                          "BankPlus" by Pete Sipple
            Written for the Psion Series 3a and 3c  (May 1997)




BankPlus is a financial package which allows the user to create up to 
sixteen accounts, which can be either BANK or CREDIT CARD accounts. It
will automatically pay standing orders, arrange inter-account transfers,
and lets you print a statement to screen or printer. It allows the user
to verify bank statements, and comes with a basic password facility, to
prevent casual prying.

BankPlus is not the most feature-packed program available, but is designed
for users who want a quick & easy way of keeping their bank accounts in
order.





Installation of BankPlus
========================


BankPlus runs on a Series 3a or 3c only
(Versions are available for the Series 3 and Siena)



To Install:

1. Create a directory called \APP\ on either the A:, B:, or M: drive

2. Copy BANKPLUS.OPA , BANKPLUS.PRG and BANKPLUS.HLP into the \APP\ directory.
   If you are upgrading from v1.x to v2.x, then BANKPLUS.UPG needs to be
   in this directory too.

3. From the system screen, select 'Install' from the 'Apps' menu, and 
   move to Bankplus.opa using the cursor keys.



v2.2 allows for 16 accounts and 30 categories. Faster operation, more export
options, enhanced password protection, quicker screen updates, three month
graph view, several speedups, fixes and tweaks.

v2.1 has faster standing order processing, new Archive function, graph
of monthly transactions, Categories allow all accounts to be viewed,
currency converter easier to use.

v2.0 incorporates significant changes to file structure as well as file
names. An upgrade file BANKPLUS.UPG is supplied. This will be run once if
required when v2.0 is run for the first time.

V1.3.1 Includes a revised help file structure. The file BANKPLUS.HLP contains
the help data required.

v1.2.3 incorporates some changes to the file structure, notably the addition
of a 'Category' option. BankPlus detects the upgrade, and makes appropriate
file structure changes. As a safety measure, a backup copy of each datafile
is taken (OLDBNKx.ODB). These files can be deleted once the upgrade has
been safely completed. 





Files included with this release
================================
BANKPLUS.OPA - Application file
BANKPLUS.PRG - The program file
BANKPLUS.HLP - The help file (optional)
BANKPLUS.UPG - Upgrade file for 1.x to 2.x file structure.

BankPlus will create a datafile for each account specified. They will be
placed in a directory called \BNK\ on whichever drive has been specified
in the Settings menu.

A small file called BANK.SET will be created in M:\OPD\ . Do not
delete this file - it contains data vital to the operation of BankPlus.

   The following files are associated with BankPlus:

   \BNK\BANK.CAT - Category names & settings
   \BNK\BANK.USE - Useful information
   \BNK\BANK0x.ODB - The actual account transaction data
   \BNK\BANKSO.ODB - Standing order settings & info
   \OPD\BANK.SET - Bank settings, inc account names
   xxxxxx.BPA files are BankPlus archive files



============================================================


BASIC OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS:
=============================

When you first run the program, you will be presented with a menu called 
SPECIAL, from which you can specify a password if required, but more 
importantly, to setup bank accounts.

Select 'Setup Accounts', and press [N] to enter a new account. As well
as entering the name, you can set the currency symbol and select the
type of account - either a BANK or CREDIT CARD account.

Once you've set up your accounts, you get the main system menu, which is 
the business end of the program. Press the [Menu] key to access the menu.




Menu Options
============

The 'Account' Menu Card presents a list of the accounts that you have 
set up - Select an account to use.

Find - Search the selected account for an individual item
New Item - To enter a new item. Just pressing [Enter] does the same job
Transfer - Transfer funds between accounts
Standing Orders - Setup or edit standing orders

View - View a list of transactions/balances in date order (Bank statement)
Check - To verify BankPlus data with your bank statement
Balances - Total balances on all accounts (press [menu] for other commands)
Categories - For an overview of category spend
Print - Print a list of transactions/balances in date order (Bank statement)

Tidy - Tidy entries older than specified date (entries are deleted)
Archive - Copy data from all accounts into a seperate file for archiving
Export - Export as Quicke, comma delimited or tab delimited (for spreadsheets)
Currency Converter - A calculator for currency conversion
Converter settings - Set currency conversion defaults
Information - Bank account numbers, sort code, phone number and notes
Display Graph - A visual representation of your accounts

Setup Accounts - Change / setup bank account information
Settings - To set basic defaults
International - Setup currency details and number formats.
Category settings - Up to 30 categories are allowed. Enter names here.
Password - change password. Enhanced option protects BankPlus when multitasking



Explanation of "Clearing" & "Stmt"
==================================

By default, new entries are marked as "uncleared", which means that they 
haven't appeared on your monthly statement from your bank.

