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ABOUT SHAREWARE/LICENSING This shareware copy is 100% functional. It differs from the license version only by regis- tration reminder screens which pop up occasionally when more than 200 transactions have been entered, and by a disabled report header entry field. The pop up screens are there to remind you that you may use this software on a trial basis only, and that you must obtain a licensed copy, if you want to use it regularly. The shareware concept allows you to evaluate the software in detail and then to decide whether it fits your needs or not and whether you like it or not - prior to an eventual pur- chase. You may obtain a licensed copy of the software against payment of a license fee. As a registered user, you will be entitled to the following additional benefits: o You will receive the latest program version. o You will be entitled to free advice and support if you should have a problem with the soft- ware. Contact telephone no. +41 1 926 27 50 in Switzerland or send electronic mail to CompuServe user ID 100273,403 (equivalent to 100273.403@compuserve.com for Internet users) or send a fax to +41 1 926 27 50. o If you discover a bug in the software, you will be entitled to a free program update. o You will entitled to purchase new program versions with large discounts (normally about 60%). If you have Internet access you can visit http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/accsoft_ch to check for new program versions. REGISTRATION The registration fee for this program is Swiss Francs 148.- (on 7 February 1997 this was equivalent to approximately US$ 103.-). Credit card payments (Visa, Eurocard/Mastercard and Amexco) are accepted. a) On-line registration: Internet: You can purchase and immediately receive the registered version of this program on the Internet from Albert's Ambry. Transactions are via credit card with the option of making the purchase over a secure server. Registration at Albert's Ambry also eliminates shipping and handling costs. Please go to: http://www.alberts.com Search on: Account Pro Click on the "Buy It" hotlink to register the software. CompuServe: GO SWREG, program ID 7482. The software will be e-mailed to your CompuServe address. b) Registration by fax or mail: If you do not have Internet access you must order by fax or by mail. The file ORDER.WRI contains an order form that you may process with and print from Windows WordPad . Fax the order form to +41 1 926 27 50 or mail it to AccSoft, Willy R. Aus der Au Seestrasse 80 CH-8712 Staefa Switzerland Please do not forget to indicate your complete address, and allow up to two weeks for delivery. GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ACCOUNT PRO ACCOUNT PRO is a versatile and user-friendly accounting and finance planning program, equally suitable for small to medium businesses, institutions, and private users, who want to manage their own money or the finances of an association or club. ACCOUNT PRO is based on the principle of double entry bookkeeping. It is capable of networking, handles up to 2000 client accounts, and it has a function for automatic entry of tax and discount transactions. ACCOUNT PRO comes with a number of standard charts of accounts. These can very easily be adapted to particular user requirements. Unneeded accounts can be deleted and any additionally required ones can easily be inserted anywhere in the charts. Accounting with ACCOUNT PRO is very easy. As opposed to 'normal' accounting pro- grams, where erroneous entries must be neutralized (canceled) and corrected by additional entries, ACCOUNT PRO allows direct correction of such entries. Furthermore, ACCOUNT PRO avoids the terms 'Debit' and 'Credit' for data entry. Instead, an amount sign is used, which makes data entry faster and easier. Nevertheless, the displays and printouts of ACCOUNT PRO are in accordance with normal accounting terminology. In addition to the normal accounting capabilities, ACCOUNT PRO has special capabilities that allow efficient financial planning and forecasting. Not only monthly budgets, but also monthly forecasts can be entered for every expense and revenue account. Monthly and yearly planning reports facilitate an overview of the system as a whole. With these fea- tures, realistic forecasts of the financial result at the end of the accounting period can be made at any time. An accounting period in ACCOUNT PRO can have a length of between two days and one year. It can start in any month and it may overlap two calendar years. The programÆs data capacities are as follows: - 2,000 accounting systems *) - 1,000 accounts per system - 16,300 (double entry) transactions per system and business year - 200 standard transactions - 200 recurring transactions *) Note: An accounting system is defined as æthe accounting records of a particular book for a particular business periodÆ. ACCOUNTING PERIOD: (æStructure'/'Accounting period') System name: Enter a DOS-compatible file name without extension. In ACCOUNT PRO, the accounting records consist of a series of individual accounting 'systems', of which each one is asso- ciated with a particular accounting period, a particular 'system' name and particular data files. For designating of the individual accounting systems, it is therefore recommended to use names composed of a constant text part and a variable part which reflects the accoun- ting period (e.g. BOOK92, BOOK93, etc.). Start date, End date: An accounting period may have a length of between two days and one year. If the period is shorter than or equal to eleven months, then it can start on any date. If it is longer than ele- ven months, then it must start on the first day of a calendar month. CAPITAL ACCOUNT ('Structure'/'Chart of accounts') To store the start balances of the asset and liability accounts, ACCOUNT PRO needs a special account, the 'capital account'. This account can be any one of the liability accounts. When starting a new accounting system, the totals of all balance sheet accounts must be entered as transactions between the corresponding account (as account æAcc.Æ) and the capital account (as contra-account æC.