






                                  Check*Master

                                   Version 2.4

               (c) Copyright 1988/1989/1990 By Stephen E.Flowers

                               All rights reserved

                Distributed By Microcomputer Design Consultants









                   Check*Master Version 2.4 Table Of Contents



                            Topic                                        Page #
 ======================================================================= ======
Registration Notice                                                       3
Registration Form                                                         4
Introduction - What Check*Master Is And What It Isn't                     5
Getting Started                                                           7
 Executing The Program                                                    8
The Main Menu                                                             9
Adding Records                                                           10
 Adding Checks                                                           10
 Adding Deposits                                                         12
 Adding ATM Records                                                      12
Searching The Database                                                   13
Utilities                                                                15
 Edit Master Categories                                                  15
 Edit Quick-Payee List                                                   16
 Alter Budget Switch - Turn it off and on                                16
 Alter Master Category Switch - Turn it off and on                       16
 Change Checkbook balance                                                16
 Change Checking Account Info                                            16
 Create New Checking Account                                             17
Reports                                                                  17
 Check Register                                                          17
 Balance The Check Book                                                  17
 YTD By Category Report                                                  17
Budget Menu                                                              18
 Create/Edit Categories                                                  19
 Switch To Alternate Budget                                              19
 Transfer Money Between Categories                                       20
 Print The Budget                                                        20
Notes                                                                    21











                                  Registration

Check*Master is distributed under the 'Shareware' concept.

Shareware basically means that you have the opportunity to try the software
before you pay for it!   If you like the program and intend to use it then you
are expected to register it.  If the software is of no use to you then simply
delete the program from the disk - you've lost nothing.

You are encouraged to copy and distribute this program freely as long as the
following conditions are followed :

          1 - No profit may be made from its distribution.  A reasonable
              handling fee not to exceed $5.00 may be charged however.

          2 - The program must not be altered in any way.

          Registered users will receive :

          1 - Notification of upgrades.

          2 - Technical support (VIA mail or GENIE)

          3 - A printed copy of this manual.

          4 - An updated version of the program with the shareware notice
              eliminated.

          5 - All upgrades for 1 year at a minimal charge.


Registration information is on the next page.

                                   Disclaimer

The author makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents
hereof and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or
fitness for any particular purpose.  Further, the author reserves the right to
revise this publication and make changes to the content hereof without
obligation of the author to notify any person or organization of such revision
or changes.





                                   Registration Form

To register this product enter the following information on this form, or
reproduce this form, and mail with a check for $20.00 to :

                                     Steve Flowers
                                   6 Cresthaven Ave.
                                  Albany, NY,  12205


      Product Name  :  Check*Master

      Version       :  2.4

      Name          :  _______________________________________________

      Address       :  ________________________________________________

      City / State  :  ___________________ _________________ Zip ______

      Phone #       :  ______________________________ (optional)

      Do you want a printed copy of this manual ? _____________________

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

      What type of computer do you have ?   Please list all information
      about  your  computer  so  that I may compile a list of different
      machines on which this software is capable of running.

      Brand Name   : _________________________________________________

      Model Name   : __________________________________________________

      Monitor Type : Monochrome ___  CGA ___ EGA ___ VGA ___ Other ____

      Other Info   : __________________________________________________
      _________________________________________________________________
      _________________________________________________________________

      How did you hear about Check*Master ?

      _________________________________________________________________
      _________________________________________________________________
      _________________________________________________________________


                                     Introduction

I know,  I know another program to manage your checking  account! I realize
there are probably hundreds of similar programs already available that claim to
make light work of managing your checking account  -  some even have budgeting
capabilities to show planned vs. actual expenses and what you're worth on paper.
I've  seen and  tried  a  few of them and I never found one that gave me the
ability to do what I needed them to do  -  so  I  wrote  my  own!  Before  I
did  I  had  to determine how I could actually develop something easy enough to
use (most were much too complicated  for a  simple  household  budget)  and  yet
had  reporting options I wanted.   What I didn't want was something that
required a degree in accounting to use.


