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1990-02-15
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╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ THE LITTLE GUY'S SENSIBLE RENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒║
╠════════════════════════════╡ Version 2.0 ╞══════════════════════════╣
║ ║
║ ██████ █ █ █ ██ ██ █ █████ ██████ ████ ║
║ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ ║
║ ██████ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ ██████ █ █ ║
║ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ ║
║ █████████ █████ █████ █ █ █████ █████ █ █ ████ ║
║ tm ║
║ "AS-EASY-AS" (tm) SPREADSHEET RENTAL MANAGEMENT WORKSHEETS ║
║ Track up to eight buildings of up to eight units each ║
║ ─────────────────── ║
║ By Henry B. Baker ║
║ ─────────────────── ║
║▒▒▒ SINGLE-ENTRY ▒ MENU-DRIVEN ▒ FAST ▒ RELIABLE ▒ EASY TO LEARN ▒▒▒▒║
╠═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ 761 San Carlos Dr. ■ Fort Myers Beach, Fla. 33931 ■ (813)463-2111 ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
AS-EASY-AS is a trademark of Trius Inc.
- CONTENTS -
Registration...................................Page 2
History and Background.........................Page 3
Introduction and Overview......................Page 5
Description of Each File in the Archive........Page 7
Installation...................................Page 8
Menu Structure Flowchart.......................Page 9
Menus and Worksheets...........................Page 10
Main Menu.................................Page 10
Bldg. Menu................................Page 10
Ledger....................................Page 11
Income Tax Sheet..........................Page 11
Tenants Database..........................Page 12
Expenses Database.........................Page 12
Other Menu Selections..........................Page 12
View and View/Edit........................Page 12
Data Form.................................Page 12
Save and Rtrn/Save........................Page 13
Print.....................................Page 13
Quit......................................Page 13
Customizing the Worksheets and Menu Macros.....Page 13
Customizing the Worksheets................Page 13
Customizing the Menu Macros...............Page 14
Beginning a New Year with Clean Worksheets.....Page 15
Locked Headers and Left Column.................Page 15
My System and Work Flow........................Page 16
Versions.......................................Page 17
- PAGE 2 -
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ REGISTRATION ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
--------------------------------------------
And now, here's a word from our sponsor...
--------------------------------------------
Many, many, many hours went into the creation and checking of these
worksheets and their menu macros.
If you like them and continue to use them, they obviously have some
value to you.
I think they should be worth about ten bucks to anyone who uses them
regularly, but if you can't afford that (kick out those deadbeats and get
some quality tenants), any amount will make me real proud and happy.
Registration couldn't be simpler, once you've made the decision to
part with the bucks. Just get your printer and paper all cranked up and
aligned then run the file REGISTER.COM.
When the registration form comes up, hit the "t", and follow the
prompts. Fold the mailer on the dotted lines, put cash, check or money
order inside, staple or tape the thing shut, stick a stamp on it, drop
it in a mailbox and your government will do the rest (which is to say, I
may or may not get it).
What's your reward? How about a great little rental management
system and a clear conscience?
Please feel encouraged to distribute the program to bulletin board
systems, your friends, enemies, neighbors, relatives, girlfriends,
boyfriends, former favorite teachers, your boss, your employees, random
acquaintances, people you meet on the street, and anyone else you think
might benefit from it.
All I ask is that you keep all the files intact as distributed in the
original archive.
Also, if you use the system and find bugs crawling around anywhere
I'd like to be informed of their whereabouts. Or if you have any suggestions
on improvements, add-ons or whatever, I'll always be receptive, not to
mention eternally grateful.
I can be contacted at the address and phone number in this manual,
or messaged on the EXEC-PC BBS, 414-789-4210.
Thanks,
Hank
- PAGE 3 -
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ WHAT'S IN A NAME? ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
First off, let's get this business of the name out of the way.
I've been in the penny ante rent racket about 20 years now and all my
alleged friends long ago took to calling me "The Slumlord." Admittedly,
none of my properties is going to win any community beautification
award, but I myself wouldn't exactly call them slums. I like to think of
them as working folks' housing.
Nevertheless, I kind of liked the moniker and when I couldn't find
another name for this collection of worksheets that someone else hadn't
already glommed onto I thought, what the hell, why not "Slumlord." You've
got to admit, it's a better than middling attention grabber.
