M O N E Y M A N A G E R Version 3.1 Copyright (C) 1987 Neosoft, Inc. November 18, 1987 This program and documentation are being distributed as Shareware. This means that you may make copies for others to try. But, you may not sell it. Shareware software is supported by your becoming a registered user. Please read the introduction for further details. This program is NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN! IMPORTANT: This copy of MONEY MANAGER could earn you big dollars. See the REGISTRATION information at the end of this text for details. (C) Copyright 1987 - All Rights Reserved Joseph M. Albanese 5500-D Foxridge Blacksburg, VA 24060 License Agreement MONEY MANAGER is copyrighted, all rights are reserved. As SHAREWARE, MONEY MANAGER may be copied and shared with others. However, to protect the quality of the distribution of this program and to support future development certain limitations apply. Copies of MONEY MANAGER may be made for trial use by others on a private non-commercial basis only. MONEY MANAGER may not be resold under any conditions. MONEY MANAGER may not be distributed in connection with any other product or service. This software is provided "AS IS" and without warranty of any kind. We have no liability to you for any damage or loss, including special, incidental, or consequential caused by this software, directly or indirectly. You agree to the terms of this license by your decision to use this software. T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S INTRODUCTION ............................................ 1 GETTING STARTED ......................................... 2 Floppy Users .......................................... 2 Hard Disk Users ....................................... 2 Running The Program ................................... 2 THE WORKING SCREEN ...................................... 3 What Is All This Stuff? ............................... 3 The Status Area ....................................... 3 The Transaction Area .................................. 4 The Data Area ......................................... 4 The Menu/Command Area ................................. 5 HIGHLIGHTS .............................................. 6 Standard Features ..................................... 6 WHAT'S NEW .............................................. 8 Enhancements .......................................... 8 WHAT'S BEEN CHANGED ..................................... 9 Fixes ................................................. 9 OPTIONS ................................................. 10 FUNCTIONS ............................................... 12 SAMPLE SESSION .......................................... 13 Creating A New Account ................................ 13 Entering Data ......................................... 13 Working With A Pre-Existing Account ................... 14 Balancing ............................................. 15 Sorting ............................................... 15 Searching ............................................. 16 Backups ............................................... 16 Command Line Calculations ............................. 17 Deleting Entries ...................................... 17 Direct Record Access .................................. 17 Modifications ......................................... 18 Monthly Bar Graphs .................................... 18 Viewing Multiple Records .............................. 18 Password Security ..................................... 19 Removing Password Security ............................ 19 TAX DEDUCTIBLES ......................................... 20 STATEMENT VERIFICATION .................................. 21 REGISTRATION ............................................ 22 CONCLUSION .............................................. 23 Page 1 I N T R O D U C T I O N MONEY MANAGER is not a budget program and it is not just another check book balancing program, although it will do an excellent job of that, MONEY MANAGER is a bank account manager. This means you'll be able sort, search, balance, graph and lots more. A primary design criterion for MONEY MANAGER was that it be easy to use. In fact, many users may find it possible to use this program without ever reading the documentation. I highly encourage you to read this documentation, though, so that you'll be able to harness and employ the full power of MONEY MANAGER. Page 2 G E T T I N G S T A R T E D FLOPPY USERS If you plan to use this program on floppy disk it is highly recommended that you create or modify a file called "CONFIG.SYS" which contains: "BUFFERS=20" Refer to your DOS manual for details on the use of CONFIG.SYS files, but you should know that this could speed up processing by as much as ten times during I/O intensive