The Balance shown on the main menu screen shows "Balance" (which includes
all transactions, cleared or not, as of today's date)

The 'Cleared' total shows the amount shown on your latest bank statement.

To adjust "cleared", use the "check" option from the statement menu. Press 
[C] to confirm that an item is cleared, ie. has appeared on your statement.

Note that items with a transaction date greater than today's date will not 
affect the current balance, until that date is reached.



Standing Orders
===============
There is no limit to the amount of standing orders that can be setup. Every
seven days BankPlus automatically checks and pays any standing orders that
are due in the current month, or next month by default. This can be expanded
from the settings menu option if required. 

Standing orders can be set to all months, or to specific months, to
accomodate non specific standing orders.



Printing via PsiWin
===================
Psion have not released a way of accessing the "Psion Print" command
from OPL at this time, which means that it is not possible to print
from BankPlus to a printer via PsiWin. The official workaround is to use
the RPRINT.EXE file supplied on Disk One of the PsiWin set of disks. This
is a DOS executable program.



Explanation of Credit Card accounts
===================================
Some users have expressed confusion over how "credit card" account types
work. Here is a summary of how they should be used.

Definition - If you have a credit card account, it should be set up as such
under the Setup Accounts option. Bank makes a 'Credit card' card works in an
opposite way to a "Bank' account, in that debits are added to the balance, 
rather than deduced. This is why the balance on the statement issued by your
credit card company shows a positive balance and payments are deduced from 
the outstanding balance. This means that when you enter a transaction into 
Bank, you will enter it as a "debit", whereas payments are "credits"

Balances - If an account is correctly set as a 'Credit card' account, the 
fact that your 'credit card' balance is money that you owe, is reflected in 
the Balances total. If you were to owe $100 to Visa/Mastercard, the 
"Balances" option would show a "debit" and reduce your total balance 
accordingly.

Transfers - If you wish to make an inter account transfer to show that you 
have made a payment to your credit card company, you would select "Transfer",
and set the "From Account" to be the bank account, and the "To Account" to 
be the credit card account. The "Transfer amount" should not be a negative 
amount.




Categories
==========
This option is for users who wish to keep a record of transaction types, for
example,  cash, cheque, payment, petrol, etc. transactions. The names of the 
transaction types are entered (max of 30 in the 'Category names' screen, 
and the Category function is enabled in the Settings menu. When new items
are entered, you have the option to select that category. 
Reports / Find / View can then search or list by category.




Note to upgraders
=================

If you are upgrading from BANK - delete BANK3.OPA , BANK3A.OPA , BANK.PRG
which will be located in the \APP\ and \BNK\ directories. All datafiles
are compatible.

If you are upgrading from BankPlus v1.x, delete BANKPLUS.EXT and BANKPLUS.ADN
which will be located in the \APP\ and \BNK\ directories. Note that the file
structure has changed. When you run BankPlus v2.x for the first time, you
will be prompted to update your files. The file BANKPLUS.UPG will need to
be in your \APP\ directory together with the BANKPLUS.OPA file. Once the 
upgrade has been completed, the files BANKPLUS.UPG , BANK.INI and 
BANKDEF.ODB will no longer be required.


=========================================================================


BankPlus for Siena
==================

A version of BankPlus is now available for the Psion Siena. This is 
available from usual sources. Contact the author for more details.


Bank (Series 3)
===============

Bank is still available for Series 3 users, but only has provision for five
accounts, as well as a few other minor limitations. 

Bank and Bankplus are available as Shareware. The registration fee of 8 UK 
pounds covers BANK and BANKPLUS.

==========================================================================




Registering BankPlus
====================

BankPlus is Shareware, and if you find this program useful, you are asked to
register it. The current price is 8.00 UK pounds.