The only possible problem might arise from the fact it sounds like some
perverted form of Monopoly game.
Take my word for it, it ain't.
What it is is a highly effective, yet amazingly simple and easy system
for keeping all the records any small-time landlord needs to bother with.
My entire knowledge of and concern with bookkeeping consists of this and
nothing more: You take in X amount of money in a business and you spend X
amount of money operating the business. Subtract what you spend from what
you took in and, bingo, you've got the bottom line -- profit or loss,
champagne or beer.
Simple as that. Why complicate things -- that's what you pay your
tax preparer for. And if you're bored with life to the extent that you do
your own taxes, I think you'll find these worksheets make even that
ridiculous form of amusement immensely easier.
I designed the original worksheets several years ago after I
mysteriously came into possession of some disks which contained a rather
famous spreadsheet program which, owing to the questionable circumstances
under which I acquired it, will herein remain unnamed.
But there was always one big problem with them: The authors of that
much vaunted program apparently never came down from their ivory tower
long enough to notice that other spreadsheets were linking files all
over the place. Therefore, my original worksheets had no file linking
capability, which caused a great deal of duplicated effort. And the
program's combine feature seemed too much of a bother to fool with.
This, of course, led my normally lazy nature right down the path of
destruction. In short, I got bored real soon with entering all those
numbers two or three times and finally just quit doing it, which caused huge
amorphous piles of unrecorded receipts to accumulate about the house.
- PAGE 4 -
Next, I started playing around with the few shareware rental programs
in circulation. Most of them were either extremely cumbersome or had a
deadly tendency to go totally and inexplicably insane after you'd fed a few
months of numbers into them. When a program locks up on me more than twice,
I lose interest in it real quick.
I even bought one that seemed to make some sense, only to discover that
in the registered version every time you changed tenants you had to change
the damned number of the building or unit. Having to use numbers for
buildings and units at all is hard enough on my sieve brain, but to have to
change them just because some tenant moves is patently unacceptable. Tenants,
you know, have a tendency to move -- often.
And I never liked the fact that your data disappears into the bowels
of those programs and you're at the mercy of reports to find out what's
been going on with your business. I always liked the spreadsheet, which
shows you at a glance what's going on. I just couldn't discipline myself
into entering the same stuff two or three times.
Then one day I was browsing through an article about that famous
spreadsheet program's finally discovering file linking. One sentence jumped
right out at me: "Linking has long been a staple of other spreadsheets..."
My God, I thought, if that's true what if there's a good little
shareware spreadsheet out there somewhere that DOES IT. Then I remembered
playing around with something called As-Easy-As a year or so ago, but
dismissing it out of hand because, after all, I had the Big Guy -- why
bother with the amateurs.
So I started frantically searching through my EXEC-PC file lists and
found it -- Version 4.00 -- the latest. I downloaded it immediately and
sure as hell, there it was -- FILE LINKING. But I couldn't figure out from
its cryptic help file how to link more than one file. So I called their
number on a Saturday morning and -- would you believe it? -- got the author
himself, David Schulz. In about two minutes, he told me how to link
multiple files and I ordered the program right then and there.
At fifty bucks, this great spreadsheet not only is As-Easy-As, it's a
helluva lot Cheaper-Than, and I suspect it's even Better-Than or at least
As-Good-As the biggie's new file linking release, which goes for more than
$350 even from the mail order discounters.
If you've downloaded this set of worksheets out of sheer curiosity
and don't have As-Easy-As, you should get it immediately. It's available
on many bulletin boards or from the company, Trius Inc., 231 Sutton St.,
Suite 2D-3, North Andover, MA 01845. Their phone number is 508-794-9377.
It's an easy system to learn, and if you've used Lotus 1-2-3 you
already know how to use As-Easy-As, since they're amazingly compatible.
If you think I'm touting As-Easy-As pretty hard, you're right. If you
don't have AEA you can't use my worksheets. But aside from that, it's
truly one of those great values in software.
So without further ado let's get on with a few things you need to
know about using this amazingly simple little system.
- PAGE 5 -
Of course, should the use of these worksheets burn up your computer or
your house, kill your dog, cause your renters to form a tenants' union
or otherwise wreak havoc in your life, I disavow any responsibility for such
obviously chance events. Blame God or your wife or girlfriend -- not me.
