank.
MEMO2 Specify MEMO2=mmmm MEMO2=Power Bill
Memo2 for
transaction
Default
is blank.
COMMENT Specify COMMENT=ccccc COMMENT=Cold Samp
Comment.
Default is
blank.
MAILTO Specify MAILTO=mmmm MAILTO=Puget Power
Postal
Recipient
Default is
blank.
ADDRESS Specify ADDRESS=aaa ADDRESS=One Electric Way
Address.
Default is
blank.
CITYSTATE Specify CITYSTATE=ccc,ss CITYSTATE=Seattle, WA
City,
State.
Default is
blank.
ZIP Specify Zip ZIP=zzzzz-xxxx ZIP=98000-1234
Default is
blank.
; Comment ; Comment ; Hi, Mom!
Note: All command files must end with BATCHEOF
Transaction Type Table (TYPE=tt):
Transaction Type Value
Checking Deposit 100
Endstub Check 200
Normal Check 300
Checking ATM 301
Checking Misc 302
Checking Interest 303
Checking Credit/Debit 304
Card
Savings Deposit 320
Savings Withdrawal 321
Savings ATM 322
Savings Misc 323
Savings Interest 324
Savings Credit/Debit 325
Card
Example Command Files
Here is a Command File to Specify some categories.
CATEGORY=Personal:Groceries
CATEGORY=Personal:Credit Cards
CATEGORY=Personal:Bus Passes
CATEGORY=Personal:Bills
CATEGORY=Business:Postage
CATEGORY=Business:Hardware
CATEGORY=Business:Advertising
BATCHEOF
Here is a Command file to add check #2092. It was written to
Johnson Apartments for 580.00. Its category is Rent. It has not
cleared. The address has also been specified, along with a memo
line for the Transaction Details dialog.
ADDBEGIN
AMOUNT=580.00
CATEGORY=Rent
CHECK#=2092
CLEARED=N
DATE=05/09/91
DESCRIPTION=Johnson Apartments
MEMO1=Apt #584
MAILTO=Johnson Real Estate, Inc
ADDRESS=One Capitalist Way
CITYSTATE=Bellevue, WA
ZIP=98100-0000
TYPE=300
END!=A
BATCHEOF
Here is a Command File to Clear check #2092.
;
; First, find the check by specifying the search key
;
KEYBEGIN
MONTH=05
YEAR=91
CHECK#=2092
END!=K
;
; Now, change the cleared flag
;
CLEARED=Y
;
; And update the transaction
;
MODIFY
BATCHEOF
Here is Command File to make a deposit, split two ways.
ADDBEGIN
AMOUNT=1000.00
CREDIT=Y
DATE=05/19/91
TYPE=100
;
; Specify first split
;
SPLITAMOUNT=1,750.00
SPLITCATEGORY=1,Personal:Gift
;
; Specify second split
;
SPLITAMOUNT=2,250.00
SPLITCATEGORY=1,Royalties
END!=A
BATCHEOF
Here is Command File to Delete a checking ATM for 20.00 made on
05/14/91
;
; First, find the ATM
;
KEYBEGIN
MONTH=05
YEAR=91
AMOUNT=20.00
TYPE=301
END!=K
;
; Now, Delete it
;
DELETE
BATCHEOF
The Appendix
Appendix A: Tips & Techniques
Use the Misc transactions for such items as Direct Deposits,
automatic withdrawals, and service fees. This way you can type a
description line for the transaction, such as Checking Fees and
this will appear in the Register and Statement windows.
Take advantage of Categories and Subcategories in the Transaction
dialogs. This way you can accurately and carefully track your
finances. For example, you can break transactions out to be
Personal or Business, or into subcategories such as Personal:Pets
(Pets being a subcategory of Personal). Other categories could
include such things as Personal:Rent, Personal:Entertainment,
Computers:Software, Sports:Soccer, etc.... Additionally, if you
use categories/subcategories you can take advantage of the WinCheck
Budget Manager and Report Generator. Refer to the section
on Categories and Subcategories for more information.
Double click with the right mouse button over the Amount or $ field
in a transaction to bring up the Windows calculator over the top of
the transaction. Press CTRL+INS or choose Copy from the Edit menu
to copy the calculated value into the Windows Clipboard. Press
ALT+F4 or double click with the mouse on the close bar in the upper
left to close the Calculator. Move the cursor to the amount field
and press SHIFT+INS to paste in the value from the Clipboard.
