The Business Master (3rd Edition)

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Text File | 1992-05-12 | 25.6 KB | 595 lines

FINANCIAL MANAGER with EZ Budget This program has four files (FM.EXE, INSTR.DOC, README.BAT, and TEST.DAT). The FM.EXE file contains the main program. It and the TEST.DAT file should be copied to a floppy disk or hard drive. To run the program, type FM [Enter] To print the documentation, type COPY INSTR.DOC PRN [Enter] This is a SHAREWARE program that you can use, copy and distribute (unaltered). Please distribute all files in their entirety (FM.EXE, INSTR.DOC, README.BAT, and TEST.DAT). Disk dealers must get written permission from the author to distribute copies of the disk. This will enable us to send the latest version and future updates to the program. DISCLAIMER: This software is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. In no event shall Day Computer Software or the Author be held liable for any damages whatsoever arising from the use of or inability to use this product. Copyright 1991, 1992 Day Computer Software 1128 Maple Dr Mountain Home ID 83647 FINANCIAL MANAGER with EZ Budget Financial Manager is a personal and small business financial program with features and ease of use that meets or exceeds the best commercial or shareware programs. It maintains and balances a checkbook, records payments and deposits by category codes of your choice, and generates reports of monthly, year-to-date, and average monthly payments. It reconciles bank statements, and summarizes income and expense data for financial planning and income tax preparation. The EZ Budget part of the program provides a simple but effective way to prepare monthly and yearly financial plans. Estimated expenses and other payments are compared to anticipated income so that adjustments can be made to meet financial goals. Actual payments are later compared to the budget. SPECIAL FEATURES: 1. Practice sessions are available for new operators - a convenient way to try and learn the program without updating files. 2. Test data is provided to test and review the program. 3. Checkbook entries are made to a familiar check or deposit slip format. 4. Recurring payments can be saved for future use, then recalled with only two keystrokes to print the entire check. 5. Has unique search capabilities to locate and list checkbook transactions by Category Code, Payee, or Description. A partial search name or search anywhere name can be used, uppercase or lowercase. 6. Has a Bank Reconciliation option that identifies differences and how to correct them. 7. Includes graphics with bar charts, showing percent and amount paid by category. 8. Has detailed reports that summarize financial and budget data. EASE OF OPERATION: 1. Financial Manager is easy to use, with automatic menus and on screen prompts, as well as help messages available throughout the program. 2. Help messages are specific to the operation being performed. The beginner or experienced computer operator can get the help they need when they need it. No lengthy operating instructions are required. -2- 3. Suggested category codes are easy to recognize and remember. They are the first three digits of each category, i.e. hou=housing, uti=utilities, etc. However, any code up to four characters long can be used. 4. Transactions can be quickly reviewed and changed by following the on screen prompts. Simply press the direction keys for the previous or next transaction. 6. Files are loaded and saved as needed without operator intervention - the program is intuitive. 7. The program automatically adjusts the display for a color or monochrome monitor. You can also specify a laptop computer, for high resolution on a liquid crystal display (LCD). 8. The Budget is easy to prepare. Amounts can be repeated from month to month so only the amounts that differ need be entered. 9. Minimum entries are required for each checkbook transaction. The month and year are automatically entered in the date field. Also, the last date is repeated and only needs entered when the date changes. Check numbers are incremented by one after each check is entered, so that check numbers require entry only if used out of sequence. The program automatically selects a check format for payments or a deposit slip for deposits. GETTING STARTED First make copies of the disk and file the original in a safe place. If you use a floppy drive, start the program by placing the disk in the drive and typing FM (for Financial Manager) and press Enter at the DOS prompt. If you use a hard drive, either copy the program to an existing directory or create a new directory such as FINMAN. To create the directory, first log onto drive C (type C: and press Enter, if necessary). Then type MD \FINMAN and press Enter. Next, place the program disk in drive A and type COPY A:FM.EXE C:\FINMAN and press Enter. Then type COPY A:TEST.DAT C:\FINMAN and press Enter. To start the program on a hard drive, first change to the directory where the program was copied by typing CD FINMAN and pressing Enter. Then type FM (for Financial Manager). After an introductory screen, you