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The Interest Analyzer A Financial Tool for Interest Amortization Depreciation Copyright 1990-92 Insight Software Solutions THE INTEREST ANALYZER TABLE OF CONTENTS Program Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Disclaimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 About Insight Software Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Contents of Distribution Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Shareware Defined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Program Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Program Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Getting Started With the Interest Analyzer . . . . . . . . . 6 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Running The Interest Analyzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Screen Layout In The Interest Analyzer . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Common Screen Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Menu Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Data Input Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Data View Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Moving Around In The Interest Analyzer . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Menu System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Moving Field to Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Editing Within a Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Special Fixed Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Special Function Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Interest Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Interest Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Interest Function Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Amortization Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Amortization Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Amortization Function Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Depreciation Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Depreciation Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Depreciation Function Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Immediate Annuity Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Immediate Annuity Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Immediate Annuity Function Keys . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Page 1 THE INTEREST ANALYZER Quick Calculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Financial Calculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Four Function Calculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 On-line User Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Color Attribute Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Printer Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Miscellaneous Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Filing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Page 2 THE INTEREST ANALYZER Program Overview The Interest Analyzer The Interest Analyzer is a financial software program designed with ease and flexibility in mind. It comes complete with a variety of financial tools for calculating Annuities (Savings, Interest Accumulation), Amortization (Loans, Mortgages), Depreciation, Immediate Annuities and Calculators for solving for missing values. Each financial tool contains a variety of options to allow maximum flexibility. The Interest (Savings) tool allows variable deposit modes, deposits, withdrawals and interest rates. Professional reports can be created with varying detail. Special options are available to illustrate the time value of compounding and the impact of taxes on savings. The Amortization (Loan) tool allows variable payments, interest rates and compounding methods. Professional schedules can be generated with varying detail. Special options are available to illustrate the savings incurred with an early payoff of a loan and to show tax savings with mortgages. The Depreciation tool allows for a variety of depreciation methods to be illustrated using different time conventions. The Immediate Annuity tool allows variable payout modes and compounding methods. Professional schedules are produced. The Interest Analyzer produces illustrations and schedules for each of the financial tools. These can be viewed on the screen or sent to a printer. The Interest Analyzer is a menu driven program that also contains an on-line manual and individual help for each input to allow the user to easily navigate and understand the program. Client names can be entered and included in the illustrations. Each financial tool has the ability to save and retrieve all information entered. The Interest Analyzer provides several miscellaneous configuration options for setting the program up to your individual liking. Page 3 THE INTEREST ANALYZER General Information Disclaimer Insight Software Solutions makes no warranties or representations of any kind, expressed or implied, including any implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for any particular purpose. Insight Software Solutions shall not be liable for any errors contained herein or for any loss of profit or for incidental or consequential damages or for any other damages. About Insight Software Solutions Insight Software Solutions is located in Bountiful Utah. Please send any inquiries, questions, suggestions or comments to the following address: INSIGHT SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS P.O. BOX 354 BOUNTIFUL, UT 84011-0354 Phone/Fax: 801-295-1890 Contents of Distribution Disk The Interest Analyzer diskette contains several files which are needed for optimal performance. Their name and function are listed below. INT.EXE This is the main executable program. INT.CFG This contains program configuration information such as screen color and printer selections. This file is automatically created if not found. INT.PTR This contains printer definitions for a variety of printers. INT.DOC This is the User Manual for The Interest Analyzer. INT.BAT This is a start up batch file for hard disks. INSTALL.EXE This copies the program to a hard disk. INTEREST.DAT This contains all saved cases from the Interest