                                 What Check*Master Is

Check*Master  is intended to be a checking and budgeting tool for home use. It's
basic features are :

                            Managing Your Checking Account

Check*Master will store all the  transactions  you  normally  use your  check
book to track.   You can store all of the information on every check you write,
you can store ATM transactions, and you can store information on deposits made
to  your  account.  Once these  records are entered you can display or print
these records any way you want to see them.   You can reconcile you bank state-
ment in a matter of minutes and there are reports to let you see just how much
you're spending on a month-by-month basis.

                                 Managing Your Budget

Check*Master allows you to set-up a budget consisting of expenses and bills you
normally pay each month.   You determine  how  much money you need each month to
pay that bill and how much money you must  set  aside  from  each paycheck to
meet the monthly amount.  Every time you make a deposit you can allocate a
portion of  that deposit to each item in the budget, and every check or ATM
transaction  will reduce the amount set-aside in a budget category accordingly.
This way you will know just how much money is left to spend after setting aside
a portion to pay your bills  (hopefully you'll  have  something left!).   This
also means that if you pay your car insurance quarterly,  for example, and you
set aside a portion  of  each pay for insurance,  when the bill comes due you
will have the money to pay it.   If this doesn't seem clear  yet, please  read
on.    I think you'll be able to tie it all together after a while.



                                What Check*Master Isn't

Check*Master is not intended  to  be  an  accounting  system  for accountants!
You won't see terms like debit and credit (except for this sentence) used in
this manual or by the program itself.  To be useful you must begin using
Check*Master with a checking account that is already in balance  -  Check*Master
can't  work miracles.  I also  didn't  add  the ability to print checks on
preprinted forms.   I found that most people I talked to didn't want to bother
with  loading preprinted forms into the printer (after removing the paper
already  in  there),  lining  them  up, printing  them,  and then replacing the
forms with the paper previously being used - it usually takes more time than
it's  worth unless you write a lot of checks.

Now  that  you understand a little about what Check*Master is and
isn't let's get started ....

                               System Requirements

Check*Master has been tested on many IBM compatible machines.  If your
computer is IBM compatible chance are, Check*Master will run without problems.
If you do run into problems, and you are a registered user, please contact me
so that I can attemt to fix the problems.  The only other requirement is that
your machine must have at least 256K installed.  You may run the program from
a floppy disk, however a hard drive is recommended to increase performance.
Regardless of the medium you use PLEASE MAKE FREQUENT BACKUPS!!!  I can't
stress that enough!



















                                    Getting Started

                                Installing Check*Master

Installing Check*Master is simply a matter  of  copying  the  two files on the
distribution diskette to your hard drive, or to a working diskette if you are
not using a hard drive.  Check*Master is a disk-based program.  What that means
is that the number  of records you can store is limited only to the amount of
free-space on  the disk ( Check*Master will obviously run faster from a hard
disk but a diskette system works fine ).   The files you must have are :

                         CM.EXE      - main program
                     CMHELP.HLP      - help screens
                   CMBUDGET.DAT      - budget file #1
                    CMBUD02.DAT      - budget file #2
                   CMMASTER.DAT      - master category file
                      CMDOC.TXT      - this documentation file
                    CMPAYEE.DAT      - quick-payee file
                    CONVERT.BAT      - batch file to start the file conversion
                                       process. See the README.DOC file to see
                                       if you need to execute this conversion.
                     README.DOC      - last-minute information not included in
                                       this manual and miscellaneous info.

The first time you execute Check*Master one additional file will be create
named CMRECORD.DAT.  This is the main file used to hold your checking account
information.

The  CMRECORD.DAT  file will be the largest of the data files once you begin
using Check*Master on a regular basis.  If you are running Check*Master from a
diskette be sure you have nothing but these files on this disk.  This way you
can be reasonably assured that you won't run out of space.

As you'll see by reading the next few pages, setting up Check*Master the first
time you run it may take a little time (maybe   30  minutes).  The time you
spend in setting up the system now will be worth it, so don't rush the
process!









                                 Executing The Program

To execute Check*Master make simply type CM from the DOS prompt.  After a few
seconds you will see the opening screen.

If  you  have never run the program before you will see a message stating that
the CMRECORD.DAT file is missing and the program is assuming that you are
starting from scratch.  If you wish to continue simply type Y.  If you type any
other character the program will end.

