Shareware Overload/ShartewareOverload.cdr/busi/re_mana2.zip/MANUAL

Text File | 1989-01-23 | 33KB | 748 lines

                         O N E   O F   T H E   B E S T

          R E A L   E S T A T E   P R O P E R T Y   M A N A G E M E N T

                                 P R O G R A M S















                       I N S T R U C T I O N   M A N U A L




















                             I N T R O D U C T I O N






    Thank you for looking at an easy-to-use real estate property management
    program.  This program will keep track of your tenants, expenses, rents
    paid and not paid, and will give you a multitude of reports to help you
    keep track of what is going on with your real estate investment.

    This program can be set up to accomplish many different types of
    applications to suit your individual needs.

    In the City of Milwaukee, there is a smoke detector law which requires
    a landlord to change the batteries in the smoke detector in each unit
    once per year and also whenever a new tenant moves in.  This program
    will also keep track of this.












                                 W A R R A N T Y



    SHOVERS REALTY will replace any disks found to be physically defective
    within 30 days from date of purchase.

    SHOVERS REALTY warrants that the programs will perform in substantial
    compliance with the documentation supplied with the product.  If a
    significant defect in the product is found, Purchaser will be entitled
    to a refund.  In no event will such a refund.  In no event will such a
    refund exceed the purchase price of the programs.

    EXCEPT AS PROVIDED ABOVE, SHOVERS REALTY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES,
    EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NO LIMITED TO IMPLIED
    WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE,
    WITH RESPECT TO THE PRODUCT.  SHOULD THE PROGRAMS PROVE TO BE
    DEFECTIVE, THE PURCHASER ASSUMES THE RISK OF PAYING THE ENTIRE COST OF
    ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION AND ANY INCIDENTAL OR
    CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.  IN NO EVENT WILL SHOVERS REALTY BE LIABLE FOR
    ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGES FOR LOSS
    OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS
    INFORMATION AND THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE
    THIS PRODUCT EVEN IF SHOVERS REALTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY
    OF SUCH DAMAGES.

    Use of this software product for any period of time constitutes your
    assumed acceptance of this agreement and subjects you to its contents.











                                    I N D E X



                  CHAPTER 1          INSTALLING THE PROGRAM



                  CHAPTER 2          GETTING STARTED



                  CHAPTER 3          LEDGER



                  CHAPTER 4          UTILITIES



                  CHAPTER 5          TENANT OPERATIONS



                  CHAPTER 6          REPORTS



                  CHAPTER 7          SMOKE DETECTOR OPERATIONS



                  CHAPTER 8          BACKING UP INFORMATION





                                       -1-


                                    CHAPTER 1


                   I N S T A L L I N G   T H E   P R O G R A M



    There are two different procedures to use for installing the Property
    Management Program.  One for floppy disk based systems, the other for
    systems with hard disks.  One additional step must be followed if the
    program was received in the form of an ARC file.  The files in the ARC
    must be de-archived, that is, extracted from the ARC file to create a
    standard distribution diskette.  This can be done with any of a number
    of archive utilities, including ARC512, ARCE and ARCX.  Use whatever
    program you have handy.  If you don't know how to de-archive files,
    contact just about any operator of a remote bulletin board system
    (RBBS) or a PC users group for assistance.  When the files are de-
    archived, place all of them on a single floppy disk, creating a
    standard distribution diskette.


                                   CONFIG.SYS

    Whether the Property Management Program is installed on a hard disk or
    on a floppy disk system, DOS must be told to allow extra room for "file
    handles" so that the program can open all of the files it needs.  If
    this is not done, then the program will complain about a "DOS ERROR 4"
    which simply means that it can't open enough files.  To fix this, enter
    the following line in a file called CONFIG.SYS that must be in the ROOT
    director of your BOOT disk:  FILES = 20.  The number to the right of
    the equal (=) sign must be at least 20.  This change does not take
    effect until the system is "booted," so after the file has been changed
    and saved, press the CNTL, ALT and DEL keys simultaneously to "boot"
    the system.  The new CONFIG.SYS file will be read in during the boot
    process.

