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----------------------------------------------------------------
E X P R E S S C H E C K
User's Guide
by
David Berdan
EXPRESSWARE
CORPORATION
P.O. Box 1800
Duvall, WA 98019
206-788-0932 office
206-788-4493 fax
(C) Copyright 1989
-
Changes are periodically made to the information contained herein.
These changes will be incorporated into future editions of this
publication.
A User Response Form is provided at the back of this manual. If this
form has been removed, please address your comments to:
EXPRESSWARE
CORPORATION
P.O. Box 1800
Duvall, WA 98019
Proprietary Notice
ExpressCheck is a proprietary product published by Expressware Corpor-
ation, Redmond, Washington.
All rights reserved except those expressly granted to the user by this
document.
-
1 Introduction
2 Installing ExpressCheck
8 Keyboard Conventions
11 A Guided Tour
14 Adding New Transactions
22 Find Transactions
25 Check Register
26 Sort the Transactions
27 Report Section
36 Bill Reminder System
41 Maintenance Section
48 Quitting ExpressCheck
48 Customizing ExpressCheck
54 Troubleshooting
57 Distribution Notice
57 Disclaimer
58 Glossary of Terms
59 User Response Form
61 Order Form
62 Index
-
Introduction
What is ExpressCheck?
ExpressCheck has a simple goal in life, to help you manage your
checking accounts. Because the various screen look just like your
paper checks, deposit slips, ATM machines, and check registers, you
will find the program extremely easy to learn and use. But Express-
Check goes far beyond the usefulness of a check register. Every check
and deposit can be recorded to various budget codes that you set up.
This makes it possible for you to see at any time during the year where
you stand in regard to your spending. How much do you spend on food
each month? How much have you given in tax deductible donations? Car
payments, electricity, gasoline, entertainment? Without Express-
Check you either guess at where you spent all your money, or you spend
long hours with a calculator. With ExpressCheck you can find out in
just a few seconds.
Entering checks and deposits is fast and enjoyable. Recurring payments
can be entered with two keystrokes. Budget codes can be defined on the
fly and you can pop up a window with all the currently defined codes
whenever you need them. ExpressCheck will even print the checks for
you on any kind of tractor feed forms.
Pre-defined reports can be printed that give you monthly or
year-to-date totals for any or all budget codes, average monthly
amounts per budget code, a check register with running balance, all
transactions that have not yet cleared the bank, checks or deposits
that included certain budget codes, or all checks made out to certain
payees. Many of the figures that go on your tax return are at your
finger tips.
INTRODUCTION
Never again will you cringe at the thought of having to balance your
checkbook. Pop up the electronic check register and run down with your
bank statement marking off the cleared checks, deposits and services
charges listed. Then push a key and have ExpressCheck display your
current balance, checks and deposits outstanding, how many checks and
deposits you marked as cleared and what your bank statement balance
should read.
A powerful search feature allows you to quickly find out if you really
did pay last months car payment, or if check number 4284 has cleared
the bank yet, or what the payment to the ABC Company was for.
ExpressCheck will bring order into your financial life. Knowing where
you are spend your money makes it much easier to plan for the future.
@Page 1 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
-
Will It Run On My Computer?
If your computer is 100% compatible with the IBM PC, XT or AT, then
ExpressCheck will definitely run on it. Some semi-compatibles may
require some special configuring. Generally, if your computer uses the
PC-DOS or MS-DOS operating system, then ExpressCheck will probably run
on it. There are some minimum hardware requirements:
PC-DOS or MS-DOS version 2.0 or higher
At least 320K of RAM memory
One diskette drive
Your computer may have either a monochrome or 80-column color monitor.
If you have a color monitor, ExpressCheck will format its screens in
your choice of colors. A printer is optional, but is of course needed
if reports or checks are to be printed.
Installing ExpressCheck
How Do I Get Started?
The first step is to install the ExpressCheck software on your compu-
ter. Usually this is a simple process, but there are some PC's with
unique configurations which require special procedures.
ExpressCheck may be run on a computer with one or two diskette drives
or a computer with a hard disk drive. If your computer has one or two
diskette drives, the installation process is explained in the sections
following the hard disk installation.
These installation instructions assume that you have a basic under-
standing of DOS commands and terms. If you are not familiar with terms
such as subdirectory, path, formatted diskette, etc. you will need to
consult your DOS manual for more information.
@Page 2 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Computers With Hard Disks
When using ExpressCheck from a hard disk, it is possible to put the
program modules in one subdirectory and your account files in one or
more other subdirectories. This is not a decision that you need to
make now; the path to the account files can be changed anytime Express-
Check is started.
For simplicity, these installation instructions assume that the program
files and the account files will reside in the same directory on your
hard disk. This subdirectory may have any valid name. For this
example we will create a subdirectory called CHECK from the roots
directory and put the programs in it.
Put the ExpressCheck Program diskette in drive A and enter the DOS
commands shown below. The small print on the right indicates what each
command is doing.
C: Make drive C: the current drive.
CD \ Change to the root directory of drive C:
MD CHECK Make a new subdirectory called CHECK
CD CHECK Change to the new CHECK subdirectory
COPY A:*.EXE Copy all the program files
Now put the ExpressCheck Supplemental Disk in drive A and enter:
COPY A:EXAMPLE.* Copy the Example checking account
The new CHECK subdirectory now contains all the ExpressCheck program
files as well as a sample checking account file that will be used as an
example throughout this manual.
There are a few other files on the ExpressCheck diskette that you don't
need to copy onto your hard disk. One of these files contains the
on-disk documentation and another is a batch file used to print the
document file. Since you already have a copy of the manual, you won't
have to print another. Two other files contain and print an order form
that can be used to order other Expressware products. If you share
ExpressCheck with your friends, be sure to give them a complete copy of
the ExpressCheck Program diskette so that they will have the files
needed to print the manual and order form.
@Page 3 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Computers With One Diskette Drive
If just the ExpressCheck program files are copied onto a blank disk-
ette, there is enough room remaining to easily fit a checking account
file that is large enough to accommodate more than the number of checks
that are written by the average household over the course of a year.
Because of this, ExpressCheck can be used on computers that only have
one diskette drive. Although there is room on the diskette to put a
copy of DOS so that the diskette can be self-booting, it is recommended
that you boot from a separate DOS diskette to save as much room as
possible for you checking files.
To install ExpressCheck on a single-drive system you will need one
blank, formatted diskette to be used for both the programs and data.
Place the original ExpressCheck Program diskette in drive A and type:
COPY A:CHECK?.EXE B: <Enter>
Note the question mark, don't forget to include it in the command.
This will copy CHECK.EXE, CHECK2.EXE, CHECK3.EXE, and CHECK4.EXE from
the Program Disk to your blank disk. You computer will prompt you to
switch disks as needed. When the four files have been copied, type:
COPY A:CHKRTM.EXE B: <Enter>
This will copy the runtime module to your work disk.
If you are using ExpressCheck for the first time you should copy the
Example account files to your working disk to use in the Guided Tour
section following the Installation. To do this, place the Supplemental
Disk in drive A and type:
COPY A:EXAMPLE.* B: <Enter>
Be sure to put the original diskettes in a safe place.
@Page 4 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Computers With Two Diskette Drives
To install ExpressCheck on a two diskette drive system you will need
two blank, formatted diskettes. If you want to be able to boot your
computer from the working program disk, be sure to use the /S option
while formatting it. (See your DOS manual if you need any further
explanation of how to do this). Place the original ExpressCheck
Program diskette in drive A and place the first of the new blank
diskettes in drive B and type:
COPY A:*.EXE B: <Enter>
This will copy all the program files onto the new diskette and will
create a "working diskette" which should be labelled "ExpressCheck
Working Diskette".
The second blank diskette is used for a "Data Disk" where all the
checking account information will be stored. If this is the first time
you have used ExpressCheck, you should copy the Example checking
account files onto the second diskette for use in the Guided Tour
section following the Installation. To copy the example files, make
sure the original ExpressCheck Supplemental diskette is still in drive A
and your new blank data disk is in drive B. Type:
COPY A:EXAMPLE.* B: <Enter>
The original ExpressCheck diskettes should be stored in a safe place.
Computers With Color Monitors
If your computer has a color monitor and a graphics board, ExpressCheck
automatically displays its screen in color. If you prefer different
colors than those ExpressCheck uses, see the section titles CUSTOMIZING
EXPRESSCHECK for changing screen colors.
ExpressCheck detects whether your computer has a monochrome board or a
color graphics board, and then uses colors or black/white accordingly.
Some computers have a black and white monitor connected to a color
board, which tricks ExpressCheck into sending colors to the
black-and-white screen. This can cause some characters to appear hazy
and unreadable, or in some cases, some characters may not appear on the
screen at all.
If this condition occurs, or if you suspect it is occurring, press
<Esc> then <Enter> to exit from ExpressCheck, then start the program
again using the /M command line option (more on this later). Or you can
customize the various screen colors to black-on-white and
white-on-black using the CUSTOMIZING EXPRESSCHECK section explained in
the next section.
@Page 5 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Starting ExpressCheck
Please do not use the original Program Disk to run ExpressCheck. If you
are running from diskettes, make a working copy of the program disk-
ette, and store the original in a safe place.
Users with hard disks use the following commands to start the Express-
Check program:
C: Make drive C: the current drive (if not already)
CD \CHECK Change directory to the new CHECK subdirectory
CHECK Start the ExpressCheck program
Users with only diskette drives use the following command to start the
program. From the A:> prompt type:
CHECK
The ExpressCheck loads into memory, and after a second or two, this
banner screen appears:
(picture of Banner Screen)
If your banner screen does not display, or if it has some unreadable
characters, you probably have a special hardware configuration that
ExpressCheck cannot properly detect. See the /M command in the next
section, or refer to the section titled TROUBLESHOOTING near the end of
this manual.
At the bottom of the banner screen you are prompted:
Press any key for Main Menu
When you press any key, the main ExpressCheck program loads and a
screen appears that asks which disk drive (and path, if any) the
ExpressCheck checking account are on.
ExpressCheck anticipates your response to these questions, and has
filled in some "default values". If you are running from diskette,
ExpressCheck assumes your data is on drive B. If not, type the correct
drive letter.
@Page 6 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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If you are running from a hard disk, ExpressCheck assumes your data is
on drive C, in the same directory as the ExpressCheck programs. If
not, change the path name.
If the drive letter and subdirectory are correct, just press the
<Enter> key twice, and the "Open an Account" screen appears. An
illustration of this screen and further instructions on running
ExpressCheck are in the following chapter, titled "A Guided Tour".
Command Line Options
In the previous example we simply typed CHECK on the command line to
start ExpressCheck. There are other things that could have been typed
on that same line. For example, the drive letter and path could have
been included on the command line, and then ExpressCheck would have
skipped the screen that asks for the drive and path. Here are some
examples of valid start-up commands:
CHECK B: Indicates data is on drive B
CHECK \ACCOUNTS\ Indicates data is in subdirectory
\ACCOUNTS on current drive.
CHECK PERSONAL Selects account called PERSONAL on the
current drive
CHECK B:\ACCOUNTS\PERSONAL
Selects account called PERSONAL from
subdirectory \ACCOUNTS on drive B
If an account name is specified on the command line but the account
doesn't exist, ExpressCheck assumes you want to create a new account,
so control is passed to the Define screen. In addition to the drive,
path and account name, the command line may contain one or more of the
following commands:
/M Monochrome (black and white) display: This command is sometimes
necessary when using ExpressCheck on a monochrome graphics monitor with
a color graphics board. Users with color graphics monitors can also
use the command to make the screen appear in black and white.
/S Turn off the sound: ExpressCheck makes a distinctive "beep" when
it accepts a data field from the keyboard. It makes a slightly
different sound when an invalid character is entered. Some computers
have louder speakers than others, and the sound may be annoying to you
or to others around you. Use /S command to turn it off.
