The Business Master (3rd Edition)

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1 MANAGEX DOCUMENTATION LICENSE The following text and the ManageX program are copyrighted (C) in 1985, 86, 87, and 88 by R.A. Kelly. They are published by Integra Computing. You may use ManageX III on a single computer, provided that you do not use it in a business with more than 15 employees and that you accept the terms of the following AGREEMENT. You may distribute ManageX III, as long as this license and the following disclaimer, agree- ment and instructions accompany the program, and as long as you never divulge your ManageX serial number to anyone. You may not distribute ManageX III if any of its accompanying files or this documentation has been altered. No fee may be charged for ManageX III, nor may ManageX III be bundled with (or in any way accompany or be used as an incentive to purchase or lease) any other product or service, without the express written consent of R.A. Kelly. All rights not expressly granted in the above paragraph are reserved in R.A. Kelly. ManageX is a trademark of Integra Computing. DISCLAIMER Though ManageX and its predecessors have been under development since 1984, ManageX may contain design and programming flaws. Before using ANY software on a regular basis, try estimating the potential harm that could result from your reliance upon it. Please don't use ManageX unless you are willing to assume the associated risks. MANAGEX AND ITS INSTRUCTIONS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WAR- MANAGEX AND ITS INSTRUCTIONS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WAR- RANTY OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABIL- RANTY OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABIL- ITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE). NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFOR- ITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE). NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFOR- MATION OR ADVICE PROVIDED BY INTEGRA, ITS DEALERS, DISTRIBUTORS, A- MATION OR ADVICE PROVIDED BY INTEGRA, ITS DEALERS, DISTRIBUTORS, A- GENTS, OR EMPLOYEES SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY OF ANY KIND REGARDING GENTS, OR EMPLOYEES SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY OF ANY KIND REGARDING MANAGEX, AND YOU MAY NOT RELY UPON SUCH INFORMATION OR ADVICE. YOUR MANAGEX, AND YOU MAY NOT RELY UPON SUCH INFORMATION OR ADVICE. YOUR USE OF MANAGEX IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. USE OF MANAGEX IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. NEITHER INTEGRA NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE NEITHER INTEGRA NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, OR DELIVERY OF MANAGEX SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY CREATION, PRODUCTION, OR DELIVERY OF MANAGEX SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, AND LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION) ARISING FROM THE USE INTERRUPTION, AND LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION) ARISING FROM THE USE OF (OR INABILITY TO USE) MANAGEX, EVEN THOUGH INTEGRA MAY BE ADVISED OF (OR INABILITY TO USE) MANAGEX, EVEN THOUGH INTEGRA MAY BE ADVISED THAT SUCH DAMAGES ARE POSSIBLE. THAT SUCH DAMAGES ARE POSSIBLE. THIS DISCLAIMER APPLIES TO ALL PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE VERSIONS OF MANAGEX, AS WELL AS TO UPGRADES, AUGMENTATIONS, EXTENSIONS, EXTRA MODULES, AND MODIFICATIONS OF THE PROGRAM THAT MAY BE PROVIDED TO YOU. AGREEMENT As used in this documentation, the term "ManageX", if not followed by a series or version designation, means any version or series of ManageX provided to you now or in the future. 2 Your attempt to use ManageX constitutes your acceptance of the terms set forth in the foregoing LICENSE and DISCLAIMER (which are incorporated into this Agreement). Your attempt to use ManageX also constitutes your agreement that if you bring any legal action relating to ManageX, 1) your sole remedy for the damages for which any defendant is found liable (including direct, indirect, incidental and consequential damages) will be the recovery from that defendant of whatever you will have paid to register as a ManageX user; and 2) you will pay the defen- dants' attorneys fees and other legal costs. The terms of this agreement are governed by Georgia law. If any of this Agreement's terms shall be held invalid to any extent, the remainder of this Agreement shall be unaffected by such invalidity. THE ABOVE PARAGRAPHS CONSTITUTE THE ENTIRE AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND INTEGRA. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION, INFORMATION, OR ADVICE FROM ANY SOURCE MAY ALTER THE AGREEMENT AS SET FORTH ABOVE. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. YOU MAY HAVE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. YOU MAY HAVE OTHER RIGHTS WHICH MAY VARY FROM STATE TO STATE. OTHER RIGHTS WHICH MAY VARY FROM STATE TO STATE. 3 NOTE: This is an abridged version of the instructions. Registration will entitle you to COMPLETE documentation (100+ pages) on disk. MANAGEX III INSTRUCTIONS TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 4 SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION 9 SECTION 2 SETTING UP 13 SECTION 3 MAIN MENU 14 SECTION 4 CASE MODULE 17 SECTION 5 SERVICES/FEES MODULE 18 SECTION 6 DISBURSEMENTS MODULE 19 SECTION 7 RECEIPTS MODULE 20 SECTION 8 ACCOUNTS MODULE 24 SECTION 9 BILLS 26 SECTION 10 ADJUSTMENTS 27 SECTION 11 CODES, CATEGORIES, AREAS OF BUSINESS 29 SECTION 12 MESSAGES 30 SECTION 13 USING MANAGEX WITH OLD CASES 4 SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION Sec.1.A WHAT MANAGEX WILL DO ManageX is based upon the proposition that it is usually best to send a statement to each client at some regular interval, preferably every month. Even when nothing is due from the client for work done during that period, a statement should be sent, if for no other reason, to let him know that you're still thinking of him. The minimum period for which a client may be billed is one cal- endar month. Each bill will include all transactions from the begin- ning of the first month covered by the bill to the end of the last month covered. A bill may be re-prepared for the same calendar month (or months) several times. For example, if it were now January 15, and you wanted to send Mr. Smith's bill for work done so far this month, the bill prepared by ManageX would cover all work done during the entire month of January (the beginning of the first month covered by the bill is January 1, and the end of the last month covered is January 31). However, since no work will have been done after the fifteenth, the bill will effectively be one for only the period from January 1 to January 15. If, in February, you subsequently printed a Smith January bill, the bill prepared would show work done during the entire month, in- cluding 1) a recap of what had already been shown on the previous January bill and 2) what had been done from the 16th to the 31st. You may not request a bill for only the period from January 16 to January 31, since, as mentioned above, the minimum billing period is one calendar month. But don't worry. Mr. Smith will NOT be charged again for the work already reflected in the first bill. The second bill will SHOW that work for a second time (as a recap), but will not CHARGE him a second time for it. Of course, if Mr. Smith had sent any payments since the first bill was mailed, those payments would also be reflected on the second bill. Each bill sent out for any period of time reflects the most current status of the client's ac- count with you for that period. ManageX is unique in that it allows you to prepare bills for the same period many times, not just once. Correcting and resubmitting bills to your clients present no problem to ManageX. 