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TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! TM ACCOUNTS PAYABLE USER'S MANUAL Version 1.0 Hooper International, Inc. P.O. Box 50200 Colorado Springs, CO 80949 Registration Number: ___________ Copyright (C) 1986-1990 by Hooper International, Inc. All rights reserved. TAKIN CARE OF BUSINESS! COPYRIGHT NOTICE TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS is not a public domain program. It is Copyright (C) 1986-1990 by Hooper International, Inc. No part of this manual may be reproduced or translated, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of Hooper International, Inc. Copyright ■ 1986-1990 Hooper International, Inc. WARRANTY INFORMATION Hooper International, Inc. licenses this software and manual "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied; including, but not limited to, the particular purpose. Hooper International, Inc. does not warrant that the TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS software will meet your requirements, or that the operation of TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS will be uninterrupted or error free. In no event will Hooper International, Inc. be liable for incidental, consequential, indirect or other damages including any lost profits or lost savings, arising from the use of, or inability to use, these programs; even if Hooper International, Inc. has been advised of the possibility of such damages, or for any claim by any other party. Please keep in mind, we do not accept returns or give refunds on registered copies. We will, for a period of up to 90 days from initial shipping date, replace defective disks for a minimal shipping and handling charge of $5.00. Defective disks must be returned prepaid and insured by sender. In this way, we are assured of complete customer satisfaction. As you can see, we value your business. Information in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Hooper International, Inc. This product could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made to the information herein. These changes may be incorporated in new additions of this publication. Page 2 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! TABLE OF CONTENTS COPYRIGHT NOTICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 WARRANTY INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 SECTION ONE - INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1a - The Accounts Payable Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1b - General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 SECTION TWO - VENDOR ACCOUNTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2a - What are Vendor Accounts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2b - Vendor Accounts Organization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2c - Vendor Accounts Data Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2d - Getting Familiar with Vendor Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2e - Adding/Modifying/Deleting Vendors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2f - Entering Your Vendor Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 2g - Setting Beginning Balances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 SECTION THREE - TRANSACTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 3a - Transaction Data Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 3b - Entering Simple Transactions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 3c - Entering Multiple-Part Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 3d - Changing/Deleting Transactions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 3e - Create Recurring Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 3f - Modify/Delete Recurring Transactions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 3g - Activate Recurring Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 3h - Points to Remember. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 SECTION FOUR - REPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 4a - Explanation of Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 4b - General Instructions for Generating Reports . . . . . . . . . . 25 SECTION FIVE - PAYMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 5a - Payment Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 5b - Printing Selected Payments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 5c - Printing Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 5d - Voiding Checks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 5e - Manual Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 SECTION SIX - UTILITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 6a - Sort Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 6b - Changing Vendor Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 6c - Import A/P Transaction File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 6d - Export A/P Transaction File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 6e - A/P Configuration Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 SECTION SEVEN- HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 LIST OF FIGURES. . . . . . . . . . . NOT AVAILABLE ON DISK DOCUMENTATION FILE APPENDIX A - SAMPLE REPORTS. . . . . NOT AVAILABLE ON DISK DOCUMENTATION FILE APPENDIX B - DISK FILE NAMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Page 3 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! SECTION ONE - INTRODUCTION 1a - The Accounts Payable Module The TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS Accounts Payable module provides you with a wonderfully simple way to keep track of all of your vendor payables. Likewise, you'll be delighted to note that the module is an essential element in easily managing your cash flow. Vendor (companies you purchase from) information and balances are always available to you through on-line features. This easy-to- use module will also greatly enhance your ability to track and to pay your vendors on time. Multiple distribution and full integration into your General Ledger will save you hours of time, effort and money. This manual assumes you have, from an accounting point of view, a working knowledge of how an accounts-payable system operates. If you are new to accounts-payable bookkeeping, however, we suggest you either consult your accountant or get a book on accounts-payable bookkeeping. We do, nevertheless, try to explain each feature and function in layman terms, so it will be easy to understand with minimal confusion. This system is uniquely set up for ease of operation by the novice. Consequently, sample basic transactions are included on your disk (filename "SAMPLE") for practice sessions. 1b - General Information Below is a simple list of steps to follow when using Accounts Payable for the first time. These steps are for those who have already read the Getting Started User's Manual and are now ready to set up their own "live" Accounts payable data files. It is assumed here that you have already installed TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS on your hard-disk drive and have started the program. If this is not the case, refer to the Getting Started User's Manual before reading any further. These brief steps are intended to provide step-by-step guidance for getting started on your own. They are not intended to replace reading either the Getting Started User's Manual or this manual. Detailed instructions are covered in the sections referenced. 1. First, we suggest you go to the main Configuration Menu to customize the system configuration to meet your particular hardware and printing needs. Although not absolutely necessary, doing this now may prevent printing problems later. Refer to Section Five - "Utility Menu", in the Getting Started User's Manual, for detailed instructions. 2. From the TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS Main Menu screen, select the "A/P" menu item. The following screen appears: Figure 1-1 Accounts Payable Main Menu 3. Figure 1-1 is the Accounts Payable Main Menu screen. From here you select the different areas of the Accounts Payable module to work in. 4. First, select "A/P Utility Menu" from the Accounts Payable Main Menu in order to set up your Accounts Payable configuration. Refer to Section Six - "A/P Configuration Settings" for detailed instructions. Page 4 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! 5. You should now select "Update Vendor Accounts" from the Accounts Payable main menu, as you must have active accounts before you can enter any transactions or print reports. Refer to Section Two - "Vendor Accounts" for detailed instructions. 6. Next, select "Transactions Menu", from the Accounts Payable main menu, in order to start entering your payables data. Refer to Section Three - "Transactions" for detailed instructions. 7. After you have entered some transactions, you can print an Accounts Payable Journal Report to verify the information you have entered. See Section Four - "Reports" for more information. 8. To make payments (print checks), select "Payments Menu" from the Accounts Payable main menu. Refer to Section Five - "Payments" for detailed instructions. Again, the above steps are merely intended to show you the order of events in setting up your Accounts Payable data files. We strongly recommend you read this entire manual before continuing. Page 5 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! SECTION TWO - VENDOR ACCOUNTS Your Vendor Accounts are the very foundation of your Accounts Payable. In the Accounts Payable module you can set up, up to 2000 vendor accounts (depending on your available RAM memory). 2a - What are Vendor Accounts Your vendor accounts are used to keep track of all of your accounts-payable balances by vendor (who you owe money to). It is important to remember that any company or person you owe money to is a vendor and should be set up in this system. If you purchase something with cash and there is not a balance due, you do not have to set up that vendor. Whenever you receive a bill (invoice or statement) from a company, you must set up that company as a vendor (if that vendor is not already set up). Once set up, the vendor will always be available for more invoices in the future. Each vendor must be given an account number, to identify him, which will then be used whenever you are entering transactions for that vendor. 2b - Vendor Accounts Organization Your vendor account numbers, and their order within the program, are totally up to you. An important consideration for your account numbers is to group your vendors into account-number ranges. For example, put all of your out-of-state vendors into accounts 900000-999999. This may be useful when printing reports which ask for an account range to print (i.e. vendor labels). Different types of businesses may also be grouped in specific ranges. Remember to always leave enough room for new accounts to be added within your selected range. Another option for organizing your vendor account numbers is to use the first six digits of the vendor company name as their account number. This allows you to find and enter that vendor's account number without the need to hunt for his account number in the account number listing window. 