This brief manual assumes you have at least a rudimentary working
familiarity with spreadsheet programs. If you do, this system may be
self-explanatory. But I'm not about to leave it to such vagaries as that.
Too much software, both commercial and shareware, comes down the pike
with instructions Einstein couldn't understand. I don't intend to be
accused of crimes of documentation. Therefore, if parts of this seem
obvious to you, just browse over them.
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
WHAT IT ISN'T
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
There are certain features large rental management programs offer that
Slumlord doesn't and it's important for you to know what they are, since you
may need them in your particular application. It does not:
■ Provide for detailed accounts of to whom, for what and the date every
expenditure was made. It does, however, offer a database in which
major expenditures can be listed. When you think about it, when was
the last time you were seriously interested in exactly when and where
you bought those cleaning supplies, locksets, miscellaneous screen,
lumber, nails, etc.?
■ Feature elaborate reports on such items as past due rent, lease
expiration dates, tenant phone numbers, expenditures, income,
profit/loss. However, all of this information is available quickly
from the databases or a fast glance at the worksheets.
■ Offer single pop-up entry screens for income and expenditures, using
numbers for individual buildings and units. I hate numbers.
WHAT IT IS
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
What Slumlord does, quite simply, is offer a single-page accounting
of income and expenses by the month for each of up to eight buildings of
up to eight units each.
It does this by utilizing a separate worksheet for each building,
which includes rental income and expenses for that building, and one general
ledger worksheet, which pulls together all the property worksheet figures
through file linking for a combined report on all properties. All you need
enter manually in the ledger worksheet are expenses pertaining to your
rental business in general, not a specific property.
- PAGE 6 -
A third file-linked worksheet pulls all those figures together for a
report to include with your federal income tax return. No need to enter
anthing in this worksheet. Just print it and take it to your tax preparer
or use it to do your own taxes.
It does all this quickly, efficiently and reliably through a system of
AEA's powerful menu macros built into each worksheet.
Here are features you'll appreciate immediately:
■ Move from one worksheet to another at the touch of a single key.
■ See at a glance whose rent is paid and who's behind for what month.
■ See at a glance how much was paid in any of 21 expense categories for
each month of the year.
■ See at a glance the bottom line profit/loss for any individual
property or all properties combined.
■ Current worksheet is automatically saved when you retrieve another
one or go to another area.
- PAGE 7 -
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ FILES INCLUDED IN THIS ARCHIVE ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓║
╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ PROP1.WKS <─────┐ ║
║ PROP2.WKS │ ║
║ PROP3.WKS │ ║
║ PROP4.WKS │ Individual property worksheets ║
║ PROP5.WKS │ ║
║ PROP6.WKS │ ║
║ PROP7.WKS │ ║
║ PROP8.WKS <─────┘ ║
║ ║
║ LEDGER.WKS <───── General ledger worksheet linked to property worksheets ║
║ ║
║ TAXSHEET.WKS <─── Linked worksheet to include with income tax return ║
║ ║
║ EXPENSE1.WKS <──┐ ║
║ EXPENSE2.WKS │ ║
║ EXPENSE3.WKS │ ║
║ EXPENSE4.WKS │ Major expenses database for each property worksheet ║
║ EXPENSE5.WKS │ ║
║ EXPENSE6.WKS │ ║
║ EXPENSE7.WKS │ ║
║ EXPENSE8.WKS <──┘ ║
║ ║
║ TENANT-1.WKS <──┐ ║
║ TENANT-2.WKS │ ║
║ TENANT-3.WKS │ ║
║ TENANT-4.WKS │ Tenant database for each property worksheet ║
║ TENANT-5.WKS │ ║
║ TENANT-6.WKS │ ║
║ TENANT-7.WKS │ ║
║ TENANT-8.WKS <──┘ ║
║ ║
║ SL.BAT <───────── Batch file to start "Slumlord" ║
║ ║
║ BACKUP.BAT <───── Batch file to expedite backups to floppies ║
║ ║
║ NEW-YEAR.BAT <─── Batch file to expedite copying clean worksheets into ║
║ your directory at the beginning of a new year. ║
║ ║
║ REGISTER.COM <─── Registration form in an easy-to-print mailer ║
║ ║
║ SLMLRD20.DOC <─── This file ║
║ ║
║ KEYFAKE.COM <───┐ Great little utility that automatically enters ║
║ KEYFAKE.DOC <───┘ keystrokes in a program. It is called by SL.BAT ║
║ to bypass AEA's opening screen. It must be in the ║
║ same directory with SL.BAT or in a directory on the ║
║ DOS path. ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
- PAGE 8 -
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ INSTALLATION ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
To run the worksheets, you must have Version 4.00 of the "As-Easy-As"
spreadsheet program. Earlier versions of the program don't link files, the
feature which makes Slumlord so convenient to use.