@Page 7 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
-
/B Use BIOS calls for screen display: Some computer's video memory
is not fully compatible with the IBM PC. To display data on the screen
as quickly as possible, ExpressCheck places data directly into video
RAM. Some early models of MS-DOS computers did not map video memory at
the same address as the IBM PC. On computers whose video RAM is at a
different address, nothing gets displayed; i.e. the screen stays blank.
If you specify /B on the command line, ExpressCheck uses calls to the
ROM BIOS for screen displays. This makes screen displays slower, but
assures that the data is displaying on the screen.
/F Fast start-up: This command tells ExpressCheck to skip the banner
screen during start-up.
These slash command switches must follow the drive, path and account if
they are specified. Use the forward slash character "/". Backslash
characters "\" do not work. There cannot be a space following the
slash, but there may optionally be one or more spaces preceding it.
ExpressCheck can be configured to automatically use one or more of
these command line options plus several other options by going through
the customize option from the opening screen. For more information on
customizing ExpressCheck, see the chapter titled CUSTOMIZING EXPRESS-
CHECK.
Keyboard Conventions
In this manual, and on many ExpressCheck screens, when you see a
letter, number or special key enclosed in <brackets>, it means to press
the key enclosed in brackets. For example, <F1> means press the F1
key. <Alt-H> means hold down the Alt key and press H.
When a letter <A> through <Z> appears in brackets, either an uppercase
(capital) or lower-case (small) letter may be entered. Sometimes at the
bottom of a screen, the first letter of a word is enclosed in brackets,
such as <P>rint. This is a short-hand way of indicating that pressing
the P key selects the Print function.
The <Esc> Key
The Escape Key <Esc> can be used almost anywhere in ExpressCheck to
back out of a section of the program and return to the previous menu.
For example, if you are adding checks and the last one has been added,
press <Esc> to return to the Main Menu.
Single Keystroke Input
When a prompt requires that only one key be pressed, the command is
carried out immediately without having to press <Enter>. All
single-key commands make a short "blip" sound (unless the sound option
has been turned off).
@Page 8 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Whenever an incorrect or inappropriate key is pressed, ExpressCheck
sounds a two tone warning and ignores the keystroke.
The <F10> key is used in many places to indicate that you are finished
entering information and are ready to move on to the next step.
Input Fields Of Two Or More Characters
All questions or entries that allow more than one key to be pressed
must be followed by an <Enter> before ExpressCheck processed the
keystrokes. On any prompt or field that allows two or more characters
to be entered, the following editing keys may be used:
<Backspace> Erases the character to the left of the cursor.
<Del> Erases the character under the cursor.
<Ins> Toggles Insert mode on and off. When Insert mode is on,
the cursor increases in size. Characters are inserted at the cursor as
they are entered, and the characters to the right of the cursor are
shifted toward the end of the field.
<Left Arrow> Moves the cursor left, toward the beginning of the field.
No characters are erased.
<Right Arrow>Move the cursor right. toward the end of the field. NO
characters are erased.
<Home> Moves the cursor to the first position of the field.
<End> Move the cursor to the position following the last
non-blank character on the line.
<Ctrl-Home> Erases the entire line and puts the cursor back at the
beginning of the field.
<Ctrl-End> Erases all characters from the cursor to the end of the
field. The cursor does not move.
<Enter> Indicates that all the data has been entered in the field.
<Enter> may be pressed no matter where the cursor is within a field,
and the entire field is processed as input.
Characters may not be entered past the end of a field. When the cursor
reaches the end, it jumps to the top of the last character. Any
attempt to enter further characters causes the computer to beep.
However, all control keys (<Enter>, <Backspace>, <F10>, etc.) may still
be used.
@Page 9 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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The Alternate <Ctrl>-Keys
ExpressCheck also supports the keyboard standard for the <Ctrl> keys
popularized by Micropro's WordStar, and sometimes referred to as the
"WordStar control key standard".
Because the WordStar control key standard is so popular, we support it
in all our software packages. There are two important reasons why this
standard is so popular: (1) it allows touch typists to perform all the
control key functions without removing their hands from the keyboard;
and (2) it allows numeric keypad users an optional set of arrow keys so
<NumLock> can be left on all the time. If you are a fast typist and
seldom look at the keyboard, or if you do a lot of ten-key input, you
will likely find these control keys helpful. It takes some time to get
accustomed to them, but eventually they become second nature just like
the other keys on the keyboard.
The <Ctrl> key is like a special shift key. If you hold it down and
press a letter, a special character is sent to the computer. These are
the <Ctrl> keys which ExpressCheck supports:
<Ctrl-E> same as <Up Arrow>
<Ctrl-G> same as <Del>
<Ctrl-S> same as <Left Arrow>
<Ctrl-T> same as <Ctrl-End>
<Ctrl-D> same as <Right Arrow>
<Ctrl-Y> same as <Ctrl-Home>
<Ctrl-X> same as <Down Arrow>
<Ctrl-Q> same as <Esc>
<Ctrl-F> same as <Tab>
<Ctrl-W> same as <F10>
<Ctrl-A> same as <Shift-Tab>
<Ctrl-Enter> same as <F10>
<Ctrl-V> same as <Ins>
Pop up Calculator
ExpressCheck has a pop up calculator that you can use from anywhere in
the program by pressing <Alt-K>.
(picture of calculator)
The calculator is a four-function model that works the same as any
standard hand-held version. Enter any calculation just as you would
say it out loud. Press <Esc> to put the calculator away.
@Page 10 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Drop to DOS
From anywhere in ExpressCheck you can drop to the DOS level by pressing
<Alt-D>. If COMMAND.COM is available on your boot drive, the screen
will be cleared and the DOS prompt will appear along with a window
telling you to type EXIT at the DOS prompt when you want to go back to
ExpressCheck. While you are at the DOS level, you can do a directory,
format a disk, or even run another program if you have enough memory
left. When you want to return to ExpressCheck, type EXIT and press
<Enter>. The original screen in ExpressCheck will be restored and you
can continue from where you left off.
A GUIDED TOUR
Opening an account
When ExpressCheck is started, there are three ways to identify the
account to be used: (1) it can be included on the command line; (2) it
can be specified in a custom profile; or (3) if neither of the other
methods is used, ExpressCheck goes directly to the "Open an Account"
screen and asks you to select an account from the list. It looks like
this:
(picture of account selection screen)
Before you can add checks or deposits to an account, or print a report
or do anything in ExpressCheck, the program needs to know which account
you want to work with. The "Open an Account" screen displays all the
accounts on your disk, and asks which one you want to open.
Starting A New Account File
To start a new checking account from the "Open an Account" screen,
press <Enter> instead of entering the number of an existing account.
ExpressCheck will ask:
Name of new account:__________
Enter a valid file name and press <Enter>. The new account definition
screen looks like this:
(picture of Define screen)
@Page 11 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Account Name
The account name will appear at the top of the check entry screen and
on the top of any reports that you print. Select a name that describes
the account. An example might be "Dave's personal account", or "Acme
checking account". The name can be anything up to 30 characters long.
Account Number
Enter the number of your checking account. This will also be printed
on reports that are produced. This field may be left blank if you
don't want the number printed.
Beginning Balance
Enter the balance of your account at the point where you will start
entering transactions. This is usually the resulting balance after
reconciling your last bank statement.
Low Balance Warning
If you enter non-zero number in this field, ExpressCheck will warn you
whenever your account balance dips below it. If you don't want to be
bothered with the warning, just leave this field at zero.
Small or Large Account Size
Version 3 of ExpressCheck allows you to select between two different
account sizes. These are the differences:
Small Large
Dollar amounts $ 99,999.99 $ 9,999,999.99
Budget Codes 3 5
Address on check No Yes (4 lines)
Because of the increase in amount size, number of codes and addition of
address space, the Large account takes up about twice the disk space
storage than the Small account. This is usually not a problem since
you can still save over 1100 transactions on a 360K diskette, more than
the average person writes in a year.
ExpressCheck will now save the above information on the data disk and
take you to the Main Menu.
Selecting An Existing Account
From the "Open an Account" screen where all the existing account names
are listed in alphabetical order, select the number of the account you
want to work with and press <Enter>. ExpressCheck will load the
account, calculate the current balance and then display the Main Menu.
@Page 12 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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The Main Menu
We will use the account called EXAMPLE. The accounts are displayed on
the screen alphabetically, and are numbered on the left. Since EXAMPLE
is number 1, press 1 then the <Enter> key. Now that the account has
been selected, ExpressCheck goes to its Main Menu screen which looks
like this:
ExpressCheck 4.0 Q - Quit and Exit
M A I N M E N U M - Maintenance
R - Report Section
S - Sort the Transactions
C - Check Register
F - Find Transactions
A - Add Transactions
O - Open Another Account
Open Account: Example Checking Account
Current Balance: $ 482.29
Transactions : 32
Next check # : 1024
Selection _
Whenever you are in the ExpressCheck program, it is always possible to
return to the Main Menu by pressing the <Esc> key one or more times.
To select an item from the Main Menu enter the first letter of the menu
choice: "O" for Open, "A" for Add, etc. It is not necessary to press
the <Enter> key; menu choices are single keystroke commands.
This Guided Tour of ExpressCheck will use the Main Menu as a road map.
You will select options progressively along the menu and return back
to this point before going on to another section.
@Page 13 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
-
Adding New Transactions
To add new checks and deposits to an account press "A" (remember, don't
press <Enter>) from the Main Menu. A screen with a picture of a check
appears. This form should look familiar. It is fashioned after the
paper checks you are using every day.
(picture of check screen)
Whenever you enter this section from the Main Menu, a check will appear
on the screen (as opposed to a deposit slip or Automatic Teller Machine
entry). If you are like most people, you will be entering many more
checks than deposits or ATM transactions. However, a deposit slip or
ATM screen is only a keystroke away. You will notice at the bottom of
the screen a prompt that says:
<PgUp> ATM Whdrl <PgDn> Deposit
Press <PgUp> to change the check to a picture of an Automatic Teller
Machine.
(picture of ATM withdrawal screen)
Here you can enter withdrawals that you have made at your favorite Cash
Machine. If you press <PgUp> again from here you will see an ATM
Deposit screen where you can record deposits made at an ATM machine.
Press <PgUp> again to get to a Deposit slip.
(picture of Deposit screen)
If you want a check when a deposit slip is showing, press <PgUp>. The
check reappears. Anytime the cursor is in the first field, you can
switch between checks, ATM withdrawals, ATM deposits and regular
deposits using <PgDn> and <PgUp>.
Entering a check or deposit is as simple as filling in the blanks, just
as you do on your paper checks and deposits.
Help Window
When you are entering transactions, ExpressCheck displays a small
three-line help window below the form that reminds you of the contents
and options available in each field as you go down. When you are first
starting to use ExpressCheck this window is very informative and will
help you to remember the various features that you can use in each
field. When you progress to the point that you no longer need or want
the window to be displayed, you can press <Alt-H> to turn it off.
@Page 14 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Starting A New Account
If you are just starting to use ExpressCheck to keep track of your
existing checking account, here are a few tips to consider:
Reconcile your checking account and make sure everything balances and
is in order before converting to ExpressCheck. Any errors that were
made before will continue to plague you if not found now.
Enter all the checks and deposits that have not yet cleared your bank
statements. If you are starting to use ExpressCheck on January 1st for
example, enter all the outstanding transactions left over from the
previous year. This will make it possible for ExpressCheck to recon-
cile your account at the end of January.
Think about what budget categories you want to keep track of. You can
set up very general catagories, like UTILITIES, or you can very
detailed, such as ELECTRIC, PHONE, GARBAGE, GAS, CABLE TV, etc.
Tracking detailed budget codes makes it possible to produce very
detailed spending patterns later, but it does require a little more
planning and attention.
If you are starting to use ExpressCheck in the middle of the year, you
might want to consider entering all the checks you have written for the
prior months of the year. This doesn't take long and will instantly
give you information on your spending patterns. It can be very
revealing.
