Copyright 1989 Computer Trends, Inc. AXS Accounting Solutions Level 2 trialware version. INTRODUCTION The trialware version of AXS Accounting Solutions Level 2 is a full featured version which is only restricted in its capacity. It allows you to experiment with AXS and get started with your bookkeeping. You may distribute it freely to your business associates, clients, customers, and so on. You can become a registered user of the trialware version and get the tutorial manual and 10 minutes of free telephone support for only $18. If you decide to continue using AXS, you may buy the finalware version which removes the restrictions and allows you to continue using your data. To order or to get more information, feel free to call us at 800-544-2597. AXS AND THE TRIALWARE VERSION AXS Accounting Solutions Level 2 is an integrated accounting package that can help you manage your money and your bookkeeping easily and efficiently. You can use it for both your business and personal records. It is the easiest, most flexible, powerful, and affordable package in its class. It includes a general ledger module with check writing and cash receipt functions, an accounts payable module, an accounts receivable module, and a mail manager. The trialware version of AXS Accounting Solutions Level 2 allows you to enter up to 100 entries per file (i.e., 100 addresses, 100 checks, 100 payables, 100 receivables, and so on) and it allows you to create your own company and start your bookkeeping. Typically this is enough to do your bookkeeping for two months or more. If you decide to keep using the program after working with the trialware version, you may purchase the finalware version. This removes all restrictions on your trialware copy, thus allowing you to continue using your data. BECOMING A REGISTERED USER OF THE TRIALWARE VERSION The information provided in this document gives you instructions on how to install AXS, and how to get started. However, to develop a thorough understanding of AXS, we highly recommend that you purchase the tutorial manual, the 10 minutes of telephone support provided on our (313) 662-4432 line, and become a registered user of the trialware copy. This costs only $18, plus $4 for shipping and handling. You can place your order by calling 800-544-2597, or by sending your payment ($22), your serial number*, and your shipping address to: Computer Trends, Inc. 116 E. Washington St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 NOTE: Credit cards are accepted. Michigan residents, please add Michigan state tax to the price of your order. *To find the serial number on your trialware copy, insert the last disk of the copy into the disk drive, switch to that disk drive, and type the following: type serial.txt THE TUTORIAL MANUAL The tutorial manual consists of practice sessions and examples which teach you how to use AXS. Our users are thrilled about it. Users who had no computer or accounting background were able to follow the tutorial and get started with AXS easily and efficiently. This is what one user said about it: "I know very little about computers and accounting, and I was able to walk myself through the program and set it up with no problem. It does everything I used to do by hand and much more, and saves me so much time . . . ." (M.E., home business owner) WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT AXS Users of other packages are switching to AXS every day. With AXS they are discovering that bookkeeping and managing their money can be an enjoyable experience rather than a frustrating task. CPAs and computer consultants are recommending AXS to their clients. If you or any of your friends or business associates have an accounting package that you are not satisfied with or that you wish was easier and more flexible, then try another package--AXS. This is what others are saying about it: "I have very unusual needs and with AXS, I found ways to accomplish them . . ." (H.P., repairs & maintenance) "Very good audit trail, and very easy to use." (D.W. CPA) "The flexibility for accessing and updating information is impressive . . . Being able to keep details as long as necessary is a great option." (J.M., computer accounting consultant) "The tutorial was very easy to follow and fun to work with . . . ." (N.L., consulting and investments) "Very flexible, very easy to learn, setup, and use." (S.F., contractor) And much more. PRICE AND AVAILABILITY While AXS is a very flexible and powerful package, it is still reasonably priced at $139.95. You may order your finalware version directly from us by calling 800-544-2597 or you may buy the complete package (including the finalware version) from our dealers or retailers. AXS LEVEL 1 AXS is available in two levels: Level 1 and Level 2. AXS Accounting Solutions Level 2 is the package you currently have. AXS Accounting Solutions Level 1 provides the check writer, general ledger, and mail manager modules without the accounts payable and receivable modules. Also, AXS Level 1 does not offer some of the advanced features of AXS 2, such as the ability to enter prior period entries. AXS Level 1 is targeted for businesses and individuals who are not interested in automating their accounts payable and receivable. AXS 1 is priced at $59.95. After you explore AXS 2, you may find that your needs can be satisfied without the payable and receivable modules. In this case, you can order AXS 1 by calling 800-544-2597 or by contacting one of our dealers or retailers. A FINAL WORD We hope you will enjoy your exploration of AXS. Please feel free to distribute this trialware version to business associates, friends, customers, and clients who can benefit from it. To do this, copy each of the program disks onto a blank formatted disk and give it the same disk number. It is very important that you copy all files on each disk and give the disk the appropriate disk number. Otherwise the installation program will not work properly. The following material will get you started quickly, but as we mentioned above, we recommend that you become a registered user to get the tutorial manual and technical support time. Happy accounting! SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS IBM or compatible computer PC-DOS or MS-DOS version 3.0 or above 640k of RAM a hard disk a printer MEMORY REQUIREMENTS AXS requires 640k of total memory and at least 550k of free memory to run properly. If your computer does not have 550k of free memory due to some memory resident programs or drivers, you need to disable some of these programs or drivers before you install or use AXS. An easy way to check the amount of total and free memory in your system is by typing the "chkdsk" DOS command. BEFORE YOU INSTALL AXS 1. Turn your computer on. 2. Verify that your computer satisfies the system and memory requirements. 