The Business Master (3rd Edition)

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JOB COST VERSION 1.12 Registration fee: $45.00 A COST MANAGEMENT TOOL TO USE WHEN PROFITS ARE MADE ONLY IF YOU STAY WITHIN YOUR ESTIMATE. Copyright (C) 1986 MICRO DATA ASSIST 2701-C, West 15th Suite 149 Plano, Texas 75075 (214) 736-3668 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Revised: April 20, 1990 The basis for development of 'JOB COST' is a system originally designed and used by a multi-state construction company to monitor the progress of construction projects, employing several hundred employees. The value of this software was proven many times in the early 1970's, during the 1st oil embargo and its related affects upon our economy. Although times have changed, the need for effective and prompt monitoring of costs is even more critical, especially for light construction, due to labor, material, and interest rates. I trust you will be more than satisfied with the ease of use of the various modules that comprise this system. Please forward any improvements you can suggest that will make this system more valuable to you to MICRO DATA ASSIST, 2701-C, West 15th, Suite 149, Plano, Texas 75075. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY THE FOREGOING WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT WILL MICRO DATA ASSIST BE LIABLE FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. GENERAL If any of the provisions, or portions hereof, of this agreement are invalid under any applicable statute or rule of law, they are to that extent to be deemed omitted. DISCLAIMER MICRO DATA ASSIST makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents hereof and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. ------ Notice to all un-registered users. ------ JOB COST is distributed as an "UN-REGISTERED" program that has a "TRY BEFORE YOU BUY" job limit of 5 jobs. If, after using JOB COST, you decide that you wish to become a REGISTERED USER send in your registration form with the requested fee. You will then be sent a "PASS WORD - REGISTRATION NUMBER" that will release you from the 5 job limit. THIS "JOB COST" PROGRAM IS NOT A DEMO BUT IS LIMITED TO 5 JOBS UNTIL YOU FILE YOUR REGISTRATION AND PAY YOUR FEE. If you have not registered your copy of JOB COST you will first be presented with a display of the SHAREWARE message screen. If you have not registered your copy of JOB COST and have been using it for 30 days or more you will next be presented with a request for registration screen. SHAREWARE IS ONLY A MARKETING CONCEPT THAT PROVIDES YOU WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO TEST SOFTWARE, AT A VERY REASONABLE PRICE, BEFORE YOU PURCHASE IT. SHAREWARE IS NOT A MEANS OF PROVIDING YOU WITH CHEAP (OR FREE) SOFTWARE. AS A DEVELOPER I MUST RELY ON YOUR REGISTRATION FEE FOR INCOME SO THAT I CAN CONTINUE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH QUALITY PROGRAMS AND SUPPORT. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction to 'JOB COST'.................... System Requirements........................... Installing distributed programs on your system Keyboard Entry................................ Function Codes................................ System initialization......................... "PROFIT/LOSS" Projection calculation logic.... Main Menu........................................ JOBS Job Master............................. Cost Control Centers................... Edit Current Expenses.................. Post Current Expenses.................. REPORTS Summary of All Jobs.................... Expenses By Job & Cost Center.......... Job Profit (Loss) Status............... UTILITIES JOB SUPPORT............................ Create new Job & Expense file from existing Job & Expense file..... Create backup of specific Job...... Delete all Expense and Detail for a specific Job....................... Restore specific job from off-line storage.......................... SYSTEM SUPPORT.......................... Rebuild database index files....... Adjust printer format codes........ Force color to momochrome.......... Change date format................. Update personalization information. Print "User Registration" form.... Data file formats................................ JCMASTER.DBF................................ JCCENTER.DBF................................ JCEXPEDT.DBF................................ JCEXPHIS.DBF................................ INTRODUCTION TO "JOB COST" This 'JOB COST' system provides a simple and straight forward method of entering budgets, capturing costs, capturing estimated percent completions, and projecting status of complex projects. This capability of projection of status of any single item of budget prior to completion along with the capability to summarize all items of cost to the job level and its state of completion allows for the correction of trends that will cause a loss of dollars long before those trends have a major impact of the final status of any one job. Reports produced include Edit reports for - Expenses Actually Incurred Summary of all Jobs - Prints a job status summary report in job ID order sequence of all jobs currently on file. Job Status Report - by Job and Cost Center for All Jobs, or a specific job. Job Recap - Expense posting recap for all Jobs, a specific job, and with or without activity date framing. SYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS A. Stand alone system. B. Completely menu driven for ease of operation. Only a simple understanding of how to post input from source documents needed to run system. C. Provides for interactive viewing of job and cost center status at any time. D. Allows for selective reporting of jobs. E. Maintains detail transaction posting register of all activity by cost center within job. F. Provides for quick setup of new jobs, transfer of completed jobs to history file storage, restore of completed jobs to active status from history, and deletion of completed job and all of its related detail. G. Automatically updates Job status of funds available upon posting of expenses to cost centers. H. Maintains separation of expense by labor, material, and other for each job cost center and summarizes these by cost center. I. Maintains separation of original job estimates and change orders with projection of profit(loss) at each level. J. The number of jobs, cost centers per job, change orders per job is limited more by disk space than system limitations (99 change orders per job). SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS OPERATING SYSTEM - MS-DOS 2.1 (or greater). MEMORY - 640k minimum. MONITORY - Color or monochrome. DISK - 2 floppy, or one hard disk and one floppy. PRINTER - any dot matrix printer capable of printing 130 characters in either normal or compress print mode. TERMINAL - terminal with an 80-column display and direct cursor addressing capability. INSTALLING THE APPLICATION PROGRAMS FLOPPY DISK SYSTEM 1. Format two new disks (one for the program and one for the working data files), placing a copy of your DOS operating system on the disk to contain the "JOB COST" program "JCMENU.EXE" and distribution files. 