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PC ALLOWANCE Electronic Funds Transfer for Kids IBM PCs and compatibles DOS 2.0 or higher 300K of memory required floppy disks or hard drive monochome or color PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- PC ALLOWANCE TABLE OF CONTENTS What Is PC Allowance? ................................................. 3 Different Allowance Styles ............................................ 4 How To Use PC Allowance ............................................... 5 PC Allowance Is Shareware ............................................. 7 License ............................................................... 7 Registering PC Allowance .............................................. 8 User Support .......................................................... 8 The Association of Shareware Professionals ............................ 9 Installing PC Allowance ............................................... 9 Running PC Allowance: Program Basics ..................................10 Running PC Allowance: Account Basics ..................................11 Setting Up an Account .................................................12 Everyday Use of PC Allowance ..........................................18 CAUTION: You Are A Bank! ..............................................19 Backing Up Accounts ...................................................19 PC Allowance: Command Summary .........................................20 ATM Screen ............................................................20 Transaction Screen ....................................................21 Using Reports .........................................................22 Setup .................................................................23 Changing Colors .......................................................23 Printer ...............................................................24 Changing the Printer Port .............................................24 Setup Strings .........................................................24 Passwords .............................................................26 Account Setup .........................................................27 Hackers and Crackers ..................................................30 Index .................................................................31 PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT IS PC ALLOWANCE? PC Allowance is an electronic funds computer program for PC compatibles that helps kids learn the basics of banking and managing money. The program's interface mimics a bank's automatic teller machine, giving each "customer" the look and feel of his or her own bank account. PC Allowance will reward saving by compounding interest on money saved. Kids can use it as a simple accounting program to keep track of their money. Or you can use it to automate all the weekly allowances in your household. However you use it, kids learn about saving, earning interest, spending money, even borrowing and repaying principal and interest. PC Allowance features a full set of banking functions. It accepts deposits, makes withdrawals and writes mock "checks." It will automatically accrue a set weekly allowance, perform compound interest calculations, publish account "statements" and even make loans. You can add memos to any transaction, set minimum balance requirements and maintain a nearly unlimited number of accounts, each with its own password protection. The program is fully menu-driven and provides complete mouse support, though a mouse is not necessary. Here's how it works: PC Allowance is similar to the many check book register computer programs available, with two important differences. First, it is designed from the bottom up to appeal to children and adolescents, whose most memorable experiences of banks usually feature an ATM. Second, while your check book register program symbolically represents money in an account in a bank, PC Allowance may or may not represent a bank account. The money represented in a PC Allowance account could actually be in a bank account, or it could be in a cigar box on your bedroom dresser, or it could be just a sum of credits you've extended to your PC Allowance customer. However you choose to "back up" the money represented in PC Allowance, the program works pretty much the same way. For instance, you've added $30 to your daughter's account -- by paying her a weekly allowance, by paying her by-the-chore, or by a combination of the two. You "pay" her by making a deposit in her PC Allowance account. You may choose to also 1) put money each week, or whenever a chore is completed, into a bank account; 2) put the money into the cigar box, or 3) simply "owe" your daughter the $30. At any time, your daughter can withdraw money from the account. She does this very much like you do at an ATM. Instead of spitting out cash, PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- though, PC Allowance will print a "check" on a printer attached to the computer. (Check printing can be easily turned off, if you want.) In its simplest form, she'd present the check to you for cash. Or, you could treat the money in the PC Allowance account as a "spending account." Any time you spent money on your daughter's behalf -- she saw something in a store and talked you into buying it -- you'd require her to "withdraw" a like amount from her PC Allowance account. A PC Allowance account can represent cash or it can represent a sum of credits (you simply owe the customer the money). Using credits can be especially useful because that saves you the hassle of messing with cash on allowance day or when chores are done and paid for. But remember: PC Allowance makes you the banker. When your daughter makes a withdrawal, she'll want cash or an equivalent immediately. So some money in either a bank account or a cigar box to back up the "virtual money" in PC Allowance may be the prudent choice. However you use PC Allowance, it will help your customers learn to handle money and use a bank account. You'll probably argue less about money, because the program keeps transaction records of all deposits and all withdrawals. In the meantime, you can teach your kids the rewards of saving by paying interest. And they can learn to borrow responsibly as you set guidelines and limits. Kids love PC Allowance, because it makes them feel grown up to handle their money like adults. DIFFERENT ALLOWANCE STYLES Learning to handle money is as much a part of growing up in America as learning to read. Most kids begin learning the joys and hazards of money sometime soon after learning to read. Some never quite get the hang of it though, as evidenced by the thousands of adults who file for bankruptcy each year. Whatever level of money proficiency a person growing up in America is destined to attain, one thing is certain: You can't learn about it if you don't have it. Most American parents begin giving their children money by the age of six, and some experts say some children are ready to start learning the basics of handling money by age four. Soon enough, the money connection becomes formalized in most families. Whether you give your children a regular allowance, require him or her to work for money or dole out gifts depends mostly on your parenting style. According to a Gallup poll conducted for Money magazine in 1989, slightly more than half of all American parents make their children's allowance conditional on chores, good behavior, or school work and grades. Only about one-third give kids an unconditional allowance with no strings PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- attached. A common approach is to pay for work. Children and adolescents are expected to perform