3. Start the installation process. If you are a registered user, you may call our technical support and ask for help. If you are not a registered user, you may register by phone and get the necessary help. The technical support phone number is (313) 662-4432. INSTALLATION During this process, we assume you are installing AXS from drive a: to drive c: where a: is your floppy disk drive and c: is your hard disk drive. 1. Turn your computer on. 2. When you see the DOS prompt, insert program disk #1 in drive a: 3. Type "a:" and press [ENTER] to make this drive the default drive. 4. Type "setup c:" and press [ENTER] for AXS to perform the necessary setup of your system. 5. After the computer is done processing, remove program disk #1 and press [ALT+CTRL+DEL] to restart your computer. 6. When you see the DOS prompt, insert program disk #1 in drive a: again. 7. Type "a:" and press [ENTER] to make this the default drive again. 8. Type "install c:" and press [ENTER] to install AXS on drive c: You will be prompted to insert the other disks as necessary. 9. When installation is complete, AXS will tell you that installation was successful. 10. Remove the last disk from the disk drive and switch to your hard disk by typing c: and pressing [ENTER]. NOTE: You may install AXS from any floppy disk drive to any hard disk by simply following the same steps above, inserting your computer's disk drive letters wherever "a:" and "c:" are mentioned. However, "setup c:" in step #4 should remain "setup c:" regardless of your hard drive's letter. This is because this step modifies your config.sys files which are on the hard disk from which your system is booted (typically drive c:). WARNINGS Never turn your computer off before you exit from AXS. Keep a daily backup of your data to avoid any data losses due to power failure, hardware or software failures, or human errors. STARTING AXS To start AXS, go to the drive where you installed AXS and type "axs2" at the DOS prompt. Then press [ENTER]. You will get to the introduction screen. You can press any key to continue. When you press a key, you get the AXS Main Menu, which looks like this: Gen_Accounting Create U_Shell SELECTING MENU ITEMS You select a menu item by pressing the key of the first capital letter in the item's name, or by using the arrow keys to highlight the item and then pressing [ENTER]. Pressing the escape key ([ESC]) always takes you backwards one step. Pressing it repeatedly will return you to the Main Menu from anywhere in the program. PRACTICE SESSION From the Main Menu, select one of the items and then when you get to the next menu, select another menu item, and so on. When you get to a data entry form, press [ESC] to exit back to the menu item you came from, and then select another item, and so on. Repeat this for every item in the first menu. This exercise will get you acquainted with the program structure and how to get from one part of the program to another. MODES If you went through the above exercise, you noticed that a vertical menu, which we refer to as the modes vertical menu, appears quite often. It has one or all of the following items: Scri_mode, Revu_mode, and Pool_mode. Let's find out what these are. Scri_mode: This stands for "Screen Interactive Mode." When you select the Scri_mode, you get a form and the following menu at the bottom of the screen: Keys Delete Edit Input Action /npage Find 1st Last Before Next Pool Revu_mode: This stands for "Review Mode." When you select the Revu_mode, you get the following menu at the bottom of the screen: Go Search X_Sch Output Action Keys /npage ?Stat Pool_mode: This stands for "Pool Mode." When you select the Pool_mode, you get the following menu at the bottom of the screen: View Print Clear Action /page Before we go into more detail about what these modes accomplish, let's first introduce you to the Sample Company and its data. SAMPLE COMPANY AND SAMPLE DATA When AXS is installed, a sample company is automatically created for you and some sample data is also entered. This allows you to start practicing with AXS before you create your own company. PRACTICE SESSION Let's get right into the modes and unveil their secret. Return to the Main Menu of the program (if you are not already there) by pressing [ESC] a few times. From the Main Menu, select the Create item and you will get the Create module menu: Addresses Companies cHart_Acc Bank_Acc Defaults Sys_Defaults Profile Select the Addresses item and you will get the modes menu: Addresses Companies cHart_Acc Bank_Acc Defaults Sys_Defaults Profile Scri_mode Revu_mode Pool_mode SCRI_MODE Select the Scri_mode. You will get the address entry form and the Scri_mode menu at the bottom of the screen. The form will display the first address that you have in file. You know now that this address is part of the sample data that was automatically entered by AXS. Press [I] to select the Input function from the Scri_mode menu. Enter your address. After you enter each field, press [ENTER] to move to the next field. You don't need to fill in all of the fields in the address form. Save the information by pressing [F10]. One of the fields in the address form is the "Reference" field. In this field you can enter one of the following references: vendor, customer, employee, or other. Enter a few more addresses and reference them as vendors. We will make use of this later on. After you finish entering the last address, press [F10]. Then in order to instruct the Input function that you don't need to enter any more addresses, press [ESC]. AXS will exit from the Input function back to the Scri_mode menu. Let's scroll through the addresses using the following Scri_mode functions: 1st, Last, Before, and Next. Press [1] to select the 1st function. AXS will display the first record in the file. Press [N] to select the Next function. AXS will display the next record in alphabetic order. Experiment with these functions and see how they allow you to easily view the records that you have in file. Let's find a particular address--your address, for instance. Press [F] to select the Find function. The form will be cleared and you will be