2c - Vendor Accounts Data Fields Each account in your vendor database represents one specific vendor. As mentioned above, each vendor is assigned a unique account number. Along with this account number, other elements of information about each vendor is recorded. When you set up a vendor account, the following information about each vendor will be needed: VENDOR: (Required) A six-digit, alpha-numeric number which is used to identify each vendor. This number is decided by you and may be any number or letter with the six-digit range (e.g. "100000", "HOOPER" or "HOO123"). The vendor number is also used as a sort option on some reports. ACTIVE: (Required) A yes/no option (Y/N), which allows you to tag the vendor as either active or inactive. If you have labeled a vendor as inactive, you will be unable to enter ANY transactions for this customer. Page 6 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! ATTENTION: (Optional) This is used as the first address line for checks and labels. It is usually the accounts receivable contact person for this vendor. COMPANY: (Required) Name of the company. If a vendor is not a company, simply enter that vendor's name here. ADDRESS: (Optional) Street address for vendor. Used for checks and labels. CITY: (Optional) Vendor's city. STATE: (Optional) Vendor's two (or three) digit state/province code. ZIPCODE: (Optional) Vendor's zip or postal code. Used for sort order on mailing labels. May be used for any other purpose as well. PHONE: (Optional) Up to 12 character telephone number. May be used for other information if needed. COUNTRY: (Optional) This line is used for your foreign vendor's country name. COMMENTS: (Optional) Up to 30 characters of pertinent information may be entered here, allowing instant recall of needed facts about your customer. DEFAULT G/L ACCOUNT: (Optional) A time saver, this default General Ledger Expense account number is automatically used for this vendor when you are entering type "I" transactions. By setting it up here, it will automatically be the default debit distribution account. The account number can be overridden at any time. See section 3b - "Entering Simple Transactions" for usage. SALES TAX PERCENT: (Optional) A time saver! This sales tax percentage is another valuable option which can automatically calculate the sales tax for this vendor when entering transactions. Simply enter here the tax percent this vendor is charging you. Select any percentage from 0 to 50 (e.g. 6.5). DUE DAYS: (Required) Default number of days until purchases or invoices for this vendor are due. You will be able to override it, if necessary, when entering invoices. DISCOUNT DAYS: (Optional) Number of days after invoice date that discount may be applied. DISCOUNT PERCENT: (Optional) Percentage discount for early payment of invoice. Enter percent between 0 and 50. 2d - Getting Familiar with Vendor Accounts Before entering your own vendors, follow the procedures below by using the "SAMPLE" accounts: Page 7 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! 1. After you have started TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS select the filename "SAMPLE". See your Getting Started User's Manual section 3b - "Selecting the Disk Drive, Path, and Data File" for more information on selecting the file name. 2. From the Main Menu, select the A/P menu, using the cursor arrow keys or by typing in the highlighted or capitalized letter of that selection. 3. From the Accounts Payable Main Menu, select "Update Vendor Accounts". The following screen appears: Figure 2-1 Vendor Listing Notice how this typical vendor account listing is organized. The window will display eighteen account numbers at a time. To see more accounts, use the cursor arrow keys or the mouse, to scroll through the listing. To select a vendor account to be modified, press the <Enter> key when the cursor is on that account, or, if you know the beginning number or letter of that account, simply type it in. The first account number in that range will appear at the bottom of the window, with the cursor automatically on that account. For example entering "H" will take you to account numbers starting with "H" (HOOPER); and entering "4" will take you to the accounts starting with "4" (400000). If you know the account number, simply enter the number and the cursor will position itself on that specific account. Before setting up your own vendor accounts, you may want to create a practice account by entering data into the "SAMPLE" data files. Simple follow the steps in section 2e - "Adding/Modifying/Deleting Vendors" below for practice. 2e - Adding/Modifying/Deleting Vendors This section will describe how to add, modify, and/or delete vendors from Accounts Payable. The "SAMPLE" data file is used in all of the following examples. From the Accounts Payable Main Menu, select the "Update Vendor Accounts" menu item using either the arrow keys or type in the highlighted or capitalized letter of that menu item and Figure 2-1 (above) will appear. At the bottom of your Vendor Accounts screen you will notice five available functions: <F1>Help <F3>Add <F4>Mod <F5>Del <Esc>Exit By selecting <F3> for "Adding", <F4> for "Modify", or <F5> for "Delete" when working on your Vendor Accounts, you will be able to execute any one of the three available functions. To do so, simply follow the appropriate steps listed below: NOTE: You may at any time call-up the extensive context sensitive help function by pressing the <F1> function key. ADDING AN ACCOUNT: Press the <F3> function key and Figure 2-2 will appear. If there are no already existing vendor accounts, this add-account window will automatically appear. Page 8 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! Figure 2-2 Adding An Account NOTE: To move to the next input field after you have entered your information, simply press the <Enter> key. To leave a field blank, press the <Enter> key. To back-up to a previous field, press the <Backspace> key or the <Shift><Tab> keys. 1. VENDOR: Enter here your six-digit, alpha-numeric vendor number or name which you have selected for this vendor and then press <Enter> to move to the next input field. 2. ACTIVE: Enter a yes or no (Y/N) for this vendor account activity. This allows you to tag this vendor as either active or inactive. When you first set up your vendor mark them as active. It is important to understand that if you have marked a vendor account as inactive, you will be unable to enter ANY transactions for his account. You may at any time change the status of this vendor. Press <Enter> when complete. 3. ATTENTION: Enter the attention name (if any) for this vendor. It is usually entered as the ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE contact-person for this vendor. Press <Enter> when complete. 4. COMPANY: Enter the name of your vendor's company here. If a vendor account is not a company, enter your vendor's name here. Press <Enter> when complete. 5. ADDRESS: Enter here the street address or the postal box number for your vendor. Press <Enter> when complete. 6. CITY: Enter here your vendor's city name. Press <Enter> when complete. 7. STATE: Here you can enter your vendor's state or province code. You can enter a code up to 3-digits long (e.g. "CO" for Colorado). Press <Enter> when complete. 8. ZIPCODE: Enter your vendor's complete zip or postal code here. This is also used for sort order on mailing labels. Press <Enter> when complete. 9. PHONE: Here you can enter your vendor's telephone number, using up to 12 characters. You may use this field for other information, if needed. Press <Enter> when complete. 10. COUNTRY: Enter your foreign vendor's country codes here. Press <Enter> when complete. 11. COMMENTS: Here you can enter up to 30 characters of pertinent infor- mation relating to your vendor's account. This information will print on selected reports only. Press <Enter> when complete. 12. DEFAULT G/L ACCOUNT: Enter here a default G/L Expense (or asset) account number for this vendor. This account number will automatically become the default debit account number when you enter a type "I" transaction for this vendor. If you choose not to use this feature, enter "0". Page 9 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! NOTE: If you have your chart of accounts set to auto pop-up, then your G/L chart of accounts will appear automatically for you to select an expense account from or to create a new one. If you have manual pop-up, simply press the <F2> function key and your chart of accounts will appear. Please see your Getting Started User's Manual, section 4d - "Setting the System Configuration", for more details on this feature. 13. SALES TAX PERCENT: Enter here a sales tax percentage for this vendor. Valid numbers are 0 to 50 (e.g. 5.5). This optional feature is a real time saver which will automatically calculate the sales tax for this vendor when entering type "I" transactions. 14. DUE DAYS: Enter here the days, from "0" to "256", in which this vendor's invoices/bills come due (e.g. "30"). 15. DISCOUNT DAYS: Enter here the days from "0" to "99", in which you are entitled to take a discount if you pay in time (e.g. 10). 16. DISCOUNT PCT: Enter here the percentage of allowed discount. Enter the discount percentage allowed by this vendor, from "0" to "50" percent, if paid within the above specified discount days (e.g. 2% discount for payment in, say, 10 days). Once you have completed the last input field, your new vendor is automatically added to the vendor listing window which appears whenever you add, modify or delete vendors. Your cursor will then return to the top of the input screen for you to continue adding new vendors. Another time saver is that all input fields have the default of your last entered vendor. This will save you time when you are entering information that is similar. MODIFYING A VENDOR ACCOUNT: Select "Update Vendor Accounts" from the A/P main menu and then press the <F4> function key and Figure 2-3 will appear. Figure 2-3 Modifying An Account Notice that the cursor is automatically on the "Active" field, but may be moved to the appropriate field you wish to modify, by pressing the <Enter> key. If you want to blank out a field, move first to that field and press the <spacebar>. In order to change the vendor number, however, you will need to add a new account first and then change the existing transactions to this account. See section 6b - "Changing Vendor Numbers". Then, you may delete the old vendor account number as described below. In order to change any other data, simply move your cursor or mouse to that field to be changed and start typing the new data over the old, and then press <Enter>. Press <F10> and your new changes will be saved. If you decide not to make any changes, simply press the <Esc> key and your original data will be unchanged. Page 10 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! DELETING AN ACCOUNT: Select "Update Vendor Accounts" from the A/P main menu. Move the highlighted cursor to the account to be deleted. Then press the <F5> function key to delete that vendor account number. To delete a vendor account, the account must not have any transactions. If transactions exist, you must first delete them before you can delete the vendor account. To delete an account, move the cursor to the appropriate vendor in the vendor accounts window, using the arrow keys or mouse. Next, press the <F5> function key. Then answer "Y" to the "Are you sure" prompt, and the account is deleted. 