.HE =//Phaser .FO =/Page (#) GENERAL PHASAR CONVENTIONS Welcome to PHASAR. Listed below are general conventions used throughout. F1 - Just as you pressed F1 to get this help message, strike F1 anytime you need help. Most help messages will be in the form of pop-up menus. Right-hand mouse button will also get you help. F2 - This will bring up a one-line calculator at the bottom of the screen. Esc - Use this key to end whatever function you are currently performing. There are some places where it makes no sense to stop (e.g. in the middle of entering a transaction) and the program will request that you finish before exiting. Functionkey F10 is completely equivalent to Esc. Tab - This key will generally cause the program to back up to the previous prompt. Caps - You may use upper or lower case characters anywhere; when the program is comparing text, the case of the characters EDIT MODES: There are three edit modes used by the program. 1) Text presented in normal video with the first letter blinking. Strike to accept the text as it is (this is used when the program makes a guess about what your answer will be). 2) Character-edit mode is shown by reverse video text with one letter blinking. Move the cursor (blinking letter) to any position in the text and type over inserting and deleting letters is permitted. You can move from the first mode to this mode by striking the right cursor key. 3) An entire word or string of words is presented in reverse video with no letters blinking. You'll see this when editing transactions etc. To enter character-edit mode (number 2 above) strike the key. If you accidentally begin to edit an item striking the key will restore it to its original value. VALIDATE REGISTER FILE: Should you ever have a power glitch, this function will help PHASAR get its bearings and straighten out any mistakes or oversights in computing category or account summaries. All transactions are "replayed" and new category sums are computed. New account balances and unconfirmed transactions summaries are generated. You will also be presented with a summary showing the number of transactions and comments used each month. REMEMBER to ask for HELP ( or or right mouse button) when in doubt. ENTERING TRANSACTIONS ENTERING NEW TRANSACTIONS: This function is used to enter individual transactions in a manner very similar to recording checks in your checkbook register. A list of accounts with the associated current balance and most recently entered transaction will be displayed on the top of the screen. Follow the prompts near the lower left-hand corner of the screen. Whenever you are prompted to enter an account or a category, the program will accept the number of the item or the first one or more characters of the name. Striking F1 at the prompts gives you a menu of options. To execute a transfer of funds from one account to another, enter the name of the debited account for 'Which Account' and type the number or name of the credited account for 'Payee'. To record a deposit, type the word 'DEPOSIT' (or the first few letters of "deposit") in answer to the 'Payee' prompt. To record a deposit from multiple sources or if a single debit should be divided into more than one expense category, type either the word 'SPLIT' or 'MULTI' in answer to the 'Category' prompt. When you are finished entering the parts of the transaction, type in response to the 'Category' prompt and you will be returned to the normal mode. In general, you will not want to enter negative numbers for the amount of the transaction. The program assumes you are entering an expense if the payee is not "deposit" and knows to subtract the amount entered. However, to record a refund or credit, enter it as a transaction (expense vs. income) with a negative amount. To enter a comment associated with a transaction, type in the comment in response to the 'Comment' prompt, or to repeat the previous comment, type a single quote. The word "YES" will be displayed in the comment column to indicate that it has been recorded. To leave the comment blank strike in response to the comment prompt. As soon as you enter an amount for a transaction and strike , the balance displayed at the top of the screen will be updated. USE STANDARD TRANSACTIONS: This module allows you to enter groups of transactions which occur repeatedly. (For example: first-of-the-month bills, paychecks with all of the associated deductions.) You will be asked for a default date to attach to all of the transactions. This date as well as other information associated with the transactions can be edited by moving the reverse-video cell around the screen and typing in the correct information. When you have finished editing the transactions, strike . EDIT STANDARD TRANACTIONS: You may define up to seventeen 'pages' of these transactions with each 'page' containing up to 20 transactions. Select a page number for the group of transactions which you wish to define. If you choose a page which is already defined, you are given the opportunity to re-define that page or to request another page number. You will then be asked for a one-line title for the new page. At this point you will enter transactions very much like you would do if you were entering single transactions, except you will not be prompted for the date or a comment. Just follow the prompts. VIEW/EDIT TRANSACTIONS: This sub menu allows you to change any of the information contained in a transaction entered earlier, or to view transactions defined by a set of limits which you specify (e.g. date range, which categories etc.). The first step in editing transactions is to call up the right ones. You'll need to decide which accounts, which income and/or expense categories, which payee's, and which period to view or edit. Categories and accounts can be set to "all" or "none" as well as to specific ones. Payee can be "all" but "none" wouldn't make sense. The maximum number of transactions that can be called up at one time is 1000. When the setup is right you have the option of sending the output to the printer or the screen. Once that choice is made, and the "To Printer" option is set (yes or no), move the reverse video cursor to the "Do the Search" line and hit any key. Any transaction displayed on the screen can be edited. Simply move the reverse-video cell around the screen and type over any incorrect information. The summaries and account balances will automatically be updated. There are a few edits which you cannot do - for example change a transfer into