-Acc-Æ). When carrying a system over to a new accounting period, ACCOUNT PRO will do this automatically. CHART OF ACCOUNTS (æStructureÆ/ÆChart of accountsÆ) ACCOUNT PRO can handle up to 1,000 accounts. Any division of those into asset, liability, expense and revenue accounts is possible. Any numbers with up to six digits can be used in any sequence. The sequence of the accounts in balance sheet and income statement is defined by the place of the accounts in the chart - and not by the account numbers. Please note however that the account classes must be allocated as follows: First class in chart: asset accounts Next class in chart : liability accounts Next class in chart : expense accounts Next class in chart : revenue accounts One of the liability accounts must be designated as the 'capital account' (see below). ACCOUNT PRO needs this to store the balance sheet values at the start of the accounting period (start balance sheet). One of the accounts should be designated the 'interim account' (see below). ACCOUNT PRO needs such an account as an interim account for summary/split transactions. Account number: For detail accounts (level 4), enter an account number with up to six digits. The entry must be numeric. Account groups (levels 3 to 1) may be - but need not be (leave the entry field empty) - numbered. Account name: The length of the account name is limited by the width of the entry field only. Therefore, the maximum possible number of characters that can be contained in a name depends on the width of the individual characters. Level: You must use at least level 4 (detail accounts). The use of account groups (levels 3 to 1) is entirely optional. Account groups are primarily used to display the balance sheet and income statement (and also some other reports) in various degrees of detail. Please note that - if you want to use them at all - you must use the account groups in a logical manner. There should e.g. not be a level 2 account directly followed by a level 4 account. The level 3 display would not include that level 4 account in this case. In certain cases, it may be necessary to assign the same name to several levels. Account class: Assign the appropriate account class to the accounts. In addition to the main classes (general asset, general liability, expense and income), ACCOUNT PRO employs the special classes account receivable, account payable, capital account and interim account. These should be used as follows: æAccount receivableÆ: The accounts receivable belong to the main class of the asset accounts. They are foreseen to be used as accounts receivable in the normal sense. All accounts assigned to this class must follow one another immediately and must form a contiguous block within the asset accounts. If you use the æaccount receivableÆ class, you may summarize the individual accounts receivable in the balance sheet, even when displaying it in the highest degree of detail (level 4 accounts). æAccount payableÆ: The accounts payable belong to the main class of the liability accounts. They are foreseen to be used as accounts payable in the normal sense. All accounts assigned to this class must follow one another immediately and must form a contiguous block within the liability accounts. If you use the æaccount payableÆ class, you may summarize the individual accounts payable in the balance sheet even when displaying it in the highest degree of detail (level 4 accounts). 'Capital account': The capital account belongs to the class of the liability accounts. ACCOUNT PRO needs it to store the balance sheet values at the start of the accounting period (start balance sheet). æInterim accountÆ: ACCOUNT PRO needs this account to assist you when you enter split transactions. In principle, the interim account does not belong to any of the main classes of accounts (assets, liabilities, expense, revenue) and could be placed anywhere in the chart of accounts.. After input of a split transaction, its current balance must always be zero by definition. It is however recommended that you place the interim account as the last one of the revenue accounts (the last account in the chart) and to give it a number that is easily remembered (e.g. 999999). Modifying the chart of accounts: Except during the period of time in which you may want to carry over an accounting system to a new accounting period repeatedly (end of business year/beginning of new year), you may modify the chart of accounts (by e.g. setting up of new accounts or by introducing account groups). Note that prior to deleting an account, you must transfer all of its transactions to other accounts. CONVERSION OF DOS DATA FILES With the transformation program WINTRANS.EXE you can convert ACCOUNT/DOS and ACCOUNT PRO/DOS data files to ACCOUNT PRO/WIN data files. To convert files, proceed as follows: 1) Copy all data files that pertain to a DOS accounting system (NAME.*) to the ACCOUNT PRO/WIN directory. 2) Run the DOS program WINTRANS.EXE in the ACCOUNT PRO/WIN directory using æFileÆ/ÆRunÆ from the Windows Program Manager or directly using the Windows File Manager and transform the files. WINTRANS.EXE transforms the DOS files and creates the new files æName.ACCÆ, æName.MEMÆ, æName.PLAÆ and æName.TRAÆ that you can process with ACCOUNT PRO/WIN directly. EXPORTING OF ACCOUNTING DATA (æFileÆ/ÆExporting of dataÆ) You can export all data that corresponds to the reports that ACCOUNT PRO can print. The data are exported in the form of delimited text files. These can be loaded (or imported) in word processor and spread sheet programs. Hereafter, some useful tips are given for the use of ACCOUNT PRO export files with various popular programs for Windows and DOS: Word for Windows: Export the files using æTabÆ as column delimiter and the ANSI (Windows) character set. Leave the æEnclose strings in inverted commasÆ check box unchecked. Open the export file in Winword or insert it in a Winword document. Mark the imported text and transform it into a table (æTableÆ/ÆText to TableÆ). Excel for Windows: Export the files using æTabÆ as column delimiter and the ANSI (Windows) character set. Leave the æEnclose strings in inverted commasÆ check box unchecked. Open the export file in Excel. Quattro Pro for DOS: Export the files using æCommaÆ as column delimiter and the DOS character set. Check the æEnclose strings in inverted commasÆ check box. Import the export file in Quattro Pro using æToolsÆ/ÆImportÆ. IMPORTING OF ACCOUNTING DATA ('File'/'Importing of data') ACCOUNT PRO can import transactions that have been saved in ANSI text files with [Tab] as field separator. The files must consist of lines with the following content: Date_Index[Tab]Amount[Tab]Acc.[Tab]C.-Acc.[Tab]Description[CR][LF] The individual values must be as follows: - Date_Index: String that represents the date index. The index is calculated as (Month- 1)*31 + day. The index can assume values between 1 and 372. It should be noted that not all values within this range correspond to dates that exist in reality. - Amount: String that corresponds to the transaction amount. The amount can have a value between -99,999,999.99 and 99,999,999.99. An amount of zero is illegal. The amount sign must be allocated according to the following rule: "If the amount to be booked onto the account A1 (the first account) should be in the æDebitÆ column, then it must be positive. If however the amount should be in the æCreditÆ column, it must be negative." - Acc.: - String that represents the account number A1. The account number A1 may assume values between 1 and 999,999. The account number must exist in the accounting system into which the data is to be imported. - C.