2. Create a "CONFIG.SYS" file containing the following values: FILES=20 BUFFERS=10 and place it on the disk containing the copy of your DOS operating system. 3. Copy all the files from the program master distribution disk onto the disk containing the copy of your DOS operating system. 4. Remove the disk that now contains a copy of your DOS operating system, the new "CONFIG.SYS" file, and a copy of all the "JOB COST" distribution files, and label it JOB COST - PROGRAM MASTER DISK - 'A'. 5. Label the other disk that you formatted as JOB COST - FILES DISK - B. 6. Upon completion place the "JOB COST" program master distribution disk in a safe place. HARD DISK SYSTEMS 1. Check to insure that your "CONFIG.SYS" file contains the following minimum values: FILES=20 BUFFERS=12 If the CONFIG.SYS file does not exist or contain these minimum values create/modify it so that it does. 2. Create a new sub-directory labeled "JCMENU" by entering the following: MD\JCMENU <return> 3. Make this new directory the current directory you are operating from by entering the following: CD\JCMENU <return> 4. Insert the "JOB COST" program master distribution disk into floppy drive "A" and copy it into the new directory by entering: COPY A:*.* C: <return> 5. Upon completion remove the "JOB COST" program master distribution disk and place it in a safe place. KEYBOARD ENTRY HOT KEY - F1': (valid only for data input fields) Pressing the 'F1' key anytime your cursor is positioned in a data input field will display a HELP screen. This limited help screen will provide you with information about the field you are currently positioned on. HOT KEY - F2': (valid only for selected key input fields) Pressing the 'F2' key, while in certain maintenance screens and with the cursor positioned in record key fields, will present a display screen of jobs, or cost centers, currently on file. Single Key Input: When the system is waiting for the user to respond. This may be a "Y" or "N" (denoting Yes or No) or some other character valid only at that point of entry. Input is accepted with <CR>. Line Input: This is the "normal" input mode. Lines are limited to a certain length indicated by the highlighted area. The operator is required to terminate all data entry with a carriage return <CR>. Dollar Values: The entering of dollar values must not be accompanied by dollar signs ($) or commas. The system requires that amounts be entered in decimal form with negative amounts preceded with "-". However, the use of a decimal is not always required. Numbers entered without a decimal are assumed to be whole dollar amounts. For example: you enter: 752 computer assumes: $752.00 1752.36 $1,752.36 -752.3 $-752.30 Dates: The system accepts only valid dates. You can select a variation of the standard 'American' date format through the use of the 'Job Cost - Utilities'. November 4, 1944 = 11/04/44 All dates must be valid as system will reject any invalid date (leap year will allow Feb. 29 to be a valid day entry). Default Responses: In those areas where default responses are allowed (mostly in response to Y/N requests) the response most likely not to affect processing is assumed. Lower case characters are converted to upper case by the system where required. FUNCTION CODES Most of the displays will ask for you to enter either a function code of "I,A,C,D,V,+,-" or a numeric option. Only the range displayed will be treated as valid entries with the exception that a 'blank' or <CR> can be entered at certain points to terminate an option or function request cycle and return you to prior level of processing. <ESC> = Pressing the <ESC> key at any time will terminate the current action, or menu. Any change entered will be ignored and the record being processed will retain its original status. I = request entry of ID for selecting next record to display. A blank screen will be returned with only headings for all data fields. Operator will be requested to enter record ID of record to display (this may be one, two, or three fields in sequence). A = add new records. A blank screen will be returned with only headings for all data fields. An entry of <CR> for 1st field will terminate the add function and return the operator to the action code request. If you enter an invalid record key field you must first accept the record as good to the system, then delete it by use of the "D" function code. C = correct (or change) data contained in current record being displayed. The message "OK Y/N.." is next displayed and a response of "Y" or "N" must be entered. An entry of "Y" will terminate the "C" function code, update the modified record with current maintenance date, and then return operator to your maintenance sub-menu. D = delete current record displayed. Upon completion of this request the message "RECORD DELETED" will be displayed and the operator is returned to your maintenance sub-menu. V = (view) (only used in the 'Cost Center' maintenance function) allows you to display all expense entries posted against a specific cost center. + or - = will allow the operator to sequentially step through the file starting with the last record displayed. SYSTEM INITIALIZATION System Initialization is automatically initiated for you upon your initial loading of the JOB COST program "JCMENU" providing the file "JCMVBLS.MEM" does not exist. This will create your working data files, allow you to personalize your copy of JOB COST, and define the printer control codes necessary to talk to your printer correctly. Load the "JOB COST" program by entering: JCMENU <return> Upon your initial entry into the system initialization cycle you will be taken through the three steps needed to initialize your system; 1) define the disk to hold your working data files; 2) setup your business name as you wish