Entering Checks, Deposits, and ATM's
Transaction Number
The first field is the check or deposit number field. When you first
come into the add section, the number for each type of transaction will
be pre-loaded with one higher than the highest number found for that
type when loading the account. This will normally be the number you
want to use. If you are entering transactions that are out of
sequence, just type the number right over the one shown. When the
transaction is saved, the next transaction will appear with the number
incremented by one. If you enter a transaction number that is behind
your normal numbering sequence, you can resume the usual numbering by
pressing <Alt-R> while in the number field.
By default, ExpressCheck will keep track of check, deposit, ATM
withdrawal, and ATM deposit numbering separately. If you would like to
tie the numbering together, you can indicate this in the Setup proce-
dure.
@Page 15 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Date
The cursor now moves to the Date field. The format of the field is
fixed according to the date style that is indicated in the Setup
program, either MM-DD-YY or DD-MM-YY. The dashes are placed in the
date automatically by ExpressCheck. To enter the date 12-25-87, just
enter 122587. The numbers will all fall in the correct position.
Another feature of the date field is that you can automatically
increment it by one day by pressing the <Spacebar>. Most check
entering sessions are done in date order, from oldest to most recent.
The <Spacebar> method of changing the date is a lot quicker than typing
the month and day each time you want to update it. The plus key <+>
works the same as the <Spacebar>. To decrement the date one day at a
time, you can press the minus key <->. Of course this feature auto-
matically takes into consideration the variable lengths of each
month and even leap year!
If you enter a date manually, ExpressCheck will verify that you have
entered a valid date. If the date is found to be out of range, you
will receive a message to this effect and will have to re-enter it.
Payee or Source
If you are filling in a check the next field to be entered is the Payee
field, or "Pay to the Order of" field. Simply fill in the name of the
person or company to whom the check was made out to. (On the ATM
withdrawal screen this field is call "Used for:"). If you are filling
in a deposit slip, the field is call "Source:" and you can enter where
the deposit funds came from.
ExpressCheck has a feature available here called QuickFill, that allows
an entire check or deposit to be filled in with any recurring informa-
tion with a simple key combination. This is useful for payments that
are the same each month or that occur many times during the year. This
feature is described in the QuickFill section a little later.
Amount
The amount field will accept any number up to 99,999.99 if you are
using a SMALL account or up to 9,999,999.99 if you have defined a LARGE
account. Only numeric digits and one decimal point are allowed into
this field. After the number is entered, ExpressCheck will convert it
to a two decimal place number, adding any needed zeros or rounding
excess decimal places if too many were typed. (123.4 becomes 123.40
and 123.456 becomes 123.46). If you are filling in a check, Express-
Check will spell out the amount on the line below the Payee. (One
hundred TwentyThree & 46/100).
@Page 16 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Memo
The memo field is used to note what the check, deposit, or ATM entry
was for. It may be left blank if you like.
Address (check only)
If you have defined a LARGE account you may enter up to a four line
address. If the first line of the Address section is left blank, the
remaining three lines will be skipped and the cursor will jump over to
the Budget Code section. Most of the time, when entering a name and
address, one of the lines will be the same as the entry on the Payee
line. You can copy the Payee field down to any of the address lines by
pressing <Alt-P> when on that line.
Budget Code
Budget Codes are a great feature of ExpressCheck. Their use allows you
to categorized your payments and deposits to different pigeon holes
from which you can later produce reports that make this whole exercise
worthwhile.
Assigning transactions to budget codes is like putting a record of your
checks and deposits into different marked envelopes after you write
them. Imagine that you have ten envelopes that are marked with these
titles:
UTILITIES
MORTGAGE
FOOD
GAS
GIFTS
COMPUTER
DOCTOR
DENTIST
INSURANCE
SALARY
Each time you write a bill to the electric company you put a slip of
paper in the UTILITIES envelope with all the check information on it.
Each time you pay for car or life insurance you put a record slip into
the INSURANCE envelope. And each time you get paid and deposit your
paycheck in the bank you put a record of that into the SALARY envelope.
If you go into a department store and buy a part for your computer, a
gift for an upcoming birthday party and a bag of groceries, you will
have to split the check amount up into three pieces and put a piece of
paper into three different envelopes.
At the end of the year, or at any time during the year, you can pick up
an envelope and pull out all the pieces of paper and add them together
to see how much you have spent up to that point.
@Page 17 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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ExpressCheck can do the same thing with a lot less hassle, by allowing
you to assign your check and deposit amounts to one or more budget
codes. At any time you can print a report of your spending habits,
good or bad.
You can give ExpressCheck your list of budget codes all at once before
you start adding transactions, or you can define new codes as you find
you need them while adding checks or deposits.
All checks and deposits must be assigned to at least one budget code
and may be split between up to five codes if need be (three if a SMALL
account). If you don't know how to categorize a certain check or you
don't want to be bothered with the coding section at all, just press
<Enter> when you get to this field and an appropriate default will be
entered for you, MISC CHK for checks and MISC DEP for deposits. (Of
course these defaults can be changed in the Setup section).
Being able to assign the amount of a check or deposit to one or more
catagories is a feature that makes ExpressCheck worth it weight in
gold.
Budget codes are classified as either Expense or Income. Expense codes
are generally categories that you spend money from while Income codes
are categories you put money into. If you make a deposit to an Income
code, the amount will be added and if you write a check from an Income
code, the amount will be subtracted. Conversely, if you write a check
from an Expense code, the amount will be added to the code. If you
make a deposit to an Expense code, the amount will be subtracted. For
example, if you have an Income code called COLLEGE and you deposit
money into that code, the amount will be added. If you write a tuition
check from that code, the money will be deducted.
As you enter each budget code, ExpressCheck will scan the current list
of acceptable codes and if it doesn't find it, will report to you that
you have entered an unrecognized code and ask if you want to <R>e-enter
the code, <A>dd the code to the list, or <V>iew the list of current
codes. Pressing <R> will clear the entry that you have just made and
allow you to type it in again (and hopefully get it right this time).
Pressing <A> will add the new code to the list (in upper case) and
continue on. Pressing <V> will pop up a window containing a list of the
currently defined codes and allow you to page up and down, looking for
the code you really want or to realize that you need to add a new code
to the list after all.
If you can't remember if a certain code has been defined, you can enter
just a slash (/) into a Code field to pop up a window containing a list
of the currently defined codes sorted into alphabetical order with the
Expense codes at the top, follow by the Income codes. You may then
move a highlighted bar up and down in the list until you find the one
you want and then press enter to select it.
Budget codes may also be selected by their assigned number. If you
know that APPLIANCES is number 1 on the list you can just enter 1
instead of having to spell out APPLIANCES each time. (If you enter a
number that is out of range of the current list of budget codes,
ExpressCheck will assume that you want to enter a code who's name is
the number you typed. Some people prefer to use numbers for budget
categories).
@Page 18 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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ExpressCheck will allow you to define up to 200 different budget
catagories. Here is a list of commonly used codes that you might want
to use when setting up your budgeting system:
MORTGAGE (Expense)
GAS (Expense)
FOOD (Expense)
DONATION (Expense)
ELECTRIC (Expense)
CAR REPAIR (Expense)
ENTERTAIN (Expense)
GIFTS (Expense)
CASH (Expense)
COMPUTER (Expense)
WATER (Expense)
DENTIST (Expense)
DOCTOR (Expense)
MEDICINE (Expense)
LIFE INSUR (Expense)
AUTO INSUR (Expense)
FIRE INSUR (Expense)
LIAB INSUR (Expense)
TAXES (Expense)
GARBAGE (Expense)
SALARY (Income)
DIVIDEND (Income)
INTEREST (Income)
Budget Code Amount
The portion of the check or deposit that you are assigning to the
budget category is entered here. This field will accept any number up
to 99999.99 (or 9999999.99 if a LARGE account). Only numeric digits
and one decimal point are allowed into this field. After the number is
entered, ExpressCheck will convert it to a two decimal place number,
adding any needed zeros or rounding excess decimal places if too many
were typed.
If this is the first code amount field and you want the entire check or
deposit amount to be assigned here, just press <Enter> and the field
will be filled in with the full amount and the cursor will jump
directly to the Cleared field, skipping the other two or four code
fields.
If you only want to assign part of the check or deposit amount to a
particular code, just enter the desired amount. After doing so, the
cursor will move down to the next code field.
Anytime you want to assign the remaining amount to a code field, just
press <Enter> while in that field. ExpressCheck will calculate the
remainder and fill it in for you.
@Page 19 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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If you need to split a check or deposit between more than the allowed
three or five different budget codes, you will have to enter the first
three or five on one form and then continue on another check or deposit
slip with the remaining codes and amounts. When doing a continuation
check or deposit, we suggest that you enter the same number as the
first check with a ".1" at the end. (example: 1234 and 1234.1) This
way, if you sort by transaction number, the pair will always stay in
the correct sequence.
Removing a Budget Code
If you find it necessary to remove a budget code and its amount, blank
out the budget code name using the <Spacebar> and then press <Enter>.
The amount will automatically be blanked and any budget codes and
amounts that are below will be moved up to remove the blank line.
Cleared
When entering a check or deposit, you can mark them as to whether or
not they have been included on a bank statement. If you are keeping up
with your entries, the answer will usually be "N". ExpressCheck has
anticipated the answer by filling in a default response of "N". If
this is acceptable, just press <Enter>. If you would like it to be
marked as Cleared, press "Y" and <Enter>.
Saving The Transaction
After the Cleared field has been filled, a window will pop up:
<S>ave, <P>rint (and save), or <R>eEdit? S
The first time this window pops up, the default answer will be <S>. If
this is the option you want, just press <Enter>. If you would rather
print the transaction before saving it, press <P>. The check or
deposit will be printed and then saved. If you want to make changes to
the transaction before saving or printing it, press <R>. The default
answer for the next time the window pops up will be the same as you
selected this time.
You can also save a transaction at any time while filling it in by
pressing the <F10> key. ExpressCheck provides two other key combina-
tions that can be used in place of the <F10> key. They are <Ctrl-W>
and <Ctrl-Enter>. Any time ExpressCheck requires the <F10> key, it
will also accept these two alternative keys.
@Page 20 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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QuickFill
Some of the checks and deposits that you type in are recurring and are
the same each month. ExpressCheck offers a feature that allows you to
memorize these transactions the first time you enter them, and then to
automatically fill in the information when you enter a slash-code into
the Payee or Source field. This is called a QuickFill.
QuickFill codes start with a slash </>. Following the slash you can
enter any letters or numbers. To define a new QuickFill code, you
first decide what word or words you want to use with the slash. This
will usually be something that helps you remember the entry. For
example: Every month you have to pay a mortgage payment to XYZ Bank.
The payment, memo and budget codes are exactly the same each month.
You decide to use /MORTGAGE for the QuickFill code to remind you of
your house payment.
Fill in the Check # or Deposit # and date as you always do. When you
get to the Payee field, type /MORTGAGE <Enter>. Because ExpressCheck
doesn't recognize this QuickFill code because it is new, this message
appears:
This is a new QuickFill character, <D>efine or <R>e-enter?
Since you do want to define this entry, press <D>. The window will
disappear, the Payee field will be cleared and the cursor will be put
back to the beginning. In the upper left corner of the screen "Record-
ing (OFF=Alt-Q)" will appear to indicate that ExpressCheck is recording
any information you will be typing in. Enter your mortgage payment as
you normally would, filling in the Payee, Amount, Memo, and Budget Code
information. When you save the check, ExpressCheck will also save what
you have entered in a separate file.
Now, when you want to enter a mortgage payment, fill in the Check # and
the date and then just enter /MORTGAGE in the Payee field. The remain-
der of the check fills in instantly and leaves you at the Cleared
field.