    HARD DISK INSTALLATION  For installation on a hard disk, the only thing
    the user must do is copy the executable program (MENU.EXE) and all
    other files to any sub-directory in the DOS PATH.  Then just type MENU.

    FLOPPY DISK INSTALLATION  Before installing the program on a floppy
    disk system, it is highly recommended that the distribution diskette be
    backed up (copied) to another disk and that the copy be used for
    installation.  There is no copy protection for the program, so this is
    not a cumbersome task, and is for your own safety.  There is nothing do
    frustrating as having a set of data files with a lot of history in them
    only to discover that the program itself is unusable because of a worn
    floppy.



                                       -2-


    For installation of a floppy disk, it is recommended that the program
    be copied on to one floppy "A".  First use the file COMMAND.COM  then
    COMNFIG.SYS) and then MENU.EXE.  The data base files should be put on a
    "B" disk.  All the DBF files and the FRM files must be on the "B"
    disk.  The program automatically makes the necessary index files.

    To use the Property Management Program in a floppy disk based system,,
    type the command MENU at the system prompt (normally A>) and then press
    the enter key.

    A good policy is to re-index occasionally.  To do this, go to UTILITIES
    and follow instructions.



                                       -3-


                                    CHAPTER 2


                          G E T T I N G   S T A R T E D



    The first step in using your program involves the installation of your
    properties into the program.  ALWAYS USE CAPITAL LETTERS.  The copy you
    have may have some sample data which is already in the program.  At
    this point, you may leave it in as a guide and it may be deleted later
    on.

    Go to ADD UNITS AND PROPERTIES.  This is where you must identify the
    property.  Whether it is a single family, duplex or multi-unit
    building, the property must be identified.  You can use a code number,
    abbreviate the street name, or you can use a full street address,
    starting with the street and then the address number.  What I've done
    is to call the property by the street.  For instance, the building is
    on 17th Street, you can call it 17 or 17th; let's say the property is
    on Kilbourn, you can call it just Kilbourn.  If you want to be more
    specific (but it's not necessary), you can call it Kilbourn and the
    address.  I have tried to make the property field as simple as possible
    to make it easier to input information.  If you own many different
    buildings on the same street, you can either use a code number (which
    you have to remember) or you can use the street name plus the address
    of the building to completely identify it from the other buildings on
    the same street.

    As far as the unit is concerned, every unit in the building has to be
    identified separately.  If the building is a 4-family and the units are
    numbered 1,2,3,4, that should be the way the units should be
    identified.  The property category must be exactly the same for every
    unit in the building.  Once you have the property filled out, you
    specify
    the unit.  If it's unit 1 and you named the property xyz, it would
    state in the property category xyz, unit 2, the next unit would xyz,
    unit 2, the next would by xyz, unit 3, the next would be xyz ,unit 4.
    If your building has letters, such as unit A, B,C and D, you can do
    that.  If you have a duplex, you could have unit 1 be the first floor,
    unit 2 could be the second floor.  I decided that for duplexes, the
    lower unit is LO, and the upper unit UP.  For a cottage, the unit can
    be COT or be unit 3 -- whatever you're most comfortable with.  If you
    own a lot of duplexes, the code should stay the same for buildings of
    that type, so it will be less confusing.

    When it asks for address:  input the exact mailing address for the
    particular building and unit you are inputting.  Also, fill in the
    city, state and zip code.  This information is used in some reports and
    will be used extensively in sending letters to tenants.



                                       -3-


    Go to the UTILITIES menu by typing in 4 and then return.  Then go to
    ADD or the CHANGE/DELETE ledger categories, press number 2 and return.
    Read the warning and press Y, return.  These are categories that I
    currently use in my program.  They can easily be changed or deleted or
    if you have any special categories you would like, you can easily add
    them.  Use the up and down arrows WITH NUMBER LOCK OFF to browse
    through to see what's on.  At this point, by reading the directions on
    the upper part of the screen, you can delete a record or add records as
    you see fit.  NOTE:  To add a new category, use "2" in the Utilities
    Menu.