5 Sec.1.C.2 Case Names, Case Numbers, & Master Record Numbers ManageX considers each matter handled by the firm to be a case. This nomenclature, ideal for accountants and lawyers, is also suitable for other professionals willing to adapt. Each case will be assigned a Case Name, a Case Number and a "MasterRcrd" Number. The Case Name is simply a convenient name by which you can recognize the case, such as "Smith Project" or "State v. Williams". The Case Number is used by the program to locate the case record in the computer's data files. It may be in the same format as that used by your firm to manually file the paperwork pertaining to that case. The MasterRcrd Number is used to link up to 500 subordinate case records to their master record. Each case is subordinate to its master. If a case is indepen- dent (that is, not subordinate to another), then it is its OWN mas- ter, and its Case Number and MasterRcrd Number will be the same. If, however, it is subordinate to another, then the other's Case Number will be the subordinate's MasterRcrd Number. For example, if case number 2 were subordinate to case number 1, then case 2's MasterRcrd Number would be "1" (case 1, being its own master, would also be assigned MasterRcrd Number 1). When would you want to subordinate one case to another? Assume, that you and Mr. Smith had a retainer agreement whereby he would pay you $150 per month for any services he needed from you at any time. You might set up a case record with the Case Name, "Smith Retainer" and the Case Number, "SMITJO1". If Mr. Smith subsequently asked you to help him with a building contract, you might do one of two things. One would be to charge the time you spend working on the contract to the "Smith Retainer" (SMITJO1) case. The other would be to establish a separate case record, perhaps named "Smith Contract" and possibly numbered "SMITJO2". If you want- ed to make sure that both Mr. Smith's cases were linked for easy subsequent identification, you would assign to the new SMITJO2 case the MasterRcrd Number, "SMITJO1". A graphic representation of this master-subordinate relationship follows: MASTER SUBORDINATES Case #: SmitJo1 Case Name: Smith Retainer Case #: SmitJo1 MasterRcrd #: SmitJo1 Case Name: Smith Retainer MasterRcrd #: SmitJo1 Case #: SmitJo2 Case Name: Smith Contract MasterRcrd #: SmitJo1 As can be seen, the SMITJO1 case is its own master, and it also acts as a master for the SMITJO2 case. In the future, whenever you want to look through ALL of Mr. Smith's cases, it will be easy, because they all have the same MasterRcrd Number. MasterRcrd Numbers LINK several cases together for future reference. 6 Now, on to a related matter. Unlike some other programs, ManageX does not require you to set up a separate "client record" before you open any case (or "matter") records for the client. Each ManageX case record contains both matter AND client information. Hence, if you have a client for whom you do not expect to be handling more than one matter, you need open only ONE record (a case record) for him, rather than TWO (a client record and a matter record). If, subsequent to your having opened that single record for him, the client comes to you with more work, you may either: 1) do that addi- tional work under the same case already opened, or 2) set up another case for him. If you do the latter, you may, though you do not HAVE to, link the two cases by making the first record the second's Mas- terRcrd. Though ManageX does not REQUIRE you to do so, you may set up something comparable to a separate "client record" for each client before opening actual cases for him. To do so, you would actually set up a "case" record for the client and use it as a MasterRcrd for the several matters that you handle for him. After all, a "client record" does nothing more than link several cases together under one client, and a ManageX MasterRcrd can serve the same function. You would tell ManageX that this record is intended to serve as a simple client record by beginning its "case" name with an asterisk. An example of a "client" record follows: MASTER SUBORDINATES Case #: SmitJo1 Case Name: Smith Retainer Case #: SmitJo MasterRcrd #: SmitJo Case Name: *John Smith Cases MasterRcrd #: SmitJo Case #: SmitJo2 Case Name: Smith Contract MasterRcrd #: SmitJo In the above example, the SMITJO record is a "client" record, which contains only the client's name, address, salutation, billing interval, and a "case" name beginning with an asterisk (any other information filled in will be disregarded by ManageX, since this is only a "client", not a real "case", record). Sec.1.D.2 Control characters On-screen instructions will frequently instruct you to press control characters. A control character is represented graphically as a letter preceded by an up caret (eg: ^A or ^H). If you are instructed to press a control character, you must hold the Ctrl key down, while simultaneously pressing the appropriate letter key. For example, to press ^O, hold down the Ctrl key and tap the "O" (or "o") key. Do not actually press the up carrot key; the up carrot is used merely as a graphic representation of the control key. Sec.1.D.4 Entering Numbers When prices or other monetary figures are entered, never enter a dollar sign, comma or any symbol other than a minus sign. If, for instance, a price were $9,999.95, you would enter only "9999.95", not "$9999.95" or "9,999.95". 