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1988-02-19
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DCHECK
Checking Account Program
Release Version 1.0
(C)COPYRIGHT 1986,87
by
Hudson Computer Bureau, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
This document describes the release version of DCHECK,
which was created by Hudson Computer Bureau, Inc.
in December of 1986.
INTRODUCTION
DCHECK is the copyrighted property of Hudson Computer
Bureau, Inc. You are granted a limited license to use
DCHECK, and to copy it and distribute it, provided that the
following conditions are met:
1) No fee may be charged for such copying and
distribution.
2) DCHECK may ONLY be distributed in its original,
unmodified state.
3) DCHECK may not be distributed, in whole or in part,
as part of any commercial product or service without
the express written permission of Hudson Computer
Bureau.
Contributions for the use of this program will be
appreciated, and should be sent to:
Hudson Computer Bureau, Inc.
43 Lawton Avenue, Cliffside Park, NJ 07010
DCHECK is user supported software. This means that you
may copy it freely and give the copies away to anyone you
wish, at no cost. They are in turn requested to send in a
contribution if they decide to use it.
The user supported software concept (often referred to as
shareware) is an attempt to provide software at low cost.
The cost of offering a new product by conventional means is
staggering, and hence dissuades many independent authors and
small companies from developing and promoting their ideas.
User supported software is an attempt to develop a new
marketing channel, where products can be introduced at low
cost.
This version of DCHECK is the original release version
and it does not contain many of the features present in the
commercial version. Nevertheless this program is fully
operational and will perform without any limitations in the
amount of data stored in its files.
You may not use this release version in a commercial
environment or a governmental organization without paying a
license fee of $30. Site licenses and commercial
distribution licenses are available. See the order form
enclosed with this manual for more details.
You may obtain a commercial release for $40 which
includes a program disk and user's documentation.
Page - 3
SHAREWARE
If user supported software works, then everyone will
benefit. The user will benefit by receiving quality
products at low cost, and by being able to "test drive"
software thoroughly before purchasing it. The author
benefits by being able to enter the commercial software
arena without first needing large sources of venture
capital.
But it can only work with your support. We're not just
talking about DCHECK here, but about all user supported
software. If you obtain a user supported program from a
friend or colleague, and are still using it after a couple
of weeks, then it is obviously worth something to you, and a
contribution should be sent.
This release version of DCHECK is intended to give the
user a preview of the program's capabilities. We believe
that once its usefulness is realized the user will attempt
to obtain the commercial release of DCHECK.
Among the new features in the commercial release are the
following:
1. Handling of multiple accounts.
2. Ability to print checks
3. Tax Record keeping (Items can be flagged for tax purposes.)
4. Standard monthly payments can be stored and set aside
for each monthly cycle (Batch payment records in groups).
5. Electronic Calculator - with memory.
6. Report Facility - All types of status reports.
7. DCHECK Utilities - Backup, Restore, Index, etc...
8. Ability to create your own account(s) portfolio.
9. Help Screens are available from all the screens.
10. Conversion of data files from/to Lotus 123 & Multiplan
11. Conversion of data files to other database packages.
** A Networking version is soon to be released.
Page - 4
What is DCHECK ?
DCHECK is a program used to create and maintain personal
checking accounts. It will let you store checks and deposits
made to your bank account. In the same manner it will let
you balance your checking account and report any
discrepancies.
Keeping an accurate record of your checking accounts, and
trying to balance it against your bank's monthly statement,
is one of the most time consuming and tedious chores you
have to deal with month after month. DCHECK will minimize
the amount of time you take in keeping track of your
accounts and will accurately calculate your balances. It
also provides a variety of other functions and reports that
will assist you through this dreary but indispensable task.
DCHECK is distributed in archive form, and contains
several program and data files which are essential in the
operation of the program. Of special importance are the
files which have the extension *.DBF, since these are the
files that will contain your account data.
The DCHECK.ARC file should contain the following files:
* DCHECK .EXE.....The DCHECK program.
* ACCLST .DBF.....Account Basic Information
* ACCOUNT .DBF.....Your Account Data File.
* TEMP .DBF.....Temporary Data File.
* ACCOUNT .NTX.....Index by Check No.
* DACCOUNT.NTX.....Index by Date.
* DCHECK .TXT.....DCHECK Documentation in ASCII format.
* DCHECK .DOC.....DCHECK Documentation in MS WORD format.
* EPLQ .STY.....MS WORD Style Sheet for Epson Printer.