2f - Entering Your Vendor Accounts When you actually create your own vendor accounts, it is important that you have an organized plan of account numbers. For example, in the simple case you may use the first six digits of the vendor's name as the account number. In another scenario, you may want to have groups (range) of vendor numbers. In this case you will probably use numbers or a combination of numbers and letters for the account number. In any case, some planning can save hours of time and frustration down the road when you need to change vendor account numbers. Please refer to section 2b - "Vendor Accounts Organization" for details. NOTE: Whenever you are finished entering data into a field, press the <Enter> key to move the next input field. To move to the previous input field, press the <backspace> or <Shift><Tab> keys. To add your first vendor, follow the steps below: 1. From the Accounts Receivable Main Menu select "Update Vendor Accounts". The following window will appear. Figure 2-4 Add Account 2. Since you are creating a new vendor accounts list, only a blank window will appear asking for your first vendor information. Enter your vendor information as outlined above in section 2e - "Adding/Modifying/ Deleting Vendors". 3. Enter your vendor account number at the "Vendor:" prompt. 4. At the "Active:" prompt, enter "Y" to make this new vendor active. 5. At the next 6 prompts, enter your vendor's mailing address. 6. At the "Phone:" prompt, enter your vendor's telephone number. This can be used for other information as well. 7. If this vendor is from a different country, enter his "Country" here. 8. The next prompt asks for the "Default G/L Account". Enter here the vendors default income account number. To omit, enter zero (0). Page 11 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! 9. At the "Sales Tax Percent" prompt, enter the tax percentage you are charged by this vendor, so the program will automatically calculate the sales tax from your type "I" transactions.. Enter zero (0) to skip. 10. Next, enter the "Due Days" for this vendor. 11. Then enter the "Discount Days", if any. 12. Next, enter the "Discount PCT", if any. 13. Once you have answered the last prompt, press the <Enter> key to save your new input. You may also press the <F10> key at any field to save your data. You will then be returned to the top of the input screen to continue entering your next vendor. Your first active vendor is now added and will appear in the Vendor Accounts window on the left side of the screen. To add additional accounts, see section 2e - "Adding/Modifying/Deleting Vendors", above. To return to the A\P main menu, press <Esc>. NOTE: Any time during your input, you may go to the previous input field by pressing the backspace key or arrow key up, so you can make any needed changes immediately. You can also, at any time, press the <Esc> key to leave what you are currently working on without your information being saved. To save your input when your inputs are complete, press the <F10> function key. 2g - Setting Beginning Balances When setting up your Accounts Payable, as well as vendor starting balances, you must be sure that you are in balance with your General Ledger. This is a vitally important procedure to remember when setting up your books. The following steps will insure that all accounts are in balance: 1. Set up all of your vendor accounts which have a non-zero starting balance. 2. Be sure that your GENERAL LEDGER Accounts Payable account has a zero balance (i.e. set up a new account for use by this module only). 3. Enter all vendor starting balances due by entering all non-paid invoices for each vender (Section Three - "Transactions"). Be sure to enter proper invoice, discount and due dates. 4. After all have been entered, print a Schedule of Payables or Vendor Account History Report and verify all current vendor balances. 5. After you have verified all account balances, you are now up-to-date and fully operational. If you want your General Ledger Accounts Payable account to reflect the current balances of all Payable accounts, you should go to the General Ledger Utility menu and post the transactions to the General Ledger. Page 12 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! SECTION THREE - TRANSACTIONS A transaction is any invoice or statement received from a vendor. Each time you receive a bill from a vendor, it must be entered as a transaction into the Accounts Payable module. Likewise, any other adjustments (interest, returns etc.) to the account balance must be entered as a transaction. The only exception is when payments are made (checks written). Checks (payments) are discussed in Section Five - "Payments". Examples of transactions are: a purchase by your company on credit (type I), a merchandise return - debit to account (type D) and an additional charge to the account - credit to account (type C). Accounts Payable has no limitation as to the amount of transactions you can enter. Anything you purchase with cash (i.e. no credit terms) is NOT an Accounts Payable transaction and should NOT be entered into this module. When entering transactions into TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS, you have two options: 1. "Input Transactions": Entering live transactions (i.e. transactions which affect a vendors balance). 2. "Creating Recurring Transactions": Creating repetitive transactions that occur weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly or monthly. These transactions will not affect a vendor's balance until they are activated. These transactions are described in detail below. Each transaction involves entering vendor information as well as General Ledger account distribution information. Another time saving feature is that the Accounts Payable module will automatically total your distributions and thus create the appropriate off-setting General Ledger debit or credit amount to your Accounts Payable account without you having to enter the A/P account number or transaction total amount. This off-setting total amount is the amount which is added (subtracted) from the vendor's balance. Each of the transaction input fields has a default of the last entered data into that field. When entering repetitive data, this default will save you keystrokes. In the section below we will describe "Input Transactions", "Recurring Transactions", data fields and how to enter transactions. 3a - Transaction Data Fields VENDOR: (Required) This is a valid six-digit, alpha-numeric vendor number which was previously set up in Section Two - "Vendor Accounts". Each time you are entering a transaction for a specific vendor, simply enter your vendor number. The account name will appear next to the vendor number. Press the <F2> function key for a pop-up vendor account listing. If you enter a vendor account number that does not exist, the Accounts Payable program will automatically prompt you with "Invalid Vendor, Add Account?". Here you have the option to add a new vendor on the fly. Refer to section 2e - "Adding/Modifying/Deleting Vendors" for more detail. TRAN TYPE: (Required) Enter here the one character type code for this transaction. Valid types are as follows: Page 13 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! I = Invoice (a vendor purchase) C = Credit to account (increase to vendor balance) D = Debit to account (decrease to vendor balance) NOTE: Generally, you will be using type "I" (invoice) transactions when you make a purchase. Payments to vendors are made by check writing, either manually or by computer generated checks. This function, which reduces vendor balances, is described in Section Five - "Payments". ITEM DATE: (Required) Enter here the date of this transaction (i.e. when did you make the purchase). DUE DATE: (Optional) Due date for this transaction. The default is calculated based on the vendor configuration set-up in the vendor accounts due days. This field only applies to type I (invoice) transactions and can be overridden. DISC %: (Optional) Discount percentage for this transaction (if any). Default is based on vendor configuration set-up in his account, but may be overridden (i.e. you are allowed a 2% discount if you pay the invoice within the specified discount date below). DISC DATE: (Optional) Here you can enter (override) the date through which you are eligible to take a discount on the invoice. The default is based on the vendor configuration set-up for this account, but can be changed (i.e. if he pays within 10 days, he can take a 2% discount as specified above). INVOICE: (Required) Enter here the invoice number for this transaction. This field is very important because the A/P module uses the invoice numbers for grouping transactions for calculating open invoices, aging and payment history information. It is mandatory that some information is entered into this field. If left blank, the transaction date will be automatically entered into this field. NOTE: If transactions for a particular vendor have the same invoice number, they will be grouped together for both open invoice and aging procedures. The transaction date and due dates for these transactions will default to the first transaction with this invoice number. REFERENCE: (Optional) Enter here a reference number for this transaction. (i.e. your account number with this vendor). TRANSACTION DESCRIPTION: (Optional) This is the main description for this transaction. Only this description will show on your vendor reports. DISTRIBUTION: Here you record where the money is going to. Once your cursor is at this prompt (cursor appears after "Distribution:"), press the <Enter> key to begin entering your transaction distribution to the G/L accounts. When you are finished with the distribution, press <F10> to continue with transaction entry. Page 14 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! DEPT: (Optional) Enter here your department code for this part of the transaction distribution. NOTE: The department code is a user modifiable four-digit alpha- numeric code. This department code can be used to track your expenses in more detail. This code does not need to be set up in advance and works independently from your account numbers (i.e. You could track your expenses not only by accounts, but also by department). You then can print various reports by a specific department code. DESCRIPTION: (Optional) G/L description for each part of transaction. Here you can enter a different description (the default is the Transaction description above) or you can leave it blank. This description will not show on your vendor reports. It is only used as the description of the current G/L distribution and prints on the reports that have debits and credits listed. ACCT: (Required) Enter here your G/L account number. Usually a G/L expense account number for type "I" transactions (debit side). This account will be either debited or credited depending on whether a debit or credit amount is entered in following fields. If you do not have auto pop-up account windows turned on, simply press the <F2> function key to receive a complete listing of your accounts. You are also able to quickly add a new G/L accounts on the fly. DEBIT: (Required) Enter here your debit amount (where is money going to) for the "ACCT" field above. CREDIT: (Required) Enter here your credit amount (where is money coming from) for "Acct" field above. NOTE: You can only enter one debit or credit per entry line. If you have more than one debit or credit amount, you will need to use a second distribution line. SALES TAX: (Optional) Here you can enter the sales tax amount (if any) for that transaction. If you have entered a tax percentage in this vendor's account, the sales tax amount will be automatically calculated for you. You can override the computer calculation. TRANSACTION TOTAL: This is the total amount to be either added to or sub- tracted from the vendor's balance. It is not an input field, but a computer calculated sum of all the distributions entered above. For type "I" and "C" transactions this amount will be credited to your Accounts Payable account, which you have set up in the A/P configuration. For type "D" transactions, this amount will be debited to this Accounts Payable account. 