7 Sec.1.D.5 Pausing When you find the computer in the middle of some lengthy proce- dure, such as printing a report, and you want to pause, press the space bar. Doing so will cause the process to stop until you press the space bar again. This use of the space bar will not work in all of the program's operational modes, but it will in most. Sec.1.D.6 Aborting If, instead of wishing that the computer pause in the middle of a procedure, you prefer to abort that procedure altogether, press ESC (the Escape key). As with the space bar, this key may not work in all parts of the program, and it may take a few seconds to work. Sec.1.D.7 Printer and File Toggling Whenever you are about to have a report printed on the screen, and you would prefer that it be printed on your printer, press ^P before the report preparation begins. ^P is the printing toggle, and it turns the flow of data to the printer on and off. To send the report to a data file named TEXT.MX, press ^F, instead of ^P. Sec.1.D.9 EDIT.COM There are a few files which will need to be created or modified by ManageX's text editor, EDIT.COM, before you can realize the full potential of the program. For instance, you may want to custom- ize the return address file, so that your correct address will be reflected on bills prepared by ManageX. EDIT.COM manipulates simple industry-standard ASCII code. An extra facility is the ability to imbed printer codes in the text pre- pared with EDIT.COM. If, for instance, you want your printer to switch to letter-quality mode when it prepares bills, you could place the appropriate printer code (available in your printer's manual) at the top of the return address file. To imbed any control character (such as the escape character), press ^P first. For instance, to imbed "esc N", actually enter "^P esc N". You may access EDIT.COM from ManageX's MAIN MENU by pressing ^E (for "Edit"). Sec.1.D.10 Deciding which module to use Use of ManageX requires your understanding its basic modular organization. Each choice in the MAIN MENU corresponds to a differ- ent module. There is a SERVICE/FEE module, a BILLING module, a DIS- BURSEMENTS module, and so on. Whenever you want to do ANYTHING in this program, you should go to the module whose subject matter most probably encompasses what you want to do. For instance, to run a report showing all your services performed during any period, you would go to the SERVICES/FEES module. There may be times when your first guess as to the proper module is incorrect. In that case, take a second guess, and you'll be right. 8 Note that a disbursement is an amount ADVANCED or PAID BY YOU for something. It must be entered in the DISBURSEMENTS module. If, for instance, you have paid filing costs of $55, this expenditure is a dis- bursement. Do not enter it on a time slip in the SERVICE/FEE module. Receipts are often a source of confusion. Remember that they are money PAID TO YOU, that is, money that you intend to put into YOUR coffers. Money given to you in trust is NOT a receipt. If a client gives you $100 and you intend to put it into trust for him, DO NOT enter it as a receipt. That $100 should be entered into your books as a deposit into a trust account. That $100 is not meant to be a present payment to you for past or future services; rather, it is meant to be placed into trust for the client. At some future time, you might withdraw part or all of it from the trust account as a payment to you, but, until that time, it is not a RECEIPT; it is merely money given to you in trust. Remember, money given to you is a RECEIPT only if it is going directly into YOUR pocket. Likewise, a disbursement is money paid by YOU, from YOUR FIRM's accounts, not from a trust account. DO NOT enter as a disbursement any payment from a trust account. Remember, it is not a disbursement unless it comes from your firm's own funds. Sometimes, the item you wish to enter does not seem to fit well into the main categories of services/fees, disbursements, and re- ceipts. For instance, an established client's current (at the time you first enter his data into ManageX's files) balance is not strict- ly a "fee", since it does not apply to a specific single event or transaction. Nevertheless, it must be entered somewhere. The AD- JUSTMENTS module exists for the purpose of adjusting client bills for things that do not seem to fit well into the categories discussed above. 9 SECTION 2. SETTING UP When you first begin using ManageX, you will have to answer a series of CUSTOMIZING questions. Very brief explanations follow: Sec.2.a "HARD disk used for program" Here, you should enter the letter designator of the hard drive which contains the ManageX subdirectory (usually C or D). Sec.2.b "Local tax on fees and services" If you live in a state that levies a tax on your fees for ser- vices performed, enter the tax rate here; otherwise press RET to keep the rate zero. The rate should be entered as a percentage (eg: 2.5% should be entered as "2.5", not ".025"). Sec.2.c "Interest-free interval" This figure is the interval after the last bill sent to each client during which you will not charge interest. If you do not intend do charge interest at all, just press RET to ignore the prompt. The COMPLETE DOCUMENTATION provided to registered users explains the ramifications of this entry in detail. Sec.2.d "Do you want after-batch printouts?" You will make your transaction data entries in "batches". For instance, after you fill in one time slip, you will be presented with the next blank one, then the next, and so, on. At the end of this "batch" of several entries, you may want a printout of all that you have just entered, so that you will have a permanent printed record. If you would like to have this printout option presented to you at the end of each batch, answer "Y" to the above question. Sec.2.e "Lines printed per page on printer" Most printers are preset for 66 rows, unless you change their default settings. ManageX also assumes a default value of 66, unless you change that assumption here. If you are using standard letter- sized paper, and if your printer uses a spacing of 6 lines to the inch, you do not need to change this value. Sec.2.f "Lines from paper top to letterhead bottom" If you will not be using letterhead paper, skip this item. If, however, ManageX will be printing statements onto private letterhead paper, it must know how far down the page to begin printing. Measure the distance from the top of the page to the bottom of the letterhead as accurately as possible. Then enter the number of lines (at 6 lines to the inch) that can be printed in that space. For instance, if the distance were 2.2 inches, you would enter "13" (for "13 lines"). 