Business Assistant/Business Assistant.iso/home/homebudg/testdriv.doc

Text File | 1989-12-10 | 9KB | 207 lines

                TEST DRIVE .....  the Home Budget Management System

          Welcome to the HBMS "test drive".  This file and the sample data
      has been included for demonstration purposes.  Following the steps in
      this document can be the most efficient way to acquaint you with HBMS,
      show off SOME of its capabilities, and help you decide if the program
      will serve your needs.

          The time period for this data is from January through April, 1984.
      However, in the interest of disk space, the ledger files for January,
      February, and March are missing.  This means that you will be unable
      to view or print transaction entries for these three months.  Also you
      should not try to reopen March.  The actual totals for these months
      are still recorded in the accounts file.

          Be aware that this data is fictitious.  If some of the amounts or
      descriptions seem odd, bear with me.

          Please follow the steps closely and resist the temptation to
      experiment on your own until you have been completely through this
      "Test Drive".

          Make sure that the files HBMS.EXE, HBMS.OVR, CATS.84, ACCOUNTS.84,
      and LEDGR-4.84 are on your disk.  It might be helpful to check off the
      steps as you go along.  Having a copy of the documentation to refer to
      could also be handy.

          Throughout this document the verb "strike" will mean to tap the
      intended key only.  You will not have to use the ENTER key.  The verb
      "enter" will mean type in your data and strike the ENTER key.

      **********************************************************************
      **********************************************************************

      1.   Start the program by typing HBMS and strike ENTER.  Enter "84"
           as the year of data.  Leave the data path blank (just hit
           ENTER).  You should be at the Main Menu screen.  Notice that it
           reminds you of the current open month and fiscal year.

      First we will explore the Reports section, as these reports will be
      the end result of your financial record-keeping.

       2.  Select "R" for Reports.  Accept "4" as the Month to Report.

       3.  You will be prompted for an Account Code.  Enter "EL" to select
           Electricity, and you will be presented with the "Monthly" view
           of this account.

      The data inside the heavy outlined box is for the Account only.  Notice
      that a red star flags both April, and Year To Date Actuals as being
      outside the budgeted limits.  Electricity falls under the UTILITIES
      category, which is displayed below.  Similarly, UTILITIES is part of the
      EXPENSES money group, which is used to calculate your NET INCOME.

       4.  Notice the prompt on the bottom line of the screen, and strike
           "A" for an annual view of Electricity.

      The data in this screen is pretty much self explanatory.

       5.  Strike the ENTER key and you will be prompted with the code of
           the next account to report on.  Striking the ENTER key again
           will accept that prompt.

      You will find that by just using the ENTER key alone you will be
      able to step through the accounts in the order they appear in the
      Chart of Accounts.

       6.  Bring the Repair/Improvement account on screen by entering "RI"
           at the account code prompt.

       7.  Strike "S" to select a Sorted Ledger view of Repair/Improvement.

       8.  You will be prompted with a beginning month of 4 (April).
           NOTE: In a normal budget you would be able to start at the
           beginning of the year, but since the first three months of ledger
           entries have not been included in the sample data, please accept 4
           as a starting point.

      All the transactions involving Repair/Improvement for April will be
      displayed.  The numbers under the "Rec" column are the record numbers
      of the transactions as they were entered in the Ledger Posting
      section.

       9.  Before leaving the sorted ledger screen, enter "CK" in the
           account code field to view the checking account.  Notice that the
           screen will pause when it fills so you can view the data before
           it scrolls off.  At this point you can strike <ENTER> to continue
           scrolling or strike <ESC> to end this account and select another.

      By now you should have the idea of how to select the different views
      and step through the accounts, but there is one more way of observing
      data on screen, and it resides in the Ledger Posting section.

      10.  Leave the Screen Reports section by using the ESC key.

      11.  From the Main Menu, strike "L" for the Ledger Posting section.

      12.  Notice the bottom line on the screen and enter a "V" at the
           action prompt to view the previously entered transactions.

      13.  Accept month 4 as a starting point.

      You will be presented with the first transaction screen in April,
      exactly as it was entered.  You can browse through the other
      transactions by using the Up, Down, PgUp, PgDn, Home, and END keys.

      14.  When finished, use the ESC key to get back to the Ledger Posting
           screen.

      At this point you have seen some of the screen reporting capabilities
      of HBMS.  The printed reports are just as informative, but please
      wait until later to try them.  In some cases you will have to
      configure your printer first, as HBMS is designed to make full use
      dot matrix capabilities.

      If you have stayed with me this far and have been favorably
      impressed, please continue and I'll demonstrate two different methods
      of entering ledger data into the system.


      15.  You should be at the Ledger Posting screen with the Action prompt
           waiting.  Accept "D" for Decrease.

      16.  Enter "CK" for Checking as the "source" account.  The current
           balance for that account will be displayed.

      17.  Enter "123" as the check number.

      18.  Enter "16" as the date.

      19.  Enter "The Drug Store" for the Payee. (Source description)

      20.  Enter $14.73 for the amount of the check.  Notice how the amount
           turns to a negative value.  That's because you will be decreasing
           the balance of that account (by writing a check).

      Now you will disburse the money to the "target" accounts.

      21.  Instead of accepting the full amount, enter $9.95 as a target
           amount.

      22.  Enter "FC" for the target code.

      23.  Enter "Processing" for the target description.

      24.  You will be prompted with the remaining $4.78 as the value for
           the next target amount.  Accept it.

      25.  Enter "RX" for the account code.

      26.  Type in "Vitamins" for the description but DO NOT hit ENTER.

      27.  This will be a good chance to experiment with the editing keys
           of HBMS.  Try the HOME key, the END key, the INSERT and DELETE
           keys.  Save the ESC key for last.

      28.  Striking ESC should blank the description field.  Type in the
           Tilde "~" character only and hit ENTER.

      This action will automatically enter whatever was in the Payee/Payor
      field above.  It can come in handy on certain types of transactions.

      29.  At this point you will have to decide whether the above
           information is ok.  Strike "N" for no.  Now you are in the "EDIT"
           mode.  Use the ENTER key to step through the fields by accepting
           each value until you get back to the Rx Drugs description.
           Change the description back to "Vitamins".

      30.  Accept the information as being ok.

      For the second and