As of February 1990, the latest version was 4.00j.
Setup is simple: Just copy all the worksheet files into the directory
where AEA resides. If you want all your worksheet files in their own
directory, one of AEA's many command line switch options allows you to store
your worksheets in another drive or directory. Therefore, if you have a
dual floppy disk system you can have the AEA files in one drive and data
files in the other.
*********************** TWO VERY IMPORTANT POINTS ***************************
■ ALL THE WORKSHEET FILES MUST BE PRESENT IN THE SAME DIRECTORY, WHATEVER
IT IS. Even if you don't own enough buildings to use all the PROP1-8.WKS
files, they must all be present. This is because the linked cells in
LEDGER.WKS and TAXSHEET.WKS look for these files and if they are not present
you'll get error messages.
■ In order for Slumlord to open properly you MUST use SL.BAT to start
the program. This batch file calls ASEASY.EXE with the command line switch
to automatically load MAINMENU.WKS. Just type SL [enter] You may want to
add some switches of your own, such as one to tell AEA to look for its data
files in a different directory.
*****************************************************************************
At this point, it might be a good idea to study the menu structure
diagrams below, then run the program and play around with it awhile -- go
through the menus and give the worksheets a good scrutiny. That might make
the rest of these instructions easier to understand. Or better still, print
this now and read it with the program up and running.
Your printer must be set to handle the extended ASCII character set
(IBM graphics) in order to print these fancy lines and headings, but if it
won't that's no big deal, since the text will come out ok.
- PAGE 9 -
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ MENU STRUCTURE ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Lowercase names in parentheses are the actual filenames of individual
worksheets or sets of worksheets.
MAIN OPENING
MENU
(mainmenu.wks)
╔═══════════╗
┌───────────────────────╫─BLDG.MENU ║
│ ┌──────╫─LEDGER ║
│ │ ┌──╫─INCOME TAX║
│ │ │ ║ TENANTS───╫───────────────┐
│ │ │ ║ QUIT ║ │
│ │ │ ╚═══════════╝ │
MENU TO PICK │ │ MENU TO PICK
INDIVIDUAL │ │ INDIVIDUAL
PROPERTY │ │ TENANT DATABASE
WORKSHEETS │ │ WORKSHEETS
╔═══════════╗ │ │ ╔═══════════╗
║ 1 ║ │ └────────────────┐ ║ 1 ║
║ 2 ║ │ │ ║ 2 ║
┌──╢ 3 ║ │ │ ║ 3 ╟───┐
│ ║ 4 ║ │ │ ║ 4 ║ │
│ ║ 5 ║ │ │ ║ 5 ║ │
│ ║ 6 ║ │ │ ║ 6 ║ │
│ ║ 7 ║ │ │ ║ 7 ║ │
│ ║ 8 ║ │ │ ║ 8 ║ │
│ ║ Prev.Menu ║ │ │ ║ Prev.Menu ║ │
│ ╚═══════════╝ │ │ ╚═══════════╝ │
│ │ │ │
INDIVIDUAL GENERAL INCOME INDIVIDUAL
PROPERTY LEDGER TAX TENANT D-B
WORKSHEET WORKSHEET WORKSHEET WORKSHEET
MENU MENU MENU MENU
(prop1-8.wks) (ledger.wks) (taxsheet.wks) (tenant-1-8.wks)
╔═══════════╗ ╔════════════╗ ╔═══════════╗ ╔═══════════╗
║ VIEW/EDIT ║ ║ VIEW/EDIT ║ ║ VIEW ║ ║ DATA FORM ║
║ SAVE ║ ║ SAVE ║ ║ SAVE ║ ║ SAVE ║
║ PRINT ║ ║ PRINT ║ ║ PRINT ║ ║ PRINT ║
║ BLDG.MENU ║ ║ INCOME TAX ║ ║ LEDGER ║ ║ RTRN/SAVE ║
║ LEDGER ║ ║ BLDG.MENU ║ ║ BLDG.MENU ║ ┌───╢ TENANTS ║
║ EXPENSES──╫────┐ ║ MAIN MENU ║ ║ MAIN MENU ║ │ ║ BLDG.MENU ║
║ TENANTS───╫──┐ │ ║ QUIT ║ ║ QUIT ║ │ ║ MAIN MENU ║
║ MAIN MENU ║ │ │ ╚════════════╝ ╚═══════════╝ │ ║ QUIT ║
║ QUIT ║ └─┼────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ╚═══════════╝