prompted to enter a name. Type in your name exactly the same way you entered it earlier. You can enter a partial name (spelled correctly, though), and when you press [ENTER], AXS will display your address on the screen (unless you made a spelling mistake). Can you find an address by a field other than the name field? Yes. Selecting the Keys function allows you to choose which field you want to find a name by. This field will also control the order in which the scrolling functions will scroll by (for example, by city, ZIP code, or reference). For instance, if you want to find the first address that you have in a certain city, set the Keys to City. Then use the Find function and enter the desired city. If you have one or more addresses in that city, the first one will be displayed. Pressing [N] will then display the next address in the same city (rather than the next address in alphabetic order by name, as was the case when Keys was set to Name). If your address is no longer displayed, find your address again. Then press [A] to select the Action function. Make sure your printer is on and a label or some paper is loaded. Then press [L] to select the Label function. A label will be printed for the displayed address. POOL_MODE Let's get a feel for the Pool_mode. Press [1] to select the 1st function. The first address in file will be displayed (according to the selected key). Press [P] to select the Pool function. The following message will appear: "OK. ." This tells you that the displayed record has been pooled. In other words, a copy of the record has been placed in a temporary storage place called the pool. The in the message means that you need to press the [ENTER] key (or [RETURN]) to continue. Now scroll through the addresses using the Next function and the other scrolling functions, if necessary. As you scroll through, pool additional records using the Pool function. For instance, you may pool the records of the individuals or entities that you are planning to mail some new announcements to. After you pool 2 or 3 addresses, take a look at the pool. Press the [ALT] key and keep it pressed while simultaneously pressing the [F2] key. Then release both keys. This is what we refer to as [ALT+F2]. You will see a pop-up window appear. This is the pool, and if you have followed the previous steps correctly, you will see the records that you pooled. Pres [ESC] to make the pop-up window disappear. Press [ESC] again to exit the Scri_mode and get back to the modes vertical menu. Press [P] to select the Pool_mode. The Pool_mode menu appears at the bottom. Let's view the pool by pressing [V] to select the View function. Let's say you have just noticed that one of the records in the pool was accidentally put there--you don't want it there. What do you do? AXS allows you to easily delete such a record from the pool. Use the arrow down key to place the cursor on the line where the record is. Then press the [DEL] key. Now press [ESC] to exit from the View function. Then press [A] to select the Action function. Press [L] to select the label function and you will see that labels will be printed for all the records in the pool. Press [ESC] to exit from the Pool_mode. Pres [ESC] one more time to exit from the modes vertical menu. Press [ENTER] (or [A]) to select Addresses again. Press [P] to select the Pool_mode and [V] to view the pool. Surprise! The pool is now empty. The pool, by definition, is a temporary storage area--it holds its contents only until you exit from the vertical modes menus. Press [ESC] twice to get back to the modes menu. REVU_MODE Let's get a feel for the Revu_mode. Press [R] to select the Revu_mode. Select the Action function by pressing [A]. Press [L] to select the Label function. Nothing happened yet. Press [G] to select the Go function and you will get first a confirmation message. When you confirm, mailing labels will be printed for all the addresses you have in file. If you want to search only for the addresses that are referenced as "vendor" and print their labels, you select the Search function, then the Set function (to set search parameters) and then, when you get the form, enter "vendor" in the "Reference" field. Press [F10] to save the criteria, and then select the Go function. The labels for your vendors will be printed. If you simply want to see the records rather than print their labels, select Action again and select the Null item (which means no action at all). Then select Output, which offers you 3 choices: the screen, the printer, or simply a count of the records that satisfy the search parameters. The screen is the default selection. Press [ESC] to leave this default unchanged. Then press [G] to select the Go function. A pop-up window will appear in which the satisfactory records are shown. This is how you can search for certain records and view them. Can you select one or more of these records and then perform a specific action with them, such as printing mailing labels? Of course. Just like you can pool records from the Scri_mode, you can also pool records from the Revu_mode. Simply use the arrow keys to place the cursor at the line of the record you want to pool, and press [ENTER]. Pool one or two records and then take a look at the pool by pressing [ALT+F2]. Again, you can press [ESC] twice, select the Pool_mode and view the pool, or take action on the pooled records. THE MODES IN SUMMARY The Scri_mode allows you to view the records that you have in file one at a time. It allows you to find a certain record, edit it, delete it, pool it, or take action on it. It also allows you to add new records. The Revu_mode allows you to search for records according to search parameters that you enter. You may view these records on the screen, print them, or simply get a count of them. You may also take an action on such records. If you view these records on the screen, you may pool (select) some of them and then take action on them using the Pool_mode functions. The Pool_mode allows you to view the records that you have selected from the Scri_mode or Revu_mode and take action on them. Together the modes provide you with the ultimate flexibility in viewing, searching, editing, and processing your data. The above practice session was designed only to introduce you to the modes. Practice is the only way to fully understand them and see their benefits. While we used the Addresses file, the modes work the same way whenever they are available. DATA ENTRY These are some of the keys