operations such as searches and sorts. It may also be a good idea if you increase the default number of files allowed to be opened by entering the line: "FILES=20", also in the CONFIG.SYS file. This will reduce the possibility of run-time errors from having too many files open at one time. HARD DISK USERS While it is not necessary to employ the above techniques for a hard disk system, I recommend that you consider doing the "BUFFERS=20" and "FILES=20" as stated above. This will increase performance noticeably. RUNNING THE PROGRAM When you are ready to begin using the program the first thing you will probably want to do is begin entering checks, withdrawals and deposits. Hit "A" from the main menu to begin. Once you've got all your transactions entered you will be ready to take advantage of the full power of money manager. Remember the "H" key is always there as a quick reference guide. NOTE: A sample account has been provided so the user can become acquainted with the program right away, without having to enter large numbers of transactions first. To go directly to this account type: (from the DOS prompt) A>money31 sample When the program comes up it will automatically be in the "SAMPLE" account and you'll be able to try all the functions including graphing, sorting and searching. Page 3 T H E W O R K I N G S C R E E N (What Is All That Stuff?) The first thing you'll see when you run version 3.1 of MONEY MANAGER is the opening screen. That consists of the program title, copyright notices, etc.. That screen will display for around 10 seconds, unless you strike a key to skip the delay. Once you get past all that, you're inside MONEY MANAGER and should find yourself at the working screen. NOTE: I will at times refer to the "main menu" and "working screen" interchangeably. The first two lines of the working screen contain the title, copyright notice, version number and registration number. That all looks like this: MONEY MANAGER (C) Copyright 1987 Version 3.1 by Joseph M. Albanese Reg. No. 000001 This portion of the screen will be present and remain unchanged throughout most MONEY MANAGER sessions. Immediately below that you'll see the STATUS area: 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � REC: CATEGORY: VERIFIED: � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 The status area, which is enclosed in a rectangular box, tells three important things about each record (transaction): REC: Tells which record number is currently being viewed. Record numbers are useful for deleting and for zipping directly to a specific transaction. CATEGORY: There are only three possible categories: CHECK, DEPOSIT or WITHDRAWAL. MONEY MANAGER uses this information when balancing the account to determine when amounts should be added or subtracted from the total. VERIFIED: Simply a "YES" or a "NO" to determine if the current transaction has been verified against a bank statement. Change these to "YES" once you've seen the transactions on a bank statement. Page 4 A very closely related area of the working screen to the status area is the "TRANSACTION" area: NUM DATE AMOUNT MEMO W/D 11/24/87 $12.45 Miscellaneous withdrawal The transaction area, depicted above with data, is the heart of each transaction. It contains four fields with the following as follows: NUM: Below this heading you will find the same information as in the CATEGORY: section above, except that it is abbreviated and that if the transaction is a check the check number replaces the word CHECK. DATE: Date of transaction, which could be any check, withdrawal or deposit. AMOUNT: Amount of transaction. MEMO: Description of transaction goes in this field. If it's for a check (or draft) the memo should tell who the check was written to. An extension of the data area, which I shall hence forth refer to as the SUMMARY area, contains general information and totals and looks as follows: Credits(+): Debits(-): �袴袴袴袴佶袴袴袴袴袴袴敲 �袴袴袴袴袴佶袴袴袴袴袴袴敲 � BALANCE� � (F3 or F4 Updates) � SORT TYPE� � 훤袴袴袴賈袴袴袴袴袴袴袴� 훤袴袴袴袴賈袴袴袴袴袴袴袴� FILE: RECORDS: UPDATED: The first two things you should notice are the fields labeled "Credits" and "Debits". These correspond to the total of all positive and negative cash flows, respectively. Just below those headings you'll see the box labeled "BALANCE." This will show either the balance of the account (F3) or the balance of all VERIFIED entries (F4). The verified balance (F4) should be the same as that found on your bank statement, while the regular balance should be equal to the amount of funds in the account. Page 5 (summary area cont'd) All the way over to the right there is a block labeled "SORT TYPE." Any time you do a sort, the sort type is placed in this block. There are a number of sorting possibilities available including: CHECK, AMOUNT, DATE