certain chores around the house, and in return they receive an allowance. One extreme is to pay for each piece of work; the amount earned depends on the chores done. Another way is to pay a set amount each week, provided the chores are done. Either of these approaches could be used to reinforce the idea of work as something of value. A less common approach (though it is more frequently recommended by child psychologists) is to establish a set weekly allowance amount that is paid week-in, week-out, regardless of whether or not chores are done. The philosophy here is that chores are something every family member does -- not work for hire. Other incentives or punishments are used to motivate the chores. The purpose of the allowance is to reinforce the child's concept of self-worth and responsibility. And many families follow a middle course: A smaller weekly allowance supplemented by the chance to earn bonuses for special chores. PC Allowance is an excellent tool for whichever allowance method you use. If you pay a regular weekly allowance, configure the program to automatically calculate the allowance, on any day of the week you like. (If you want to withhold an allowance payment for any reason, you can always debit the account a like amount with a withdrawal.) If you rely totally on allowance-for-chores, set the allowance amount for $0, and the program will ignore any need for a weekly allowance. Whenever you pay the PC Allowance customer for a chore, make a deposit and attach a memo that notes what the deposit is for. HOW TO USE PC ALLOWANCE The hardest part to using PC Allowance is knowing what to do when it asks for a "Master Key." When you see this, just type MASTER. (Actually, the all-caps is just for effect. PC Allowance is totally case-insensitive.) MASTER is the default Banker's Master Key -- the pass key that confers top-level access and unlocks everything. It belongs to whoever is in charge of all the allowances, and should be kept secret from everyone receiving an allowance. (Each customer gets an individualized Password to his or her account, which allows access to that account only.) So, naturally, the very first thing you want to do is to change the Master Key to something else. And keep it secret. PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ Balance ║ ║ ║ ║ Transactions ║ ║ ║ ║ Reports ║ ║ ║ ║ Setup ║ ║ ║ ║ Other account ║ ║ ║ ║ Quit ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Here's how: Once in the program you'll see the main ATM Screen menu. Select "Setup." PC Allowance will offer you three choices. ╔═══════════════════╗ ║ Customer ║ ║ Banker ║ ║ Printer ║ ╚═══════════════════╝ Choose "Banker." PC Allowance will again ask for the Master Key. Type MASTER. Then choose "Master Key" to open a prompt for changing the code word. Enter up to 10 alphanumeric characters and hit <ENTER> or click on < OK > to save the new Master Key. To back out of any menu, just click the mouse outside the menu area, or press <ESC> three times to back out of the menus. Be sure to choose a good Master Key, one that you'll remember and your kids won't guess. This may seem a little tricky. After all, if you forget the password to the ATM at your bank, you can always call a special number at the bank. But with PC Allowance, you are the bank. OK, just pick a good Master Key and try hard not to forget it. But you probably will forget it, sooner or later. Don't worry, there's a way around that, and you don't even have to register the program to find out what it is. See more on Passwords and Master Keys under "Passwords" on page 26. PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- PC ALLOWANCE IS SHAREWARE Like thousands of other Shareware programs, PC Allowance is a professionally-written, user-friendly and powerful computer program to help you meet your computing needs. If you're not familiar with Shareware, you may be surprised at the program's power, ease of use and, most of all, low price. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Shareware is that authors give you the program and expect you to pay later. The Shareware industry is growing at a phenomenal rate for a number of reasons. First and foremost is low cost. When you buy a Shareware program, you're not buying a corporate bureaucracy or someone else's big marketing budget. Chances are, you're dealing directly with a program author who stays in close touch with his or her users, who will listen to you and your comments, and who upgrades his or her program frequently and rapidly. And, of course, users ALWAYS get to try before they buy. LICENSE PC Allowance is copyrighted, but is distributed on an evaluation basis for free or for a nominal fee. You may use the program for up to 30 days, and you may copy it for others to evaluate too. At the end of a 30-day evaluation period, however, you must register the program by paying the registration fee. You can use the form included in the file REGISTER.DOC. This limited free use and sharing policy applies only to the non-registered version of the program. This non-registered version differs from the registered version only by the presence of a Shareware notification screen on program initialization. The registered version without this screen is licensed only to the registered user and may not be distributed, shared or tranferred. You may not alter or modify PC Allowance in any way. If you share or otherwise distribute the program, you must do so with the original Shareware files as released by me. The restriction against alteration includes but is not limited to disassembly, reverse engineering or patching the program. In any copying or sharing of the program, these restrictions also apply: All files, including program documentation must be included. No fee, other than for the copying medium and shipping, may be charged. Commercial sale or use of PC Allowance is strictly prohibited without express written permission of John H. Byrd. PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- REGISTERING PC ALLOWANCE You may have obtained your copy in any of several ways. The program is available for downloading from hundreds of electronic bulletin boards in the United States, from large on-line services such as CompuServe or GEnie, from many disk vendors who publish catalogs of Shareware programs and in retail software stores. You may have obtained your evaluation copy of PC Allowance from a disk vendor who charged a handling fee. I received none of the handling fee. The only compensation I receive for the hundreds of hours of hard work I've put into the program comes from you and other users who register. Registering PC Allowance and other Shareware programs will also help ensure the continued success of Shareware and make additional lower-cost programs available to you and other computer users. Registration is easy and inexpensive. Fill out the registration form in file REGISTER.FRM and enclose a check or money order for the amount specified. You may use a personal check if you like. What will you receive if you register? You will receive: o The LATEST version of the program; o A professionally printed users manual to PC Allowance; o A registered version without the opening Shareware notification screen; o Free telephone or mail support and bug fixes for one year; o Notification of all future upgrades and discounts on upgrades. o The serenity of knowing you did the right thing. USER SUPPORT Despite my best efforts to design an open and friendly piece of software and write careful and lucid documentation, I've found that frequently I haven't done enough. Sometimes specific problems need to be addressed. Registered users will get free support for one year. This includes answers to any questions you have about PC Allowance and help in resolving problems you might have with its operation. If you have a problem, comment or question, I want to hear from you. You can contact me by telephone, by mail or via CompuServe or GEnie. Call me at (704) 542-0473 or (704) 588-2099. For best results, call after 6 p.m. Eastern time, or on weekends. PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Or write to: John Byrd Syntonic Software 16432 Forest Home Road Charlotte, NC 28278 Or you may post e-mail to me on CompuServe at 72060,1556, or on GEnie at J.Byrd7. Whatever method you choose, I'll do whatever I can to get PC Allowance to work for you. ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS (ASP) John H. Byrd is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. DISCLAIMER PC Allowance is provided "as is" with no warranty of any kind, expressed or implied. Neither John H. Byrd nor Syntonic Software shall be liable for any loss or damage that results from the use of this product. INSTALLING PC ALLOWANCE PC Allowance is ready to run. The executable file, PCALLOW.EXE, is all that is needed to get started. And it will easily fit on one 360K floppy disk, if that's all you have. For best results, copy PCALLOW.EXE to a subdirectory on your hard drive where you will keep all your accounts. If you only have a floppy-disk machine, I suggest that you copy PCALLOW.EXE to a blank diskette. PC Allowance will generate account files and keep them in the same subdirectory as the executable file. If you start out with just the program file on a 360K diskette, there should be enough room for several accounts on that one diskette. RUNNING PC ALLOWANCE -- PROGRAM BASICS PC Allowance emulates a bank automatic teller machine with a number of capabilities. Many of the operations of the program are done on the mock ATM "screen," just like at the bank. Others, such as setting up and changing accounts and changing colors and Passwords and the Master Key are done through pull-down and pop-up menus, more typical of other PC software. PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The program's main screen consists of an ATM screen and a numbered keypad: ╒═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ │ PC ALLOWANCE │ │╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ ┌───╖ ┌───╖ ┌───╖ │ │║ ║ │ 7 ║ │ 8 ║ │ 9 ║ │ │║ ║ ╘═══╝ ╘═══╝ ╘═══╝ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Balance ║ ┌───╖ ┌───╖ ┌───╖ │ │║ ║ │ 4 ║ │ 5 ║ │ 6 ║ │ │║ Transactions ║ ╘═══╝ ╘═══╝ ╘═══╝ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Reports ║ ┌───╖ ┌───╖ ┌───╖ │ │║ ║ │ 1 ║ │ 2 ║ │ 3 ║ │ │║ Setup ║ ╘═══╝ ╘═══╝ ╘═══╝ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Other Account ║ ┌───╖ ┌───╖ ┌───╖ │ │║ ║ │ C ║ │ 0 ║ │ . ║ │ │║ Quit ║ ╘═══╝ ╘═══╝ ╘═══╝ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ ┌───────────────────┐ │ │║ ║ │ │ │ │║ ║ └───────────────────┘ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ ╘═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ Most operations on the ATM screen are started by using a moving bar menu system typical of PC software. You may click on the item with the mouse, highlight the option and press <ENTER>, or, type the highlighted "hot key." For instance, to see the current account balance, you could click on "Balance", or just hit <ENTER> (the menu bar is already highlighting the "Balance" item). Or you could press <B>. Whenever you perform a transaction you'll be called on to enter numerical values. The mouse also operates on the key pad. Just click on the number button instead of pressing it. Or, you can use the number keys across the top of the keyboard, or turn your <Num Lock> key ON and use the numerical keypad at the right of the keyboard. Regardless of which method you use, the mock numerical keypad on your computer screen will indicate which number was entered. Whenever transactions are performed that give the customer "cash," either through a withdrawal or a loan, PC Allowance will print a draft on a dot-matrix, daisy wheel or non-PostScript laser printer. This draft will resemble a check. If you want, you can disable this draft printing (see ACCOUNT SETUP, page 27. PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 11 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- RUNNING PC ALLOWANCE -- ACCOUNT BASICS Each customer of PC Allowance gets an account and each account must be named within the DOS conventions because it will be stored on disk. That means an account name can't be more than 8 letters long and it can't include spaces or punctuation marks. For simplicity's sake, give each account the customer's first name. For instance, Jimmy's account should be named JIMMY. Christopher's account should be CHRIS. If you try to name it CHRISTOPHER, the program will shorten it to CHRISTOP. All account transactions will be kept in a file with the DOS extension of ".ALW." Any memos attached to transactions will be kept in files with the DOS extension of ".MEM." So, if you have two accounts, one for Jimmy and one for Christopher, you will have four account files: JIMMY.ALW, JIMMY.MEM, CHRIS.ALW and CHRIS.MEM. Normally, you won't be concerned with these file types. When you're offered a selection of accounts to use, you'll only see the first names: ╒═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ │ PC ALLOWANCE │ │╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ ┌───╖ ┌───╖ ┌───╖ │ │║ ║ │ 7 ║ │ 8 ║ │ 9 ║ │ │║ ╔══ ACCOUNTS ╧═╦═╝ ╘═══╝ │ │║ ║ JIMMY ║ │ │║ Balance ║ CHRIS ╟─╖ ┌───╖ │ │║ ║ ║ ║ │ 6 ║ │ │║ Transactions ║ ╠═╝ ╘═══╝ │ │║ ║ ║ │ │║ Reports ║ ╟─╖ ┌───╖ │ │║ ║ ║ ║ │ 3 ║ │ │║ Setup ║ ╠═╝ ╘═══╝ │ │║ ║ ║ │ │║ Other Account ║ ╟─╖ ┌───╖ │ │║ ║ ║ ║ │ . ║ │ │║ Quit ╚══╦═══════════╩═╝ ╘═══╝ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ ┌───────────────────┐ │ │║ ║ │ │ │ │║ ║ └───────────────────┘ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ ╘═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ PC Allowance will store in these files any deposits, withdrawals, loans or loan payments your customers make. It will also automatically calculate allowance payments on the day of the week you specify, make automatic loan payments if ordered to and calculate and add interest once a month. PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 12 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- An important note about PC Allowance's automatic calculations. The program doesn't have to run to make them. Whenever an account is loaded, PC Allowance checks to see if all transactions are up to date. If they aren't, it runs all necessary calculations and updates everything in that account. It performs these calculations extremely fast. Even if the account has not been opened in several weeks, PC Allowance can update it in less than a second. So, a customer's account -- even the whole PC Allowance program -- can lie dormant on a disk in a drawer for a year, and still reflect 52 week's of allowance payments and interest accruals the minute the account is loaded. Each account contains two transaction lists and two transaction balances: Allowance and Loans. The Allowance List reflects all your customer's liquid assets. Think of it as a checking account. The Loan List (if there is one) reflects all your customer's debts. Think of it as a credit card account. You can see the two lists by selecting "Reports" on the main screen menu. The initial (and default) list is Allowance. To see the Loan List, select < Toggle Screen > on the menu bar at the top of the screen, either by clicking on it with the mouse, or by pressing the letter <T> (for "Toggle") while in the Report Screen. You can also click on the highlighted bar at the top of Report Screen, whick will read either "Checking" or "Loans." (See USING REPORTS, page 