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Text File | 1989-12-10 | 87KB | 1,897 lines

******************************************************************** ******************************************************************** ** ** ** ** ** $$$ $$$ $$$$$$$ $$$ $$$ $$$$$$ ** ** $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$ $$$ ** ** $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$ ** ** $$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$ $$$ $$$$ $$$ $$$$$$$$ ** ** $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$ $$ $$$ $$$ ** ** $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$ ** ** $$$ $$$ $$$$$$$ $$$ $$$ $$$$$$ ** ** ** ** ** ** the ** ** ** ** H O M E B U D G E T M A N A G E M E N T S Y S T E M ** ** ** ** Version 4.11 December 1989 ** ** ** ** ** ** Copyright (C) 1988,1989 Brentson L. Worrell ** ******************************************************************** ******************************************************************** The fastest, easiest, and most flexible system to record and report on most all of your financial transactions. Brentson L. Worrell 6404 Mornay Dr. Tampa, FL 33615 (813) 886-2282 Table of Contents page ___________________________________________________ ABOUT SHAREWARE ......................... 1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS and LIMITATIONS ..... 2 WHAT IS HBMS and WHAT WILL IT DO? ....... 3 Sample Data .......................... 3 HOW DO I GET STARTED and USE HBMS? ...... 4 CONCEPTS ................................ 6 CONVENTIONS (usage) ..................... 8 MAIN MENU: (detailed descriptions) *-----------------------------------------------* | | | INITIALIZING NEW YEAR ................ 12 | | Begin New Year .................... 12 | | Initial Balances .................. 12 | | | | SETUP UTILITIES ...................... 13 | | Printer Setup .................... 13 | | Adding Color ..................... 15 | | Sound effects .................... 15 | | | | ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE .................. 16 | | | | BUDGET ASSIGNMENT .................... 18 | | | | LEDGER POSTING ....................... 19 | | Action Prompt ..................... 21 | | VIEW Ledger ....................... 21 | | EDIT Mode ......................... 21 | | TEMPLATES ......................... 22 | | Printing Checks ................... 23 | | Tips & Shortcuts .................. 24 | | | | RECONCILE STATEMENTS ................. 25 | | | | REPORTS (screen) ..................... 26 | | | | PRINTED REPORTS ...................... 27 | | | | FILE EXPORT .......................... 28 | | | | CLOSE/OPEN MONTH ..................... 29 | | | | CHANGE YEAR/PATH ..................... 29 | | | *-----------------------------------------------* FOR USERS of OLDER VERSIONS(before 3.0) ... 30 ABOUT SHAREWARE -------------------- HBMS is being distributed under the ShareWare concept. This does not mean it is a free program. While you may give the program to others and try it out for free, you are expected to pay a $30.00 registration fee if you continue to use it. Registration not only includes support and keeps you abreast of updates, but encourages authors to create and maintain quality software. If you obtained HBMS from a ShareWare distributor that typically sells disks for $6 or less, rest assured than none of that money comes to me. HBMS is constantly being improved. There are several ways you can obtain a copy of the latest version of HBMS. 1. I will provide a disk and mailer for a media/handling fee of $5 for either 5-1/4 inch, or 3-1/2 inch disk. PLEASE SPECIFY (This service is not to be considered as part of the registration fee.) 2. Send me your blank floppy in a mailer that can be re-used. (PLEASE INCLUDE RETURN POSTAGE) 3. Download HBMS directly from my computer. Since I don't run a bulletin board, you will have to call ahead by voice first so I can set up my communications program on this end. ********************************************************************* * There is an order form in a file named ORDER.FRM, included in the * * HBMS package. Just copy it to your printer. ALWAYS MENTION WHAT * * VERSION OF HBMS YOU ARE USING IN CORRESPONDENCE. * ********************************************************************* Registered users will be notified of major updates or important events. I feel that I can provide the best support for HBMS by telephone and mail. Although the latest version of HBMS is always kept on Compuserve and the GEnie network, please don't try to contact me via these services. Please share HBMS with others. You may give it away for free, as long as you make sure that the package is complete and includes the files listed on the following page. All comments and suggestions are welcome. WARRANTY The Home Budget Management System (HBMS), is supplied AS IS. There is no warranty of any kind, expressed or implied. I shall not be held liable for any damages, whether direct or indirect, from a failure of this program to operate in the manner desired by the user. Brentson L. Worrell 6404 Mornay Dr. Tampa, FL 33615 (813) 886-2282 - 1 - SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS IBM PC, or compatible DOS 2.0 or later 320K RAM (program uses approx. 221K) 1 disk drive Printer recommended, but full screen reports available Printer should be capable of printing 132 columns, such as a dot matrix printer using a condensed font (approx. 17 characters per inch). LIMITATIONS 38 categories 254 accounts (38 per category) 12 reconcilable accounts (checking) 1148 ledger transactions per month. This program is sometimes distributed in an "ARC" or "ZIP" file format named HBMS411.ARC or HBMS411.ZIP. The following files make up the HBMS package: ----------------------------------------------------------- README.BAT batch file to display introductory text ORDER.FRM order form for registration and latest version WHATSNEW.DOC new features in version 4.11 and others TESTDRIV.DOC text file with demonstration instructions HBMS.DOC main documentation PRCHECK.DOC documentation file on how to create PRCHECK.HBM. (needed to print checks) HBMS.EXE main program HBMS.OVR overlay for main program CATS.84 sample data file ACCOUNTS.84 sample data file LEDGR-4.84 sample data file ------------------------------------------------------------- HCONVERT.EXE conversion program for data created from versions before 3.0. (available from author and supplied to registered users only) - 2 - WHAT IS HBMS and WHAT WILL IT DO? ------------------------------------- HBMS is a means to record your daily transactions and create reports. Have you ever wondered: "Where did all the money go?". If you kept track of your finances you would know where it went, and how to handle it better in the future. Financial record keeping is a desirable and enlightening habit to get into, but it's usually a dreaded task and a prime target for procrastination. HBMS is designed to help make it as painless as possible. HBMS is fast, easy, and flexible. You may want to use it as a reference on your entire financial position, or just use it as a check register. It's easy to keep accurate and complete records of all your financial transactions. Faithful record keeping and a carefully designed Chart of Accounts will reward you with a variety of useful and informative reports, either on screen or printed in formatted statements. These reports can help you decide how to better manage your money and the figures will be very welcome when tax time arrives! Along the way, while you are creating this "history" of your finances, HBMS allows you to compare budget goals, and reconcile your checkbook or credit card purchases. The ability to print checks was introduced in version 4.0. HBMS will not draw charts or create other graphics, but it does include an export feature to allow other programs to use the data HBMS has recorded. HBMS uses a double entry ledger system. This concept is explained later, and it's easier than it sounds. IF YOU ARE NOT CLEAR ON ANY CONCEPT, SEE HOW IT'S HANDLED IN THE SAMPLE DATA. SAMPLE DATA --------------- Supplied with HBMS you should find three sample data files consisting of CATS.84, ACCOUNTS.84, and LEDGR-4.84. The "84" extension refers to the year. I recommend that you first read the rest of this document and then experiment with this data. By running HBMS with this sample data you can easily see what the program has to offer. You will be able to see the results that can be achieved before you begin your own budget and have to wait for the data to accumulate. Specify "84" as the year extension to load these files. WARNING: The current open month in the sample data is April. In order to keep the program package size down, the ledger transaction files for the first three months are missing. Since HBMS will not be able to find these ledger files, it will refuse to do some functions associated with these months. However, all the actual values are stored in the ACCOUNTS.84 file. NOTE: Before trying to print any of the sample data, go to the printer setup section (start from the Main Menu). Make a test printout to see if you need to override the default printer commands contained in HBMS. Printer setup is described later in this document. - 3 - HOW DO I GET STARTED AND USE HBMS? ----------------------------------------------- This documentation includes sections on CONCEPTS and CONVENTIONS (usage), that you must know to use HBMS. Following CONCEPTS and CONVENTIONS, is the detailed information about each selection on the Main Menu. The Ledger Posting and Account maintenance topics are especially important. If you are new to HBMS, I strongly suggest that you read at least through CONCEPTS and CONVENTIONS even before you attempt to use the sample data. If you have already taken the "test drive", don't forget about the sample data. It contains examples that can be very helpful when questions arise, or you are unsure about how to do something. NOTE: I have discovered that most of the problems that users have, are associated with (in order of frequency), failure to read the documentation, trying to run HBMS via a DOS shell or menu type program, damaged or incomplete program files, and conflicts with memory resident programs. Problems with printer setup seems to be the most frequent trouble spot. I have given extra attention to the printer setup documentation. Please read it carefully. When you are ready to start your own budget, you will need only HBMS.EXE and its overlay HBMS.OVR. Both these files should be on the same floppy, or in the same directory. It's also very important that you run HBMS from the directory that you place the main program. It's ok for your data files to be located elsewhere since you can tell HBMS where to look via the "data path" mentioned below. Please do not try to run HBMS from another directory. Some shell or menu type programs attempt to do this. HBMS expects to find its support files (those with an extension of ".HBM") in the default directory. Good examples are the two optional configuration files PRCODES.HBM and COLORS.HBM. These files are created by HBMS via the setup section. I SUGGEST THAT YOU ACCESS THE PRINTER SETUP TO SEE IF YOU NEED TO MAKE ANY CHANGES FOR YOUR PRINTER, BEFORE PRINTING ANY REPORTS. When you run the program the opening screen will prompt you for the "year of data to load". Unless your fiscal year is different from the calendar year, enter the last two digits, such as "89" for 1989. Next you will be asked for the "data path". This tells HBMS where to look for your personal data files. If your data files are to be in the same directory as the program files, you can leave this field blank. Otherwise you must describe what disk\directory the data files are in. IF YOU SPECIFY A SUBDIRECTORY, A TRAILING BACKSLASH ("\") IS REQUIRED. - 4 - Creating your own Budget System consists of the following basic steps: Main Menu Selection -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Run HBMS and "Begin a New Year". (INITIALIZE) 2. Build your "Chart of Accounts". (ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE) 3. Enter any "Initial Balances" for your Assets and Liabilities. These would be the current balances for your checking, savings, credit cards, loans, etc. (back to INITIALIZE) 4. Assign any Budget goals you would like to shoot for and compare later. This is an optional feature. (BUDGET) 5. If you have not done so already, check your printer setup, and optionally select your screen colors. (SETUP UTILITIES) 6. Record your transactions over the days and months. (This is the tough part). (LEDGER POSTING) 7. At the end of each month you will "Close the Month" in preparation for the following month. Transactions can only be posted in the current open month. (CLOSE/OPEN) 8. REAP THE BENEFITS of your hard work with the screen and printed reports. If you've done it right, your complete financial picture will be at your fingertips. (REPORTS) 9. When you reach the end of your fiscal year, use the "Begin New Year" menu selection to set up for the next year. You can optionally use the same Chart of Accounts. (INITIALIZE) - 5 - BASIC CONCEPTS ------------------ * CHART of ACCOUNTS * HBMS requires a valid Chart of Accounts before most of its features will function. A Chart of Accounts is simply an outline of the way you account for your money. In order to create your own personal Chart of Accounts you must first decide what types of financial transactions you want to manage. Usually this will be everything, so you can gain a true financial picture. The basic hierarchy of the Chart of Accounts begins with the four "Money Groups": INCOME, EXPENSES, ASSETS, and LIABILITIES. Each Money Group is split further into CATEGORIES, and finally into ACCOUNTS. You build your Chart of Accounts by creating these categories and accounts to your personal preferences. Also you will assign each one a CODE name consisting of up to four letters. You will find that codes are much easier to type and remember than numbers or lengthy names. Whenever you need to access an account in HBMS, you call it up by its CODE name. Finally, there are the TRANSACTIONS. These are the records of purchases, transfers, etc., that you enter into the program. Remember that all your transactions are entered into accounts. The categories and Money Groups are there for grouping and reporting functions only. After creating your Chart of Accounts it becomes a simple matter of recording your transactions. This is done in the Ledger Posting section, which I like to refer as the "heart" of HBMS. * DOUBLE ENTRY * HBMS is a "double entry" ledger system. This means that any type of transaction, such as a purchase, transfer, paycheck, etc. will need a minimum of two entries to represent it. That sounds like a lot of work, but HBMS makes it easy! If you stop and think about it, every financial transaction consists of at least two steps. Lets take a simple case of writing a check at the drug store to purchase a prescription. The first part of the double entry, would be the decrease of the balance in your checking account. The second part of the double entry would be the increase of whatever account you would charge the prescription to. If your check covered more than one purchase, then this transaction would consist of more than the minimum of two entries. You might for example, have bought a roll of film also. This would simply be an additional third part of this transaction. The amount that went toward the film would be charged to whatever account you use for this type of expense. The amount for both items will of course total up to the amount of the check. "Fine" you say, "but how do I represent getting money into my checking account?" When you first start up your budget system, you would enter your current checking account balance by way of the "Initial Balances" section, located under the Initialize System menu. From that point on, it's just the normal double entry system. A good example might be a payroll check. The first part of this double entry would show whatever INCOME account you use for paychecks, increasing. - 6 - If you deposited the entire payroll check into your checking account, the second part of this transaction would show your checking account balance going up by the same amount. Paychecks of course, are not usually that simple. They have deductions for taxes, social security, etc. A more realistic transaction of this nature would show your INCOME account increasing by the gross amount of the paycheck. Income tax and social security accounts would increase by their respective amounts, and the remainder would go into checking, spending cash or whatever. A transaction like this might consist of several parts. Credit card purchases are just as easy. To begin with, your credit card balance would go up. You are increasing a LIABILITY account. The second part of this transaction would show a change in whatever account you use for that purchase, by the same amount. Making a payment toward a LIABILITY is also simple. A good way to treat this circumstance would be to have separate accounts for the liability, and the interest incurred from that liability. This would be a three part transaction. The first part