and a few more. If a sort is aborted, then ABORTED will be the sort type. The last three fields of interest in the summary area are the following: FILE: A filename here represents the name of the account currently in use. The extension ".DAT" reminds you of the actual DOS filename of the account. RECORDS: Tells the total number of records (transactions) in the current account. Keep in mind that the REC: field at the top of the screen indicates the record number of the currently selected transaction, not the total. UPDATE: The date of the last update of the current account. Whenever the (A)dd option is selected the UPDATED: date is updated, even if no changes are made. The last area to be concerned with of the working screen is the MENU/COMMAND area and looks like this: 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴쩡컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 �(H)elp (A)dd (B)ac (C)al (D)el (G)o (M)od (V)er e(X)it � Home End PgUp PgDn � 쳐컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴좔컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴캑 � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 �Alt-S:Secure �F1:Find �F2:Sort �F3:Balance �F4:Verified Bal �F5:Print �Alt-P:Proof �F6:Create �F7:Load �F8:New File �F9:Directory �F0:View The top part of the MENU/COMMAND area lists all MONEY MANAGER OPTIONS and the last two lines have the FUNCTIONS. In the middle of the menu/command area is the COMMAND LINE. This is where you'll be doing all the menu choosing, calculator'ing, etc. Whenever it becomes necessary to enter information on the command line you will be prompted so there's no point saying much more about it right now. And as for the OPTIONS and FUNCTIONS, they are discussed in complete in later sections. Page 6 H I G H L I G H T S STANDARD FEATURES o To start entering DEPOSITS, WITHDRAWALS or CHECKS you must begin by pressing "A" for (A)dd. o Once at least one check has been entered, the computer keeps track of what the next check number should be and to take advantage of this, simply hit after chosing (A)dd from the main menu. o A red key "靈o" next to the filename indicates that the file is password protected. o The value next to "Credits(+):" heading represents the total of all positive cash flows (DEPOSITS). o The value next to "Debits(-):" heading indicates the total of all negative cash flows (CHECKS/WITHDRAWALS). o To generate a full color, 3-bar, monthly graph, choose F0 (F10) from the main menu and then answer prompts as required. o The "YES" or "NO" next to the "VERIFIED:" field indicate whether or not that particular entry has been verified against a bank statement. You normally enter a "NO" here first, but change it to "YES" once you see it is on the statement you get from the bank. o Hitting at the DATE prompt when entering data will automatically enter the date that is in the computer. o Multiple accounts are possible and easy with MONEY MANAGER. To create a new account simple hit F6 from the main menu and respond to the subsequent prompts as required. If you want to switch to another account without exiting the program, hit F7 from the main menu and answer with the name of the account -- password may be required. o Account name parameters are allowed. For instance, if you have created an account called "ACCOUNT" so that there is a file called "ACCOUNT.DAT," and you want to run MONEY MANAGER and go directly to this account, just type the following: (from the DOS command line) C>money31 account NOTE: if the account is password protected, you will still be required to enter it as usual. Page 7 (highlights cont'd) o To create a new account and load it automatically, give the name of the new account as a command line parameter. example: C>money31 newaccnt Page 8 W H A T ' S N E W ? ENHANCEMENTS (for version 3.x only) o SUPER FAST CHECK NUMBER VERIFICATION, using the Proof (Alt-P) option from the main screen. Previous versions of Money Manager where very slow when Proof'ing files larger than 100 records. The Proof option of version 3.1 operates 20 times faster than previous ones. Also, due to the remarkable speed increase, it was necessary to introduce an "any key stops" feature. If at any time during the "Proof" you strike a key, program execution pauses and waits for a user response. o IMPROVED EXECUTABLE CODE for faster operation in virtually all areas. Much of version 3.1 has been completely rewritten for improved speed and reliability. o COMPLETE DIRECT SCREEN WRITING. In previous versions of Money Manager, only non-colored output was direct. Now all screen writing routines are direct for lightning-fast operation. o COMMAND LINE CALCULATOR. The command line calculator is finally here, complete with parenthesis. Now you don't have to break out your high-tech HP just to