Disable Recalc when entering a slew of transactions with a Register
window active. Select Recalc from the Data menu so that a check
mark does not appear beside Recalc. No check mark means that
Recalc is disabled. When the recalculation is disabled,
WinCheck will not need to recalculate the balance after each
transaction making the entering of transactions significantly
faster. Select Recalc from the Data menu again to enable the
recalculation feature of WinCheck. The Recalc option will be
greyed if any Statement windows are open.
Use the Common Transactions to the fullest! Bill paying can be
just a few keystrokes or mouse clicks away. By using the Misc
transaction for everything except checks, you can have detailed
descriptions listed under the Common menu (instead of Checking
Deposit you can have First of Month Paycheck). Setting up
periodical bills as common transactions is especially important if
you are using WinCheck to print your checks. Check Details
such as account numbers in the memo line and recipient information
such as "Mail To:" and "Address:", can be saved as a Common
transaction. Without common transactions, you would be typing the
recipient address or memo line information with each check you
print/write. Refer to the section on Common Transactions for more
information.
Use the Reminder property for your Common Transactions and never
miss a payment again.
Set the Statement and Register windows to have different colors so
that it is easy to tell from a glance which window you have open, a
Register or Statement. To set the window color, choose Colors from
the File menu. In the list of descriptions there is an option for
the Statement Window and Register Windows. Refer to the section on
Configuring WinCheck for more information.
Use the Display Uncleared option from the Data menu of the
Statement window when reconciling your checkbook. Once no
transactions appear, you should be done balancing (everything has
cleared the bank).
Use the summation feature to sum a group of transaction, either
discontinuous or continuous. The following information are
examples of the information posted when using the summation feature
with a group of transactions:
Selected Items
Check# 100 10.00
Check# 101 24.00
Check# 104 5.00
Savings Withdrawal 100.00
Result:
All Amounts Added: $139.00
Checking amount change: $39.00 Debited
Savings amount change: $100.00 Debited
Selected Items
Check# 1045 30.00
Check# 1046 10.00
Check# 1052 5.00
Savings Deposit 234.32
Result:
All Amounts Added: $279.32
Checking amount change: $45.00 Debited
Savings amount change: $234.32 Credited
Take advantage of the Transaction Details. You can put account
numbers or other important information on the memo line for added
security. If you purchase envelopes with windows, you can have
the recipients address printed on your check so that it views
through the window. Take advantage of the Comments section to
make notes about transactions.
When you create form templates, please feel free to distribute
them everywhere. Many other users would love to have pre-defined
forms. A good description would be the form inventory number and
manufacturer.
Use WinCheck's backup feature to make backup copies of your
data when closing account files. Backups can be made to floppy
drives A or B. Refer to the section on Configuring WinCheck
for more information.
Use the Find command to find transactions for a particular amount
($20.00 Checking ATM transactions) or to a particular recipient
(i.e. Pet World). Use the Find command to locate all transactions
with a particular category such as Charity or Gifts. Are you
spending to much on these categories or too little? Print a Cash
Flow report for a break down of amount spent in each category for
one month or a range of months. Refer to page 15 for information
on creating a cash flow report for your account data. Refer to
the sections on the Register and the Statement for examples of
using the Find Transaction function.
Forms are device independent as long as you leave the lines per
inch and characters per inch settings at their defaults (6 LPI and
10 CPI).
Register this product! By registering this product, you will keep
informed about future updates to WinCheck.
Appendix B: WinCheck Messages
The following is a list of WinCheck messages and their
meanings.
<xxx> is an invalid filename.
When typing the name of an export file, the filename must adhere
to the DOS file naming conventions. Those being a maximum of
three characters, a period (.) and a three letter file extension.
Added Check to Check Print Queue
When indicating more than 1 form per page in the WinCheck Form
Designer, this message will appear to indicate that the check has
be queued up checks for printing. Checks will print it when the
queue is full, or when exiting WinCheck. Refer to the section
on Printing Checks for additional information.
Are you sure the year is correct?
If you type in a questionable date such as 05/23/01, WinCheck
will prompt before accepting the value. Choose No if the date is
incorrect and Yes if the date is correct.