would show the full amount decreasing the checking balance. The second part would show a partial amount charged to and increasing an interest EXPENSE account for this liability. The third part would show the remainder DECREASING the principal in your liability account. By now you should understand the concept of "double entry". Money transfers work just as you would expect; Out of one account and into the other. Remember that every type of transaction consists of at least two parts. If you made several cash purchases in the course of a day, you could combine them under one transaction. The total amount would come out of your spending cash account and then being disbursed to the other respective accounts. Save your receipts, or make a note of them, and you'll find that its easy to document every financial transaction you make. - 7 - HBMS CONVENTIONS -------------------- Now that you have a feel for the concepts, the following operational facts are also vital for successful usage of the program. * SETUP ********** The SETUP section will allow you to test and change the default commands that HBMS uses to communicate with printers. Make a sample printout before attempting to print any reports. It also allows you to add color. * COMMAND LINE ********** To run the program, simply type "HBMS". There are also two optional parameters which will allow you to bypass the opening screen. They are the drive\path specification for your data files, and the last two digits of the budget year. Use only spaces as separators. HBMS <drive\path> <year extension> example -> HBMS HBMS b: HBMS b:\data\ HBMS c:\budget\data\ 87 If you are specifying a subdirectory, the ending backslash "\" IS REQUIRED. You can leave off the year extension unless you want to load a year other than that of the system date. If so, it must follow the drive\path specification. You might want to create a batch file for this purpose. If you include these command line parameters, HBMS will not prompt you for this data on the opening screen. Make sure that the system date and time are correct. HBMS uses the system date as a prompt for the year of data to load. It's also used to date all printouts. * FILENAMES ********** HBMS.EXE is the main program file. It creates the following DATA FILES: --------------------------------------------------- CATS .yr category names ACCOUNTS.yr account names and values LEDGR-m .yr transaction data for each month TEMPLATE.yr optional file containing often used transactions DUEDATES.yr companion file to TEMPLATE.yr (yr = year extension of data, m = month) You might want to keep these DATA FILES in a separate subdirectory, or on a separate disk. You should be able to fit an entire year of data on one disk, or maybe have individual disks for separate budgets. In any case, when the free space gets low, HBMS will warn you. - 8 - * DATA ENTRY ********** Throughout the program when you are prompted to enter data, you will see a field in reverse video. Your data, be it a code, name, description, etc., will be limited to the length of this field. In some cases you will be supplied with a default answer. If it's not what you want, just start typing. Unless you use an editing key, the first keystroke will erase whatever was there. The editing keys available are listed below and work just as you would expect: <INSERT> <DELETE> <RIGHT ARROW> <LEFT ARROW> <HOME> <END> <BACKSPACE> <TABS> <ESC> The <ESC> key needs further mention. It can serve a dual purpose. If an entry field contains data, hitting the ESC key will erase it and leave you with a "null" (empty) field. If the entry field is empty (or zero in the case of a number), the ESC key will act just as if you had hit the ENTER key to accept the null value. You will often see a help prompt on line 25 that will say "<ESC> to quit". In most cases, what this really means is that HBMS will respond to a null value by canceling the current mode and returning you to a menu. The ESC key is usually all you need to "back up" out of anything. Beginning with version 4.1, numerical entries are treated differently. They now resemble a "calculator" style of input. Number entries can be cleared by either the Backspace key, the ESC key, or by the first digit typed. The <F1> key has multiple uses. In most parts of the program you will need to supply a code for the account you are interested in. If you can't remember the code you assigned to it, hit the F1 key and you will be able to browse through your Chart of Accounts on screen. When you first access this CODE-HELP feature, you will see the four Money Groups along the top of screen. The highlighted one will have its associated Categories displayed. The Left/Right arrows select different Money Groups, and the Up/Down arrows move between different Categories. If you summoned help from a Category field, striking ENTER will insert the highlighted code into your entry field for you. If you were in an Account code field, the ENTER key will display the Accounts for that Category. From that point you can move the cursor to the account you want, hit ENTER and it will be inserted. The ESCape key will back up one level at a time and will not insert any data. The F1 key has other uses in the Ledger Posting and Setup sections. It's function there is explained later. <KEYPAD> will be seen in some parts of the program on the prompt line. It refers to the Up, Down, PgUp, PgDn, Home, and End keys. They work exactly as you would expect. Use them to "navigate" through the data. The control keys work in addition to these keypad keys for you "WordStar" fans. The <+> and <-> keys are used to step months forward and backward. - 9 - * FISCAL YEAR ********* Usually, the file extension of all the above mentioned data files will be the last two digits of the year. Beginning with version 4.0, HBMS can have a fiscal year different from the calendar year. If this is the case, the file extension of the ACCOUNTS and CATS files will be different. This extension uses the last two digits of the first year, appended with the last digit of the second year. For example, the Accounts file for the 88/89 budget year would be "ACCOUNTS.889". * CHART of ACCOUNTS REQUIREMENT ********** HBMS will refuse to do most of the functions on the main menu until the following requirements are met. You must have assigned AT LEAST ONE CATEGORY FOR EACH OF THE FOUR MONEY GROUPS, and there must be AT LEAST ONE ACCOUNT FOR EACH CATEGORY. If you get a warning and can't remember what accounts and categories you have assigned, go to the printed reports section and print out the "Raw" account data. It will show you what has been assigned and how it has been arranged. * CODE SELECTION ********** Sometimes you will be provided with a starting code. After that, your prompt will be the next code in order of their appearance in the Chart of Accounts. * INFORMATION CHARACTERS ********** The ">" sign shows up in many of the reports, both on screen and in print. Depending on where you see it, it could mean that the check has been cleared or that the account is flagged for reconciliation. The "*" sign also shows up on screen and in print, and means that the specified budget has been exceeded. * RECORD NUMBERS ************ Transaction record numbers are displayed on the Ledger Posting screen and in various reports. While they are necessary for HBMS, they can also be helpful if you are trying to reference a particular entry. If you spotted a transaction in a Sorted report that you wanted to look at (or possibly edit), use the record number to help you locate it in the VIEW mode of the Ledger Posting section. * SAVING DATA ********** In an effort to speed up the program, HBMS keeps all account values for the whole year and all transactions for the month you are working with, in memory. HBMS is now much more careful with your data. If needed, it will save all data when leaving any of the sections listed on the Main Menu. However, you can still force a save from the "Action Prompt" in the Ledger Posting section. If you are entering a lot of transactions, it's probably a good idea to save data occasionally to prevent possible loss. A power outage or (should I dare mention) a program crash could negate any data that was entered since the last save. - 10 - * I/O ERROR TRAPPING ********** HBMS will sense Input/Output problems such as a paper out condition, printer offline, full disk, drive door open, etc. However, some computers seem to take forever before they time out and signal an error condition. If things seem to stop for no reason, please wait at least a minute before you give up or try to reset the computer. When