═══ 1. Introduction ═══ Introduction Electronic Teller consists of two major aspects: the Service Desk and the Account Book. ═══ 2. Account Book ═══ Account Book The account book is used to perform the majority of the account-based activities, such as reconciliation. ═══ 2.1. Account Ledger ═══ Account Ledger The account ledger occupies the majority of the Account Book window. An account is divided into years, and a notebook page is assigned to each year for which at least one transaction exists. The ledger itself is self-evident. In non-expanded mode, only the transaction's date, number (cheque number of transaction code), particulars (or payee), credit or debit and balance are displayed, one per line. If the ledger is expanded, each transaction line height is doubled to accomodate the category, class and memorandum for the transaction, located directly beneath the above-mentioned items. An item's text colour or attribute will display the status of that item. The following legend is used: blue-coloured text indicates the item has been cleared black-coloured text indicates the item has not been cleared half-toned text indicates a postdated transaction striken-out test indicates an item that has been deleted dark-cyan-coloured text indicates a transfer from another folder The only item over which the user has a margin of control is the transferred transaction. To remove the dark-cyan emphasis, simply edit the item, remove the two "> " characters. ═══ 2.2. Balance Forecast ═══ Balance Forecast The Balance Forecast function is used to determine what an account's balance will be on a given date. The first step is defining the target date, which must be greater than the last dated account entry, regardless of whether than entry has been flagged for deletion or not. You can enter the date manually by overwriting the default (31 Dec. of the current system year), or you can use the Up / Down cursor keys to scroll the date forward or backward respectively. Holding the Control key will scroll the month portion of the date. Once a valid date has been entered, Electronic Teller will scan the file begin with the selected year. Any existing records falling within that selected year will be displayed in a list box. All postdated transactions will be expanded temporarily to the ending date inclusively. A running balance will also be displayed to the right of the transaction's amount. ═══ 2.3. Reconciliation ═══ Reconciliation Reconciliation is another term for balancing one's account: marking transactions that appear on a bank or other type of statement, and ensuring that the transactions that appear on the statement and in your account book correspond. This topic will discuss the steps necessary in reconciling an account in addition to explaining how one can add or change transactions that appear in the reconciliation window. Editing Transactions The reconciliation window is modal to the account book, but this does not mean that a transaction appearing in the listbox cannot be edited. To edit such a transaction, double-click on the entry in question while simultaneously holding the Control key. Electronic Teller will trap that double-click and invoke the transaction dialog rather than mark the transaction as cleared. Make any necessary changes and click OK. The changes will be reflected both in the reconciliation window and the account book. Note: Changes made to a date will not result in a resorted list. ═══ 2.4. (Un)deleting Records ═══ (Un)deleting Records Delete / Undelete / Shred ═══ 3. Service Desk ═══ Service Desk To delete one or more transactions, select them from the account ledger, and click the waste-basket icon or select the appropriate menu item. To undelete one or more deleted transactions, select them from the account ledger, and either hold the Control key while clicking the waste basket, or select the appropriate menu item. To shred deleted records, select them from the account ledger and choose one of the delete controls. That is, deleting already deleted transactions removes them permanently from the account. ═══ 3.1. Folders Container ═══ Folders Container The folders container in the Service Desk is used to define folders -- collections of accounts. More than one folder can be opened at a time, but moving accounts between folders is not, neither is transaction linking between accounts in separate folders. It is best to consider folders as quasi-secure collections of accounts, best used for those who maintain the accounts of more than one individual, or for multiple users who prefer to have a certain amount of data security. Folders can be password protected when creating or editing them. Be sure to assign a memorable password -- these are encrypted and saved in binary format. In other words, once set, there is no way to gain access to a password-protected folder without destroying the key file that governs its existence. To open a folder, simply double-click on it. To close a folder, double-click on it a second time. Folders may be dragged to the shredder for deletion, but deletion never occurs without explicit confirmation from the