SPELLING - CHEQUE OR CHECK ? ============================ I came from England and now live in Canada. In both countries (and probably also in Australia, New Zealand, and most other english speaking countries) a piece of paper representing an order for money is a cheque. The different spelling distinguishes it from the need to check (scrutinize or verify) something or to make a check mark in a box on a form. In most of the USA popular usage seems to be "check" for everything including an order for money. In these instructions I have used the U.S. terminology, but in the program you will find the word "cheque". If this causes any problems please let me know for possible change in a future U.S. release, but if possible I would like to retain "cheque" so most of the same program source code can be used in other countries as that makes it easier to maintain it and ensures that enhancements in one version are automatically included in all versions. HOW TO ENSURE PAYROLL USA IS RECORDING CHECK DATA ===================================================== In January and February of 1995 PAYROLL USA will check to see if you have tried this new feature. If it finds no *.BRC (bank) files on the program directory it will assume you have never tried it so it will switch it on automatically. The only other action you need take is the first time you print pay cheques it will ask for a file name for the bank file, name it whatever is meaningful for you, presumably a short form of your bank's name (8 characters or less), such as BANKAMER or FIRSTATE etc. You can switch it on at other times (or turn it off after trying it) as follows: Either: 1. From the MAIN PAY MENU F3 PRINT AND/OR RECONCILE CHECKS, PRINT PAY SLIPS, then F3 Bank Reconciliation of Pay Checks { it will offer to turn it on if not already on, not much else you can do here until some checks on file } -OR- 2. From the MAIN PAY MENU F5 CONFIGURATION & OTHER UTILITIES, then F4 CHANGE CONFIGURATION - DISKS, PROMPTS, ETC., then F5 Your Company Information, then (at the bottom of the screen) set "USING CHECK RECONCILIATION" to true and press Escape repeatedly until back to the MAIN PAY MENU. Any PAYROLL USA checks printed after this is done will be added to the check file. If you later stop using this feature then repeat this procedure but change "Using Check Reconciliation" to False to stop check recording and prevent the file filling up. (It can only be made False from the "F5 CONFIGURATION & OTHER UTILITIES" route) Also, for those who were using it prior to January 1995 note that your check file names will be automatically changed to allow for the new multiple bank feature. Only the 3 character extension will be changed, example PUSACHQR.DTA will become PUSACHQR.BRC and PUSACHQR.INX will become PUSACHQR.BRI You need not worry about this unless you have an automatic backup routine that copies certain specified files to tape - if so change it to take the new names. You no longer need the seperate Check Reconciliation program we sent you, use the new built in routine instead. PROGRAM FEATURES ================ Pay checks are automatically added to the check file as they are printed by PAYROLL USA. At that point they are outstanding. You can mark them as reconciled when they are returned to you by the bank (or are shown as paid on your bank statement). You can also mark them void if they are reissued or replaced with cash. You will want to keep outstanding checks on the file at least until they become stale dated, and you may wish to keep void and reconciled checks on file for say 3 months in case of queries. You can selectively delete older checks in either category when the file becomes too full. If you need a longer history than 3 months you can have it, but the file will become larger. If it exceeds 2,500 checks and you want to keep them all then you will need to order the upgrade to the maximum file size of 8,190 checks ($100.00 plus taxes). F1 Find Any Pay Check ---------------------- Checks can be located by number or by payee name. You can modify or void individual checks, and you can void a range of check numbers in one operation (Example: Pay cycle run, checks printed, errors found, corrected, pay cycle re-run and checks re-printed. First set of checks can all to be voided as a range of numbers from ... to ... because replaced by second set). The check display includes check number, check date, payee, amount, the type of check, what the last action taken was, and the date that action was taken. F2 Enter NEW Manually Issued Pay Checks ---------------------------------------- Additional manually issued checks can also be entered. When entering manual checks you can select what the last activity was and that activity date. The check number must not already be on file or an error message will occur when attempting to insert the new check into the file. Also, of course the same check number must not be used again later by Payroll USA before the first check has been purged from the file or an error message will occur then. You should not mix bank accounts on the same check file or your reports will give confusing figures and there may be conflicts in check numbers. The program allows multiple bank files so use that feature if you have this situation. F3 Reconcile Checks from Bank Statement ---------------------------------------- When reconciling checks from your bank statement you can enter your beginning balance, deposits, and service charges and your ending balance will be calculated for you to double check against your bank statement. Reconciling checks is just a matter of entering a series of check numbers and amounts. Each check is retrieved from the file, the number and amount is verified and if any differences are found you are immediately advised and shown the check record so you can determine the cause of the error. You are also warned if you try to reconcile a check that has previously been reconciled or voided. Keying in the amounts may seem un-necessary as we could get it from the check number, but it is required to catch any errors on the bank's part. They work from the MICR coding and if their clerk keys the amount wrong when adding the MICR for amount then the wrong amount is taken from your account. It will also catch fraud if somebody deliberately changed the check before depositing it. Take the amount from your bank statement. The cursor can be moved around this screen. Instructions are on the bottom of the screen. When you are about to leave the screen you are asked if this is the last entry screen you need. If you answer Y (when all checks from that bank statement are reconciled) then a report is printed of what was entered on the screens. A copy of the report file is saved on disk in case of any printer error (out of paper, not on line, jambed, etc.). You will be given a second chance to print this report next time you select the F3 function. F4 Purge Old Checks -------------------- Reconciled or not, checks remain on file until purged. You can select purge dates for dead (reconciled) checks (defaults to 3 months ago) and for live (outstanding) checks (defaults to a year ago). You can change the defaults by typing in your choice of date. The purge routine also makes a backup copy of the file as it was before the purge (in PUSACHQR.BRB / PUSACHQR.BRX) so if a purge is done in error and you realise it immediately (or before any other checks are added, changed, or reconciled) you can reverse the purge from the DOS prompt with: COPY PUSACHQR.BRB PUSACHQR.BRC COPY PUSACHQR.BRX PUSACHQR.BRI The filename may be different from PUSACHQR as you can name it for the bank whose checks are in it, but the .BRB etc. extensions will be the same. Do a DOS DIR \PAYPGMS\*.BR* to see all bank files. If you do this copy after any changes are made you will lose the changes and they will have to be redone. F5 Print Check Register ------------------------ You can also print a check register at any time showing what is on the file. You can select start and end check dates (they will default to the last month but you can change them to whatever you want) and types of checks (any one of or combination of: Outstanding, Void, N.S.F., Reconciled) that will be included on this report. Outstanding check amounts are in a seperate column from dead checks and both are totalled seperately on the report. UPGRADING MAXIMUM FILE SIZE --------------------------- On the version included free with Payroll USA the maximum check file size is 2,500 checks - should be enough for most companies. It can be increased to 8,190 checks for a one time cost of $100.00 (plus taxes). For this we provide a seperate program which does the same thing (with the higher limit) but which has to be run from the DOS prompt (as we cannot create special versions of Payroll USA). Telephone me if an upgrade is needed urgently, else mail us a check for the amount shown with a note of what it is for. Christopher Anthistle, President 14th. January 1995