Page - 5
USING DCHECK
DCHECK is a menu driven application, and that means that
all of its program options are displayed in a menu like
screen from which the user will be able to select the one
that is required.
In choosing certain options, the program sometimes
displays other menus, which disclose more options. This
means that the system has been fashioned in a tree
structure, where menus may contain sub-menus.
Example:
MAIN MENU
|
.------------------------------------------.
| | | |
| | | |
Sub-Menu.1 Sub-Menu.2 Sub-Menu.3 ....
|
|
.------------------.
| |
Menu.2.1 Menu.2.2 Menu.2.3
This menu driven structure makes it easy for the user to
travel through the program without having to remember any
specific commands.
When DCHECK starts, it displays the following menu:
CHECK ACCOUNT SYSTEM
0. EXIT - Checking Account System
1. Enter Personal Account Database
2. Create Personal Account
3. Change Personal Account
PLEASE SELECT OPTION:__
Page - 6
CREATING YOUR PERSONAL ACCOUNT (Cont.):
Before you start entering checks and deposits into your
account, you have to create one. This is done by selecting
option '2' from the main menu. All the information the
system needs, is your account name, account number, and bank
name.
Only after you have completed this step, will you be able
to proceed on into the Check Register Menu screen.
Page - 7
CHECK REGISTER OPTIONS
Selecting option '1' from the main menu will display the
following menu:
CHECK REGISTER MENU
0. EXIT - To Main Menu
1. Enter - Checks or Deposits
2. Edit - Checks or Deposits
3. Delete - Checks or Deposits
4. List - Checks & Deposits
5. Determine Current Balance
6. Balance - Bank Statement
7. Print - General Report
8. Remove - Records Marked for Deletion
9. Reindex - The Account File
PLEASE ENTER SELECTION:__
As you may observe the menu options are self explanatory
and don't require any further clarification. The user will
also notice, that the screens displayed for the first three
options are the same and only the function and color of the
screens differentiate them from one another. In time, the
user will recognize the function just by its color alone.
This may not be the case if you are running the program in a
monochrome monitor.
Page - 8
ADDING CHECKS:
To add a check or deposit the program will display a
screen with a small option menu at the bottom of the screen.
Basically all the system needs to know is whether you'd like
to add a check or a deposit. If you need to add a check just
press 'C' and the system will provide a card where you will
enter the following information:
Check Number : ___
Check Paid to : ________________
Amount of Check : ________
Date of check : __/__/__
Comments : ________________________
The comments field is used to enter any other information
that pertains to the item you just added (i.e Car Insurance
Payment).
When adding a check the system will conduct a systematic
validation that will prevent the creation of duplicate check
numbers. If the check number already exists the system will
suggest the use of a different number.
ADDING DEPOSITS:
To add a deposit just press 'D' and the system will
display a card requiring the following information:
Amount of Deposit: ________
Date of Deposit : __/__/__
Comments : ________________________
To exit the ADD function just press 'X' which will return
command to the Check Register Menu.
Page - 9
EDITING CHECKS:
TO edit a check, you will have to specify the check
number. As soon as you enter the information, the system
will conduct a search of such number. If the check number
is found, the system will display the check to be edited;
otherwise it displays an error message.
All the fields except the check number field can be
edited. This is done for the purpose of avoiding the
creation of duplicate records.
EDITING DEPOSITS:
To edit a deposit the system needs to know the record
number of the deposit. This record number can be obtained by
listing all the items in the account (Item 4 in the check
register menu).
When entering the record number the system will verify
that in fact such record is a deposit. If the record is not
a deposit or just doesn't exist, the system will inform the
user with an error message and will return command to the
edit screen menu.
To exit the EDIT function just press 'X' which will return
command to the Check Register Menu.
DELETING CHECKS & DEPOSITS:
The DELETE function will allow the user to indicate which
checks and which deposits should be deleted from the current
account. At this point the record is only marked for
deletion but it will continue to exist as part of the file.
To completely remove all records marked for deletion select
option '8' from the Check Register Menu.
DETERMINING CURRENT BALANCE:
To determine the current balance of your present account
just press '5' from the Check Register Menu and let DCHECK
do the rest. When the balance is calculated the system will
display the following:
Previous Account Balance : $______
Total Debits in the Account: $______
Total Deposits in the Acct.: $______
Checking Account Balance : $______ as of 00/00/00
Page - 10
BALANCING YOUR CHECKING ACCOUNT
Balancing your checking account so that it matches your
bank report is the most important process of the entire
monthly cycle. It is at this point in time when you will
determine the accuracy of your records as well as that of
the Bank's. Therefore it remains critical that this process
is performed correctly.