22). Whenever you select "Balance" on the main ATM screen menu, you'll see the Allowance Balance. To see the Loan Balance (if there is one), select "Reports." So that you or your customers can keep track of any expenditures or other transactions that you choose, you can also attach memos. The memos are viewed and edited in the Report Screen. Transactions and memos are kept for as long as you want. At any time you can delete old transactions and memos to reduce file size. Each account has its own Password, which can be changed independently by the customer. (See PASSWORDS, page 26.) This Password is encoded and stored in the .ALW file with the transaction data. Also stored in this file is screen color information. Storing screen color information in each individual account file allows each customer to modify the screen colors to his or her own liking, without affecting other customers' screens. SETTING UP AN ACCOUNT OK, you're ready to open an account. Before you start, you need to know: 1) The customer's name. 2) What you'll name the account (use the kid's first name). PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 13 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) How much allowance to pay each week. 4) What day will be pay day. 5) How much interest you'll pay your customer to reward saving. 6) What minimum balance you'll require before the account starts earning interest. 7) How much interest, if any, you'll charge on loans. 8) If you allow loans, should there be automatic repayments each week drawn against the allowance balance? 9) Do you want printed checks for each withdrawal? 10) Can you trust this kid to write his own loans without your approval? Got your answers? For an example's sake, let's say you answered this way for Customer Number One, Jimmy: 1) His name is Jimmy Spendthrift. 2) His account will be "Jimmy." 3) His allowance is $8 a week. 4) Pay day will be Saturday. 5) He'll earn 5 % interest. 6) As long as he maintains a $25 balance. 7) He pays 6.25 % interest IF he can convince me to advance him money. 8) And IF he goes into debt, 50 % of his allowance each week will automatically be paid against that debt until it is retired. 9) YES, I want a printed check on each withdrawal. 10) Heck NO! No loans unless explicitly approved by me. At the main ATM screen, select "Setup." At the first menu select "Banker" and enter your Master Key when prompted. (If you make a mistake in typing or enter the wrong key word, PC Allowance will beep and drop back to the previous menu screen. Press <ENTER> to try your Master Key again.) At PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 14 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- the next menu select "Set Up New Account" and you'll see the Setup Menu: ┌─ SETUP ────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Child's Name: │ │ File Name: │ │ Allowance: $ │ │ Pay Day: Sunday │ │ Savings Interest: 0.00 % │ │ Minimum Balance: $ │ │ Loan Interest: 0.00 % │ │ Loan Repayment: 0.00 % │ │ Print Checks: NO │ │ Free Credit: NO │ ├────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ F2 = Save configurations < OK > │ │ ESC = Exit w/o saving < CANCEL > │ └────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Notice that the default Pay Day is Sunday, and that the defaults on Print Checks and Free Credit are "NO." Just fill in the answers to the 10 questions: ┌─ SETUP ────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Child's Name: Jimmy Spendthrift │ │ File Name: Jimmy │ │ Allowance: $8.00 │ │ Pay Day: Saturday │ │ Savings Interest: 5.00 % │ │ Minimum Balance: $25.00 │ │ Loan Interest: 6.25 % │ │ Loan Repayment: 50% │ │ Print Checks: yes │ │ Free Credit: NO │ ├────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ F2 = Save configurations < OK > │ │ ESC = Exit w/o saving < CANCEL > │ └────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Note that all entries are case-insensitive. You can capitalize or not, whichever you prefer. Also, dollar signs and percent signs are not important. And, if you're entering dollar amounts, you can leave off the cents, if you want. For instance, "$3" or simply "3" is just as good as "$3.00." If you don't want to pay a regular weekly allowance, but prefer to make irregular deposits as rewards for specific jobs, then just leave the "Allowance" line blank, or type "0". To save Jimmy's Setup, press <F2> or click on < OK >. Pressing <ESC> or clicking on < CANCEL > will erase anything you've added to the dialog box. For more details on setting up or changing an account, see ACCOUNT SETUP, page 27. PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 15 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jimmy's account is now set up. The default Password for any new account is "PASSWORD." (Remember the distinction between Passwords and the Master Key. The Master Key belongs to the Banker only, and can open ANY account. Each individual account has its own Password, and they can all be customized.) Maybe the first thing you'll want to do is change Jimmy's password so it will be distinct from his siblings or other PC Allowance customers. Select "Setup" again, then select "Customer" and choose "Change Password." PC Allowance will prompt you for a new Password. Type in 10 alphabetical or numeric characters and press <ENTER> or click on < OK >. The new Password is saved. And Jimmy can change it to something else later if he wants. Note that the program will display a customer's password on the screen as it is typed. This is to accomodate inexperienced users and poor typers. But it also means that a sibling looking over his sister's shoulder will learn the Password. To eliminate that eventuality, while you're still at the "Customer/Printer/Banker" menu choose "Hide Password," then choose "Yes, show stars." Press <ENTER> to save your selection. Now, when Jimmy types in "avaricious" (his new Password), his sister will see: **********. As soon as the first Saturday rolls around, PC Allowance will deposit $8 in Jimmy's account. But, until then, the account balance is $0. Why not start Jimmy off right? Salt his account with a round $100. Select "Transactions," then "Deposit." PC Allowance will again ask for your Master Key. (This is to prevent the customer from depositing YOUR money to his account and reaching the $21.4 million limit before his 16th birthday.) At the deposit prompt type: "100.00". PC Allowance will echo your entry and ask for you to confirm: "Is this all right? Y/N". Type "Y" or "N", or click on < OK > or < CANCEL >. Then, PC Allowance will ask if you want to add a memo. If you do, the program will pop up a window at the bottom of the screen. You can enter up to 255 characters in the memo. Press <ENTER> or click on < OK > to save it. Memos are always optional. Once you've saved the deposit and/or the memo, PC Allowance will drop back to the ATM screen. Select "Balance" and it will display the latest PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 16 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- transaction and the current balance at the bottom of the screen: ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Last Action Type Amount Balance │ │ 11-07-91 Deposit 100.00 100.00 │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Selecting "Balance" again will cause it to disappear. Notice that this is the Allowance Balance, similar to your checking balance. If the customer has a loan balance, it won't be displayed here. If you want to see a complete report of your customer's account activity, select "Reports." ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Checking ║ ║ Date Type Amount Balance ║ ║ 11-07-91 Deposit 100.00 100.00 M ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ If you had attached a memo to your deposit, you'll notice that an "M" is displayed at the right of the record. Double click on that record, or highlight it and press <ENTER>. The memo will be displayed in a window at the bottom of the screen where you can edit it, or even erase it. If there is no memo attached, an empty edit box will still be displayed. Now you can add a memo if you want. PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 17 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Select <T> for "Toggle" or click on the label bar at the top of the ATM Screen and you'll see the Loan activity: ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Loan activity ║ ║ Date Type Amount Balance ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ The screen is empty because there has been no loan activity. While the Reports Screen is displayed, you may also delete records or print out an account statement. For more information on those functions, see USING REPORTS, page 22. To leave the Reports Screen, press <ESC> or click on < ESCape >. This covers the basics of setting up and using a customer account. Once the account is set up, the customer can load it at any time, as long as he or she knows the Password. You can also get into the account by using your Master Key in place of the Password, no matter how many times your customer changes the Password. PC Allowance will now begin accruing allowance payments on the Pay Day that you specified, and the account will begin earning interest, depending on your configuration. The customer can check his or her balance, print reports and make withdrawals and loan payments. At any time, you can change the account configuration, whether the allowance amount, Pay Day, interest charges or whatever, just by using the Setup Menu. To make changes in an individual account configuration, select "Setup/Banker/Change Existing Account." The Setup Menu will display all current configurations, which you can edit. Press <F2> or click on < OK > to save the new configurations, or press <ESC> or click on < CANCEL > to abort any changes. PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 18 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- EVERYDAY USE OF PC ALLOWANCE Now that you've opened accounts for all your customers, you can turn operation of the program over to the account owners. Your customer will need to know his or her original Password. You might have left it "PASSWORD" (the default), but now it's up to the customer to assign a new Password of his or her choosing. (See PASSWORDS, page 26). A PC Allowance customer can open an account three ways: 1) Through the command line, 2) From the initial directory or 3) by selecting "Other Account." For instance, customer Jimmy wants to open PC Allowance and see how much his allowance has accumulated. When he launches the program, he can type: PCALLOW JIMMY (caps are optional). Account files JIMMY.ALW and JIMMY.MEM will automatically be loaded into memory and the initial prompt will welcome Jimmy and ask for his Password. Entering the wrong Password will abort the program and return computer control to the operating system. Or, Jimmy can just type PCALLOW at the DOS prompt. Now when the program loads, it will display a directory list of all *.ALW files in the current directory. Jimmy can click on his file, or highlight it with the arrow keys and press <ENTER>. (If more than 10 files are in the directory, you may have to scroll the directory menu to see all of them. Click on one of the arrows at the corner of the menu, or keep pressing the down or up arrow key to see more file names. Once Jimmy has selected a file, PC Allowance will welcome him and ask for his Password. Again, entering the wrong Password will abort the program and return control to the operating system. (You may also run PC Allowance under Microsoft Windows just as you would any non-Windows application. For instructions on how to do so, consult your Windows manual.) Finally, if PC Allowance is already running, even with another customer's account loaded into memory, Jimmy can select "Other Account" from the ATM Screen menu. PC Allowance will again display the directory list and Jimmy can select his file. In this case, entering the wrong Password returns PC Allowance to its previous state, which might be displaying the previous account. Once in the account, Jimmy can perform almost any action except those that would add money to his account. For those he would need the Master Key. For instructions on PC Allowance commands and functions, see the appropriate section of this manual. PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 19 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- CAUTION: YOUR ARE NOW A BANK! Converting your kid's allowance to electronic funds transfer poses a very real risk that you won't have the funds when he or she makes a demand for cash. Suppose your kid is a real squirrel about money. Let's make it worse (and more realistic): you have two kids, and they're both squirrels. They go for weeks without spending any of their $10-a-week allowances. In five weeks, they've accrued $100, in 25 weeks, $500. Before you know it, they decide to go halvesies on a projection-screen TV. The whole system could break down if you had to go out and borrow the cash. The point here is, if you were paying them allowance in the traditional, cash-money way, you'd part with $20 a week and forget about it. If you make a conversion to "virtual money" (electronics funds transfer) be aware how fast money tends to pile up in their PC Allowance accounts and prepare. If you need to, set that $20 a week aside somewhere. Remove it from your check book register, transfer $85 a month to a savings account, hide the cash in a cigar box. Just be prepared, because every dollar that PC Allowance accrues in your kids' accounts will a $1 loan from your kid to you -- and it's callable when you least expect it. (Does this sound like a man speaking from experience?) A system that has worked well for me is to have my bank automatically transfer an amount roughly equal to my two kids' allowances each month from my checking into my savings account. (They're both squirrels in the worst way.) When they make BIG demands for cash, I pull the money out of savings. Of course, if your kids tend to spend money as fast as it accrues, or you're fabulously wealthy, you don't need to worry about any of this. BACKING UP ACCOUNTS It's important to back up your files regularly. Hard disks do fail! If you perform regular backups of your system, be sure to include PC Allowance files. Remember, your kids' life savings are in there. You can also make an easy back up of PC Allowance account files directly to a floppy disk if you want. Select Setup/Banker/Backup Accounts. PC Allowance will prompt you for a backup drive (the default is the A drive). ┌───────── BACK UP ACCOUNTS ─────────┐ │ Put your backup disk in Drive A │ │ │ │ < OK > < CANCEL > │ └────────────────────────────────────┘ If you're not backing up to the A drive, type a drive letter. PC PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 20 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Allowance will remember the drive chosen and use that as the default on subsequent backups. Once you press <ENTER> or click on < OK >, PC Allowance will copy all account and memo files to a floppy disk in the chosen drive. If the disk fills, it will prompt you to insert a new disk in the drive. Be sure to use a formatted disk with plenty of available space. To restore backed up files, use the DOS Copy command or equivalent to copy them from the floppy disk into your PC Allowance subdirectory on your hard drive. PC ALLOWANCE: COMMAND SUMMARY ATM SCREEN All commands and functions are