Calculations. AMORT.DAT This contains all saved cases from the Amortization Calculations. DEPREC.DAT This contains all saved cases from the Depreciation Calculations. ANNUITY.DAT This contains all saved cases from the Annuity Calculations. Page 4 THE INTEREST ANALYZER Shareware Defined Shareware is a marketing concept in which copyrighted software products are distributed by allowing and encouraging duplication of the program for evaluation by interested parties. As a recipient of a shareware program, you are granted the right to use the program for a short period to determine if it meets your needs. The program developer receives payment from the users after they have determined that the product meets their needs. The motivation for making payment for a shareware program is honest payment for a valuable tool, desire for support, updates, enhancements and documentation, and to help encourage shareware authors to produce additional quality programs. Program Registration The Interest Analyzer can be registered with Insight Software Solutions by sending a check or money order in the amount of $25.00 U.S. funds to the address listed above. Upon receipt, Insight Software Solutions will send you the latest version of The Interest Analyzer along with a printed manual. Once registered, you will receive notification of major updates and new products. Registration includes a 90 day support policy where free updates will be provided for major problems. If a problem cannot be resolved, then a refund of money will be made. Program Support Insight Software Solutions offers support through the mail, phone, fax and BBS. Please refer to address and phone number above. Our official support BBS is the Rocky Mountain Software BBS (RMS). RMS can be reached 24 hours a day at (801) 963-8721 where a conference dedicated to us can be found. Our latest software products and versions, bulletins, news and message system are located on RMS. RMS accepts modem baud rates of 1200 to 38400. -------------- Insight Software Solutions is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principal works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007.3536. Page 5 THE INTEREST ANALYZER Getting Started With the Interest Analyzer System Requirements The Interest Analyzer is almost hardware independent. It will run on most PC systems. The minimum requirements are as follows: IBM type PC, XT, AT or PS/2 (or compatible) 448K Ram Dos 2.0 or higher any monochrome, color, or composite monitor virtually any printer that supports condensed printing Installation The Interest Analyzer may be run from either a floppy or hard disk. There are no special installation procedures to set the program up. To load the program onto a hard disk, simply copy the contents of the floppy diskette onto the hard disk. We recommend that it be placed into its own subdirectory. An installation program called INSTALL.EXE is provided to assist you in the installation of the program on a hard drive. From the A> prompt, simply type in "INSTALL". This will prompt you through the installation process. Running The Interest Analyzer To run The Interest Analyzer, simply type "INT". This can be done from the floppy disk or from a hard drive if you used the provided installation procedure. Page 6 THE INTEREST ANALYZER Screen Layout In The Interest Analyzer Common Screen Lines There are several common screen lines found in The Interest Analyzer. This includes the first, second, twenty third, twenty fourth, and twenty fifth lines. The first line contains the current date and time as specified by DOS. It also contains the copyright notice of INSIGHT SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS. The second line is part of the box surrounding the user work area. It generally contains a centered title describing the function of the current screen. The twenty third line is the status line. It shows the status of the Help, Caps, Scroll Lock, Num Lock, and Insert keys. The twenty fourth line is the prompt line. It indicates what you are supposed to do for a given input field. The twenty fifth line is the Function Keys Status line. It shows what Function Keys (F1, F2, ...) are available for use and what their particular functions are. Menu Screens Menu Screens appear as a list of numbered items. There is also a movable highlight bar indicating the current menu selection. Data Input Screens Data Input Screens contain fields or areas which can be changed by you. These fields are generally preceded by a label indicating what type of value is desired for the field. Data View Screens Data View Screens contain scrollable text for your viewing. Generally, the text can be scrolled up and down and left and right. Indications of the current location in the text are given on the left side of the status line. Page 7 THE INTEREST ANALYZER Moving Around In The Interest Analyzer Menu System Menus appear as a list of numbered options. To select the option desired, you may press the associated number. An alternate method is to use the arrow keys along with the <Enter> key. One option is always highlighted and indicates the current option. To change the current option, you may press the UP and DOWN arrow keys to move the highlight bar. Once the desired option is highlighted, pressing the <Enter> key selects it. Moving Field to Field Moving from one field to another field can be accomplished by many different keystrokes. Listed below is a summary of the keystrokes available and the function they perform. ENTER KEY: This moves you to the next logical field. RIGHT ARROW KEY: If you are on the last editing character of the field, this moves you to the field to the right of the current field. LEFT ARROW KEY: If you are on the first character of the field, this moves you to the field to the left of the current field. DOWN ARROW KEY: This moves you to the field below the current field. UP ARROW KEY: This moves you to the field above the current field. PAGE DOWN KEY: This moves you to the last field on the screen. PAGE UP KEY: This moves you to the first field on the screen. TAB KEY: This moves you to the next logical field. TAB LEFT KEY: This moves you to the previous logical field. <CTRL> RIGHT ARROW KEY: This moves you to the field to the right of the current field. <CTRL> LEFT