Business Assistant/Business Assistant.iso/home/solve_it/solveit.doc

Text File | 1986-12-15 | 31KB | 533 lines

                                SOLVE-IT
                                (C) 1986
                            Pine Grove Software


                 WHEN YOU NEED AN ANSWER AND YOU NEED IT NOW!

     SOLVE-IT is simple to run. There are no installation routines for you to
be concerned with in order to us the program.  Copy the version of SOLVE-IT
that you want to use to your work disk. Once SOLVE-IT is on your work disk,
whether it be floppy or hard, put the original away for safe keeping. After
30 days have passed since the original purchase, replacement disks will cost
$10. Remember, never work with the original.

         BEFORE WE GET STARTED....PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT SOLVE-IT IS
     A SHAREWHARE PROGRAM. THAT IS YOU ARE FREE TO COPY THIS PROGRAM
     AND SHARE IT WITH OTHERS. HOWEVER IT IS COPYRIGHTED, AND AS SUCH
     IF YOU USE THIS PROGRAM YOU MUST REGISTER IT BY SENDING $35 TO
     THE ADDRESS LISTED AT THE END OF THIS DOCUMENTATION. THE
     SHAREWARE CONCEPT ALLOWS YOU TO TEST A PROGRAM BEFORE YOU
     BUY IT. IT'S PURPOSE IS NOT TO GIVE YOU FREE SOFTWARE! PLEASE SEE
     ADDITIONAL NOTICES AT THE END OF THIS MANUAL. AND THANK YOU.

     If you have not already done so, you should read the READ.ME file that
is on your disk. This file will explain the different programs that come on
the distribution disk and any changes that have been made to the program
since these instructions were written. The first thing that you need to do
after making your working copies is to decide if you want SOLVE-IT to be
installed into memory and run as a memory resident program or if you want to
run it as a non resident application.  Aside from how you call up each
version, both programs operate exactly the same way.

     If you are running the memory resident version of SOLVE-IT you may call
up the routines by hitting the "hot-key" that is displayed on the title
screen when you first run the program. DO NOT RUN THE MEMORY RESIDENT VERSION
OF THE PROGRAM MORE THAN ONCE DURING ANY ONE SESSION. To do so will cause you
to use far more memory than is required. If you are going to run it as a
stand alone application, just typing in the program's name, while the program
is in the default drive, will cause the first of the two main menus to be
displayed.

     SOLVE-IT is menu driven so that it is easy for the novice to learn.
However, once one becomes familiar with the menus and the letters that
activate each routine the user does not need to wait for the entire menu to
be displayed to enter a routine. Therefore, speed is not sacrificed for the
sake of simplicity. SOLVE-IT's menu system is easy to use. There are two
master menus for either version. They are labeled FIRST MENU and SECOND MENU.
You change menus by selecting the appropriate option. When the main menu is
visible, just select the routine that you want to run by entering the letter
shown next to the routine. Hitting the ESC key when in either the FIRST or
SECOND MENU will always cause you to exit the program. And if you are running
the memory resident version of SOLVE-IT, exiting SOLVE-IT will put you right
back in your application program, right where you were before you hit the
"hot-key" used for entering SOLVE-IT.

     The 31 routines in this program are all self prompting. After you have
made your selection, assuming that you did not select the other menu and
assuming that you did not hit ESC, you will see a new screen that is waiting
for your input.  Type in the information that is being requested, then press
ENTER or RETURN.  You will be prompted for more information.  When you are no
longer being prompted for information, the program will calculate and display
the results.  Depending upon the complexity of the calculation and the
machine that you are running on, some routine may take a couple of minutes to
provide the answer. You will be shown the message "S O L V I N G  I T!" when
such a situation occurs. In any event, this should seldom happen, but when it
does, please be patient. Delays usually occur when interest is being
compounded daily over the course of several years. You can therefore avoid
such delays by having the monies compounded monthly even if they are actually
compounded daily, for the results will not differ substantially. And in many
cases, speed will probably be more important than an Nth degree of accuracy.

     When you enter values you may use commas and dollar signs.  DO NOT use
a percent sign or a cent sign.  If you do so, the program will not accept the
input and an error message will indicate that you did not enter a valid
number.  The program will then wait for you to reenter the information.

     Remember, all interest rates are expressed as an annualized figure.
Periods Per Year means how often are the monies compounded?  Withdrawals and
deposits are done at the start of each compounding period.  Thus, if the
routine asks for a rate of interest, you might reply 12.5, meaning the
annual rate of interest is 12.5 percent.  If the rate is compounded
quarterly, then when asked how many periods, you would respond with 4.  And
finally if you want to withdrawal or deposit $1,000 a year you would have to
divide this amount by four ($250) and enter that figure since there are four
periods per year. (SIDEKICK, by Borland, would be a great aid for this
calculation.)

     At the end of each routine you are prompted for M(ain Menu) or
R(epeat)?  Type M if you want to return to the main menu from which you
called the routine or type R if you want to run another of the same
calculations with different input.  You must return to the Main Menu to quit
the program. When you select the repeat feature, each prompt will display the
value entered from the previous calculation. To accept this value simply hit
the ENTER or the RETURN key on your computer. Please note that you cannot
edit this value. That is, you cannot change just one digit for example. YOU
MUST ACCEPT THE VALUE AS IT IS DISPLAYED OR ENTER AN ENTIRELY NEW VALUE. By
accepting the previous calculations value for each entry, SOLVE-IT allows you
to very quickly calculate the results for a given problem when only one
variable changes. Suppose you wanted to demonstrate the effect that a small
change in interest rate has on a given loan, by only changing the interest
rate, you can have the answers very quickly.



     The following is a brief description of what each routine does:

                                  FIRST MENU

A: Future Value of a Deposit
     This routine will calculate the future value of a deposit. In other
words how much will a given amount be worth after a period of time when
invested at a given rate of interest.


B: Future Value of a Series
     This routine is just like the one above accept that it assumes that
there is a series of deposits being made.  That is, there are deposits being
made of a fixed amount at the start of each compounding period.  These
deposits are made for the life of the investment.  Example:  Your IRA funds
are invested at a rate of 8.8 percent compounded quarterly. You want to
invest $2,000. each year for a period of 15 years.  For this program, you
must enter $500.00 when ask for the deposit amount since it is assumed that a
deposit is made at the start of each compounding period. The program will
return to you the value of the account after the 15 years, assuming that the
same deposit was made each quarter.


C: Payment Needed for Future Sum
     This one is fun.  You want to be worth a billion in 5.5 years!  How much
do you have to deposit each compounding period at a particular rate of
interest to make it happen.


D: Present Value of Amount & Time to Double
     Your Brother-In-Law owes you 100,000 big ones due in 7.2 years.  He
offers to pay you $90,000 dollars today.  This routine will tell you if it
is a good deal.  You can throw the bum out if the present value exceeds the
90,000 that he is offering.  On the other hand you can show your wife just
how dumb the guy is