accessed through a menu structure typical of most popular PC software. Every action begins on the ATM Screen, where the user has six choices: Balance Transactions Reports Other Account Setup Quit BALANCE: This toggles the Allowance account balance display at the bottom of the ATM Screen. Clicking on this item, pressing <B> or pressing <ENTER> when "Balance" is highlighted will display the account balance if it is not currently displayed, or will hide it if it is displayed. Included in the display are the date of the last transaction, the type of transaction (Allowance, Deposit, Interest, Withdrawal, Loan or Loan Payment), the amount of the transaction and the current balance. TRANSACTION: This leads to the Transaction Menu, where the customer can make further choices (Deposit, Withdrawal, Loan Payment or Borrow). See TRANSACTION SCREEN below. REPORTS: This displays the Reports Screen, where a customer can view all existing records transactions and memos, delete transactions, print a "statement" or add and edit memos. See USING REPORTS below. OTHER ACCOUNT: This allows a customer to close the current account and open another account. SETUP: This leads to three Setup Options: Customer, Printer and Banker. See SETUP below. QUIT: Closes all account files and ends the program. PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 21 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRANSACTION SCREEN The customer gets four choices here. Two of them he or she can do on his or her own, and two require the assistance of the banker. Unassisted, the customer can make a WITHDRAWAL or a LOAN PAYMENT. However, DEPOSIT or BORROW require the banker's Master Key. Select "Withdrawal" to withdraw money. The customer would do this because the banker has given him or her cash, made a purchase for which the customer must reimburse the banker or has otherwise converted a portion of the assets represented in the PC Allowance account to another asset. Maybe you and the customer were out shopping and you paid for an item your customer wanted. He'd repay you by "withdrawing" money from his PC Allowance account. Or maybe your customer was going shopping on his own and you gave him cash. He would repay you through the same withdrawal process. Selecting "Withdrawal" produces a new prompt: Withdraw: Just type in the amount. For instance, the banker has spent $12.34 on the customer's behalf and the account needs to be reduced accordingly. Type "$12.34" or "12.34" (don't use the quotation marks). If the sum is a whole dollar amount, the decimal and decimal places are optional. In other words, "$12.00," "12.00," "$12" or "12" all work equally well. PC Allowance will ask you to confirm the display: "Is this all right? Y/N" If the amount displayed is correct, press <Y> or click on < OK >. If you want to type it over, press <N> or click on < CANCEL >. Next, PC Allowance will ask if you want to add a memo: "Add a memo? Y/N" Press <Y> or <N>, or click on < YES > or < NO >. Memos can be up to 255 characters long. If your memo is longer than the window that opens at the bottom of the screen, just keep typing. It will begin scrolling off to the side. Once you've finished entering your transaction or memo, PC Allowance will record the transaction in your account file. If the printer option is turned on (see SETUP), PC Allowance will cut a hard-copy "check." DEPOSIT, LOAN PAYMENT and BORROW all work in very similar fashion. Let's say you want to reward your customer for raking the leaves. Deposit PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 22 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- an extra $10 in his or her account. You don't part with any cash, until your customer actually uses it. The main thing to remember is that DEPOSIT and BORROW require use of the Master Key for access. Entering the wrong Master Key will result in the messages, "You're not allowed to make deposits" or "You're not allowed to borrow." USING REPORTS The initial screen displays the stored "checking" transactions. Across the top of the computer screen you'll see a menu of key selections: < Memo > < Toggle Screen > < Delete Reports > < Print > < ESCape > We'll cover each of these in a moment. First, though, you'll notice the list of checking transactions. The top transaction will be highlighted. The lowest one on the screen -- the one at the bottom of the list -- will be the last transaction recorded. If the checking account transaction list includes more than 19 or so records, then more may have scrolled off the top of the screen. To see them, click on the mouse arrows at the top right corner of the screen, or press <PageUp>. Or use the arrow keys to move the highlight bar upward. You can select any of the menu items across the top of the screen by pressing the indicated key, or by clicking on the menu entry with the mouse. MEMO: You may see a capital "M" to the right of some transactions. This means that a memo is attached. To see or edit the memo, double-click on that transaction with the mouse, or highlight it and press <ENTER>. You can also add a memo on this screen by selecting the transaction in this way and typing the memo in the empty edit box. highlighting any record and pressing <ENTER>. TOGGLE SCREEN: Pressing <T> will toggle the Report Screen back and forth between the "checking" and the "loan" reports. The loan screen displays all records pertaining to loans -- borrowings, payments and interest charges. If there are no transactions pertaining to loans, the screen will be blank. DELETE REPORTS: You can save memory and file space by periodically deleting transaction records. Clicking on this or pressing <D> will display a prompt: ┌─── Delete Records Prior to: ─────┐ │ │ │ < OK > < CANCEL > │ └──────────────────────────────────┘ Type a date (MM/DD/YY). PC Allowance will erase all transaction records prior to that date, without affecting the current balance, or any calculations, including allowance. PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 23 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRINT: This will print an account "statement" either to your printer or to a disk file. Click on this or press <P> and you'll see another menu offering two choices: ┌───────────────────┐ │ Printer │ │ File │ └───────────────────┘ "Printer" will send the statement to the printer. "File" will send it to an ASCII format disk file. PC Allowance will ask for a file name. If you don't add an extension (the three letters after the "."), it will automatically add the extension of ".PRN". If you give it the name of an existing file, PC Allowance will overwrite the old file. The default hard-copy printer output is LPT1, which is usually connected to a hard-copy printer. You may change the printer connection to LPT2. See CHANGING THE PRINTER PORT below. ESCape: Pressing <ESC> will return the program to the ATM Screen. SETUP Program Setup allows you to configure individual accounts, printer functions or the banker's functions. For instance, using this menu choice you can change screen colors, make some changes to the printer configuration, change Passwords or the Master Key, or set up new accounts and change the options in existing accounts. CHANGING COLORS From the ATM Screen select "Setup/Customer/Colors." This will display the Color Menu: ╔══════════ Colors ════════════╗ ║ ATM Screen ║ ║ ATM Body ║ ║ ATM Calculator Keys ║ ║ Menu Scroll Bars ║ ║ Menu Hot Keys ║ ║ Menu Color 1 ║ ║ Menu Color 2 ║ ║ Menu Color 3 ║ ║ Drop Shadows ║ ║ Messages ║ ║ Restore Default Colors ║ ╚══════════════════════════════╝ Selecting any of those choices will produce a box of color choices. Use the mouse or the arrow keys to select a color. PC Allowance will display the new colors for the screen element