to see it on all reports and screen headings; and 3) identify the printer codes necessary to initiate compress print and then to return back to normal print (if this option is to be used). (NOTE - if you must reinitialize your system delete the file JCMVBLS.MEM that resides in the same disk directory as the JOB COST program JCMENU.EXE. The presents of this file indicates that system initialization has been performed.) INITIALIZE NEW SYSTEM Your first request will be for the letter of the disk drive that will contain your data files. "ENTER DISK DRIVE (A,B,C,D,E,F)... " Enter the letter that designates your desired data file disk drive. If working data files already exist you will be informed of this and given the option to either leave them as they currently are or delete and replace them with a blank new file. As each file is created the following display will inform you of that fact by identifying the disk and file by name. "INITIALIZING FILE - x:JCMASTER" "INITIALIZING FILE - x:JCCENTER" "INITIALIZING FILE - x:JCEXPHIS" "INITIALIZING FILE - x:JCPCTEDT" PERSONALIZING YOUR SYSTEM This request allows you to personalize your copy of JOB COST. Enter your company name and address as you would normally want it to be shown. Your registration number will be generated from your company name - YOU WILL HAVE TO RE-REGISTER YOUR SYSTEM IF YOU MUST LATER CHANGE YOUR COMPANY NAME AFTER YOU RECEIVE YOUR REGISTRATION NUMBER. (Note - You can change this information at any time through the use of the JOB COST UTILITIES functions.) ENTER PRINTER 'PRINT CODES' This set of requests will be for your printer codes necessary to switch from normal print to compress print. (If your printer will print 130 characters at a normal spacing of 10 characters per inch you do not need to enter any codes unless you so desire to. If your printer must use the compress print feature, or you wish to print all reports on the same size paper, you must respond to these code requests.) These code values must be entered one at a time. Each code is entered in its decimal value. Termination of input of each set of codes is signified by the entry of a null code. Upon completion of the last code you will be requested to turn on your printer and a test of the print codes you entered will be made. If this test is not correct you will have the option to re-enter these codes until you are satisfied with the test. Sample of input common for most printers. (See your printer user manual for your particular printer.) "ENTER 'COMPRESS PRINT' FUNCTION CODES" "FUNCTION CODE NO. 1 15 <return>" "FUNCTION CODE NO. 2 <return>" "ENTER 'NORMAL PRINT' FUNCTION CODES" "FUNCTION CODE NO. 1 18 <return>" "FUNCTION CODE NO. 2 <return>" Upon termination of the "NORMAL PRINT" function code input you will be requested to turn on your printer for a test print. If the test is not correct respond with "N" to the message requesting confirmation of the print test. "******** TURN PRINTER ON **********" "PRINTER OUTPUT TEST CORRECT (Y/N).. : :" "PROFIT/LOSS" PROJECTION CALCULATION LOGIC (Note - All calculations are performed independent of prior calculations. Projected totals will vary from detail projections. The closer your percent of completion is to 100% the more valid will be the projections. When percent completion reaches 100% no projection is made and the variance between budget and actual is taken for your PROFIT/LOSS.) 1. Labor/Material/Other within each cost center. A. If % completion = 0 : no projection made. B. If % completion > 0 : Budget amount - (actual expense/percent completion) = projected PROFIT/LOSS(negative) 2. Total of Labor/Material/Other for each cost center. A. If no percent completion is recorded for the detail levels for labor/material/other then the percent completion recorded at the total level uses the same logic as would have been used for the detail levels: (Labor %) * (total labor budget / total budget) + (Material %) * (total material budget / total budget) + (Other %) * (total other budget / total budget) = Total estimated percent completion. If % completion = 0 : no projection made. If % completion > 0 : Total budget amount - (total actual expenses / percent completion) = projected PROFIT (LOSS). B. If you have estimated percent completions at the labor, material, and other levels the total percent completion for the cost center is calculated first by determining what each unit contributes toward the total extended by their individual estimated percent of completion. Using the following formula: After this estimated completion % has been calculated the projection is made a above: If % completion = 0 : no projection made. If % completion > 0 : Total budget amount - (total actual expenses / percent completion) = projected PROFIT (LOSS). 3. Projected percent completion for JOB and CHANGE ORDERS. Change orders are treated separate from original job but using the same logic. A. Total budget amount for each cost center is accumulated to form the total budget amount for the JOB/CHANGE ORDERS. B. The percent that each cost center weights toward the total JOB/CHANGE ORDERS is then calculated and summed by: (Cost Center #1%) * (Cost Center #1 budget / total budget) + (Cost Center #2%) * (Cost Center #2 budget / total budget) + (same) + (same) + etc. = Total estimated percent completion. C. Finally the total JOB/CHANGE ORDERS projected PROFIT/LOSS is calculated by: Total budget - (total expenses/total % completion) = Total projected PROFIT/LOSS(negative) Using the above logic (to four decimal places) the following cost center totals will project out as follows: % BUDGET ACTUAL VARIANCE PROJECTED LABOR 10 11,310.30 712.60 10,497.70 4,184.30 MATERIAL 60 19,171.30 5,178.15 13,993.15 10,541.05 OTHER 50 5,760.00 1,509.00 4,251.00 2,742.00 ------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL 43 36,241.60 7,399.75 28,841.85 18,956.50 (Note - total projected does not equal the sum of labor, material, and other which add up to 17,467.35) The 43% estimated total completion is arrived at from the following: Labor = 11,310.30 / 36,241.60 = .3120 X 10 = 3.12 Material = 19,171.30 / 36,241.60 = .5289 X 60 = 31.74 Other = 5,760.00 / 36,241.60 = .1589 X 50 = 7.95 ------------------------------------------------------ 36,241.60 42.81% (or 43%) Total expenses = 7,399.75 Total projected expense = 7,399.75 / .4281 = 17,285.10 Total projected PROFIT = 36,241.60 - 17,285.10 = 18,956.50 KEEP IN MIND THAT THE MORE ACCURATE YOUR ESTIMATES AND