ARROW KEY: This moves you to the field to the left of the current field. Page 8 THE INTEREST ANALYZER Editing Within a Field Editing within a field can be accomplished with many different keystrokes. Listed below is a summary of the keystrokes available and the function they perform. RIGHT ARROW KEY: This moves the cursor one character to the right. LEFT ARROW KEY: This moves the cursor one character to the left. HOME KEY: This moves the cursor to the beginning of the field. END KEY: This moves the cursor to the last character in the field. BACKSPACE KEY: This moves the cursor to the left one character and erases that character and shifts all trailing characters to the left one space. INSERT KEY: This toggles between insert mode and typeover mode. DELETE KEY: This erases the character under the cursor and shifts all trailing characters to the left one space. ALPHA/NUMERIC KEY: This outputs the character where the cursor is and moves the cursor over to the right one space. If insert mode is on then all trailing characters are moved to the right one space. Special Fixed Fields There are certain fields which have fixed values. When the cursor is moved to these fields, a window of choices appears. Each choice has either an associated number or letter next to it. Pressing the associated number or letter automatically makes the desired selection and moves the choice into the input field. Special Function Keys There are a number of special function keys which perform a variety of tasks. These keys are as follows. <ESC> KEY: This key always takes you back one level from where ever you are. For example: if you enter a screen from a menu, then the <Esc> key will take you back to that menu. Page 9 THE INTEREST ANALYZER <F1> KEY: This key is the help key. It toggles off and on whether help messages should be shown with each input. <F2>..<F10> KEYS: These other function keys may or may not be active and have different functions in different parts of the program. Brief explanations of what these keys do are displayed on the screen in the Function Key line. Detailed information is given under the documentation of each particular screen as to which Function Keys are active and what their function is. Page 10 THE INTEREST ANALYZER Interest Illustrations Interest Inputs There are up to 17 different Interest Inputs depending on the Interest Illustration chosen. They are as follows: TITLE: This is a title line printed on the top of the illustration. This uses a line on the illustration print out only if something is entered; therefore, you can fit more illustration on a page if the title is left blank. PRODUCED FOR: This is for personalizing the printed illustration. This uses a line on the illustration print out only if something is entered; therefore, you can fit more illustration on a page if the company name is left blank. Please note that if you are saving and restoring cases (files) that the filer system distinguishes unique cases by this name; therefore, you should specify a name if you wish to save different cases. PRODUCED BY: This is for personalizing the printed illustration. This uses a line on the illustration print out only if something is entered; therefore, you can fit more illustration on a page if the title is left blank. DEPOSIT METHOD: This is the frequency of deposits to be made. This may be on a weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis. COMPOUND METHOD: This is the frequency at which the interest rate is compounded. This may be on a daily (360 or 365 days), monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis. BEGINNING BALANCE: This is a beginning balance or a lump sum amount that the interest calculation starts out with above and beyond the first monthly or yearly deposit. MONTHLY DEPOSIT: This is the amount of money that is to be deposited every month. Depending on the "deposit method", this may be "weekly deposit", "bi-weekly deposit", etc. in which case it is the amount of money to be deposited for the given period. Deposits are assumed made at the beginning of each period. A notation to the right of the deposit will say either "flat deposits", "variable deposits" or "COLA deposits". "Flat deposits" means that the monthly deposit shown is for every single period during the term of the illustration. "Variable deposits" means that it has been specified at some point to use a different deposit. Variable deposits are made possible through Page 11 THE INTEREST ANALYZER the F2 (DEPOSITS) function key. "COLA deposits" means that the COLA option has been selected and that the deposits are to be automatically adjusted for a given cost of living percentage. DURATION IN MONTHS: This is the number of months to compute and run the illustration. The maximum number of months allowable is 480 or 40 years. If the "deposit mode" has been specified as a period greater than a month, then the months are automatically truncated to the nearest specified period. For example, an annual deposit mode would change an input of 123 to 120. INTEREST RATE: This is the rate at which to compound the money. Three decimal places are allowed. A notation to the right of the interest rate will say either "flat rate" or "variable rate". "Flat rate" means that the interest rate shown is for every single period during the term of the illustration. "Variable rate" means that it has been specified at some point to use a different rate. Variable interest rates are made possible through the F3 (INTEREST) function key. ORIGINATION DATE: This is the date at which the money is first deposited and the illustration starts. The printed illustration keeps track of each payment period based upon the origination date. ILLUSTRATION DETAIL: This determines whether to print every month, quarter, half year or year of detail on the illustration. The illustration detail cannot be a smaller period than that specified in the deposit mode. For example, you cannot illustrate monthly values for an illustration which has only annual deposits. Deposit Methods of weekly, bi-weekly and semi-monthly are always illustrated on an annual basis. YEARLY BASIS: The cumulative totals of the illustration can be displayed on either a calendar or fiscal year basis. A fiscal year basis displays the totals at exact yearly