add a couple of numbers together. o LIGHTNING FAST SORTS. Sorting efficiency has been improved by as much as 800% through the use of a QuickSort algorithm. o NEW SORTING CRITERION. It is now possible to sort transactions by MEMO. This makes it possible to add your own category codes or tax-deductible flag to the beginning of the memo field for later sorting. o PREVIEW PRINT ON SCREEN. When selecting F5 (the Print option), you now have the option of printing to the screen. This makes it possible to see exactly what WOULD be printed to disk or printer. o MONOCHROME SUPPORT. That's right, monochrome (or B&W with CGA) is now supported. It no longer necessary to run CGA simulation software to use MONEY MANAGER on monochrome (or HERCULES) graphics systems. o KEYBOARD TYPEAHEAD. It is now possible to type keystrokes ahead of time. For instance if you've just typed 'MONEY31 ' from DOS, you might hit a [spacebar] to skip the opening screen and then a "A" to begin entering transactions -- all before the computer catches up. Page 9 W H A T ' S B E E N C H A N G E D ? FIXES (for version 3.0 only) o Some users with very fast computers found that when entering [(A)dd option] new records, that hitting "Q" would exit them completely back to the system. This should no longer happen regardless of computer speed, since it is now the "X" key that gets you out of MONEY MANAGER. o A number of users complained that when making and entry they would sometimes enter something other than a number in the "AMOUNT" field, which caused an unrecoverable error and loss of recent entries. Version three will simply enter a 0 (zero) dollar amount if anything other than a number is entered. o In all versions less than 3.1, deleting a range of records was accomplished by choosing "D" from the main menu and then entering something like: "125 140", which would cause records 125 through 140 to be deleted. In version 3.1, however, ranges are entered using a hyphen (e.g. 125-140). o You may now exit the "(H)elp" option, by typing a "q" after any screen. There are a total of 4 help screens. Page 10 O P T I O N S The following options are available and are listed directly above the flashing cursor, once inside MONEY MANAGER at the main screen. You may select an option by hitting the key corresponding to the first letter in each. (H)elp - Hitting the "H" key from the default (main menu) will call the on-line help facility. It's purpose, as previously stated, is to serve as a quick reference guide to operations. (A)dd - Choose this option when you are ready to begin entering records. Records for MONEY MANAGER may be either CHECKS, DEPOSITS or WITHDRAWALS. (B)ack - When you wish to make a backup of the currently selected account, this is the way to do it from within MONEY MANAGER. If the account you happen to be working with is called "TESTFILE" that means the actual DOS filename is TESTFILE.DAT and the backup created will be called TESTFILE.BKP. (C)alc - Now MONEY MANAGER is capable of doing relatively complex mathematical calculations from the command line. Select "C" from the main menu and then simply enter the math expression, for example: Enter expression: 12.35*(13 * 1.045) - 5 As soon as you hit the [RETURN] key the answer should appear just to the right of the original expression. (D)el - For deleting one, or a range of records, from the current file. CAUTION: Don't get record numbers confused with check numbers. All entries including withdrawals and deposits are assigned record numbers. It is the record number which is used to determine which are to be deleted. (G)o - Stands for "goto record" and is used for exactly that. Since MONEY MANAGER files are random access, it is possible to skip directly to a desired record number via this option. (M)od - Use this if you want to change the contents of an existing, created using the (A)dd option. Page 11 O P T I O N S (cont'd) (V)er - Hitting the "V" key from the main menu changes (immediately) the VERIFIED: status of the record currently visible. If there is already a "NO" there, then striking the "V" key changes it to "YES" and vice-versa. When you first enter transactions, you'll probably want to enter an "NO" here, but once you've received a bank statement that shows that DEP, W/D or CHECK, change the NO to YES. This will be important later when you want to use the VERIFIED BALANCE function. e(X)it - Choose this option from the main menu only if you want to exit MONEY MANAGER and return to the operation system. [Home] - When you're at the main menu, hitting the [Home] key cause the first record in the account to be displayed. NOTE: MONEY MANAGER defaults to the last record when it is first started up. [End] - This key does exactly the opposite of the "Home" key. If you hit the [End] key from the