To balance the account first select option '6' from the
Check Register Menu. This in turn will display another menu
which contain the following options:
BANK STATEMENT BALANCE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0. EXIT - To Check Register Menu
1. Clear - Checks & Deposits
2. Enter - Bank Charges
3. Print - Cleared Items
4. Print - Not Cleared Items
5. Balance Account
(0) Chossing this option will take you back to the Check
Register Menu.
(1) The first function to be performed is that of clearing
all the items reported in your bank's monthly statement.
At this point the system will display each item and will
ask the user if the item has a match in the bank
statement. As soon as this question is answered the
system will proceed to display the next item and will
continue to do so in this manner until it reaches the
end of the file.
(2) The next step in this process is to enter all bank
charges your account has incurred during the current
cycle. All the charges should be added and entered as a
$ingle amount. Only after you have cleared all the
account items and entered all account charges, will you
be able to properly balance your account.
(3) At this time, a printed report of all cleared items,
will prove to be very helpful in clearing up any
discrepancies in your account. It is strongly
recommended, that you print a general report before you
attempt to balance your checking account.
(4) You can also print a list of all the items that were not
cleared.
Page - 11
Balancing Your Checking Account (Cont.):
(5) By selecting this option the system will attempt to
balance your account. This is done by adding all the
cleared deposits to the previous account balance and
then subtracting all the cleared checks. The calculated
result should match the balance total of your monthly
bank statement. If the balances do not match, it will
mean that one or more items are missing or perhaps
overstated in either your personal account file or the
bank statement report.
Page - 12
SYSTEM UTILITIES
There are other functions which the system needs in order
to maintain the proper order of your account files. Only two
of these functions are present in your release version of
DCHECK. These are displayed as options '8' and '9' from the
Check Register Menu.
REMOVING RECORDS MARKED FOR DELETION:
Even though a record (check or deposit) may be marked for
deletion it will continue to appear as part of your account
file until its finally removed from the system with the
REMOVE command option '8' in the Check Register Menu). This
is mainly done to protect your account file against
erroneous deletions.
Once you choose this option the system will ask you to
confirm such an action. At this point it will only accept a
'Y' or 'N' answer.
In removing or deleting records from the account file the
system will also take the opportunity to rearrange the file.
This is a process that will take about 30 seconds at most.
REINDEXING THE ACCOUNT FILE:
There may be times when data in your files may get out of
order or may get damaged due to hardware breakdowns of
malfunctions in the software or the Operating System. In
most cases a damaged file can be fixed by simply reindexing
the file. This is a process which only takes a little
while to execute.
If the malfunction persists it may be necessary to
perform more surgery to the damaged file. This could be
done with the aid of other utilities, such as the Norton
Utilities, or by restoring a back up file. In either case
you may sustain a possible partial loss of data.
The commercial version of DCHECK provides a variety of
tools that allow the user to repair damaged files with
minimum effort.
Page - 13
PROGRAM HISTORY
DCHECK was written by one of our former consultants back
in 1986 as a small utility for his wife, who was in charge
of maintaining the family checking account. He later
introduced the program to us and we have been using it ever
since. In fact, the program became so popular in our
company that we decided to buy the program's code and the
software rights to it. Since then, we have made some major
modifications and enhancements to the program to make it
what it is today.
This release version, with some minor modifications, is a
close variation of the original. So now you will see why we
got so euphoric about this little program.
DCHECK was written and developed in dBASE III. For those
of you who don't know, dBASE III is a database management
program that comes equipped with its own query language or
programming code. This query language feature, provides the
user with extensive and sophisticated programing
capabilities.
The commercial version of DCHECK was created with dBASE
III Plus, which is the latest version of the dBASE series.
The code was then compiled with Clipper, from Nantucket,
which is a dBASE code compiler. The compiled program still
uses data files in the dBASE format and only the index files
differ from dbASE III index files.
____________________________________________________________
Page - 14
CREDITS
If we have achieved tremendous success in creating useful
software, its because we were able to match the innovating
idea of one individual with the great development effort of
our technical staff. Nothing is created unto itself, and
DCHECK is no exception. Therefore, we would like to give
credit to the following people, without whose efforts DCHECK
could not exist:
____________________________________________________________
Caesar Padilla, former computer consultant of Hudson
Computer Bureau, and author of the original version of
DCHECK. Caesar has remained a constant and valuable
contributor in this endeavor.