The recording of a QuickFill code can also be turned off before you
fill in the whole transaction. For example, if you write a lot of
checks to the American Light Bulb Company, but each check is for a
different amount, you can have QuickFill enter the Payee and leave you
at the Amount field. To do this, type in /BULB (or any new code you
choose to associate with this Payee), press <Enter>, then press <D> to
define it, and then enter American Light Bulb Company. When the cursor
is in the Amount field press <Alt-Q> to turn off the recording. The
"Recording" disappears and you may continue on to fill out the rest of
the check. /BULB now only fills in the Payee field and leaves you at
the Amount field.
You can define up to 100 different QuickFill codes for each account.
@Page 21 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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If you get to the Payee or Source field and forget what you have
defined as QuickFill codes, you can just type in a slash and press
<Enter>. A window will pop up displaying all the QuickFill definitions.
You may then cursor up and down to move the highlighted bar to the
line you want and then press <Enter> to fill in the check.
(picture of quickfill window)
You can also mark several QuickFill entries to be filled in consecu-
tively by moving to the appropriate lines with the highlight bar and
pressing <T> to tag them. A check mark will be placed in the margin of
the window to the left of the line. When you then press <Enter> or
<F10>, each tagged QuickFill entry will be filled in, pausing before
saving to give you a chance to make changes.
Exiting From The Add Section
When you have finished entering checks and deposits, press <Esc> to
return to the Main Menu.
Find Transactions
The Find section of ExpressCheck can be used to locate any check, ATM
or deposit in the account. The search can be done by any field on the
form, number, date, payee, amount, memo, address, code, code amount or
the Cleared field. Once a transaction has been found, you can choose
to edit the contents, delete it, or void it.
To find transactions in an account, and optionally change or delete
them, select <F> from the Main Menu: Find Transactions. This screen
displays:
(picture of Find screen )
@Page 22 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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After deciding which field you want to search, you can move the cursor
to that field by using the <Cursor Up> and <Cursor Down> keys. When
the cursor appears in the desired field, enter the information that you
want to search for and press <Enter>. ExpressCheck will search through
the account entries and display the first check, deposit or ATM entry
that matches the request. If you are searching by one of the numeric
fields, (Check #, Amount, or Code Amount), a transaction is considered
a match if the number matches exactly what you typed in. If any of the
other fields are used, a match is found if the field contents are the
same up to the length of the string you typed in. For example, if you
type FAMILY into the Payee line of the check, ExpressCheck will
find checks payable to FAMILY PHOTO, FAMILY SHOES, FAMILY GROCER, etc.
Text searches are done without regard to upper and lower case.
Searching for william will find WILLIAM.
If you would like to view all the transactions from the beginning of
the account, type ALL into the Check # field and press <Enter>. The
first transaction will be displayed immediately. If you want to find
all deposits, type DEP in the Number field. If you want to just
display the Cash Machine entries, type ATM in the Number field. If you
want to find all the checks, type CHK in the Number field.
Viewing The Transaction
As soon as the search text has been entered, ExpressCheck begins
searching for a matching entry. The first check or deposit that
matches the criteria is displayed. There are several options that may
be selected at this time, depending on whether this was the check you
were looking for or not. Most of the options are displayed across the
bottom of the screen:
<F> Continue Searching (Forward): When ExpressCheck displays a check,
there may be other records further down in the account which also match
the search criteria. If this is not the record you were looking for,
press <F> to continue searching the account for the next transaction
that matches. When the end of the account is reached, you are told:
"No more matches found...Press any Key". After pressing a key, you may
press <F> again to start the search over, displaying all the checks it
found the last time around.
<B> Continue Searching (Backward): It is possible to search backward
through the account as well as forward. Press <B> to search backward
for the previous matching check. This is a convenient way to get back
to the last check you were looking at.
<E> Edit: To make changes to the check or deposit, press <E>. The
cursor moves to the first field, Check #. At this point, the up and
down arrow keys, <Enter> key, and all the other features available when
you first entered the check operate the same. For further information
on entering new checks and deposits, see the Add Transactions section.
Once the changes have been made to the check, press <F10> to save it to
disk or <Esc> to abandon any changes you made.
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<D> Delete: To remove a transaction from the data file, press <D>.
You will be asked:
Are you sure you want to DELETE this transaction (Y/N)? N
If you are sure, press <Y> and ExpressCheck will completely remove the
transaction from the file. It will no longer exist.
<V> Void the check: If you want to cancel a check or deposit, press
<V>. ExpressCheck will ask:
Are you sure you want to VOID this transaction (Y/N)?
Reply <Y> to void the check or <N> to leave it alone. If you reply
<Y>, the payee, amount, codes and code amounts are blanked and the word
"VOID" is filled into the payee field. The Check # and date are left
untouched for future reference.
<N> Next: Pressing <N> advanced the display to the next check. By
pressing <N> several times, you can "walk" through the account looking
at consecutive transactions in the last sorted order.
<P> Previous: Pressing <P> backs up to the previous transaction in
the account in sorted order. Use the <N> key to move forward in the
account and the <P> key to move backward.
<S> Search: Pressing <S> returns you to the Find Transaction screen
so you can enter new search criteria. Your second search begins from
the record just displayed, which can make searching faster in some
cases.
Note: On a <S>earch, ExpressCheck does not stop when it reaches
the end of the index. It continues the search at the beginning of the
account, wrapping around, until it searches up to where it started.
<X> Print a Check: Pressing <X> prints a QuickCheck for the
transaction currently displayed. A QuickCheck must have already been
set up for this option to work. The screen for setting up QuickChecks
is on the Maintenance menu (see the chapter titled MAINTENANCE for more
information).
<C> Clear: Pressing <C> will mark the check or deposit as "cleared",
placing a "Y" in the Cleared field.
<U> Unclear: Pressing <U> will mark the check or deposit as "un-
cleared", placing an "N" in the Cleared field.
<Esc> As always, pressing <Esc> returns to the menu -- in this case,
the Main Menu.
@Page 24 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Check Register
With ExpressCheck you can view an electronic check register that
displays 20 transactions at a time. The running balance of your
account is displayed as you page up and down through the account file.
To reach the check register, press <C> from the Main Menu. Here is an
example:
(picture of check register)
Number Date Payee Withdraw X Deposit Balance
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1001 01-01 Acme Party Supply 27.83 x $ 2122.51
1002 01-06 Corner Market 199.30 x $ 1923.21
1003 01-08 American Light Bulb 24.95 $ 1898.26
1004 01-08 XYZ Bank 623.78 x $ 1274.48
01-15 D E P O S I T x 2045.00 $ 3319.48
etc...
To view transaction, move cursor to desired line and press <Enter>
<PgDn> <PgUp> <Home> <End> <C>lear <U>nclear <S>earch for Uncleared
<Esc>
Several options may be used when viewing the Check Register:
<Cursor up> <Cursor down> Move the Cursor: The up and down arrows may
be used to scroll through the Register. The transaction which the
cursor is currently marking is highlighted in a different color. The
arrow keys move the highlighted cursor to the next or previous transac-
tion. If the cursor moves off the screen, the next 20 checks and
deposits are displayed.
<Enter> View the check: Use the arrow keys to position the
cursor to a line, then press <Enter> to view that check or deposit in
its entirety. The check is displayed in the same manner as in the Add
section. As soon as you press <Enter>, the check displays, and all the
options that were available when Finding a check are displayed across
the bottom of the screen (<E>dit, <V>oid, <N>ext, <P>rev., <X>-Print,
etc. See the Find Transactions section for a complete list). Pressing
<Esc> returns you to the Check Register screen once again.
<PgDn> Advances to the next page (screen) of 20 checks.
<PgUp> Backs up to the previous page (screen) of 20 checks.
<Ctrl-PgDn> Advances through the Register 100 checks at a time
instead of only 20
@Page 25 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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<Ctrl-PgUp> Backs up 100 checks at a time.
<Home> Displays the first 20 checks in the account
<End> Displays the last 20 check at the end of the account.
<C>lear Press <C> to mark an entry as "cleared" in the high-
lighted transaction. This indicates that the check or
deposit has been listed on a bank statement. After
changing the status, the highlighted bar will move down
one position, making it quick and easy to mark multiple
checks as "cleared".
<U>nclear Press <U> to remove a "cleared" check mark from the
highlighted transaction.
<S>earch for uncleared: Press <S> to have ExpressCheck automatically
move the highlight bar to the next transaction that has
not yet been Cleared. This is extremely handy when
reconciling your account and saves you a lot of time over
manually searching.
<Esc> Pressing <Esc> returns to the Main Menu.
Sort The Transactions
When you are entering checks and deposits into ExpressCheck you will
generally be adding them in date and number sequence. There may be
times, however, when you forget to put in a check and have to enter it
later, thus putting it out of date or number sequence with the rest of
the transactions. To arrange all checks into the proper sequence,
either by date or by number, you must sort the account.
To sort the account, press <S> while viewing the Main Menu. Express-
Check will ask:
Sort by
<N>umber <D>ate
<P>ayee <A>mount
<I>nput order
If you want the account sorted by number, press <N>. ExpressCheck will
pull the number of each check and sort them into numeric order. Any
checks or deposits that do not have a number will be sorted to the
beginning of the index and put in Date order. This type of sort is
useful if you want to print out a report of every check to make sure
that each check number was entered into the account.
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If you want the account sorted by date, press <D>. ExpressCheck will
pull the date and number from each transaction in the account file and
will sort, first by date and then by number within the date so that all
checks with the same date will be in number order. Because checks and
deposits are recorded in your own paper check register in date order,
this is probably the way you will usually keep the account sorted.
If you want to sort by Payee, press <P>. ExpressCheck will sort your
transactions first by the Payee field and then by the Date field.
If you want to sort by Amount, press <A>. ExpressCheck will sort your
transactions first by the Amount field and then by the Date field.
If you want to put your account back into the exact order in which you
entered the transactions, press <I>.
After ExpressCheck has sorted the account, the Main Menu will display
again.
Report Section
The main reason for putting all your checking account information into
ExpressCheck is the ability to get useful information back out again.
ExpressCheck offers several different reports to help you. And as an
added feature, two different accounts can be combined into one report.
To reach the Report Section of ExpressCheck, press <R> while viewing
the Main Menu. The following menu appears:
@Page 27 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Report List
* 1 - Budget Code totals for selected Codes
* 2 - Budget Code totals for selected Codes (monthly totals)
* 3 - Budget Code monthly averages for selected Codes
4 - Register (with running balance)
5 - Transactions not yet marked Cleared
* 6 - Transaction list for selected Budget Codes
7 - Transaction list for selected Payees
* 8 - Transaction list for selected Payees and Budget Codes
9 - Activity Log for current session
Select desired Report number, or press <Esc> for Main Menu
* <C>ombine another account with these reports if desired
Select the report you want to print by pressing its corresponding
number.
Each report request prompts you for a date range to use for selecting
the checks and deposits to print. The default Low and High dates are
January 1st and December 31st of the current year. You may change
either date to narrow or broaden the range.
Some of the report will prompt you for more information before actually
printing the output. The additional input is described below as each
report type is described.
The asterisk at the beginning of reports 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8 indicates
that these report can be generated by combining another account with
the current one if desired. To select the second account, press <C>
before selecting one of these reports to print. A window will pop up
on the screen prompting:
Enter name of second account (or leave blank to cancel)
Enter the name of the second checking account that you would like to
combine with the currently opened account. (Or, if you had already
selected a second account and would like to cancel the combination
reports, just leave the field empty and press <Enter>). After select-
ing a second account, reports 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8 will read both files to
create their reports.
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1 - Budget Code totals for selected Codes
After prompting for the date range this report will ask you which
budget codes you want to have reported:
(picture of budget code list window )
Select the codes that you want to total up moving the highlighted bar
to the desired code and pressing <Enter>. This will place a check mark
to the right of the code. Pressing <Enter> on a code that already has
a check mark will remove the mark. You can use <PgUp> and <PgDn> to
view all the codes. If you want to select every code, press <A> and a
check mark will appear after each line. This is much faster than
moving to every line and pressing <Enter>. Pressing <E> will mark just
the Expense codes. Pressing <I> will just mark the Income codes. If
you want to clear all the selected codes, press <C>. The check marks
will disappear.