that are available to you while filling data entry forms: [ARROW-UP] Previous field [PAGE-UP] Previous field [ARROW-DN] Next field [PAGE-DN] Next field [HOME] First field [END] Last field [F1] Help (when available) [ALT+F1] Enlarge help window [F2] Choices list (when available) [F5] Clear field [F10] Save form [ENTER] Next field, save form if last field In scrollable forms: [CTRL+HOME] Exit the scrollable region upward [CTRL+END] Exit the scrollable region downward Keys available in all pop-up windows: [ARROW-UP] Move one line up [ARROW-DN] Move one line down [ARROW-LEFT] Move one character to the right [ARROW-RIGHT] Move one character to the left [PAGE-UP] Move one page up [PAGE-DN] Move one page down [HOME] Move to the beginning [END] Move to the end [ESC] Exit from the window NOTE: you can use [CTRL+ARROW-RIGHT] to move five characters at a time to the right, and [CTRL+ARROW-LEFT] to move five characters at a time to the left. This enables you to move faster in a window. Special keys available in Scri_mode: [ALT+F1] View the pool Special keys available in Revu_mode when viewing the output on the screen: [ENTER] Pool a record [ALT+F1] View the pool Special keys available in Pool_mode pop-up windows: [DEL] Delete a record COMPUTER FORMS Computer forms such as checks, customer invoices, customer statements, mailing labels, and rotary cards are available. For more information, refer to the tutorial manual. CONVENTION Throughout this document, we will use an abbreviated method for showing you which menus to select to arrive at a particular screen. For example, we will use this statement: Main -> Create -> Addresses -> Scri_mode -> Input to tell you this: "From the Main Menu, select Create, then select Addresses (from the Create menu), then select the Scri_mode, and then select the Input function." PRINTING REPORTS Let's print a chart of accounts, a trial balance, a balance sheet, and an income statement. If you are inside AXS, return to the Main Menu. Otherwise, start AXS now. Turn your printer on, load it with paper, put it on-line, and then select: Main -> Gen_Accounting -> Reports and you will get to the Reports module: Select Fin_Stat Journals Registers Activity Output Global New From this menu, select Fin_Stat and then select Settings. You will get the financial statements settings form on the screen. Press the [END] key to get to the last field and enter "Y" in the "Show Account Numbers (Y/N)" field. Press [F10] to save these settings. Press [C] to select the Chart_Acc item. This will print the chart of accounts. After the computer is done processing, press [T] to print a trial balance, then [I] to print an income statement, and then [B] to print a balance sheet. After you take a look at these reports, please set them aside because we will refer to them later. THE CURRENT COMPANY AND CHECKBOOK Whose reports have we printed? If you look at the lower right corner of the screen, you will see a small window in which "SAMPLE/SMCHK/xxxx-xx/ GenRep" is shown. In this window, "xxxx" indicates the current year and "xx" represents the current accounting period. This is the "current company window." It tells you that you are currently working with the books of the company whose code is SAMPLE (Sample Company), with the checkbook whose code is SMCHK. The current accounting period is xxxx-xx, and the module you are working in is Reports. The reports you just printed are Sample Company's reports. The checks we will write, the deposits we will make, and the other entries we will enter belong to the Sample Company. When you create more companies, you will be able to select which company you want to work with. When you do, the current company window will show the code of the selected company, its current checkbook, its current period, and the module of AXS you are working in. WRITING CHECKS If you are still in the reports module, exit back to the Main Menu and let's write a few checks. Select: Main -> Gen_Accounting -> Journal_Entries & Bank and you will get to the Journal_Entries & Bank module, which looks like this: Select Journal_Entries Bank Daily_Sales prIor_Period From this menu, select Bank and then Check. Write yourself a check first. Let's say this check is for $100 and it is an owner's distribution check. Look at the chart of accounts we just printed and you will see that the corresponding account number is 30400. Enter the date, your name, the amount, the account (Owner's Distribution, #30400), and whether the check is to be printed or merely recorded as an after-the-fact check. The name that you enter must be in the addresses file. You may enter a partial name and AXS will find the closest match from the file. For instance, if the name you are entering is John Smith, you can enter John S and, by pressing [ENTER], you tell AXS to find the full name of the person you indicated. If no match is found, which means no corresponding address is in the addresses file, AXS will give you an error message. In this case you may instantly add the address to the addresses file by pressing [ALT+F9]. When you are in the "Name" field, note the message at the bottom of the screen. This tells you that the following key combinations are available to you: [ALT+F10] scrolls forward through the addresses file by name, [ALT+F7] scrolls backward by name, and [ALT+F9] enters a new address instantly. Experiment with these key combinations and see how they can help you during data entry. The account number that you enter in the "Acct. No." field must be in the chart of accounts. You may enter an account number and AXS will find the corresponding description, or vice versa. When you are in the "Acct. No." or "Acct. Desc." fields, note the message at the bottom of the screen. In this case, [ALT+F9] allows you to distribute the check to more than one account, a feature that is very useful when you write one check for more than one expense category. Once you are done filling in the form, either press [ENTER] from the last field, or press [F10]. If you entered "Y" in the "Print (Y/N)" field, the check will be printed; otherwise the check will simply be recorded. The corresponding cash disbursement journal entry will be automatically created and the account balances automatically updated. Then the form will be cleared and ready for you to issue more checks. If you print your checks on computer check forms, you can easily mail them in window envelopes and save a substantial amount of time. Let's write another check that