10 Sec.2.g "Indent used for client addresses on bills" ManageX will normally print a bill's client address at the left margin (column 0). If your paper is centered in the printer when bills are prepared, this positioning should allow the address to show through the window in a standard envelope. If, however, you wish to move the address to the right, you may designate another column. It is recommended that you leave this figure zero until you attempt to prepare bills and determine that you need to change it. To change this indent (or any of these other setup items) at a later date, you need simply select the (^C)ustomize option from the MAIN MENU. Sec.2.h "Printer Initialization Decimal Code" You may need to refer to your printer's manual for this data, which is NOT essential for using ManageX. Therefore, if you're new to computing, you may want to skip this item for now (by pressing RET), and come back at some later date (after you've had more exper- ience with your computer and printer). You will almost certainly want bills, letters and reports pre- pared on your printer to be centered. However, some printers are in- capable of centering paper on the platen. If you have one of these printers, it must be sent a special code to make it begin printing each line further to the right than usual. ManageX will send this code if you will tell it here exactly what the code your specific printer expects for a Left Margin change. Your printer's manual contains the proper code instructions. Make sure that the code you supply is a DECIMAL code, not a HEXADECI- MAL code. Fifteen spaces allows you to enter five 3-digit numbers in sequence. Make sure that each number constituting the code is rep- resented as a 3-digit decimal (eg: 52 should be entered as "052", and 1 should be entered as "001"). The COMPLETE DOCUMENTATION provided to registrants goes into greater detain on this subject. Sec.2.i "Do you want to use double-entry bookkeeping?" If you wish to use double-entry bookkeeping, answer "Y", and ManageX will force you to make balancing entries for all your account transactions; otherwise, enter "N". Sec.2.j "Account adjusted for Dsbr/Receipts" Whenever you enter a receipt or disbursement, the client's balance owed is automatically adjusted by ManageX. However, you may also want to put the money into (or withdraw it from) one of your accounts (such as the checking account). You could, of course, go the ACCOUNTS module to take care of this matter, but most would prefer that ManageX handle it automatically at the time the receipt or disbursement is being entered. 11 If you would like ManageX to automatically adjust an account for each receipt or disbursement entry, you must enter its account number (not account name) and subaccount designation ("-A" or "-B"). NOTE: If you want to keep your books "balanced", you will also want a second account to be adjusted automatically. The account you use for the "balancing" transaction will depend upon the CATEGORY of income or expense involved in the receipt or disbursement being entered. The income/expense categories (and the accounts which you may want automatically adjusted) will be entered into a file called M-LBCODE.DAT. Instructions for establishing this file are found in the CODES section of the COMPLETE DOCUMENTATION provided to registrants. NOTE: If this item already has an account number entered and you would prefer NOT to have an entry, enter a zero. The zero will be converted to a blank entry. Sec.2.k "Do you want disbursement/receipt acct adjustment?" Whenever you make a disbursement or receipt entry, ManageX affords you the ability to automatically withdraw or deposit money from or to a bank account. Before each batch of receipts and dis- bursements is made, ManageX will prompt you to enter the number of the account which is to be debited or credited. If you will be using ManageX for tracking your bank accounts, this is a handy feature which will save you some time by updating your accounts automatically (the alternative being your going to the ACCOUNTS module to make the appropriate account transaction entries separately). If you will not be using ManageX to follow bank accounts, you may find that the account-adjustment prompts appearing in the DIS- BURSEMENT and RECEIPT modules are an annoyance. If you don't want the prompts to appear, enter `N' here; otherwise, enter `Y'. If you aren't sure, just press RET, and come back to this series of ques- tions at a later date to change the entry, if needed. Sec.2.l "Minimum time charged on Time Slips" If your firm charges clients for a minimum amount of time whenever work is done in their behalf, enter the number of minutes here. Sec.2.m "Text color #" and "Background color #" You are expected to enter a number between 0 and 15. --------------- The first time you use ManageX each month, you will be asked whether you want to create that month's files. Answer Yes by pressing "Y", unless, for some reason you do NOT want to create them. 12 Next, a message will appear, asking, "Do you want to erase un- needed monthly data files?". Keeping some old files may be useful for referencing data from previous months, but how many old files you preserve depends upon how much hard disk space you are willing to de- vote to ManageX, and how much you need for other uses. If you want to clear up some hard disk space by erasing old monthly files, and if you have not already taken care of that matter, press "Y" (for "Yes, I do want to..."). Make sure, however, that you have floppy archive copies of the files about to be erased. You never know when you may need to retrieve some old data which has been deleted from the hard disk. If you have not made the archives AND prepared ALL bills which will draw upon data compiled during the months you are considering deleting, you should NOT delete those months' files. If you answer "Y", ManageX will ask for the month whose files are to be erased. After confirming that bills and archives have been pre- pared for that month, ManageX will erase the old data files for you. Then, files for the current month will be created, and you will be taken to the MAIN MENU. 13 SECTION 3. MAIN MENU [self-explanatory] 14 SECTION 4. CASE MODULE Sec.4.A (M)AKE A NEW RECORD If you press "M", you will be asked to give ManageX a Case Num- ber for the new case. After you enter it, you will be taken into the Edit mode, where you can fill in other information pertaining to that case. If the case you are entering is one that was opened before you began using ManageX, please read Section 13 of these instructions. Sec.4.A.1 MasterRcrd Number You will note that this number has already been assigned. It is always initially presumed that a case's master is that case, itself. If you wish to change it, just use the cursor control and delete keys to do so. Once the new masterRcrd number has been entered, ManageX will search for that case to confirm its existence. If it cannot find the masterRcrd, it will tell you so. If it does find the masterRcrd, certain common information will be transferred from that case to the new one you are now creating. A subordinate case MUST NOT be entered into the file before the master to which it refers. A masterRcrd must always have been en- tered into the case file BEFORE its subordinates. Sec.4.A.2 Area of Business If you do not know the area of business or its number, and if you would like some help, press the inquiry key, F1. You will be shown the contents of the M-LBAREA.DAT file, which contains a listing of all the business categories and their corresponding numbers. When you find the area that fits this case, enter its number and procede to the next item. See the CODES, AREAS OF BUSINESS section