After your choices have been made, press <F10> to continue.
Screen, Printer or Disk?
ExpressCheck asks: Print report to <S>creen, <P>rinter or <D>isk?
No matter what your response is the report always echoes to the screen.
Screen: To write it only on the screen and nowhere else, enter <S>.
Printer: To write it to the screen and the printer, enter <P>.
Disk: To write the report to a disk file as well as to the screen,
press <D>. You are prompted: Enter name for OUTPUT FILE
Enter the name of the disk file where you would like the report written
to. This may include a drive and path name and an extension.
Note: For reports 1, 2, and 3, there are two special file extensions
that can be used to create a disk file in another format.
.DIF If you put an extension of .DIF on the file name, the report
will be written to disk as a DIF file instead of a regular
report text file. This file will contain the monthly or
yearly total figures as shown on the report instead of any
individual transaction amounts. DIF files are one of several
industry standard data interchange formats that allow
information to be shared between different programs. For
example, the resulting DIF file can be loaded directly into
ExpressCalc, our spreadsheet program or imported into File
Express. (DIF files can also be exported from the Main-
tenance Section of ExpressCheck that contain individual
transaction amounts.)
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.GRF If you put an extension of .GRF on the file name, the report
will be written to disk as an ExpressGraph graph file that
can be loaded into ExpressGraph, our business graphics
program to be used to create graphs and charts.
While printing the report, ExpressCheck will first read through all the
check and deposit records in the account that fall within the date
range entered and total up the budget code amounts that match those you
selected. After this is done, the report will print on the screen and
optionally on your printer or to a disk file.
The Year-to-Date budget code summary for the EXAMPLE file looks like
this:
12-18-89 Page: 1
Budget Code Summary
01-01-90 to 12-31-90
Example Checking Account
Expense Income
Budget Code Amount Amount
----------- ------------- ------------
COMPUTER 35.00
DENTIST 2655.60
DOCTOR .00
FOOD 1537.52
GAS .00
GIFTS 183.06
HOUSEHOLD 218.35
INSURANCE .00
MISC CHK .00
MISC DEP .00
MORTGAGE 3118.90
PERSONAL 64.83
UTILITIES 630.35
SALARY 29736.34
------------ ------------
Total: 37465.09 29736.34
When the report finishes, this message displays:
End of Report...press any key
Press any key to return to the Report List menu.
@Page 30 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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2 - Budget Code totals for selected Codes (monthly totals)
This report is almost the same as report 1 except that the report
displays the amount that has been assigned to each budget code on a
month-by-month basis.
After selecting the date range and the codes you want to print, this
type of report is produced:
12-18-89 Page: 1
Monthly Budget Code Summary
01-01-89 to 12-31-89
Example Checking Account: 123 456 789
Expense
Budget Code Amounts
-------------------------------------------------------------
MORTGAGE $ 3118.90
Jan $ 623.78 May $ .00 Sep $ .00
Feb $ 623.78 Jun $ 623.78 Oct $ .00
Mar $ 623.78 Jul $ .00 Nov $ .00
Apr $ 623.78 Aug $ .00 Dec $ .00
PERSONAL $ 64.83
Jan $ 39.83 May $ .00 Sep $ .00
Feb $ 16.00 Jun $ 623.78 Oct $ .00
Mar $ .00 Jul $ .00 Nov $ .00
Apr $ 9.00 Aug $ .00 Dec $ .00
etc.
The report will first display all the Expense category budget code
subtotals followed by a Grand Total block for the Expense codes. After
these will be any Income codes followed by a Grand Total block.
3 - Budget Code Averages (monthly)
This report is similar to the Budget Code Totals report (report 1)
except that the figures reported are the average monthly subtotal
amounts for the codes selected. This is a valuable report when you are
trying to figure out how much you spend on the average each month for
certain categories. The averages are figured by determining how many
months are included in the date range that is given. If you enter a
date range of 01-01-88 to 03-31-88 then the subtotals gathered for
that date range are divided by 3 to figure the average. If you
enter a range of 01-31-88 to 03-01-88, ExpressCheck will still divide
by 3. Only the month digits of the date are used to calculate how many
months to divide by so be sure to use the beginning of one month to the
end of another so that all transactions in the first and last month are
included in the average calculation.
(picture of report 3)
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4 - Register (with running balance)
This report prints a check register that contains just the basic
information about each transaction. A running balance is included
along with an indication of whether or not the check has cleared the
bank.
After you answer the date range question the report is printed:
12-18-89 Page: 1
Check Register
01-01-89 to 12-31-89
Example Checking Account: 123 456 789
Date Number Pay to Order of Amount Balance C
------ ------- ------------------------- ------- -------- -
BEGINNING BALANCE 2150.34
01-01 1001 Acme Party Supply 27.83 2122.51 x
01-06 1002 Corner Market 199.30 1923.21 x
01-08 1003 American Light Bulb 24.95 1898.26 x
01-08 1004 XYZ Bank 623.78 1274.48 x
01-15 D E P O S I T 2045.00 3319.48 x
etc...
5 - Transactions not yet marked Cleared
This report prints all the checks and deposits that have not yet been
marked "Cleared". At the end of the report a total of the checks and
deposits is printed. It is a handy report to have in hand when trying
to figure out why the banks ending balance doesn't agree with yours.
After replying to the date range question the report will be printed:
12-18-89 Page: 1
Transactions not marked Cleared
01-01-89 to 12-31-89
Example Checking Account: 123 456 789
Date Number Pay to Order of Check Deposit C
------ ------- ---------------------------- -------- -------- -
01-20 1005 Mary Smith 12.00
01-28 1009 Everyone's Department Store 293.40
02-05 1010 XYZ Bank 623.78
02-17 1012 Corner Market 189.99
03-10 1012 Corner Market 200.34
05-03 D E P O S I T 2045.00
etc...
-------- --------
7050.83 2045.00
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6 - Transaction list for selected Budget Codes
This report lists all the checks and deposits that include the budget
codes you select. The full detail of each transaction is printed.
After specifying the date range and the codes to include, the report is
printed:
12-18-89 Page: 1
Transactions for selected Budget Codes
01-01-89 to 12-31-89
Example Checking Account: 123 456 789
Date Number Payee and Memo Code Amount C
------ ------- -------------------------- ---------- ------------- -
01-01 1001 Acme Party Supply PERSONAL 27.83 x
01-01 1001 Acme Party Supply PERSONAL 27.83 x
01-01 1001 Acme Party Supply PERSONAL 27.83 x
01-01 1001 Acme Party Supply PERSONAL 27.83 x
-------------
100.64
01-06 1002 Corner Market FOOD 199.30 x
01-06 1002 Corner Market FOOD 199.30 x
01-06 1002 Corner Market FOOD 199.30 x
01-06 1002 Corner Market FOOD 199.30 x
01-06 1002 Corner Market FOOD 199.30 x
01-06 1002 Corner Market FOOD 199.30 x
-------------
1975.75
=============
Total: 2736.45
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7 - Transaction list for selected Payees
This report prints all the checks that have a Payee matching a list you
specify.
After entering the date range you are prompted to enter up to 20
different Payees to report on. After you have entered them, press
<F10> to print the report. If you want to print all the transactions
in the file, including checks, deposits, and ATM entries, enter ALL as
a Payee to look for. To print just all the checks, enter CHECK. To
print all the deposits, enter DEPOSIT. To print all the Automatic
Teller entries, enter ATM.
12-18-89 Page: 1
Transactions for specific Payees
01-01-89 to 12-31-89
Example Checking Account: 123 456 789
Date Number Payee and Memo Code Amount C
------ ------- -------------------------- ---------- -------- -
01-08 1003 American Light Bulb HOUSEHOLD 24.95 x
Light Bulbs
01-23 1006 American Light Bulb HOUSEHOLD 34.67 x
Light Bulbs
03-15 1015 American Light Bulb HOUSEHOLD 10.56
Light Bulbs
04-20 1019 American Light Bulb HOUSEHOLD 42.87 x
more light bulbs...
8 - Transaction list for selected Payees and Budget Codes
This is a combination of reports 6 and 7 allowing you more control of
the transactions included in the report.
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9 - Activity Log for current session
ExpressCheck keeps track of many of the things you have been doing to
transactions in the current session.
12-18-89 Page: 1
Activity Log
Example Checking Account:
Action Type Number Dated Payee or Source Amount
--------- ------- -------- -------- ----------------------------
--------
Added Check 2856 12-18-89 American Light Bulb Company
23.95
Printed Check 2856 12-18-89 American Light Bulb Company
23.95
Changed Deposit 11-28-89 Pay Check
100.00
Deleted ATM Dep 1002 12-01-89 Birthday money
20.00
Voided Check 2706 09-12-89 John Martin
5.93
Cleared Check 2846 12-14-89 Corner Grocer
89.63
Uncleared Deposit 11-28-89 Pay Check
100.00
When you are done printing reports, press <Esc> to return to the Main
Menu.
@Page 35 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Bill Reminder System
ExpressCheck contains a complete Bill Reminder system that can manage
the payment of regularly scheduled bills and deposits. Indicate your
bills and how often they are due and ExpressCheck will actually remind
you when they are coming up, and when you say so, will automatically
enter them for you and even print the checks if you like. You can
define up to ten Payment Groups to be paid at different intervals.
There is even a small separate program that can be run as part of your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file to tell you if any Payment Groups are due when you
turn on your computer each day.
Payment Groups
Before you can define a Payment Group and assign transactions to it,
the transactions must have first been recorded as QuickFill entries.
(See QuickFill in the Adding New Transactions section for details on
recording QuickFill entries).
To go to the Payment Groups section, press <P> while viewing either the
Main Menu or the Maintenance Menu. The Payment Groups window will
appear:
Payment Groups
Number of days in advance to be reminded: 3
# Group Name Qty How Often Due Next
-- ------------------------------ --- ------------- -------------
1 <not being used>
2 <not being used>
3 <not being used>
4 <not being used>
5 <not being used>
6 <not being used>
7 <not being used>
8 <not being used>
9 <not being used>
10 <not being used>
<Enter> to edit group <E>xecute group <D>elete group <Esc> when
finished
Take note of the different parts of this window. The main portion of
the screen consists of ten possible Payment Groups. A Payment Groups
consists of one or more checks, ATM withdrawals, ATM deposits, and/or
regular deposits that are all due at the same time and on the same
schedule, such as weekly, monthly, annually, etc.
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At the top of the window you can set how many days in advance to be
reminded of upcoming Payment Groups that are due to be executed.
At the bottom of the window on the prompt line are listed the available
options:
<Enter> will take you into Define mode for the currently high-
lighted group.
<E> will execute a previously defined group.
<D> will delete all transactions that had been previously assigned
to a group.
<Esc> will take you back to the Maintenance Menu.
Reminder Days
The first time you enter the Payment Group definition screen all the
entries will be marked as <not being used> and the number one entry
will be highlighted. You can move the highlight bar up and down the
window by using the up and down cursor keys. The <Spacebar> key will
also move the bar down. If you press the up key when group one is
highlighted, the cursor will move up into the field where you can
change the "Number of days in advance to be reminded". You can set the
reminder time to amount from 0 to 99 days. The actual number you use
will depend on how often you use your computer. If you use your
computer every day, you can set the reminder days to 0. If you use
your computer only about once a week, then you should set the reminder
days to 6 or 7.
Defining a Payment Group
To define a group, press <Enter> when the desire group is highlighted.
