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Clarion Help | 1991-07-13 | 39KB | 972 lines

MMENU SSEC_TYPE QRETURN Portfolio Allocation The Portfolio Allocation Table, available from the Security Table, and the Portfolio Allocation Report, available from the Portfolio Allocation Table and the Report Menu, show your portfolio percentages by security types. Also, general security categories are subtotalled. This information helps you determine how risky or conservative your position is, and to weigh it against your perception of the market's direction. Menu Security Type Quit HMENU GSETTINGS QRETURN Backup Capital Gainz data files should be backed up regularly. The files to backup end with the '.DAT' or '.K01' suffixes. Backup can be performed either from the DOS command line or by defining a command in the Settings Form and choosing 'Backup' on the Main Menu. Only a single DOS command can be specified for the backup entry. Thus, if PKZIP is on your system, you can enter PKZIP CAPGNZ.BU *.DAT *.K01 If a backup/compression utility like PKZIP is not available, you may have to specify a DOS batch file, such as the CAPGNZBU.BAT example that comes with Capital Gainz. Alternatively, you can execute a DOS batch file like CAPGNZBU.BAT at the DOS prompt before or after running Capital Gainz. On slower machines, this may be preferred over using the backup setting. Help Menu Global Settings Help Quit HMENU RREPORTS QRETURN Broker/Investment Company Broker/Investmest Company information is kept to allow easy contact reference. The Broker/Investment Company report provides a list of addresses and phone numbers that can be kept handy for quick buy/sell instructions. This report also includes the securities and account numbers managed by each broker/investment company. Help Menu Report Help Quit HMENU FFILES LLOGS QRETURN Buying Shares The Buy Shares form is displayed when buying shares, reinvesting shares, or when inserting, changing, or deleting an entry in the Open Log. When called from the Activity Menu, the Buy Shares form is accepted until the user explicitly quits out of it. When shares of a security are bought or changed, enter the purchase information in the Buy Shares form. If either no security or an invalid security is entered, a list of defined securities pops up: the user can select from the list or add a new security to the list. The date/price entries on the Buy Form is used to add a record to the security's price history file. After entering the purchase price, the amount is calculated by multiplying the number of shares by the price. This amount can be accepted or changed, as rounding can result in minor differences. A Notes field is available for reminders about individual purchases Notes are printed in the Open Detail report. Help Menu File Components Log Help Quit HMENU GSETTINGS QRETURN $Colors Capital Gainz allows you to customize the screen colors. Screens are grouped into 7 types: security screens, activity screens, buy activity screens, sell activity screens, distribution activity screens, broker/investment company screens, and other screens. Within these types, 3 kinds of screens are defined: forms, tables, and other. For instance: - the Buy Shares Form is in the Buy Activity/Form group - the Security Table is in the Security/Table group - the Report Menu is in the Other/Other group - the Security Summary is in the Security/Other group The Select Screen Colors screen, reached by a function key on the Global Settings Form, shows a matrix of screen types/kinds. The matrix shows the current color settings. To change settings for a screen type/kind, move the pointer and hit ENTER. The Pick Foreground and Background Colors screen comes up. Select a foreground and background color - a test pattern shows what the combination looks like. After returning to the Select Screen Colors screen, make sure you hit CTL-ENTER to save your changes. Help Menu Global Settings Quit HMENU 9 QRETURN Delete Range The Del Range function on the activity log and price history tables deletes the displayed records. The range of records deleted corresponds to the date range specified before the table was displayed. Help Menu -Quit HMENU SMAP QRETURN General Description Capital Gainz is an investment tracking program designed mainly for mutual fund and stock holdings, although bonds, options, investment trusts, and other investment vehicles can be tracked as well. While most commercial investment tracking programs are geared toward buying and selling individual blocks of stock, Capital Gainz caters to the small investor who prefers to make regular purchases of smaller amounts at regular intervals. Periodic investing such as this is often referred to as 'Dollar Cost