-Acc.: - String that represents the account number A2 (the contra-account). The account number A2 may assume values between 1 and 999,999. The account number must exist in the accounting system into which the data is to be imported. - Description: String that contains the transactionÆs description . The string may have a length of up to 30 characters. It must at least consist of one (non-empty) character. ACCOUNT PRO will only import such transactions that correspond to the above mentioned rules. If ACCOUNT PRO encounters any erroneous transactions in an import file, it will save those in the file IMPERR.TXT (located in the ACCOUNT PRO directory) together with the pertaining error messages. Example for an import file: 156[Tab]-123.55[Tab]100[Tab]3002[Tab]Cost of goods to be sold[CR][LF] 156[Tab]-634.80[Tab]100[Tab]3002[Tab]More costs of goods to be sold[CR][LF] LICENSE AGREEMENT / REGISTRATION License agreement: This software is copyrighted. By the purchasing of a program diskette, you have obtained a license to install the software on a stand-alone PC or on a network server with up to two client PCs. Any further use of the software requires further licence(s). You may copy the program diskette for backup purposes only. Any further copying of the program diskette for other purposes is not permitted. Without the written consent by ACCSOFT, no copies of the program diskette may be distributed commercially or be forwarded to others in any other way. Each individual license entitles you to be regularly informed about new program versions and to obtain them with large discounts directly from the program author. Registration: The registration fee for this program is Swiss Francs 148.- (on 7 February 1997 this was equivalent to approximately US$ 103.-). Credit card payments (Visa, Eurocard/Mastercard and Amexco) are accepted. a) On-line registration: Internet: You can purchase and immediately receive the registered version of this program on the Internet from Albert's Ambry. Transactions are via credit card with the option of making the purchase over a secure server. Registration at Albert's Ambry also eliminates shipping and handling costs. Please go to: http://www.alberts.com Search on: Account Pro Click on the "Buy It" hotlink to register the software. CompuServe: GO SWREG, program ID 7482. The software will be e-mailed to your CompuServe address. b) Registration by fax or mail: If you do not have Internet access you must order by fax or by mail. The file ORDER.WRI contains an order form that you may process with and print from Windows WordPad . Fax the order form to +41 1 926 27 50 or mail it to AccSoft, Willy R. Aus der Au Seestrasse 80 CH-8712 Staefa Switzerland Please do not forget to indicate your complete address, and allow up to two weeks for delivery. LIQUIDITY ('View'/'Statistics'/'Monthly liquidity') In ACCOUNT PRO, liquidity is defined as cash which can be made available at short notice. The accounts whose balances contribute to total liquidity, must be indicated. Asset a n d liability accounts may be considered to contribute to liquidity. Assets will normally increase, and liabilities will normally decrease liquidity. The liquidity statistics table can indicate, whether capital could be invested differently, to yield more revenue. The current amount of cash which can be made available at short notice, is shown in the last month displayed on the table. MANAGING CLIENTS (æFileÆ/ÆClientsÆ or æFileÆ/ÆOpenÆ/ÆClientsÆ) With the function æClientsÆ you can allocate up to 20 accounting systems to a client. A client needs not be an existing person. You may also use the function to manage your business, club and private accounts. To install a new client, you must click the æEstablish new clientÆ button. Assign a specific Name/description to every client. ACCOUNT presents the clients list alphabetically sorted. In the æAddress:Æ and æComments:Æ entry fields you may enter up to 200 characters each. Before you can allocate any accounting systems to a client, you must establish them (æFileÆ/ÆNewÆ or æNew systemÆ from the æList of accounting systemsÆ). Then click the relevant client on the clients list and then click the æAllocate filesÆ command button. With the æDelete fileÆ button you can remove any erroneously allocated files. The new accounting system files created when a system is carried over to a new accounting period will automatically be re-allocated if the files of the old period had been allocated to a client. CALCULATOR FUNCTION (æOptionsÆ/ÆCalculatorÆ) Calculator operation is equivalent to that of a simple pocket calculator usual in trade. The 'keys' of the calculator can be 'pressed' by mouse click or by pressing the corresponding key of the PC keyboard. Clicking the æroundÆ button will round the displayed value to two decimal places. The displayed result can be copied to the transaction input form. Clicking the button ætake overÆ will copy the result unchanged. Clicking the button ætake over negativeÆ will copy the result with inverted sign. OPTIONS: DEFINE RECURRING TRANSACTIONS (æOptionsÆ/ÆDefine...Æ) You can define and store up to 200 periodically recurring transactions. ACCOUNT PRO will check whether any entries are due each time you start the program and each time you exit from the recurring transactions list. If any transactions are due, ACCOUNT PRO will notify you and enter these automatically. To define a recurring transaction you must place the mouse cursor on an empty line on the list and click the æDefineÆ button. Then, you must make all entries into the definition entry form. If under æThen, recurring:Æ you select a recurrence that comprises entire months, you should bear in mind that the dates 29th, 30th and 31st do not occur in all calendar months. ACCOUNT PRO will only enter such transactions automatically which are associated with possible dates. ACCOUNT PRO treats all automatically entered transactions in the same way as if you would have entered them yourself. You will find these transactions in the transaction entry form where you can easily make any corrections that may be necessary (e.g. because a standing bank order could not be executed on the date foreseen). OPTIONS: DEFINE STANDARD TRANSACTIONS (æOptionsÆ/ÆDefine...Æ) You may define up to 200 standard (and automatic) transactions. Automatic trans- actions are a special kind of standard transactions and serve for automatic entry of tax and discount transactions. Under certain circumstances you may link (æLinkÆ) the tax account of an automatic transaction with some of the expense or revenue accounts (see below). To define a standard (or automatic) transaction, you must place the mouse cursor onto an empty line of the list of standard transactions, then click the appropriate op- tion button (æStandard transactionÆ or æAutomatic transactionÆ) and then click on the æDefineÆ button. Then, you must complete the entry form appearing thereafter. To edit or to delete a standard (or automatic) transaction, you must place the mouse cursor onto the corresponding line of the standard transaction list and then click on æEditÆ or æDeleteÆ, respectively. Entry form for standard transactions: Complete the entry form partly or fully, as appropriate. Entry form for automatic transactions: æTransaction typeÆ: You can make the entry of tax (VAT, sales tax) and discount transactions fully auto- matic. For automatic discount transactions to function properly together with auto- matic tax transactions, you must define the automatic discount transaction on the basis ænetÆ (leave the corresponding check box empty). æHot key (Ctrl-A ... Ctrl-Z)Æ: You can assign hot keys to up to 26 standard (or automatic) transactions. Using hot keys, you may call up those transactions very easily when you are entering transac- tions in the transaction entry form. Linking of accounts (æLinkÆ): If you use expense or revenue accounts that by definition can only contain transac- tions that are subject to