100 APPENDIX C PREPARING YOUR DATA DISKETTE AND STORAGE CAPACITIES Use one of your own diskettes as for CPA-LEDGER's "data diskette". Completely erase the diskette by using DOS's FORMAT command, which is described in Chapter 2 of your Disk Operating System reference manual. After the diskette is erased, it is ready to be used by CPA-LEDGER. As explained in Chapter 6 in this User's Manual, Daily Option 1 will use the diskette to record your accounting entries. The entries will be: . Posted to the general ledger, and . Added to a TRANSACTION FILE. These two files are the two major users of the diskette. (Several other files will be on the diskette, but their space requirements are minimal.) In the discussion that follows, we assume that your diskette is double-sided, double-density and that when completely erased it has 362,496 bytes available. We will also assume that your general ledger will require no more than 50,000 bytes. (The general ledger in your "practice diskette" requires about 43,000 bytes.) That leaves approximately 312,000 bytes available. To be on the safe side, we will deduct another 12,000, leaving 300,000 for the discussion to follow. The 300,000 bytes computed above will be used for the transaction file. How may transactions may be added to the transactions file without exceeding the 300,000 byte limitation? (You may use only ONE "data diskette" with CPA-LEDGER. This is not a limitation of CPA-LEDGER. It is a limitation imposed by your microcomputer.) The disk space that will be required for your transaction file is directly related to the (1) the quantity of transactions that you process and (2) HOW you use DAILY Option 1. Following is an explanation: . At the beginning of EACH complete set of debits and credits, Option 1 adds a 39 character "header" to the transaction file. This header contains information such as the date, the transaction reference, and your explanation of the general ledger entry. The "header" is added each time that you enter a 101 "Q" (for Quit - see Chapter 6) while you are posting the general ledger. So, the more times that you enter a "Q", the more "headers" that will be added and the more disk space that will be required on your "data diskette". . For each credit to a bank checking account, Option 1 adds a check number and the payee's name to the transaction data. So, the more checks you write, the more disk space that will be required on the "data diskette". To conserve space on your "data diskette": . Consolidate your general ledger entries. That is, include several debits and credits in a single entry. Avoid "debit", "credit", "Q" for Quit, "debit", "credit, "Q" for Quit, etc. Instead, consolidate - like this, "debit", "debit", "credit", "credit", "Q" for Quit. . If feasible, consolidate your checks. That is, instead of writing two checks to the same vendor on the same day, write one check for the entire amount. To show you the effect this has, we conducted a small experiment in writing records to the transaction file. Here is what we did: . Using a copy of the "data diskette" that you have, we posted two transactions, over and over again, until the diskette was full. One of the transactions included a credit to a bank account and the other transaction did not. We recorded the two transactions in this fashion - "debit", "credit", "Q" for Quit, "debit", "credit", and "Q" for Quit. . 2,648 transactions were written before the disk was full. . 5,296 debits and credits were recorded. . 1,324 checks were included in the credits. . We repeated the above experiment, EXCEPT the sequence of posting was "debit", "debit", "credit", "credit", and "Q" for Quit. . 3,324 transactions were written before the disk was full. . 6,648 debits and credits were recorded. . 1,662 checks were included in the credits. 102 We also tried another mix of transactions, this time expressed on a monthly basis. Using a copy of the "data diskette", we assumed the following mix of monthly transactions for a twelve month period: . 75 separate entries. (That is, the "Q" for Quit was used 75 times.) . Daily sales 24 times, each with one debit and one credit. . 180 transactions with checks, each with one debit and one credit. . 50 additional transactions, each with one debit and one credit. The computer program told us that, for a year: . 6,096 debits and credits would have been posted and that 289,129 of the 300,000 bytes available would have been used. . 2,160 checks would have been included in the credits. This should give you some general idea on the capacity of the transaction file. HOWEVER, DO NOT USE THE ABOVE EXAMPLES AS HARD AND FAST RULES. The examples are intended for illustration only. It is impossible to predict if and when you will fill your transaction file. That depends upon the number of entries that you enter into the system and HOW you enter them, as discussed above. Remember this. Only one diskette is available for the "data diskette". If it becomes full before year's end, you will NOT be allowed to continue with a second "data diskette" for the remainder of the year. This means that you should study your transactions very carefully and be very sure that all of them, for the entire year, can be easily included in the transaction file. Do NOT take any chances. If you have any doubts, consider using fixed disk. See Appendix B. If fixed disk is not an alternative for you and if you have doubts about the capacity of a diskette, do not use CPA-LEDGER.