we attribute to the Office Supplies expense account (account #50300). Let's write a third check and this time use the [ALT+F9] key combination in the "Acct. No." field to distribute the check to more than one account. You are already an expert, so go ahead and write these two checks by yourself. Refer to the chart of accounts for account numbers and/or descriptions. The same keys that are available in the "Order of" field here are available in any name field in most data entry forms as appropriate. Similarly, the same keys that are available in the "Acct. No." and "Acct. Desc." fields here are available in all other forms as appropriate. So what we learned in this section can be applied in almost every form where names and account numbers are needed, like the deposit form, the payable invoice form, and the receivable invoice form. THE CHECKBOOK BALANCE Once you are done writing checks, press [ESC]. AXS will do some processing which will take a few seconds. When it gets back to the Bank vertical menu, press [B] to select the Balance item. A pop-up window will appear in which you can see the current checkbook balance and other relevant information. When you were writing checks, you may have noticed that on the check form you could also see the checkbook balance. After writing a check, this number is immediately updated as well. MAKING DEPOSITS Return to the Main Menu and select the following menus: Main -> Journal_Entries & Bank -> Bank -> Deposit Make two deposits. Let's say the first deposit is for $10 and was a refund from the telephone company. The account you want to use for this example is #40300, Misc. Revenues. The check number of the check you received is #915. Enter the check number, date, the name of the telephone company (if it is not in the addresses file, use [ALT+F9] to enter it and press [F10] when you are done), then enter the deposit amount, the account number, and whether the deposit information is to be printed or not. Enter another deposit. When you are done, press [ESC] to get back to the vertical menu of the Bank item. VOIDING A CHECK From the vertical menu of Bank, select Scri_mode. When you get the Scri_mode menu at the bottom of the screen, select the Keys function and select "Chk no." (check number). Then select Find, and enter the check number that you want to void. Press [ENTER]. If the check number you entered is the number of an actual check that was issued, AXS will display the check in the form. Press [V] to select the Void function and then confirm. AXS will automatically mark the check as voided, it will add its balance to the checking account balance, it will reverse the corresponding cash disbursement journal entry, and update the related account balances. VOIDING A DEPOSIT This is similar to voiding a check except instead of selecting "Chk no.," select "Dep no." Find the deposit that you want to void and then use Void to void it. PRINTING A CHECKBOOK REGISTER Exit back to the Main Menu and select: Main -> Gen_Accounting -> Reports -> Register -> Settings The register settings form appears. Press [ENTER] to get to the "Register" field in which you want to type CK (the abbreviation for the checking register). There are two other registers that you may print also if you like: the payable register and the receivable register. Leave the other fields in the form unchanged. Press [F10] to save the settings. Make sure your printer is on and press [G] to select the Go item. You will get a listing of the checking account register. This shows you in chronological order all the checks you wrote and the deposits you made just like a manual register or your check stubs would show you. If you have actually entered the above checks and deposits and voided a check and a deposit, you will be able to see them all in the register. You will notice that when you voided a check, AXS marked it as voided, and added the check amount to the balance by inserting an "Adjustment" record. PRINTING THE CASH DISBURSEMENT JOURNAL Press [ESC] to get back to the Reports menu and select the Journals item. Then select Settings. You will get the settings form for the journals. Press [ENTER] to get to the "Journal" field in which you want to enter CD, which is the abbreviation for the cash disbursement journal. Then press [F10], make sure your printer is on and on-line, and press [G] to start printing. Notice that every check you wrote has a journal entry corresponding to it. They have been automatically created and posted by AXS. PRINTING THE CASH RECEIPT JOURNAL Select Settings again, and this time enter CR in the Journal field and print the cash receipts journal. You will notice that for every deposit you made, AXS has automatically created a journal entry. MAKING OTHER JOURNAL ENTRIES Exit back to the Main Menu and select the following menus: Main -> Gen_Accounting -> Journal_Entries & Bank -> Journal_Entries -> Scri_mode Selecting the Input function will allow you to enter one or more journal entries. Such journal entries will be recorded in the general journal. Some of the entries that you may need to enter are: depreciation, bank charges, sales of assets, acknowledgement of gains and losses, etc. AUDIT TRAIL AXS creates a journal entry in the appropriate journal for every entry you make. While the Scri_mode functions Delete and Edit are available in the journal entries (Journal_Entries -> Scri_mode), they do not actually delete or edit a journal entry. They work by making a reversing entry, and then, in the case of Edit, making the edited entry. PRINTING THE GENERAL JOURNAL You can print the general journal exactly like you printed the cash disbursement and cash receipts journals (CD and CR), except that you need to enter GJ (the abbreviation for the general journal) in the "Journal" field. ENTERING NEW ACCOUNTS IN THE CHART OF ACCOUNTS Let's say you need an expense account that is not currently in the chart of accounts; let's say you need an "Office Telephone" account. First, decide what account number and description you want to give this account. By looking at the chart of accounts, let's say we decide to give it number 50310 to place it next to "Office Supplies," and a description of "Office Telephone." You may add this account to the chart of accounts easily. Select Main -> Create -> cHart_Acc A form will pop-up prompting you to enter the company code whose chart of accounts is to be modified. You will notice that SAMPLE is already there, so press [ENTER] to accept it. Then