14 CHAPTER 2 STANDARD MESSAGES AND REMINDERS This and the following chapters contain a detailed discussion of CPA-LEDGER and how to use the system. This chapter is devoted to standard messages and reminders that will appear on the computer screen anytime you use most any CPA-LEDGER option. We tried to leave nothing to chance when we were designing CPA-LEDGER. We did not assume that you would remember when to use your "data diskette", when to use your "program diskette", when to adjust the paper in your printer, or what to do when a CPA-LEDGER option completes its processing. So, we decided to give you a message or a reminder, whichever one is required, when it is needed. We also decided that it would be a good idea to devote this entire chapter to standard messages and reminders - so you may easily find them in the event you need to refresh your memory at a later time. PRINTER REMINDER. Most of CPA-LEDGER's options require a printer. If a printer is needed, the following appears on your screen immediately after you make a selection from either the SETUP or DAILY menus: PRESS THE 'OFF' SWITCH ON YOUR PRINTER. ONCE THE PRINTER IS SWITCHED OFF, ADJUST THE PAPER SO THAT THE PAPER IS AT TOP-OF-PAGE. THE PAPER WILL BE AT TOP-OF-PAGE WHEN THE PRINTER WILL PRINT ON THE VERY FIRST LINE AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE. AFTER THE PAPER IS ADJUSTED SO THAT IT IS AT TOP-OF-PAGE, PRESS THE PRINTER 'ON' SWITCH. PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE. Assume that you DO adjust the paper, but you FORGET to turn on the printer. In that event, the following message will appear: CHECK YOUR PRINTER. IT IS EITHER NOT TURNED ON OR IT IS OUT OF PAPER. PRESS ANY KEY WHEN YOU ARE READY TO CONTINUE. After you press a key, CPA-LEDGER continues where it left off. 15 DATA DISKETTE REMINDER. As mentioned in Chapter 1, at the beginning of each accounting year you should use SETUP Option 1 to establish a new general ledger. When you select Option 1, the following reminder will appear on the computer screen: INSERT A COMPLETELY ERASED DISKETTE INTO DISK DRIVE 'A'. CPA-LEDGER WILL USE THE DISKETTE TO CREATE YOUR DATA DISKETTE. BE VERY CAREFUL THAT YOU DO NOT USE THIS COMPUTER PROGRAM WITH LAST YEAR'S DISKETTE. THIS IS BECAUSE THIS COMPUTER PROGRAM WILL PERMANENTLY ERASE YOUR RECORDED DATA IN THOSE FILES. PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE. The reminder is different for other options in both the SETUP and DAILY menus. When you select any of the other options, the following appears: CPA-LEDGER IS READY TO BEGIN PROCESSING GENERAL LEDGER FILES THAT ARE ON YOUR 'DATA DISKETTE'. BEFORE YOU CONTINUE, BE SURE THAT THE 'DATA DISKETTE' IS IN DISK DRIVE 'A'. (ONCE YOU PRESS A KEY TO CONTINUE, CPA-LEDGER WILL LOOK FOR THE 'DATA DISKETTE'. IF IT IS NOT IN DISK DRIVE 'A', THIS OPTION WILL NOT BE EXECUTED AND YOU WILL BE RETURNED TO THE DAILY MENU.) PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE. Look at the next to the last word in the message that preceds, "PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE." If you are using any of the SETUP options, the word "DAILY" will be replaced by the word "SETUP". If you DO NOT place the data diskette in Disk Drive 'A', the following additional message will appear on your screen and you will be returned to the appropriate menu (DAILY or SETUP). GENERAL LEDGER DATA FILES NOT FOUND. PRESS ANY KEY AND YOU WILL BE RETURNED TO THE DAILY MENU. 16 As before, the word "DAILY" will be replaced by "SETUP", if appropriate. TODAY'S DATE. Several of CPA-LEDGER's options (for