a tax (e.g. æSales 7.5% sales taxÆ), you may link such accounts with the corresponding tax account. Such links will cause ACCOUNT PRO to enter the corresponding tax transaction automatically after a main transaction with a linked expense or revenue account has been entered. The function will also work when you call up automatic discount transactions. In this case ACCOUNT PRO will enter two transaction automatically: The discount transaction and the pertaining tax transaction. To define links between accounts, you must first define the automatic transaction for the tax account. Then, click the æLinkÆ command button and select all accounts to be linked from the account list. Automatic transactions that have links are identified by æyesÆ in the last column (æLinkedÆ) of the list of standard (and automatic) transactions. Example for linked accounts: The tax account (liability account) æSales tax payable 7.5%Æ is linked with the expense accounts æSales 7.5% sales taxÆ and æDiscount given 7.5% sales taxÆ. !! I m p o r t a n t !!: You must not link any expense or revenue accounts that contain mixed transactions (with and without pertinent tax transaction). ACCOUNT PRO will a l w a y s enter a tax transaction if a transaction concerning a linked account is entered. DEFINE VAT SUMMARY REPORT (æOptionsÆ/ÆDefine...Æ) With the function æDefine VAT summary reportÆ you can define what values for use in a VAT tax form ACCOUNT PRO shall display. æDescription/Sum/DifferenceÆ: On each line of the work sheet you can enter a description (can also be a title), the definition of a sum of the turnover or tax amounts of several lines or the definition of the difference of the amounts of two lines. If you need a difference, you should bear in mind that ACCOUNT PRO presents the turnover and tax amounts with the same signs as those of the corresponding account balances (Asset and expense do normally have positive balances, liability and revenue accounts do normally have negative balances). In the case of a difference between accounts whose balances do normally have the same amount sign, you must therefore use the @Diff function; in the case of a difference between accounts with normally different balance amount sign, you must however use the @Sum function. Turnover account: Entries into this column will only then make sense if your tax form requires also some pure turnover amounts without pertinent tax amount (like e.g. the Swiss tax form). For the accounts indicated, ACCOUNT PRO will calculate the gross balances (that still contain an eventual tax amount). æTax accountÆ: In this column you can indicate the tax accounts pertaining to the descriptions (for the description æTaxable income 15% VATÆ you would e.g. enter the liability account æVAT payable 15%Æ). æLinked accountsÆ: In this list, ACCOUNT PRO shows all those accounts that are linked with the relevant tax account. In the case of linked accounts, ACCOUNT PRO checks when displaying the VAT summary report whether the transactions of the tax account match with the total current balance of the linked accounts. If this is not the case, ACCOUNT PRO will notify you. OPTIONS: PASSWORD PROTECTION ('Options'/'Password protection') You can protect the access to each individual accounting system by a specific pass- word. Using a password will also cause that the accounting system files are saved in encrypted form, which will make the files illegible when loaded into editors or word processors. Please note that the passwords must only contain letters and numbers. The passwords are not sensitive with respect to the case. Please be careful and do not forget the passwords. Only ACCSOFT can help in the event that you would forget one. OPTIONS: SEARCH FOR TRANSACTIONS ('Options'/ÆSearch for transactionsÆ) Under 'Options'/ÆSearch for transactionsÆ you may search for transactions according to various criteria. In the displays of the account sheets you may search within the displayed range of transactions (menu item æSearchÆ). You may search for: Description, text in memos: a) Both check boxes unchecked: Search for a text fragment. The case is ignored. b) æWhole word/sentenceÆ checked: Search for entire words or sentences. The case is ignored. c) Only æObserve caseÆ checked: Search for a text fragment under observation of the case. d) Both check boxes, æWhole word/sentenceÆ and æObserve caseÆ checked: Search for entire words or sentences under observation of the case. or for Amount: Search for transactions with a particular amount. The amount must always be entered as a positive value. or for Open items: Search for transactions marked as æOpen itemsÆ that are within a specific period of time. Up to 1,600 transactions can be displayed as search result. If the search result comprises more than 1,600 transaction, you must make the search criterion more stringent. Double-clicking in the M-column (for memo) of the search result table will present the memo entry form. Double-clicking in the Acc.- (for account) or the C.-Acc.-column (for contra-account) column will display the corresponding account name. Double-clicking in any other column of the search result table has the same effect as the menu item æEditÆ and will display the transaction entry form. PLANNING (æPlanÆ) In ACCOUNT PRO, to 'plan' means to establish a target for the end of the accounting period and then from time to time to forecast, how well that target will be reached in reality. The purpose of planning is early recognition of any possible deviation from the budgeted financial end result and to allow suitable corrective measures to be taken (e.g. cutting of expenses, deferring of projects). PLANNING: BUDGET (æPlanÆ/ÆBudgetÆ) The budget figures should be established at the beginning of the accounting period. They should be considered as objectives (the targets to be reached) and should therefore n o t b e c h a n g e d thereafter. If you recognize after some time that the budget figures will not be reached in reality, then you should adapt the forecast figures only (leaving the budget figures intact). The monthly budget values can easily be copied to the planning table by clicking on the relevant lines of the table. It is not necessary to use the entry fields æFrom month:Æ and æTo month:Æ PLANNING: FORECAST ('Plan'/'Account'/'Forecast') The forecast should be revised from time to time, according to the latest actual develop- ment. The monthly amounts can directly be entered into the planning table by clicking on the relevant lines of the table; it is not necessary to use the æFrom month:Æ and æTo month:Æ fields for this purpose. When entering the forecast for the first time, the 'Last year' or the 'Budget' figures can easily be taken over, where appropriate: In the amount field of the planning table, enter [L] or [B], respectively, or for bulk take over, select æPlanÆ/'Take over budget as forecast' from the main menu. PLANNING: LAST YEAR DATA ('Plan'/'Account'/'Last year') The 'Last year' values are generated automatically when an accounting system is carried over to a new accounting period. They are intended to facilitate establishment of the new budget. Where appropriate, they can be copied to serve as budget values. 