you selected. Selecting PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 24 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Restore Default Colors" will instantly restore the program's original color scheme. Any changes you make to screen colors while an allowance account is loaded will affect only that account. Each PC Allowance customer can have his or her own custom color scheme without offending the aesthetic sensibilities of other customers. PRINTER PC Allowance produces ASCII output that works well on most dot matrix and non-PostScript laser printers. If you have a daisy-wheel or other printer that doesn't print the ASCII graphic line-drawing characters, you may want to change some of the printer defaults. You can also change printer ports and send setup strings to change your printer's configuration. Setup strings will allow you, for instance, to use a dedicated character set or printer mode for PC Allowance without affecting the configuration you use for other applications. Any of these operations can be done from the Printer Menu. CHANGING THE PRINTER PORT PC Allowance's default printer port is LPT1. This is probably the printer port that you use. If PC Allowance prints OK, then this is what you should use. You may, however, have two printers connected to your computer. (If the second printer is a serial printer, you can redirect it to LPT2 by modifying your CONFIG.SYS file. Consult your DOS manual.) To use the printer connected to LPT2 select "Setup/Printer." You'll see this menu: ╔════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ [X] Graphics characters ║ ║ [ ] Plain ║ ╟────────────────────────────────────╢ ║ [X] LPT1 ║ ║ [ ] LPT2 ║ ║ █ Control Codes ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════╝ Select LPT2, by clicking on it, by moving the highlight bar to that line and pressing <ENTER>, or by typing "2". Click outside the menu box, or press <ESC> to close the menu and automatically save the changes. SETUP STRINGS You may send two setup strings to the printer. The first string will precede printing output, and the second will follow. To define your setup strings, choose "Setup/Printer." At the Printer menu select "Control Codes" and you'll see the "Printer Control Codes" menu: PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 25 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ╔═══════════ PRINTER CONTROL CODES ═══════════╗ ║ S1: ║ ║ S2: ║ ║ < OK > < CANCEL > ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Type in your setup strings. Either string can be up to 128 characters long. The string will scroll horizontally as you reach the end of the line. PC Allowance uses a syntax similar to WordPerfect for interpreting setup strings. There are only four rules: 1) Characters whose ASCII value is larger than 32 decimal and less than 128 (printable characters) may be entered either as characters or as an ASCII value (decimal only). 2) If the numerical value is used, it must be enclosed in brackets "<>." For instance, the character "A" may be used, or you may substitute its ASCII value: "<65>" 3) Values that cannot be represented by printable characters must use their numerical value in brackets. The <ESC> character, used as the first character in many printer control sequences, can be represented as "<027>" or "<27>". 4) Do not use spaces in any setup string. A couple of setup examples: Suppose you wanted to tell an Epson compatible printer to switch to condensed mode for PC Allowance, but switch back to expanded mode for other applications. Your first setup string would be: <15> Your second would be: <18> Suppose you wanted your Hewlett Packard DeskJet to print in "text scale mode" (66 lines per page) for PC Allowance, but return to regular mode (63 lines per page) afterwards. (HINT: PC Allowance's Report output is formatted at 66 lines per page to be compatible with most Epson-compatible printers. Text mode scale is recommended for HP compatible printers.) Your first setup string would be: <27>&k6W (Selects Text Mode ON) PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 26 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your second setup string would be: <27>E (Returns the printer to its power-up defaults) HP compatible printers also let you string together setup strings. Also, the machines usually have the "Roman-8" character set as their defaults. The PC Allowance check won't look right if it's printed with the Roman-8 character set, so you should select the PC-8 characters. To put your HP compatible laser printer in a 66-line mode and select the PC-8 character, then return to defaults for other applications, you would send these strings: S1: <27>&k6W<27>(10U S2: <27>E Consult your printer manual for additional setup strings. PASSWORDS Each PC Allowance account receives the default Password of "PASSWORD" when the account is first created. To select a new Password, select "Setup/Customer/Change Password." You'll get a Password prompt: ╔════ ACCOUNT PASSWORD ══════════════╗ ║ Enter a new Password: ║ ║ ║ ║ < OK > < CANCEL > ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════╝ Enter up to 10 characters. They can be letters, spaces or numbers. Press <ENTER> or click on < OK > to save the Password. The customer can also choose to have PC Allowance "hide" the Password from anyone looking over his or her shoulder while the Password is typed. The program's default is to display the Password as the customer types it on program start-up. This is to assist poor typists or inexperienced computer users. Hiding the Password will help protect it from snooping siblings. To hide the Password select "Setup/Customer/Hide Password." You'll see a prompt: ╔════ PASSWORD HIDE ═════╗ ║ [ ] Yes, show stars ║ ║ [ ] No, show letters ║ ╚════════════════════════╝ Pressing <Y> for "yes" or clicking on the first line will hide the PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 27 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Password. Pressing <N> for "no" or cllicking on the second line will display the Password. You can also use the arrow keys to highlight the choice and press <ENTER>. Of course, the banker's Master Key will over-ride any Password and give the banker access to any account, no matter what the Password. The Master Key is also usually necessary to make program deposits, borrow money or change account configuration. To change the Master Key, you need to know the old Master Key. The default Master Key is "MASTER." If you have not yet changed the Master Key, then it should still be "MASTER." The Master Key is always hidden. Whenever you type it, only stars (*********) are displayed on the screen and you cannot change this default. To change the Master Key select "Setup/Banker." Before you can go any further, PC Allowance will ask for your Master Key. Enter it. If you make a mistake or enter the wrong word, the program will beep. Select "Banker" and try again. Once you get past the Master Key prompt, select "Master Key." Now PC Allowance will display the existing banker's Master Key. To change it, type a new one and press <ENTER>. What happens if you change the Master Key and forget what you changed it to? Not to worry. Your new Master Key is stored in a file named PCALLOW.CFG. To restore the original Master Key of "MASTER" just erase PCALLOW.CFG. (Make sure your customers never know about this!) ACCOUNT SETUP Two choices reached through the "Setup/Banker" menu selection lead to the Setup Menu. These are "Setup New Account" and "Change Existing Account." All commands and actions are identical for the two choices. The obvious difference is that that choosing "Setup New Account" will open a blank Setup Menu and choosing "Change Existing Account" will open a menu with the existing