╚═══════════╝ │ INDIVIDUAL
│ EXPENSE D-B
│ WORKSHEET ┌─────────────────────────┐
│ MENU │ This flowchart shows │
│ (expense1-8.wks) │ the basic menu setup. │
│ ╔═══════════╗ │ │
│ ║ DATA FORM ║ │ A closer look at the │
│ ║ SAVE ║ │ individual menus shows │
│ ║ PRINT ║ │ how you can go directly │
│ ║ RTRN/SAVE ║ │ to many areas without │
└─────║ EXPENSES ║ │ returning to the Main │
║ BLDG.MENU ║ │ Menu. │
║ MAIN MENU ║ └─────────────────────────┘
║ QUIT ║
╚═══════════╝
- PAGE 10 -
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ MENUS AND WORKSHEETS ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
The macros built into each worksheet have nothing to do with the
functions, formulas and calculations built into each worksheet, which
operates on its own. And the only dependence of one worksheet on another is
the file linking performed by ledger.wks and taxsheet.wks, which pull numbers
from the various property worksheets.
The macros do nothing except present the menus and offer options for
doing various operations such as saving and retrieving files faster than you
could manually with AEA's menus.
Menus come up automatically when a worksheet is retrieved. To remove
the menu and edit or move around the worksheet, select the VIEW or VIEW/EDIT
option from the menu by putting the cursor on it and pressing the [enter]
key or simply pressing the option's first letter. The [ESC] key also will
remove the menu. What you're doing is simply stopping the menu macro.
All menu options can be selected by entering the first letter or
number.
Any menu can be recalled from anywhere in any worksheet simply by
pressing the ALT-M keys simultaneously.
IMPORTANT SAFETY FEATURE: Your current worksheet is automatically saved
when you retrieve another worksheet or go to another area.
MAIN MENU (mainmenu.wks)
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
The Main Menu does nothing except give you an initial choice of options
when the program starts. It is necessary to return to it to select some
worksheets whose options are not included in the individual menus.
BLDG.MENU ■ Individual property worksheets (prop1-8.wks)
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You'll use one of these eight worksheets for each building.
IMPORTANT: The worksheet number (prop1.wks, prop2.wks, etc.) will be
that property's number throughout LEDGER.WKS, TAXSHEET.WKS and the menu
macros. The file linking refers to specific worksheets for specific
properties.
For example, if you assigned No. 1 to a property at 235 Elm St. then you
would use the PROP1.WKS worksheet for that property. A property at 365
Sycamore you decided would be No. 2 would use PROP2.WKS and so on.
Each number designation must pertain to its property all through the
system -- through ledger.wks, taxsheet.wks, expense1-8.wks and
tenant-1 to -8.wks.
- PAGE 11 -
Each month you simply enter each tenant's rent and the various expenses
for that month in each property's worksheet.
A quick glance at any time shows what tenants are behind in their rent
and for what month(s).
REMEMBER: Even though you may not own enough buildings to use all these
worksheets, THEY MUST ALL BE IN THE DIRECTORY ACCESSED BY AS-EASY-AS. The
file linking of ledger.wks and taxsheet.wks looks for these files and the
absence of any one of them will cause these worksheets to produce error
messages.