At least one of the two filters (Cleared/UnCleared) must be
checked. Checking both ignores this filter
At least one of the two filters (Credit/Debit) must be checked.
Checking both ignores this filter
At least one of the two filters (Tax Deductible/Not Tax Deductible)
must be checked. Checking both ignores this filter.
When creating or modifying a report, it is not possible to not
have both of the filters deselected (Debits/Credits, Tax
Deductible/Not Tax Deductible, Cleared/Uncleared). To indicate
that you are looking for both Cleared and Uncleared checks, place
an X in both the Cleared and UnCleared box. The underlined
character of each filter indicated the keyboard accelerator. For
example, ALT+R toggles the X in and out of the Credits box.
Cannot Edit or Delete Category 'Personal'.
The Personal category is the default category for all new
transactions and cannot be deleted.
Cannot find Help file; run Setup again to install Help file.
Run the WinCheck Setup program to install WinCheck's Help
Files. If receiving this error when selecting "Help on Help" from
the Help menu, make sure that WINHELP.HLP is in your Windows
directory and/or on your DOS path.
WinCheck's On-Line help file is name WinCheck.HLP and
should be located in the WinCheck program directory.
Converting Data... Please wait
When open an account file from a previous version of WinCheck,
this message will appear to let you know that WinCheck is
converting the data to the new data format.
If the checkbook filter is activated, the 'Show Debits' filter must
also be activated
If Show Only One Checkbook is selected in the Custom Report Maker,
then the Debits filter must be selected. Click in the box labeled
Debits or press ALT+B from the keyboard.
Incorrect Password
WinCheck does not recognize the password you entered when
loading a password protected file.
Invalid Filename(s). Please use 0-9, A-Z only
This message can occur when assigning a name to a custom report.
The custom report will automatically be assigned a RPT extension.
Type a maximum of 8 characters (no file extension) for the report
filename.
Invalid ID- Please use characters and numbers only.
This message will occur when trying to create an account with an
ID other than letters and/or number. For example, entering er+
will result in the above message.
More than 100 items matched the search key. The total dollar
amount is still correct, but only the first 100 are displayed.
WinCheck can display up to 100 matches with the Find option
from the Acct menu. Matches over 100 are not displayed. The
"total" figure, however, is accurate.
Move category '<xxx>' to subcategory '<xxx:yyy>'?
If you have chosen to modify a category such as Utilities to
Personal:Utilities, this message will appear to ensure that you
intended to move a category to a subcategory. Choose Yes to
approve the move and No to not move the category. Refer to the
section on Categories and Subcategories for more information.
Negative Sign Unnecessary.
WinCheck automatically adds or subtracts the amount from the
register. In the case of Miscellaneous transactions, use the
"Credit" checkbox to indicate deposits to your account.
No template loaded.
This message will appear if you attempt to print a check without a
check template open. When this occurs, you will be brought into
the WinCheck Form Designer to create or load a template.
Number must be less than or equal to amount available.
This message will appear if the amount entered into the Amount
field is greater than value beside the Amount Remaining while in
the Split Dialog.
Offset must be between 0 and 7.
The printer offset must be between 0 and 7 characters.
Only one new transaction of each type (Check, Deposit, etc.)
allowed at a time.
WinCheck allows only one new transaction to be entered at a
time. For example, one new (blank) Check or Checking Deposit.
Password and Verify Fields do not match.
You need to type the same password in the Password and Verify
fields. Your password is not case sensitive.
Please do not enter a file extension. WinCheck will
automatically add .WCT to the filename.
When saving a Check template in the Save Check Printing Form
dialog, type 1 to 8 characters without a file extension.
WinCheck will automatically add a WCT field extension to the
check template files.
Please Insert Backup Disk for account <xxx> in Drive <drive>:
If a backup drive (A or B) is selected in the Select Backup Drive
dialog (from the File menu), then this message will appear when
closing the account or the program.
Please type the subcategory name only.
When modifying a subcategory name, type the new subcategory name
only (not the category name as well). For example, if the top
category in the Edit Categories dialog is Cats:Pogo, then the
bottom field will display Pogo. To change the subcategory name,
change Pogo to Hanna and click on the Modify button.