press [ENTER] to select the Scri_mode and then [I] to select the Input function. Enter the account number (50310) in the "Acct. No." field; next, enter the account type (PO for postable account-- see details in the tutorial manual) in the "Acct. Type" field; and finally, enter the account name (Office Telephone) in the "Acct. Desc." field. Ignore the rest of the fields for the time being and press [F10] to save this account. Exit back to the Main Menu and print the chart of accounts again to see how the new account has been added. PAYABLE INVOICES When you receive payable invoices from your vendors, service providers, and so on, you enter them in the payable register by selecting: Main -> Gen_Accounting -> Payables & Receivables and you will get the Payables & Receivables module: Select Payable Receivable prIor_Period From this menu, select Payable, then Scri_mode, and then Input. Fill in the payable form with the appropriate information. If, for instance, the invoice was for car repairs, the account number to be entered in the "Acct. No." field should be 50500 (refer to your chart of accounts). There are two fields that are new here: the "Due Date" field and the "Pay Auto" field. The "Due Date" field is the date when the invoice is due. It is very important that you always enter a due date. If the invoice is due upon receipt, enter the invoice date as the due date, or possibly enter the date you received the invoice as the due date. If the invoice does not specify a due date, enter the date you wish to pay it. The "Pay Auto" field allows you to hold payments on an invoice when necessary. Typically you enter "Y" in this field; however, if for some reason you don't wish to pay the invoice for some time, you can enter "N" (for "No"). In this case, the invoice will not be paid when you pay the other outstanding invoices automatically. REVIEWING & PAYING PAYABLE INVOICES You already know how to enter, review and pay payable invoices. That is because all the functions you learned and used in Addresses are available here. Practice extensively by entering many invoices with various due dates. Then use the Action function in the Scri_mode to make full or partial payments on one invoice at a time. Then use the Revu_mode functions to review all the invoices of a certain vendor, or the outstanding invoices of a certain vendor, or all the invoices that are due between certain dates, and so on. Use the Action function of the Revu_mode to pay some or all of these invoices. Use the Pool function in the Scri_mode (and the Revu_mode) to select certain invoices and use the Action function in the Pool_mode to pay them. Very important: if you enter an invoice in the payable module and later decide to pay it, it is very important that you pay it from the Payables & Receivables module using the Pay function(s) we discussed. Never use the check form in the Journal_Entries & Bank module to pay an invoice you have entered in the Payables & Receivables module. The check form is only used to write checks that are not related to any of the payable invoices in the payable register. PRINTING THE PAYABLE REGISTER & JOURNAL When you enter a payable invoice, it is saved in the payable invoices register. To print the register, select: Main -> Gen_Accounting -> Reports -> Registers -> Settings You will get the familiar settings form in front of you. Press [ENTER] to get to the "Register" field and type PB for payable register. Then press [F10]. When you get back to the vertical menu, press [G] to select Go. Printing the payable journal is similar to printing any other journal except that you enter PJ (for payable journal) in the "Journal" field. PRINTING PAYABLE STATEMENTS & AN AGING REPORT From the Register vertical menu, select Settings and take a close look at the Settings form. You will notice that it allows you to print the register in many ways. You can print the register for a particular vendor, you can print the invoices entered between two specific dates, you can print all invoices, outstanding invoices only, paid invoices only, etc. In addition, you can print statements by entering "S" in the "Report Format" field. This allows you to compare your records with the actual vendor statements. You can print aging reports by entering "A" in the "Report Format" field. This will give you a summary of your payable invoices in a time table to allow you to see your future cash needs. Enter several payable invoices from various vendors, for various amounts, dates, and due dates. Then print the payable register, financial statements, aging reports, and the journals. Pay some invoices, then print some of these reports and see the changes that took place as a result of the payments you made. RECEIVABLE INVOICES When you want to bill your customers/clients, select: Main -> Gen_Accounting -> Payables & Receivables -> Receivable -> Scri_mode Press [I] to select the Input function. Fill in the receivable form with the appropriate information. For instance, if the invoice was for consulting services, the account number you would enter in the "Acct. No." field is 40100 (refer to your chart of accounts). There is a field that is of particular importance here: "Details & Print." If you enter "Y" (for "Yes") in this field, you will be able to enter descriptions and billing amounts for work performed. This information will be printed on a receivable invoice form that you can mail in a corre- sponding window envelope. On the other hand, if you enter "N" (for "No"), the invoice will still be recorded in the receivable register, but it will not be printed. This way, you can write your invoice manually and then enter it in the register to have it recorded in your books and reflected in your financial statements. REVIEWING AND APPLYING CUSTOMER PAYMENTS TO RECEIVABLE INVOICES Now that you have practiced using the modes on two occasions, you will be able to easily work with receivables. Use the Action function in the Scri_mode to apply a full or partial customer payment to one invoice. Then use the Revu_mode functions to review the outstanding invoices of a certain customer, or all the outstanding invoices that are due between certain dates, and so on. Review these invoices to the screen, pool the ones you want to apply the customer payment to (they must be for the same customer), and then use the Pool_mode Action function to apply a full payment or a partial payment to this group of invoices. Very important: if you enter a receivable invoice