LEDGER ■ General ledger linked to property worksheets (ledger.wks)
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
This worksheet contains three sections: 1) Total RENTAL INCOME by
property for each month; 2) Total RENTAL EXPENSES for all properties in each
of the 21 categories by month; and 3) six OTHER EXPENSES categories by month.
Each time this file is retrieved each linked cell in the first two
sections through a series of AEA's @LINK commands pulls the data from
the corresponding cells of each of the individual property worksheets.
No data should be entered directly by you in either of these two
sections.
For example, here's the link command in cell C34:
@LINK("Prop1.wks>c34")+@LINK("Prop2.wks>c34")+@LINK("Prop3.wks>c34")+@LINK("Pr
op4.wks>c34")+@LINK("Prop5.wks>c34")+@LINK("Prop6.wks>c34")+@LINK("prop7.wks>c
34")+@LINK("prop8.wks>c34")
In the RENTAL EXPENSES section there are 252 cells (21 categories times
12 months) containing these sets of commands and each is unique. Each set is
linked to the corresponding cells in each of the individual property
worksheets. Because of this extensive file linking, the ledger worksheet
takes about a minute and a half to load. (I guarantee you it took a helluva
lot longer than that to enter them all in. That alone should be worth the
ten bucks registration if you like and use the system.)
The third section, OTHER EXPENSES, contains six categories of expenses
which apply not to any specific property but your rental business in
general. You should enter these expenses here.
Any of these expense categories can be changed to meet your specific
needs, but -- AND THIS IS VITALLY IMPORTANT -- if you change one, you MUST
change it also IN THE SAME PLACE wherever else it appears. This is because
each category appears in the same place everywhere else and the file linking
DEPENDS TOTALLY on this.
INCOME TAX ■ Linked worksheet to include with tax return (taxsheet.wks)
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This worksheet simply organizes the data a little differently. Instead
of listing income and expenses by the month, it lists them by the property,
still providing a breakdown of expenses by category.
- PAGE 12 -
This worksheet, like the ledger worksheet, pulls its data from the
linked cells of the property worksheets and also from the ledger worksheet.
Therefore, no data need ever be entered in it.
It pulls RENTAL INCOME and RENTAL EXPENSES from the Totals columns of
the individual worksheets and OTHER EXPENSES from the totals columns of the
ledger worksheet.
This one sheet is all that should be necessary to include with your
federal tax return so far as income from rents is concerned.
TENANTS ■ Tenant databases for each property (tenant-1 to -8.wks)
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
This utilizes AEA 4.00's new Data, Input, Form commands.
It provides a database in which to keep important information on your
tenants.
The TENANTS option in the Main Menu brings up a sub-menu from which you
can select any of the eight tenant databases for each property. The TENANTS
option in each property worksheet menu takes you straight to that property's
tenant database.
Once in the database menu, the DATA FORM option brings up the database
form. After you've entered your records, ESCAPE takes you out of the form.
Alt-M brings up the database menu again. The RTRN/SAVE option saves your
records and returns you to the property worksheet.
EXPENSES ■ Major expenses database for each property (expense1-8.wks)
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Same as the tenant databases.
This one provides a place to keep information on major purchases or
work, such as furniture and appliances or remodeling.
Each one is accessed directly from its property worksheet menu.
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ OTHER MENU SELECTIONS ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
VIEW ■ VIEW/EDIT
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Stops the menu macro so you can review or edit or enter data into a
worksheet. ESCAPE does the same thing.
DATA FORM
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Brings up the data form in the Major Expenses and Tenant databases.
- PAGE 13 -
SAVE ■ RTRN/SAVE
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SAVE simply saves your worksheet and RTRN/SAVE saves your worksheet and
returns you to the property worksheet.
PRINT
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
The print option is set up to print emphasized condensed on an Epson
printer.
If this won't work on your printer, simply enter whatever setup and
codes are necessary for yours.
Because these worksheets are 132 characters wide, whatever your
printer, your AEA printer setup MUST provide for LEFT MARGIN 0, RIGHT
MARGIN 132, PAGE LENGTH 66, TOP 0, BOTTOM 0, TYPE No-Form.
They must be printed with CONDENSED type in order to fit on standard
8½ X 11 paper.
These are the defaults that should be in the worksheets when you
receive them.