main menu, you'll be placed directly at the end of the file. [PgUp] - Increments the record number by one. In other words, puts the next record on the screen. If record number 10 is visible, after striking [PgUp] you should see record number 11 (if it exists). If there is no next record, then you simply go back to the beginning. [PgDn] - Does the opposite of "PgUp". [PgDn] makes MONEY MANAGER go backward one record. If you hit [PgDn] when record number one is visible, you wind up at the end of the file. [+] - Same as [PgUp] [-] - Same as [PgDn] Page 12 F U N C T I O N S �Alt-S - Choose this function when you want to either: add password protection to an account, change the password of a the current account, or to remove password protection from the account. �Alt-P - PROOF function checks through the entire file to determine whether any check numbers have been used more than once, or if there are and missing check numbers (sequence breaks). �F1 - FIND function allows you to search through the account for strings, dollar amounts, check numbers and much more. This is a very powerful tool when trying to track down errors. �F2 - SORT function to sort the entire account by NUM, DATE, AMOUNT, STATUS or to put all entries back into the original order. �F3 - BALANCE function calculates the complete account balance. Should reflect the amount of available funds actually in the account. �F4 - VERIFIED BALANCE function calculates the balance of all records have a "YES" value in the VERIFIED: field. When you've gone over your bank statements and put YES's for those transactions which are on the statement, pressing F4 should give a balance exactly equal to that of the bank statement. �F5 - PRINT function is used for printing the entire file in single-line format to either an ASCII file, a printer or to the screen for preview. Use this for creating hard copies of your important accounts. �F6 - CREATE function makes new accounts. �F7 - LOAD function loads existing accounts (password may be required). �F8 - NEW FILE function erases all records from the current account. Do this only when you no longer wish to keep the account. �F9 - DIRECTORY function prints directory info to the screen �F10 - VIEW function is for viewing pages of records at a time or for generating colorful on-screen monthly bar graphs or critical account data. Page 13 S A M P L E S E S S I O N CREATING A NEW ACCOUNT During this tutorial we will go step-by-step through the process of entering transaction (CHECKS, WITHDRAWALS or DEPOSITS), deleting, sorting, verifying bank statements and much more. By the time you've completed this section, you should be quite familiar with the MONEY MANAGER environment and with many of it's capabilities. Assuming you've run the program and are now waiting at the working screen, let us begin by creating a new account. Hit the [F6] function key, then respond with "test" and a carriage return. This will create a new account called "TEST" with a DOS filename of "TEST.DAT." You might have noticed that next to the word "FILE:" of the summary area, the new account's filename has appeared. The default account name is MONEY (MONEY.DAT from DOS) and is created automatically if no other is specified the first time you run the program. ENTERING DATA At this point, the new account has zero records, no balance and no visible transaction. With an empty account there is not much you can do, other than hit the "H" key to get some on-line help. What we will do, though, is to begin entering a few transactions. Hit the [A] key and you'll see the program switch to the input mode. Some dotted fields appear in the transaction area, a flashing number (the prospective record number) in the upper left-hand portion of the screen, and a prompt on the command line. You must now decide whether the first record should be a check, deposit or withdrawal. Since this is a new account, it might be a good idea to enter a starting balance. Let us proceed as follows: I. Hit [D] for deposit. II. Hit [ENTER] for the system date, or type some other date. III. Enter a starting balance of 100. IV. Enter "Starting Balance" for the memo. V. Hit [Y] put a YES in the VERIFIED field. This all brings you back to the previous prompt. For now, type a [Q] to get back to the main menu. You will now be able to see the transaction you just entered as record number 1. Page 14 (sample session cont'd) We have a starting balance. Now we will enter a check as follows: I. Hit [A] to get back to the input mode. II. Hit [C] for check, then type in a check number. Let's make it check number 300, for no specific reason. III. Hit [ENTER] for current date. IV. Enter "25" as the amount. V. Make the description "First sample check", or whatever. VI. Hit [ENTER] on the VERIFIED: field. This will