HBMS saves data it rewrites the respective data file completely. It does not do any appends. If a problem is encountered, HBMS will display a warning message and give you a chance to correct the situation. If it's a full disk, you can substitute another disk with more room as an emergency measure. If you have to resort to this, I suggest that you immediately quit the program and inspect your data disks. If there are any duplicate files, make sure that you retain only the ones with the latest date and time stamp. There is a notice in the Close/Open Month explanation about what to do if things go wrong. PLEASE keep backup copies of your data. HBMS is as reliable as I could make it, but backups are good insurance. - 11 - INITIALIZE SYSTEM ---------------------- * BEGIN NEW YEAR * When starting a budget system for the first time, or at any time when HBMS cannot find a valid ACCOUNTS file, you will be given the option to go directly to the Begin New Year section. Any other time this is just a normal selection from the Initialize System menu. At this point you will be asked for year of data, first fiscal month, and beginning month information. With version 4.0, I added the ability to have a "fiscal year" different from the calendar year. Please be careful with this and don't get the first fiscal month and beginning month confused. Unless you are starting a budget system in the middle of your fiscal year, the beginning month of data will be the same as the first fiscal month. If you already have an existing budget system and need to start a new year, you will probably want to reuse your existing Chart of Accounts. If this is the case, HBMS will allow you to do so, and will optionally transfer Asset and Liability balances, as well as Budget data. In order to take advantage of this, make sure you have a COPY of your current data files (ACCOUNTS.yr & CATS.yr) on your NEW data disk. Start HBMS with your existing year data files just as you normally would. Go to the Initialize System menu and select Begin New Year. After the new year has been initialized you can delete the old copies of data. NOTE that if you pass any balances forward, they will come from the current open month in the old budget. * INITIAL BALANCES * This section allows you to enter the current balances of assets and liabilities when you first start your budget system. After you are up and running you should have no need to enter initial balances again. If you add an asset or liability account in a later month, its beginning balance will be initialized through normal transactions. - 12 - SETUP UTILITIES --------------------- This section is designed to create configuration files which will override the defaults in HBMS for color and printer support. Be aware that on startup, HBMS will look for these configuration files only in the default drive or directory. If found they will be loaded and replace the normal default values. This means that you should make sure that these files (if needed) are in the same drive\directory that you run HBMS from. PRINTER SETUP ------------- HBMS is designed to make full use of the various options available on most dot-matrix printers. For example, printed reports use enlarged text in the titles. Double-strike, underline, and italics are also used. These features enhance the readability of reports, but are not absolutely necessary. HBMS can work without most of them, as explained later. Most printers use a system of control codes and ESCape sequences to turn on and off the different fonts, enhancements, etc. HBMS comes with default printer commands which work with most Epson compatible printers, but you can edit these commands if they fail to work with your brand of printer. The first thing you should do when you reach this section is to use the F1 key to print out a sample page of text. This sample sheet will contain text in every font used by HBMS. READ THIS SHEET CAREFULLY! I can not stress this point enough. Not only does it allow you to see if the different options are working properly, it offers insights on how HBMS uses these commands. If you do need to make changes, you must consult your printer manual. It should give you the information you need to edit each particular command. If you fail to get a readable copy of this sample printout, or are having no success with getting HBMS to work with your printer, try the following. "Nullify" all 15 of the commands. When I say nullify a command, I mean select the number of the command and use the ESC key to erase all characters in that field. Once you have a "clean slate", you have two choices: 1. Save the data so that HBMS will load and use these empty printer commands instead of trying to use its defaults. Set up your printer manually, or by any means that you can, so it will print in small type (approximately 17 characters per inch). Your reports will not be as nice, but at least they will work, and not "word wrap" (go past the right margin). 2. Start trying to make each command compatible, one at a time. I suggest that you start with the CONDENSED ON and CONDENSED OFF commands. The CONDENSED commands set the printer to use small print, 17 characters per inch (17 cpi), or something close depending on your printer. Otherwise, you will need a wide carriage printer. Next try the 1/8 line feed command. It will allow you to get more information on a sheet. - 13 - When entering printer commands, you will find that some of the characters can not be entered directly from the keyboard. The ESC character, and other characters with an ASCII value of less than 32 are examples of this. You must enter these characters by entering their ASCII values, surrounded by double quotes. For example, the Epson command for Pica font consists of two characters, the ESCape character and the letter P. The ASCII value of the ESC character is 27. This PICA command can be entered in two ways: "27""80" (80 is the ASCII value of P) "27"P (this is the easier way) As you can see, if you needed to enter two unprintable characters in succession, both ASCII values would have to be surrounded in their own quotes such as "27""24". Also pay special attention to the case of printer commands. An 'ESC A' is different from an 'ESC a'. HBMS is set up to detect empty printer commands and adjust things accordingly. This includes title spacing and page lengths. IF YOU DO ENTER A PRINTER COMMAND, HBMS WILL TRY TO USE IT EVEN IF IT IS WRONG. It's sometimes better to nullify a command and let HBMS adjust, than to have it try to act on a faulty command and possibly cause trouble. The only absolutely necessary command is the one for condensed print. If your printer uses wide paper, you could even get away without this one too. If you need to make changes, consult your printer manual and experiment. Some printers will have to be reset, or put into an alternate mode before you can get results. The INITIALIZE PRINTER command is sent before every report that HBMS prints. In most cases this command can be left blank, but if needed, this is the place to insert a reset or change mode command. None of the HBMS printouts are designed to be printed in PICA (10 cpi) font, but the PICA command is used when setting up for condensed (17 cpi) font. Because of the way some printers work, HBMS sends a PICA command immediately before it sends the condensed command. This will assure that you get approximately 17 cpi. If your printer has no ELITE (12 cpi) command, it may be replaced with whatever command you use for CONDENSED ON. WHEN PRINTING, THERE WILL BE A PROMPT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN THAT TELLS YOU WHETHER HBMS IS USING ITS DEFAULTS, OR HAS LOADED YOUR CONFIGURATION FILE. If you still have trouble setting up your printer, call and I'll be glad to help if I can. In some cases, I may have the correct commands for a particular printer, or be able to get them. If you get your non-compatible printer to work, please consider sending me a copy of the test printout and a "print screen" that shows the commands you used. I get calls all the time for help with printer setup. I can't possibly keep track of all the different types of printers and your help would be appreciated. Information on successful laser printer setups would be especially welcome. - 14 - ADDING COLOR ------------- Beginning with version 4.01 of HBMS, the program defaults to black and white screens to be compatible with as many monitor combinations as possible. If you use a monochrome monitor, you do not need to make any changes. HBMS is designed to take full advantage of color monitors. If color is desired, use this section