Cheques, made payable, to P.Sipple should be sent to the following address:

Pete Sipple
Top Floor, 17 Devereux Road
Southend-on-Sea,
Essex
SS1 1DR
England


To register outside the UK, any of the following are acceptable:

1. Send a cheque drawn on a UK bank for 8ukp, made payable to "Pete Sipple"
2. Compuserve users can register online using SWREG - see below
3. Send a cheque drawn from your local bank, but payable in sterling, to "Pete Sipple"
4. Make payment by credit card (see below)
5. Contact a friend in the UK and ask them to forward payment in ukp.
6. Arrange for a direct payment into my bank account, see below.
7. Obtain payment in UK sterling notes and coins from a foreign currency exchange service.

If requested, you will be sent the most current version of BankPlus by email.
Please remember to include your email address (if appropriate) and the 
current version number (from 'About'). Files sent by email will be UUencoded
if sent over Internet. 

If you cannot accept UUencoded email, or have no email account, a disk of 
the latest version can be posted out to you, but please add 1.00ukp for disk
cost plus postage.


CompuServe
==========
Users of CompuServe can register using the Compuserve SWREG service. Type
SWREG at the GO prompt, and quote 7100 as the registration ID. A charge of
$15 will be applied to your CIS account, and you will receive your 
registration number by email. If requested, you can have upgrades sent to
your account, providing that you accept that any mail charges levied by 
CompuServe for file transfer. The author can be contacted via Compuserve
at 100333,3266


Credit Card
===========
Payment can be made by Visa or Mastercard. Please add a 0.50 handling
charge. For security reasons it is advised that credit card details are
sent via post rather than in email. Please quote card name, number and
expiry date and supply your postal address. Please make sure that the
amount (8.50) is quoted in sterling.


Bank Account
============

If you wish, you can arrange for your bank to credit my bank account. Please
note that unless you contact me to advise me that you have done this, I
have no way of knowing who the payment is from, so please mail or email me
to confirm the transaction. Also, please ensure that your name is quoted
as a reference in the transaction to enable me to identify it.
Bank: First Direct
Address: Millshaw Park Lane, Leeds LS11 0LT, UK
Account Number: 70172790
Sort Code: 40-47-86



As well as supporting the Shareware concept, registration brings additional
benefits:

1. The latest versions of BankPlus will be emailed to you as soon as they
are available, if requested.

2. You will be sent a registration number to remove the startup "nag" screen.

3. Wherever possible, your suggestions will be considered for future
releases.



=========================================================================

Latest Version:
===============

The latest version of BankPlus can be obtained by any of the following
methods:

1. Downloaded direct from the BankPlus homepage
   http://members.aol.com/petesipple/bankplus.htm
2. By email. Mail psipple@cix.co.uk for details
3. From the Psion forum on Compuserve
4. From the bankplus conference on CiX
5. From other shareware sources, inc the main FTP sites and 3lib
6. By sending a disk and stamped addressed envelope to the author

=========================================================================


Contacting the author
=====================

Comments, queries and bug reports are welcomed. I can be reached by email
at:

psipple@cix.co.uk
or 100333,3266 (CompuServe)

(please remember to state the version number that you are using!)

* PLEASE NOTE THAT TELEPHONE REGISTRATION & SUPPORT IS NOT AVAILABLE *



Finally:
========


Thanks to William Nightingale and Martin Packer for their help with
designing the BankPlus icon. 

A big thanks also to my beta testers - Without your help, the program
wouldn't be what it is today!






Disclaimers, etc
================
Although this procedure appears stable, I cannot accept any liability for 
loss, or damage, as a result of using this procedure.


The procedures included with releases of BankPlus remain copyright of 
Pete Sipple.
You may freely distribute the files to other users, but please make sure 
that ALL files including this documentation are kept together. Reverse 
translation to obtain the source code is not permitted. 


Written by: Pete Sipple
            20h May 1997

==================================================================

                       ** BANKPLUS REGISTRATION **

To:         Pete Sipple
            Top Floor, 17 Devereux Road
            Southend-on-Sea
            Essex
            SS1 1DR
            United Kingdom



Title:      ___  First Name:  _________  Last Name:  ________________


Address:    _______________________________________________

            _______________________________________________

            _______________________________________________

            _____________________________________


Email:      _____________________________________________




I enclose a cheque/Eurocheque/Money Order (in UK Pounds, payable to
'Pete Sipple', for ______

or

Please charge my VISA/MASTERCARD/ACCESS card


Card Number:  ___________________________________________

Expiry Date:  ____________


Signature:    ______________________________   Date: ___________



Please quote the current version number: ______


Where did you hear about BankPlus: ___________________________



=======================================================================
Please post this form to the above address. Note that phone/fax
registration is not available.