Prepare Printer for Printing Checks
When starting the WinCheck program and you have Automatic Pay
and Print transactions, this message will appear to allow you to
prepare the printer. Press OK once the printer is ready to print
checks.
Program .EXE File Damaged
WinCheck checks the size of the EXE file on startup of the
program. If this size has changed, the message will result. Try
reinstalling the program from the master disks.
Recalc must be on when a Statement window is open. Turning Recalc
back on
If you have disabled Recalc for a Register window and then open a
Statement window, this message will appear. It is not possible
have Recalc disabled when a Statement window is open, so WinCheck
lets you know that recalculation has been enabled.
Setting Recalc Back on for Deletion
If you have Recalc off in the Register window (Recalc is an option
from the Data menu) and you delete a transaction, this message
appears to let you know that Recalc was turned back on to make the
deletion possible. Deselect Recalc (no check mark) from the Data
menu to disable recalculation of the Register window data.
Subcategories cannot have subcategories. '<xxx:yyy>' changed to
'<xxx-yyy>'
This message will appear if there is more than one colon (:) in
the category name. For example, Cats:Dog:Pogo will result in the
following category:
Cats:Dog-Pogo
The date is incorrect. Please use MM/DD/YY format.
If an invalid date is entered into the date field (3/r/91), the
program will post a message and not allow the transaction to be
complete until a valid date is entered.
There are no open transactions at this time.
This message will appear after selection Edit Open Transaction
from the Window menu if no transaction dialogs are open.
There was a problem reading the WinCheck.EXE file
WinCheck checks the size of the EXE file on startup of the
program. If this size has changed, the message will result. Try
reinstalling the program from the write protected master disks.
This category already has subcategories. It is not possible to
move this category to a subcategory.
Every category can have any number of subcategories. Once a
category is assigned subcategories (Utilities:Phone), it is not
possible to assign the category to be a subcategory of another
category (Personal:Utilities). Before adding Personal:Utilities,
Utilities:Phone will be to be renamed (modified) or deleted.
Refer to the section on Categories for more information.
This transaction must have a dollar amount to use these properties.
Many of the transaction properties require a dollar amount for the
transaction. For example, Automatic transaction require a
specified amount. Common transactions with variable amounts can
use the Menu property only. Refer to the section on Common
Transactions for additional information.
Too many open Transactions.
WinCheck can display up to 4 transaction dialogs
simultaneously. However, only one new transaction is allowed for
each type of transaction. For example, you can have 4 completed
check transactions open, but only one new check (blank)
transaction dialog open at a time. Be careful to click only once
with the mouse on the Control Bar icons.
Unable to access printer driver. Check to make sure the printer is
active via Control Panel.
When selecting a printer driver after choosing Windows Printer
Setup or Select Printer(s) for Checks/Reports from the File menu,
the printer driver must to set to a printer port (LPT1, COM1, or
File...) and be active in the Windows Control Panel. Refer to
your Windows documentation for information on setting a printer
driver to active (in Windows Control Panel Printers). Look also
to the section on Configuring WinCheck for additional
information on printer setup.
WARNING: Deleting a category can leave transactions with unresolved
categories. Deleting a category with subcategories will delete all
of the subcategories. Continue?
WinCheck wants to make sure that you mean to delete the
transaction category. If you delete a category, transactions that
were using the category will revert to Personal (the default
category).
WinCheck requires at least 200K of free disk space on <drive>:
When there is less than 200K of free disk space on the drive that
WinCheck is installed on WinCheck will save your data and
shut down. Free up additional disk space before starting up
again.
Windows has less than 5% System Resources. WinCheck will save
all data and then exit.
After receiving this message of low Windows System Resources,
WinCheck will shut down after saving all open account files.
Choose About Program Manager from the Help menu of Program Manager
to view available memory and resources. WinCheck will not
operate with less than 5% available before or after the WinCheck
program is started.
Appendix C: Common Questions and Answers
Question:
When viewing the Statement or Register windows, there are some
columns in which the data appears as ##### and the data does is
clipped when printed (not all of the text prints).
Answer:
Change the width of the column by positioning the mouse between the
two columns so that the cursor changes to a bar with a left and
right arrow. Now click and drag the mouse to increase the width of
the column. Once adjusted to the correct width, choose Memorize
Heading Columns from the Data menu.
Question:
Why is the OK button in the Split Transaction dialog greyed?