to select them. On the menu there is a selection to insert a default set of colors. Use this as a starting point. The F1 key will display a sample screen with the colors you have selected. Be careful that you don't set any foreground colors to the same color as the background. Once you are happy with your selections, make sure you save them. A configuration file named COLORS.HBM will be created. If you don't save before leaving, colors will revert back to those you began with. Again, if you have a monochrome monitor, or want to start color selection from scratch, make sure there is no file named COLORS.HBM in your default directory when starting HBMS. SOUNDS ------- The beeps and chirps will be noticed most in the Ledger Posting section. They can be helpful when one person is dictating data, from notes, to another who is doing the typing. In this way the person doing the dictating can listen for the chirps and will know when the next bit of information is needed. He need not watch the screen. These sound effects may be annoying to some, and can be turned on or off in the Setup menu. Their state will be stored and will not have to be reset when the program is started again. - 15 - ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE ------------------------- * CHART of ACCOUNTS * (Add, Delete, Change) Your Chart of Accounts can be brief, with just a few accounts, or it can be like an "outline" of your financial transactions, very detailed with multiple accounts under many categories. You might want to keep special accounts just for tax related items. I like to keep separate principal and interest accounts on liabilities. By doing this I have an accurate running balance on how much I owe. Great care should be taken in creating your Chart of Accounts. I cannot stress this point enough. With a little thought you should be able to come up with a personalized Chart of Accounts that will require minimal "grooming" as you go along. A well defined Chart of Accounts will allow HBMS to report accurate net worth values. If you are still a little "fuzzy" on how it should be done, print out a Chart of Accounts from the sample data. It will give you some ideas. Some users have said they used the sample data as a starting point for their own Chart of Accounts. They just loaded up the sample data, went to the Initialize System Menu and selected "Begin New Year". Since HBMS allows you to "reuse" an older chart of accounts, it was simpler to just edit the codes and names to personal taste. While I don't recommend this, it is an alternative. All data in HBMS is stored as Account values. The Categories are there only to group the Accounts for more informative reports. The Categories fall in one of the four money groups: INCOME, EXPENSES, ASSETS, or LIABILITIES. NOTE: Categories must be created first, so that accounts will have somewhere to be assigned. When you add or change an asset or liability account, you will be asked if you want it to be reconcilable. To be eligible for the reconciliation features in HBMS, accounts must be flagged as such. Also, you will not be prompted for a check number in the ledger posting section if the account is not flagged for reconciliation. *** THERE IS A LIMIT OF 12 RECONCILABLE ACCOUNTS. *** Accounts may be added, changed, or deleted at any time during the budget year. While using the program, accounts and categories will be referred to by a code which you also assign. These codes can consist of up to four characters. Try to keep them short and easy to remember. Codes are not case sensitive. You can enter them in lower case and HBMS will convert them to upper case. The restrictions that apply are as follows: * THERE MUST BE AT LEAST ONE CATEGORY FOR EACH MONEY GROUP. * THERE MUST BE AT LEAST ONE ACCOUNT FOR EVERY CATEGORY. - 16 - * Total number of categories can not exceed 38. * Total number of accounts can not exceed 254, and no more than 38 accounts per category. * No more than 12 reconcilable accounts. * Accounts may be moved to different categories as long as they don't cross money group boundaries. (EXAMPLE: an account under an income category may not be moved to an expense category) * Account names or codes may be changed, but this may lead to confusion if printed reports under the first part of the year, differ from those after the change is made. None of the other data contained in these accounts will be changed. * Category codes and names may be changed but the confusion factor mentioned above still applies. * Accounts may be deleted only if they have had no action during the year (this includes initial balances). * Categories may be deleted if they do not have any accounts assigned to them. This constraint may be avoided by moving all accounts from under the category to be deleted, to other categories first. * If you cancel the reconciliation ability of an account, you should go back and unmark any transactions that have been reconciled to avoid confusion, but this is not a requirement. * RESEQUENCE ACCOUNTS * The order in which categories and accounts appear in your Chart of Accounts can be different from the order in which they were entered. After creating or editing your Chart of Accounts, you may change their order of appearance by selecting "Resequence Accounts". The current order will be displayed and you will be allowed to change them around to suit your taste. If you want to resequence Accounts, you have to specify their "parent" category. Likewise, if you want to resequence Categories you will have to specify the money group. - 17 - BUDGET ASSIGNMENT --------------------- HBMS allows you to assign a budget figure for each month. By using this feature you may set goals for your projected income and expenses. While it may sound unusual, you may even set budget amounts for assets and liabilities. You might want to set goals for your savings, or budget how soon you plan to pay off a debt. Of course it wouldn't make sense to budget for your checking account, as its balance varies to no set pattern. After selecting an account to budget for, the values for each particular month will be shown along with a grand total for the year. If you want to make changes, answer "n" to the prompt, and you will be allowed to enter figures for each month. If all your months will have the same budget value, you can select "m", enter the amount, and HBMS will insert them automatically. If you decide you don't want to budget for an account, just enter a zero value for each month. If all months have a zero budget value, your reports will show a "n/a" in place of a budget figure. Please note that budget figures can be updated at any time, but you will only be allowed to change values for the months which have not been closed. When you exit the Budget Assignment section you will automatically be presented with a summary of your budget status. - 18 - LEDGER POSTING -------------------- The Ledger Posting section is the part of the program where you enter transactions. It's the heart of HBMS, and where you will spend the most time. As mentioned before, HBMS is a double entry ledger system, meaning that at least two entries will be needed to represent a completed transaction. Before attempting to go any farther, you should have read about double entry in the Concepts part of this documentation. There are some other terms that HBMS uses that you need to become familiar with. They are capitalized in the text below. For any type of transaction, be it a check, cash, credit, or transfer, you will have to decide what account it will be drawn from. Most of the time you will be working with a checking account or a cash account. I will be referring to this as the SOURCE account. Once you have determined which SOURCE will be used, you must decide how its balance will be effected. Will it be INCREASED or DECREASED? When you access the Ledger Posting section you will see what looks like a blank check at the top of the screen. The cursor will be flashing at the ACTION prompt. At this point, for a normal transaction entry, you would enter either an "I" or a "D" character. The "I" or "D" tells HBMS whether you want to INCREASE or DECREASE the SOURCE account. Once you have decided on the "Action" and provided the code for the SOURCE account, you will be prompted for: the check number (if the account has been flagged for checking), the date, a description of this SOURCE account, and it's amount. Now for the other half of this double entry transaction. If you were writing a check, you would need to specify what item(s) this check was written for. List these purchases in the lower half of the screen, where