'L' must be entered instead of a budget value, for this purpose. PLANNING: MEMORANDA ('Plan'/'Account'/'Memo') To avoid forgetting the considerations made when you have entered the forecast data for an account, you can attach memos on planning to the expense and revenue accounts. To attach a memo, you must click the æMemoÆ command button above the planning table. In the memo entry form you can enter up to 500 characters. Accounts with memos attached are marked by the word MEMO in the upper right corner of the planning table. To edit, print or delete a memo on planning, you must first activate it. PLANNING: MONTHLY PLANNING REPORT The monthly planning report compares the monthly totals of 'Budget', 'Forecast' and 'Current' of the individual accounts and their sum. The 'Current' figures comprise all transactions made in the current month. Column æMÆ: Column æMÆ indicates the existence of planning memos attached to accounts. Double- lick the corresponding line if you want to add, edit, print or delete a planning memo æView/edit account sheetÆ: Instead of clicking the æView/edit account sheetÆ command button, you can simply double-click the line in any column except column æMÆ. PLANNING: TAKE OVER BUDGET AS FORECAST ('Plan'/'Take over budget as forecast') The budget is normally established at the beginning of the accounting period. At this time, the forecast figures are identical to the budget figures. If you select 'Plan'/'Take over budget as forecast' from the main menu, ACCOUNT PRO will copy the figures of the budget column to the forecast column, for all or for specific accounts. PLANNING: TYPE DEFINITION ('Plan'/'Account'/ÆAccount type') In the domain of planning, a distinction can be made between accounts, concerning the forecasted balance at the end of the accounting period. Accounts whose end balance is not well known at the beginning of the accounting period can be distinguished from those whose end balance is already rather well known, by assigning the corresponding account type as follows Type V (variable): The (estimated) end amount (Actual+Forecast) may assume any value, lower, equal or higher than the budget. This is the default case and no specific indication is necessary. Type F (fixed): The (estimated) end amount (Actual+Forecast) must be at least equal to the budget, but might also be higher. This applies normally to accounts like 'Salary', 'Insurance premiums', 'House rent', etc., where the end amount is generally well known at the start of the accounting period. For accounts designated as type F (fixed), a warning is displayed below the planning table if the above condition is not fulfilled. Also in this case, an exclamation mark is displayed in the æCÆ (for conflict) column of the planning reports. This is intended to indicate to the user, that he should revise the forecast of the concerned account, as otherwise the yearly report would render an unrealistic result. PLANNING: YEARLY PLANNING REPORT (æPlanÆ/ÆYearly planning reportÆ) The yearly planning report compares the yearly values of 'Last Year', 'Budget' and 'Actual + Forecast' of the individual accounts and the yearly totals. The 'Actual' values contain all transactions until and including the 'last month with complete transactions'. For the further months, the æForecast' figures are used to form the values of 'Actual + Forecast'. The last line of the report contains the profit or loss expected for the accounting period. Column 'M': In the 'M' column, the existence of planning memos (pertaining to level 4 accounts) is shown. Simply double-click the line to add, edit, delete or print a planning memo. Column 'C': In the 'C' column, eventual planning conflicts are shown. In the case of æfixedÆ type accounts an exclamation mark is displayed if the (estimated) total annual amount (actual + forecast) is not at least equal to the total budget amount. This is intended to draw the userÆs attention to the fact that the forecast needs revision, as otherwise the yearly planning report would not present a realistic picture. Viewing/editing of the pertaining account sheet: Instead of clicking the æView/edit account sheetÆ button, you may double-click a line in any column except column æMÆ. You are using a non-licensed shareware copy of ACCOUNT PRO. Please be reminded that according to the rules of shareware, this software is made avai- lable to you on a trial basis only. You are given the opportunity to decide whether the pro- gram meets your needs or not, and whether you like it or not. If you wish to use the pro- gram regularly, then, according to the shareware rules, you must obtain a licensed copy. This screen will pop up occasionally, to remind you about the above... PRINTING ('File'/ÆReportsÆ) Before printing out any reports, you should set up ACCOUNT PRO for the printer used ('File'/'Printer setup'). Please note that in order to print, ACCOUNT PRO needs a minimum of 700 K of free hard disk space. For best printing results, it is suggested that you use A4 paper. STARTING A NEW ACCOUNTING PERIOD ('Carry_over') To start a new accounting period (the next one), select 'Carry_over' from the main menu and enter the new period's data in the input form which will appear thereafter. ACCOUNT PRO will establish the totals of all balance sheet accounts (assets and liabilities), calculate the 'Last year' figures of the expense and revenue accounts and initialize the files of the new accounting period. If at the end of the accounting period you do not have all necessary data available and cannot finalize the old system, you may open a new period p r o v i s i o n a l l y and continue working with the new files. Please note however that until the data of the old period is complete and has been carried over f i n a l l y, you must not make any changes to the charts of accounts of the two systems. Each time the old system is carried over, ACCOUNT PRO updates the start balance and the 'Last year' data of the new system, preserving all of the transactions entered into the new system. STARTING A NEW ACCOUNTING SYSTEM (æFileÆ/ÆNewÆ or æFileÆ/ÆOpenÆ/ÆNew systemÆ) General: The procedures for creating a new accounting system with your own chart of accounts or using one of the standard charts of accounts supplied with ACCOUNT PRO are described further below. In both cases, the last step will be to enter the balance sheet account cur- rent balances prevailing at the start of the accounting period, by entering all totals of the asset and liability accounts as transactions between the corresponding account (as Acc.) and the 'capital account' (as contra-account). Asset account current balances (if positive) must be entered as positive values, and liability account current balances (if they really re- present liabilities) as negative values. Creating a new accounting system with your own chart of accounts: Select æFileÆ/ÆNewÆ or æFileÆ/ÆOpenÆ/ÆNew systemÆ from the menu. Then, follow the user ins- tructions. ACCOUNT PRO will guide you through all necessary steps to create a new accounting system. Creating a new accounting system using one of the standard charts of accounts: ACCOUNT PRO comes with a number of (empty) accounting systems that contain stan- dard charts of accounts: - PRIVCHRT.ACC: Special chart for private accounts - USA-STD.ACC: Standard U.S. chart of accounts Select