3b - Entering Simple Transactions Each transaction involves the debiting of one account and the crediting of another account (the system will automatically enter the transaction total debit/credit for you). If you happen to be new to double-entry bookkeeping, you may wish to review Section Seven - "Basic Accounting Principles" in the Page 15 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! Getting Started User's Manual. If you prefer, you may refer to the transactions in the "SAMPLE" files and use them as examples. As you enter each of your transactions, TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS will check to ensure that it has a positive total balance. If your accounts in Accounts Payable have been set up in balance, TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS will always keep them in balance. To enter a simple transaction, follow the steps below: 1. From the Accounts Payable Main Menu, select "Transactions Menu". The following screen will appear: Figure 3-1 Accounts Payable Transactions Menu 2. From the Accounts Payable Transactions Menu, select "Input Transactions". The following screen will appear: Figure 3-2 Add Transaction The transaction below will simulate the purchase of software on credit terms. 3. VENDOR: Enter the vendor number for this transaction by entering his appropriate vendor number. For example, if the vendor number is "HOOPER", simply enter "HOOPER" immediately after the prompt. If you are unsure about the vendor account number, press the <F2> key for a pop-up vendor listing, then press <Enter> when the correct vendor number has been selected. If the vendor number does not exist, the system will notify you and ask if you would like to add that vendor. At that prompt, if you would like to add a new vendor, press <Y> and follow the instructions in section 2e - "Adding/ Modifying/Deleting Vendors". If you answer "N" you will be returned to the vendor prompt. 4. TRAN TYPE: Enter here the type code of this transaction, (I, C, D) as described above. 5. ITEM DATE: Enter here the transaction date (e.g. 05-25-90). 6. DUE DATE: The system assumes zero due days for non type "I" trans- actions. If the transaction code is not type "I", this field will be skipped; otherwise, enter here the due date (e.g. "07-24-90"). The default due date is calculated based on the set-up in the vendor account number configuration. 7. DISC %: If your vendor allowed a discount for this transaction, enter the percentage here (e.g. "2.0" for 2.0%). If you have a default discount percentage set up in the vendor's account, that discount percentage will displayed automatically. For no discount, enter zero. 8. DISC DATE: Enter here the discount date for this transaction. The default is the number of days set up in the vendor account set-up. Page 16 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! 9. INVOICE: Enter your vendor's invoice number (e.g. 891001). This should be a unique number. 10. REFERENCE: Enter here your vendor's reference number (e.g. Reference: T00010). You can enter up to 10 characters/numbers. 11. DESCRIPTION: Enter the transaction description, which can be up to 30 characters. 12. DISTRIBUTION: At the distribution prompt, press the <Enter> key to begin your distribution of this transaction to your G/L accounts. 13. DEPT: If you are using department codes, enter your code for this transaction here (e.g. Dept: "R&D", for research and development), otherwise press the <Enter> key to move to the next input field. 14. DESCRIPTION: Enter here the description for this part of this trans- action distribution. The system will set the default description to the "Transaction Description" entered above. To change it, begin typing and the old description will disappear (e.g. Description: Software). You can enter up to 30 character/numbers. 15. ACCT: Select here your G/L account number for this part of the distribution. For type "I" transactions it is usually an expense account (in this example we will use Acct: 1500, which is an asset account). 16. DEBIT: Now enter either a debit or credit amount in the appropriate field. To skip the debit field press <Enter>. It is important that you only enter one amount, either in the debit or credit amount fields. The Account Payable module will automatically generate the appropriate off setting account balance. In the above example "49.95" should be entered. 17. CREDIT: If this transaction were to be a credit to the above account, you would enter the amount in this field instead of the debit field above. NOTE: When you press the <Enter> key after entering the amount in either of the above two fields, you will automatically exit the distribution field and be at the sales tax field. If you have more than one distribution (debit or credit) see section 3c - "Entering Multiple-Part Transactions". 18. SALES TAX: Enter here the tax amount for this transaction, if any (e.g. "2.75" for the software example). For type "I" transactions, this amount will be automatically calculated for you, based on the percentage you set up in the vendor account number configuration set-up. 19. TRANSACTION TOTAL: This field is not an input field. You have now finished entering your transaction. Notice that the "Transaction Total" amount is automatically calculated based on the type of transaction and the total sum of your distribution amounts. Technically, Accounts Payable will automatically create the other Page 17 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! side of your transaction by using your A/P configuration account, thus completing your double-entry accounting transaction. To see the effect of this, print a Transaction Journal Report (Section Four - "Reports") and analyze the debits and credits. You will now be prompted with "Inputs Correct(Y/N):_". Answer "Y" for yes if everything is correct or "N" for no and you will be returned to the top of the input field to begin again. When you answer the above prompt with a "Y", your transaction will be saved to your disk and you will return to the beginning of the input fields. At this point, you are ready for another transaction. Your defaults will be the same as your last entered transaction, to save key strokes (distribution information will be cleared). To quit entering transactions and return to the menu prompt, press the <Esc> key at any time. To receive help anywhere in the program, simply press the <F1> function key. 3c - Entering Multiple-Part Transactions Most transactions will have only one debit and one credit. However, there are some instances when there are several credit and/or debit distributions in a single transaction. TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS lets you make multiple credit and/or debit entries, allowing up to 24 transaction distribution parts for each transaction. Multiple part transactions are entered just like any other transaction, except there is more than one distribution. Follow the example outlined below to enter a multiple debit/credit distribution transaction. Let's take the example used in 3b, above, but purchasing a computer with software. Let's use the example of a $1000.00 computer, $49.95 worth of software and $57.75 tax making the total purchase $1107.70. An example of entering this transaction is shown below: Figure 3-3 Multiple-part Transaction This type of multiple-part transaction would be entered as follows: 1. Follow steps 1 - 17 in 3b - "Entering Simple Transactions", above. 2. You will now be at the sales tax input field. Press the <Up> arrow key, which will move the cursor to the "Distribution:" prompt. Then press <Enter>. After pressing <Enter> you will be on the next available (blank) distribution line (Pt=2). 3. Following steps 12 - 17, above, enter your second line of distribution information as shown above. 4. After entering your debit amount (1000.00) you will be automatically placed on the third line of distribution input. If you had more debits or credits to enter you would do so now. We are now finished entering the distribution data. To leave the distribution input fields press <F10> and your cursor will be positioned at the sales tax field. Accept or override the amount shown. 5. Follow steps 18 - 20, above, to complete your transaction. Page 18 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! It is recommended that you enter a few experimental "Multiple-part" transactions using the "SAMPLE" data file in order to familiarize yourself with this powerful type of transaction entry. 3d - Changing/Deleting Transactions If you discover that a transaction was entered incorrectly or should not have been entered at all, TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS allows you to go back to correct or delete that incorrect entry. NOTE: Payments/checks cannot be modified/deleted here. You must remove payments through the "Void Checks" procedure described in section 5d - "Voiding Checks". Follow the steps below to modify or delete a previously entered transaction: 1. From the Accounts Payable Transactions Menu, select "Change/Delete Transactions". The following screen will appear: Figure 3-4 Transaction Search Parameters 2. TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS is prompting you for transaction search parameters. Enter here any appropriate search data (i.e. description). It is not necessary to enter data in every field. You can simply enter one description of the transaction and TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS will search for any transactions with this description (e.g. "Computer"). Once you have entered your search data, press <F10> to initiate the search. NOTE: Leaving all fields blank will search/find all transactions in the order in which you currently have them sorted. If you remember the invoice number, enter it in the "Invoice" field and press the <F10> key to initiate the search. To search by date, enter the date of the transaction to display all transactions with that date. A "Search Match" screen will then appear, displaying the transaction. The bottom of this window will display: Modify/Delete/Search/Reverse/Begin/End/+/-/Quit: 3. Select one of the following: M = Modify transaction shown. D = Delete transaction shown. S = Find (search) next transaction which matches search. R = Find (reverse) prior transaction which matches search. B = Go to (beginning) first transaction in file. E = Go to (end) last transaction in file. + = Go to next consecutive transaction. Page 19 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! - = Go to prior consecutive transaction. Q = Quit transaction search. 4. As long as you continue to answer the above prompt with "S" (default), TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS will search for all transactions containing the values you have specified. "R" does the same thing as "S", except it searches in Reverse order. 5. To MODIFY a transaction, press "M" (Modify) and you will be in change mode. Type in the correct information in the appropriate field(s) or press <Enter> to leave a field unchanged. Use the <Backspace> or <Shift><Tab> keys to go to a previous field. Pressing <Esc> will ignore any changes and take you back to a new parameter search. Only if you press the <F10> key will your new inputs be saved. 6. To DELETE a transaction, press "D" (Delete) and answer the "Delete OK?