they will be disbursed into their respective accounts. I will refer to these as TARGET accounts. You need not worry whether these "TARGET" account balances will increase or decrease. HBMS will make that decision for you. In fact, THERE IS NO PLACE IN THE LEDGER POSTING SECTION WHERE YOU WILL HAVE TO PROVIDE A NEGATIVE SIGN. Once you have specified whether your SOURCE account is Increasing or Decreasing, HBMS takes care of the rest and makes sure your double entry transaction balances. There are many examples of transactions in the sample data. If you print out a "Transaction Report" from this sample data you will be able to see how to do most any type of transaction needed. For now, I'll step through a simple transaction of writing a check to the Drug store. Step 1. At the ACTION prompt you would select "D" to DECREASE checking. (SOURCE ACCOUNT) Step 2. Enter the code for your checking account. At this point HBMS will show you the current balance for that account. - 19 - Step 3. Enter the check number. This field is optional and it will be skipped if the SOURCE account has not been flagged as being reconcilable. Step 4. Enter the date. Step 5. Enter to whom the check was written. This field is also optional. (You might not want to describe a multiple spending cash transaction.) * Step 6. This step is where some of the flexibility of HBMS shines. In the case of a checking transaction you would want to enter the full amount of the check. Later, as you disburse the money to the TARGET accounts, HBMS will prompt you with the remaining balance of the check as you go along. In the case of a spending cash transaction you might want to leave the SOURCE amount blank. As you enter the separate amounts in the TARGET accounts, HBMS will keep a running total for you. Step 7. Now you will begin to disburse this money to the TARGET accounts. If all the money is intended to go to one account only, enter the full amount. Otherwise, enter the partial value. Step 8. Enter the code for the TARGET account selected. (The F1 key is available for help.) Step 9. Enter a description for the TARGET transaction. This field is also optional, but it helps to describe each item for future reference. (see Tips & Shortcuts) Step 10. Now you have fulfilled the minimum of two entries for a transaction. If the value you entered in step 7 accounts for all the money in the SOURCE account you will be finished. Otherwise you will be able to keep adding entries to be drawn from the SOURCE. A null entry at the TARGET amount tells HBMS that you are finished. When finished you will be asked if everything is ok. If the source account has been marked as reconcilable, there will be an additional choice to accept and print the check. If you made a mistake in an entry, answer "n" and you will be allowed to go back and make corrections. See the explanation on Editing. The entire transaction can be aborted at any time by entering a null value for a code prompt. NOTE: If you answer no to the "Above OK?" prompt, the automatic prompting for the remaining balance will not be in effect. This was done so as not to change any TARGET amounts that may have been correctly entered. Beginning with version 4.1, there are circumstances where you can have HBMS insert the remaining balance by using the F1 key. The requirements are: you must be in "edit" mode, you must have entered a non zero value in the SOURCE amount, and of course the cursor must be at a TARGET amount. - 20 - ACTION PROMPT ------------------- There are many other choices you can make at the Action prompt. A HELP LINE WILL BE DISPLAYED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN TO REMIND YOU WHAT IS AVAILABLE. From the action prompt you also have the opportunity of going directly to the Screen Reports or the Account Maintenance section. Need to check a balance, or add an account on the fly? You can do it from here without going back through the main menu. Under most conditions HBMS will remember any data that you had entered, but had aborted prematurely. When you get back, just keep hitting the <ENTER> key and HBMS will recall it. The View Ledger mode is accessed from the Action prompt. From this view mode you have the opportunity to review and/or edit previous transactions. Templates are called from the Action prompt by entering a "T". In order to activate this feature, you must have built and stored at least one template screen previously. The Template, View, and Edit modes are explained in detail later in this document. HBMS will always save your data to disk whenever you return to the Main Menu, but you still have the ability to Save data from the Action prompt. If you have been entering a lot of transactions, it might be wise to save this data occasionally. The <ESC> will abort everything and take you back to the main menu. VIEW LEDGER -------------------- If you enter a "V" in response to the Action prompt you will be allowed to view any transactions already recorded for the entire year. This can be very handy if you don't remember if you have entered something. First, you will be prompted for a beginning month to view. The initial transaction screen for that month will be displayed just as you entered it. From this point you can "scroll" through the screens at will by using the keypad keys. The PgUp and PgDn keys jump 50 records at a time. The "+" and "-" keys change months. The "ESC" key returns you to the Ledger Posting screen. If you need to make a change, bring up the intended Ledger screen into view and enter an "E" to access the edit mode. EDIT MODE ------------------------ If you make a mistake in your data entry, you can correct it by getting into EDIT MODE. This can be done in several ways. Most often it is done by answering no to the "Above OK?" prompt. Exceeding the limit of an assigned source value will generate a warning and put you in edit mode also. Edit mode allows you to go back and change any of your entries. You can step through them one at a time, in a similar fashion to the way they were first entered. However there are some other valuable features available only in Edit mode. They are explained later in the TIPS and SHORTCUTS section. ANY TIME YOU ARE IN EDIT MODE THERE WILL BE A FLASHING REMINDER NEAR THE TOP OF THE SCREEN. - 21 - If you are using the VIEW feature to review some previously entered transactions, the Edit mode is also available. There is one restriction on editing from the VIEW mode. Editing is allowed in the current open month only. If you need to make a change in an earlier month, you will have to reopen each month until you get back to it. See the CLOSE/OPEN month menu. While editing from a screen in VIEW mode, you also have the ability to wipe out the entire screenful of transactions. If this is what you want, enter a "K" (for Kill all) at the Action prompt. You will be given a chance to abort before accepting this command. Remember that if you try to edit individual entries first and then decide to "Kill All", the entire ORIGINAL transaction will be wiped out, including the attempted individual changes. The <ESC> key at the Action prompt will abort all changes and return you to the View Mode. Again, be sure and read the TIPS and SHORTCUTS on Editing. TEMPLATES ------------------ New for version 4.1 is the ability to build "Templates". If you have repetitive types of transactions that you enter at least once a month, why not store a sample of this transaction screen to disk where you could call it up with just a couple of key strokes! Monthly bills and paychecks would be good candidates for this type of feature. In order to take advantage of this, create an often used transaction screen, just as you would normally. When you reach the "Above OK?" prompt, enter a "T" for Template. The Template assignment screen will pop up and ask you to assign a number, and enter a descriptive title for this transaction. You will also be asked for a due date, but I will explain that later. Just hit ENTER for now. Your template will be stored in a file named TEMPLATE.yr. The file extension will match that of your data files. Now, whenever you need to make this type of entry again, you can call it up from the Action prompt by hitting "T". The same template screen (now titled Template Selection) will appear and you will be able to select any of up to 30 templates that have already been built. Your selection will be displayed on the Ledger Posting screen, ready for you to accept it. If it needs editing, just answer no to the "Above Ok" prompt. Also new for version 4.1 is the ability to assign a "due date" to any of the templates you have built. If