can test and review the program by selecting the sample transactions from the "Test" data file. Simply follow the on screen prompts to load this file. You -3- can then go through the menu items for a quick review of the program. You can also add or change transactions and see the effect on reports, including the detailed graphic bar charts. Experiment with real or simulated entries. Any changes you make are not added to disk. If you do not select the test data, follow the on screen prompts to load the data files. If no files are located, you will be asked if this is the first input to the program. If it is, you will be asked if you want a practice session. Though not necessary, this is a good opportunity to become familiar with the program without establishing or altering the data files. Make some actual or simulated entries and use the various options in both the main and budget menus. Be sure to use the help messages to guide you through the program. You will see how easy the program is to operate and how your transactions are processed into final reports. After entering the bank name, account# and checkbook balance, you will be asked if you are using a laptop computer with a liquid crystal display (LCD). If you answer yes to this prompt, the program will adjust the color combinations for the best contrast and resolution. This selection is stored on disk with other options in a "FINMAN.OPT" file. If you later change to or from a laptop computer, you can change the type monitor by selecting "Options" in the main menu and then selecting "Display Monitor" in the sub-menu. The next prompt will ask if you want to store the data files in a different drive (A or B). This option, as explained in a help message, can also be selected later from the options menu. With two floppy drives, you can use this option to run the program from drive A and save the data files on drive B. The choice is yours, as a single floppy disk has plenty of room to hold both the program and the data files for at least a year's transactions. With a hard drive, you can keep the program on the hard disk and save the data files on a floppy disk. This is a convenient way to separate several checking accounts, as each account can be saved on it's own floppy disk. The first time you run Financial Manager, follow the on screen prompts to select up to 40 payment and 8 deposit Category Codes. These codes will be used during the year to accumulate checkbook transactions and to establish budgets. The program will list the following codes which you can use or replace with your own. They are easy to recognize and remember since they consist of the first three letters of the category they designate: Payment Codes Deposit Codes ---------------------------------------- ------------------- hou housing gas gasoline inc1 income 1 uti utilities ent entertainment inc2 income 2 tel telephone res restaurant int interest ins insurance clo clothing inv investment sav savings don donation (3 blank codes) cha charge accounts med medical oth other cas cash equ equipment gro groceries (23 blank codes) aut automobile mis miscellaneous -4- The program will accept codes up to four digits long, so you can add a fourth character to further identify categories or to identify tax deductible payments. For example, codes could be established with an asterisk (*) or other symbol in the fourth digit to identify tax deductible payments. Any combination of alpha or numeric codes can be established. You can change and add new codes when you first set up the program and at the beginning of each year. You can also replace unused codes, or add new codes later in the year, as needed. This is accomplished by simply using the new code in a transaction and by following the on screen prompts to replace unused codes or to add new codes. The program will not print unused codes on reports. PROGRAM OPERATION After you've established the Category Codes, the main menu appears, with nine options: Add Transactions, View/Change Transactions, Check Register, Payment/Deposit Analysis, Search Transactions, EZ Budget, Bank Reconciliation, New Month, and Options. Select the Add Transaction option to enter your checkbook transactions, in the order they appear in your checkbook. As you enter each transaction, your new balance appears on the screen, and data is accumulated for monthly and year-to-date reports. While entering the Category Code, you can press F1 for a list of available codes. The input screen is a familiar check for payments or a deposit slip for deposits. The program selects the proper form to use based on the category code used - you don't have to tell the computer which form to use. Check numbers are incremented by one after each check is entered. If a different check number is needed, use the cursor keys to select the check number field and enter the new check number. If no check number is used, such as for Automatic Teller Machine transactions, delete the check number by pressing the space bar in the check number field, or enter a symbol such as ATM for Automatic Teller Machine. The check number for other bank transfers or