for instructions on how you may change the M-LBAREA.DAT file. Sec.4.A.9 Methods of Charging Your Clients If you have an arrangement with your client whereby he is to pay you a certain amount each month until his debt is paid, enter that amount as the "MonthlyPmnt". If the MonthlyPmnt is zero, ManageX will assume that the client is supposed to pay the whole balance shown on each bill. If the MonthlyPmnt item is greater than zero, each bill for this case will contain a statement reminding the client that he need pay no more than the MonthlyPmnt, even though it may be less than the total balance due. Also, if the MonthlyPmnt is greater than zero, ManageX will NOT calculate interest for this case, even though you specify an interest rate, as discussed below. NOTE: Don't confuse a MonthlyPmnt with a Monthly Retainer A "retainer" is a regular monthly payment which is due you, whether or not the client has an outstanding balance at the time a bill is prepared. The MonthlyPmnt is due ONLY if the client has an outstanding balance. The MonthlyPmnt is a payment on a debt, while the retainer is a sum paid to you regularly in order to keep you "on the line", ready to provide services at the drop of a hat. 15 Note that ManageX uses the term, "retainer", to mean a recurring payment made to the firm each month by the client. Some firms, however, use the term to mean a fixed fee paid in advance by the cli- ent. If a case is to be charged a fixed fee (even though you may call it a "retainer"), it should be entered next to the "Fixed Fee" item, whether or not it is to be paid in advance; if it IS paid in advance, you should, as soon as possible, enter the payment in the RECEIPTS module, or, if appropriate, enter it as a trust account de- posit in your books. NOTE: The Fixed, Contingent, or Retainer fee that you enter in this CASE module is merely a reminder that you intend to charge such a fee at some future date. Your entry in THIS module will not result in a charge to the client. After all, how can the program know WHEN you wish to charge the fee? When you determine that it is time for you to charge a fee of some sort, you need simply make a fee record in the SERVICES/FEES module. For instance, while you are working on a contingent fee case, ManageX will not calculate any charges for work done (since it will have no hourly rate at which to do the figuring). When you finally win the case, take a few seconds to manually calculate the recovery per- centage due you and enter that amount as a fee in the SER- VICES/FEES module. The next bill that goes out will contain that charge. Sec.4.B (E)DIT/EXAMINE A CASE If you do not know the case number (of the case you wish to edit) and would like some help, press F1. You will be shown a list of all the cases on the disk. To narrow the search, you should press the first letter of the client's last name just before you press F1. If you precede F1 with a letter, you will be shown only those cases whose client last names begin with that letter.] Sec.4.C (H)UNT FOR SOME INFO If you press "H" while in the CASES MENU, you will be taken to a Hunt Gates display. Here, you are to select the gates you want to apply to the search through the case file. The Hunt Gates allow passage of only those records which contain information consistent with the Hunt Gate parameters you select. For example, if you wanted to find records of all clients who work for a certain company, you would enter a portion of the company name at item D (assuming that you consistently used the Addrs1 line for company names). If you wanted to find all cases with a certain masterRcrd number, you would enter a portion of that number at item A. Entering something at both A and D would narrow the search to only those cases whose MasterRcrd Numbers and Addrs1's contained matches for items A and D. 16 Hunt routine searches for any item whose entry is alphanumeric (as opposed to strictly numeric) may be made on the basis of partial entries. For instance, if you wished to find all cases whose Addrs1's were either "Smith Enterprises" or "Smith, Inc", you would need to enter only "Smith" at item D. All cases whose Addrs1's con- tained "Smith" would be shown to you. Included among these cases might be "Jones and Smith, Ltd" and "The John Smith Company". Any case whose Addrs1 contained "Smith" would be included. NOTE: This valuable partial entry feature is contained in the Hunt mode of every ManageX module. It is applicable to only alphanumeric items (those which may contain either letters or numbers). It does not apply to dates, amounts, and a few other items. To find cases applicable to a certain areas of business range, set Gates F and G accordingly. If all your divorce areas were numbered between 100 and 150, you would set Gate F to "100" and Gate G to "150" if you wanted to look for all your divorce work. To find only a SINGLE area of business, Gates F and G should be identical. Any gate that is left blank will be considered to be open, al- lowing ANY record to pass through. In other words, each record will be deemed to meet that gate's criterion, and, assuming that all the other gates' criteria are also met, will be displayed during the hunt. To begin the hunt, press F6. For a printout of the hunt, press ^P at some time before you press F6. Once the Hunting process begins, you will be shown the data for each record conforming to the Hunt gates you have established. If you have chosen to display "One-Line" summaries (gate Q), data for each conforming record will appear on one line. The program will then automatically search for the next conforming record, display it, then look for the next one, and so on. You may make the program pause in its searching by pressing ^S or the space bar. Pressing ESC will abort the hunting process. If you have chosen the "Full-Screen" summaries display (gate Q), the data shown for each conforming record will appear on a screen identical to that used in the Edit mode. Only one conforming file's data will be displayed on the screen at one time. Unlike the One- Line summaries routine, this one will not search for the next conforming file unless you press F6 to indicate that you wish to move on. If you want to abort the Hunt routine, press ESC instead of F6. 