THE CLOSER YOUR ESTIMATES ARE TO 100% THE MORE ACCURATE WILL BE YOUR PROJECTIONS. MASTER MENU Following the entry of the current date you will be presented with the "JOB COST" system's main menu. All system functions are requested through this menu, and upon their completion return you back to this menu. In order to select the desired menu option just press the first letter of the sub-menu you wish followed by the first letter of the function desired. You can also press the up arrow, or down arrow key on your numeric key pad to move the light bar to the desired menu option, then press the <RETURN> or <ENTER> key. MAINTENANCE FUNCTIONS JOB MASTER MAINTENANCE This function provides you with three major features: 1) Allows you to add, change, and delete job master records to your data base. Job masters must be added first before any cost center records can be setup or any input of expense data for that job. Job masters cannot be deleted if any cost center records exist for that job. (Note -Changes can only be made to those fields in the job master that are not updated by any posting of expenses.) 2) A quick and concise recap of any job at any time by just entering the ID for that job. 3) Allows you to play "WHAT IF" with projected profit(loss) by changing the percent completed values. DISPLAYING A SPECIFIC JOB MASTER RECORD Select sub-menu options "I" or "C" in order to locate a specific job master, or an "+" or "-" to skip to the next/previous job master on file. If you do not know the ID of the Job Master you are looking for you can press the 'F2' key for a display of all the jobs you have on file and then select the desired job for display. ADDING NEW JOB MASTER RECORDS 1. Select sub-menu option 'A'. 2. Enter the code name for this job (maximum of six characters). This will be the reference you will use to identify this job to the system in all the system functions. (You will not be allowed to enter a duplicate job ID.) 3. Enter a short description that better describes the job to you or anyone reading your reports (maximum of 40 characters). 4. Enter date started. (This date is provided only as a memo entry to allow you to keep track of the date the job was started.) 5. Enter date completed. (This date is provided only as a memo entry to allow you to keep track of the date the job is due to be completed, or was actually completed.) 6. Enter the dollar amount of funds advanced for this job. (Note - do not enter any dollar signs or commas, negative numbers must be preceded with a '-'.) All expenses posted against this job will be applied against this dollar amount to provide you with the amount of funds remaining (displayed to the right of funds advanced value). As you receive more funds update this value to reflect the total funds advanced. 7. Enter the percent completed of original job estimate. (This value is not needed at job setup time and can be ignored.) Value range is between 0.00 and 100.00 percent. As you post expenses to the various cost centers for this job, this percent value will re-compute the total projected profit(loss) you can expect in relation to the budget originally established for the original job estimate. 8. Enter the percent completion of all change orders on file for this job. (This value is not needed at job setup time and can be ignored.) Value range is between 0.00 and 100.00 percent. As you post expenses to the various cost centers for each change order, this percent value will re-compute the total projected profit(loss) you can expect in relation to the total value of change orders you have budgeted. CHANGE VALUES IN A JOB MASTER RECORD 1. Select sub-menu option 'C'. 2. Advance to the field you wish to change by pressing the return key. 3. Enter the corrected information. DELETING A JOB MASTER RECORD 1. Select sub-menu option 'D'. 2. Confirm your deletion request by entering a 'Y' to the (Y/N) prompt. (Note - no job master can be deleted if it has any cost center master records on file. If you wish to delete a specific Job, and all related cost centers and expense history, use the 'JOB DELETE' function found in the 'SYSTEM UTILITIES - JOB SUPPORT'.) RETURN TO MASTER MENU 1. Just press the <ESC> key. COST CENTER MAINTENANCE This function provides you with three main features: 1) Allows you to add, change, and delete cost center masters for any job on file. New cost center records can only be setup if a job master for that job exists. Cost center records cannot be deleted unless there are no expense records for that cost center. Only those fields that are not updated by posting of expenses can be changed. 2) Allows you to inquire into the status of individual job cost control centers. 3) Allows you to enter budget amounts and the percent completions at either the detail level for labor, material, or other, or at the total level. 4) Allows you to view all posted expense's for individual cost centers. After selecting this sub-menu function you are first requested to select the job you wish to work with from a listing of all the jobs currently on file. Pressing the <ESC> key will terminate this request and return you to the Master Menu. DISPLAYING A SPECIFIC JOB COST CONTROL CENTER MASTER 1. Select sub-menu options "I" or "C" and then enter the specific cost center ID, or press the 'F2 key for a display of all the cost centers on file for the selected job. DISPLAYING IN SEQUENCE THE COST CONTROL CENTER MASTER RECORDS ON FILE 1. After you have located a given cost center for the job you can sequentially view all other cost centers by using the +/- sub- menu functions. ADDING NEW COST CONTROL CENTER MASTER RECORDS 1. Select sub-menu option "A". 2 Enter the cost control center ID (maximum of 5 digits) followed by the change order ID (only if this is a change order, maximum of 2 digits). (NOTE - CHANGE ORDERS ARE IDENTIFIED BY THE USE OF THIS TWO DIGIT NUMBER. WHEN YOU REQUEST A JOB STATUS REPORT THE COST CONTROL CENTERS ARE GROUPED BY CHANGE ORDER NUMBER FOR EACH JOB AND ARE TOTALED SEPARATELY.) 3. Enter a brief description of the cost control center that the ID entered in step 2 represents. 4. Enter the budget amounts for Labor, Material, and Other. (If you do not wish to budget to this detail level just enter the total budget amount.) 5. Enter percent completion and budget values for labor, material, or other, or for total (if budget values are entered for labor, material, or other the total budget amount will be calculated for you). All other expense values can only be entered through the posting cycles for expenses. CHANGE VALUES IN AN EXISTING COST CONTROL CENTER RECORD 1. Select sub-menu option "C". 