intervals. For example, a monthly deposited illustration which starts in March would show totals each March. If a calendar basis is chosen, then totals would be shown at the end of each calendar year or the period closest to the end of the year. SPECIAL OPTIONS: This consists of five choices which are as follows: None, Tax Imposed Comparison, Cost of Waiting Comparison, Tax Imposed Cost of Waiting Comparison, and Cost of Lower Interest Rates. Selecting "None" will produce a basic interest accumulation illustration. The "Tax Imposed Comparison" does a comparison of the Basic Interest Illustration along side the same illustration with the interest rate adjusted for a given Page 12 THE INTEREST ANALYZER tax bracket. It shows your real return on money for non tax- sheltered savings. It also shows the difference in savings using non-taxed investments. The "Cost of Waiting Comparison" does a comparison of the Basic Interest Illustration along side itself offset by a given number of months. It shows the difference in savings over the years that you can make by saving now instead of later. The "Tax Imposed Cost of Waiting Comparison" is the same as the "Cost of Waiting Comparison" except that its values have the interest rate adjusted for a given tax bracket. The Basic interest illustration is not shown here. The "Cost of Lower Interest Rates" does a comparison of two interest rates on the same deposits for the same duration and shows them side by side with the difference in earnings. This allows you to see the difference in savings that can be made by obtaining higher interest rates. ALTERNATE INT. RATE: This is a second interest rate for interest rate comparisons. This only appears when the special option "Cost of Lower Interest Rates" is selected. TAX BRACKET: This is the estimated tax bracket in a percentage form of the person for whom the illustration is for. This only appears when the special option "Tax Imposed Comparison" or "Tax Imposed Cost of Waiting Comparison" is selected. MONTHS TO WAIT: This specifies the number of months to wait before doing the comparison. This only appears when the special option "Cost of Waiting Comparison" or "Tax Imposed Cost of Waiting Comparison" is selected. USE AUTOMATIC COLA: This selection forces the deposits to be incremented each year by a "cost of living adjustment". Selecting this field, disables the F2 Deposits key. This is helpful for those savings which are based on a percentage of salary where the deposit amount increases with an annual salary increase. COLA PERCENTAGE RATE: This is the percentage amount that the deposits are to be incremented by each year. This field only appears when the "Use Automatic COLA" is selected. Interest Function Keys F2 KEY (DEPOSITS): This pops up another screen which allows up to 100 deposit inputs. Each deposit is numbered. New function keys appear indicating how to change deposits above 100. There will be enough inputs and function keys to cover the duration specified for the illustration. By this fashion you may enter in Page 13 THE INTEREST ANALYZER different deposits for the entire span of the illustration. The new F2 key (DUP) will duplicate the previous value and advance the cursor. This allows easy duplication of deposits without having to rekey them all in. F3 KEY (INTEREST): This pops up another screen which allows up to 120 interest rate inputs. Each interest rate is numbered. New function keys appear indicating how to change interest rates above 120. There will be enough inputs and function keys to cover the duration specified for the illustration. By this fashion you may enter in different interest rates for the entire span of the illustration. The new F2 key (DUP) will duplicate the previous value and advance the cursor. This allows easy duplication of interest rates without having to rekey them all in. F4 KEY (VIEW): This calculates the illustration with the given values and displays the illustration in a window on the screen. The illustration can be scrolled around the window vertically and horizontally by use of the arrow, PgUp, PgDn, Home and End keys. The viewed illustration is identical to what the printed illustration will look like with the exception that the printed illustration may use condensed and bold print. F5 KEY (PRINT): This calculates the illustration with the given values and sends the results to the printer. Depending on the width of the illustration, the program chooses whether to print using condensed print or not. All illustrations are centered, but can be adjusted by means of the printer configuration section, and have titles and totals in bold print. Each page is numbered. F6 KEY (FILER): This brings up the filing system menu. See the documentation on the filing system. F9 KEY (QUICK CALC): This simply pops up the quick calculator. See the documentation about the quick calculator for usage. Page 14 THE INTEREST ANALYZER Amortization Illustrations Amortization Inputs There are up to 16 different Amortization Inputs depending on the Amortization Illustration chosen. They are as follows. TITLE: See "title" under Interest Inputs. PRODUCED FOR: See "produced for" name under Interest Inputs. PRODUCED BY: See "produced by" under Interest Inputs. PAYMENT MODE: This is the frequency of payments to be made. This may be on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis. COMPOUND METHOD: This is the frequency at which the interest rate is compounded. This may be on a daily (360 or 365 days), monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis. Generally, a mortgage is compounded on a monthly basis. ORIGINAL PRINCIPAL: This is the original principal of the amount to amortize. USE EXACT CENT CALC: When selected, payments are rounded up to the nearest cent, Interest and Principal are rounded to the nearest cent. This produces a schedule whre all values are totally in sync. Since the payments are rounded to the nearest cent, the last payment will generally be slightly different than the rest. If not selected, then values are not rounded internally. They appear on the schedule rounded to the nearest cent, but totals may be slightly out of sync by a few cents. NUMBER OF MONTHS: This is the number of months over which to amortize the original principal. This can be up to 360 