charges can likewise be left blank or replaced with other appropriate symbols to identify the transaction. After entries are made, follow the on screen prompts to return to the main menu. Press ESC to save the transactions to disk and return to the menu. If you do not wish to save the entries, press F8 to exit. You will be given a chance to save them later when you quit the program. RECURRING PAYMENTS While in the Add Transaction option, transactions can be memorized and saved as recurring payments. They can then be recalled to print the Code, Payee and Amount on future checks (amount is optional). Use the on screen prompts to establish and use these recurring payments. Specific procedures are as follows: -5- When a check payment is completed, a prompt is printed to press the F6 key to save the transaction as a recurring payment. If you select this option, you will be asked if the paid amount should be saved. Answer yes for fixed payments such as insurance payments. The payment will then be saved in a special file (RECURPMT.DAT). To recall these payments, simply press F5 at the on screen prompt. The recurring payments will be listed and can be selected by the number beside each payee or by highlighting the payee with the direction keys and pressing Enter. The Category Code, Payee, and Amount (if previously saved) will print on the check. If the amount was not included, the cursor will be placed at the amount field so the amount can be entered. After each recurring payment is selected, the highlighted payee will move to the next payee. Thus, the next recurring payment can be selected with only two keystrokes (F5 and Enter), when the payments are made in the same sequence as the list of recurring payments. This is convenient feature during bill paying time. The list of recurring payments can even be used as a reminder of the bills to be paid. You can also add, delete and change the recurring payments by selecting Options in the main menu and then selecting the Change Recurring Payments option. This will enable you to keep this list current and in the best sequence for optimum use. Use the View/Change transaction option in the main menu to review, change, insert or delete transactions. To insert or delete transactions, follow the on screen prompts - F2 (insert tran) or F3 (delete tran). This feature is useful in keeping transactions in their proper sequence. You can also review and make changes to transactions while in the Add transactions option by pressing direction keys for the previous or next transaction. The Check Register option prints a list of checkbook transactions for the month on the screen or printer. It replaces the manual check register. A printed copy can be filed with the bank statement or other file. The Payment/Deposit Analysis option has a sub-menu with three options: Monthly/YTD Report, Monthly Report - Graphics, and Yearly Report - Graphics. The Monthly Report prints a summary of the monthly, year-to-date and average monthly transactions by category. The Monthly and Yearly Graphics Reports display a visual chart of all payments by category and by percent of total payments for the month or year-to-date. Cursor up or down to print the exact amount paid by category. To get a complete listing of each month's activity, select these report options after the last checkbook transaction has been entered for the month. You can always view and print these reports at a later date, by specifying the proper month and year when the program is started or by selecting the New Month option in the main menu. -6- SEARCH TRANSACTIONS The Search Transactions option searches all transactions for a specified category code, payee or description, and prints the selected transactions on the screen or printer for the months specified. Searches are made regardless of uppercase or lowercase. A search for WASHINGTON will find Washington, etc. The search by payee or description can end with an asterisk (*) for a wild card search, or with an exclamation point (!) to search anywhere, as explained in a help message. If you entered a search for Wash* all transactions starting with Wash would be located and listed. If you used a search for Wash! then all transactions with the letters WASH, anywhere in the payee/description, would be located and listed. The Search option can be used anytime to show payment trends to a specific vendor, such as a utility company, and it's useful at the end of the year to identify payments for income tax or other purposes. BANK RECONCILIATION The Bank Reconciliation option provides a quick and easy way to reconcile your bank statement. It asks you to enter the closing date of the bank statement. This should be the closing date stated on the bank statement or the date the last transaction was processed by the bank. This establishes a reconciliation point that the program uses to compute the outstanding checks and the checkbook balance. The checks from Financial Manager are then displayed on the screen and checked off according to the checks cleared by the bank. This is easily accomplished by first sorting the returned checks in numerical