Answer:
Until all of the transaction amount is accounted for within the
split, you will not be able to Exit the dialog by pressing OK. The
amount in the Amount field must be 0.00 (no money remaining that
has not been accounted for), before pressing OK. Refer to the
section on Split Transactions for more information.
Question:
How can I set up a Savings only account?
Answer:
WinCheck is currently able to create the following types of
accounts:
Checking or Cash
Checking and Savings
Credit Card
If you would like to set up a Savings only account, choose to start
a Checking and Savings account when opening a new account. This
option will enable the Savings Account tracking in the Account
Settings dialog. The Register will now have the following headings
as a result (choose Headings from the Tools menu if the column
headings are not currently on the Register window): Date, #,
Description, ChkAmt, ChkBal, BnkChk, SavAmt, SavBal, BnkSav. To
make is so that only the Savings columns appear on the Register
window, minimize the Chk columns so that no data appears. Position
the cursor between ChkAmt and ChkBal so that the cursor changes to
a double sided arrow. Now, click the left mouse button and drag
the column separator to the left until you cannot see heading label
ChkAmt. Position the cursor between ChkBal and BnkChk. Click and
drag again to the left until the data and column headings
disappear. Finally, position the cursor between the BnkChk and
SavAmt columns and click and drag the mouse to the left. By doing
this we are "hiding" the checking columns so that this account
displays Savings Transactions only. Use the same procedure to
minimize the ChkAmt column in the Statement window.
Note: After adjusting the column widths, choose Memorize Heading
Columns from the Data menu to save the column widths for the next
session.
Question:
After creating a custom report with the WinCheck Report
Generator, the report views and prints without data or headings.
Answer:
If the custom report has a title, but no headings or data when
printed or viewed, ensure that there are "Column Attributes" set
for the columns of data. By default, WinCheck will create a
custom report with 3 columns below the Report Description field.
Click on each column and set a column attribute such as Date or
Description. If this terminology seems foreign to you, refer to
the report examples in the Getting Started section and also to the
Printing Reports section.
If the report has headings but the wrong data, change the starting
and ending month selection in the WinCheck Report Generator
dialog. Choose Report Generator from the Acct menu and in the
resulting dialog indicate a starting and ending month. Next,
choose the report from the list box and click on Preview or Print.
To change the report or view the report settings, select the report
name and then click on the Edit button (this will bring up the
WinCheck Custom Report Maker dialog box). Refer to the section
on Printing Reports for additional information.
Question:
How do I open a Register or Statement for a month not listed in the
"Pick A Month" dialog (after selecting Display Check Statement or
Register from the Acct menu)?
Answer:
It is not possible to open a Register or Statement window unless
there is data for that month. If you would like to open a Register
or Statement window for March, write a transaction with a March
date (03/XX/91); where XX is the day number.
Question:
Is there any way to change the colors of the transaction dialogs?
Answer:
The colors for the transaction dialogs are not editable with the
File Colors command. You can however change the colors for most
other items in WinCheck, but not the background colors for the
transaction dialogs, i.e. Misc transactions are hot pink. If you
would like all of the transactions to have a gray background (no
flashy colors), turn off the Transaction Wallpaper in the Account
Settings dialog (from the Acct menu).
Question:
The Balance figures in the Register window as well as the Status
Line are missing/blank.
Answer:
Recalc is currently not enabled. Select Recalc from the Data menu
so that a check mark appears beside Recalc. Note: Turning Recalc
off is helpful when entering a series of transactions. Because
WinCheck does not need to recalculate the balance after each
transaction, the entering of transactions is significantly faster.
Question:
How do I print a check that I have already entered into the
Register or Statement windows?
Answer:
If the active window is a Register window, select the check
transaction to print and choose Print Checks from the Data menu (or
press CTRL+P from the keyboard). If the active window is a
Statement or Register window, double click on the transaction (or
press Enter from the keyboard) and click on the Print button in the
check dialog (or press ALT+P from the keyboard).
Question:
Why is Recalc greyed out under the Data menu?
Answer:
Recalc is greyed if any Statement windows are open. In order to
disable Recalc, only Register windows can be open.
Question:
Why does miscellaneous appear in my category report?