simply placed the default "NO" in there. As stated many times, the NO means that the transaction has not yet been verified to exist on a bank statement. This puts us back at the input prompt. Now, just so that we can say we've tried them all, let's enter a withdrawal like this: I. Hit [W] for withdrawal. II. Hit [ENTER] for the current date, or type any other valid date you might prefer. III. Make the amount, say, "18" dollars. IV. And make the memo "First sample withdrawal." V. Hit [ENTER] for the default VERIFIED: status. VI. Finally, hit [Q] to get back to the main menu. The only other possible way of entering a transaction is if you want to enter a check (other than the first) and would like to have MONEY MANAGER figure out what the next check number should be. All you do differently than before is that instead of hitting [C] for check and then typing the check number, hit [ENTER] and that automatically inserts than next check number. You might want to use this as a method for verifying that you've been keeping proper track of the check numbers in your check book. WORKING WITH A PRE-EXISTING ACCOUNT To be able to demonstrate some of the more powerful features of MONEY MANAGER, let's load in the sample account provided. The filename of this account is SAMPLE.DAT and must be in the default directory. To load the sample account, type [F7], then type "account" followed by a carriage return. You are automatically placed at the working screen with the SAMPLE account now in place. You should be able to see the first record near the top of the screen. Page 15 (sample session cont'd) BALANCING Hit the [F3] key and you should be able to see the balance of the account appear within a few seconds. Then hit [F4] for the verified balance. Chances are this will be zero for the SAMPLE account, but that's because there are no transaction with a YES in the VERIFIED: field. Try changing a few of the records to YES by hitting [V] will they are visible. You can go from one record to another by pressing either [PgUp], [PgDn], [+] or [-]. Hit [Home] to go to the first record and [End] to see the last. Now hit [F4] and there should be some new value for the verified balance. NOTE: The verified balance is shown with a lowercase "v" next to it to remind you that it is not the balance in the account, but rather, the balance that should appear on your last bank statement. SORTING The sample account comes pre-sorted by DATE, but you may sort it by virtually any field. Here's how to do that: I. Hit [F2] for sort. II. Choose which sorting method you prefer. You may sort either by amount, check number (DEP, W/D, etc.), date, memo, status or sort the transactions back to their original order. During the QuickSort'ing process there will be two sets of numbers counting in the SORT TYPE box. These numbers are just visual representations of the two indexes used by a QuickSort'ing algorithm. That's all there is to it, really, it's just a two-step process. When sorting is completed the sorting method (or type) will appear in the SORT TYPE box. There may be times when you would like to have the records sorted by more than one criterion. For instance, when it comes time to verify your account against a bank statement, it's nice to have the account sorted first by DATE and then by check number. Since all sorting is saved, all you have to do is sort backward from what you want the final outcome to be. If you sort the account by check number and then sort it by date, the final account will have all records in order of date and within records of the same date, by check number. The same backward approach to sorting will work for any number of sorting criteria. Page 16 (sample session cont'd) SEARCHING One of the primary features of MONEY MANAGER is the "(F)ind" option. This option allows you to search the entire account for a record (or records) matching any of a number of criteria. To initiate a search for records containing the string "ing", regardless of case: I. Hit [F1] for the find option. II. Hit [M] for memo search. III. Type "ing" followed by [ENTER]. The program begins searching for records and stops as soon as it finds the first match. You should notice that even if "ing" is part of another larger word, it's considered a match. After each match the program halts giving you the option to continue the search or stop at the current selection. Other search criteria include: (N)um - Choose this type of search if you're looking for a particular check number, or if you want to find any deposit or withdrawal. (D)ate - Search for records that have a particular date. (A)mount - Search for transactions by some amount. (M)emo - As described above. (S)tatus - If you want to find records that have (or have not) been verified BACKUPS All you have to