account options filled in. PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 28 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The blank menu looks like this: ┌─ SETUP ────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Child's Name: │ │ File Name: │ │ Allowance: $ │ │ Pay Day: Sunday │ │ Savings Interest: 0.00 % │ │ Minimum Balance: $ │ │ Loan Interest: 0.00 % │ │ Loan Repayment: 0.00 % │ │ Print Checks: NO │ │ Free Credit: NO │ ├────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ F2 = Save configurations < OK > │ │ ESC = Exit w/o saving < CANCEL > │ └────────────────────────────────────────────┘ As you move the highlight bar through each of the menu's lines, a short explanation of that line's information will be displayed at the top of the PC screen. Remember that what you enter on this menu will apply only to the account named on the second line (File Name). Here are more detailed explanations of each line: CHILD'S NAME: Enter the first and last names of your customer. This is the name that will be displayed on the program's opening screen: "Welcome Jimmy Spendthrift. Please enter your Password." The name can be up to 20 characters long (including spaces). For instance, "Jimmy Spendthrift" is 17 characters. FILE NAME: Enter a file name where PC Allowance can store the customer's transaction records. Since this file name will be displayed on directory lists and will be used to open the customer's account, the best choice is the customer's first name, such as "Jimmy." Don't use a file name extension, because the program will automatically create two files, one with an ".ALW" extension and one with ".MEM". As with all DOS filenames, don't use more than 8 characters. ALLOWANCE: Enter the WEEKLY allowance amount, from 0 to 1,000,000. You can add dollar signs if you want. If you leave out any decimal points, then PC Allowance assumes you're entering whole dollar amounts. For instance, to enter an allowance of $10 a week, you could enter $10, 10, $10.00 or 10.00. To enter $10.50, type $10.50 or 10.50. If you don't want the program to automatically accrue a set allowance every week, then leave this line blank or enter 0. PAY DAY: Enter the day of the week you want the allowance amount credited. SAVINGS INTEREST: If you put a number on this line, PC Allowance will PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 29 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- reward savings with interest accruals, computed on the last day of the month on the average balance for the whole month. You can add a "%" if you want, and up to two decimal places. For instance, to compute four and a half percent (annual) interest, you could enter 4.50 % or 4.50 or 4.5 % or 4.5. MINIMUM BALANCE: Enter the minimum balance required to begin earning interest. Use the same format as for ALLOWANCE. LOAN INTEREST: Enter the annual interest (APR) that wll be applied to outstanding loan balances. Remember, a lot of banks charge 18 % APR or more on your credit card balances. But you might want to give your kid a better break than that. Like the allowance interest, loan charges are calculated at the end of the month on the average outstanding balance for the whole month. LOAN REPAYMENT: You can require that a certain portion of your customer's allowance will automatically go toward loan repayment until the debt is retired. Here, you can specify the amount in 1 percentage point amounts, from 0 to 100. For instance, if your customer's allowance is $10 a week, and he has a $100 loan outstanding, typing 50 on this line would retire the loan principal at the rate of $5 per week. Each week, 50 percent of his allowance, or $5, would be applied to the loan and 50 percent, or $5, would be added to his allowance account. PRINT CHECKS: Type "Yes" here if you would like PC Allowance to cut a check each time money was withdrawn from the account. NOTE: If this option is selected, then the customer may not be able to withdraw money if the printer is 1) out of paper, 2) malfunctioning or 3) not turned on. FREE CREDIT: Type "Yes" on this option only if you really trust your customer to handle his or her money and PC Allowance account responsibly. Typing "Yes" is sort of like unlimited overdraft protection at your bank. This means the customer can write himself a loan at any time without using the banker's Master Key. Of course, the loan's only on paper until you actually fork over the cash to your customer. But the temptation to "borrow" against the bank could put your customer's accounts way out of whack if you let them do this unsupervised. When you've filled out the menu, press <F2> or click on < OK > to save it. Press <ESC> or click on < CANCEL > to abort any changes. If you try to save an "empty configuration," or one without a file name specified, PC Allwance will warn you that you can't. PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 30 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- HACKERS AND CRACKERS Sooner or later most kids will try to hack PC Allowance and beat the system somehow. They'll try several approaches: o They'll locate your Master Key and use it to make deposits to their account. This is easy enough to thwart: If you suspect someone knows your Master Key, change it. o They'll learn how to restore the default Master Key. This one's tough, because once a kid knows this, there's not much you can do by yourself. If it happens to you, give me a call. I'll tell you how to change the embedded default password. o They'll set the sytem date ahead a year or so (the greedy ones will set it ahead several years), load their account and accrue tons of money in allowance and interest. Unfortunately, this won't work. When the system date is restored to normal, PC Allowance will detect "bogus" transactions created this way. The budding hacker will get three choices: ╔══════════════════════════════════╗ ║ BOGUS Transactions Detected! ║ ╟──────────────────────────────────╢ ║ Stop without doing anything ║ ║ Delete the Bogus Transactions ║ ║ Enter the Master Key ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════╝ This gives him or her a graceful way out: If the customer selects "Delete the Bogus Transactions," then PC Allowance will erase the bad transactions and return the account balance to its correct value, with no one the wiser. Of course, if you come across this, you can enter your Master Key and see just what your customer tried to get away with. o Finally, your customer may try to hack your Master Key. PC Allowance uses a moderately sophisticated encryption formula, so it won't be easy. But it can be done. I suggest you change your Master Key regularly. PC Allowance User's Manual Copyright 1992 by John H. Byrd Syntonic Software Page 31 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- INDEX Accounts backing up, 19 calculations, 11-12 files, 9,11 names, 11 opening, 12-14,27-29 "spending," 4 viewing, 18,20 Allowance List, 12 Association of Shareware Professionals, 9 ATM Screen, 6,10,20 Balance, 3,10,12,13,15-16,17,20,29 Banker's Master Key, 5,6,13,15,17,21,22,27,29 Bogus transactions, 30 Calculations, 3,5,11-12,22,29 Colors, 9,12,23-24 CompuServe, 8,9 GEnie, 8,9 Hackers, 30 Installation, 9 Interest, 3,4,11,12,13,17,20,22,28-29,30 License, 7 Loan List, 12,17,22 Memos, 3,111,12,15,20,21 Minimum balance, 3,13,29 Mouse, 3,6,10,12,22,23 Passwords, 3,6,9,12,17,23,26-27,30 default, 5,15,18,26,27 hiding, 15,26 Printer Port, changing, 24 Printer setup strings, 24-26 Printing, 24-26 checks, 4,10,13,14,21,29 reports, 17,23 Registering, 7-8 Reports, 12,16,17,20,22-23 Setup account, 12-15,27-29 Setup, program defaults, 23-27 Shareware, 7 Support, user, 8-9 Transactions, 10,11,12,15-16,20,21,22,28,30 deleting from reports, 22 making 15,21-22