RAMbase(tm) Accounting MANUAL VER.4.11 10-04-89 RAMbase(tm) Accounting is a POINT OF SALE, and BUSINESS RECORD KEEPING System with true on line integration. RAMbase(tm) handles inventory, complete record keeping, and over 100 reports designed to provide a small business with the RECORDS THAT YOU NEED. FILES INCLUDED WITH: RBAINST EXE RBA Installation Program. Type RBAINST (Enter) to run. RBA EXE RAMbase Acounting Program. Type RBA (Enter) to run. RBAMAN TXT Condensed Manual for RAMbase Accounting. RBAMAN EXE Program to display RBAMAN.TXT. Type RBAMAN (Enter) to run. README EXE Program to display "README" Type README (Enter). READ ME Manual, corrections & additions. STATEMENT TEM Template for BILLING statement (May be modified). INVOICE TEM Template for INVOICES (May be modified). PAYABLE TEM Template for PAYABLES (May be modified). MLABELS TEM Template for MAILING LABELS (May be modified). RLABELS TEM Template for RETURN labels (May be modified). ROLODEX TEM Template ROLODEX CARDS (May be modified). P-ORDER TEM Template PURCHASE ORDER (May be modified). RAMbase Accounting Requires IBM(tm) PC/XT/AT or true compatible with, at least, 256k and one floppy drive. Color is supported but not required. RBA is designed to operate with a Dot Matrix printer. The only special feature is compressed mode. RBA defaults to compressed mode. RBA has seven reports that are template driven. (See User's Manual Section 16). $ STARTING RBA INSTALL RBAINST.EXE Type RBAINST (Enter). Will start RBAinstall program. This program allows you to select the following functions during the install procedure. (See User's Manual Section 3). Press the highlighted letter. SECURITY Security access code. MGR/CLERK, Clerk restricts certain information. Program defaults to Manager with no security code. COMPRESSED Compressed print codes. Most of you will use default setting. Refer to your Printer Manual. ARCHIVE Archive drive and path, optional to select where you want to send your data for storage. INTEREST Interest and sales tax. Set interest to be charged for late payments. Sets sales taxes. USER NAME User name, for printing business labels. Put in your company name, address, etc. MONITOR Monitor. Color/Mono. ERROR BEEPER Error Beeper. On/Off KEYBOARD BEEPER Keyboard Beeper. On/Off. DISK ARCHIVE Disk Archive. On/Off. Creates data files on disk you are working on. (Defaults to on). LOW INVENTORY Low inventory stock. On/Off. Beeps if stock goes below set level because of sale. ZERO BALANCE Zero balance. Off/On. Customer monthly bill statement can be sent even if balance is zero. Q Key Command To quit and save all changes. ESC ESCape Quit installation program without saving any changes (Retain original settings). RBAMAN EXE Type RBAMAN (Enter) will display RBA Manual text to screen to be printed or scrolled through. $ RBA EXE STARTING MAIN PROGRAM RBA is a command driven program. Type RBA (Enter) Will load RBA.EXE into the computer memory. The program starts up where you last left off. (See section 4.1 of User,s manual). All settings are remembered. ESCape Key This key enables you to abandon what you are doing (retain original settings), and quit to DOS. F1 Function Key Help is always on line 25 of main screens. Press F1 for context sensitive help to pop- up in a window. F2 Function Key On main screens, F2 will toggle between payables/receivables. Inventory is accessible in both modes. All cursor positions are remembered when switching modes (See Section 4.3 of User's Manual). F2 Function Key Edit on other screens. F3 Function Key On main screens, press F3 for partial list of reports. (See Section 4.4 of User's Manual). F3 Function Key On other screens, press F3 to save and quit, and for deposits in the check register. (See Section 4.4 and 4.6 of User's Manual). F4 Function Key On main screens, press F4 (Customer) Group List, or (Payables) disbursement List. In receivables (invoice) mode, customers are classified by a group name and number from 0 to 99. Group = classification of customers or segregation. (See Section 4.5 of User's Manual). Press F4 in suppliers (payables) mode. Creditors are grouped by a disbursement name and number, from 0 to 99. (See Section 4.5 of User's Manual). $ F4 Function Key F4 is debit on check register screen. F5 Function Key Press F5 for