something else - to protect the integrity of the data and summaries. If necessary, you may delete any transaction (and if desired, re-enter it in another format). To delete a transaction place the cursor in any column of the transaction to be deleted and strike the KEY. CONFIRM WITH STATEMENT: This sub menu helps you to reconcile each of your accounts with the monthly statement. You'll enter the account name and verify that the last confirmed balance and date agree with the beginning balance and date of the current statement. You should resolve any differences before continuing. Then you'll enter the ending balance and date from the statement - this becomes the target for the balancing act to follow. Finally, you'll be asked for a character string to be used to mark the transactions which you are about to confirm. The program will look for all the unconfirmed transactions for the account that you specified. They will then be listed, twenty at a time, on the screen. You may change (as needed) any part of any of the transactions. To confirm a transaction, simply put the cursor in the confirm column and hit . This will give you the default string you defined earlier. Or, you may also type in any one-to-six character string. Type a space and it to unconfirm a transaction. Just below the list of transactions there is a line which tells you the statement confirmed balance and the confirmed balance which you have achieved by confirming transactions (this is not the same as the final, unconfirmed balance) and the difference between the two. Go through all of the pages using the and keys until you have matched and marked as many transactions as you can, then strike . If the confirmed balance which you have achieved matches the statement balance, GREAT. If they don't PHASAR will help you find the discrepancy and correct it. If you discovered transactions on your statement which you forgot to enter you will be allowed to enter them now. (After returning from entering missing transactions you will need to confirm them as you did with the others). The number and total amount of confirmed debits and credits can be compared to those on your statement to help you find discrepancies (don't forget about the built-in calculator). In general, you will not want to enter negative numbers for the amount of the transaction. The program assumes you are entering an expense if the payee is not "deposit" and knows to subtract the amount entered. However, to record a refund or credit, enter it as a transaction (expense vs. income) with a negative amount. To enter a comment associated with a transaction, type in the comment in response to the 'Comment' prompt, or to repeat the previous comment, type a single quote. The word "YES" will be displayed in the comment column to indicate that it has been recorded. To leave the comment blank strike in response to the comment prompt. As soon as you enter an amount for a transaction and strike , the balance displayed at the top of the screen will be updated. SUMMARY REPORTS ACCOUNT SUMMARIES (VIEW OR PRINT): You may either print (onto the printer) or display (onto the screen) this report. There is one line for each account, with the account name listed about one-third of the way across the page. To the left of the account name, is the last confirmed balance and the associated date. Just to the right of the account name is a summary of the total amount, and number of (in parentheses) unconfirmed debits and credits. To the right of this are two columns which give the date of the oldest and most recent unconfirmed transactions for the account. The current balance (based on the last confirmed balance and the unconfirmed debits and credits) is presented in the right-most column. CATEGORY SUMMARIES (VIEW MONTHLY OR PRINT FULL): You may view a detailed monthly display of all categories (expense and income) or you can print the summary showing all categories for all months on a single page. SORT OR UNSORT THE CATEGORIES: Use this function to put expense and income categories in order. Specify whether you want the budget or actual categories sorted and if you want a particular month or the entire year ("total") sorted. Now you will be able to view the categories in the other functions of this submenu in order. They will stay in this order until you reorder them according to a different month, choose the "Unsort" function, or leave this module to return to the main menu. NET WORTH STATEMENTS (VIEW OR PRINT): PHASAR allows you to list assets and liabilities and generate a net worth from them. The net worth can be viewed on the screen or a nicely formatted net worth statement can be printed out. Most of the line used to list an asset or liability is for descriptive information (which the computer ignores in its calculations). The column titled "amount or account" can contain either a fixed amount or the name of an account which you have defined to PHASAR. If you use an account name when you compute net worth the current balance in that account will be substituted. An account with a negative balance (e.g. a charge card) should generally be listed as a liability. There are 40 lines for assets and 40 lines for liabilities. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS EDIT BUDGET: Use this function to establish budgeted amounts for each of the categories which you have defined. Budgeted amounts will be used for approximating the tax calculations and also for the display of the "plot trend vs. budget" graph. The budget-editing screen shows you the actual amount spent or received during each month to help you establish realistic budget amounts. The sum of all budgeted expenses and incomes is displayed on the right side of the screen to help you see the overall picture. PLOT TREND vs. BUDGET: This will give you a graphical view of the month-to-month trend of expenses or incomes and also a comparison of actual amounts and budget amounts. When prompted for the category to plot, striking the key will list all of the categories you have defined and also some "composite categories" such as total income, net cash flow or step-through- categories. Stepping through categories allows you to step through the categories one at a time starting at the category of your choice. To go back- wards through the categories use the key. End the stepping by striking the or key. You may combine the data of several (up to twenty) categories by entering the category names or numbers separated by "," or "+" (for the sum) or "-" (for