do to make a backup of an account from inside MONEY MANAGER hit [B] at the main menu and answer [Y] to the prompt. This takes the filename WHATEVER.DAT and makes a backup file called WHATEVER.BKP which is identical to the original. If you ever damage or destroy the original account, copy the backup file that ends with ".BKP" to the same filename, but with the extension ".DAT" and you will have restored the account. Page 17 (sample session cont'd) COMMAND LINE CALCULATIONS At some point during an account update it invariably becomes necessary to either break out a calculator or pencil and paper to do some math. Not any more! It just so happens that version 3.1 of money manager has a built-in calculator. To use the command line calculator, do the following: I. Hit [C] for calculator, from the main menu. II. Type the mathematical expression and hit [ENTER]. The results from any calculation will appear just to the right of the original expression. There is virtually no limit to the length of the expression and it may contain +,-,/,* or parenthesis. Expressions within parenthesis are computed first. Try entering a few expressions to be sure you understand how it works. DELETING ENTRIES Everybody makes mistakes (boy do I ever) and that's why we have included the "(D)el" option. Let's delete a record from the sample account. I. Hit [D] from the main menu. II. Enter "5" and a carriage return. The computer will go through a short series of steps and then the old record number 5 will be gone and the rest of the higher record numbers are decremented by one. To delete a whole group (or range) of records: I. Hit [D] from the main menu. II. Enter "5-10" and [ENTER]. Again, after a few seconds that group of records is gone. Remember deletions are done by record number, not check number. DIRECT RECORD ACCESS IF you want go to a given record, say record 15, you do not have to Page-Up or + through all kinds of records, use the "(G)o" option. The "goto" option allows you to skip directly to any record in the file. Here's an example you should try: I. Hit [G] from the main menu. II. Type "15" and a carriage return. Page 18 (sample session cont'd) Now you'll find yourself instantly transported to record number 15. Chances are you won't know exactly which record number you want to go to most of the time. For instance, you might have an account with 250 entries and you know that what you're looking for is near the middle of the account. Just use "(G)o" to get to record 125 and then use [PgUp] or [PgDn] to move through neighboring records. MODIFICATIONS The only way to make a change in a record once it's been entered is to use the "(M)od" or modify option. The modify option is so similar to the "(A)dd" option that the only important difference worth noting is that the old information from the selected record is visible in low-intensity video. Here's an example of a modification: I. Hit [Home] to put you on the first record of the sample account. II. Hit [M] for modify. III. Hit [ENTER] three times to get to the memo field. IV. Now type "Sample memo" and hit [ENTER] twice more. It's that easy. Did you notice the way the fields became highlighted after each was entered, signifying that the change had become permanent? MONTHLY BAR GRAPHS One of the most popular features of MONEY MANAGER is its ability to create automatic monthly bar graphs. Here's how you do it: I. Hit [F10] from the main menu. II. Type "0" for graph and then [ENTER]. III. Type the year "1987", or just hit return if that's what is already in your system. VIEWING MULTIPLE RECORDS (with subtotals) If you would like to see transactions in groups of 10 rather than one-at-time, follow this procedure: I. Hit [F10] as above. II. Choose the record number to start with. If you are in the sample account, hit [ENTER] and that will start you at record number one. Page 19 (sample session cont'd) This feature allows you to see ten transactions at once and that's not all. Notice the running balance! Compare this against your checkbook for easy double checking (pardon the pun). Hitting the [spacebar] will scroll you down the list until you reach the end. If you don't want to go all the way to the end, just hit [Q] to quit and you'll be back at the working screen (main menu). PASSWORD SECURITY Bank accounts are not always best left as public information. If you would like to add password security to an account, here's all you do: I. Load the account you want to secure. II. Hit [Alt-S] from the main menu. III. Now type the password you wish to use and hit return. MONEY MANAGER will then prompt you to remember the password and to hit the [spacebar] to return. Notice the little "靈o" key symbol that now appears next to the filename. This is a simple reminder that the file has been secured