months allowing for a 30 year amortization. INTEREST RATE: This is the rate at which to amortize. Three decimal places are allowed. A notation to the right of the interest rate will indicate either "flat rate" or "variable rate". "Flat rate" means that the interest rate shown is for every period during the amortization. "Variable rate" means that it has been specified at some point to use a different rate. Variable interest rates are made possible through the F3 (INTEREST) function key. ORIGINATION DATE: This is the date at which the amortization starts. The printed illustration keeps track of every month and Page 15 THE INTEREST ANALYZER year based upon the origination date. ILLUSTRATION DETAIL: This determines whether to print every month, quarter, half year or year of detail on the illustration. The illustration detail cannot be a smaller period than that specified in the payment mode. For example, you cannot illustrate monthly values for an illustration which has only annual payments. YEARLY BASIS: This allows you to select when the cumulative totals of the illustration are to be displayed. They can be displayed on either a calendar or fiscal year basis. A fiscal year basis displays the totals at exact yearly intervals. For example, a loan paid monthly which starts in March would show totals each March. If a calendar basis is chosen, then totals would be shown at the end of each calendar year or the period closest to the end of the year. For example, a loan paid quarterly which starts in April would have payments in April, July and October. The yearly totals would then be displayed each October because it is the last period in the calendar year. SPECIAL OPTIONS: This consists of seven choices which are as follows: None, Recurring Extra Payment, Variable Extra Payment, Double Principal Payment, Balloon Payment, 13 Monthly Payments Per Year and Variable Payment. Selecting "None" is for doing basic amortization illustrations consisting of six basic elements: Original Principal, Payments, Interest Rate, Interest Paid, Principal Paid, and Remaining Principal. The "Recurring Extra Payment" option adds the ability to specify a constant extra amount payable towards the principal each month. The new amortization is compared to the Basic Amortization. This allows you to see how a little more of a payment reduces the length of a mortgage by a great deal. The "Variable Extra Payment" option works just like the "Recurring Extra Payment" except that a different extra amount can be specified for any month or period of the loan. The "Double Principal Payment" option displays what doubling the principal payment each month does to the loan. It cuts the loan period almost in half. The "Balloon Payment" option adds the ability to show the loan for a short period of time and then what one final payment would be to pay off the loan. The "13 Monthly Payments Per Year" option allows you to specify a month where two normal payments will be made. This typically reduces a 30 year mortgage to 21 years. This closely simulates a bi-weekly payoff schedule. The "Variable Payment" option adds the flexibility to specify whatever payments you would like for every month of the mortgage. This amortization is compared to the Basic Amortization. You can specify exactly how you plan to pay your mortgage and see the effect it has. Page 16 THE INTEREST ANALYZER EXTRA PAYMENT AMOUNT: This field appears only with the special option of "Recurring Extra Principal" or "Variable Extra Payment". It is an additional amount of money which is to be applied to the loan each and every period. This amount of money pays towards the principal of the loan and accelerates the amortization and pays it off early. PAYMENT AMOUNT: This field appears only with the special option of "Variable Payment". The periodic payment is normally determined by amortizing the original principal at the given interest rate for a given duration. The Periodic Payment field; however, lets you override the periodic payment amount. You can specify whatever amount you want to pay towards the loan. This allows total flexibility in the amounts you wish to pay towards your loan. A notation to the right of the periodic payment will indicate either "flat payments" or "variable payments". "Flat payments" means that the periodic payment shown is for every single period during the term of the illustration. "Variable Payments" means that it has been specified at some point to use a different periodic payment. Variable payments are made possible through the F2 (PAYMENTS) function key. MONTHS UNTIL BALLOON: This field appears only with the special option of "Balloon Payment". It allows the number of months to be specified before the balloon payment is to be made. USE TAX SAVINGS: This field appears only if the payment mode is monthly. It is intended to be used for mortgages only. The tax savings option adds several elements to the Basic Illustration. Property taxes and insurance amounts are added to give a fuller picture of your total payment. Tax savings (based on itemized deductions) are also computed with a given tax bracket. Tax savings may be used in conjunction with any of the special options. TAX BRACKET: This field appears only if the tax savings feature has been selected. This is the estimated tax bracket in a percentage form of the person for whom the amortization is for. This allows an estimated savings in taxes that a person can realize from a mortgage based on itemized deductions. MONTHLY PROPERTY TAX: This field appears only if the tax savings feature has been selected. This is the amount of property tax paid per month for a mortgage. This allows a fuller picture of actual payments of a mortgage and helps estimate the tax savings. MONTHLY INSURANCE: This field appears only if the tax savings feature has been selected. This is the cost of insurance which is Page 17 THE INTEREST ANALYZER required on most mortgages. This allows a fuller picture of actual payments for a mortgage. Amortization Function Keys F2 KEY (PAYMENTS): This function key is available only if one of the following special options has been selected: Variable Extra Payment, Variable Payments. This pops up another screen which allows up to 100 payment inputs. Each payment is numbered. New function