17 SECTION 5. SERVICES/FEES MODULE Sec.5.A (M)AKE A TIME SLIP OR FEE RECORD Sec.5.A.6 Abbreviations Description entries may be shortened (and disk space saved) through the use of abbreviations or office codes (such codes are contained in a file named M-LBCODE.DAT, and you may use EDIT.COM to customize this file's codes for your own use -- see the CODES sec- tion). To enter a service code, simply type it and end it with a backslash. Assume, for example, that the code for "Office Conference with" were "OC". If you wished to enter an office conference with Mr. Smith, you could enter either "Office Conference with Mr. Smith" or "OC\Mr. Smith". If you entered the latter, you could be saving time by typing fewer characters and also saving disk space. ManageX would know what "OC\" means. If you subsequently prepared a bill containing the service description, "OC\Mr. Smith", ManageX would actually type out "Office Conference with Mr. Smith". If you need to see a listing of the acceptable codes, press the inquiry key, F1. If you press F1, you will be shown the contents of the M-LBCODE.DAT file (which contains not only codes, but also income/ expense categories). Sec.5.A.11 Next Time Slip To finish the service record entry and move on, press F6. Mana- geX will then automatically take you to another time slip/fee entry record to be filled out. If you do not need to make any more en- tries, just press F6 again. Sec.5.D (Z)IP TO A TIME SLIP As you go through a day, you will often find yourself working on several cases simultaneously. As you perform a task for each, you should enter it onto a time slip. Of course, you may make out a separate time slip for each task performed. But, alternatively, you may use thihs (Z)ip function to add each new service performed for a case to the first time slip opened that day for that case. When the time slip appears, add to it as you wish. If you want to begin the automatic timer, press ^T; to stop the timer, press ^T again (or press F6 or esc). When the auto timer stops, the dollar value of this most recent time block will be added to the time slip's previous total. Thus, every time you zip to a time slip during the day, you may keep adding to the total time and dollar amount by simply pressing ^T when you begin and end your entry. This feature is most useful if you keep ManageX in the computer's memory at all times, through the use of a multi-tasking program like DoubleDOS or DESQview. 18 SECTION 6. DISBURSEMENTS MODULE Sec.6.A (M)AKE A DISBURSEMENT Sec.6.A.2 Expense Category If you wish to later be able to sort your disbursements by cate- gory, enter the category number (1 to 9999) here. If you are in doubt about the appropriate category number, press F1 for a listing. Doing so will result in displaying the contents of the M-LBCODE.DAT file (which contains not only codes, but also income/expense cate- gories). If M-LBCODE.DAT does not have the category you wish, remem- ber that you may modify it with EDIT.COM to suit your individual needs (see the CODES section). Sec.6.C (H)UNT FOR INFO These Hunt Gates are similar to those found elsewhere. At the end of a hunt sequence, there will be a series of hunt totals. Included in the Hunt Totals are the total charges. The totals account only for those records shown during the hunt. Charges for other records will not be included. For instance, if you abort a hunt by pressing the ESC key, the charges for the records which WOULD HAVE BEEN SHOWN (but for your having pressed ESC) will not be in- cluded in the totals. "AdvncChrgd" is the total of disbursements charged to the various cases followed by ManageX. "AdvncNOTchrgd" is the total of disburse- ments which were made on behalf of cases, but which are NOT being charged to those cases. "Non-CaseTot" is the total of disbursements made by the firm for matters not involving cases. NOTE: An `advance' is any disbursement made on behalf of a client. The reason ManageX follows advances as a special category of disbursement is that they may be treated dif- ferently, for tax purposes, from other business expenses. 19 SECTION 7. RECEIPTS MODULE [Little in this module is different from the others already discussed] 20 SECTION 8. ACCOUNTS MODULE Sec.8.A (O)PENING A NEW ACCOUNT To open an account, select the (O)pen option from the menu. First, you will be asked to enter an account number. The number you assign an account will have a direct bearing upon how easily you are able to extract information from ManageX's files. Next, you will have to enter a descriptive name for the account, and you will be asked to designate whether this is to be a (C)redit or a (D)ebit account. If you are unsure of its classification, enter "-"; otherwise, enter "C" or "D". In the (H)unt summaries, Credit accounts will be treated as negative accounts. In adding up the (H)unt totals, positive Credit account balances will be treated as negative, while negative Credit account balances will be treated as positive. As is explained in the full documentation available to registered users, each account actually consists of two sub-accounts, A and B, in order to facilitate tracking either one or two accounts for the same client. If you're opening an account that really doesn't need two subaccounts, just use subaccount A exclusively and ignore the fact that subaccount B even exists. ManageX will then ask whether subaccount A of the new account will be used as a retainer account for a case. If not, answer `N'. If you answer `Y', you will be asked to enter a Desired Balance and a Minimum Acceptable Balance. The Desired Balance is the balance you would like to maintain in the account (preferably an amount to which your client has agreed). The Minimum Acceptable Balance is the point at which you will want to ask your client to replenish his account to the Desired Balance. Assume, for instance, that the account's De- sired Balance is $1000 and that its Minimum Acceptable Balance is $500. As you do work for your client, you will be withdrawing money from this retainer account. At some point you will want to ask your client to replenish the account to the Desired Balance of $1000. This threshold is reached when the account's balance is below $500. Whenever a bill is sent to the client, ManageX will check the account balance. If it is below the Minimum Acceptable Balance of $500, the bill will contain a request for the amount needed to bring the ac- count's funds up to the Desired Balance of $1000. If the account balance is over the Minimum Acceptable Balance when the bill is pre- pared, no such request will be made. NOTE: Subaccount A may be used for ANY type of account. Subaccount B may be used for any type, EXCEPT a retainer. Always use subaccount A for retainers. 