2. Advance to the field you wish to change by pressing the return key, change that field, then advance out by repeat pressing of the return key. DELETING A COST CONTROL CENTER MASTER RECORD 1. Select sub-menu option "D". 2. Enter the ID of the cost center you wish to delete. 3. Confirm the delete request by responding with a 'Y' to the (Y/N) delete prompt. 4. The message "*** RECORD DELETED ***" will be displayed if you entered a 'Y'. The message "*** NOT DELETED ***" will be displayed if you entered a 'N' or pressed the <ESC> key. VIEW EXPENSE RECORDS 1. Select cost center to view. 2. Select the (V)iew sub-menu option. The screen will then be cleared and replaced with a listing of all posted expenses in date order for this cost center. 3. Press any key to continue display if more expenses exist than can be listed on one screen, or to return to maintenance sub-menu upon completion of expense listing. RETURN TO MASTER MENU 1. Just press the <ESC> key. EDITS EDIT CURRENT EXPENSES This function allows you to add, change, and delete un-posted expenses against cost center records for any active job. A. No expense record can be entered unless a job master exists for that job. B. No expense record can be entered unless a cost center master exists for that job and cost center. C. Expenses can be entered only for labor, material, and other categories. A line number is assigned to each expense record as it is entered and if the record is in error this line number is used to retrieve the record for changes and/or deletion. Upon completion of entering of expenses the operator is asked if a printed edit report is needed. The operator can either print the edit report at this time or later, by either calling back up the edit function, or prior to posting when operator is again asked if printed edit report is needed. All edit reports require a printer capable of printing 130 characters (in either compressed or normal print mode). SELECT SPECIFIC EXPENSE ITEM 1. Select sub-menu option 'I', 'C' or 'D'. 2. Enter the line item no. of the expense record you wish to display (this number is assigned to each record as they were entered and is listed on the far left hand side of the edit report next to the job ID). ADDING NEW EXPENSE RECORDS TO THE EDIT FILE 1. Select sub-menu option "A". 2. Enter the ID of the job this expense record is for. If the job master is not on file the message: "** JOB MASTER NOT ON FILE **" will be displayed next to the input job ID and you will be re- requested for a correct job ID. If the job master is on file then the description of the job will be displayed next to the input job ID. (Press the F2 key in order to display all jobs currently on file from which you can select the desired job.) 3. Enter the cost control center ID (maximum of 5 digits) and its related change order no. (maximum of 2 digits). If the cost center master is not on file the message: "** JOB CENTER MASTER NOT ON FILE **" will be displayed next to the input cost control center ID and you will be requested for a correct cost center id. If no cost center ID is entered you will be taken back to the request for the job ID. (Press the F2 key in order to display all cost centers on file for the selected job from which you can select the desired cost center.) Once you have entered a valid cost center ID its description will be displayed next to the input ID. 4. Enter the type code for the expense item being entered. This code can only be an "L" for labor, "M" for material, or "O" for other. This request will be repeated until a valid entry is made. 5. Enter the transaction date. This must be a valid date, if not you will be required to re-enter until valid. 6. Enter the source document reference ID (optional input - use for invoice numbers and the like). 7. Enter the transaction description that specifically describes this expense item (optional entry but needed if you wish to provide a detail expense recap at end of job). 8. Enter the quantity of the item of expense (optional entry but allows you to keep track of hours and items of purchase). 9. Enter the expense item unit of measure (optional entry but provides more meaning to the quantity value). 10. Enter the expense item cost (optional entry, do not enter dollar signs ($), or commas (,), negative numbers must be proceeded with a minus "-" sign). Once an item of expense has been posted the only way it can be adjusted is by use of negative entries. To terminate the "ADD" function enter a <CR> in response to the request for the job ID or press the <ESC> key. CHANGE VALUES IN EXPENSE EDIT RECORDS 1. Select sub-menu option 'C'. 2. Enter the system assigned line reference number for the desired expense edit item. This number is printed on the extreme left of the expense edit report. 3. Advance to the field you wish to change by repeated pressing of the return key, change the desired field, then exit out of the displayed record by continued pressing of the return key. DELETING EXPENSE EDIT RECORD 1. Select sub-menu option 'D'. 2. Enter the system assigned line number for the expense edit item you wish to delete. 3. Enter 'Y' in response to the (Y/N) conformation prompt if you wish to delete the displayed record. The message "*** RECORD DELETED ***" will be displayed. If you entered a 'N' then the message "*** NOT DELETED ***" will be displayed. RETURN TO MASTER MENU 1. Just press the <ESC> key. "PRINT EXPENSE EDIT REPORT AT THIS TIME (Y/N).." To print the edit report respond with a "Y", to return to the MASTER MENU without printing the edit report respond with a "N". POST EDITS POST CURRENT EXPENSES This function performs the actual posting of the edit file of current expenses. Prior to the beginning of the posting cycle the operator is again provided the opportunity to print the edit report of expenses if it has not already been printed. Following the print option the operator is given one last chance to either continue or return to main menu. If the operator chooses to continue the posting of expenses commences. Sense there is no way to prevent maintenance from being performed between the time of editing and actual posting of edited transactions the posting program will add 'DUMMY' COST CENTER records if a cost center record no longer exists for an edited transaction. During the actual posting of transactions each transaction is displayed upon the screen. Upon completion of the posting cycle the edit file is deleted and recreated with no transactions. Also during the posting of expenses the JOB MASTER record of funds spent accumulator for the respective transaction is updated with the amount of the expense item. Upon completion of posting for the job the projected profit/loss is recalculated. Each cost center record is recalculated for projected profit/loss and variance as each transaction is posted. Upon entering this function the following message will be presented: "HAVE CURRENT EXPENSE EDITS BEEN PRINTED..