           Ŀ
           Check*Master record file is missing.  The assumption is   
           that this is the first run.  All files needed will be     
           created and initialized.  If you wish to continue         
           press 'Y'.                                                
                                                                     
           PRESSING ANY OTHER KEY WILL ABORT INITIALIZATION !!       
           

If  you  see  this message at any other time other than the first time you run
it enter a character other than Y and see  the  HELP section at the end of this
manual.

If this is the first time running Check*Master you will be asked for some basic
information such as your name,  address,  checking account number, and the
current check book balance.  You can use your cursor keys to move between fields
or you can just press the ENTER key.  Press the F10 key to accept the
information entered.

It is important to note that in order for the program to calculate your balance
correctly and balance your statement properly, the balance you enter must be
correct.  The best way to begin using Check*Master is to start after manually
balancing your statement and assuring that your account is in balance.
Check*Master is pretty sophisticated but it can't work miracles!

Once  you have started Check*Master you can use the F1 key to obtain help at any
time.  A small window will appear providing assistance for the field or screen
you are currently on.

Check*Master  stores check,  ATM and deposit records as you enter them, however
certain information such as your budget,  checkbook balance and other
miscellaneous information is only stored when you select option E or press the
ESC key from the main menu (EXIT) .  To save the files as you work, to protect
against losing data if the power fails or whatever,  you may press the F2 key.
The files will be updated and you can continue right where you left off.


                                  The Main Menu

The main menu is the first thing you will see when you enter Check*Master.
This is the point from which you will navigate the system to maintain your
checking account and budget.  From the main menu you can select any of the
options listed by typing the hi-lited letter of desired option.  So you would
type one of the following :

        A - To add records (checks, deposit, and ATM transactions)
        S - To search and optionally update records you have already added
        B - To display and maintain your budget
        U - Utility functions
        R - Reports menu
        E - Exit the system (you may also press the ESC from the main menu
            to exit.

The main menu display will also show the name on the checking account
currently in memory as well as the checking account balance.  You will also
see the current date and the date that Check*Master was run last.

At this point the manual is organized according to the functions available
from the main menu.  If this is the first time you are executing the program
then there are some things you need to do first.  See the sections in this
manual describing how to edit the budget (and turn it off you wish) and how to
set-up and edit the 'Quick Payee' and 'Master Category' lists (and turn them
off if you wish).   It is important that you do this before entering any
records.



















                            Adding Records To Check*Master

Selecting option A from the main menu will cause a small window to appear
asking which type of record you wish to add.  Press C to enter checks, D to
enter deposit information, or A to enter an ATM transaction.

                                        Checks

Selecting C from the add records sub-menu will cause a few things to happen :

   . First Check*Master is going to check your disk drive to see if enough
     room is free to add this record. If your disk is full a message will be
     displayed informing you that there is no more room.  Pressing any key
     will take you back to the main menu.  You can still search/update and
     produce reports - you just can't add any new records.

   . If you have enough room on the disk for this record then the check entry
     screen will be displayed as shown below.


           ADD CHECKS TO DATABASE Ŀ
          Check #:1551                            Date   :   /  /        
                                                                         
          Payee  :                                Amount $               
                                                                         
          Memo   :                                Master #               
          Cleared by bank? (Y/N)      :                                  
          Tax Deductible ? (Y/N) :     Amount Deductible $               
            F10 = Enter Record   

The  cursor will be positioned over the CHECK # field.  When entering records
the cursor is simply a large hi-lited area.    You can move from field to
field by using your arrow keys or the ENTER key.

The fields are as follows :

                                       Check#
This field will  be  filled  in  automatically  by  Check*Master.  Notice that
this field is hi-lited.   This is because the cursor is positioned here.
Just press enter to accept this field as is or use your back-space key to erase
the field and type in whatever check number you wish to use.

                                        Date
If you haven't entered any records since starting Check*Master then the
current date will be displayed here as month/day/year.  If you have entered
records during this session with a date other than the current date then the
date you previously entered will be displayed.  You can press ENTER to accept
the field as is or use your back-space key to erase the field and re-enter it.
The field is checked to make sure that you are entering the date correctly.
For example you would not be allowed to enter 02/31/89 because there aren't 31
days in February!



                       Adding Records To Check*Master - Cont.

                                   Checks - Cont.