keys appear indicating how to change payments above 100. There will be enough inputs and function keys to cover the duration specified for the illustration. By this fashion you may enter in different payments for the entire span of the illustration. The new F2 key (DUP) will duplicate the previous value and advance the cursor. This allows easy duplication of payments without having to rekey them all in. F3 KEY (INTEREST): This pops up another screen which allows up to 120 interest rate inputs. Each interest rate is numbered. By this fashion you may enter in different interest rates for each period of the illustration and produce a stepped rate or variable rate mortgage illustration. The new F2 key (DUP) will duplicate the previous value and advance the cursor. This allows easy duplication of interest rates without having to rekey them all in. F4 KEY (VIEW): This calculates the illustration with the given values and displays the illustration in a window on the screen. The illustration can be scrolled around the window vertically and horizontally by use of the arrow, PgUp, PgDn, Home and End keys. The viewed illustration is identical to what the printed illustration will look like with the exception that the printed illustration may use condensed and bold print. F5 KEY (PRINT): This calculates the illustration with the given values and sends the results to the printer. Depending on the width of the illustration, the program chooses whether to print using condensed print or not. All illustrations are centered, but can be adjusted by means of the printer configuration section, and have titles and totals in bold print. Each page is numbered. F6 KEY (FILER): This brings up the filing system menu. See the documentation on the filing system. F9 KEY (QUICK CALC): This simply pops up the quick calculator. See the documentation about the quick calculator for usage. Page 18 THE INTEREST ANALYZER Depreciation Illustrations Depreciation Inputs There are up to 16 different Depreciation Inputs. They are as follows. TITLE: See "title" under Interest Inputs. PRODUCED FOR: See "produced for" under Interest Inputs. PRODUCED BY: See "produced by" under Interest Inputs. STRAIGHT LINE METHOD: This allows you to select the straight line method of depreciation to appear on the illustration. LIFE PERIODS METHOD: This allows you to select the life periods method of depreciation to appear on the illustration. ANNUITY METHOD: This allows you to select the annuity method of depreciation to appear on the illustration. SINKING FUND METHOD: This allows you to select the sinking fund method of depreciation to appear on the illustration. MACRS METHOD (200%): This allows you to select the MACRS (200%) method of depreciation to appear on the illustration. MACRS METHOD (150%): This allows you to select the MACRS (150%) method of depreciation to appear on the illustration. ITEM TO DEPR.: This is simply the name of the item to be depreciated. It appears as a header on the illustration. ORIGINAL COST: This is the original cost or value of the item to be depreciated. RESIDUAL VALUE: This is the value of the depreciated item after the depreciation period ends. YEARS OF DEPRECIATION: This is the depreciation period. It is the number of years over which to depreciate the item. ANNUITY INTEREST RATE: This is an interest rate which is used internally for calculating the Annuity and Sinking Fund methods of depreciation. This field only appears if one these methods is selected. Page 19 THE INTEREST ANALYZER TIME CONVENTION: This is the period during the year which the depreciation starts. Available conventions are full year, half year and 1st - 4th midquarters. These time conventions only apply to the Straight Line, Life Periods and MACRS depreciation methods. It only appears if one of these methods is selected. PERCENT ROUNDING: This is the accuracy or rounding of the percentages used each year for depreciation. It indicates the number of decimal places to use in the percentages. These percentages only apply to the Straight Line, Life Periods and MACRS depreciation methods. It only appears if one of these methods is selected. Depreciation Function Keys F4 KEY (VIEW): This calculates the illustration with the given values and displays the illustration in a window on the screen. The illustration can be scrolled around the window vertically and horizontally by use of the arrow, PgUp, PgDn, Home and End keys. The viewed illustration is identical to what the printed illustration will look like with the exception that the printed illustration may use condensed and bold print. F5 KEY (PRINT): This calculates the illustration with the given values and sends the results to the printer. Depending on the width of the illustration, the program chooses whether to print using condensed print or not. All illustrations are centered, but can be adjusted by means of the printer configuration section, and have titles and totals in bold print. Each page is numbered. F6 KEY (FILER): This brings up the filing system menu. See the documentation on the filing system. F9 KEY (QUICK CALC): This simply pops up the quick calculator. See the documentation about the quick calculator for usage. Page 20 THE INTEREST ANALYZER Immediate Annuity Illustrations Immediate Annuity Inputs There are 10 different Immediate Annuity Inputs. They are as follows. TITLE: See "title" under Interest Inputs. PRODUCED FOR: See "produced for" under Interest Inputs. PRODUCED BY: See "produced by" under Interest Inputs. BEGINNING BALANCE: This is a beginning balance that the annuity starts out with. PAYOUT: This is the desired payout. It will be calculated based on the other values. Entering a desired payout will adjust the beginning balance to indicate the amount of money required. PAYOUT METHOD: This is the frequency at which payouts are made. This may be on a weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis. DURATION IN MONTHS: This is the number of months to compute and run the illustration. The maximum number of months allowable is 480 or 40 years. If the "payout method" has been specified as a period greater than a month, then the months are automatically truncated to the nearest specified period. For example, an annual payout mode would change an input of 123 