Answer:
As soon as you designate a subcategory for a category such as
Utilities:Phone, any Utilities transactions without a subcategory
will be referred to as Miscellaneous in your reports. See the
section on Categories and Subcategories for more detailed
information.
Appendix D: Updating from Previous Version
As with any software setup program, it is always a good idea to
backup all of your account files prior to installing and running
the updated version of WinCheck. The file extension for your
checking/savings account(s) files are the same as your account ID.
So if your account ID is "JAS", you can backup your JAS account by
copying *.JAS to another subdirectory on your hard disk or to a
floppy diskette.
If you are updating from a previous version of WinCheck, run
the Setup program and choose to install the new version in the same
subdirectory as WinCheck is currently installed. For example,
if your previous version of WinCheck was installed on the C
drive in a subdirectory called WinCheck (C:\WinCheck),
choose the same subdirectory name when installing the new version
of WinCheck. When starting the new version of WinCheck for
the first time, you will be prompted for an Account ID as in
previous versions of WinCheck. After selecting an Account ID
from the drop down listbox, your data will be converted to the new
WinCheck file format. The process of converting your previous
version data files may take some time depending upon the size of
your files and the speed of your computer. Once converted, the
Account Info dialog will display. In this dialog, type a
description for the account such as Personal Checking Account or
Home Business Account.
Note: Normally if you were starting a new account, starting
balances would be indicated in this dialog as well. But, since
this is a converted file with a starting balance already indicated
(WinCheck handled starting balances differently in previous
versions), leave the balances at 0.00 and click the OK button.
The next dialog to appear is the Select Checkbook dialog.
1. Beside "Checkbook Name", enter the name for one of your
checkbooks. For example, enter Shirley Johnson's Personal
Checkbook or Printer Checks (if you will be printing checks).
2. Next open your physical checkbook and get the number of the
next available check (blank check) and type this number in the
field labeled Next Blank Check #.
3. Then type the check number of the first check in your checkbook
in the First Check # in Book field and the last check number in
your checkbook in the Last Check # in Book field. The value
for the First Check # in Book would be the first check number
that you entered with the WinCheck program. If you do not
know this number off hand, leave the default value in the box
and edit the value once you view your account information to
find the first entered check number. The Last Check # in Book
is usually the last check number in the last book of checks
that you presently have for the account.
4. Click in the Endstub check box if this is the type of checks
you are using (this will change the tabbing order in the write
check dialog).
5. Once the correct check numbers are entered and a checkbook
name, press the Add/Modify button to add the checkbook.
You can continue adding additional checkbooks at this time or
add them later. Press OK to exit this dialog and view the new
WinCheck Register window.
Both the Balances dialog and the Select Checkbook dialogs are
optional startup dialogs indicated in the Account Settings
dialog (from the Acct menu).
Choose Select Checkbook from the Acct menu at any time to
change the information in the Select Checkbook dialog (the
First Check # in Book).
Appendix E: Ordering and Using Computer Checks
In order to fully realize the productivity, convienience and time
saving benefits of using WinCheck, we recommend that you use
WinCheck to print check forms. If you have never ordered
checks for computer use before, here are a few of the most
commonly asked questions when deciding to order and write checks
with the WinCheck program.
What are the benefits of printing checks?
Printing checks with the WinCheck program will save you time.
Instead of writing your checks by hand and then entering them
into WinCheck, you can enter and print checks in one step.
Additionally printed checks present a clean, professional
appearance.
How can I write checks when I am out shopping and away from the
computer?
Continue to write checks away from computer as you have in the
past with checks from your pocket checkbook. Simply enter these
transactions into the WinCheck Register the next time you use
WinCheck.
Should I try to fit my computer check numbers to the sequence of
numbers in my pocket checkbook?
No. In order to prevent duplication of check numbers in the same
checking account, order computer checks with a higher series of
numbers than those on your pocket checks. You can do this by
indicating the starting check number when ordering printer
checks.
WinCheck includes an option called Select Checkbook
specifically for this situation. In the Select Checkbook dialog
(from the Acct) menu you can indicate starting and ending number
for each of your checkbooks, your printer checks and pocket
checkbook.
Refer to the section on Configuring WinCheck for more
information.
If I order checks from someone other than my bank. are they safe
to use?
ABSOLUTELY SAFE. In fact some banks order checks for their
customers from some of the same computer check companies as
individual computer users do.