user. ═══ 3.2. Accounts Container ═══ Accounts Container The accounts container in the Service Desk houses the defined accounts for the opened folder. From the Service Desk, one can open one or more accounts, drag transactions to accounts for copying, moving, or linking, etc. ═══ 3.3. Account Management ═══ Accounts Management The Account Management notebook allows a user to create or edit accounts. Like all OS/2 notebooks, closing the notebook preserves any changes. If the account's name field is left empty, no changes are preserved. Creating an account is fairly self-explanatory, except, perhaps, for the calendar on the first page. Selecting a date here specifies which date an initial transaction is to be dated. ═══ 3.3.1. Basic Page ═══ Basic Page Accounts Management help for Basic Page. ═══ 3.3.2. Credit Page ═══ Credit Page Accounts Management help for Credit Page. ═══ 3.3.3. Type Page ═══ Type Page Accounts Management help for Type Page. ═══ 3.4. Accounts Folder Dialog ═══ Accounts Folder Dialog This dialog is used to create or edit an existing folder. A name is required, but all other controls are optional. The Password field is not encrypted, but the password saved to file is -- so be sure to enter a memorable password. Once forgotten there is no way to regain access of the folder without physically removing the folder's directory from the drive. The Allow access by others groupbox contains controls that can limit or exclude transfer from other accounts in other folders. If a password is specified in the Access code entryfield, a password will have to be entered correctly before a transfer is permitted to take place. To have Electronic Teller invoke the backup dialog automatically when a folder is closed, check the Prompt for backup on close box. ═══ 3.5. Accounts Folder Backup ═══ Accounts Folder Backup The backup dialog allows the user to specify to which drive a folder is be backed up. It is possible to back up more than one folder to a single diskette or drive, since the folder's actual directory structure is recreated on the target drive, avoiding possible file clashes. ═══ 3.6. QIF Converter ═══ QIF Converter The QIF converter will currently only import. The steps involved in converting are quite simple: 1. Check the appropriate boxes, e.g. Accounts, Regular transactions, Categories, Classes. 2. Click the Import button and select the QIF file to be imported. 3. If an account with the same name already exists in the target folder, you will be requested to make a selection, either Create a new account, Merge with the existing account, Append to the existing account, or Cancel the import. Of course, merging is the most time-consuming, since for each transaction, a search is made for a record in the database that matches exactly, with the exception of the link field. As the import progresses, a series of LEDs will display what is being done, and a count of parent records will be displayed. Whenever a link is established, the Linking LED will flash. Similarly, when a split is written to file, the Split LED will flash and the record counter will pause. These LEDs can be turned off by toggling the LEDs button. ═══ 3.7. Desk Menu Functions ═══ Desk Menu Functions Desk Menu Functions help. ═══ 4. Account Transactions Dialog ═══ Account Transactions Dialog To create a transation, follow these steps: 1. Select the date from the calendar, or go the the Date field and either press the scroll buttons (Up/Down or Ctrl+Up/Ctrl+Down) buttons to scroll the date forward or backward, or enter the date manually, ensuring that the system's country settings are observed. 2. Enter any relevant data, from the Number, to Memorandum fields. Note that many of these entryfields have line-completion and a popup dialog associated with them. To invoke the popup listbox, either right-click anywhere in the field, or tab to the field and press F2. Some also enable the user to scroll through a list of existing items, e.g. to scroll through the list of categories, tab to the field and press the Up/Down keys. 3. Click the Append button to add the transaction to the container below. 4. Once a record has been added, it can be selected and additional options enabled by check the relevant box in the right-hand groupbox, such as transaction memorization, postdating, etc. 5. Repeat these step until all the transactions have been entered, and then click OK. If you click Close, all newly created transactions or changes to existing transactions will be discarded and the dialog dismissed. You can create as many transactions as you like, but they must all pertain to the account from which the dialog was invoked. Any attempt to access the Account Transaction dialog from another account or the Service Desk will be denied until the existing one is dismissed. ═══ 4.1. Split Transactions ═══ Split Transactions Creating splits is identical to creating regular transactions, with the exception that an existing record must exist in the container and must be selected. If these two conditions are satisfied, click the As Split button rather that the Append button, and a child record