the chart that is best suited to your needs and load the corresponding file in ACCOUNT PRO just in the same way as you would load a sample accounting system. Then, adapt the chart of accounts ('Structure'/'Chart of accounts') and the data pertaining to the accounting period 'Structure'/ 'Accounting period') to your particular needs. After that, you should enter the balance sheet figures prevailing at the start of the accoun- ting period. Following input of this data, the new accounting system is created, and you may now enter further transactions. Should you not need the original files containing the standard charts of accounts any fur- ther, you may delete them using the Windows File Manager. STATISTICS ('View'/'Statistics') In ACCOUNT PRO, liquidity is defined as cash which can be made available at short notice. The accounts whose balances contribute to total liquidity, must be indicated. Asset a n d liability accounts may be considered to contribute to liquidity. Assets will normally increase, and liabilities will normally decrease liquidity. The liquidity statistics table can indicate whether capital could be invested differently, to yield more revenue. The current amount of cash which can be made available at short notice, is shown in the last month displayed on the table. STRUCTURE ('Structure') Select 'Structure'/'Chart of accounts' from the menu, if you want to: - open new accounts - change account names and numbers - delete accounts - set up or modify account groups Select 'Structure'/'Accounting period' from the menu, if you want to: - set up a new accounting system based on the chart of accounts of the present system - enter or modify the start or end date of the accounting period - enter or modify the report header line TRANSACTIONS ('Transactions') Date entry field: Enter the date in the format compatible with the date format selected under æInternationalÆ of the Windows Control menu. Simply press [Enter] to enter the actual date. No entry of the calendar year is necessary, not even if the accounting period covers periods of two subsequent calendar years. Since each calendar month is present only once in any accounting period, ACCOUNT PRO will automatically allocate a transaction to the appropriate calendar year. Transactions on the first day of the accounting period are permitted in conjunction with the capital account only. This will ensure that the 'balance carried forward' appears as the first entry on the account sheets Amount entry field: ACCOUNT PRO uses the terms 'Debit' and 'Credit' in its displays and printed reports only. When entering transactions, the amount sign will determine whether an amount is debited or credited to an account. See the help topic æTransactions: Sign of amountÆ for a detailed explanation of the amount sign rule. Account (Acc.) and contra-account (C.-Acc.) entry fields: See under the help topic æTransactions: Account and contra-accountÆ Description entry field: Under æOptionsÆ/ÆTransaction entry formÆ you can set up ACCOUNT PRO for the description being a mandatory or an optional entry. The description can contain a maximum of 30 characters. æMemoÆ command button: You can attach a memorandum to a transaction. Please see under the help topic æTransactions: Memos and open itemsÆ for a detailed explanation æCalculatorÆ command button: Please see under the help topic æCalculatorÆ for the calculator operating instructions. æStandard transactionÆ button: With this function you can call up the standard (and automatic) transactions that you have previously defined under æOptionsÆ/ÆDefine standard transactionsÆ. For detailed explanations please refer to the help topics æTransactions: Automatic transactionsÆ, æTrans- actions: Standard transactionsÆ and æOptions: Define standard transactionsÆ. æStart split transactionÆ and æEnd split transactionÆ buttons: Click on æStart split transactionÆ before entering a split transaction. Please refer to the help topic æTransaction: Split transactionsÆ for a detailed explanation about entering split trans- actions. æEdit, æCopyÆ and æDeleteÆ buttons: With these functions you can process the transactions listed on the transaction entry form. TRANSACTIONS: ACCOUNT AND CONTRA-ACC. The abbreviations Acc. and C.-Acc. stand for account and contra-account. In a double- entry bookkeeping system, every transaction is affecting two different accounts (the account A1 and the contra-account A2). One and the same amount is always debited (or credited) to one account and in the same time credited (or debited) to the other account. ACCOUNT PRO avoids the terms 'Debit and 'Credit' in its data entry forms. Instead, the amount is entered as a negative or a positive value, which defines primarily in conjunction with account A1, whether the amount is debited or credited to the accounts. TRANSACTIONS: MEMOS AND OPEN ITEMS Memos attached to transactions: The description in the transaction entry form can have a maximum length of 30 characters. If this is not sufficient or if otherwise desired, a memorandum can be attached to the transaction. To attach a memo, click the æMemoÆ button in the transaction entry form or double- click a field in the æMÆ column of the screen displays. Into the memo entry form, you may enter up to 500 characters. Transactions with a memo attached are marked with æMÆ in the screen displays. To read, edit, print or delete a memo, you can double-click the memo column in the screen displays and perform the desired activity in the memo form appearing thereafter. Open items: Transactions can be marked as 'open items' and an optional memo can be attached in the same time. Proceed as described above to mark a transaction and to attach an eventual memo. Mark the æOpen itemÆ check box in the memo entry form. You may also add a text with up 500 characters - but you need not. Transactions that you have marked as open items are marked with ÆOÆ in the screen displays. Do delete a transactionÆs æOpen itemÆ mark or to read, edit or print the pertaining memo text, you can double-click the memo column in the screen displays and perform the desired activity in the memo form appearing thereafter. Under æOptionsÆ/ÆSearch for transactionsÆ you can search in the entire system for open item transactions of a selectable period of time. Under æViewÆ/ÆAccount sheetÆ you can display the open item transactions of an account for a selectable period of time. Under æFileÆ/ÆReportsÆ/ÆAccount sheetÆ/ÆIndividual account sheetÆ you can print the open item transactions of an account for a selectable period of time. TRANSACTIONS: SIGN OF AMOUNT ACCOUNT PRO uses the terms 'Debit' and 'Credit' in its displays and printed reports only. When entering transactions, the amount sign will determine whether an amount is debited or credited to an account. The rule for the amount sign is very simple: '+' increases the current balance of account no. A1 (Acc.), if A1 is an asset account" From that follows logically: '- ' decreases the current balance of an asset account (if A1), or '-' makes the normally negative current balance of a liability account (when A1) even more negative. When entering transactions, you should assume an asset or a liability account to be A1. This is almost always possible, as transactions between expense