    After you are done, the question asks, "do you want to pack deleted
    records?"  If you have deleted any records, it is a good idea to say
    Yes, or type in a Y and then return.  If not, the N is already showing
    for No, hit return and you will go back to the main UTILITIES menu.

    The smoke field should not be touched.  Leave that blank; do not
    fill in anything in that field.  We will go into that field later in
    this manual.

    Now that you have your categories identified and you have your
    properties and units in the way you want them, that's the end of the
    set-up.  Leave UTILITIES to go to the main menu by pressing enter.



                                       -4-


                                    CHAPTER 3


                                   L E D G E R



    Now we will go into the LEDGER area -- this category keeps track of
    every expense that you incur by owning real estate.  It keeps track of
    it:  1) by date, 2) by the particular property (the expense incurred)
    and 3) by the category you wish to categorize the expense in.

    If you choose the LEDGER category, you get the LEDGER menu, which has
    three options: 1) Enter Records, 2) Revise Records and 3) Run Report.

    Choose #1 -- press 1, enter.  It first asks you, " do you want to enter
    a record?"  Hit return.  It says Y.  If, for some reason, you got into
    this mode by accident, press No and you escape.  Let's assume you want
    to enter a record,  press return.  As you can see, today's date
    automatically pops up.  If the payment was made previous to today, you
    simply have to type over the date and enter the correct one.

    Question #2 asks "what property?"  All you have to do is type in the
    abbreviated property name that you selected when you set up the
    UTILITIES menu and type that in.  If you make a mistake in this entry,
    as soon as you get the first letter or number of the property you are
    trying to enter, a  help screen will appear listing the properties the
    computer thinks you are trying to input.  The computer will not allow
    you to enter a property name which does not exactly match one of the
    property units you have already put into the program.

    #3 -- "who did we pay?" -- type in who you paid.

    #4 -- "what did we pay for?"  Answer that question for each expense.

    #5 -- the amount.

    #6 -- the category.  At first you're not going to be able to memorize
    all of the individual category letters, so if you're having trouble at
    #6, just press enter again and all your categories will appear in the
    right hand side of the screen for you to choose.  Choose one, type it
    in and press enter.  The program asks you to quickly glance over what
    you've input to check to see if it's accurate.  Press return and it
    will be saved.  If not, press N , it will ask you which line is wrong --
    identify the incorrect line and the program will allow you to change
    the information.



                                       -5-


    From here, go to "Run Report."  This option allows you to choose many
    different options regarding gathering information and running a report,
    which you will find very useful.  You should experiment with all the
    different types of reports that this particular category has to offer.

    As you can see, you first identify a property.  If you press return,
    you can access information on all properties.  Then you pick a
    particular category, or by pressing return, all categories.  The Date
    Range field is self-explanatory and the Paid To field indicates that if
    you made a payment to someone or some company, it can pick out just
    those payments.  Detail asks if you want a detailed report on each
    individual payment or if you wanted just to total the payments by
    property and category and get sub-totals.  Then, finally, if you've
    opted for all properties, it will ask you if you want each property
    report on a separate page or do you want to combine the information on
    one page.  The best way to figure out how to use this is to experiment
    with it.

    Anytime you feel you made a mistake, hit the F10 key and that should
    return you to the LEDGER menu.

    Lastly, Revise Records, which allows you to change any record.  The
    program now works this way:  in order to revise a record, you must
    first run a report to locate the record that needs revising.  The
    report must be run TO THE SCREEN, NOT TO THE PRINTER.  As you can see,
    when you run it to the screen, it gives slightly different
    information.  The number we're concerned with is the record number,
    which, when there's a record that needs changing, it must be found
    through the report program.  Locate the record number (remember or
    write it down), escape back to the LEDGER menu and choose #2
    (corrections).  When it asks you to enter the number, enter the record
    number on the bottom of the screen and it will promptly bring the
    detailed information of the particular entry that needs changing to the
    screen, where it may be changed accordingly.