to 120. INTEREST RATE: This is the rate at which to compound the money. Three decimal places are allowed. COMPOUND METHOD: This is the frequency at which the interest rate is compounded. This may be on a daily (360 or 365 days), monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis. ORIGINATION DATE: This is the date at which the money is first deposited and the illustration starts. The printed illustration keeps track of each payment period based upon the origination date. Immediate Annuity Function Keys F4 KEY (VIEW): This calculates the illustration with the given values and displays the illustration in a window on the screen. The illustration can be scrolled around the window vertically and Page 21 THE INTEREST ANALYZER horizontally by use of the arrow, PgUp, PgDn, Home and End keys. The viewed illustration is identical to what the printed illustration will look like with the exception that the printed illustration may use condensed and bold print. F5 KEY (PRINT): This calculates the illustration with the given values and sends the results to the printer. Depending on the width of the illustration, the program chooses whether to print using condensed print or not. All illustrations are centered, but can be adjusted by means of the printer configuration section, and have titles and totals in bold print. Each page is numbered. F6 KEY (FILER): This brings up the filing system menu. See the documentation on the filing system. F9 KEY (QUICK CALC): This simply pops up the quick calculator. See the documentation about the quick calculator for usage. Page 22 THE INTEREST ANALYZER Quick Calculator The Quick Calculator can be selected as option five from the main menu or by the F9 (QCALC) Key from one of the input screens. The Quick Calculator option is used to calculate a variety of financial calculations and for simple math functions. Selecting the Quick Calculator pops up a window which contains its own menu. You can select a financial value to solve for or a four function calculator. Financial Calculator The financial calculator consists of two parts. One is for calculating present values and future values and the other is for calculating loans. The first consists of five solve for values and the second consists of four solve for values. By selecting one of these values to solve for, inputs appear which you must enter to solve for the selected value. These values and inputs are listed below. Present/Future Values PRESENT VALUE: This lets you solve for a lump sum amount (or present value) given the future value, interest rate, number of months, and any period deposits. DEPOSITS: This lets you solve for a periodic deposit given the future value, interest rate, number of periods, and a lump sum amount (present value). DURATION: This lets you solve for the number of periods it takes to reach a future value given the future value, interest rate, periodic deposit, and a lump sum deposit. INTEREST RATE: This allows you to solve for an interest rate based on the present value, the number of periods, the number of deposits and the future value. FUTURE VALUE: This allows you to solve for a future value given a lump sum amount (present value), a periodic deposit, an interest rate, and the number of periods. Loans PRINCIPAL: This allows you to solve for the principal amount of a loan given the periodic payment, duration and interest rate. PAYMENT: This allows you to solve for the periodic payment of a Page 23 THE INTEREST ANALYZER loan given the principal amount, duration and interest rate. DURATION: This allows you to solve for the duration of a loan given the principal amount, periodic payment and interest rate. INTEREST RATE: This allows you to solve for the interest rate of a loan given the principal amount, periodic payment and duration. Four Function Calculator The four function calculator simply allows you to type in numbers and add, subtract, multiply, and divide them. It displays the result. The result can then be used as one of the next numbers in a calculation. Page 24 THE INTEREST ANALYZER On-line User Manual The Interest Analyzer provides the capability to review this manual on-line. Option number six from the main menu allows this. Once option six is selected, the user manual is loaded into memory and displayed on the screen. You can scroll through it at will by use of the arrow keys and PgUp and PgDn keys. The manual can be printed by your printer by simply pressing the F2 Key. The file "INT.DOC" contains the user manual. It is in standard ascii format and can be read in by virtually any editor or word processor. It can be printed by simply using the Dos Print command. Page 25 THE INTEREST ANALYZER Configuration The configuration section allows you to configure the program to work with the printer of your choice, to work with the colors of your choice and to set up miscellaneous functions and data used in the program. Option number seven from the main menu brings up this menu. Color Attribute Selection Selecting the color attribute option brings up a screen with a list of all the different areas where different colors are used and a displayed list of color to choose from. These are listed below with a brief description of what areas are effected by the specified color attribute names. Listed below the attribute names is a list of active Function Keys which can help in setting up your colors. SCREEN ATTRIBUTE: This is the color that the screen uses everywhere except for the following special areas. This is the most common color. FIELD ATTRIBUTE: This is the color that input fields appear in while they are not being edited. This distinguishes them from normal text on the screen. EDIT ATTRIBUTE: This is the color of an input field while it is being edited. This helps identify where you are at on the screen. FKEY ATTRIBUTE: This is the color that the FKey line appears as at the bottom of the screen. ERROR ATTRIBUTE: This is the color that error messages pop up in. MENU NORMAL ATTRIBUTE: This is the color that pop up scrollable selection windows appear in. MENU HIGHLIGHT ATTRIBUTE: This is the color that the highlighted selection of menus and pop up scrollable selections appear in. STATUS ATTRIBUTE: This is the color that the screen title appears in. It is also the color of the