both the SETUP and the DAILY menus) show the "RUN DATE" on the printout. After the data diskette reminder, CPA-LEDGER asks you to enter "TODAY'S DATE", like this: ENTER TODAY'S DATE. (USE FORMAT MMDDYY. I.E., JUNE 10, 1985=061085.) _____ It might be good to explain the "MMDDYY" format because CPA-LEDGER uses it consistently. MMDDYY means that you are to use two numbers for EACH COMPONENT of a date - two numbers in a specific order. . The first component (MM) is for the month. January is "01". February is "02", and so on, up to December which is "12". . The second component (DD) is for the day. Day one is "01". Day two is "02", and so on up to the end of the month, which will be either "28", "29", "30", or "31". . The third component (YY) is for the year. 1985 is "85". 1986 is "86", and so on. Be careful in entering your dates. CPA-LEDGER checks for obvious errors (such as month 13, day 32, year 00). However, "hidden" errors will not be detected. Here is an example of a "hidden" date error that will be accepted. . Assume that you want to enter June 2, 1985 in its MMDDYY format. . You SHOULD enter 060285. . You DO enter 020685, in error. CPA-LEDGER will accept your input as meaning February 6, l985 - not the correct date June 2, 1985. So, be careful in entering your dates. 17 CPA-LEDGER BRIEFINGS. Next comes a briefing on the input that CPA-LEDGER requires and on the data processing that is about to begin. Some CPA-LEDGER options automatically brief you. Others give you an option of bypassing the briefing. (If you use a program frequently, you probably will have read the briefing many times and would like to bypass it.) Here is the question that you will be asked: WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE A BRIEFING ON HOW TO USE THIS COMPUTER PROGRAM DISPLAYED ON THE COMPUTER SCREEN? ANSWER WITH 'Y' FOR 'YES' OR 'N' FOR 'NO'. _ If you answer 'Y', CPA-LEDGER will brief you. Otherwise the briefing is bypassed. PROGRAM DISKETTE MESSAGE AND REMINDER. After an option is finished processing, the following combination message - reminder appears on the computer's screen: PROCESSING HAS STOPPED. YOU WILL BE RETURNED TO THE DAILY MENU FOR SELECTING ANY OTHER OPTION THAT YOU MAY DESIRE. BEFORE RETURNING, HOWEVER, THE COMPUTER IS PAUSING FOR YOU TO MAKE SURE THE 'PROGRAM DISKETTE' IS IN DISK DRIVE 'A'. B-E-F-O-R-E YOU PRESS A KEY TO RETURN TO THE DAILY MENU, BE SURE THAT THE 'PROGRAM DISKETTE' IS IN DISK DRIVE 'A'. IF YOU MAKE A MISTAKE BY N-O-T INSERTING THE 'PROGRAM DISKETTE' IN DISK DRIVE 'A' BEFORE YOU PRESS A KEY TO RETURN TO THE DAILY MENU, AN ERROR MESSAGE WILL APPEAR AT THE BOTTOM OF THE COMPUTER SCREEN. THE ERROR MESSAGE WILL STATE THAT THE FILE WAS NOT FOUND. AFTER YOU SEE THE ERROR MESSAGE, TAKE THIS ACTION: 1. PLACE THE 'PROGRAM DISKETTE' IN DISK DRIVE 'A'. 2. ENTER THE FOLLOWING COMMAND AT THE KEYBOARD: RUN "A:DAILY" 3. PRESS THE RETURN KEY. PRESS ANY KEY TO RETURN TO THE DAILY MENU. 18 As before, the word "DAILY" is replaced by "SETUP" if appropriate. SUMMARY. This chapter presented the standard messages and reminders that are designed to help you use the system. To avoid repetition, they will not be repeated in the chapters to come. Just remember that they do appear. There are other messages that you will see as you use CPA-LEDGER, but they are not standard in the sense that they appear in all, or almost all, of the SETUP and DAILY options. Rather, they are specialized. They relate to the specific data processing tasks that you have directed. These specialized messages will be discussed in the chapters that follow.