with a password. IMPORTANT: Do not forget the password, because if you do there is now way to get back into the account without it. NOTE: Even if you try to load an account by using its name as a DOS parameter or by choosing the [F7] function, you must still enter the password to gain access to it. REMOVING PASSWORD SECURITY It is even easier to remove security than it is to add it. Follow the same procedure as above, except in step number III just hit [ENTER] without a password. The key symbol should now disappear. Page 20 T A X D E D U C T I B L E S It may not seem so at first, but version 3.1 MONEY MANAGER makes it very easy to keep track of tax deductible transactions. The feature that makes this possible is "sorting by memo." What I recommend is that you place an exclamation point "!" at the beginning of the memo field of each transaction you want considered as tax deductible. Next, when you want to group all the tax-deductions together, simply sort the account by memo. Then, since the "!" is considered less than "A" or "a" alphabetically, all the records with "!" will be at the beginning of the file. This makes calculating the total of tax-deductions virtually automatic since the [F10] "View" function shows a running subtotal. NOTE: Be sure that there are no memos which contain blank spaces at the beginning or that are empty, because the blanks will be considered alphabetically less than the "!" causing an improper subtotal. Finally, when you're sure that only memos starting with "!" are at the beginning of the sorted (by memo) account, use the subtotal next to the last transaction (with a "!") as the total of tax-deductions. Page 21 S T A T E M E N T V E R I F I C A T I O N From my experience, most people don't bother to verify their checkbook against monthly statements, but they should. This is the best way to keep a perfectly accurate account balance. Also, what if your bank screws up your account and says you have $150 less than you know you actually do. If you don't verify your account against bank statements you'll never even be aware of most small errors. Here's what you should do whenever you get a bank statement: I. Find all transactions in the MONEY MANAGER account which are on the statement. II. Convert the "NO" to "YES" in the VERIFIED: field of each of the found records by hitting the [V] key. III. Add any service charges, etc. which were not accounted for previously but which are now on the statement as DEP(osits). Also, don't forget to make the verified field "YES" in these new transactions as well. IV. Hit [F4] to get a "verified balance" and compare it to the final balance on the bank statement. The two should be exactly the same. Keep in mind that the above procedure assumes that when you first enter transactions, you give them a "NO" in the VERIFIED: field by simply hitting [ENTER]. There may, of course, be times when you will want to enter a "YES" like in step III above, but most of the time you should enter a "NO" when you enter transactions for the first time. Page 22 R E G I S T R A T I O N MONEY MANAGER is copyrighted. It is not a public domain program. It is being distributed as Shareware which means that unmodified copies of the software and documentation may be freely copied and shared. I ask in return that should you find MONEY MANAGER to be useful, you become a registered user. You become registered by sending $25.00 + $5.00 for postage and handling to: Joseph M. Albanese 5500-D Foxridge Blacksburg, VA 24060 IMPORTANT: Use the order form called: ORDER.FRM with your payment. Don't forget to send the serial (Reg. No.) from your copy of the program so you can earn money from other registered users. This number can be found in the upper right-hand corner of the screen and it will be in red. COMMENTS: I also encourage that you send with your fee some comments or suggestions for improvements or enhancements to future versions. What do you get by becoming registered? o A FREE copy of the latest (non-commercial) version of MONEY MANAGER including documentation and serialization. o Money making potential - registered users will receive $5.00 for each person who registers with the serial number of their registered copy. o Periodic notifications of improvements and enhancements. o A chance to help improve a great product, by submitting with your registration, suggestions for enhancements to future versions. Page 23 C O N C L U S I O N I hope you will enjoy using MONEY MANAGER as much as I do and that it will help make keeping track of you money as fun and accurate as it has mine. Thanks for using MONEY MANAGER and please register your copy. This will help fight the high cost of software and to perhaps earn you a few bucks in the process. Sincerely, Joseph M. Albanese (Neosoft, Inc.)