**************************************************************** -> This file contains detailed guidance on entering assumptions relating to income, salary deductions, expenditure, and bank accounts and credit cards. -> The file has been supplied as an integral part of YOUR-PLAN. This is a personal financial planning software package devel- oped as a shareware package for use on a 'try-before-you-buy' basis by Invest-Tech Limited. For contact details, see end of this file. -> To view this file page-by-page, type "TYPE ENTERASS.TXT|MORE" To print this file, type "PRINT ENTERASS.TXT" (Press CTRL+BREAK to quit now) **************************************************************** GUIDANCE ON ENTERING ASSUMPTIONS ================================ YOUR-PLAN (r2.1) contains many variables and features which may not be required by every user. These can be left blank or with zero values as YOUR-PLAN runs satisfactorily with only minimal assumptions relating to income and expenditure. This text file offers detailed guidance on entering assumptions into YOUR-PLAN's Income, Salary Deduction, Expenditure and Bank Account Assumption Reports. It will be particularly useful to first-time users and compliments the Help Notes appended to many variable descriptions. Assumptions can be entered only in cells within rows containing ->> or <<->> arrow signs and shown in reverse video (dark lettering on a light coloured background). For rows containing <<->> arrows, the descriptions of the variables in the left-hand column and shown in reverse video can be altered, or left blank, by a user. If a "Secured cell" message is encountered when entering assumptions, press RETURN to clear it. When entering assumptions, use the facilities provided by the CTRL function keys and access YOUR-PLAN's Help Notes appended to brightened variable descriptions for additional information. **************************************************************** INCOME ASSUMPTIONS REPORT ========================= This report is divided into three sections dealing with monthly income assumptions for the following: - Salary etc. for the principal wage earner (or for more than one wage earner where incomes are combined) - Other regular income - Exceptional income and account transfers Guidance on entering assumptions for selected variables is given below. Gross salary etc ---------------- For the principal wage earner (or for more than one wage earner where incomes are combined), enter the monthly gross salaries. The necessary deductions for income tax, pensions etc. can be entered, at a later stage, in the Salary Deductions Assumption Report. Other remuneration - net of tax ------------------------------- Give details of other earned income here, for example, from part-time jobs etc. Reimbursement of work expenses ------------------------------ YOUR-PLAN assumes that work expenses are automatically reimbursed during the month AFTER they have been incurred. Details of work expenses to be reimbursed can be entered, later on, in a special category within the Expenditure Assumptions Report. Other regular income -------------------- Use this section to handle cash inflows relating to unearned regular income such as dividends, rent received etc. Change the descriptions in the left-hand column if they are inappropriate or leave them blank if not being used. Enter the projected cash inflows net of tax and any other deductions made at source. Do not include interest arising from a deposit or savings account as this will be calculated automatically and credited directly to the account using the assumptions entered, later on, in the Bank Account & Credit Card Assumptions Report. Exceptional income/transfers ---------------------------- Enter assumptions relating to exceptional or non-recurring cash inflows (net of any charges, deductions etc.) for the months in which the cash will be received. Indicate any planned withdrawals from savings or deposit accounts (Note: These are treated as inflows into the household's cash pool). Withdrawals will be automatically deducted from the account balance. A message will advise, after the next recalculation (press F5), if any withdrawal causes the account's balance to go negative. The remaining descriptions in this section can be changed by the user, or left blank if not required. **************************************************************** SALARY DEDUCTIONS ASSUMPTION REPORT =================================== Details of salary deductions can be entered for the principal wage earner (or for more than one wage earner where incomes are combined) using one or both of the methods described below. The upper table is primarily intended to handle income tax which is paid on a pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) basis. It can accommodate up to four tax bands. The salaries on which the calculations are based are the full-year equivalents of the gross monthly salaries entered in the Income Assumptions Report. Deductions are calculated on an annual basis and are then allocated pro-rata to each month as shown in the Income Assumptions Report. Before the deductions are calculated, the gross annual salary is reduced by the amount specified for the "Salary level above which variable deductions apply". This has the effect of reducing the deductions which are made at the highest marginal rate. To accommodate deductions made at the lowest marginal rate, set the "Salary level above which variable deductions apply" to zero and set the first band to the appropriate range and its rate to 0%. When entering details about the "Variable deduction bands", enter values for all the "to" levels with their corresponding % rates even though these may not be applicable to your situation (you may win the Lotto or the Pools !!!!). If desired, enter extremely high values for the "to" levels and set the % deductions to zero. The lower table facilitates the entry of information on deductions expressed as a fixed amount and/or as a percentage of gross salary. A separate text file, TAX.TXT, contains some interesting and humorous quotations about taxation. It also gives details of current income tax rates and allowances applying in the UK and Ireland to assist users to determine the values to be entered into this Report. **************************************************************** EXPENDITURE ASSUMPTIONS REPORT ============================== This report contains 16 main expenditure categories which are fixed and cannot be changed by a user. However, almost all the subheadings for each category in the left-hand column can be changed, or left empty, as desired. When entering details of expenditure, use the months when payments will be actually made and not the months when bills are received or are due to be paid. Guidance on entering assumptions for selected variables is given below. Reimbursable work expenses -------------------------- These will be automatically reimbursed during the following month as will be shown in the Income Assumptions Report when YOUR-PLAN next recalculates (press F5). Overdraft interest ------------------ This is a calculated value based on the average balance for the previous month and the interest rate specified in the Bank Account & Credit Card Assumptions Report. Deposit/savings account lodgements ---------------------------------- Lodgements are treated as outflows from the household's cash pool, and they are automatically added to the previous month's closing balance for the account. **************************************************************** BANK ACCOUNT & CREDIT CARD ASSUMPTIONS REPORT ============================================= This report records assumptions about interest rates, credit limits and credit card transactions. It also contains details of opening balances for credit card, current and savings accounts and work expenses for the principal wage earner. Guidance on entering assumptions for selected variables is given below. Credit card transactions ------------------------ Review the total expected expenditure entered in the Expenditure Assumptions Report and enter the estimated total amount likely to be paid using a credit card during each month. When entering details of projected payments to the credit card company for each month, either enter a specific amount or enter a "1" if it is planned to completely clear the previous month's balance and thereby incur no interest charges. If the specific amount paid to the credit card company exceeds the balance due, YOUR-PLAN will give an advisory message when it next recalculates (press F5). Indicate months when interest is debited or credited to accounts ---------------------------------------------------------------- Enter "1's" to signify the months when interest is due to be paid or received. All other months should contain zeros. ***************************************************************** YOUR-PLAN (c) Copyright Invest-Tech Limited 1992, 1993, 1994 All Rights Reserved Invest-Tech Limited 27 Ardmeen Park, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland Irish Tel: 01-283 4083 UK Tel: 01232-315454 (Call 9 to 9 weekdays and 10 to 6 weekends - GMT/BST) Fax: 278 2391 Fax codes: Irish:01- UK:00-353-1- Inter'l:+353-1- CompuServe: 100606,2665 Internet: brianf@iol.ie WWW Site URL: http://www.planware.ie/resource/planware ***************************************************************** To view this file page-by-page, type "TYPE ENTERASS.TXT|MORE" *** End of ENTERASS.TXT file ***