Averaging' : by investing a set dollar amount in a mutual fund or stock at periodic intervals, more shares are purchased when the share price is low than when the share price is high. The real power of Capital Gainz lies in its variety of selling methods. Most similar programs require the investor to manually identify which shares to sell. Capital Gainz offers an identification selling method, but also offers methods to sell a specified number of shares first-in/first-out, last-in/last-out, max gains/min losses, max losses/min gains, or using the average cost. Other distinguishing features of Capital Gainz are : the ability to print reports for only selected securities and/or a specific date range, and a total return calculation based on a specific date range. Help Menu System Function Map Quit HMENU FFILES LLOGS DDIS_TYPE QRETURN Distributions The Distributions form is displayed when recording distributions, or when inserting, changing, or deleting an entry in the Distr Log. When called from the Activity Menu, the Distributions form is accepted until the user explicitly quits out of it. When distributions occur, enter the information in the Distributions form. If either no security or an invalid security is entered, a list of defined securities pops up, and the user can select from the list or add a new security to the list. Screens and reports use the most recently dated dividend distribution entry to calculate the current yield for the security. If a dividend is enteredt for a security defined with 0 dividends per year, the the security's dividends per year is changed to 1. The amount per share is initialized to distribution amount / number of shares. Due to rounding, you may need to change this figure. Upon completion of the form, the user can choose to reinvest the distributions. A reinvestment price is accepted, and the Buy Shares form is displayed with the number of shares set to the distribution amount / reinvest price, price set to reinvest price, and purchase amount set to distribution amount. Help Menu File Components Log Help Distr Type Help Quit HMENU DDISTR QRETURN Distribution Type There are three kinds of distributions : Dividends Short Term Capital Gains Long Term Capital Gains These should be distinguished in your account statements. The most recent dividend entered is used to determine the security's current yield: yield = ((dividends per year * last dividend)/price) * 100 Also, a special type called 'Fee' is included for miscellaneous payments such as IRA maintenance fees. While this isn't really a distribution, it is kept here because it is not common or mandatory and as such does not warrant warrant a separate screen system. Help Menu Distr Help Quit HMENU QRETURN File Components Security: Open Shares: Closed Shares: Global Settings: Symbol Symbol Symbol Revison # Name Open Date Close Date Holding Period Broker/Inv Co Shares Short Term Flag Add Confirm Account # Open Price Shares Update Confirm Security Type Open Amount Close Price Delete Confirm Tax Free Flag Open Commission Close Amount Reinvest Distr Div Per Year Open Notes Close Commission Log Transactions Last Sell Method Close Notes Append Report Open Share Info Distributions: Open Date Backup Command Dbl Category Info Symbol Open Price History Interval Distr Date Open Amount Screen Color Broker/Inv Co: Distr Type Open Commission Name Distr Amount Price History: Address Distr Per Share Symbol City Distr Notes State Price Zip Code Phone Number Help Menu >Quit MMENU SSETTINGS QRETURN %Fixup If you're not logging transactions, abnomormal termination of the program can leave your data files in an inconsistent date. In particular, open share information is maintained in the security record. If open share totals from the Open Shares Log or the Open Shares Detail Report don't coincide with the Security Table or Portfolio Report values, then you need to 'fixup' the security with the Security Fixup Form. This form is available via a function key on the Security Table, and should be used with extreme caution. If you're not comfortable with this operation, just revert to a previous data backup and reenter the new activity. To avoid inconsistent states: - always back out of the program normally - if you must reboot or hit CNTL-BREAK, be sure to do it when Capital Gainz is waiting for user input, and not when it's processing records If an abnormal termination occurs causing the totals in the security file to differ from the actual open shares log totals: - manually fix the individual entries in the Open Shares Log Table - choose the Fixup function from the Security table, and use the Total function if the security is NOT using an average method. If the security uses an average method, you must enter