21 Sec.8.B (M)AKING A TRANSACTION ENTRY First you will have to enter a transaction date. Then, you will be asked to enter an account number. After you do so, the program will attempt to confirm that the account exists. If it does, you will be allowed to fill in the rest of the transaction data. If it does NOT exist, you will be asked whether you wish to open an account with that number. If not, just press RET; otherwise, press "O". You will be expected to tell ManageX whether this transaction affects subaccount A or subaccount B. ManageX will track both sub- accounts under the same account number. Each is tracked separately, so the effect is of having two different accounts, both being followed under the same number. Whenever you want to retrieve information concerning this account, you will always be told which transactions apply to subaccount A and which apply to subaccount B. The "Incm/Expns Category" may be entered if the account transac- tion you are entering is for income or an expense. If you do not know the correct category, just hit F1. The last item to be filled in is the "Check Number". If the transaction is for a deposit, just enter "D". If it is for a with- drawal without the issuance of a check, enter "W". If it is for a withdrawal accompanied by the issuance of a check, enter the number of the check with which the withdrawal from the account will be made. Do not enter a check number if the transaction is a deposit (for example, if you are depositing a client's check into an account, do not enter the client's check number here -- enter "D", for "De- posit"). The check number must not be greater than 30000. Since ManageX will try to prevent your withdrawing more from the account than is presently contained therein, always be sure to enter a depos- it for an account before you attempt any withdrawals. If you wish, you may use the same check number on several trans- action records. You might want to do so if you will be using the same check to pay for several different categories of expenses. If such is the case, make a separate account transaction for each cate- gory and use the same check number for all the transaction records. After you have completed the transaction entry, press F6 to move on. Before taking you to the next transaction screen, ManageX will ask whether you wish to have the amount entered withdrawn from (or deposited to) another account. If you do not wish to do so, just press RET; otherwise, enter the appropriate account number and then tell ManageX whether the money is to be withdrawn from (or deposited to) subaccount A or subaccount B in the account just designated. ManageX will automatically fill out a record for that withdrawal (or deposit) and store it on the disk before taking you to the next blank transaction record. You will not see this automatically-created record at the time it is created, but do not worry -- it IS being created. As with any other account transaction, you may have it displayed at any future time either by requesting a (H)unt through the transactions made during this date, or by requesting to (E)dit/- Examine the transaction. 22 Sec.8.C (H)UNTING THROUGH ACCOUNT TRANSACTIONS The (H)unt routine is similar to those found elsewhere in Mana- geX. One distinction is Hunt Gate K, "Hunt by Account #/Cat". If this item is "NO", the transactions will be listed in the order in which they were entered into the file, regardless of which account or income/expense category is affected by each. If this item is "YES", the transactions will be listed in blocks, each block corresponding to an account or income/expense category. If you want to see all the checks and other transactions dealing with each account and income/- expense category grouped together, press "K" to make this item "YES". If Hunt Gate K is "YES", the hunt will take considerably longer than would be the case if it were "NO". Near the end of each hunt will be a listing of the TOTAL DEBITS and TOTAL CREDITS reported during the hunt. In arriving at these tot- als, ManageX considers all deposits to debit accounts and all withdra- wals from credit accounts to be DEBITS, while all withdrawals from debit accounts and all deposits to credit accounts are considered to be CREDITS. Deposits and withdrawals from "-" accounts are treated as if they involved debit accounts. Also reported is the DIFFERENCE bet- ween the total debits and the total credits. This difference is use- ful if you are doing double-entry bookkeeping, and you need to see at a glance whether the total debits and credits balance. If the DIFFER- ENCE is not zero, then a double-entry error may have been made during the period specified in the Hunt Gates. Remember, this section of the report shows the totals of only those transactions which meet the par- ameters set by your Hunt Gates. The total balance for each account is given in the Account Balances section, described below. The very last thing shown in a hunt will be a listing of the current account balances. If a balance is enclosed inside left and right carets, "<" and ">", it is a Credit account balance. For repor- ting purposes only, ManageX treats Credit accounts as negative Debit accounts. Hence, Credit account balances that are negative will be ADDED to the total, while positive ones will be SUBTRACTED. Accounts that are neither Credit nor Debit will be treated as if they were Deb- it accounts in this totaling. This is where to quickly find whether your books are properly balanced: if the account balance totals are not zero, your books are out of balance. NOTE: ManageX IV includes a formal Income-Expense Statement, as well as a Balance Sheet, and several other reports not found in ManageX III. ManageX III's hunts can, however, find most anything you can think of, though the resulting report may not be in the exact format you desire. 23 SEC.8.D ACCOUNTS AND CATEGORIES Remember that ManageX draws a clear distinction between an account and an income/expense category. An account is an actual body of money. It is the value of an account that is affected by a receipt or expenditure. A category, on the other hand, is, just as name implies, simply a type of expense or income. It is NOT a body of money, but the transaction involving it may affect such a body (account). For instance, a rent payment might fall into an expense category called "rent", but the actual body of money affected is probably the "checking" account. Of course, you might also have an account called "rent", but that coincidence should not cloud the distinction between the body of money called "rent" and the type of expenditure called "rent". ManageX will, for any period of time, track the total value of transactions involving each income and expense category, but it does not collect those figures into an "account". 