and revenue accounts are quite rare. In the case of transactions between two balance sheet accounts you should always try to choose the more liquid account as A1 (Acc.) You can imagine an asset account to be a pot filled with a certain volume of money, and a liability account to be a hole lacking the volume of money which would fill it. If for example, you need to enter a petty cash expense (with petty cash being account A1), then it is quite easily conceivable that the amount must be entered as negative, as the volume of money in the pot is quite obviously becoming smaller. With a liability account as A1, it is equally simple: If for example, you need to reflect a purchase paid for by credit card (not the actual payment to the credit card organization), then it is equally conceivable that the amount must have a negative sign, as obviously the hole (your debt) becomes deeper. Therefore, the following principle is also valid: If A1 is a balance account (assets and liabilities, then each expense must be entered as a negative, and each revenue as a positive amount. !! I m p o r t a n t !! : You may deviate from the above rules if you swap the amount sign and the two accounts simultaneously. ACCOUNT will normally adjust the amount sign and the accounts to comply with the above rules. However, this does not always work, as ACCOUNT PRO can not always detect, how the amount sign should really be (e.g. if both accounts belong to the same account class). The automatic entry function for tax transactions enters the tax transactions always between the tax account and the account indicated as the contra-account. The automatic entry function for discount transactions enters the discount transactions always between the discount account and the account indicated as the contra-account. For the automatic entry always to function properly, it is necessary that the main transaction is entered in accordance with the above rules. It is generally recommended that you enter all transaction in compliance with the amount sign rule. This will avoid that you need to think about which one of the accounts is the æDebitÆ account and which one is the æCreditÆ account. The minus sign required in the case of expenditure is a cheap price for avoiding the terms æCreditÆ and æDebitÆ, which are confusing things to most people. TRANSACTIONS: SPLIT TRANSACTIONS When a transaction is entered, this will generally cause ACCOUNT PRO to book the transaction amount onto two accounts only (account and contra-account). Split trans- actions, where an entry on one account is counterweighted by entries on several other accounts, are nevertheless possible with ACCOUNT PRO by means of an 'interim' account (see also 'Chart of accounts') which will only temporarily (ad interim) have a current balance other than zero. The way split transactions work in ACCOUNT PRO is explained hereafter using the example of a payment which concerns several accounts: Assume, you have given your bank the order to pay several invoices that concern various accounts. The bank has done so and sent you a voucher which states that an amount equivalent to the total of all invoice amounts has been charged to your bank account. This can be properly reflected in ACCOUNT PRO as follows: First, click on the æStart split transactionÆ button and enter all the individual bill amounts as transactions between the interim account (as Acc.) and the specific account concerned (as contra-account). Thereby, the amount signs are the same as if you would use the bank account as Acc.. Then, click on the æEnd split transactionÆ button and enter a transaction between the bank account (as Acc.) and the interim account (as contra-account), with an amount corresponding to the total of all invoice amounts, and a negative amount sign (as usual, if an expense is charged to an asset account). This transaction will reset the current balance of the interim account to zero, which must always happen after summary/split transactions have been entered. For correcting erroneous entries, it is recommended to call up a display of the interim account ('View'/'Account sheet') and to make any corrections directly from there. TRANSACTIONS: STANDARD TRANSACTIONS You can define and store up to 200 standard transactions. Select æOptionsÆ/ÆDefine standard transactionsÆ from the main menu for this purpose. From the transaction entry form you can display the list of standard transactions by clicking on the æStandard transactionÆ command button and select from it the desired transaction by mouse click. If you have defined any hot keys when entering the standard transaction definitions, you may call up the transactions also by entering the relevance hot key. The entry fields of the transaction entry form will only them be overwritten if the corresponding field of the standard transaction contains information. TRANSACTIONS: TAXES AND DISCOUNTS General: A special kind of standard transactions (see 'Transactions: Standard transactions') with a percentage instead of an amount, allows automatic processing of transactions to reflect VAT, sales tax and discount. ACCOUNT PRO will automatically add a tax or discount transaction to a main transaction previously made. Definition of automatic transactions: To define automatic transactions, select æOptionsÆ/Æ Define standard transactionsÆ from the main menu. Application of automatic transactions: Tax amounts are always calculated based on the gross amount (which includes the tax). Discount is always calculated based on the payment amount (from which discount has already been deducted). The main transaction must therefore be made for the corresponding basic amount. For immediate automatic input of tax or discount transactions, you must first enter a main transaction with the gross amount (in the case of VAT and sales tax) or the net payment amount (in the case of discount). Thereby, the first account (Acc.) must always be a balance sheet account (assets and liabilities). In case of discount, it must be that asset account, from which/to which the payment has been made. The main transaction must be entered as usual. If the contra-account (C.-Acc.) used in the main transaction is linked with a tax account, ACCOUNT PRO will automatically enter a pertaining tax transaction. If however, the main transactionÆs contra-account is not linked, you must call up the appropriate standard transaction by clicking the (æStandard transactionÆ) button or by pressing the appropriate hot key to enter the pertaining tax transaction. For later automatic input of a tax or discount transaction pertaining to a main transaction made earlier, you can call up a copy of the concerned transaction, transform the copy into the tax or discount transaction by clicking the æStandard transactionÆ button and selecting the appropriate standard transaction (prior to clicking on æEnter transactionÆ), and finally enter the transformed transaction by clicking on the æEnter transactionÆ button. To modify a tax or discount transaction made earlier, you can call up that transaction for editing by, insert the appropriate data transaction by clicking the æStandard transactionÆ button and selecting the appropriate standard transaction (prior to clicking on æEnter transactionÆ), and finally enter the modified transaction by clicking on the æEnter transactionÆ button. If you change the amounts of main transactions that are subject to a tax, you should not forget to change also the pertaining tax transaction. Call up the tax transaction for editing and proceed as described above. Example for the use of automatic transaction entry: The following example is intended to explain the correct use of automatic transactions in more detail (for the most complicated case, where you would use accounts payable and you would use the automatic tax and discount functions of ACCOUNT PRO). You have received an invoice dated 20 March over an amount of 11,500.