will be created beneath the parent. ═══ 4.2. Postdated Transactions ═══ Postdated Transactions Help for postdated transactions ═══ 4.3. Transaction Transfers ═══ Transferring Transactions to Folders Help on transferring transactions to folders. ═══ 4.4. Transaction Settings ═══ Transaction Settings Help on Transaction Settings notebook. ═══ 4.4.1. Transaction Lists Settings ═══ Transaction Lists Settings Help for Transaction Lists settings. ═══ 4.4.2. Transaction Miscellaneous Settings ═══ Transaction Miscellaneous Settings Help for Transaction Miscellaneous settings. ═══ 4.4.3. Budget Settings ═══ Budget Settings Help for Budget settings. ═══ 5. First Aid Kit ═══ First Aid Kit Electronic Teller's first-aid dialog is used to repair apparently damaged data, such as:  Sums  Indices  Balance Each of these first-aid utilities is explained in greater detail. Double-click on the highlighted list item for further information. ═══ 5.1. Sums ═══ Sums If your sums (running balance in the Account Book, or total in the Service Desk) are incorrect, the probable cause is not a damaged database but errors in the sums table Electronic Teller maintains for every year the account contains at least one transaction. If you discover such errors, invoke the First Aid dialog and click the Sums button. Electronic Teller will then read the entire account database file in order to reconstruct the sums table. ═══ 5.2. Indices ═══ Indices In order to decrease the time required to access records in an account file, Electronic Teller uses index files. If any one of these files is damaged, you will either lose access to your account altogether, or experience unpredictable results. If any of these situations occur (but, note that incorrect balances should be addressed using the Sums function), you should invoke the First Aid dialog and click the Indices button. Note: Ensure that you have a recent backup of your folder, even if the indices appear to be hopelessly corrupt. Electronic Teller will begin reading an account's *.REC file from beginning to end, reconstructing the various index files for every valid record encountered. This method presupposes, of course, that your *.REC file has not been damaged as have your index files. If this vital file has become corrupt, your only alternative is to fall back upon the most recent folder Backup. ═══ 5.3. Forward Balance ═══ Balance Electronic Teller uses the forward balance to determine whether a reconciliation was successful. Essentially, the forward balance is the sum of all cleared transactions in the account file. The difference between your forward balance (or last reconciled balance) and your new balance as it appears on your statement should equal zero for Electronic Teller to consider the reconciliation valid. For example: 200.00 (new ending balance) -100.00 (forward balance) -( 10.00 (statement of credits & debits) +10.00 +30.00 +50.00 -40.00 +40.00 ) = 0.00 (valid reconciliation) Without a valid forward balance, reconciling an account becomes extremely tedious if not altogether impossible. In the event that your forward balance is incorrect, therefore, invoke the First Aid dialog and click the Balance button in order to have Electronic Teller scan the account file, totalling all of the transactions that have been flagged as cleared. ═══ 6. Calculator ═══ Calculator The calculator can be invoked from anywhere within Electronic Teller to perform quick calculations. Moreover, the display contents can be copied to the system clipboard or pasted directly into the transactions dialog's credit or debit column. The Keys menu contains functions specific to calculations and/or the calculator itself. These include: ───────────┬──────────────────────────────────── Financial │This menu item will toggle the Mode │calculator between regular entry in (Alt+F) │which digits are appended to the │display and decimal precision is │limited only by available system │memory and financial entry in which │the decimal is fixed at a precision │of two, and digits are appended to │the end of the display, surrounding │the decimal point. In addition, │while in financial entry mode, the │decimal key is replaced with a 00 │caption, thereby enabling easy │entry of rounded dollars. ──────────┼─────────────────────────────────── Copy │Click to copy the displayed number (Ctrl+Ins)│to the system clipboard. ──────────┼─────────────────────────────────── Paste │Click to paste the displayed number (Alt+P) │directly into Electronic Teller's │transactions dialog. If the amount │is positive it will be pasted into │the credit column; if negative, │into the debit column for the row │which last had the cursor focus. │It is be important to understand │the way calculator numbers are │treated during a paste operation. │Decimal numbers are pasted exactly │as they are. Whole numbers, │however, are assumed to contain a │decimal portion. Thus, a number of │199 will be converted to 1.99. ──────────┼─────────────────────────────────── Memory │Adds the displayed number to the plus │calculator's memorized number. (Ctrl+=) │ ──────────┼─────────────────────────────────── Memory │Substracts the displayed number minus │from the Calculator's memorized (Ctrl+-) │number. ───────────┴──────────────────────────────────── The Tape menu contains functions specific to the calculator tape. The tape, which appears if the Show tape menu item is checked, is editable, but no format verification is made prior to each write by the calculator. In other words, if the tape is edited, ensure that the cursor is moved to the home position of the next line before performing any further calculation; otherwise, the formatting will be incorrect. The Tape functions are: ───────────┬──────────────────────────────────── Show Tape │This toggle menu item will hide or (Alt+T) │show the calculator's tape to which │calculations are written. If the │tape is not displayed, calculations │will not be written, avoiding the │possibility of an every-increasing │tape, since the contents are │preserved when the calculator is │closed. The font used in the tape │can be set by dragging a font from │the Font Palette. A fixed-width │font is suggested so that the │column lines up properly. ──────────┼─────────────────────────────────── Clear │Click this menu item to clear the (Ctrl+C) │calculator tape quickly. ──────────┼─────────────────────────────────── Print │To print the contents of the │calculator tape, select this menu │item. The contents will be set to │a defined printer, using the tape's │font. ──────────┼─────────────────────────────────── Recall │If the contents of the calculator (Ctrl+R) │tape are accidentally deleted, the │previously saved contents can be │recalled by selecting this menu │item. Those will be overwritten │when the calculator is next closed. ──────────┼─────────────────────────────────── Stamp │To append a date and time stamp at (Ctrl+S) │the current cursor location in the │calculator tape, select this menu │item. ───────────┴──────────────────────────────────── Although keys are available for the calculator, many of the functions are also accessible from the keyboard, using either the numeric keypad or the number keys along the top of the keyboard. If using the keypad, the NumLock should be toggled on. Although many of the calculator keys are mapped to non-traditional keys, e.g. Home = 7, End = 1, etc., the 5 key cannot be mapped like the other keys. The following is a list of the keys, include any corresponding keyboard equivalent within brackets: ─────────────────────┬────────────────────────── Off [[Alt+]0] │Closes the Calculator. ────────────────────┼───────────────────────── Ў [/] │Divides the previously │entered number by the │displayed number. ────────────────────┼───────────────────────── x [*] │Multiplies the previously │entered number by │displayed number. ────────────────────┼─────────────────────────  [Backspace] │Deletes the last entered │digit from the display. ────────────────────┼───────────────────────── 0-9 [0-9] │Appends the associated │digit to the display. ────────────────────┼───────────────────────── - [-] │Subtracts the displayed │number from the │previously entered │number. ────────────────────┼───────────────────────── + [+] │Adds the displayed number │to the previously entered │number. ────────────────────┼───────────────────────── = [Enter] │Performs the desired │calculation. ────────────────────┼───────────────────────── % [[Alt+5] | [%]] │First converts the │displayed number to a │percentage and then adds │it to the previously │entered number. ────────────────────┼───────────────────────── M [[Alt+]M] │When an M appears alone, │clicking this key does │nothing. ────────────────────┼───────────────────────── Mr [[Alt+]M] │When the M key changes to │Mr, it indicates that a │number has been entered │into the memory (M+ or M- │). Clicking it at this │point will first recall │the memorized (Memory │Recall) number and change │this key's caption to Mc. ────────────────────┼───────────────────────── Mc [[Alt+]M] │The M key's caption │changes to this only │after it was just clicked │while displaying the Mr │caption. Clicking it at │this point will clear the │memorized number and the │key caption will revert │to M. ────────────────────┼───────────────────────── M- [Ctrl+-] │Click this key to │subtract the displayed │number from that which is │currently held in the │Calculator's memory. ────────────────────┼───────────────────────── M+ [Ctrl+=] │Click this key to add the │displayed number to that │which is currently held │in the Calculator's │memory. ─────────────────────┴────────────────────────── ═══ 6.1. Calculator Keys ═══ Calculator Keys The following is a list of keyboard accelerators defined for the Calculator: 0-9 Appends corresponding digit to display [Alt+]O Closes calculator. / Performs a division. x [*] Performs a multiplication. Backspace Deletes right-most digit from display. Escape Pressed once deletes the displayed number. Pressed a second time deletes the previously entered number as well. - Performs a subtraction. + Performs an addition. = [Enter] Completes the calculation. % [Alt+5] Converts the displayed number to a percentage and adds it to the previously entered number. [Alt+]M Displays or