24 SECTION 9. BILLS Sec.9.A.1 Composition of Bills Bills consist of six parts: 1 a return address; 2 a client name, address and salutation, drawn from the appropriate case's record at the time of the bill's preparation; 3 an opening statement; 4 a basic data section drawn from transaction data at the time of the bill's preparation; 5 a closing statement; and 6 a signature block. Sec.9.A.2 Return Address File The return address must be contained in a file called "M- RETADD.LTR". Whenever ManageX prepares a bill, it will find this file and print it onto the statement. The file should be created with EDIT.COM before you try to prepare any statements. If it is not on the disk when a statement is prepared, no return address will be printed. If you plan to use letterhead stationery, erase M- RETADD.LTR from the disk and make sure that you have entered the correct figure for the number of "Lines from paper top to letterhead printing bottom" in the MAIN MENU's (^C)ustomize routine. After the return address (if such a file exists) is printed, ManageX will print the statement date, followed by the client's name, address, and salutation (as stored in the Case record of the case for which the statement is being prepared). The statement date will begin in the same column as the top line of the return address IF the M- RETADD.LTR files exists; otherwise, it will appear at the left mar- gin. If the format chosen for the case whose bill is being prepared ends with a minus (eg: "8-"), then no salutation will be printed. Between the client address and the salutation will appear a short reference ("RE:") section, which will include the case Number and case Name. Sec.9.A.3 Opening Statement Next comes the opening portion of the bill, which should include any remarks you wish to precede the details of the statement. An example would be, Following is a summary of the services we have recently rendered in your behalf. The opening portion must be in a file named "M-BLOPEN.LTR", which is included with the ManageX program as an example. You may modify it with EDIT.COM to suit your purposes. 25 After the opening portion is printed, ManageX will print the statement details. This part of the statement consists of a listing of all services, fees, disbursements, income, etc., pertaining to the case whose statement is being prepared for a certain month. Sec.9.A.4 Closing Statement The closing portion of the bill should include any remarks you wish to follow the details of the statement. An example would be, Please promptly pay any amount shown above as being due this firm. Thank you. The closing file for a bill with a balance owed is "M-BLOWED.- LTR", while that for a bill with a zero or credit balance must be "M-BLCRDT.LTR". Sec.9.A.5 Signature Block The signature block portion of the bill also requires a file created by EDIT.COM. To create such a file, press ^E at the MAIN MENU, press `S' when the EDIT menu appears. Then create the signature block in any fashion you desire. If you do not want a signature block printed on your statements, erase the "M-SGNxxx.LTR" file from your hard disk. Sec.9.B PREPARING A BILL [self explanatory] Sec.9.C. STATEMENT RE-PREPARATION You should avoid having a bill prepared for a month preceding one for which another bill has already been prepared. For example, if February's bill has already been prepared, and you subsequently have January's prepared again, you will also have to re-prepare February's. The reason for this is that the beginning balance for the bill already prepared for February will have been based upon the ending balance for the January bill already prepared. If you were now to go back and change January's bill, the January ending balance might not be the same as it had been before. Therefore, the beginning balance for the February bill already prepared might no longer be accurate. Only if you prepare February's bill again will all beginning and ending balances become consistent again. 26 SECTION 10. ADJUSTMENT MODULE [Little in this module is different from the others already discussed] 27 SECTION 11. CODES and AREAS OF BUSINESS Sec.11.A CODES (ABBREVIATIONS, CATEGORIES) The M-LBCODE.DAT file contains three types of information, all conforming to the same general format. It holds a listing of each 1) service code, 2) income category, and 3) expense category. Each line in the file consists of an abbreviation (from 1 to 3 char- acters long) and the statement being abbreviated. Other optional items are also included, as described below. You are encouraged to change this file with EDIT.COM, so that it fits your needs exactly. Go to EDIT.COM (to examine M-LBCODE.DAT) by pressing ^E when the MAIN MENU is displayed. When the EDIT.COM menu is on the screen, press `E' (for "Expense/Income/Service" file) to modify M-LBCODE.DAT. The file may have a total of up to 200 lines. The items in each line must be lined up EXACTLY, and each line must end with a carriage RETurn. The abbreviation may be from one to three characters in length and must begin in column 1. The statement being abbreviated should begin in column 6, 7, 8 or 9, and may not extend beyond column 30. The TAB key in EDIT.COM will help you align your data. You may have blank lines which contain no information, and you may have lines containing headings, but you may have no more than 200 lines. Sec.11.A.1 Income/Expense Category Numbers If you are using a line for an income or expense description, the last item (beginning at column 33) should be the income or expense category, and the first item (the abbreviation) may be left blank if you wish. That category may be any number between 1 and 9999. Do not use zero. Begin your category entry at column 33. If it is an income category, begin the entry with "I-"; if it is an expense category, begin it with "E-". For example, an income category is represented by "I-1001", while "E-2054" represents an expense category. Do NOT use the same numbers for both expense and income categories. For instance, do not designate both these categories: I-2054 and E-2054. And DO NOT USE FRACTIONS to designate categories -- only WHOLE numbers are allowed. Sec.11.A.2 Client Mark-Ups If you wish to charge clients a surcharge for your expenses in their behalf, enter, at column 60, the factor by which you wish to multiply your actual cost in order to arrive at the amount to charge your clients. For instance, if your mark-up for a particular expense category is 10%, enter 1.10; if it is 25%, enter 1.25. Sec.11.B AREAS OF BUSINESS The M-LBAREA.DAT file supplied by Integra contains a listing of the areas of business. You should edit this file to fit your needs. It should consist of no more than 24 lines (make sure that no blank lines remain at the end of the file). Each line may be up to 77 characters long. Unlike the M-LBCODE.DAT file, you are not required to line up certain information within M-LBAREA.DAT. Use EDIT.COM (^E, pressed when the MAIN MENU is displayed) to set up this file. 28 SECTION 12. MESSAGES [A full Messages section is provided to registered users] 29 SECTION 13. USING MANAGEX WITH OLD CASES When ManageX prepares bills, it automatically keeps up with each case's balance brought forward from the previous billing period. A problem arises, however, when ManageX prepares its first bill for a case that was opened and billed BEFORE YOU BEGAN USING the program. In this case, ManageX will have no historical data from which to derive a "balance brought forward". To avoid this problem for an old case, go to the ADJUSTMENTS (Write-offs and Adjustments) module immediately after setting up the case in the CASES module. Enter an adjustment with today's date. If the client owes you money, make it a Charge; if you owe him, make it a Write-off. The description should be something like, "Balance From Previous Bill". This special treatment is needed only for the FIRST bill ManageX prepares for each case opened before you began using the program.