in the Payables & Receivables module and later on decide to deposit the customer's payment, you must use the Deposit functions in the Payables & Receivables module to deposit it. Never record a customer payment toward a receivable invoice using the Deposit function under the Bank menu in the Journal_Entries & Bank module. The deposit form under the Bank menu is only for deposits that do not have a corresponding invoice in the receivable register. PRINTING RECEIVABLE REPORTS When you enter a receivable invoice, it is saved in the receivable invoices register. To print this register, select: Main -> Gen_Accounting -> Reports -> Registers -> Settings Move the cursor to the "Register" field and enter RB. The Receivables module provides you with all the reports we discussed in payables, including customer statements and aging reports. You may also print the receivable journal, whose abbreviation is RJ. Enter several receivable invoices and then print various reports. Apply some customer payments and print the same reports to see the changes that took place as a result. CREATING A NEW COMPANY To create a new company, you need to have: a six-letter (or fewer) company code, a company name, a chart of accounts, a six-letter (or fewer) checking account code, the bank name, and the next check number that you will issue from the checking account. AXS provides you with the following chart of accounts templates: Template Code Type of Business ------------- ---------------- CPA accounting firms LAWFIRM law firms MINIMUM only has the required accounts CONTRACT contractors GENERAL any small business SAMPLE same as the Sample Company CONSULT consulting firms RESTAUR restaurants You can use one of these templates, you can modify one and then use it, or you can create your own template for your chart of accounts. When the company is created, its chart of accounts will have exactly the same accounts as the template that you specify. However, once the company is created, as you will see shortly, you can delete, edit, and add any number of accounts to your chart of accounts to make it fit your needs. To create a new company: 1. Enter the company address and the bank address in Addresses. 2. Select: Main -> Create-> Company -> Scri_mode -> Input and fill in the form. The "Chart of Accounts" field allows you to indicate which chart of accounts template you want to use. You can press [F2] to see a list of the chart of accounts templates. If you have created your own template correctly (see tutorial), it will appear in the list. The "Starting Period" field allows you to enter the year and the period in which you want to start this company. Press [F1] to get more information about this field. For more details about creating your own templates, please refer to the tutorial and reference manuals. If, at the time you are creating the company, you do not know what the next check number will be, enter a relatively low number like 1 or 10 and then you will be able to change it later. Once you enter this information, press [F10] (or press [ENTER] from the last field). AXS will create the company files and organize them for you. This can take a few seconds or a few minutes, depending on your computer's speed. When your computer has finished processing, adjust your chart of accounts, if necessary. Before we discuss this, however, let's introduce you to the default accounts. THE DEFAULT ACCOUNTS These accounts are: the default checking account, the default accounts receivable account, the default accounts payable account, the default income transfer account, the default revenue account, and the default expense account. Every company must have these accounts specified. Even if you do not wish to use some of them, they need to be specified simply to insure the integrity of the system. What is the main purpose of these accounts? These accounts help make your work easier. Instead of having to select a checking account every time you write a check, or specify the accounts payable account number every time you enter a payable invoice, these choices are made only once. If you have looked at AXS's chart of accounts templates, you may have noticed that the default accounts are specified in the templates. Once your company is created, the defaults in the template become the default accounts of your company. To take a look at these defaults or to modify them, you can select: Main -> Create -> Defaults -> Scri_mode Every company you create will have a record in this file showing what that company's defaults are. To change the defaults, display the record for that particular company, and then use the Edit function. Under most circumstances, you do not need to change the default accounts or concern yourself with them. However, if for some reason you want to change the defaults, we highly recommend that you do this before you begin entering data. It is beyond the scope of this document to explain all the factors involved and the steps required, so we suggest you refer to the tutorial and reference manuals for more details. ADJUSTING YOUR CHART OF ACCOUNTS Exit back to the Main Menu and select: Main -> Gen_Accounting -> Reports This time, choose the Select function, and then choose Company from the pull- down menu that appears. A form will pop up prompting you to enter the code of the company you want to work with. Press [F2] and you will see a list of the companies that you have: the Sample Company and the company you have just created. Use the arrow keys to highlight the company you just created and press [ENTER] to select it. Press [ENTER] again to save the form. At the lower right corner, the current company window (the window that shows which company you are working with) should now show your new company and its related information. Press [ESC] to exit back to the horizontal menu, then select Fin_Stat and change the settings like we did before to show the account numbers, then print the chart of accounts. Examine this chart of accounts. If there are adjustments to be made, such as adding a new account or deleting an account, do this now. This is especially true when deleting accounts, because once you use an account, it cannot be deleted (except under certain conditions). Exit back to the Main Menu and select: Main -> Create-> cHart_Acc Enter the code of the new company and select the Scri_mode. Use the Scri_mode functions to delete, edit, or add accounts. ENTERING STARTING BALANCES To enter your starting balances, you need a