(Y/N).. " If you have not printed your expense edit report now is the last chance to do so. An answer of "N" will initiate the print cycle by first clearing the screen and displaying the message: "PRINT EXPENSE EDIT REPORT AT THIS TIME (Y/N).. " A response of "N" will cancel the print request and return you to the next step in the posting option. If you entered a 'Y' you will start printing of the expense edit report. Upon completion of the printing you will be returned to the next step in the posting option. An answer of "Y" will immediately take you into the next step in the posting cycle. It is recommended that you back up your data files prior to actual posting to provide you with error recovery capabilities. A power failure or any other type of interruption can cause damage to your files if it happens during posting. To stop the posting cycle and perform your file backup enter a response of "N". To continue the posting cycle enter a response of "Y". If you responded with a "Y" the message: "INDEXING EXPENSE EDIT FILE FOR POSTING" will be displayed. This routine will re-sequence your edit file into the same order as your cost center master file to make posting more efficient. The time this routine takes is dependent upon the number of transactions in your edit file but should not last more than a couple of minutes for even the largest file. Upon completion of your edit file re-indexing posting will start. You will be provided with a posting screen on which is displayed each edit transaction as it is posted. This display is mainly provided to you to inform you that the posting is being performed and that you should not interrupt the processing. If a cost center master record has been deleted between the time of editing and posting of transactions a "DUMMY" cost center master will be created to receive the posting. This "DUMMY" cost center master should be updated with a description by use or "COST CENTER MAINTENANCE" function in order to make your reports more readable. Upon completion of the posting of transactions your screen will be cleared and you will be displayed the following message: "APPENDING EDIT FILE TO HISTORY FILE" At this time the posting program is 1) updating your detail history file with transactions just posted, followed by 2) a deleting of all transactions in the edit file in preparation for the next set of transactions. Upon completion of the posting routine you will be returned to the "MAIN MENU". REPORTS SUMMARY OF ALL JOBS This report is a summary recap of the status of all jobs you currently have on file. Each job is listed in JOB ID. order with a total accounting of all funds and cost projections. The bottom line of this report provides you with an accounting summary of overall job status and total percent completion. To select this report just select the (S)ummary of All Jobs reports sub-menu option. No other parameters are required to be entered. RECAP OF EXPENSES This report is a detail recap of expenses transactions that were posted against each cost center record. These transactions are printed in date, type order by cost center within job. The operator is provided the following options: a) print report or return to main menu; b) print all jobs or only a specific job; and c) print all transaction records or only those sense an operator input cutoff date. This report can be run any time and is not affected by un-posted transactions. (This report requires 130 character printer capacity, or the use of compress print on a standard 80 character printer.) Upon entering this function the screen will be cleared and the following message will be displayed: DO YOU WISH TO PRINT 'RECAP OF EXPENSES' REPORT (Y/N): A response of "N" will terminate this function and return you to the "MAIN MENU". A response of "Y" will present you with the following message: DO YOU WISH TO PRINT 'ALL' OR 'SPECIFIC' JOB..(A/S):" A response of "A" will indicate that all jobs on file are to be considered for printing. A response of "S" will indicate that only a specific job is to be printed and will result in the display of a special screen listing all jobs currently on file. You then can select the desired job for this report listing. The next request will be for a date that will be used as a base date for selection of all detail transactions to be printed. Only those transactions not older than the date entered will be printed. IGNORE ALL EXPENSES PRIOR TO DATE....: IGNORE ALL EXPENSES AFTER DATE.......: With this date range you can list only those expenses that you wish to view to an accounting time frame. The date must be a valid dates with the 'AFTER DATE' equal to or greater than the 'PRIOR TO DATE'. Upon acceptance of the date the following message will be displayed: "PRINTER MUST BE TURNED ON" At this time be sure the printer is turned on so that printing can commence. Upon completion of printing of the "RECAP OF EXPENSES" report you will be returned to the "MAIN MENU". JOB PROFIT (LOSS) STATUS This report is a recap of the JOB MASTER and COST CENTER record status as per last posting of transactions. This report can be run selectively by job or for all jobs on file. This is the principal report of the system and is designed to provide quick insight into the status of a job and individual cost centers. Job and cost center profit/loss projections are all calculated and shown at the value that will be reached if no corrective action is taken and 100% completion is obtained. For long jobs this will allow the supervisor to monitor the effects of corrective action as it is taken. When coupled with the corresponding expense detail recap report reasons for variance from budgeted values can be readily seen. (NOTE - It is recommended that upon completion of a job that each of these reports be printed for that job in their entirety. This will provide an excellent printed recap of a job that all persons can read and recognize where profits were made or lost, and therefore where improvements can be made in the next estimate.) Upon entering this function the following message will be presented: "DO YOU WISH TO PRINT 'JOB STATUS' REPORT..