check register screen. F5=void on check register screen. You can make deposits, debits, payments, void a check and/or stop payment. The program automatically dates your checks, balances the checking account, credits the proper (creditor) supplier account when payments are made. RBA computes month to date and year to date totals for payments made to suppliers. (See Section 4.6 and 12 of User's Manual). It is possible to print the entire check register. Press F6. F6 Function Key Prints invoices in receivables mode. Prints statements in payables mode. (See Section 4.7 of User's Manual). PRINTING AN INVOICE RECORDS THE DATA THROUGHOUT RBA. F7 Function Key Not Used. F8 Function Key Not Used. F9 Function Key RAMlink(tm) toggles On/Off. RAMlink connects the inventory item with the invoice in receiv- ables mode. RAMlink connects the inventory item with the payable statement in payable mode. RAMlink allows you to search in the inventory while invoicing or writing a payable. (See Section l2 of User's Manual). F10 Function Key Will request security code. This will toggle from MGR mode to CLERK mode. When in Clerk mode, sensitive customer/supplier information is hidden. (See Section 4.11 of User's Manual). Default is MGR mode if no security password is set in install section. (See Section 3.2b of User's Manual). GOTO Arrows Go to next or to previous window on the screen. (See Section 4.12 of User's Manual). INVENTORY.......Commands GOTO Arrows Use arrows to move to INVENTORY. $ I Key Press the I key to insert new inventory items. Fill in as prompted. The ID-Code can be alphanumeric (400 ABC & 400 CCC). It is possible to group the 400s, etc.Press F3 to save and quit. The new item will be filed alphanumerically by the ID-Code. (Section 5.1.10 of User's Manual). D Key Press D Key to delete high-lighted/status item. C Key Press C to correct stock. E Key Press the E Key to edit the inventory item that is high-lighted/status line. E & D Key Neither will operate if (Special Order) is high-lighted. Q Key Press Q to search for an inventory item by ID-Code (You assign the ID-Code when inserting items in inventory). The last ID-Code that you searched for appears on the line. Type the ID-Code or use the last ID-Code if that is what you want. Press ENTER. The program will instantly find that item or give ID-Code not found message. (See Section 5.1.3 of User's Manual). S Key Press S Key to search the inventory file for an ASCII string. The last string that you searched for appears on the line. Type in the new string, Press ENTER. The program will instantly find that string or MESSAGE NOT FOUND will appear. If there is more than one occurance of the string, use the Down or Up arrows to find the next or previous string. PRESS ESCape when finished searching. (See Section 5.1.9 of User's Manual). ^Y (Ctrl-Y) Will clear line. ^R (Ctrl-R) Will restore line. ^D (Ctrl-D) To set the system date. ^P (Ctrl-P) Print to (Port), to select printer port. Disk, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, LPT4. Tab Key When inserting or editing data, or filling out the header information, the TAB key will back up to the previous input field and all input will be saved. $ Enter Key When inserting or editing data, or filling out the Header information, press the ENTER key to move to the next input field and all input will be saved. (Up Arrow) Same as the TAB key. (Down Arrow) Same as the ENTER key. (Left Arrow) Move the cursor one character to the left. (Right Arrow) Move the cursor one character to the right. Home Key Move the cursor to the first position of the text without disturbing the text. End Key Move the cursor to the last position of the text without disturbing the text. Del Key Delete the character at the cursor position. Ins Key Toggles insert mode (On/Off). When off, your input will write over the character at the cursor position. When ON, your input will be inserted at the cursor position. Bottom high- lighted line shows the status of this key. Num Lock Toggle the NUM LOCK (On/Off).The bottom high- lighted line shows the status of this key. Caps Lock Toggle the CAPS LOCK (On/Off).The bottom high- lighted line shows the status of this key. Up Arrow-PgUp-Home Keys Allows you to scroll through the files a line or page at a time. The HOME Key jumps to