                                        Payee
Enter the name of the person or company you are writing the check to. You will
not be able to enter more characters than the field allows.   When the cursor is
moved to this field a window will open showing the Quick Payee list (see the
Utilities section of this manual for information on creating/updating the
quick-payee list).  To select one of the predefined Quick-Payees just type the
corresponding letter (A - Z) and press ENTER.  The field will be entered for
you.  You may also type just the first 2 characters of the payee field and
press ENTER to have the payee entered for you.

For example, say the quick-payee list showed XYZ Electric Corp. as quick-
payee "A".  When your cursor is in the payee field you may simply type "A" and
press enter or type "XY" and press ENTER.  The rest of the field will be
entered for you!

                                     Memo
This field is for a short memo describing what the check was for.  You may
enter any characters you wish for the length of the field.

                                   Master #
Assuming  you are using Master Categories,  when you move to this field a small
window will appear listing your master  categories.  Choose one by typing its
number in this field.  When you press ENTER or use you arrow keys to move to the
next field the window will disappear.

                                   Cleared By Bank
Since you are just writing the check,  the bank obviously doesn't know about it
yet!  Just enter N and move to the next field.

                                   Tax Deductible
If the check you are writing is tax Deductible enter a Y here. Otherwise enter
N.

                                  Amount Deductible
If  a  portion  of  the  check  is Deductible, but not the whole amount, then
enter the amount Deductible here.  You do not have to enter anything into this
field if you don't need it.


Review  what you have entered and use your cursor keys to move to any fields
that need to be corrected.  Assuming everything's O.K. press the F10 key to
accept the record.  If you are using a budget,  a  window will pop-up showing
the current budget and the amount currently allocated to each category.
Select a  category to be affected by this check and press ENTER.  The amount
of this check will be deducted from that category.



                       Adding Records To Check*Master - Cont.

                                   Checks - Cont.

The  budget window will disappear and the check entry screen will shown.
Notice that in the lower right-hand corner of the  entry window is a message
stating that Check# 1234 was added.  The Check# field was also updated to show
the next check to be entered.  You may now use the cursor keys to move from
field to field, re-entering information for the next check, or press the ESC key
to return to the main menu.

Keep in mind that any checks entered are entered for the checking account
currently in memory.  You will know which account is current because it will
be listed towards the bottom-center of the screen.
        
                        Adding Deposits and ATM Records

Adding deposits and ATM records is pretty much the same as adding checks.
Select A from the main menu and then type D for deposits or A for ATM records.
The entry screen will appear and the cursor will be positioned at the DATE
field.   Enter the fields as follows:

           Add Deposits Ŀ   Add ATM Records Ŀ
          Date   :02/20/89              Date   :02/20/89            
                                                                    
          Amount $                      Amount $                    
                                                                    
          Memo   :                      Memo   :                    
                                                                    
          Master #                      Master #                    
           F10=Enter Record    F10=Enter Record 

                                        Date
The  current date will be displayed and the cursor will initially be positioned
here.   This is the same as entering the date field for checks and is subject
to the same rules.

                                       Amount
Enter the amount of the deposit or ATM record.

                                        Memo
This field is for a short memo describing what the deposit or ATM record was
for.

                                      Master #
Assuming  you are using Master Categories,  when you move to this field a small
window will appear listing your master  categories. Choose one by typing its
number in this field.  When you press ENTER or use you arrow keys to move to the
next field the window will disappear.

As when entering checks you can use your cursor keys to move between fields.
When the information is correct press the F10 key to accept the record. If you
are using a budget the budget will appear as described for check entry. Select
a category to be either increased (deposits) or decreased (ATM records) and
press ENTER.  The record entry screen will continue to be displayed so that you
can enter another record if you want to.   Note that in the lower right-hand
corner the number of the record just entered is displayed. You can press the ESC
key to return to the main menu. As with checks, any deposit or ATM transactions entered are for the checking
account currently in memory.


                                Searching For Records

Once you have some records entered into Check*Master you'll need a way to
display them and maybe even change them - when you receive your monthly
statement you'll need a way to show which records have been cleared by the bank.