NOTE: The print option on the two databases will prompt you for a
print range. This is necessary because the depth obviously changes as
you enter records. Just hit the period (.) and move the cursor to define
the range, then hit enter. BE SURE YOUR PRINTER IS ON. In width, the
expense database goes to Col. G and the tenant database goes to Col. M.
QUIT
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Quits the program and takes you to the DOS command prompt. Your
worksheet is automatically saved.
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║▓▓▓▓▓▓ CUSTOMIZING THE WORKSHEETS AND MENU MACROS FOR YOUR PROPERTIES ▓▓▓▓▓▓║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
What we're about to do now may appear at first to be a helluva lot of
work. Trust me, it's not. It may take an hour or so, but once it's done
you'll have a clean set of worksheets containing your property names, which
you can copy into your directory at the beginning of each year and have ready
to use for the new year in a few minutes. Make the changes described in the
following subsections and then follow the instructions in BEGINNING A NEW
YEAR.
CUSTOMIZING THE WORKSHEETS
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
-------------
PROP1-8.WKS
-------------
Make a list of your properties and assign each one a number from one to
eight.
- PAGE 14 -
Once you've assigned a property to each prop1-8.wks, edit the name or
address of the property in the area
PROPERTY:
YEAR:
but leave YEAR: blank. This is because once you get your worksheets and
menu macros customized for your properties, you'll need to save that set as
clean worksheets with no year or data in them so you can reuse them at the
beginning of each new year. Leave the UNIT AND TENANT area alone for now
also unless you think you'll have the same tenants in future years.
------------
LEDGER.WKS
------------
Leave the area YEAR: blank for now.
Edit the name of each of your properties into the PROPERTY listings.
PROPERTY #1
PROPERTY #2
etc.
--------------
TAXSHEET.WKS
--------------
Edit your name and social security number into those areas. Leave
the current year blank in the box for now.
Edit shortened names for each property into PROPERTY #1, PROPERTY #2,
etc. in the line RENTAL PROPERTY:
CUSTOMIZING THE MENU MACROS
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As you customize each worksheet heading you should also go to the menu
macros and edit your property names into them.
Slumlord's menus operate exactly like AEA's. As the cursor moves
from one option to another the IDENTIFICATION LINE above describes what each
option does. The ID line is always the second line in a menu macro. It is
simply a matter of editing this line to reflect your individual properties.
Just replace Property No. 1, Property No. 2, etc. with the names of your
properties to which you've assigned those numbers.
Here's a list of the worksheets and the cells that begin each row in the
menus and submenus you'll need to change:
MAINMENU.WKS -- B32 and B36
LEDGER.WKS -- B97
TAXSHEET.WKS -- B88
PROP1.WKS through PROP8.WKS -- B79
EXPENSE1.WKS through EXPENSE8.WKS -- Q11 and Q22
TENANT-1.WKS through TENANT-8.WKS -- O11 and O22
Obviously, you need only change those cells for which you have
properties.
- PAGE 15 -
If you wanted to be a bit more elaborate, you could also edit the menu
option lines above the ID lines to include a brief name. But leave the
number intact so you can always just hit the number to go to a particular
worksheet. (If you have duplicate first letters or numbers, AEA will only act
on the one appearing first in the menu when you hit the letter or number.)
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ BEGINNING A NEW YEAR WITH CLEAN WORKSHEETS ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Now that you have your properties entered into the worksheets and menu
macros, you need to save them all on their own floppy disk. You can do this
easily by just inserting a new disk in the A:\ drive and running BACKUP.BAT,
which will copy all the worksheet files to that disk.
Label the disk something like, SLUMLORD: CLEAN NEW YEAR WORKSHEETS.
Copy the batch file NEW-YEAR.BAT to that disk and use it at the start of
each new year to copy your clean worksheets into your Slumlord directory, if
that's the name of the directory where your worksheet files reside. If not,
edit the batch file for whatever directory you're using.
NEW-YEAR.BAT does not replace your tenant database worksheets with clean
ones, since it's assumed you want to keep a record of all your current and
past tenants. If not, edit the batch file to include those filenames.
Now you can go back through ledger.wks, taxsheet.wks and each property
worksheet and edit in the current year and tenants. You'll be surprised at
how little time this takes and it's all you'll need to do at the beginning
of each new year.