the values manually Settings Help HMENU MMAP_MAIN AMAP_ACT SMAP_SEC RMAP_RPT QRETURN System Function Flow Although there are many different paths through Capital Gainz, a typical user will traverse the system functions in this order: Start Global Settings OK? Change Global Settings Securities Defined? Define Securities and Broker/Inv Cos Activity View Security Table View Activity Logs Reports Help Menu Main Map Activity Map Security Map Report Map Quit HMENU QRETURN Command Keys F1 is always Help Other Function Keys are labelled on the screen * Forms : Field Entry Section: ESC - go to previous field, or quit ENTER - accept field, go to next CNTL-ESC - reject form CNTL-ENTER - accept form UP ARROW - go to previous field DOWN ARROW - go to next field * Menus : Field Entry Section : same as Form Menu Section : ENTER - call associated routine ESC - quit, or go to field entry UP ARROW - cursor up one line DOWN ARROW - cursor down one line letter keys - execute item associated with number/letter * Tables : Field Entry Section : same as Form ESC - quit, or go to field entry CNTL-ESC - quit table UP ARROW - cursor up one record DOWN ARROW - cursor down one record PGDN - scroll table down PGUP - scroll table up CNTL-PGDN - go to last record CNTL-PGUP - go to first record INS - call form to add record DEL - delete entry at cursor ENTER - change record, select record, or quit depending on context Help Menu ?Quit HMENU TTOT_RET CYIELD QRETURN Gains and Losses Open amount: If not using category method: SUM(open_amounts) If using category method: basis_price * open_shares Open shares gain/loss: (open_shares * current_price) - open_amount - open_commission Closed shares gain/loss: close_amount - open_amount - close_commission - open_commission Help Menu Total Return Current Yield Quit HMENU BBUY SSELL DDISTR FFILES QRETURN Activity Logs Activity Logs refer to the individual Open, Close, and Distr Records. (These have nothing to do with 'logging transactions'). Open Log : individual Open records can be added, changed or deleted. Adding or changing records requires the user to fill in the Buy Shares Form. Close Log : individual Close records can be added, changed or deleted. Due to the complex relationships established when shares are sold, the number of shares can't be changed. When a record is deleted, the user has the option to 'Unsell' the associated Open records. Thus, to change the number of shares, first delete the record(s) and then resell. Adding or changing records requires the user to fill in the Sell Shares Form. Distr Log : individual Distribution records can be added, changed, or deleted. Adding or changing records requires the user to fill in the Distribution Form. When securities are deleted, all associated logs are also deleted. Help Menu Buy Help Sell Help Distr Help File Components Quit HMENU QRETURN System Function Map Activity Security Reports Log Broker Settings Backup Security Port Broker Summary Detail Broker Settings Table Report Report Report Report Table Port Security Summary Prices Fixup Stock Acct Broker Broker Report Split Info Report Broker Lookup Security Type Close Distr Security Method Lookup Buy Shares Sell Shares Distr Buy Del Sell Del Distr Del Buy Form Sell Form Distr Form Range Range Range Security Security Sell Show Security Distr Reinvest Shares Shares Lookup Lookup Method Sold Lookup Buy Shares Print Sold Help Menu MMAP_MAIN HMENU BBUY SSELL DDISTR QRETURN !Activity Map Main Menu Activity Menu Buy Shares Sell Shares Distributions Buy Shares Sell Shares Distributions Security Lookup Security Sell Security Distr Reinvest Lookup Method Open Shares Lookup Table Shares Sold Table #Select Buy Shares #Shares Help Menu Buy Shares Sell Shares Distributions Quit MMAP_MAIN HMENU BBROKER QRETURN Broker/Investment Company Map Main Menu Broker/Investment Company Broker/Inv Co Table Broker Form Account Information Broker Report Help Menu Broker/Inv Co Quit MMAP_MAIN HMAP_MAIN LLOGS QRETURN Log Maintenance Map Main Menu Log Maintenance Menu Date Range Open Log Close Log Distr Log Security Delete Security Delete Security Distr Delete Lookup Shares Range Lookup Shares Range Lookup Range Help Menu !Quit AMAP_ACT SMAP_SEC RMAP_RPT LMAP_LOG BMAP_BRK HMENU SSETTINGS BBACKUP QRETURN Main Map Main Menu Activity Security Reports Log Maintenance Broker/Inv Co Settings Settings Form Backup Select Colors Pick Colors Help Menu Settings Backup Quit MMAP_MAIN HMENU RREPORTS QRETURN Report Map Main Menu Report Portfolio Broker Allocation Schedule B&D Security Activity Price Report Report Report Report Summary Detail History Report Report Report "Enter Year Range Securities Date Range Securities Date Select 1Range Securities Help Menu Reports Quit MMAP_MAIN HMENU