The Payment Group Definition window will appear:
Payment Group Definition
Group Name:
How often :
0 No pattern
1 Weekly
2 Every 2 weeks
3 Twice a month
4 Every 4 weeks
5 Monthly
6 Quarterly
7 Twice a year
8 Annually
Next payment date:
<F10> when finished
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Enter the name of the group you are defining. For example, if you are
putting together your monthly bills that are due at the beginning of
the month, you might call them "Monthly bills (1st)" or if they are due
in the middle of the month, "Monthly bills (15th)", or something just
as original. You must enter a group name. You can't leave this field
blank.
The next prompt to fill in is how often this group is due. Select a
number from the list below the prompt. If a Payment Group has no
regular payment or entry interval, select 0.
The last prompt on the window is for the date when the group next comes
due. Any date entered here will be checked for validity. You may
leave the date field blank if you like.
Assigning Transactions to a Payment Group
When you have completed the three prompts on the definition window, the
Assignment window will appear:
Assignment to Payment Group 1
monthly bills <Monthly> Next due: 12-01-89
QuickFill Name Payee Amount Type Group
--------------- ------------------------------ ---------- ---- -----
/BULB American Light Bulb Company 29.95 Chk 0
/CORNER Corner Market Chk 0
/MORTGAGE XYZ Bank 592.78 Chk 0
/PAYROLL Western Widget Company 1234.56 Dep 0
/VISA Visa Card Services 200.00 Chk 0
<PgUp> <PgDn> <Up> <Down> <Enter> <Esc>
The Assignment window is a variation of the QuickFill window that can
be popped up in the Add section. All the QuickFill entries that you
have recorded in the past are shown here and you can move the highlight
bar up and down using the cursor keys and <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys.
The group, if any, to which each QuickFill is assigned is shown in the
column on the right. A zero indicates that an entry has not yet been
assigned to a Payment Group. To assign a particular QuickFill entry to
the Payment Group currently being defined, move the highlight bar to
that entry and press the <Enter> key. If the previous group number (in
the right column) was a zero or a number other than the number of the
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current Payment Group, the QuickFill entry will be assigned to the
current Group. If the group number was already the same as the current
group, the number will be changed to a zero, thus releasing it from any
group. For example, if you are assigning QuickFill entries to Payment
Group #1, pressing <Enter> on any entry with a group number other than
a 1 will change it to a 1, and press <Enter> on any entry with a
group number of 1 will change it to a 0.
When you have assigned all the QuickFill entries that go with the
Payment Group you are defining, press <F10> to return to the Payment
Group window.
You should now notice that the whole line has been filled in and
indicates the Group Name, how many QuickFills are assigned, how often
they are to be paid and the next due date for that group.
Also, from now on, when any Payment Group is due to be paid within the
reminder days of the current system date, a blinking angle bracket will
appear to the left of the group due.
Press <Esc> to return to the Maintenance Menu.
Paying a Payment Group
When a Payment Group falls due, or anytime you want to have all the
transactions in the group entered, you must go to the Payment Groups
window by pressing <P> from the Main Menu or the Maintenance Menu. If
the scheduled due date for the Payment Group is with the reminder days
of the current system date, a angle bracket will be blinking to the
left of the groups due. To execute any group in the window, move to
the desire line by using the up or down cursor keys so that the line is
highlighted, and press <E>. A small window appears just below the
group line and prompts for the date that you want to use on the
transactions. The default is the current system date. Change it
if you want and then press <Enter>. All the transactions that were
included in the Payment Group will now be entered automatically with a
pause before saving each one to give you a chance to change any field
before saving or printing. When the Payment Group has been executed,
the next scheduled due date will be adjusted according to the payment
frequency associated with the group, and you will be returned to the
Main Menu. If you have more groups to execute, press <P> and go
through the above steps again for each one.
Editing a Payment Group
To make changes to any Payment Group, move the highlight bar to the
desired group and press <Enter>. You are taken through the same steps
you took when you first defined the group and you may make any changes
needed.
Deleting a Payment Group
To delete a Payment Group, highlight the group and press <D>.
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Bill Reminder
If you are using ExpressCheck on a hard disk, there is a separate
program included in the package that will check your account files to
see if any Payment Groups are ready to be paid and if so will pop up a
reminder window to let you know. The separate program is called
REMINDER.EXE. This program can be run at any time to check an account
for Payment Groups that are due. An easy way to always know when bills
are coming up is to include REMINDER in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file so that
it is automatically run each time you start your computer.
The correct syntax for running the program is:
REMINDER [pathname]filename [/P]
For example, if you have all the ExpressCheck program files in a
subdirectory called \CHECK and your account files are in a subdirec-
tory called \CHECK\ACCOUNTS, and the account you want to check is
called 1990, you should include the following commands in your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file:
CD \CHECK
REMINDER \CHECK\ACCOUNTS\1990
CD \
When run, if the 1990 account is found to have Payment Groups that are
due, a reminder window will be displayed on your screen:
ExpressCheck Reminder...
You have scheduled bills to pay in
C:\CHECK\ACCOUNTS\1990
Normally, these commands will be at the end of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
If, however, they are followed by some commands that would blank the
screen or scroll the reminder message off the display, you can add a /P
to the end of the REMINDER command:
REMINDER \CHECK\ACCOUNTS\1990 /P
to give a pause message requiring a key to be pressed before continuing
on to your next commands (...press any key to continue).
If no pending Payment Groups are found, no messages are displayed.
@Page 40 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Maintenance Section
This chapter covers those functions of ExpressCheck which most people
use only occasionally. The Maintenance section contains functions that
are not part of the everyday data entry and report printing process.
But the occasional times when you need one of these functions, you will
be happy to find that they are as easy to use as the rest of the
ExpressCheck sections.
To reach the Maintenance Section of ExpressCheck, press <M> from the
Main Menu. The following screen displays:
Maintenance Menu
E - Edit Account Definition
P - Payment Group Definition
C - Current Balance Recalculation
R - Reconcile the Account
Q - QuickCheck Printing Setup
F - QuickFill Deletes
B - Budget Code Setup
K - Clone Current Account
X - Export a File
<Esc> to Main Menu
Selection _
Edit Account Definition
Menu choice <E> is used to change the account definition entries.
These include the Account Name, Account Number, Beginning Balance, and
Low Balance Warning Amount. This information is described in the
"Starting A New Account File" section near the beginning of the manual.
(Note: The account size, although first defined here, can not be
changed in this section. See the Cloning Section to instructions on
changing the account size).
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Current Balance Recalculation
Menu choice <C> will re-read all the checks and deposits in the account
and recalculate the current balance. This is actually done each time
an account is opened and theoretically should never have to be done
during a session, but is here just in case it is needed.
Reconcile the Account Each month when you receive your bank state-
ment indicating the checks and deposits that have been applied to your
account, you will want to make sure that your records match theirs. If
there is a difference, then you will want to find out who made the
mistake and where it was made. ExpressCheck will assist you in this
process.
If you have procrastinated and have several months worth of bank
statements to reconcile, you should do them one at a time, starting
with the oldest one. Make sure everything balances before proceeding
to the next one.
The first thing that you should do in the reconciliation process is to
go to the Check Register section and mark all the checks and deposits
that appear on the bank statement. This is done by moving the high-
light bar to the cleared transactions and pressing <C>. (See Check
Register Section for complete instructions).
If your bank statement lists any additional charges or deposits such as
service charges, per-check-charges, overdraft charges, interest
payments, cash machine deposits or withdrawals, automatic withdrawals
(Check-O-Matic), or automatic deposits, etc, that you have not yet
entered, you should go to the Add Transactions section and make the
appropriate entries. When you are entering them, be sure to mark them
as Cleared by typing a <Y> in the Cleared field.
When you have entered the additional charges and deposits, and have
marked everything that shows on the bank statement as Cleared, you are
ready to have ExpressCheck reconcile your account.
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While viewing the Maintenance Menu, press <R> to begin the reconcile
process. ExpressCheck will prompt you to enter the Ending Balance that
is shown on your bank statement. After you have entered this amount,
ExpressCheck will read through the entire account file, adding up all
the uncleared checks and deposits. When it finishes, this screen is
displayed:
Current Balance of your Bank Account: $ 1,886.73
Add Checks and Charges not yet Cleared : $ 7,050.83
Subtract Deposits not yet Cleared : $ 2,045.00
-----------
Statement Balance by ExpressCheck : $ 6,892.56
Statement Balance by Bank : $ 6,892.56
-----------
Difference : $ 0.00
Cleared this session:
6 Deposits = 3728.89 & 16 Checks = 19876.23
ExpressCheck has taken the current balance of your account, added to
that amount the checks that have not been marked as Cleared, subtracted
all the deposits that have not been marked as Cleared and come up with
an amount that should match the Ending Balance on your bank statement.
The difference between this amount and the Ending Balance is also
shown. If the difference is 0, then you have been successful in the
reconciliation. If not, then you have a little detective work to do.
Sometimes the problem is as simple as looking for a check or deposit
that equals the difference amount and finding that you forgot to mark
it as Cleared. Other times you will find yourself comparing each
transaction amount that you entered into ExpressCheck with the bank
statement and the actual paper check. Often times, a check that has
been written by hand will be misread by the bank. Zeros sometimes look
like sixes and sixes look like zeros and threes are occasionally read
as eights.
The best way to locate these discrepancies is to use the Check Register
section of ExpressCheck. Make sure that you have marked as Cleared
everything that appears on the bank statement, including service
charges, interest, check charges, cash machine transactions, etc. If
you make some changes, try running the Reconcile option again to see if
you have made up the difference. If so, congratulations. If not, then
the next step is to compare the check and deposit amounts shown in
ExpressCheck with those shown on the bank statement. If you find one
that doesn't match, then compare them with the actual check or deposit
receipt sent with your statement. If you have recorded the check
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wrong, then all you have to do is change the check in ExpressCheck and
rerun the Reconcile option. If the bank has read the check wrong then
you have a decision to make. If the error is small, and unimportant,
(like 5 cents on a baby sitter check), you may just want to change the
ExpressCheck entry to match the bank record. If, however the error is
significant or important, (like an income tax return payment), you will
have to contact your bank to report the problem. In this case you can
type in an offsetting check or deposit entry to record the difference
until you can straighten the matter out with your bank.
Sometimes you just can't find where the problem is coming from. When
all else fails, you can just accept what the bank says you have and
make a correcting entry to make the ExpressCheck balance the same as
the bank balance. (The bank is usually right anyway. Their computers
are bigger...?).
QuickCheck Print Setup
Whenever you are entering, editing or viewing a check, you can produce
a printout of it on paper. This printed output can be on a tractor
feed check form that you have purchased from your bank or other check
form printing company, or it can just be a printed list of all the
transactions as you enter them. To be able to use this printing
capabilities of ExpressCheck you must first set up the format of the
printout.
While viewing the Maintenance Menu, press <Q> to set up a QuickCheck
format. This screen will display: (This is for a Small account. There
are 8 more fields shown on a Large account).
QuickCheck Setup
1 Check Number 8
2 Date 8
3 Payee 32
4 Check Amount 8
5 Memo 32
6 Budget Code 1 10
7 Budget Amount 1 8
8 Budget Code 1 10
9 Budget Amount 1 8
10 Budget Code 1 10
11 Budget Amount 1 8
12 Cleared 1
13 Spelled out Amount 55
14 Month/Day of Date 5
15 Year part of Date 2
________________________________________________________________+
T = Tab F = field S = space CR = carriage return "Text in quotes"
Example: T10 S50 F1 CR2 S40 F2 CR2 F3 S4 F4 CR2 F13 CR4 F5 CR6
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To set up a QuickCheck format you must indicate the fields that you
would like to print and where to put them. At the bottom of the screen
is an example of a QuickCheck format:
T10 S50 F1 CR2 S40 F2 CR2 F3 S4 F4 CR2 F13 CR4 F5 CR6
A quick explanation of what this format is defining will probably be
all you need to understand the process.