[N]:" prompt with "Y". The transaction is now deleted. Press <Esc> to go to a new parameter search. Pressing <Esc> again will return to the Transaction Menu. 3e - Create Recurring Transactions Recurring transactions are designed for those who have consistent entries such as invoices/bills/dues on a weekly (W), biweekly (B), semi-monthly (S) or monthly (M) basis and do not want to enter the complete transaction each time. These transactions are not immediately active and will not affect the vendor's balance until the are "Activated" see Section 3g - "Activate Recurring Transactions" for that procedure. To enter a recurring transaction, follow the steps below: 1. From the Accounts Payable Transaction Menu, select "Create Recurring Transactions" and the following screen will appear: Figure 3-5 Add Recurring Transaction 2. The first prompt asks for the "Vendor" number. Enter your vendor number here. If you do not remember it, simply press the <F2> function key and your vendor account listing will appear. Press <Enter> to continue. 3. At the "Frequency" prompt you can enter one of four options: W - weekly, B - biweekly, S - semi-monthly or M - monthly. The default is set to "M" (monthly). Enter your selection and press <Enter> to continue to the next input field. 4. At the "Tran Type" you would normally only use the type "I" for Invoice transaction, since the purpose of recurring transactions is to not have to enter the same type of transactions over and over (i.e invoices for dues or bills) that take place every week, biweekly, semi-monthly or monthly. However, you can use all other type codes as well. 5. The date fields can be any date, as they can be changed when the transaction is activated. Also, the invoice number can be left blank and filled in later as well. Page 20 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! 6. You can then complete the remaining transaction inputs as described in section 3b - "Entering Simple Transactions" above. 7. When the transaction is complete, press <F10> to save your inputs. Then press <Esc> to return to the Transaction Menu. You have now created a recurring entry; however, it will not be usable until it is activated. See section 3g - "Activate Recurring Transactions". 3f - Modify/Delete Recurring Transactions If you have entered a recurring transaction incorrectly, need to make a change to the data or no longer wish to keep it, you may change or delete that entry at any time. To change or delete a recurring entry, follow the steps below: 1. From the Accounts Payable Transaction Menu, select "Modify/Delete Recurring Trans". 2. Follow steps 2 - 6 in section 3d - "Changing/Deleting Transactions" to modify or delete your recurring transactions. 3. There is one additional input field in the search parameters, which is "Frequency". At the "Frequency (W,B,S,M):" prompt, enter one of the following: W - weekly, B - biweekly, S - semi-monthly or M - monthly. This allows you to search by one of the above frequencies or leave this field blank to search for all frequencies. 4. After your changes or deletions, press the <F10> function key to save your new recurring transaction and also answer "Y" (yes) at the "Inputs Correct(Y/N):". You then will be returned to the top of the input screen to continue with your next transaction. If you press <Esc>, it will abort your current activity without saving it and you will return to the prior menu. 3g - Activate Recurring Transactions Once you have entered a recurring transaction, it does not become a live transaction until it is activated. When activated, the system will generate a live transaction based on the information you have entered in section 3e - "Create Recurring Transactions". The following steps explain how to activate a recurring transaction: 1. From the Accounts Payable Transaction Menu, select "Activate Recurring Transactions". The following screen will appear: Figure 3-6 Select Activate Frequency 2. Select the frequency of the recurring transactions you would like to activate. Page 21 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! 3. The screen will then display all (one at a time) of the recurring transactions with that frequency. Under the Activate Transaction window the following prompt appears: Activate/Next/Quit: 4. When you find the entry you wish to activate, press "A" (activate). The screen will then display the transaction and allow you to enter additional data or make changes described in section 3d - "Change/ Delete Transactions". When the transaction data is correct, press <F10>. At the prompt "Inputs Correct(Y/N):" press "Y" and your transaction will be saved and added as a live transaction. If there is more than one recurring transaction with the same frequency, they will be displayed one at a time. To skip the activation of any particular entry, press "N" (Next) and the next recurring transaction will be displayed. 3h - Points to Remember 1. When entering transactions into this module you are basically entering transactions with debits and credits, just like you do when entering transactions into your General Ledger module. In fact, all of the debits and credits which you enter here will be posted to your General Ledger as if you had entered them into your General Ledger yourself. Posting these transactions to your General Ledger is performed through the General Ledger. See section 6d - "Post Other Modules to the G/L" in the General Ledger User's Manual. The only difference between entering transactions in your General Ledger or in the Accounts Payable module is that this module will keep detailed information on each vendor, such as open invoices, current and past due balances. NOTE: Remember that any transactions which are entered in this module should NOT be entered into your General Ledger since they will automatically be placed there when you post them. 2. Payable aging is tracked by the combination of vendor number and invoice number. It is very important that each purchase has a unique invoice number. If these methods are not used the system will operate without error; however, your aging as well as open invoices will not reflect payments tied to a specific invoice, but will rather just use the date of payment (i.e. not allow you to track specific invoices). 3. The Accounts Payable module uses accrual accounting. This means that purchases are recorded at date of invoice, and not at the time that a payment is made. Thus, when recording a purchase, the system will always credit your Accounts Payable account and you should debit the G/L account which is affected by this purchase. At time of payment (when you generate a check), the system will credit your G/L asset checking account and debit the related vendor account balance as well as the G/L Accounts Payables account. Page 22 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! 4. There are three different types of transactions. A brief description of each one, as well as typical debits and credits follow: GENERAL LEDGER ACCOUNTS DESCRIPTION TYPE DEBIT ACCOUNT CREDIT ACCOUNT Vendor Purchase I Asset or Expense Accounts Payable account (System selected) Misc Debit to Account D Accounts Payable Asset account or (For example, a purchase (System selected) expense account return or other reduction in the account balance). Misc Credit to Account C Asset or Expense Accounts Payable (For example, a finance account (System selected) charge or other increase in the account balance). Page 23 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! SECTION FOUR - REPORTS The Accounts Payable Reports Menu allows you to generate a full spectrum of payable reports from your database. Reports can be generated to show results for a specific month, a range of months, a quarter, a year, etc. All reports can be generated at any time and for any time period. This means that you are not limited to printing a report only once, and it also means that you can print a report for a prior period as well. Samples of each report are shown in Appendix A. These can be printed while using the "SAMPLE" accounts. 4a - Explanation of Reports Each of the twelve reports available from TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS Accounts Payable can be sent to your monitor's screen for immediate viewing, to your printer for "hard" copy, to a disk drive for later retrieval or to import into a database program for customization. Within each report you can specify various parameters to give you exactly what you want. Some of the reports can be generated in a cumulative format for the dates specified; and one report may optionally be generated in a trended or month-by-month format. Each of the available TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS payable reports are described below. All reports may be printed at any time and as many times as necessary. Samples of these reports are shown in Appendix A and can be printed while using the "SAMPLE" accounts. Payable Journal - This report lists all of the transactions which took place during a specific date range. You can select all types of transactions or specific types. Recurring Transactions - This report lists all of your recurring transactions for the frequency specified (not active transactions). Schedule of Payables - This report lists all open (unpaid) vendor balances for a specified month or range of months. Payables Aging - This report shows all vendor balances with current, 1-30 days, 31-60 days, 61-90 days, and 91+ days past due balances, as of a specific date. Open Invoices - This report lists all open (unpaid) transactions for all vendors. Cash Requirements - This report is similar to the Open Invoices report by listing open (unpaid) transactions for all vendors. The difference is that it shows only those invoices which are due by a user selected date, thus showing you what your "Cash Requirements" are in order to pay invoices now due. Vendor Account History - This report shows all the history (transaction activity) for a specific vendor or group of vendors selected within a specified date range. Page 24 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! Vendor Listing - This report lists all of the set-up information you have entered in your vendor accounts. It can be printed in vendor number, name or zipcode order. Address Labels - This report provides mailing labels for a specific vendor or a group of vendors sorted by vendor number, name or zipcode order. Non-Posted Transaction Journal - This report provides a transaction journal which shows only those transactions which have not yet been posted to the General Ledger module. Payments Journal - This report shows payments (checks) within a specified date, check and vendor range. It is useful to track any checks written to vendors. G/L Distribution Report - This report lists the total amount posted to each General Ledger account number for all payable transactions within a specific date range. 4b - General Instructions for Generating Reports To generate any report, do the following: 1. From the Accounts Payable main menu, select "Reports Menu". The menu screen will be as follows: Figure 4-1 Accounts Payable Reports Menu PAYABLES JOURNAL REPORT: 2. From the reports menu, select the report you want to generate (e.g. Payable Journal). For this example we will print the Payable Journal Report as shown below. Other reports are covered later in this section. Figure 4-2 Payable Journal Report As stated earlier, you may send any of the reports to your monitor's screen (S), to a printer (P) or to a disk drive (D) where the report will be stored as a disk file with its own file name. NOTE: If you do not have a printer and try to print a report to the printer, you will receive an error message. The first prompt on the screen for all reports is the destination prompt. It appears as follows: Screen,Printer,Disk(S,P,D): Entering an "S" for screen or a "P" for printer will send the report to the screen or printer, respectively. If you enter a "D" for disk, the system will prompt you for a disk filename. You can enter any name you wish, following the DOS naming conventions. The report will then be saved on the default disk drive with the filename you entered, followed by a filename extension of ".RPT". If you enter a filename that already exists, the system will ask if you want to delete the old Page 25 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! file. Answering "Y" will replace the existing report with the new report. Answering "N" will append (add on) the new report to the already existing report. The disk file is created in ASCII format, thereby allowing it to be imported into a word processor, spreadsheet or database for customized reports. At the "Screen,Printer,Disk(S,P,D):" prompt, enter the letter for the destination of your report. For this example, enter the letter "S". 