SSECURITY PPRC_HST QRETURN !Security Map Main Menu Security Security Table Security Price Security Portfolio Security Security Price Portfolio Form Update Summary Report Fixup Split History Allocation Price Date Summary Fixup Split Alloc Alloc Range Table Report Security Broker Sell $Date Price Price Type Lookup Method "Range Form History Table Table /Report Help Menu Security Price History Quit ALOGS GGAIN MMAP_MAIN AALLOC GDESC AMAP_ACT BBACKUP GSETTINGS SMAP_SEC BBROKER PPRICES RMAP_RPT BBUY PPRC_HST LMAP_LOG CCOLORS RREPORTS 2 BMAP_BRK CYIELD SSECURITY DDEL_RNG SSEC_SUMM DDISTR SSEC_TYPE FFILES SSEL_METH FFLOW SSELL FFIXUP SSPLIT FFUNC_KEY TTAX TTOT_RET QRETURN Help Menu Activity Logs Gains and Losses Main Map Allocation General Description Activity Map Backup Global Settings Security Map Broker/Inv Co Price Changes Report Map Buying Shares Price History Log Maint Map Colors Reports Broker/Inv Co Map Current Yield Securities Delete Range Security Summary Distributions Security Types File Components Selling Methods Flow Selling Shares Fixup Stock Splits Function Keys Tax Forms Total Return >Quit HMENU GSETTINGS QRETURN !Price History Capital Gainz Price History feature lets you see the value of a security over time. You select the 'granularity' of the time line with the Price History Interval setting in the Global Settings Form. A common setting is 28 - save security date/prices every 28 days, or about every month. Every time you buy shares, sell shares, change a security, or do price updates, you may make a price history entry. The rules for adding price history entries are: - always add entries that precede or follow any exiting dates - don't add entries that are not at least the specified interval away from the next and previous dates - if an entry causes an existing entry to be less than the interval away from the next and previous entries, delete existing one and add this one When using the Price Form to add/change entries in the Price History Table: - the entered data may or may not be put in the table - if the entered data is put in the table, then an exiting entry may or may not be deleted If you change the Price History Interval in the Global Settings Form, all securities' price histories are rebuilt accordingly. If you specify fewer days, then you are asked if you want to scan the activity logs for date/price pairs to fill in any resulting gaps. Help Menu Global Settings Quit HMENU SSECURITY PPRC_HST QRETURN Prices Changes Capital Gainz provides an easy way to change the price of all defined securities. Choose the Price Update function key on the Security table and a series of windows, one for each security, will pop up querying the user for the new price. Use this feature when you sit down with the newspaper stock tables to update your portfolio at the end of the month or week. Updating prices also create a price history for later analysis. Help Menu Security Help Price History Quit HMENU QRETURN Reports All reports allow you to send the output to the printer or a file: - The Portfolio Report, available from the Report Menu or the Security Table, shows the current open positions. Can subtotal by broker/inv co. - The Broker/Inv Co Report, available from the Report Menu or the Broker/Inv Co Table, shows the names and addresses of all brokers/investment companies, along with the managed securities and account numbers. - The Schedule B & D Report, available from the Report Menu, shows distribution and selling information in tax return format. - The Allocation Report, available from the Allocation Table or the Report Menu, shows the allocation percentages of your holdings by security type. - the Open Information for Shares Sold Report, available after selling shares, shows information resulting from the sale. You can select all or some securities and all or a range of dates for these: - the Security Summary Report, available from the Report Menu, shows the cumulative and short-term open, closed, and distribution values along with with gain/loss and total return for the specified period. - the Activity Detail Report, available from the Report Menu, shows individual transactions and totals for the specified period. - the Price History Report, available from the Price History Table or the Report Menu, shows dates/prices and flags highs and lows. Help Menu ?Quit HMENU SSEC_TYPE SSEL_METH QRETURN "Securities The Security table shows the currently defined securities and information about open shares. Securities can be added, changed, or deleted using the the Security form. When adding or changing a security, the security type and sell method are selected from a list. You can enter an initial price for the security - this price is added to the price history