After you do this final editing in each worksheet, you'll want to lock
its header and left column, which is explained in the next section.
At the end of each month or whenever you think it's necessary, you can
use BACKUP.BAT to copy your current files onto a disk in the A:\ drive.
Label that disk with the year.
╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ LOCKED HEADERS AND LEFT COLUMN ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
A terrific feature of AEA is the ability to lock row(s) and column(s) so
that they remain stationary as you move around the worksheet. If you've not
been using this feature, now's the ideal time to start.
If you lock the header at the line under the months (Jan., Feb., etc.)
and lock the extreme left column containing the property names and expense
categories, you can move to any cell in the worksheet and always have the
properties and expense categories in view on the left and the dates in view
at the top.
This eliminates the big problem of having to go to a category, cursor
across, scroll up to find the month (which has rolled off the top of the
screen), then scroll back down and hope to hell you're on the right cell
(since the left column by now has probably disappeared off the left side of
the screen).
- PAGE 16 -
The reason I haven't already done this for you is that you need to be
able to get into the header and left column to edit in your property
information. But after you've done this, you should lock the headers and
left column. It's an easy chore.
To do it, you use the Worksheet, Border, Both options.
You should do it in the ledger, taxsheet and each property worksheet.
Simply go to each one and do this:
LEDGER: Place the cursor in Cell B10 and do /wbb.
TAXSHEET: Place the cursor in Cell B13 and do /wbb.
EACH PROPERTY WORKSHEET: Place the cursor in Cell B10 and do /wbb.
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ MY SYSTEM AND WORK FLOW ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Since I'm inherently a lazy person, I spend a lot of time figuring ways
to reduce my daily chores. I hate rote work and unless I systemize it
somehow so that it almost takes care of itself it won't get done. Handling
and filing receipts is a chore I particularly loathe. I learned a long time
ago that if you don't have a predesignated place for every one of them, they
get lost real easy.
Here's how I partially solved those problems. (The only way to solve
them entirely is to hire someone else to do them, a nicety I've unfortunately
found to be cost-prohibitive.)
Since I do most of my own maintenance, I accumulate a lot of receipts
during various trips around town buying material. As soon as I get a receipt
I write on it what it's for and what property it pertains to. Then I put it
under a big spring clip on my sun visor.
In my office I have two sets of file folders. One set consists of
three folders for each property. These folders are labeled Repairs,
Utilities and Miscellaneous. I separate the receipts from the sun visor
and the bills that come to the house into these folders throughout the month.
I keep these folders on my desk in a vertical file holder with a slot
for each property (three folders).
I have another set of folders in a file cabinet next to my computer.
This set consists of one folder for each property.
At the end of the month I take the contents of the desk folders to the
computer, spread them out on a little table and separate them into piles
coinciding with whatever of the 21 categories they fall into. Then I add up
all the receipts in each category and enter those figures into the
worksheets.
When everything is entered I stack up all the receipts for each
building, write the month on a slip of paper on the top and staple it all
together. Each stapled stack goes into its property folder in the file
cabinet by the computer -- hopefully never to see the light of day again
unless I get audited.
- PAGE 17 -
At the end of the year I put the 12 months of stapled receipts for
each building into a plain brown envelope with the property name on it,
put the envelope into a box and pray to God I never have to look at it
again the rest of my life.
When I've made the final entry of the year in the worksheets, I print
the tax sheet and take it to my accountant along with all the other evidence
of how little money I made during the year.
I make myself a printout of each property worksheet, the ledger sheet
and the tax sheet and put them into a loose-leaf folder with separators
for each year.
Then I copy all my worksheet files for the year onto a new disk,
write the year on the label and file it.
Finally, I copy clean worksheets into the computer, enter the dates and
tenants into them and I'm all ready for the new year.
It's the best little system I've found so far. I hope you find it
as useful as I have.
Enjoy,
Henry B. Baker
761 San Carlos Dr.
Fort Myers Beach, Fla. 33931
(813) 463-2111
Feb. 16, 1990
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ VERSIONS ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
11-23-88 v1.0 Worksheets only.
02-16-90 v2.0 Converted to "As-Easy-As" spreadsheet program. Added file
linking, menu macros and tenant and major expense databases.