the first item. Down Arrow-PgDn-End Keys Allows you to scroll down the files a line or page at a time. The END Key jumps to the last item. NOTE:.........You should pay attention to the top and bottom lines of the screens; they show you at all times which command keys are available, and what each will do. $ CUSTOMER........Commands NOTE..........The Key commands used in the inventory section work in the customer file. (Except C Key). F2 Key Press F2 to toggle to invoice - customers. GoTo Arrows Use arrows to move to customers. F1 Key HELP. I Key Press I Key to insert a customer. (See Section 5.2.11 of User's Manual). Press F3 to save and quit. The new customer will be filed alphabet- ically by name (You must enter a name on the first line). Enter a group number for your customer.(See Section 4.5 of User's Manual). E Key Press the E Key to edit the customer account that is on the high-lighted/status line. (See Section 5.2.10 of User's Manual). D Key Press D Key to delete the customer on the high-lighted/status line. (MGR mode only). (See Section 5.1.12 of User's Manual). Q Key Press the Q Key to search for a customer by account number. (See Section 5.2.8 of User's Manual). S Key Press the S Key to search the customer list for an ASCII string. (See Section 5.29 of User's Manual). Press ESCAPE when you are finished searching. P Key Press the P Key to make a collection from a customer. (See Section 5.27 of User's Manual). Press ENTER to use the customer on the high-lighted/status line. Otherwise you must enter the customer account number; then press ENTER. The customer file will be dis- played in the window. (MGR mode). Now type the amount of this payment; then press ENTER. The balance due will be adjusted. If the customer paid by check, type in the check number (then press ENTER). Press F3 to save and quit. $ NOTE.........."NON-ACTIVE ACCOUNT" The High-lighted/status line is for the occasional customer. If you sell something to someone who is not in your customer list, cash customer. E Key, and D Key do not work when "NON-ACTIVE ACCOUNT is the high-lighted status line. SUPPLIER........Commands NOTE..........The Key commands used in the inventory section work in the SUPPLIER file. (Except C Key). F2 Key Press F2 to toggle to PAYABLE-SUPPLIERS. GoTo Arrows Use arrows to move to SUPPLIERS. F1 Key HELP. I Key Press I Key to insert a supplier. (See Section 5.3.11 of User's Manual.) Press F3 to save and quit. New supplier will be filed alphabet- ically by name (You must enter a name on first line). Enter a disbursement number for your supplier. (See Section 4.5 of User's Manual). E Key Press E Key to edit a supplier on the high- lighted/ status line. (See Section 5.3.10 of User's Manual). D Key Press the D Key to delete the supplier on the highlighted/status line. (See Section 5.3.12 of User's Manual). (MGR mode). Q Key Press the Q Key to search for a supplier by account number. (See Section 5.2.8 of User's Manual). S Key Press the S Key to search the supplier list for an ASCII string. (See Section 5.29 of User's Manual). Press ESCape when you have finished searching. P Key Press the P Key to make a payment to a sup- plier. (See Section 5.27 of User's Manual). Just press ENTER to use the supplier on the highlighted/status line. Otherwise you must enter the supplier account number; then press ENTER. The supplier file will be dis- played in the window. (MGR mode). Now type in the amount of this payment; then press ENTER. The balance due will be adjusted. Type in or verify the check number, Then Press F3 to save and quit. $ NOTE..........When "NON-ACTIVE ACCOUNT" is the high-lighted/status line; the E key and the D key do not work. EDITOR........COMMANDS NOTE..........You are in edit mode any time the cursor is on screen! ESC - ESCape The ESCape key allows you to abort the present data entry and returns to the command mode. The original state will be retained. F1 - Help: Pops up menu of editor commands. F2 - Edit: Move to first field of the EDIT screen (where applicable). F3 - Save & Quit: SAVE and QUIT all the data on the edit screen (where applicable). TAB When inserting, editing or filling out the header information, the TAB key will back up to the previous input field and all input will be saved. ENTER When inserting, editing or