3. For some reports, you will need to specify a date range next. The date prompt format will be the format specified in the Configuration Settings. Refer to section 4d - "Setting the System Configuration" in the Getting Started User's Manual. The date prompt appears as follows: Starting Date: 05-01-90 Ending Date: 05-31-90 These dates determine the starting and ending date for the report. NOTE: The ending date can never be more than one year after the starting date (e.g. starting date 05-01-90 and ending date 04-30-91). You can also print a report for one specific day of the month. 4. The next prompt, "Type of Transactions:" allows you to select the transaction types you would like included in this report. Valid types are I, D, C, P and A. These types are the same as those used when entering transactions, with the exception of "A" and "P". Entering "P" will select payments or checks written and entering "A" will select all types of transactions. 5. After selecting your transaction, type your report will be printed. The following discusses the other report selection input screens. Any prompts already discussed will not be covered in detail. RECURRING TRANSACTIONS REPORT: The report options are as follows: Figure 4-3 Recurring Transactions Report 1. At the destination prompt, select the destination for your report. 2. At the recurring frequency prompt, select the frequency type for this report using one of the following codes: A = All frequencies M = Monthly S = Semi-monthly B = Bi-weekly W = Weekly Page 26 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! SCHEDULE OF PAYABLES: The report options are as follows: Figure 4-4 Schedule of Payables Report 1. At the destination prompt, select the destination of the report. 2. Next, enter the date range (as discussed above) for this report. 3. Lastly, answer the "Trended Report:" prompt with "Y" for a multiple month, spreadsheet type report or "N" for a one column report. See Appendix A for samples of both styles of reports. PAYABLES AGING REPORT: The report options are as follows: Figure 4-5 Payables Aging Report 1. At the destination prompt, select the destination of the report. 2. Next, enter the report date at the "As of Date" prompt. This date usually is the current date. Transactions which have a date in the future of the date entered will not be shown on this report. NOTE: The customer aging report is determined by the due date of the transactions. Payments are either applied to specific invoices (if marked as such by user) or by using the payment date if no matching invoice number is found. OPEN INVOICES REPORT: The report options are as follows: Figure 4-6 Open Invoices Report At the destination prompt, select the destination of the report. CASH REQUIREMENTS REPORT: The report options are as follows: Figure 4-7 Cash Requirements Report 1. At the destination prompt, select the destination of the report. 2. Next, enter the due by date at the "Due By Date" prompt. This date usually is a date in the future. Transactions which have a due date on or before the date entered will be shown on this report. NOTE: The due date determination for multiple transactions with the same invoice number is the due date of the first transaction. Payments are either applied to specific invoices (if marked as such by user) or by using the payment date, if no matching invoice number is found. Page 27 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! VENDOR ACCOUNT HISTORY The report options are as follows: Figure 4-8 Vendor Account History Report 1. At the destination prompt, select the destination of the report. 2. Next, enter the date range (as discussed above) for this report. 3. At the "Accounts on separate pages" prompt select "Y" if you want each vendor to print on a separate page. Answer "N" if you want to save paper and put as many vendors on a page as room permits. 4. Lastly, select a vendor account number range for this report. Enter both the starting and ending vendor numbers. The Account History Report for all vendors within this range will then be printed. VENDOR LISTING The report options are as follows: Figure 4-9 Vendor Listing 1. At the destination prompt, select the destination of the report. 2. Next, enter the sort order for this report. Options are "A" (Account Number order), "N" (Name order) or "Z" (Zipcode order). ADDRESS LABELS The report options are as follows: Figure 4-10 Address Labels 1. At the destination prompt, select the destination of the report. 2. Then, enter the sort order for this report. Options are "A" (Account Number order), "N" (Name order) or "Z" (Zipcode order) order. 3. Next, enter the number of printer lines per label. Small 15/16" tall labels are 6 lines per label. To calculate, measure from the top of one label to the top of another. Then divide that distance by the number of lines per inch that your printer is set for. 4. Last, select your vendor account number range for this report. Enter both your starting and ending vendor numbers. Labels for all vendors within this range will be printed. NON-POSTED TRANSACTION JOURNAL The report options are as follows: Figure 4-11 Non-Posted Transaction Journal Page 28 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! 1. At the destination prompt, select the destination of the report. 2. Next, enter the type of transactions you would like included in this report (per explanation above). PAYMENTS JOURNAL REPORT The report options are as follows: Figure 4-12 Payments Journal Report 1. At the destination prompt, select the destination of the report. 2. Next, enter the date range (as discussed above) for this report. 3. Next, select a check number range for this report. Enter both the starting and ending check number. All checks within this range will be printed. 4. Lastly, select a vendor account number range for this report. Enter both the starting and ending vendor numbers. All vendors within this range will then be printed. G/L DISTRIBUTION REPORT The report options are as follows: Figure 4-13 G/L Distribution Report 1. At the destination prompt, select the destination of the report. 2. Next, enter the date range (as discussed above) for this report. In conclusion, if you are unfamiliar with any of these reports, try printing reports using the "SAMPLE" accounts as well as referencing Appendix A for samples of these reports. Doing so will give you an idea of how the reports look and how they might be used. Page 29 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! SECTION FIVE - PAYMENTS This section discusses the most important and powerful feature of this module. The biggest advantage of using this module is its ability to select invoices for payment while allowing the computer do all the thinking, including writing the check for you. Selection of invoices for payment by different methods allows you to maximize your cash flow and lessen your working capital requirements. The object is to select invoices for payment based on due dates and discount dates. You can avoid paying invoices early (and loosing cash flow) AND avoid paying invoices late (and incurring finance charges). As a result, your bankbook may be fatter and your vendors happier. In addition, you may even give your company a better credit rating. This section will discuss how to select invoices to pay, print the checks by computer, void any mistakes and produce non-computer generated checks, if desired. The heart of these features lies within the Payments Menu. In order to get to the Payments Menu, select "Payments Menu" from the A/P Main Menu. The following prompt appears: Figure 5-1 Select Pay Through Date Select the date through which you want to make payments. This date is used to validate due dates and discount dates, as well as their expirations. If, for example, you want to pay all invoices due through next week, you would enter next week's date. After entering your "Pay Through Date" and pressing <Enter>, the payments menu will appear as follows: Figure 5-2 Payments Menu You are now ready to start the payments process. We will discuss each of the above menu selections in the sections which follow. 5a - Payment Selection After arriving at the Payments Menu, the first selection is "Payment Selection Menu". This menu selection is the first step in making vendor payments (printing checks). This is how you tell the computer which checks it should write. Select "Payment Selection Menu" and the following menu will appear: Figure 5-3 Payment Selection Menu As you can see, there are seven different methods available for selecting invoices for payment. Do not let all of the choices worry or confuse you. As we continue, we will discuss each in detail. In simple terms, the most important selection method is "Select by Due Date". This is the way you would select payments if your main concern was to pay invoices on the due date. The "Clear All Selected" option allows you to de-select all payments in case you make an error and wish to start the selection process over. In each of the "Select" options, you will be shown the open invoices (the total of all transactions for a specific vendor with a specific invoice number) and you will be able to tell TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS whether or not you want to pay that specific invoice. Page 30 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! The menu selection items are cumulative, thus you can select by due date and then select by discount date. The effect of this selection process is to group or combine selections to do a larger invoice selection. "Pay All" is an automatic selection method where the computer selects all open invoices, rather than letting you choose. Upon selection, TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS will search for non-paid-in-full (open) invoices. When it finds one, it will display the transaction and ask you if you want to pay it. The screen display when selecting invoices follows: Figure 5-4 Selection Approval Screen The procedure for selecting individual transactions for payment is as follows: 1. The cursor will be at the "Select for payment?:" prompt. You may skip (not pay) this transaction by answering "N" or you may select it for payment by answering "Y". If you answer with a no, the computer will search for the next transaction and ask you again. Whenever you wish to stop and return to the menu, simply press the ESC key. 2. If you answered with a yes, you will then be prompted with "Discount Amount:" to take on this payment. If there is no discount percentage in the selected transaction, this input field will be zero. The default for this field is calculated from the discount percent and amount for this transaction. If the payment date is past the discount date, the default discount will be zero. If you wish, you may change the default discount by entering another amount. 3. Next, enter the "Approved Amount". This is the amount you want to pay on this transaction. This is the net check amount (i.e. after discounts). If you do not pay the entire balance (amount due less discount), TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS will not allow you to take a discount at this time and will zero out the "Discount Amount". The full discount may be taken at the time you pay the transaction in full. 4. Upon pressing <Enter> at the "Approved Amount", your selection will be saved and you will move to the next unpaid transaction. If you wish to stop selecting transactions, simply press the <Esc> key and you will return to the menu. Some points to remember: when selecting type "D" transactions, this Miscellaneous Debit is a reduction in what you owe a vendor and will thus reduce the total amount paid and when selecting type "D" transactions, you are in effect applying that transaction to your payment and thus reducing the amount selected. Page 31 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! Also, if you run through the selection process two or more times and see a non-zero "Approved Amount", this means that you selected that amount to be paid during your last pass at selecting payments. You may skip it (press "N" and the approved amount will remain unchanged) by not selecting it a second time, or you may change the amount paid by selecting it for payment again. You may also de-select a payment by entering a zero in the approved amount field of a selected transaction. We will now explain each selection method (and the time to use it) in detail. SELECTING FROM ALL INVOICES Choosing the menu option "Select From All" allows you to select invoices for payment by showing you all open (non-paid) invoices and letting you decide whether or not to pay each one. This is an easy way to look at each transaction and decide whether you want to pay it. SELECTING BY VENDOR NUMBER Selecting "Select by Vendor Number" will allow you to select only those transactions for a specific vendor. It is useful when one vendor must be paid now, or if you only want to pay specific vendors. Upon choosing this selection method you will be prompted for the vendor number you want to select. The prompt is as follows: VENDOR: After choosing your vendor, you will be at the payment approval screen as described above. Only transactions for the selected vendor will be shown. You may select any or all transactions for this vendor. SELECTING BY INVOICE NUMBER Selecting "Select by Invoice Number" will allow you to select only those transactions for a specified vendor and with a specific invoice number. It is useful when a vendor is requesting payment for a specific invoice. Upon choosing this selection method, you will be prompted for a vendor number and invoice number. The prompt is as follows: INVOICE: If you leave the invoice number field blank, you will be selecting those transactions with no invoice number. After entering your responses, you will be at the payment approval screen as described above. Only transactions for the selected invoice number will be shown. You may select any or all of the transactions displayed. SELECTING BY DUE DATE Selecting "Select by Due Date" will allow you to select those transactions which fall on or before a specified due date. This selection option is useful Page 32 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! when you want to pay all bills which are due on or before a certain date (i.e. pay all bills due by the end of the month). Invoices selected for payment are based on the "Pay through Date" entered earlier. Only transactions which have a due date on or before this date will be displayed. You may select any or all displayed transactions. SELECTING BY DISCOUNT DATE Choosing the menu option "Select by Discount Date" allows you to select transactions for payment based on the "Pay through Date" entered earlier. All transactions which have a discount date on or before the payment date will be shown for selection. This method of selection is a great way to be sure you do not miss any discounts for early payments. You may select any or all of the displayed transactions. PAYING SPECIFIC AMOUNT TO VENDOR This selection option "Specific Amount to Vendor" allows you to pay a vendor only a specific amount. This is a marvelous method to use when you prefer to make monthly payments to a vendor. The selected payments are made automatically by TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS, based on due dates, and with oldest transactions first. If any debit or credit type transactions are found, they are also applied in date order. Upon choosing this selection option, you will be prompted for a vendor number and an amount to pay. The input display is as follows: Figure 5-5 Amount to Vendor First, enter the vendor account number you wish to pay. Next, enter the amount you want to pay that vendor. TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS will then search for transactions and select that specific amount automatically. You will not be prompted for specific ones to pay. After TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS makes its selections, both the total amount requested to pay and the approved to pay for that vendor will be displayed. PAYING ALL Menu selection "Pay All" will allow TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS to select all non- paid transactions. The difference between this and "Select from All" is that you will not be prompted for each transaction. TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS will select all for payment without any prompts. This method of payment selection is useful for those who wish to pay all invoices regardless of due dates. CLEARING SELECTED PAYMENTS The menu selection "Clear All Selected" provides a way to undo all of the invoices which you have selected. It is useful if you have made a mistake in selecting payments and you want to start over. During all selection procedures, you will notice that the total amount you have selected is Page 33 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! displayed on the bottom of the menu. Likewise, you will notice after you clear selected payments that this number will return to zero. You will be prompted for a "Pay Through Date" as described above. Enter the date to select through. 5b - Printing Selected Payments After you have selected all the transactions you wish to pay, you would return to the "Payments Menu" by selecting "Leave Payment Selection Menu" or by pressing <Esc>. From the "Payments Menu" select "Print Selected Payments". You will be prompted for the destination of the report as follows: Screen,Printer,Disk(S/P/D):_ Select the report destination and your selected payments journal will then be printed. This report will show you, by vendor, the amount of each check to be written as well as the total of all checks to be written. It is suggested that you always review this report before actually printing checks, so as to ensure you have selected the correct transactions for payment. A sample of this report is shown in Appendix A. After reviewing this report you are ready to print checks. This is clearly described in the following section. 5c - Printing Checks After you have selected the transactions for payment and you have reviewed the Selected Payments Journal Report, you are now ready to print checks. Load your printer with your pre-printed checks and check to be sure you have set up the A/P configuration (utilities menu) for the checks you will be using. Select "Print Checks" from the Payments Menu and you will be prompted for the following information: Figure 5-6 Check Writing 1. Enter the G/L checking account number for the checks you are writing. It is important that you get the correct account number for the checks you are writing or the funds will come out of the wrong account. 2. Enter the check number of the first check in the printer (TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS will increment the number for each check lineup you print). If your checks do not happen to have check numbers, enter the number you wish to have printed on the first LIVE (non-lineup) check. 3. Enter the date you want printed on your checks. 4. After entering the account number, TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS will ask you if you want a check lineup pattern printed. Print Check Lineup[N]:_ Answer with a "Y" until you have the checks properly lined up. When you answer this prompt with an "N", your checks will be printed. Page 34 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! Until you answer the alignment pattern with a "N", you may at any time abort the check printing process and return to the menu by pressing the ESC key. 5d - Voiding Checks Checks written/printed may be voided by selecting "Void Checks" from the payments menu. This function will allow you to void checks written either manually or computer generated. Upon selecting this function, the following screen will appear: Figure 5-7 Void Check Enter the check number to be voided. TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS will then search for the check and ask if you want to void it. Once the check number is found answer the "Void this check[N]:_" prompt with a "Y" or "N". If you answer with an "N" the check search will continue. If you do want to void the check displayed, answer with a "Y". After the check is voided the search for more checks will continue. After the last check is found, you will return to the Payments Menu. 5e - Manual Checks Another great feature included in the TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS Accounts Payables module is the ability to enter checks manually. This allows you the flexibility of hand writing those checks which must be paid, even if you do not want to do a full check run. In order to use this feature, select "Manual Checks" from the Payments Menu. Upon selecting this function you will be prompted for the following: Figure 5-8 Manual Check Writing 1. Enter the checking account number for the manual check(s). 2. Next enter the check number for the first manual check. 3. Lastly, enter the date for the manual check(s). You will now be shown each vendor selected and the amount to be paid. This screen is shown below: Figure 5-9 Manual Check You will now be allowed to enter (override) the check number and date of this check for the vendor and amount shown. After pressing <Enter> at the date prompt, the invoice and check are paid. This process pays invoices as the "Print Checks" selection described above, except no physical check is printed on your printer. The above process will continue and you will be allowed to override the check number and check date for each vendor until all selected invoices are paid. You will then be returned to the Payments Menu. Page 35 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! SECTION SIX - UTILITIES The remainder of the features and functions of the Accounts Payable module are contained on the Accounts Payable Utilities Menu. These features are also very powerful and important functions of this module. To use these features, select "A/P Utility Menu" from the Accounts Payable Main Menu. The following menu will be shown: Figure 6-1 A/P Utility Menu In this section we will discuss each function as well as its uses and features. 6a - Sort Transactions The Accounts Payable module normally keeps transactions organized in the order in which they are entered. The Sort function allows the user to choose the manner in which TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS sorts or organizes the transactions. Transactions may be sorted either by date of input, transaction date, vendor number/date or vendor number/invoice order. The sort procedure is not a required feature; but it is useful, for example, when printing transaction journals or vendor history reports and you would like to be sure that all transactions are in date order. To accomplish this, all you have to do is select "Date Order". It would be good practice to sort the transactions once a month, before printing your reports. The sort order does not affect any report balances and it is purely for cosmetic purposes. To start sorting transactions, select "Sort Transactions" from the Accounts Payable Utility Menu. The following screen appears: Figure 6-2 Select Sort Order 1. Select the order in which you would like to sort the transactions. 2. TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS automatically sorts all transactions. If you have more transactions than memory can hold at one time, the default disk drive is used to store a temporary file while sorting transactions. It is important to remember, therefore, that the default drive must have adequate free disk space. If you run out of disk space, your sort is aborted and your transaction file remains unchanged. If you have some deleted transactions, the sort function will prompt: Free disk space used by deleted transactions[N]: If you answer this prompt with "Y", the deleted transactions will be physically removed from the transaction file and disk space will be recovered accordingly. Your answer to this prompt will not affect your reports or vendor balances. It is only provided for users who need to recover disk space used by deleted transactions. 6b - Changing Vendor Numbers Page 36 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! This powerful utility allows you to change the vendor account number for every existing transaction for a specific customer. It can be thought of as a "global replace" feature. For example, if you want to change the vendor number from "HOOP" to "HOOPER"; you would first create the new vendor account "HOOPER" and then run this utility to change all the transactions that have vendor number "HOOP" to the new account "HOOPER". NOTE: Since this is an advanced feature, we do not recommend its use by those new to TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS. It is very important to make a complete backup copy of your data files prior to running this utility. Should something go wrong (i.e. power failure), it will be easier to recover if you have an original copy of the data files. Please refer to section 4g - "Backing Up Data Files" in the Getting Started User's Manual. To change a vendor number, do the following: 1. From the Accounts Payable Utility Menu, select "Change Vendor # for Trans". The following screen appears: Figure 6-3 Change Vendor Numbers 2. At the "Old Vendor:" prompt, enter the vendor number you wish to change or delete and press <Enter>. 3. At the "New Vendor:" prompt, enter the new vendor number and press <Enter>. Make sure you have your new vendor account already setup. Once all transactions are transferred from your old vendor to your new vendor, the cursor will return to the A/P Utility menu. NOTE: At either of the above two prompts, you may press <F2> for a pop-up vendor number list. 6c - Import A/P Transaction File This import function is a very advanced feature primarily used by expert users. It allows you to import ASCII text files into your Accounts Payable transaction file. To do this, you must first create an ASCII text file to import. This file must be fixed-length records, with one record per line. The filename may be any name; however, the filename extension must be ".TXT". The record layout for the ASCII import file is as follows: Page 36 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! Field Name Start Length Mask Date 1 8 User defined in configuration Vendor # 9 6 Text/Number Tran Type 15 1 I,D,C,P Due Date 16 8 User defined in configuration Discount % 24 6 ##.### Disc Date 30 8 User defined in configuration Invoice # 38 10 Text Reference # 48 10 Text Department 58 4 Text Description 62 30 Text G/L Account 92 6 1-999999 Debit/Credit Type 98 1 D,C Amount 99 11 ########.## Posted Flag 110 1 Y,N On a technical note, each part of the transaction should be a separate record. The sum of debit type and credit type records must match within 23 records. The system looks for "debits=credits" to determine the end of one transaction and the beginning of the next. If this event does not happen within 23 records, errors in the imported transactions will result. To import an ASCII text file into Accounts Payables, do the following: 1. Copy the ASCII text file to be imported into the disk directory containing your TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS data files. 2. From the Accounts Payable Utility Menu, select "Import A/P Transaction file". 3. At the "Import File Name:" prompt, enter the name of the ASCII text file to be imported and then press <Enter>. Notice the filename extension of ".TXT" is already included. When the import is complete, you will be returned to the Utility Menu. 6d - Export A/P Transaction File This export function is a very advanced feature primarily used by expert users. It allows you to export ASCII text files from your Accounts Payable transaction file. The record layout for the exported ASCII file is as follows: Page 37 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! Field Name Start Length Mask Date 1 8 User defined in configuration Vendor # 9 6 Text/Number Tran Type 15 1 I,D,C,P Due Date 16 8 User defined in configuration Discount % 24 6 ##.### Disc Date 30 8 User defined in configuration Invoice # 38 10 Text Reference # 48 10 Text Department 58 4 Text Description 62 30 Text G/L Account 92 6 1-999999 Debit/Credit Type 98 1 D,C Amount 99 11 ########.## Posted Flag 110 1 Y,N On a technical note, each part of the transaction will be a separate record. To export your transaction file, do the following: 1. From the Accounts Payable Utility Menu, select "Export A/P Transaction file". 2. At the "Export File Name:" prompt, enter the name of the ASCII text file to be exported and then press <Enter>. Notice that the filename extension of ".TXT" is already included. 3. Next, enter the date range of the transactions to be exported. Enter "Starting Date:" and "Ending Date:" and all transactions within the date range will be exported. When the export is complete, you will be returned to the Utility Menu. 6e - A/P Configuration Settings The configuration settings allow you to configure this module to your specific company and to its specific G/L account numbers. This configuration is very important to your transactions, to pre-printed form checks and to General Ledger account numbers used. To set up your configuration, select "A/P Configuration Settings" from the Accounts Payable Utilities Menu. The following window will appear: Figure 6-4 A/P Configuration Settings 1. The first prompt allows you to select which "Printer Port" to use for check writing. This is a multiple choice field. To change the port selection, press the space bar or click the left button on your mouse. When your selection is complete press <Enter>. (Required) 2. At the "Accounts Payable Account:" prompt, enter your General Ledger "Accounts Payable" liability account number. You must set up (add) an Accounts Payable account in your General Ledger Chart of Accounts. We recommend that you set up the account for use by Page 38 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! the Accounts Payable module only (i.e. do not use these account numbers when entering your General Ledger transactions). This General Ledger account is the interface account and is used to interface the Accounts Payable module with your General Ledger module. It's important to remember that the Accounts Payable module cannot be used without this important General Ledger account. (Required) 3. At the "G/L Sales Tax Account:" prompt, enter your General Ledger "Sales Tax" expense account number. Enter zero (0) to skip. (Optional) 4. The "1st Stub Starting Row:" prompt allows you to specify the first line available (from the STUB top) for printing detail invoice information on the check stub. (Required) 5. The "2nd Stub Starting Row:" prompt is optional. It is used if you have two stubs on each check. The laserjet checks which we recommend have a second stub and would necessitate the use of this field. If your checks do not have two stubs, enter 0 (zero) to skip two stub printing. (Optional) 6. The next field determines the maximum number of detail text LINES PER STUB lines that fit on each check stub. Enter a number between 1 and 15. (Required) 7. The next 16 fields "Check Positions:" allow you to customize your check print positions. Pre-printed checks may be purchased from our recommended forms supplier, Deluxe Computer Forms (1-800-328- 0304). TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS also has an On-Line Order Form for ordering checks from Deluxe. The following checks are recommended for the Accounts Payables module and may be ordered from DELUXE. (Optional) The form numbers for A/P checks are as follows: Continuous form checks #091003 Laserjet checks #081066 See Deluxe insert for more information on either style of check. To order either invoices or statements, call Deluxe at 1-800-328-0304 and mention product code "TO9212". In Canada call 1-800-826-3714. The settings shown above (defaults) are for use with the recommended A/P continuous form checks from Deluxe. By changing these positions, you can use virtually any check with this software. Select the row and column printing position for each of these fields. If you want to omit an item from printing on the check, enter a zero (0) in the row field. To move from one input field to the next, press <Enter>. Page 39 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! NOTE: ROW indicates the horizontal lines starting from the top of the check and counting down. COLUMN indicates the vertical lines starting from the left side of the check and counting to the right. 8. The next eight "Stub Positions" column fields are used to customize your check stub. Enter the column (as described above) each of the fields should be printed in. To omit a field from printing enter zero. (Optional) 9. Check Init String: The initialization codes allow you to send a special set-up string to the printer before printing checks. It can be used to turn off your out-of-paper sensor or to use special fonts. (Optional) 10. Check Exit String: This is an optional field to reset the printer after printing checks. (Optional) When completed, press <F10> to save your new data and to return to the Utilities Menu. Page 40 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! SECTION SEVEN- HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS Keep a CURRENT backup copy of your data disk each time you update your data. This will safeguard against loss of data due to a power outage or other problem. Use the <Shift><PrtSc> keys to make a hard copy of current screen display. When printing checks, be sure that your printer is in its default 10 character per inch mode, and that it is set with its normal margins. Deviation from this will result in the inability to line up your pre- printed checks. Page 41 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS! APPENDIX B - DISK FILE NAMES TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS Accounts Payable Program Disk Filename Description AP.EXE Accounts Payable Program file AP.OVR Accounts Payable Overlay file AP.HLP Accounts Payable Help file Page 42