clears a memorized number. Alt+- Subtracts displayed number from memorized number. Alt+= Adds displayed number to memorized number. Alt+F Toggles between regular and financial entry mode. Ctrl+Ins Copies displayed number to system clipboard. Alt+P Pastes displayed number into the Account Transactions dialog. Alt+T Toggles display of calculator tape. Ctrl+C Clears the calculator tape contents. Ctrl+R Recalls calculator tape from last time calculator was closed. Ctrl+S Inserts a date and time stamp into calculator tape at cursor location. ═══ 7. Reports ═══ Reports Help panel for reports. ═══ 8. Calendar ═══ Calendar The Calendar/Reminder utility, as its name implies, is used to view a calendar and/or create reminders. Reminders are created in much the same way as postdated transactions, using the same dialog. The exception is that the One-time frequency setting is not available, for obvious reasons. To create a reminder, select the date upon which the event is to take place and enter an Event title. If you wish to assign a repetition to the event, click the Repeat... box. (To remove a repetition from an event, simply uncheck the box). Events are calendar-based, in that any events that are relevant to the selected calendar month are displayed in the listbox to the right of the calendar. Repeated events are expanded where necessary. For example, if you wish to be reminded of an anniversary on the 10th of every July, beginning with the year 1996, you need simply select that date, enter the event title (no more than 30 characters), click Create and the click the Repeat... box to invoke the Reminder Repetition dialog in which the appropriate repetition options are set. If an existing setup does not match your requirements, enter a name in the Setup name and click Add. When the dialog is then dismissed, the settings will be saved along with the setup and can be reused in the future. Once the Reminder Repetition dialog is dismissed you should see the item expand if appropriate. To return to the July 10th, 1996 anniversary, for example, scroll the calendar to July 1997 and you should see your anniversary event appear along with any other items that may be relevant to that calendar month. There are four coloured "LED"s used in displaying each event item, and the colour represents the event's position relative to the current system date: black the event falls within (+/-) 7 days of the current date blue the event is more than 7 but less than 22 days old red the event is more than 21 days old and will be deleted or updated (if set to repeat) automatically once it exceeds 31 days (but see below) green the event is not due for at least another 8 days Items that are older than one month, or 31 days, are automatically deleted or updated, if set to repeat, by the calendar, only when the calendar is invoked while Electronic Teller is running. This is to prevent items that have long-since expired from being deleted before they can be viewed and updated if necessary. When the calendar is invoked without Electronic Teller running, it performs a scan of all existing events and displays only those that are earlier than or equal to the current system date, regardless of the event's month. That is to say, if there are 5 items defined, dated the 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th, and the current system date is the 11th, only the first three items will be displayed initially. If there are any items in the previous month, they, too, will be displayed. No repetition expansion if performed, however. Little can be done with the calendar while in startup mode. To enable all calendar controls, click the Show button and the calendar will behave as though it had been invoked while Electronic Teller was running. The buttons along the bottom of the window perform the following functions: Create Creates the event, using the selected calendar date and Event title. Close Closes the calendar. Desk... Invokes or shows Electronic Teller's Service Desk. Change Is enabled when an existing item is double-clicked and allows any changes to the event title or starting date to be preserved. Delete Deletes the selected event. If any repetitions exist for the item in the listbox, these, too, are deleted. Show This button is enabled only in startup mode -- when the calendar is invoked while Electronic Teller is not running. Click this button to remove any startup restrictions and return the calendar to its regular behaviour. ═══ 9. Budgets ═══ Budgets The budgets dialog is used to display category usage in relation to budgeted amounts, or usage, or budgeted amounts alone if desired. Category usage in the budgets function is referred to actual amounts. The dialog is divided into two halves. The first groupbox to the left contains radio buttons to display income and expense categories. The listbox directly beneath these radio buttons will display the associated categories. This listbox is used to view the budgeted versus actual amounts of individual categories (by double-clicking on the desired category). The right-hand side of the dialog contains controls to manipulate