sequence or by using the presorted list on the bank statement. The program then computes the bank reconciliation, showing any difference between the adjusted bank balance and the checkbook balance. Suggestions on possible errors and how to correct them are printed on the screen. The reconciliation can then be recycled until the differences are identified and corrected. Any remarks needed on the printed copy can be entered from the keyboard. The new month option is handy for changing months without restarting the program. An on screen prompt will remind you to enter all current month's transactions before starting a new month. Transaction files are stored on disk by month so any monthly file can be recalled quickly for viewing or printing reports. Any correction to an earlier file should be entered as a transaction in the current month, so the checkbook balance and year-to-date totals are properly updated, the same as adjustments to a manual check register. The Options selection has a sub-menu with four options: Change Recurring Payments, Change Bank name or Acct#, Change drive for data files, and Display Monitor. These options can be selected anytime as changes are needed. -7- The program has a feature to split payments between two or more categories. Just enter the amount to be charged to the first code and then type S, for split, at the Help prompt. The check number, date, and payee are automatically placed in the next transaction, so you have to enter only the amount for the next category code. If you write checks for cash, this option is useful for distributing cash payments to the proper category codes. To account for the payments from cash, you should keep receipts or a memo of cash payments. At the end of the month, summarize the payments and enter the total as a minus payment to the cash category, using a description such as "Distribution of cash" and blanking out the check number. Then enter the amount for each category code using the split-check technique. EZ BUDGET The menu for the Budget portion of Financial Manager has six options: Prepare Budget, Revise Budget, Budget Analysis, New Month, Print Budget, and Return to Main Menu. With Prepare Budget, you can establish budgets for as many months of the year as you wish, and later update them with the Revise Budget option. When you select one of these options, the same category codes you have in Financial Manager are listed on the screen, with instructions to enter or change the budgeted amounts. Next, enter the Estimated Income (anticipated deposits to your checking account) for comparison to your estimated payments. If the resulting balance doesn't please you, you can make changes to your budget and immediately see the effects. Change the budget as much as you want until it's balanced and best meets your financial needs. To prepare a budget for another month, you can start with the one just finished, changing only the amounts that differ. By using this option, you can quickly set up a realistic budget for the entire year. As your income or financial obligations change, you can use the change option to change the budget. As you accumulate cost data and average costs from Financial Manager, and use them in your budget estimates, you will find that your budget becomes more accurate and beneficial. The Budget Analysis option prepares monthly and year-to-date reports that compare your actual income and expenditures to your Budget. These reports can be used to detect any adverse spending trends and provide information for future financial planning or budget revision. The Print Budget option prints the budget for the entire year on your printer. The amounts for each month are listed by category code, with total and percent columns. This shows a complete yearly financial plan on one page that is easily reviewed and modified. -8- Financial Manager with EZ Budget by Day Computer Software This program is placed in SHAREWARE for review by PC users. If you like the program and decide to use it, please send us your payment of $29.95 to: Day Computer Software 1128 Maple Dr. Mountain Home ID 83647 On receipt of your registration fee, we will: (1) Send you the latest version of the program, plus a Yearly Payment/Deposit report. This report prints all payments and deposits by category for each month for the entire year. It shows a complete summary of your financial transactions, all on one page. (2) Include a printed manual (3) Place you on our mailing list for future program updates. (4) Provide free technical support. Registration Form |-------------------------------------------------| | Financial Manager with EZ Budget (version 3.2) | | | | Name:_________________________________________| | | |Address:_________________________________________| | | | _________________________________________| | | |Telephone (optional):____________________________| | | | [] 3 1/2 disk [] 5 1/4 disk | |-------------------------------------------------| |Mail Shareware payment of $29.95 to: | | Day Computer Software | | 1128 Maple Dr. | | Mountain Home ID 83647 | |-------------------------------------------------| -9-