- for goods supplied to you by the Int. Foods Corp. Per 20 March you enter this invoice into ACCOUNT PRO (with the full amount of 11,500.-, because you do not yet know whether you will pay the in time for the deduction of 2% discount). Per 16 April you transfer the amount of 11,270.- (having deducted 2% discount) from your bank account to the account of the Int. Foods Corp. Your accounting system contains the following accounts: 102 Bank account (asset account) 1062 15% VAT paid (asset account) 200002 AP: Int. Foods Corp. (account payable) 3002 Cost of goods sold 15% VAT (expense account) 3702 Discount received 15% VAT (expense account) You have also defined automatic transactions for æ15% VAT paidÆ and for 2%Disc.r. 15%VATÆ. Also, you have linked the tax account 1062 æ15% VAT paidÆ with the accounts 3002 æCost of goods sold 15% VATÆ and 3702 æDiscount received 15% VATÆ. To enter all transactions of the example correctly, you proceed as follows: Per 20 March you enter the following transaction: . 3/20/-11,500/200002/3002/Invoice from Int. Foods Corp./No. xxxxx ACCOUNT PRO will then enter the following transaction automatically: . 3/20/1,500/1062/3002/15%VAT p. ref. # xxxxx Later, after you have paid the invoice amount deducting 2% discount, you enter: . 4/16/-11270.-/102/200002/Payment to Int. Foods Corp./(No.yyyyy) Since you have deducted 2% discount, you now click on the æStandard transactionÆ button and call up the automatic transaction æ2%Disc.r. 15%VATÆ. This will cause ACCOUNT PRO to enter the following transactions: . 4/16/230.-/200002/3702/2%Disc.r. ref. # yyyyy/(No. zzzzz) . 4/16/-30.-/1062/3072/15%VAT p. ref. # zzzzz In total, you have paid an amount of 11,270.- for goods. This amount contains 1470.- of tax that you can deduct from your VAT payable. Per 20 March ACCOUNT had booked the amount of 1,500.-onto the æ15% VAT paidÆ account. Per 16 April, ACCOUNT PROÆs automatic transaction entry function has however taken the deducted discount into account and has reduced the amount booked onto the æ15% VAT paidÆ account by 30.- (1,500.- minus 30.- give indeed the correct tax amount of 1Æ470.-). VIEW ('View') ACCOUNT PRO is so designed that all information is easily accessible on-screen at all times. Under the 'View' item of the main menu, all principal displays of ACCOUNT PRO can be accessed: o æAccount sheetÆ Up to approx. 1,600 entries can be displayed. If an account contains more transactions than can be displayed, then you can get ACCOUNT PRO to display the transactions pertaining to a shorter period of time: one month only, or a sufficiently short 'period'. Double-clicking in the æMÆ column of the display will call up the memo entry form for the transaction. Double-clicking in the æC.-Acc.Æ column of the display will show the corresponding account name. Double-clicking in any other column of the display has the same effect as æEditÆ menu item and will call up the transaction entry form. I m p o r t a n t: Following adding or editing of transactions, ACCOUNT PRO will normally display a message informing you that the display needs updating. This feature can be disabled under æOptionsÆ/ÆAccount sheetÆ. o æJournal viewsÆ Displays all transactions sorted according to transaction number (T) or sorted according to date/transaction no. (D); display T is particularly useful to find erroneous entries (wrong date or wrong account number) which may have 'disappeared' anywhere in the system. A maximum of approx. 1,600 entries can be displayed. In order not to exceed this limit, it may be necessary to select a smaller range of transaction numbers or a shorter period of time. Double-clicking in the æMÆ column of the display will call up the memo entry form for the transaction. Double-clicking in the æCredit accountÆ column or in the æDebit accountÆ column of the display will show the corresponding account name. Double-clicking in any other column of the display has the same effect as æEditÆ command button and will call up the transaction entry form. o æBalance sheet and income statementÆ This will display the balance sheet per the selected date and the income statement for the period between the start and the selected date; for the sheets to be meaningful, it is neces- sary that the transactions are complete up to the selected date. Please note that you can only then select a lower degree of detail if your chart of accounts contains account groups. Note further that the æSummarize accounts receivable/payableÆ check box is only then enabled if your chart of accounts contains detail accounts pertai- ning to the classes account receivable or account payable. Double-clicking on any line of the display has the same effect as æView/edit account sheetÆ command button and will call up the account sheet display. o æExpenditure and revenue of a monthÆ Please note that you can only then select a lower degree of detail if your chart of accounts contains account groups. Double-clicking on any line of the display has the same effect as æView/edit account sheetÆ command button and will call up the account sheet display. o æStatisticsÆ The statistical expenditure/revenue revenue table may be useful to indicate an eventual general trend. The statistical liquidity table may be useful to indicate whether some capital could be in- vested differently to yield more revenue. The total amount that can currently be liquefied is shown on the last line displayed. o æVAT summary reportÆ Before you can view or print the VAT summary report, you must define it under æOptionsÆ/ÆDefine VAT summary reportÆ. The numbers in brackets are negative. This is due to the fact that ACCOUNT PRO directly adopts the account balance figures. Please note that when you want ACCOUNT PRO to calculate the a difference between a negative number (e.g. the VAT received) and a positive one (e.g. the VAT paid) it will be necessary to use the function @Sum instead @Diff to obtain the desired result. In the case of linked tax accounts (see æOptionsÆ/ÆDefine standard transactionsÆ) ACCOUNT PRO indicates in the last column of the table (æCheckÆ) whether the transactions of the tax account match with the total current balance of the linked accounts. If everything is correct, ACCOUNT PRO indicates æOKÆ. If not, ACCOUNT PRO shows the difference between the total of the actual tax transactions and an amount calculated from the total current balances of the linked accounts. In such a case, the tax account and/or one ore more of the linked accounts contain one or more erroneous transactions with wrong account allocation. To rectify that, you must find those and correct them.