the actual graph display and the data that will make up the budgeted and actual amounts. The Bar and Pie buttons will display either a bar graph or pie chart. Note: The pie chart is not available if the data contains negative amounts or if the Summary display is requested. The Trans. Year controls the year from which Electronic Teller will retrieve the actual amounts. This spin button is initially set to the system year. The budget function will not retrieve any data until the reference push button to the right of this spin button is clicked. The Budget Year controls the budget year from which Electronic Teller will retrieve the budgeted amounts. It is easy, therefore to create one budget and apply it to many years, or create many budgets and apply them to a single year. This spin button is also initially set to the sytem year. The button to the right of this spin button must be clicked in order to refresh the budgeted amounts and the display. The Accounts listbox contains all existing accounts for the ATM card that was selected when the budget function was invoked. Initially all accounts are preselected and will be included in the make up of the the actual amounts. To exclude any account, simply ensure that it is not selected. The Include listbox contains twelve items, one for every month of the year. When the budget dialog is initially invoked, the months up to and including the current system month will be selected. This is done in order to ensure that the pie chart's values are not misrepresenting the budgeted versus actual amounts for those months in the year for which no transactions exist. To include additional months, select them in the listbox. Deselect months you want excluded from the graph display and print out. To refresh the display, simply click the button to the right of this listbox. Doing so will not reread the actual amounts, simply redefine the data so that the excluded months are in fact excluded from the display. The buttons along the bottom of the dialog perform the following functions: Close Closes the budget dialog and graph window. Summary Creates a graph consisting of 6 items for each month of the year selected in the Include listbox: Budgeted Income The total of all income categories for which a budget exists. Actual Income The total of all split and regular transactions that reference an income category in all selected accounts. Budgeted Expense The total of all expense categories for which a budget exists. Actual Expense The total of all split and regular transactions that reference an expense category in all selected accounts. Budgeted Inc less Exp The difference between the budgeted income less expense. Actual Inc less Exp The difference between the actual income less expense. Group Click this button to group all categories of a given type, either income or expense on a per-monthly basis. For example, the total of all January budgeted income categories will be displayed in the first half of the Jan column, and the total of all split and regular transactions dated January of the displayed year will be displayed in the second half of the Jan column, and so on for each selected month. Print Click this button to print a report of the budgeted versus actual amounts. The restrictions placed on graphs also applies to reports. For example, if only one of two accounts are selected, the data from the second account will be ignored (provided the associated ref button is clicked); and if any months are left unselected in the Include listbox, these, too, will be omitted (again, provided the associated ref button is clicked). ═══ 10. Budgets Print ═══ Budgets Report When the Budget Report dialog is first invoked, you have the opportunity of selecting a fixed-width font, and the inclusion of Income and/or Expense categories. To omit any categories that have neither a budgeted amount nor an actual amount for the entire selection period, leave the Include empty box unchecked. Depending upon the options selected in the budget dialog, a report entry may look something like the following: Budget Report - Expense Categories 30th Aug, 1996 (8:22pm) ATM Card: Demonstration card Accounts: Savings Visa Trans. year: 1996 Budget year: 1996 Budget Actual Difference [Income] Income:Pay 1,500.00 1,700.00 200.00 Jan 1,500.00 1,700.00 200.00 Feb 2,250.00 2,550.00 300.00 Mar 1,500.00 1,700.00 200.00 Apr 1,500.00 1,700.00 200.00 May 1,500.00 1,700.00 200.00 Jun 1,500.00 1,700.00 200.00 Jul 1,500.00 2,550.00 1,050.00 Aug 12,750.00 15,300.00 2,550.00 [Expense] Auto:Fuel 100.00 100.00 0.00 Jan 100.00 125.00 -25.00 Feb 100.00 100.00 0.00 Mar 100.00 100.00 0.00 Apr 100.00 125.00 -25.00 May 100.00 100.00 0.00 Jun 100.00 100.00 0.00 Jul 100.00 101.10 -1.10 Aug 800.00 851.10 -51.10 [.....] Total Budget: 12,750.00 (income) - 12,950.00 (expense) = -200.00 (budget deficit) Total Actual: 15.300.00 (income) - 12,618.48 (deficit) = 2,681.52 (actual surplus) The example should be fairly self-explanatory. The final summary items (Total Budget and Total Actual) represent the sums of all budgeted and actual items for the entire period in question respectively.