filling out the header information, the ENTER key moves to the next input field and all inputs will be saved. Á (Up Arrow) Same as the TAB key. Â (Down Arrow) Same as the ENTER key. Ä (Left Arrow) Move the cursor one character to the left. Ã (Right Arrow) Move the cursor one character to the right. Home Move the cursor to the first position of the text without disturbing the text. End Move the cursor to the last position of the text without disturbing the text. DEL Delete the character at the cursor position. ^Y (Ctrl-Y) Delete all characters in the input text. The deleted text is saved and can be restored with ^R (Ctrl-R). $ ^R (Ctrl-R) Restore all characters in the input text. ^T (Ctrl-T) Delete all characters from the cursor position to the end of the input text. BACKSPACE Delete the character to the immediate left of the cursor and move the cursor one character to the left. INS Toggles INSERT mode (On/Off). When OFF, your input will write over the character at the cursor position. When ON, your input will be inserted at the cursor position. The bottom line shows the status of this key. NUM LOCK Toggle the NUM Lock (On/Off). The bottom line shows the status of this key. CAPS LOCK Toggle the CAPS LOCK (On/Off). The bottom line shows the status of this key. WRITING AN INVOICE................ F2 Press F2 to toggle to invoice/customers. (See Section 6.2 of User's Manual). GoTo Arrows Use the arrows to move to customers. Put the customer you wish to bill on the high-lighted/ status line or use the "non-active account". GoTo Arrows Use the arrows to move to INVOICE. Press F9 to turn off RAM LINK. (See Section 3.2b of User's Manual). Press (N Key) for new invoice. Press (Y Key) to clear old invoice as prompted. Press (I Key). Enter number as prompted. NOTE..........If you know the ID code of the inventory item, type it in and RBA will retrieve the item from the inventory automatically. (See Section 6.2.2 of User's Manual). Press (ENTER Key) enter description. Press (ENTER Key) enter quantity. $ NOTE..........Select zero (0) quantity if you want to show "No Charge" for an item. No totals will be affected. You may use zero quantity to make a comment line. Press (ENTER Key). Press R,W,C,L or D. R will add sales tax unless you press N when prompted. W,C,L or D will not add sales tax unless you press Y as prompted. The price will be derived from the cost field in the inventory record or you can type in your own price. Press (ENTER Key). Press (ENTER Key). Tax will be added if applicable/totaled. Repeat above steps for as many items as you want on the invoice. Press F6 to print invoice and record on disk. Select method of payment as prompted. NOTE..........If you are billing a non-active account (Charge and credit cannot be selected) enter the amount received and make change as prompted. If check or charge card press (ENTER Key). (See Section 6.l & 6.1.2 of User's Manual). Press (ENTER Key). Verify invoice number. Press (ENTER Key). Invoice will print or store as directed. IMPORTANT.......Print only one invoice. If another invoice is needed press F3 for reports then press K for old invoice. Enter invoice number, press enter KEY. WRITING A PAYABLE................ To enter a payable. F2 Press F2 to toggle to PAYABLE/SUPPLIERS. GoTo Arrows Use arrows to move to SUPPLIERS. Put supplier you wish to pay on highlighted/status line. Use GOTO Arrows to move to payable. Press (N Key) for new payable. $ Press (Y Key) to clear old payable from screen as prompted. Press (I Key). Enter number as prompted. NOTE..........If you know the ID Code, enter it, and RBA will retrieve the item from the inventory. (See Section 7.1 of User's Manual). Press (ENTER Key). Enter description. Press (ENTER Key). Enter quantity when prompted. NOTE..........Select zero (0) quantity if you want to show "No Charge" for an item. No totals will be affected. You may use zero quantity to make a comment line. Press (ENTER Key). Press R,W,C,L or D. Press (ENTER Key). R will add tax automat- ically if you just press enter. W,C,L or D will not unless you press Y when prompted. Press (ENTER Key). The price will be derived from the field in the inventory record or you can type in your own price. Press (ENTER Key). Press (ENTER Key). F6 Press F6 to print payable & record on disk. Press A for charge. Press B for refund. Enter Sale Code (optional) when prompted. Press (ENTER Key). Modify payable number if required. NOTE..........Observe top line of the screen for where you are directing your output. Output LPT1,LPT2,LPT3,LPT4 or DISK. Press (ENTER Key). Accounts will be charged/ credited. Payable will be printed or stored on disk for printing. IMPORTANT.....