The T10 at the beginning of the line tells ExpressCheck to Tab over to
the 10th column to start all its printing for each line. The example
then continues with S50, (space over 50 characters), F1, (print field
1, Check#), CR2, (do two carriage return to move down two lines), S40,
(to space over 40 characters), F2, (to print the Date field), CR2,
(move down two lines), F3 S4 F4 CR2, (to print the Payee; then 4
spaces; then the check amount; then move down two lines), F13, (to
print out the spelling of the amount), CR4, (to move down four lines),
F5, (to print the memo field), and finally CR6, (to move down six lines
to the top of the next form). Simple, huh?
On the screen is a list of all the available fields that you can print.
If this is the first time that you are defining a QuickCheck, the
input line will be blank. If you have previously set up a format, the
input line will contain that format and the cursor will be placed at
the beginning.
Type in the format string and then press <Enter>. ExpressCheck checks
the format to make sure it is valid. If something is unacceptable in
the QuickCheck, this message appears:
Error in QuickCheck string...press any key
The cursor is placed at the character in the text where ExpressCheck
encountered the problem. Fix the problem, then press <Enter> again. If
everything is correct, ExpressCheck saves the format on your account
disk for future use and returns to the Maintenance Menu.
Now, whenever you are viewing a check or deposit, you can press <X> to
print the contents in the QuickCheck format you just set up. If you
are editing a check, you can press <Alt-X> to print.
QuickFill Edits
QuickFill entries can only be defined while entering a check, but once
they are entered you can edit them here if something needs changing.
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Press <F> while viewing the Maintenance Menu to bring up a list of the
currently defined QuickFills. When the list has popped up you can use
the up and down cursor keys along with the PgUp and PgDn keys to view
the entire list. If you want to make a change to a specific entry,
move the highlighted bar to the desired line and press <E> to go into
edit mode.
(picture of quickfill edit window
You may now make any changes to any of the fields. To save the
changes, press <F10>.
Press <Esc> to return to the Maintenance Menu.
Budget Code Setup
Budget Codes are normally added to an account while filling in checks
and deposits (See Budget Code field description in the Add Transactions
section). To add new codes or delete unwanted ones without having to
go into the Add Transactions section, press <B> while viewing the
Maintenance Menu to pop up the Budget Code window. Press <A> to add a
new code or <D> to delete a code you no longer need. If you press <R>
ExpressCheck will go through a rebuild process where it throws away any
existing budget codes and then read through the entire transaction file
and rebuilds a new list containing only the budget codes that it finds
being used. This is useful if the budget code file for a particular
account become lost or corrupted.
When you are finished, press <Esc> to return to the Maintenance Menu.
Clone Current Account
Sooner or later you are going to fill up your data disk and want to
continue on a new disk. A blank 360K diskette will hold about 2500
transactions for a SMALL account or about 1100 for a LARGE account
which, under normal check volumes will last from one to three years.
Most people, however, like to keep only one years worth of information
per diskette.
When beginning a new year it is necessary to have available the record
of all the unCleared checks and deposits from the year before so that
the reconciliation section will work properly. The Clone section of
ExpressCheck is used to copy a group of transactions between a speci-
fied date range to a new diskette. To reach the Clone Section, press
<K> while viewing the Maintenance Menu.
@Page 46 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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The Clone process asks you to:
Enter name of new Account: _______
Enter the name of the new account file, including a drive spec if you
are copying to a different drive.
You are now asked if you would like the resulting account to SMALL or
LARGE. A SMALL account allows amounts up to $99,999.99, up to three
budget codes per transaction and does not allow addresses on the
checks. Transactions in a SMALL account require less than half the
disk space of LARGE account transactions. If these limitations cause
you no concern then SMALL is the account for you. If, however, you
want to put addresses on your checks, enter up to $9,999,999.99 in
amount fields, or split a check into five budget codes, then you should
select the LARGE account. Press <S> or <L> accordingly.
You are now prompted for the date range of the transactions to copy.
Enter the Low and High dates, changing the defaults if you need to.
ExpressCheck now asks:
Copy <A>ll transactions or just <U>ncleared?
If you are cloning a new file to start a new year, all you really need
in the new file are the uncleared transactions. They are all that is
necessary to be able to reconcile the account. Press <A> if you want
to copy all the checks and deposits that fall within the date range or
press <U> to copy only the checks and deposits that have not yet been
marked as Cleared.
After entering the date range, ExpressCheck will go through the current
file looking for checks and deposits that are within the range speci-
fied, and copying them to the new file. When this process is over, you
will be shown the current account definition where you can make changes
needed. You may notice that the Beginning Balance is changed. During
the copy process ExpressCheck keeps track of the new running balance
and adjusts the Beginning Balance of the new account so that the
current balance stays the same.
When the Cloning process is over, you are taken back to the Maintenance
Menu. (You are still in the original account, not the new cloned
account).
Exporting from ExpressCheck
Pressing <X> brings up the Export Menu where you can choose to export
the information in your account as a mail-merge sequential type file, a
DIF file, or a File Express file. Simply make a selection and type in
a name for the resulting file.
@Page 47 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Quitting ExpressCheck
When you are ready to exit ExpressCheck, press <Q> from the Main Menu.
ExpressCheck asks if you are sure you want to quit. Answer <N> if you
want to say in ExpressCheck or <Y> to be returned to DOS.
Be sure to make frequent backup copies of your account files. You never
know when a disk will go bad or the lights will go out...
Customizing ExpressCheck
This section describes the profile feature of ExpressCheck. Many
aspects of ExpressCheck can be tailored to special environments or
personal tastes. For example, all the colors used for the ExpressCheck
screens and menus can be changed. Defaults, such as the disk drive and
path can also be changed. These custom changes are placed in a special
file called a profile, which resides in the directory with the Express-
Check programs. The name of the file with the profile options is
CHECK.PRO. If the file doesn't exist, ExpressCheck uses all its
standard options.
To change the default settings of ExpressCheck you must run the
separate customizing program called SETUP.EXE by typing SETUP at the
DOS prompt. The ExpressCheck Setup screen appears:
Page 1
ExpressCheck Setup
Drive and/or Path for Accounts :
Account to Open at startup :
Sound on, <Y>es or <N>o : Y
<M>ono or <C>olor : C
Display <F>ast or <S>low : F
Use linefeeds <Y>es or <N>o : Y
Use formfeeds <Y>es or <N>o : N
LPT <1> or <2> : 1
General color : LT WHITE ON BLUE
General high color : YELLOW ON BLUE
Main menu color : RED ON WHITE
Main menu high color : BLACK ON WHITE
Sub menu color : BLUE ON CYAN
Sub menu high color : BLACK ON CYAN
Check color : RED ON WHITE
Check high color : GRAY ON WHITE
Deposit color : BLUE ON CYAN
Deposit high color : BLACK ON CYAN
Shadow color : BLACK ON BLUE
Input color : YELLOW ON BLACK
Title color : LT WHITE ON RED
Exit color : WHITE ON BLACK
@Page 48 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Page 2
ExpressCheck Setup
Maximum Records 1000, 2000, 3000, or 4000.....................: 2000
Connect Check and Deposit numbers........................(Y/N): N
Return to Check after Deposit ...........................(Y/N): N
Length of Page in Lines ......................................: 66
Lines to be printed on each page..............................: 58
Always check disk space .................................(Y/N): N
Snow check ..............................................(Y/N): N
Help window displayed when entering transactions ........(Y/N): Y
Spelled length of dollar amounts.......................(40-75): 75
Leading asterisks on printed amounts.....................(Y/N): N
Automatic sort of Budget Codes...........................(Y/N): Y
Exploding effect on window displays......................(Y/N): Y
Page 3
Reconciliation Name...................................: ExpressCheck
Default Check Budget Code.....................................: MISC
CHK
Default Deposit Budget Code...................................: MISC
DEP
Default ATM Budget Code.......................................: CASH
Default ATM Deposit Budget Code...............................: DEPOSIT
Default Deposit 'Source' field entry..........................: DEPOSIT
Default ATM Deposit 'Source' field entry......................: ATM
DEPOSIT
Default ATM 'Used For' field entry............................: CASH
Space Character ...................... 1. 2_ 3- 4* 5░ 6▒ 7▓ 8█ : 2
Character to clear screen.......................1░ 2▒ 3▓ 4 none: 2
Line characters for windows...............1█▀█ 2╔═╗ 3┌─┐ 4 none: 1
Date format............................(MM-DD-YY) or (DD-MM-YY): M
Page 1 settings:
Drive and/or Path for Accounts
ExpressCheck defaults to the current directory of the data drive when
saving transactions. You can override this default by filling in a
drive or path.
Account to Open at startup
To specify an account to automatically open when you start Express-
Check, type in the name of the account.
@Page 49 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Sound
Most people find the sound feature useful, so we have made it the
default. But some people turn it off because the speaker on their PC
is too loud or because others around them find it annoying. If you
aren't sure about the sound, try it for a couple days. Once you have
become accustomed to the audio feedback from the program, you may find
it hard to operate without it.
<M>ono or <C>olor
If your computer has a monochrome video card, ExpressCheck recognizes
its presence and displays screens with white characters on a black
background. If it has a color card but a monochrome monitor, or if you
prefer black and white displays on your color monitor, enter <M>. If
you want to use the color features of ExpressCheck, enter <C>.
Display <F>ast or <S>low
If your computer's video memory is not at the same address as IBM video
memory, you can still use ExpressCheck by either specifying /B on the
command line, or by entering <S> here.
Use linefeeds <Y>es or <N>o
Some printers automatically line feed when they receive a carriage
return character. Since ExpressCheck sends both a carriage return and
line feed character at the end of each line, it can cause a "double
spacing" effect. If your printer double spaces when you print with
ExpressCheck but not when you print with other programs, enter <N> into
this field, otherwise leave it <Y>.
Use formfeeds <Y>es or <N>o When moving to the top of the next page
when printing reports, ExpressCheck defaults to using line feeds. If
you are using a printer with a sheet-feeder or a laser printer, you
will want to use formfeeds instead. Enter <Y> to use formfeeds or <N>
to use line feeds.
LPT <1> or <2>
The default printer port for ExpressCheck is LPT1. You can change that
to LPT2 by entering a <2>.
@Page 50 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Customizing Video Colors
If your computer has a color monitor, you can change the color which
ExpressCheck uses on its screen and menus. The list of available
colors is displayed on the right side of the screen. There are sixteen
foreground colors and eight background colors. Type the color combina-
tions as:
foreground ON background
The Exit color is the color that ExpressCheck will leave the screen
when the program ends.
Page 2 settings:
Maximum Records 1000, 2000, 3000 or 4000
The default setting is 2000. ExpressCheck will require slightly less
memory if the setting is changed to 1000 and slightly more memory if
increased to 3 or 4000. If you are on the borderline of your memory,
you may want to decrease this number. If you need to enter more than
2000 transactions per file then you will want to increase this number.
(Do not set this number less than the number of transactions in any
current file. If you do you won't be able to access records above the
limit until you change it back).
Connect Check & Deposit Numbers
Normally ExpressCheck keeps two separate numbering systems for checks
and deposits. The highest number for each is remembered when the
account is first loaded and each is incremented separately during
entry. If you want to have the same numbering system for both check
and deposits, change this answer to <Y>.
Return to Check after Deposit
When you PgDn from a check for to get a Deposit form, enter it and then
save it, ExpressCheck automatically takes you back to a new Check
form. If you would like to stay in the Deposit section until you
explicitly press <PgUp> to return to the Check forms, change this
answer to <N>.
Length of Page in Lines
This is the length of the paper you are printing on, in lines. This
setting defaults to 66. (11 inch paper printing at 6 lines per inch).
@Page 51 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Lines to be printed on each page
This is the number of actual printed lines desired per page. This is
equal to the length of the page minus a top and bottom margin.
Always check disk space
If you would like ExpressCheck to display the remaining disk space when
entering transactions, change this answer to <Y>. Some hard disk
controller cards on large drives return an erroneous number that causes
ExpressCheck to display a message that there is no more disk space
available. If you run into this situation, answer <N> to this question
and keep track of your remaining disk space from the DOS level.