table. The number of dividends per year is used to calculate the yield:((div_per_year * div_amt) / price) * 100. If 0 is entered for the number of dividends per year, and a dividend is subsequently recorded, the number of dividends per year is changed to 1. These functions are available from the Security Table: add/update/delete security; update price/date for all securities; view security summary; portfolio report; security fixup; split shares; view price history; and view portfolio allocation. When security specific functions, such as price history, are invoked, the function is applied to the currently highlighted security. The tax exempt status should only be applied to securities held in retirement plans such as IRAs. These securities are skipped completely in the Schedule B and D reports. The Schedule B report correctly segregates dividends recieved from securities classified as tax free security types. Help Menu Security Type Help Sell Method Help Quit HMENU TTOT_RET LLOGS RREPORTS QRETURN Security Summary The security summary lists totals and calculations for the Open, Close, and Distr Logs. Short term amounts are broken out separately. In addition, the Total Return for the security is determined for the specified period. The Security Summary Report is available from the Report Menu. A Security Summary screen for a single security is available from the Security Table. Help Menu Total Return Help Log Help Report Help Quit HMENU QRETURN !Security Types Many different types are provided to describe securities. These types range from very general - such as 'Fund' - to very specific - such as 'Long Term Bond Fund'. Each type falls under one of the following categories: * Stocks * Bonds and Fixed Income * Other * Stock Mutual Funds * Bond and Fixed Income Funds * Other Funds These categories are subtotalled in the Allocation Report. Basically, how general or specific you want to be in labelling your securities is a matter of personal preference. The only other importance attached to these types is: * You can only use a category selling method with a mutual fund * Dividends from security types with the phrase 'Tax Free' in their names are corrctly segregated in the Schedule B report Help Menu ?Quit HMENU FFILES LLOGS SSEL_METH QRETURN Selling Shares The Sell Shares form is displayed when selling shares, or when inserting, changing, or deleting an entry in the Close Log. If called from the Activity Menu, the Close Shares form is accepted until the user explicitly quits. When shares of a security are sold or changed, enter the selling information in the Sell Shares form. If either no security or an invalid security is entered, a list of defined securities pops up and the user can select from the list or add a new security to the list. After the security is entered, the number of shares is set to the number of open shares, and the sell sell method is set to the current sell method. The price/date information entered on the Sell Form is used to add an entry to the price history table. After entering the price, the amount is calculated by multiplying the number of shares by the price. This amount can be accepted or changed, as rounding can result in minor differences. On completion of the form, the Open Log is searched and the shares which will be recorded as sold are displayed for confirmation. This list can be printed out without actually committing the sale. A Notes field is provided for memos about individual sales. Help Menu File Components Log Help Sell Method Help Quit HMENU QRETURN Sell Methods * FIFO (First-In/First-Out): the user enters the number of shares to sell, and open shares are closed beginning with the oldest open date. * LIFO (Last-In/First-Out): the user enters the number of shares to sell, and open shares are closed beginning with the most recent open date. * MAX (Max Gain/Min Loss): the user enters the number of shares to sell, and open shares are closed beginning with the lowest open price. * MIN (Min Gain/Max Loss): the user enters the number of shares to sell, and open shares are closed beginning with the highest open price. * ID (Identify): the user selects the open shares to sell from a table. * SCAT (Single Category): the user enters the number of shares to sell, and open shares are closed using the average open price. * DCAT (Double Category): the user enters the number of shares to sell and the category to begin with, and open shares are closed beginning with that category using the short or long term average price. The SCAT and DCAT selling methods are permanent - once chosen, the selling method can't be changed for the security. Thus, defer making this selection until shares are actually sold, instead of when the security is