(Y/N).. " A response of "N" will terminate this function and return you to the "MAIN MENU". A response of "Y" will present you with the following message: "DO YOU WISH TO PRINT 'ALL' OR 'SPECIFIC' JOB..(A/S).." A response of "A" will indicate that all jobs on file are to be printed. A response of "S" will indicate that only a specific job is to be printed and will result in the display of a special screen from which you can select the desired job to list for this report. Next you are provided with two opportunities to reduce the size of the reports you are requesting. The first option will allow you to print or not print all cost centers with a net zero expense balance. The second option will allow you to print or not print all cost centers classified as 100% completed (expense and budget values are still accumulated for these cost centers for job and change order totals). A response of "Y" will print the cost centers, a response of "N" will not print the cost centers. "PRINT COST CENTERS WITH ZERO EXPENSE BALANCES (Y/N)." "PRINT 100% COMPLETED COST CENTERS (Y/N)." Upon completion of responding to the proceeding requests the following message will be displayed: "PRINTER MUST BE TURNED ON" At this time be sure the printer is turned on so that printing can commence. Upon completion of printing of the "JOB PROFIT (LOSS) STATUS" report you will be returned to the "MAIN MENU". SYSTEM UTILITIES These utilities are provided to facilitate many needs unique to the JOB COST system. These utilities are divided into two groups: JOB SUPPORT and SYSTEM SUPPORT. If used properly these functions will save many hours of time and allow for almost an unlimited number of jobs to be run on the system. For a better understanding of their functions read the section specifically detailing the use of each system file utility. (Note - as with all programs that update a data base, it is recommended that your files all be backed up before using any of these functions. Also that you insure that there is adequate disk space to perform the desired function. Any machine failure during the execution of any of these functions can destroy your files and without a backup cost you many hours of time in rebuilding them, if that is possible.) JOB SUPPORT - UTILITIES CREATE NEW JOB & EXPENSE FILE FROM EXISTING JOB & EXPENSE SET For those of you that perform the same or similar functions for each job (installing swimming pools, building track housing, etc.), this function will save you time in setting up new jobs. You enter the ID of the job already on file that resembles the new job and this function will create new job master and cost center masters. To finish the job of new job setup is to enter the job description, funds advanced, and budget amounts. Upon selecting this utility you will be requested to enter the reference for the disk drive to be used to temporary hold the work files needed to hold the copy of job you are using as a template for the new job. These work files will be deleted upon completion of the creation of the new job. "DISK WORK FILE WILL BE BUILT ON (A,B,C,D,E,F).." Enter a response of A,B,C,D,E, or F to continue. You will next be asked to enter the ID of the job you wish to use as a template for the new job. "ENTER NAME OF SOURCE JOB.. " If you do not enter a job ID you will be returned to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. If you enter an invalid job ID you will be presented with the following message and re-requested for a valid job ID. "*** JOB ID NOT ON FILE ***" You will next be asked to enter the ID of the new job you wish to create. "ENTER ID OF NEW JOB.." If you do not enter a job ID you will be returned to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. If you enter a job ID that is already on file you will be presented with the following message and re- requested for a new job ID. "*** JOB ID IS ALREADY ON FILE ***" Upon entry of a new job ID you will be asked to mount a disk in the designated work drive and then given a final option to either continue or cancel. "MOUNT DISK IN DRIVE.. X" "CREATE NEW JOB FILE (Y/N).. " If you do not respond with a "Y" no new job will be created and you will be returned to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. If you respond with a "Y" then the system will commence building of the new job. Upon completion you are returned to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. CREATE BACKUP OF SPECIFIC JOB (FOR OFF-LINE STORAGE) This utility will help those of you that may need to reopen a job some time after it has been recorded as completed to enter new costs against it, or if you need to keep a complete record of the job after it is completed in case you may need to do another one like it. Once you have made a backup of a job you can later delete it and free up needed disk space for new jobs. Be sure that you have sufficient disk space on the disk you are making the backup on before executing this utility. Upon entering this utility the screen will first be cleared and the following message will be displayed: "CREATE BACKUP OF SPECIFIC JOB (FOR OFF-LINE STORAGE)" "CONTINUE (Y/N).." If any response other than a "Y" is given you will be returned to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. Next you will be requested to identify the disk drive to create your backup files on. "JOB BACKUP FILE WILL BE BUILT ON (A,B,C,D,E,F).. " After acceptance of the ID of the disk drive to build your backup files on you will be requested to enter the ID of the job you wish to backup. ENTER NAME OF JOB TO BACKUP.. " If you do not enter a job ID you will be returned to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. If you enter an invalid job ID you will be presented with the following display and requested to re-enter the ID of the job to backup. "*** JOB ID NOT ON FILE ***" Upon entry of a valid job ID you will be requested to mount the disk to receive the backup files and given a chance to terminate this request. "MOUNT DISK IN DRIVE.. x" "CREATE BACKUP COPY (Y/N).. " A response of anything other than a "Y" will terminate this function and return you to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. A response of "Y" will