Snow check <Y>es or <N>o
If annoying "snow" appears on your screen when data is displayed, enter
<Y> to
make the snow disappear.
Help Mode <Y>es or <N>o
ExpressCheck displays help windows while you are entering checks and
deposits. you would like these windows not to appear, enter <N>.
Spelled Length of dollar amounts
This is the total length of the spelled out check amount and trailing
asterisks that is used when printing checks.
Example: Fifty Four and 23/100**************************************
Leading asterisks on printed amounts
If you wand to have leading asterisks printed on the transaction
amounts, answer <Y>. Example: ******3.56
Automatic sort of Budget Codes
If you don't want the Budget Code list sorted into alphabetical order
each time you add a new code, answer <N>. The Budget Codes will then
stay in the order in which they were defined.
Exploding effect on window displays
If you want an exploding effect on the window displays in ExpressCheck,
answer <Y>. If not, answer <N>. If you are using SLOW mode from page
1, ExpressCheck will automatically use non-exploding windows because of
the extra time involved to create that effect.
@Page 52 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Page 3 settings:
Reconciliation Name
This name is just used to personalize the reconciliation form.
Default Check and Deposit Code
This is the code that will be used if you just press <Enter> on a
Budget Code field.
Default field entries
These are the default "Source" field entries for the deposit slips and
the "Used For" field on the ATM withdrawal screen.
Space Character
ExpressCheck offers you 8 different characters to use as fill for
unused positions of an input field. The default is #2, the underline
character.
Character to clear screen
This is the character used to clear the background of the screen. The
default (number 4) character is a blank space. Choices one through
three, if selected, will give a textured look to the background of the
screens.
Line characters for windows
This is the line style to use to surround any window that is displayed
on the screen. You have your choice between a thick line, double line,
single line, or no line at all.
Date format
The default date format for ExpressCheck is MM-DD-YY. If you would
like to change it to DD-MM-YY which is used in Canada and many other
countries around the world, press <D>.
Saving the new setup
When you have completed your changes, press <F10> to save the new
profile commands in the CHECK.PRO file. From now on ExpressCheck will
use your new settings.
@Page 53 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Troubleshooting
If an error occurs in ExpressCheck, the error message sometimes tells
you to refer to this chapter. Or if you have a problem where there is
no error message involved, for example, nothing displays on the screen,
you can refer to this chapter as well. The first part of this chapter
discusses common problems and prospective cures. The last section
explains what to do if you find a problem and want to report it to
Expressware.
Screen Does Not Display
Problem: You start ExpressCheck and it seems to load but doesn't
display anything on the screen.
Press <Esc> then <Enter>. If you press those keys and do not return to
the DOS prompt, the computer has locked up. In that case, refer to the
next section on "locking up". If you return to the DOS prompt, it's a
good sign, indicating that ExpressCheck was running, but was just not
displaying properly. Start the program again, only this time, use this
command to start it:
CHECK /B
The /B tells ExpressCheck to use BIOS calls when displaying on the
screen. This is usually the cause of missing displays.
Some Characters Are Fuzzy or Unreadable
Problem: You start up ExpressCheck and it loads, but the screen is
fuzzy and unreadable, or some of the characters are missing.
This usually occurs on computers with monochrome monitors attached to
graphics cards. The monitor is incapable of displaying colors, but
ExpressCheck has no way of knowing it by examining the hardware. The
bottom prompt line on the opening screen is displayed in white-on-black
letters that you should be able to read. One of the options it
indicates is to press <F1> to customize the program. Press <F1> to
display this screen, which is also displayed in white-on-black. Move
down to the <M>ono or <C>olor question and type <M> for Mono, then
press <F10> to put it into effect. You can also start ExpressCheck
in monochrome mode with the command:
CHECK /M
@Page 54 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Computer Locks Up At Startup
Problem: The computer stops while loading ExpressCheck, and just
hangs. No amount of pressing keys will shake it loose, and the
computer must be rebooted to get it going again. Sometimes the banner
screen is displayed, sometimes nothing is shown.
Reboot your computer, and start ExpressCheck again, this time using
this command:
CHECK /M/S/B
/M says to display monochrome, /S says to turn off the sound, and /B
says to use BIOS calls for screen displays. When you use
these three options, ExpressCheck is just about as generic as a program
can get. If it works with these commands, try experimenting with only
one or two of them at a time. You may find that you need only one of
the commands to get it to work. If these commands don't cure the
problem, read on:
If you have an older model of a computer that runs MS-DOS, this problem
is probably due to your computer being "semi-compatible"; i.e. it's not
100% compatible with the IBM PC, so some programs don't run properly in
it. If this is the case, you may have had a similar experience with
other software packages. If this is the case, we're sorry, but we
can't help. We will be happy to refund your money, however, if you
return the product in salable condition.
If your computer is not an older model, and if you're sure it is 100%
compatible with the IBM PC, the most likely problem is that the program
diskette is bad. If you bought the diskette from us, send it back and
we will replace it. If the diskette came from a friend or other
shareware source, get another copy, preferable on a different diskette,
and try again. Or if you suspect their original diskette is bad,
contact us for an evaluation copy at a nominal price.
@Page 55 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Reporting Problems To Expressware
As you may know, Expressware provides technical support by telephone
and in writing to registered users. Unlike many other software
companies, there is no extra charge for this service. But like many
other software companies, our phones are always busy. At least half
the technical calls we receive can be answered by reading the manual.
So please help up to keep our costs down and keep our phone lines open:
look it up first in the manual.
If your problem is not urgent, write to us instead of calling. The
problem often can't be resolved over the phone anyway, since it usually
requires that we have a copy of your files to recreate the problem on
our computer. Send your problem reports to Expressware. Our address
is in the front of this manual. Include a diskette with a copy of your
account file. Include an explanation of the problem, describing how to
make it recur. Also include any reports or screen dumps which may be
useful in researching the problem.
If you find it necessary to call for technical support, please have all
the information available. If possible, call from a phone near your
computer, in case you need to run ExpressCheck to troubleshoot or
explain the problem. If our phones are busy, try calling in the
afternoon. We are on the west coast, so our busiest phone time is from
9 AM to noon Pacific time. By 2 PM Pacific time, users in the east
have gone home for the day, so our phone traffic is lighter.
@Page 56 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Distribution Notice
All Expressware products are distributed as SHAREWARE. Users are
welcome to copy the software and share it with their friends. After
evaluating an Expressware product, if a person decides to use it, he or
she is trusted to buy the registered set.
Anyone may obtain an evaluation copy of any Expressware product for
between $10 and $15 from a local software dealer or directly from
Expressware. The disk set contains diskettes with the complete
software the documentation, ready to be printed on your own printer.
Complete registered sets are also available from dealers throughout the
U.S. and Canada, or may be purchased directly from Expressware. The
registered set includes a commercially printed copy of the User's
Guide, diskettes and a user registration form. Registered owners
receive phone support on Expressware products, newsletters, product
announcements, and update service.
End users, whether registered or not, are encouraged to copy the
software and share it with their friends for evaluation. The following
restrictions apply:
No Charge may be made for the copies.
No alteration may be made to the files on the diskettes.
The printed manual may not be reproduced in any way.
The computer-printed manual may not be reproduced in any way.
Commercial sale or use of the copies is prohibited.
Special rules apply for educational use and copying services. Contact
Expressware.
Disclaimer
Expressware makes no representation or warranties with respect to the
contents hereof and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of
merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. ExpressCheck is
provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or
implied.
Expressware shall have no liability or responsibility to your or any
other person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused by
ExpressCheck, including but not limited to any loss of profits,
interruption of service, loss of business or consequential damages
resulting from the use of such programs.
When starting the use of new software it is a good practice to test the
programs with sample data, and to run the programs in parallel with any
previous system for a period of time sufficient to ensure satisfactory
results.
ExpressCheck is a trademark owned by Expressware Corporation.
@Page 57 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Glossary of Terms
Backup: The process of copying files which contain important informa-
tion
Boot: The process of starting your computer and getting it ready to
accept commands.
Character: Usually a letter, numeric digit or space. A Character can
also be a special symbol such as &, a foreign character symbol, a
graphic symbol or math symbol.
Cloning: Creating a new account that is made up of information taken
from an existing account.
Default: The answer that is assumed by the program if you don't
provide an answer.
Default Disk Drive: The disk drive used by the computer if not told to
use a specific drive.
DOS: The disk operating system that manages the basic operation of the
computer and runs programs.
Edit: To change previously entered information. Sometimes called
Updating or Changing.
Field: A piece of information consisting of a string of characters,
such as a number or date.
Filename: A string of up to eight characters plus a three character
extension used by the computer to identify a file on a disk.
Record: A group of related fields that are placed in a file as an
entity. An ExpressCheck record contains all the information for a
single check or deposit entry.
@Page 58 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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User Response Form
We are always interested in knowing more about our users. This
information helps us to channel our efforts in the directions you want.
Please help us by completing the questionnaire on the following page
and mailing it to :
Expressware
P.O. Box 1800
Duvall, WA 98019
If you do not want to remove these pages from your manual, and a copy
machine is not readily available, there is a file on the Program
Diskette called RESPONSE which is a copy of this form. The file can be
printed by typing the following on the DOS command line:
COPY RESPONSE PRN
USER RESPONSE FORM
1.Where did you hear about ExpressCheck?_________________________
2.System being used to run ExpressCheck:
a) Computer brand/model?_________________________________
b) Amount of computer memory?____________________________
c) Type of disk?_________________________________________
d) Black/White or Color monitor?_________________________
e) Printer brand/model?__________________________________
3. _____Registered user _____ Non-registered user
(If you are a non-registered user, we are interested in knowing why.
Is the price too high? Is ExpressCheck missing features you need?)
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
4.Name and address (optional)
Date _______________ ExpressCheck version _________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
@Page 59 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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USER RESPONSE FORM
We are always interested in your ideas and suggestions concerning
ExpressCheck. If you feel there are some missing features that you
would like added to the next versions, please take the time to write
them down and send them to us.
______ _________________________________________________________
______ _________________________________________________________
______ _________________________________________________________
______ _________________________________________________________
______ _________________________________________________________
______ _________________________________________________________
______ _________________________________________________________
______ _________________________________________________________
______ _________________________________________________________
______ _________________________________________________________
______ _________________________________________________________
______ _________________________________________________________
Other products you would like to see Expressware produce:
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
@Page 60 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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Order Form
Expressware
P.O. Box 1800 Toll-free Order Number: 800-753-FILE
Duvall, WA 98019 (Quantity & Dealer discounts available)
PRICE PRICE
PRODUCT QTY EACH
EXTENDED
File Express Version 4
Diskettes Only _____ $15.00 $ ________
Registered Set _____ $69.95 $ ________
ExpressCalc Version 4
Diskettes Only _____ $15.00 $ ________
Registered Set _____ $59.95 $ ________
ExpressGraph Version 1
Diskettes Only _____ $10.00 $ ________
Registered Set _____ $49.00 $ ________
ExpressCheck Version 4
Diskettes Only _____ $15.00 $ ________
Registered Set _____ $34.95 $ ________
On-Side Version 1
Diskette Only _____ $10.00 $ ________
Registered Set _____ $19.95 $ ________
Shipping and Handling $ 3.50
Special handling: COD $3 - Rush $5 - Foreign $15 $ ________
Canada $ 5
Washington residents add 8.1% sales tax $ ________
Circle 5 1/4" or 3 1/2" disk TOTAL $ ________
Please make check (US funds only) payable to: Expressware
MasterCard:___ VISA___ Card Number_______________________________
Name:_________________________________________ Date _____________
Address:_________________________________________________________
City:________________________________ State:____ Zip:____________
Country:_______________________ Phone Number:____________________
@Page 61 of ExpressCheck User's Guide
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The User's Guide for the Registered version has a complete index...
@Page 62 of ExpressCheck User's Guide