the difference) or ":" (for a sequence). LOAN or SAVINGS ANALYSIS: You can define and store up to eight loans and savings accounts and recall them at any time to check the current balance or determine the interest paid (or earned) this year. Also by defining similar loans side-by-side you can compare different interest rates or loan terms. To define a loan you will need to enter the: 1) original principal 2) original date 3) life of the loan 4) annual interest rate 5) payment period. PHASAR will calculate the payment due at each payment period and the amount of interest paid over the life of the loan and during the current year (handy for estimating taxes). The savings analysis is similar except instead of specifying the term of the account you will specify the payment amount. NOTE: The numbers calculated by the program are approximate, the actual payment amounts and interest paid or earned may be different because of different compounding periods or computer round-off errors. SETUP This module is used to set up and modify the structure of the accounts and categories in PHASAR's register file. It is also used to perform various maintenance functions. SETUP ACCOUNTS: This function allows you to define new accounts, delete old accounts, edit and renumber accounts, and change the total number of accounts. To specify a new account you will need to give it a name (10 or fewer characters), the latest confirmed balance, and the date of that balance. You will then need to enter all unconfirmed transactions so that the program can compute the current balance. To re-arrange accounts type the desired number of an account over its current number. This will cause the two accounts to switch positions. Blank slots can be opened or deleted by using the and keys, allowing you to group accounts into meaningful groups. SETUP INCOME/EXPENSE CATEGORIES: These functions work just like the SETUP ACCOUNTS function. SET UP CHECK PRINTING: PHASAR has the ability to print checks in a format which you specify. The format may be different for each of the accounts. You establish the location of each of the items (e.g. payee, numeric amount, lexical amount, date) by specifying a line and column for the beginning of the item's print field. Requesting a "test pattern" will print out a grid which will help you determine where each item needs to be printed. Any item with a row and column location of 0 (zero) will not be printed. If the row and column location for the payee are both 0 (zero), no checks are printed for that account. NEW YEAR CARRY OVER: This function sets up a new data disk at the beginning of a new year. All of the unconfirmed transactions from the previous year are carried over to make the first reconciliation of the new year as smooth as possible. MAKE A COPY OF THE OLD YEAR DATA DISK AND USE THAT COPY. DO NOT USE THE ORIGINAL. Otherwise you will lose all of the records for the old year. CREATE NEW REGISTER FILE: This function establishes a skeleton structure for the PHASAR register file. You will then define accounts and categories as appropriate to your needs. USING THIS FUNCTION WILL DESTROY ANY TRANSACTIONS ON THE DISK. LIST MANAGEMENT NAMES/ADDRESSES AND TELEPHONE LIST (VIEW/EDIT OR PRINT): The name-and-address register allows for a name, three telephone numbers and four lines of address or other information per item. PHASAR allows you to call up any name you have entered by typing the first two or more characters of the name. If it cannot find a match, PHASAR will give you the nearest misses. You can page up and down through the register. Also you can print two types of lists from the names and addresses. The phone list is a printout of just names and associated phone numbers. The complete name-and-address printout includes the address. SPECIAL OCCASIONS (VIEW/EDIT OR PRINT): PHASAR keeps track of up to 250 special occasions. These events are displayed by choosing the "Special Occasions" function and entering an initial date for the display. To enter a date and occasion for annual events strike the key. A prompt will appear. You can page up or down to view preceding or subsequent events. To edit the list type in a new date (beginning with the month) for the event or move the cursor to the right to the event description to change that. Striking will allow you to remove the event from your register. You may request that a list of upcoming occasions be displayed auto- matically whenever you run PHASAR. To do this use the "Set User Preferences" function in the "Setup" module. TAX CALCULATION The tax calculation/projection features of PHASAR are contained the program called PHTAX. PHASAR can compute a tax liability using the information contained in the category sums. Since there is the ability to establish budget amounts for each category for each month, PHASAR can use the budgeted category sums for the months where actual data is not yet available to do a mid-year tax projection. For the program to know which incomes and expenses affect taxes, you must keep categories which contain taxable items separate from non-taxable items. In general, any tax schedule or form or table can be easily entered. PHASAR will then plug actual (or budget) numbers in by income or expense category to arrive at a projected or actual tax liability. PHASAR also allows you to modify or create tax tables to customize the program for your use or to update it as the tax rates change. After defining a new form or making changes to the calculations contained in a pre-defined form it is recommended that you "Validate" the tax file. This will guarantee that there are no loose ends in any of the inter-cell references. If you want to do tax calculations using different scenarios you can make a copy of the PHASAR.TAX data file with a different name. Modify this new copy to calculate your tax liability another way and compare the outcome with the original approach to find the most favorable. You may also define several scenarios in the same tax file for more direct comparison. The disadvantage to having one large file is that is will take longer to read it in and to re- calculate new results when you change something. If you do want to define several different scenarios in one file the "Clone Tax Form" function will come in handy. A word of CAUTION is probably appropriate here. The program does not have any ability to judge whether the tax setup you specify is reasonable. You need to use plenty of "common sense" and care to set up a realistic tax calculation.