initiate the backup function. If a backup copy of the job you requested already exists on the designated disk you will be displayed the following message and again asked if you wish to continue. "FILE ALREADY EXISTS ON DISK X" If you do not wish to continue respond with anything other than a "Y" and you will be returned to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. Otherwise respond with a "Y" to write over the existing files on the backup disk. Upon completion of the creation of your backup files you will be returned to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. DELETE ALL EXPENSE AND DETAIL FOR A SPECIFIC JOB This utility will tag all records for a specific job as deleted. Once tagged they will no longer be recognized by the system. These records will still be on file and in order to remove them to make the disk space they occupy available to new jobs you must run the "RE-INDEX DATA FILES FILES - SYSTEM SUPPORT" utility. Upon entering this utility the screen will be cleared and the following message displayed: "DELETE ALL EXPENSE AND DETAIL FOR A SPECIFIC JOB" "CONTINUE (Y/N).. " In order to continue enter a "Y" to this request. Any other response will return you to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. You will next be requested to enter the ID of the job you wish to delete with the following message: "ENTER NAME OF JOB TO DELETE " If you do not enter a job ID this utility will be terminated and you will be returned to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. If you enter an invalid job ID the message: "*** JOB ID NOT ON FILE ***" will be displayed and you will be requested to re-enter the ID of the job you wish to delete. Upon acceptance of the job ID to delete you will be given one last chance to change your mind with the following message: "DELETE ALL RECORDS (Y/N).. " Any response other than "Y" will terminate this utility without deleting any job records and return you to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. Otherwise a "Y" response will immediately start the routine that deletes all records for the given job ID. Upon completion you will be returned to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. (NOTE - This routine only marks the records as deleted so that all the programs in this system will ignore them. These records still exist in the respective files and the space they occupy will not be made available to other records until "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu option - (COMPRESS ALL FILES) is executed.) RESTORE SPECIFIC JOB FORM OFF-LINE STORAGE This utility allows you to restore a job from backup back into active status. All records (job master, cost center masters, and detail history) are restored. Once restored all system functions will recognize these records. Upon entering this utility the screen will be cleared and the following message will be displayed: "RESTORE SPECIFIC JOB FROM OFF-LINE STORAGE" "CONTINUE (Y/N).. " In order to continue enter a "Y" to this request. Any other response will return you to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. You will next be asked to enter the reference of the disk drive that will be used to input stored files from. "JOB BACKUP FILE WILL BE ON DISK (A,B,C,D,E,F).. " Upon entering the input disk reference you will be asked to enter the ID of the job you wish to restore from backup. "ENTER NAME OF JOB TO RESTORE FROM BACKUP.. " If no job ID is entered this utility is terminated and you are returned to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. If a job ID is entered that is already active in your job master file you will be displayed the following message and requested to re-enter the ID of the job you wish to restore from backup. "*** JOB ID ALREADY ON FILE ***" Upon successful entry of the job ID you will be asked to mount the disk containing the stored files and given one more chance to change your mind. "MOUNT DISK IN DRIVE.. x" "CONTINUE RESTORE (Y/N).. " A response of anything other than a "Y" will terminate this utility and return you to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. A response of "Y" will a) cause the system to reset the disk drives to make ready the loading of the file from backup, b) check the disk that you identified as containing the backup for that particular file. If the file is not on that disk the following message will be displayed and you will be asked again to mount the correct disk and indicate you are ready to continue. "FILE DOES NOT EXIST ON DISK x" If the job files are found on the backup disk the system will immediately start to restore the job to your active master files. Upon completion of the restore operation you will be returned to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. SYSTEM SUPPORT - UTILITIES RE-INDEX DATA FILES This utility performs several functions. 1) it removes physically all records tagged as deleted, 2) it compresses the files to make the disk space occupied by the deleted records available to new records, and 3) it re-indexes your files. If you feel you have an index problem with your files use this utility to rebuild your indexes. Upon entering this utility the screen will be cleared and the following message will be displayed: "COMPRESS ALL FILES and REBUILD INDEXES" "CONTINUE (Y/N).. " A response of anything other than a "Y" will terminate this utility and return you to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. A response of "Y" will display the following message and give you one last chance to change your mind. "*** FILES COULD BE DESTROYED ***" "HAS BACKUP BEEN MADE (Y/N).. " If no backup has been made or you wish to terminate this utility enter any value other than a "Y". If you wish to continue enter a "Y". Upon completion of this utility you will be returned to the "SYSTEM FILE UTILITIES" menu. FORCE COLOR TO MONOCHROME With this utility you can force the display of your color monitory to be that of a monochrome monitor. This feature will enhance the displays shown on 'LAP TOP' portable computers that use the flat display screen and show color in shades of the primary display color. Upon selecting this function you will be asked to enter either a 'Y' or 'N' the the current color setting. A response of 'Y' will indicate that you wish to force the current color display to that of a monochrome display. A response of 'N' will indicate that you wish to maintain the current display attributes of your monitor.