    An area that should be discussed is a field called DELETE A RECORD.
    This is designated Category D in the category field.  Whenever a record
    is put in that I want to delete, I simply use category D. Later on in
    this manual, I will show you, through the UTILITIES how to remove all
    records in the database which are equal to category D.  It's an easy
    way to remove records.



                                       -6-


                                    CHAPTER 4


                                U T I L I T I E S



    #1 -- Delete Marked Ledger Records.  This will only delete ledger
    records equal to category D (Delete a Record).  This is how you get rid
    of records put into the ledger record system that you want to remove.
    It will only delete the records when the category is equal or set to D
    for Delete a Record.

    #2 -- Add Ledger Categories.  You are already familiar with this from
    the start of this program.

    #3 -- Change/Delete Ledger Categories.  You learned about this
    previously in this manual.

    #4 -- Add "Units & Properties.  You are familiar with this category
    from the beginning of the manual.

    #5 -- Change/Delete Units & Properties.  You learned about his
    previously in the manual.

    #6 -- Delete Rent Records.  I personally like to retain at least
    several years of rent records on the active hard disk or floppy, but
    after a couple of years, you may want to remove them.  You'll have back-
    ups of what you're deleting, but this option will let you delete older
    records.

    #7 -- Delete Moved Out Tenants.  This program will store information
    about tenants who moved out of your building so you can save some
    information on these tenants.  After a tenant has been gone for several
    years, you may want to remove him from the database file.  YOU SHOULD
    HAVE A BACK-UP BEFORE ANYTHING IS DELETED.

    #8 -- Re-index Database Files.  You may need this option in case of a
    power failure and your records get disorganized, or after you change or
    delete any of the above categories.

    PLEASE MAKE BACK-UPS AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE TO PREVENT THE LOSS OF DATA!!




                                       -7-


                                    CHAPTER 5


                        T E N A N T   O P E R A T I O N S



    From the main menu, let's examine the TENANT mode.  There are five
    options to choose from once you get to the TENANT menu.  To start,
    you must load your current tenants into the property management
    system.  BEFORE THAT CAN BE DONE, THE PROPERTIES AND UNIT DATABASE FILE
    MUST BE COMPLETED PRIOR TO ENTERING THE TENANTS.

    The program is designed to prevent you from entering a tenant unless
    the property and the specific unit exactly matches some which you have
    already programmed in.

    Entering New Tenants:  Start with your first tenant.  You would enter
    the second option, Enter Tenant.  Start with the last name first.  Type
    the last name, leave a blank and then fill in the first name.  Now the
    property must be typed exactly the way you entered the property in the
    property file.  The unit also must be exactly the way it was in the
    unit file for that property.  The program prevents you from double-
    entering a tenant into the same property and unit.  Once the blank
    screen appears, you simply fill in all the details regarding the tenant
    that you feel important.  Fill in the moved-in date (very necessary),
    but LEAVE THE MOVED-OUT DATE BLANK.  That must be filled in only at the
    time the tenant moves out.  Also, it is very important is to fill in
    the rent and any other data you feel is pertinent.  Once this is done,
    if the new tenant paid rent, follow the "enter rent" instructions.

    IMPORTANT!  After entering a new tenant, the past due field will most
    likely have to be adjusted, assuming your new tenant is paid in full
    when he moves in (the past due field should be 0).  In many cases, the
    past due field will show a negative number.  THIS MUST BE CORRECTED!
    There are two ways to correct this.  First, after entering the rent
    paid by the new tenant and accepting it as correct, you can change the
    past due amount by just pressing F5;  then put in the correct amount,
    usually 0, press return and then it asks "ok to accept," if so, press
    return.  Done!  The second way is to press 1 for "enter rent," identify
    the tenant by name or address and unit, press return for rent input
    screen and do not fill in anything.  Press escape and the last payment
    for this tenant will appear, now press F5 and you can change the past
    due field.