(Print only one copy). If another payable copy is needed press F3 for reports. Then press (K). Enter payable number when prompted. Press (ENTER Key). $ NOTE..........Print daily payables/receivables each day for your file. PRINTING REPORTS........... F2 Press F2 to toggle INVOICE/CUSTOMERS. F3 Press F3 for a partial list of reports. Press F2 to toggle PAYABLES/SUPPLIERS. Press F3 for additional reports. Select ABC.......R to select a report. You may direct your report to a printer or disk. See top line of RBA main screen. (See Section 4.4, Section l8 and Appendix A of User's Manual). GROUPING OF CUSTOMERS.......... Grouping=classification or segration in receivables (INVOICE) mode. F4 Press F4 to view, enter, or edit your group listing. Customers are classified by group name and number from 0 to 99. The group numbers are assigned by you when adding a customer to the customer list. You can request a report of all customers for a given group number. For example; income from John's route, John's customers, banks, rental houses, sale of capital equipment, mailing lists, ect. Press F6 to print listing. DISBURSEMENT GROUPING............ In payables mode press, F4 to view, enter or edit your disbursement listings. Suppliers (Creditors) are grouped by disbursement mame and number 0-99.Disbursements are broken into Expenses, Liabilities, and Capital. $ CHECKBOOK REGISTER................... F5 Press F5 to display the check register. (See Section l2 of User's Manual). You can scroll thru the last 200 entries. Press F6 to print out the complete check register. NOTE:..........Note the bottom lines of the screen; showing you at all times which command keys are available, as well as functions. It is possible to scroll through the last hundred checks, make deposits, debits, payments, void a check or stop pay- ment on a check. Checks are recorded when payments are made to a supplier; printing payable records checks. PRINTING............VOICES/PAYABLES F6 Press F6 in receivables mode to print invoices. Printing an invoice records the data throughout RBA. F6 Press F6 in payable mode to print payables. You must have a supplier on high-lighted/status line to print a payable. The payment is recorded to the supplier on the high-lighted/ status line. Printing a payable records the data throughout RBA. REPORTS TEM.............. Seven RBA reports are template driven. Template files have the extension,TEM. The following list shows which template files drive which reports: INVOICE.TEM Print invoice PAYABLE.TEM Print payable STATEMENT.TEM Statement of acct. ROLO-DEX.TEM Rolo-dex Cards RLABELS.TEM Return labels MLABELS.TE3M Mailing labels LETTER.TEM Form Letter P.ORDER PURCHASE ORDER $ CUSTOMIZE A TEMPLATE Use your own word processor to customize a template. Note:..........We recommend Sidekick for this purpose, because it is memory resident. It is possible to customize a report template to fit specific, company forms. An asterisk in the first column terminates the template. USING ICONS If you choose to customize a report, to fit specific company forms, use your own word processor. Place icons (, , etc.) on the page at the location you want that varrabile placed. Any text maybe imbedded in the template. ,, , COME FROM THE OWNER'S NAME IN THE RBAINST.EXE PROGRM. ICONS The following is a list of reserved icons: Owner's name line one. Owner's name line two. Owner's address line one. Owner's address line two. Owner's phone number. The first line of the name field. The second line of the name field. The first line of the addr1 field. The second line of the addr1 field. Phone number 1. The first line of the addr2 field. The second line of the addr2 field. Phone number 2. Today's date. Invoice number. Payable number. The customer/creditor account number. Method of payment. Sales Id-code. Quantity. Id-code and description of inventory item. $ Unit price. Total price. \ Step to next invoice/payable