defined. After entering the selling method and number of shares, the result is shown and confirmation is requested. The list of shares to be sold can be printed. Help Menu ?Quit HMENU FFIXUP CCOLORS PPRC_HST QRETURN Global Settings (Defaults in Parenthesis) - Holding Period: number of days required for long term classification. (365) - Confirm Add/Update/Delete: if set to 'Y', the user will be asked for confirmation every time a record is added/updated/deleted. (N/N/Y) - Reinvest: if Y, the Buy Shares Form is brought up after a distribution. (Y) - Log Transactions: if Y, each add/update/delete transaction is logged to a file. This allows for automatic recovery if the user aborts with a CTL-BREAK in the middle of a set of atomic file operations. Since the extra I/O required penalizes performance, the user may prefer to fix things up by hand, using the Activity Log and Security Fixup, in case of abnormal termination. This logging is not related to the Activity Log! (N) - Price History Interval: number of days between date/price entries. If change to fewer days, prices are retrieved from activity logs. (28) - Backup Command: run when 'Backup' chosen from the Main Menu. (CAPGNZBU A) - Append Reports: if Y, reports printed to a file are appended to the file. Otherwise, the file is overwritten without warning. (Y) - Lines Per Page: the number of lines per page for reports. (60) - Line Draw Chars: if your printer supports the extended ASCII line drawing characters, choose Y. Otherwise, other symbols are substituted. (Y) - Colors: the Colors function keys allows you to customize screen colors. Help Menu Fixup Help Colors Price History Quit HMENU LLOGS QRETURN Stock Splits The Stock Split Form is used to alter the Open Log, Distr Log, security file, and the price history table when there is a share split for a security. Any ratio can be entered. For instance, a 2-for-1 split would mean that each open share has been split into 2 shares, and its price has been halved. Alternatively, a 1-for-2 split means that every 2 shares have been combined into one share, and the price has been doubled. If there are many open shares and price history entries for a security, then the stock split may be slow since each record must be rewritten. Help Menu Log Help Quit HMENU RREPORTS QRETURN #Tax Forms Capital Gainz' Security Summary Report and Activity Detail Report provide a lot of easy to read information on your investments. However, they still need to be manipulated somewhat to fit into your 1040 Tax Form's Schedule B, Part II, and Schedule D, Parts I, II, and . So, when April 15th looms close, simply select the Schedule B & D report from the Report Menu. If you have faithfully entered all of your investment information into Capital Gainz, most of the information on these reports can be copied 'as is' to you Schedule B & D forms. However, these reports are not true replicas of those schedules, and are thus not legal substitutes: - only the investment related sections of the forms are included - you probably have checking account or money market account information not included in Capital Gainz - Capital Gainz does not aspire to keeping up with tax form dynamics But, if you make sure to flag securities that are not taxable, this report will let you coast through the most tedious part of your tax forms. Help Menu Reports Quit HMENU SSEC_SUMM QRETURN Total Return A powerful feature of Capital Gainz is the ability to calculate a security's total return over a specified period : Total Return % = ((end price - begin price) + distr)/end price) * 100 This figure is automatically calculated in the Summary Report, and also in the Security Summary screen that's available from the Security Table. Help Menu Security Summary Quit HMENU SSECURITY QRETURN Current Yield The Current Yield figure is useful for securities that pay dividends. This value indicates the current dividend payout ratio: ((div per year * last div) / last price) * 100 Where 'div per year' is the number of dividend payouts per year, typically 1 (annually), 4 (quarterly), or 12 (monthly). 'last div' is the last dividend amount per share. 'last price' is the latest recorded price for the security. If this figure looks incorrect for a security, bring up the Distribution Log and make sure the amounts are entered correctly. Also, check the Security Form and make sure 'div per year' is set to the number of expected dividends per year. Help Menu Security Quit ALLOC BACKUP BROKER BUY COLORS DEL_RNG DESC 5 DISTR ` DIS_TYPEj FILES FIXUP FLOW FUNC_KEY GAIN LOGS MAP O> MAP_ACT MAP_BRK @F MAP_LOG MAP_MAIN3J MAP_RPT MAP_SEC MENU WS PRC_HST zX PRICES REPORTS =a SECURITY SEC_SUMM SEC_TYPE}p SELL It SEL_METHLz SETTINGS SPLIT r TAX TOT_RET YIELD