    Move into #3-Revise A Tenant.  The screen shows you that you can revise
    a tenant in two ways -- you can either enter the tenant's last name and
    hit return when it asks you for the property and it will find the



                                       -8-


    tenant.  The other way is when it asks for a tenant's name and you
    forgot it, hit return and it asks for the property.  The property
    should be put in.  If you can get the first letter or number of the
    property correct, the program will help you select the property
    property.  If, for example, you have three properties on 34th Street,
    and they all have different address numbers.  If you can get 34th
    Street in, the computer will help you select which property you want.
    The unit has to match exactly, whether it is an upper, lower or unit
    1,2 or 3.  Then, the computer will search and find that tenant.

    At that point, if you want to change and use the data, you press return
    and help screens will appear so you can change any information
    regarding the tenant.

    If a tenant has moved out, the program will not allow you to enter your
    new tenant before you change the old tenant information specifically
    filling in the Moved-Out field.  When a tenant moves out and you have a
    new tenant move in, you must change the status of the old tenant
    through the Revise Tenant and fill in the moved-out date.  That
    particular date does several things:  it will automatically transfer
    the moved-out tenant to the moved-out database, so you can
    keep track of the information regarding your old tenant.  It may be a
    good idea prior to saving the information regarding the old tenant,
    to fill in the comments area as to whether the tenant was a good
    tenant, poor tenant, paid the rent, etc.

    Now go into the Enter Rent portion of the program, which would be #1.
    A screen appears to help you locate the exact tenant who paid the
    rent.  As before, there are two ways of locating the exact tenant:  one
    by name, the second by property and unit.  If the tenant gave you a
    check, and his name is on the check, the tenant will be easy to find.
    Let's say his last name is "Hall," he recently moved in and you can see
    from the address on his check that it's not a building you manage.
    Type in the last name and when it asks for the property, press enter
    and it will search that name.  Or, if for some reason, the check has no
    name on it, and you know where the person lives, you could type in the
    property and unit and it will also find the exact tenant you are
    looking for.  If it doesn't find an exact tenant you are looking for,
    using page up or page down, you can flip through the records until you
    find the exact tenant.  When the exact tenant gets on the screen, you
    simply press enter and an additional screen appears, which is self-
    explanatory.  You enter in the amount of rent the party paid, the date,
    the name of the party who paid (even though it automatically appears as
    tenant #1 in that unit) but if a different tenant paid and you want to
    record it as such, it gives you that option.  #4 asks is it a check, if
    it is, say yes, if it's not say no.  In the Past Due field, you cannot



                                       -9-


    make an entry right now because the computer automatically calculates
    that particular field for you.  After all rent data is entered, the
    program asks you if it's correct.  If so, respond appropriately and the
    computer will do the rest.  At this point, the program calculates the
    past due field.

    If you want to find out about a tenant's past rent payments, you can do
    so when you've located the tenant who's paying the rent,you hit return
    and the rent screen appears.  Prior to adding the information in, hit
    escape and the last rent payment made on this unit will appear.  If you
    page up, the prior payment to that will appear and so forth, until the
    first rent payment appears on the screen.  You can page up and page
    down to find an exact rent payment that you are looking for.  This is
    the only way in which you can change a rent record which has been input
    previously.  If you want to change this located rent record, enter
    return and follow the prompts of the program.

    In the event that you want to manually change the Past Due field, it
    can be done (even though it rarely should be used).  the Past Due field
    can be changed manually when the rent input screen is on by hitting
    F5.  You can then change the past due amount to adjust it to what
    currently is past due.  But under all normal conditions, the computer
    should calculate what the tenant owes.

    Post Rent option:  This particular option should be used once per
    month, most likely on the 1st, 2nd or 3rd of the month.  This option
    updates the Past Due field.  If it is the first of the month of any
    month, it would be appropriate to post the rents.  The option is self-
    explanatory and it effectively adds to the Past Due field the current
    rent of every individual tenant.  For example, you are posting rents on
    the first of the month and Ed Jones' rent is $300.00.  Ed Jones' Past
    Due field will show $300.00.  As you will see by experimenting with the
    program, if Ed Jones pays the rent on the second, you will see his past
    due amount, when entering his rent, will also be $300.00.  When you
    enter his rent payment of $300.00, his Past Due field will change to
    $0.00.  IT IS IMPERATIVE TO USE THE POST RENT OPTION ONCE A MONTH TO
    USE THIS PROGRAM EFFECTIVELY.