item. / Totals only after printing. Note: /and\must be last character of line. Retail total. Sales tax. Wholesale total. Cash total. Labor total. Refundable deposits. Grand total. Last payment date. Last payment amount. Prints "invoice due" or "account credit" Prints "balance due" or "account credit" Total amount of statement. Balance due. 30 days late. Late fees. 60 days late. Late fees. 90 days late. Late fees. * End of template(must be the first character of the line). ASCII FILE EXPORT RBA exports files in print image. ASCII standard, carriage return/line feed de- limited files. To export a file, or simply save a print file for later printing, use the disk file output option provided by RBA. The manager can also archive invoices and payables to disk by setting the archive function in the install procedure, to ON. (Default is on). $ LOTUS 1-2-3 Lotus-1-2-3 can accept RBA format. WORDSTAR Wordstar can accept RBA format. DBASE III Dbase III can accept RBA format. WORD PERFECT Word Perfect can accept RBA format. ASCII Any program that accepts ASCII, CRLF delimited files can accept the RBA export format. REPORTS (Definitions) AGING REPORT Shows amounts overdue for each customer, as well as, their credit information. RESET OPTION for year end. ACCOUNT SUMMARY Shows supplier/credit information. month-to-date, year-to-date, and amount owed. Breaks it into expenses, liabilities, assets, and total spent. You can list Supplier month-to-date, year-to-date and amount owed, by disbursement number. RESET OPTION for year end. CUSTOMER/SUPPLIER LIST Lists entire CUSTOMER or SUPPLIER list. You can list customers by group number, and you can list suppliers by disbursement number. RETURN LABELS Prints multiple copies of business labels for your company. Company name and address are taken from the original installation information, which was provided when you installed RBA. Selecting the "non-active account" line will print labels for your company. Also allows for multiple copies of a single label for any customer or supplier. NOTE:..........Place the status line on the CUSTOMER or SUPPLIER for printing multiple labels of CUSTOMER or SUPPLIER. If your company has more than one address, enter your own company as a customer or supplier, then you will be able to print lables using either address. MAILING LABELS Print mailing labels from the entire customer or supplier list or by group or disbursement number. ROLO-DEX CARDS Print Rolo-dex cards from the Customer or Supplier list. $ FORM LETTER Use word processor to compose your form letters. Use any of the icons described in"custom- izing a template" and (Section l6.0. of the User's Manual). The main body of the letter may be included as part of the LETTER.TEM file. It is also possible to use pre-printed form letters and fill in the blanks. INVENTORY LIST Lists entire inventory with one item per line and a blank column for inventory count. REORDER LIST Lists all the items that require restocking. Reorder level may be modified at any time by editing an inventory item, and changing the reorder level. SALES REPORT Displays a sales history of each item in INVENTORY...RESET OPTION for year end. PRICING REPORT DISPLAYS totals for cost, wholesale, and retail values of stock. OLD INVOICE/OLD PAYABLE Find and print an archived (old) invoice/ payable by number. PROFIT/LOSS Totals all receivables and expenditures to produce a bottom-line report showing month-to-date and year-to-date profit/loss statement. CLOSING BILL To be used for sending closing bills to customers. MONTHLY BILLS Prints monthly billing statements to customers. OLD BILL Find and print an archived billing statements listed by customer account number. $ DAILY RECEIPTS Lists all receivables for one day. Press P in REPORTS mode Press ENTER for today or enter the date (mm/dd/yy). Print this report once a day. POINT SALE NOTE The cash drawer should be balanced with the daily receipts at the end of each business day. QUARTERLY RECEIPTS Lists all receivables for one year, as well as, in quarters. Reports mode. Press ENTER for current year, or enter year (yy). Press ENTER for current quarter, or enter quarter (Q). YEARLY RECEIPTS List all receivables for a calendar month/ year. Reports mode. Press ENTER for current year, or enter year (yy). *