you would like to be reminded that you need to pay a bill, or make some other type of transaction, just assign the dates that apply. There is room for up to 24 different dates. In other words you could instruct HBMS to remind you that a template needs to be entered, up to 24 separate times in a year (even more if you go back and edit it). These dates should be entered in a four digit format. September 4th would be entered as "0904". November 23rd would be "1123". They should also be in calendar sequence, starting with the earliest reminder. The reason for this is that when you select a template to be inserted in the Ledger screen that has a due date assigned to it, that date will be deleted and the next one in sequence will take it's place. - 22 - If you don't want this reminder feature then leave the first date field blank. Otherwise you can assign as many as you like, up to 24. The first dates assigned (if any) will be displayed on the template selection screen next to the title. If any of them fall earlier than the current system date, they will blink. Also, on your first entry into the Ledger Posting section, HBMS will check the template file dates and warn you if any of them have come due. The actual dates are stored in a file named DUEDATES.yr, and like the TEMPLATE file, they will reside in your data directory. You can edit these dates, or the title if necessary. Just access the Template Selection screen from the Action prompt, enter the desired template number, and hit the UP arrow instead of the ENTER key. If you enter a null value for the title, the entire template will be deleted. The dates can be edited as desired. BE AWARE that assigning and storing a transaction screen to a template, does NOT enter it into your transaction file. You have to call it back up from the Action prompt, and answer yes to the Above Ok prompt in order to save it. PRINTING CHECKS ---------------------- A check printing instruction file is needed to allow HBMS to print checks. The documentation on how to create this file is contained in the PRCHECK.DOC file. The check printing feature can be triggered by a "P" response either in the View mode, or at the "Above OK" prompt in the Posting mode. If the SOURCE account has been marked as reconcilable, and HBMS is able to find the PRCHECK.HBM file, check printing will take place. Be aware that a "P" response to the "Above OK" prompt will also accept the transaction as being correct. - 23 - TIPS and SHORTCUTS ------------------------ a) EDITING: If you make a mistake and would like to correct it before you reach the "Above OK" prompt, you can use the UP arrow. It will step the cursor up a line at a time. NOTE that once you use the UP arrow, the editing mode will be in effect. Once you are in the editing mode, the DOWN arrow will step you down a line at a time also. (If you are not in editing mode the Down arrow acts just like the ENTER key.) These UP and DOWN arrows can save you a lot of time if you have to go back and correct something on a whole screenful of data. The cursor will always stop at either the Action prompt, or an amount field. If you are at the SOURCE amount, remember that you have two options. If you enter an amount, HBMS will use it to monitor Target amounts, and provide you with a remaining balance if requested with the F1 key. If you leave the SOURCE amount blank, there will be no checks made on the TARGET amounts, and a "running balance" will be displayed. Another editing feature added in version 4.1, is the ability to "delete" a whole TARGET transaction line. The CTRL-Y key does this job (Hold down the Control key and hit "Y"). The entire TARGET line will be deleted, and any remaining Targets below will move up. This feature is especially useful when editing Templates. b) HBMS will remember the last check number for every checking account. If you make any entry other than a number (such as "jrnl" for a journal entry), it will not increment the check number. c) If you enter the tilde <~> character only, HBMS will copy the SOURCE description entered in step 9. See the paycheck transactions in the sample data for an example. d) The "+" and "-" keys can be used at the Action prompt in place of "I" and "D" for Increase and Decrease. e) If you have a keyboard macro utility such as Borland's SuperKey, you can program it to insert entries into the Ledger that you use repeatedly. Please be careful if you decide to try this. It can cause some confusion and possibly missed data if you try to go back and correct something while you are in the middle of a macro. f) NOTE: I find it helpful to save my receipts from each day and jot down any other transactions. At the end of each week I commit these transactions to HBMS via the Ledger Posting section. You may want to do this on a daily basis. In either case, you will then have a printed record of all your transactions available. - 24 - RECONCILE STATEMENTS ------------------------ When your bank statement comes in, use this section of HBMS to reconcile your checkbook or credit card statement. You do this by "MARKING" each check that has cleared the bank and appears on your statement. The reconciliation feature only works on accounts that have been flagged as such in the Account Maintenance section. With version 4.0 the ability to keep track of Liability accounts is possible also. * MARK/UNMARK * When first entering this section, you will be prompted with the earliest month that contains uncleared transactions. You can enter any month that falls within the beginning month and the current open month. A screenful of all transactions for that month will be displayed. The lines for the first and last transaction for that month will be highlighted. The Up/Dn arrow keys move the cursor to the transaction you need to clear. If there are more transactions than can be seen at one time, the screen will scroll. To mark a transaction as being cleared, use the ENTER key. A ">" symbol will appear and signify a cleared transaction. The ENTER key functions as a toggle and will turn the ">" mark on or off. The PgUp, PgDn, HOME, and END keys work just as you would expect, and will move you through the data. When you are ready to switch months, use the "+" or "-" keys to step the month forward or back. The ESC key will save the changes and return you to the Reconciliation menu. HBMS examines each month you access to see if all transactions have been cleared. However if you unmark a transaction in a month that previously had all transactions cleared, and then mark it back again, HBMS will think that this month is the last one that was completely cleared. This month and all the remaining months may be reconciled correctly. This condition will be resolved when you ask for a Summary Report, mentioned below. * SHOW ALL UNCLEARED TRANSACTIONS * This feature will display the uncleared transactions in the order they were entered. There is no scrolling capability here as there was in the MARK/UNMARK section, only a screen pause. * SUMMARY REPORT * This section is where you check to see if your records and the bank statement agree. Make sure that you have entered (via the Ledger Posting Section), and cleared (via MARK/UNMARK feature), any bank charges, interests, or other miscellaneous entries that appear only on your bank statement. You will be prompted for the ending balance on your statement. If you have not browsed through all the uncleared transactions before asking for a Summary Report, HBMS will quickly tally them up. Everything you need to verify your statement will be displayed. If you receive a discrepancy warning, the information presented should help you figure out if it was a data entry error, a failure to make an entry, or even a bank error. - 25 - REPORTS (screen) --------------------- In this section you have access to almost all data that HBMS has to offer. Upon entering, you will be prompted for the latest month you want to look at. Next, enter the code of an account to view. After a short delay for HBMS to calculate some totals, you will be presented with the "MONTH" view of data. From here you can select among three other formats which include: a PERCENTAGE VALUE report, an ANNUAL VIEW, and a SORTED LEDGER. You also have the opportunity to change accounts. By just striking <ENTER> you will be able to keep the format you are in and select another account. In the SORTED view, the transactions will be sorted by date first, then check number or record number (depending on the type of account). In the PERCENTAGE view you will not only be presented with percent values for the selected account, you will also see the values