    Posting Late Fees:  The program has the capability of adding the late
    fee you charge for each individual tenant.  You put this amount (which
    is dictated according to the terms of the lease) in when you originally
    add the tenant into the program; it will automatically add the late fee
    into the past due field.



                                      -10-


    The Moved-Out Tenant Information is an option where you can take a look
    at your information about a tenant who has moved out and in locating
    this tenant, you use the same locating system you've previously used to
    enter rent and revise tenants (where you have the option of finding the
    tenant either by name or by the property and unit number where the
    tenant used to live).  If the exact tenant doesn't appear on the
    screen, you still have the option of paging through the tenants, using
    the page up or page down keys to locate the exact tenant you're looking
    for.

    AT ALMOST ANYTIME IN THE PROGRAM, THE F10 BUTTON WILL GET YOU BACK TO
    ONE OF THE MAIN MENUS.




                                      -11-


                                    CHAPTER 6


                                  R E P O R T S


    The Reports Menu offers you many valuable reports.  We will go over
    each one briefly.

    Tenant Phone Numbers -- asks you if you want to send it to the printer
    or to the screen.

    Late Rent Payments -- also goes to the printer or to the screen and it
    shows which tenants are currently behind in rent.  This report uses the
    Past Due field and if tenants owe rent, it will appear on this report,
    along with their names and phone numbers, so they can easily be
    contacted for an explanation as to why their rent hasn't been paid.

    Past Due Letter --This sends a individual letter to every tenant who
    owes rent ! Its set up to buy envelopes with windows in them so you
    just fold the letter and mail it.

    Tenant Status Report -- this report only goes to the printer.  You can
    search all properties and tenants by hitting returns at the questions
    or specify a tenant or property.  This reports on name, phone, date
    moved in, last rent raise, date lease expires, current monthly rent and
    past due rent.

    Monthly Profit/Loss --This report gives you all rents and expenses per
    property per month . It goes to the printer or screen , you can specify
    one property or all properties.

    Individual Rent Record -- has a screen you've seen before where it asks
    you for the tenant's name and you select the property and unit.  With
    this report, if you do not enter a specific name, property or unit, it
    will report on all properties.  It gives certain information as to a
    tenant, property, unit in which they live, their rent, their last rent
    increase an other pertinent information.  You may also specify dates on
    this particular report and the report will show you payments which were
    received during that time period.  If you enter no tenant, the property
    but no unit and do install the dates, this report will show you the
    rent record of all the units in that particular property in between
    those dates.

    Rent Record --This is another report to show rents received. Its a
    little different than "individual rent record". This report also shows
    if the rent received was cash or check.



                                      -12-


    Annual Profit/Loss -- this report only goes to the printer.  You can
    select all properties or just one property.  Experiment with it --
    you'll like this report also.




                                      -13-


                                    CHAPTER 7


                 S M O K E   D E T E C T O R   O P E R A T I O N



    The smoke detector part of the program is optional.  It is advised,
    however, that you should use it if you own units in the City of
    Milwaukee or anywhere where smoke detector laws are enforced.

    This part of the program is, for the most part, self-explanatory.  You
    can get reports on when batteries in the units' smoke detectors need to
    be changed.  Also, when a new tenant moves in, his name and address
    will appear first because some municipalities require that the battery
    be changed for every new tenant.






                                       14-


                                    CHAPTER 8


                   B A C K I N G   U P   I N F O R M A T I O N



    The most important files to back up are the "DBF" files.  If you have a
    lot of data, it is easier to just back up these files.  To use them,
    you would have to re-index them through the utilities options.


               BACK UP FREQUENTLY -- BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY!