Business Assistant/Business Assistant.iso/acctg/pc_gl3_3/pc-gl.doc

Text File | 1988-09-17 | 32KB | 717 lines

                          PC-GL MANUAL
                          Version 3.3
                  Copyright 1988, Jerry Medlin


PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

     PC-GL is a double entry accounting program which will allow
a small to medium size business to rapidly and accurately
produce financial reports.  The program runs on a IBM PC or
compatible computer with at least one disk drive and requires at
least 256k memory.

     PC-GL is a ShareWare program.  You are encouraged to give
copies to anyone who might use it.  If you use the program
please send $35 to:

              Jerry Medlin
              P.O. Box 357 Dept:MSG
              Napa, Ca.  94559

     Your contribution will entitle you to a copy of the latest
version of the program and a telephone number for limited
telephone assistance should you require it.  You will also
receive a program which will allow you to customize some
features of PC-GL.  A complete description of this customizing
program is contained at the end of the manual.

     The system consist of two files.

     PC-GL.COM - The compiled program written in Turbo
     Pascal.

     PC-GL.COA - A standard chart of accounts to use or
     modify for your purposes.

     The program makes liberal use of the PC's numeric key pad
both for numbers and commands.  You can have the Num Lock on all
the time even when using the arrow keys for commands.  When
inputting information, the plus <+> key has the same effect as
the return or enter key.  The minus <-> key enters a negative
number.  This makes using the numeric key pad even easier.

     To run the program, simply type "PC-GL".  If you want to
specify a drive designation and path for your data just add the
drive and path description after the program name.  i.e. type
"PC-GL B:" to use the B drive for data files.  If you are going
to use the standard chart of accounts, be sure the file PC-
GL.COA is on the specified drive and subdirectory.

     Each time you run the program, a menu is displayed for
operator selection:

              Enter or Change Chart of Accounts
              Enter or Change Transactions
              Print Chart of Accounts Listing
              Print Transaction Listing
              Print General Ledger
              Print Income Statement
              Print Balance Sheet
              Print Account Summary Report
              Year End Update
              End of Processing

     Selection is made by using the up or down arrows to
highlight the desired function, then pressing <return>.

     PC-GL allows a maximum of 800 items in the chart of
accounts and 6000 transactions per accounting period.  With 256k
of memory the number of transactions is reduced to about 500 per
accounting period.  The number of additional transactions you
can enter is printed at the bottom of the menu screen.  That
number may be limited by either disk space or memory available
and is subject to an absolute maximum of 6000 transactions.


THE PROCESSING CYCLE

     Usually, accounting is done on a monthly cycle, but the PC-
GL program will allow you to use any length of accounting
period.  Each time you run the program, you will be asked "Do
you want to start a new accounting period? (Y/N)".  If you
answer with a "N" the latest transactions will be loaded and you
may add additional entries.  If you answer "Y" the current
period balances will be set to zero and the transactions for the
previous period will be saved for later review.  You may then
begin entering a new batch of transactions for the new period.

     Checks and journal entries for the accounting period are
entered using the second menu selection. (Enter or Change
Transactions)  Debits are entered as positive <+> numbers and
credits are entered as negative <-> numbers.

     When the transactions have been entered and checked you may
begin printing reports.  Reports may be printed in any order and
as often as you desire.  Reports may be printed to the screen
first to check their accuracy.  Should you discover a posting
error after examining the reports, you can correct the error and
rerun the reports.

     The only report that must be printed to the printer each
period is the General Ledger Report.  If the General Ledger
Report has not been printed to the printer (not just the
screen), you will not be allowed to end an accounting period and
start another.  The General Ledger Report shows the opening
balance for each account, all of the transactions posted to the
account for the accounting period followed by the closing
balance for each account.  Once you start a new accounting
period, the printed General Ledger Report will be your only
audit trail.  To start a new accounting period without printing
the general ledger would leave no trace of how an account
arrived at its present balance.  Since organizations like the
IRS want to know how you arrived at those numbers on your tax
return, the General Ledger Report is required.  If it hasn't
been printed the program will never ask "Do you want to start a
new accounting period?".

DOUBLE ENTRY ACCOUNTING

     Double entry accounting requires that the total of all
debit <+> entries must be the same as the total of all credit <-
> entries.  It does not mean that there must be a credit for
every debit, only that all of the entries must add up to zero.
Each accounting period consist of a series of balanced entries
with equal pluses and minuses.

     All of the checks written during a month are posted to the
various expense accounts as debit <+> amounts.  The total of all
of those checks is then posted to the CASH IN BANK account as a
single credit <-> amount.  The net of all the transactions
posted is therefore zero, making a balanced series of entries.
All income amounts are entered as credit <-> amounts and a
corresponding debit <+> entry is made to the Cash in Bank
account or to Accounts Receivable.  The PC-GL program helps you
when posting transactions by displaying the balance of all
transactions posted at the upper right of the screen.  When all
of the transactions for the accounting period have been posted,
the balance displayed should be zero.

     If you are unfamiliar with double entry accounting, it is
beyond the scope of this manual to completely cover the subject.
However, all is not lost.  The PC-GL system can also be used as
a simple single entry system.  Just enter all your expenses and
income to the proper account and run the system normally.
Expenses are entered as positive <+> amounts and (this is
important!) income amounts are entered as negative <-> amounts.
To enter a negative amount, first enter then number then press
the minus<-> sign.


SETTING UP THE CHART OF ACCOUNTS

     A standard chart of accounts is provided with the program.
Although any sequential numbering scheme will work with the
general ledger program, the one provided is in common usage by
accountants.  To use the standard chart of accounts, simply run
the program with the file PC-GL.COA on the data disk drive.

     The chart of accounts can be added to at any time during
the processing period.  All chart of accounts setup and
modification is done using the <Enter or Change Chart of
Accounts> selection on the menu.  This section allows you add
new COA items, delete or change existing ones, or examine the
COA by scrolling up and down the screen.  All commands are
listed at the bottom of the screen and are selected by a single
keystroke.  Upon entering this section you may immediately begin
adding items to the chart of accounts or, by pressing the Escape
key, you may go to the command mode and insert, delete or change
items in the chart of accounts.

     You will not be allowed to delete an account with a balance
or change balance amounts.  Changing amounts is done by posting
transactions to the account.  That way you have that all
important audit trail.  Upon exiting the chart of accounts
section, the chart of accounts is automatically sorted in
account number order.

     Each chart of accounts item con