for its associated category. Monthly values and year to date values will be displayed. These percentages use MONTH and YTD totals when compared with INCOME and EXPENSES. They use TOTAL BALANCES when compared with ASSETS and LIABILITIES. The following table shows how the values are divided to arrive at a percent figure. They are listed in the same relative locations that you will see on screen. (The dashed line represents a division symbol. The resulting quotient is multiplied by 100.) Month Actual Ytd Actual | -------------- ------------ | Month Category Ytd Category | | | Month Actual Ytd Actual | Month Category Ytd Category ------------ ---------- | -------------- ------------ Month INCOME Ytd INCOME | Month INCOME Ytd INCOME | | Month Actual Ytd Actual | Month Category Ytd Category ------------- ----------- | -------------- ------------ Month EXPENSE Ytd EXPENSE | Month EXPENSE Ytd EXPENSE | | Month Actual Ytd Actual | Month Category Ytd Category ------------ ------------ | -------------- ------------ Total ASSETS Total ASSETS | Total ASSETS Total ASSETS | | Month Actual Ytd Actual | Month Category Ytd Category ------------ ---------- | -------------- ------------ Total LIAB. Total LIAB. | Total LIAB. Total LIAB. - 26 - PRINTED REPORTS --------------------- Beginning with version 4.1, any printed report can be directed to a file, instead of the printer. When you reach the "Printer Ready?" prompt, answer "F" instead of "Y". You will be asked to supply a valid DOS filename to store the data. This "disk" printout will be stripped of all printer commands. * SORTED LEDGER REPORT for the month * Prints the transactions with their values and balances, for all accounts that had activity for the selected month. They will be sorted by account and appear in order of the Chart of Accounts. Entries in individual accounts will be sorted by date, then check number if applicable. * SORTED LEDGER by ACCOUNT * Prints the sorted data for a selected account, for up to a whole year. * TRANSACTION REPORT * Prints a copy of your ledger transactions just as you entered them. You might want to print out the transactions after every ledger posting session. If so, HBMS will remember the last record printed for the month and prompt you for the next unprinted record number. I usually have posting sessions about 4 to 5 times a month, but wait till the end of the month to print out a Transaction Report. If I need to see a transaction that has not been printed yet, I use the "VIEW" feature in the Ledger Posting section. * FINANCIAL STATEMENTS * Prints the Income and Expense Report, and a Balance Sheet Report. The Income and Expense Report prints all the monthly oriented data including averages, budget figures, budget left, etc. Similar to the Monthly Totals screen report, any actual dollar amounts that have exceeded your budget projections will be flagged with an asterisk. The Balance Sheet gives you an opportunity to print out just the Asset and Liability information. * ANNUAL ACTUALS * Prints the monthly totals up to and including the current month. All figures are in whole dollars because of space limitations. * ANNUAL BUDGET * Prints monthly budget figures for the entire year. * CHART OF ACCOUNTS * Prints a list of accounts grouped in their respective categories according to the sequence you have selected. - 27 - * INITIAL BALANCES * Prints a report similar to the Balance sheet but contains the beginning balances for your assets and liabilities. These figures do not show up on any other report. * RAW ACCOUNT INFO * This printout is provided in case you get into trouble while working with your Chart of Accounts. HBMS will not let you do most of the Main Menu functions until you have met the requirement of: at least one account per category and at least one category for each money group. From this report you will be able to determine if you have an "orphan" category, or no categories in a money group. THIS REPORT SHOULD BE PRINTED AND SAVED after creating or changing your Chart of Accounts. In an emergency, the record numbers could possibly be used to recreate a new accounts file. (Check with author for details.) FILE EXPORT ----------------- File exporting was changed in version 4.1 since the "print to file" capability was added. Now it writes the data to an ASCII file in a "Standard Data Format". Any text (in this case the account name) is surrounded by quotes, and each field is separated by a comma. Most graphics and spreadsheet programs will accept this format. The two available reports are very similar to the printed versions of the ANNUAL ACTUALS and the BUDGET REPORT. Each line will start with the account name. Following it will be zero values for any months between the first fiscal month and your beginning month, if they were different. Next will be the Month To Date values for each of the months up to the current month. Lastly there will be zero values for any remaining months in the year. This means that all 12 months will be represented, but the months that are not applicable will contain zero values. Also, if you have a fiscal year different from the calendar year, the first value written will be from your first fiscal month, and progress from there (just as it is on the printed version). If you ask for a combination report, the MTD value will be written first, followed by its budget value. If you view this text file, you will notice that MTD values contain a decimal point, while the budget values do not. You can also specify that the category name and/or a blank line is inserted in the report. When asked for a file name, you can use any legal DOS name. Be sure to include a path if necessary. Entering a null file name aborts the export. - 28 - CLOSE/OPEN MONTH -------------------- This section does just what you would expect. At the end of each month you should select the "Close Current Month" routine. HBMS will read the entire ledger for the current month, update totals, and declare the following month open. Remember that ledger posting and editing can only be done in the current open month. If you have to go back to a previous month to make additions or changes, use the reopen feature. ******************************************************************* * If for any reason you feel that the figures for your data * * are wrong or missing, try reopening each month until you get * * back to a valid month. Then close each month until you get * * back to where you started. HBMS calculates all it's values * * from the data you enter in the Ledger Posting section. When * * you close a month, HBMS reads this data from the ledger files * * and recalculates its totals on a monthly basis. * ******************************************************************* CHANGE YEAR/PATH -------------------- If you have several years of data or more than one budget system, you can change to them without quitting the program. When you select "Y" from the Main Menu, the opening screen will reappear and you will be able to change the year and data path. - 29 - TO USERS of HBMS WITH VERSIONS OLDER THAN 3.0 ----------------------------------------------------- If you have accumulated data under older versions of HBMS you will have to run the program HCONVERT.EXE to update it to the current file format. The check reconciliation feature required that I change the format. In doing so I also incorporated the STARTUP.HBM file into the ACCOUNTS file. Once you have run your data through the conversion program you can delete the STARTUP file. P L E A S E ... use COPIES of your older data. The conversion program will replace them in the process. If something goes wrong you can start over. The program HCONVERT.EXE is supplied only to registered users. See the ShareWare registration procedures near the beginning of this document. The old CREDIT/DEBIT format has been scratched and replaced with INCREASE/DECREASE. Although it worked fine in the way HBMS approached it, it was confusing to many who are trained in accounting and viewed it with a different meaning. I hope this will clear up any misconceptions about the way HBMS handles ledger transactions. I am using a new screen writing technique beginning with v3.0 that writes directly to memory. Report speed has improved significantly. HBMS now loads all it's data in a "block" format. Also the ledger transactions for the month are now held in memory. Loading data now takes less than 25% of the time it did before. Sorted ledger displays really fly now. If you are using a floppy based system you should see a big improvement. Brentson Worrell 6404 Mornay Dr. Tampa, FL 33615 (813) 886-2282 - 30 -