James D. McAndrew and Alex Freed, who developed and
implemented all the major enhancements on the commercial
version of DCHECK. Their technical contributions are
greatly appreciated.
Michael Welch, who assisted in the compiling of the program
code, and who introduced features we did not think were
possible in dBASE.
Ginny Orozco, who contributed valuable marketing research
information.
Ashton & Tate - They provided outstanding technical
assistance during the programing phase of the project.
We are also thankful for the support and appreciation we
have received from many users of DCHECK. We hope that you
find this program of use.
Page - 15
BULLETIN BOARDS
DCHECK is distributed mainly through shareware channels.
Among other things, this means that DCHECK is available from
many bulletin board systems.
MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS
Registered users of DCHECK receive 60 days of telephone
support at no extra charge. If you wish, you can extend
this by purchasing a maintenance contract.
A maintenance contract costs $80 per year and entitles
you to unlimited telephone support
SITE LICENSES
Corporate users may wish to obtain a site license for the
use of DCHECK. Please use the order form in this manual to
order a site license. Site licenses are granted as sonn as
we receive your payment. License fees vary depending on the
number of computers on which DCHECK will be used, as
follows:
1 to 9 machines $40 each
10 to 24 machines $30 each
25 to 49 machines $25 each
50 to 99 machines $20 each
over 99 machines $2000 one time fee
Enclosed is a site license agreement, which should be
signed and sent with your payment when ordering a commercial
site license.
A commercial site license does not include additional
copies of the DCHECK program disk and the DCHECK manual.
Instead, you make your own copies of the disk and manual
as you need them. If you wish, you can order additional
program disks and manuals from us.
Additional program disks cost $20 each. Additional
manuals cost $25 each. If you wish, you can order program
sets for $40 each. A "program set" is a program disk and
manual enclosed in a vinyl binder.
There is a $40 minimum on all orders.
Page - 16
SITE LICENSE APPLICATION
The use of DCHECK in a commercial environment or government
organization is granted under the following terms:
1. Payment of the license fee must be made to Hudson
Computer Bureau, Inc. The fee is based on the number
of computers which will be used to run DCHECK, as
follows:
1 to 9 machines $40 each
10 to 24 machines $30 each
25 to 49 machines $25 each
50 to 99 machines $20 each
over 99 machines $2000 one time fee
2. You may use DCHECK on the number of computers
included in the license fee. If you have paid the
fee for over 99 machines, then you may use DCHECK on
any number of computers within your organization.
3. You may make copies of the program and documentation, in
their original, unmodified form, without restriction.
You may distribute these copies without restriction.
4. You may use all future versions of DCHECK under this
license.
5. You may not modify the program or charge a fee for copying
or distributing the program or its documentation.
6. It is your responsibility to make the necessary copies
and to deliver them to the computers which they will be
used on. If you wish, you can order additional DCHECK
program disks and manuals.
DISCLAIMER
Hudson Computer Bureau shall not be held liable for any damage
incurred by the user to hardware, software, & peripheral devices
while running DCHECK. All resposibilty lies with the user.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I agree to abide by the terms and conditions of this license.
_______________________________ ____________________________
Signature Date
_______________________________ ____________________________
Name (please print or type) Title
____________________________
Company
ORDER FORM
Check which items you wish to purchase:
[] Noncommercial license for the use of DCHECK.
____ [] Commercial license for the use of DCHECK on ___
computers (see attached price schedule and terms).
[] Program disk and documentation (only on orders of $50 or
more, not counting maintenance contracts).
____ [] additional program disks at $15 per disk.
____ [] additional manuals at $20 per manual
____ [] additional program sets (disk, manual, and binder)
at $40 per program set.
____ [] One year maintenance agreement at $60 per year.
____ [] Payment of $ is enclosed (check or money order).
_________________________________
Signature:
_______________________________________________
Name
_______________________________________________
Address
______________________ ________ ____________
City State Zip
Send the completed form to:
Hudson Computer Bureau, Inc.
43 Lawton Avenue, Cliffside Park, NJ 07010
For program disk orders outside the U.S., please add an additional
$5, and enclose an international money order payable in U.S. currency.
For commercial site license orders, please enclose a signed copy
of the site license agreement.