Caps Lock, Num Lock, Insert, Scroll, and Help status appear in. F2 KEY (SHOW COLOR): This displays the current color specified in the field where the cursor is located. The color is displayed in a little window in the bottom right corner. Page 26 THE INTEREST ANALYZER F3 KEY (OTHER COLORS): There are 256 colors available, but only 128 of them are displayed on the screen at one time. The F3 Key toggles between displaying the different sets of 128 colors. F4 KEY (DEFAULT MONO): This automatically sets all the fields to the default colors selected by Insight Software Solutions for a monochrome monitor. F5 KEY (DEFAULT COLOR): This automatically sets all the fields to the default colors selected by Insight Software Solutions for a color monitor. Printer Selection The printer selection brings up a menu which has several options. The options are to Select A Printer, Delete A Printer, Add A Printer, Modify A Printer, and to Alter Line Spacing and Margins. Below the menu items is a list of the current printer specifications. Selecting a printer brings up a list of printers. Simply use the arrow keys to highlight your printer type and press the <Enter> key. If your printer is not listed, you may try several of the printers listed to see if your printer is compatible with one of those listed. If it is not then you may enter your own printer definition for your exact printer. Deleting a printer definition should not be used very often. Simply use the arrow keys to select the printer definition to be deleted and press the <Enter> Key. You will be prompted to verify that you really want to delete the printer definition. Adding a printer definition can be difficult if you are not familiar with printer control sequences. Selecting this option brings up a printer input screen. It asks for a printer name along with many different printer control sequences. The printer control sequences need to be entered in hexadecimal notation. If you are incapable of performing this task, Insight Software Solutions is willing to set up your printer definition for free if you are a registered user and you send Insight Software Solutions a copy of the control codes out of your printer manual. Modifying a printer definition brings up the same screen as Adding a printer definition. You may then change any of the fields desired. If the printer name is changed, the changed definition will not be overwritten, but will appear as a new printer definition. This allows you to create a similar printer definition without rekeying all the control sequences back in. Page 27 THE INTEREST ANALYZER The altering line spacing and margins actually allows you to specify six different items. These items are the top margin, left margin, line spacing, page pausing, IBM graphics characters and Printer Port. The illustration is automatically centered on the page left to right starting at line one. If you desire a top margin it can be specified. (Note: Laser printers should not normally specify a top margin.) If a larger left margin is desired (for punched holes, etc) then a larger left margin can be specified. The line spacing can be sent to either 6 lines per inch or 8 lines per page if more information per page is desired. Pause After Each Page allows you to insert new pieces of paper if your printer does not have continuous form paper. Selecting the IBM graphics characters, tells the program to build the illustration using graphic characters for dashes and double dashes. Using the graphic characters produces a solid line. These characters are used under headings, etc. Some printers do not support these characters. If you select this option and you get strange results on your printout, then you will need to turn this option off. You may select to have your printed output to go to either LPT1, LPT2 or LPT3. This is helpful if you have more than one printer connected to your computer. Miscellaneous Selection The Miscellaneous Configuration section allows you to adjust the program and the illustration more to your liking. There are eight inputs. The first three are for permanent illustration header lines. Typically these lines would be set to your company name and address, but can be set to anything. These lines appear at the top of every illustration before anything else. These lines do not need to be retyped each time the program is run. They are saved and retrieved each time it is used. By selecting the "Turn Sound Off" selection, most sound effects will not occur. If you do not wish to see the startup logo each time you run The Interest Analyzer, then you may select "Bypass Logo at Start". By selecting "Erase Numeric Fields", this will cause the program to clear a numeric field of its current value when you type a digit as the first thing you do when editing the field. "Erase Alpha Fields" is identical to the "Erase Numeric Field", but applies to fields that allow normal text in them. The "Report Date Format" allows you to choose one of several date formats. The format selected is used in the reports and illustrations. Page 28 THE INTEREST ANALYZER Filing System The Interest Analyzer provides the capability to save and retrieve Interest, Amortization, Depreciation and Annuity cases that you have been working on. To invoke this option, you need to press the F6 (FILER) Key from within one of the input screens. Pressing the F6 (FILER) Key brings up a menu. The menu allows you to load saved cases or save out the existing case you are working on. Cases are distinguished by the type of illustration (interest, amortization, depreciation or annuity) and the name specified as the client. If when saving a case, a case by that name already exists, you will be prompted to either not save or to overwrite the existing case. Retrieving a case is simple. A list of all saved cases will appear. You can scroll through the cases and by pressing the <Enter> Key, load in the highlighted case. Saved cases can be marked for deletion by pressing the F2 (MARK A CASE) Key. This simply puts a little box to the left of the case name. You can mark as many as desired for deletion. No cases are deleted until the F3 (DELETE MARKED CASES) key is pressed. Pressing the F3 (DELETE MARKED CASES) Key still gives you one more chance to back out before deletion begins. Page 29