trial balance. If you don't have one, don't panic. You can either get your accountant's help in preparing one, or you can get started by entering only your checkbook balance. Entering your starting balances is accomplished by making journal entries by selecting: Main -> Gen_Accounting -> Journal_Entries & Bank -> Journal_Entries -> Scri_mode -> Input Before you start this process, you need to make sure that you have in your chart of accounts an equity account called Starting Balances. If you don't have this account, please add it to your chart of accounts. Then, for each account in your trial balance, make a journal entry in which you debit (or credit) the account by its balance amount, and credit (or debit) the Starting Balance account by the same amount. To make this process faster, you may enter several account balances in one journal entry. The trial balance should be prepared for the date on which you wish to start automating your books. This is usually a date in the past, like the beginning of the current year, the beginning of the current quarter, or the beginning of the current month. Once the starting balances are entered, you need to enter the transactions that took place since the date of the trial balance up to the present day. For instance, all the checks and deposits should be entered in the same order they were issued. The payable and receivable invoices can be handled in many ways (they are discussed in the tutorial and reference manuals in detail). When you are entering these past transactions, it is important to remember to close the period at the end of every accounting period (typically at the end of the month). ENTERING THE CHECKBOOK BALANCE ONLY What if you do not have a trial balance and you are not able to get one prepared soon? In this case, you can enter the checking account balance and get started. Then, when the balances of the other accounts become available, enter them. Normally you would enter the balance from the last time you reconciled your checkbook to your bank statement. This is done by making a journal entry in which you debit the checking account by the balance amount and credit the Starting Balance account by the same amount. Then you can enter the checks and deposits issued after that date. CREATING NEW CHECKBOOKS A company can have as many checkbooks as needed. To create a new checkbook, first you need to have an account for that checkbook in the chart of accounts. This account must be an asset account and cannot be used for another checkbook or for accounts receivable. Creating a new checkbook is done by selecting: Main -> Create -> Bank_Acc -> Scri_mode -> Input Fill in the form with the appropriate information. After you create a check- book, you need to enter its starting balance. This can be accomplished by making a journal entry which debits the account by its balance and credits the appropriate account, which can be: 1. the Starting Balance account, if this checkbook was in existence when the company was created. 2. another checking account, if the money was transferred from it. 3. another asset account, such as savings, petty cash, etc. 4. a liability account, such as a loan. However, if the new checking account was created by writing a check from an existing checking account, then, instead of making a journal entry, a check should be issued in AXS from the existing checking account to the new one. HANDLING MULTIPLE CHECKBOOKS If you have more than one checking account in a company, you should designate the one most often used as the default checking account. AXS will use the default checking account unless you select another one. Selecting another checking account can be accomplished by choosing Select from the horizontal menu (this is available in every module where selecting a checking account may be needed), selecting cHecking from the Select pull-down menu, and entering the code of the checking account you want to use. END OF THE MONTH REPORTS At the end of every month, we highly recommend that you print a complete set of reports before starting a new period (month). These reports can be put in a binder and kept for reference. Printing all of the reports at once can be done easily by selecting: Main -> Gen_Accounting -> Reports -> Global The Settings form will allow you to indicate which reports you want printed. Selecting Go will start the actual printing process. NOTE: only reports for the default checking account, etc. will be printed. To print reports for the checking account, etc. that are not the defaults, you must print those one by one (i.e. not using the Global option), or you must change the defaults. END OF THE MONTH CLOSING Once you print the end of the month reports, you may close the month (period) by selecting: Main -> Gen_Accounting -> Reports -> New -> Period At the end of the year, you can start a new year by selecting: Main -> Gen_Accounting -> Reports -> New -> Year BACKUP It is very important that you keep a daily backup of your data; we recommend having separate weekly and monthly backups. This will protect your data from power failures, hardware or software failures, or human errors. AXS provides you with backup functions which you can use. These functions are found in the U_Shell (Utilities Shell) module of AXS. However, if you wish to use your own backup functions, your accounting data is stored in the \axs2\data directory of the hard disk where AXS is installed. NOTE: you need to backup this directory along with all of its files and sub-directories. TIME FOR THE TUTORIAL! If you are an experienced computer user, you may find the above instructions enough to get started, and will only need to refer to the tutorial and reference manuals for details. However, for most users, we strongly recommend that you go through the tutorial manual in depth. The tutorial manual takes you step-by-step through all of the functions and features of AXS. It is easy to read, easy to understand, and takes only a few hours. Before you start, though, you will need to delete AXS from your hard disk, and then re-install it. To do this, delete all the files and sub-directories from the \axs2\ directory, and then remove this directory. You will also need to delete the axs2.bat file from the root directory. To order your finalware version of AXS 2 ($139.95) or AXS 1 ($59.95) call 800 544-2597. If you need to further evaluate AXS you can order the Tutorial Manual ($18). Thank you for your interest and we look forward to hearing from you.