To perform a search type S from the main menu. A window will appear allowing you
to enter information about the records you wish to find. Fill in the fields as
follows :

              SEARCH / UPDATE RECORDS Ŀ
             From Date :01/01/80  To Date:              
             Check #   :          Master#:              
             Payee     :                                
             Memo      :                                
             Tax Ded?  :   Cleared:    Check Book # :   
             Send results to printer? (Y/N):            
              F10=Perform Search  ESC=Abort 


                                From Date / To Date

These fields allow you to limit your search between  a  range  of dates.
These 2 fields are the only fields that must be entered, all of the others are
optional.  The From Date will automatically be filled in as 01/01/80 and the
To Date will automatically be filled in as 12/31/99.  This means that by
pressing the PF10 key you can search for every record in the file (assuming
they haven't been written before January 1980 or after December 1999).If these
From and To dates are unacceptable then simply use the back-space key to erase
the date and re-enter it with whatever dates you want.

The rest of the fields are pretty-much the same as when you entered the records
so I won't describe them again here.  The only field that is different is the
one labeled "Check Book #" - this determines which checkbook the search is
performed against.  If you leave this field blank (which defaults to 99 then
all checkbooks are searched.

You can search on any number of fields simply by using your cursor keys (or
ENTER key) to move to the field and entering some data into it.

You can send the results of your search to your printer by entering a Y in the
Send results to printer? (Y/N) field.

Note that you can also search on partial fields.  For example if you enter the
word ELECTRIC in the PAYEE field,  any records that have the word ELECTRIC in
the payee field will be displayed.

Once you have entered the fields with the information you wish to search for
press the F10 key.  A search will be performed and the results will be displayed
on either the screen or the printer (if you requested it).



                            Searching For Records - Cont.

                             The Search Results Display

After you press the F10 key any records matching your search criteria will be
displayed.  The information may be scrolled by pressing the PG DN key to move
thru the search results (assuming the results won't fit on one screen), and the
PG UP to move backwards.  I don't think the headings on the screen need to be
explained,  however notice that after the screen has filled up two things
happened :

               . The first line of the search results is hi-lited
               . A command-line appeared at the bottom of the screen

The hi-lited entry is really an expanded cursor.  You can use the up arrow and
down arrow keys to move the hi-lite bar around.  The command-line describes
actions that can be performed on the record which is currently hi-lited.
These actions are :

                                        Clear (L)
To  mark  a record as cleared by the bank,  such as when you have received your
statement,  move the hi-lited bar to the record you wish to clear and press L.
Notice that an asterisk (*) has appeared next to the check number on the screen.
This indicates that the record has been cleared.

                                        Edit (E)
You  can edit any record by moving the hi-lited bar to the record you wish to
change and press E.  A window will appear similar to the check entry screen
which will allow you to change any of fields you wish to.  Move the cursor to
the field you wish to change, press the back-space key to erase what's already
there and press the F10 key to accept the change.  You can press the ESC key to
abort the edit and the record will not be changed.

                                  Delete (D)
Pressing D will cause the record under the hi-lite bar to be deleted (although
you can still retrieve it if you need to - see the end of the manual for further
information).

Pressing PG UP and PG DN will scroll thru the listing, but if you want to end
the search without scrolling to the end of the list you can press the ESC key
and you will be returned to the main menu.

After you have scrolled to the bottom of the list using the PG DN key you will
be shown a summary screen listing the total number of checks, deposits and ATM
records found and the total dollar amount for each.

Note that if you asked to have the list printed it will not display on the
screen also.  You will only see a message informing you that the report is being
printed.  When the report has finished printing you can press any key to return
to the main menu.



                                      Utilities

The utilities menu is a way to alter some of Check*Master's defaults and also
a way to cheat (I'll describe the cheating later)!  Type U from the main menu to
display the Utilities menu.  To activate one of the options press the key which
corresponds to the letter hi-lited. The functions are :

                               Edit Master Categories (M)
Check*Master is capable of storing a lot of information about the checks,
deposits  and ATM transactions you perform,  however you need to classify them
in order to be able to find all that information later on.   Think of a master
category as an index to your records.  Let's say that each month you write
checks to XYZ Power Company for your electric bill,  ABC Telephone Company  for
your phone bill and DEF Gas Company for your natural gas.   You could set-up a
master category called  UTILITIES, and categorize the checks you write to these
companies as such.   This will allow you to search at any time for all UTILITIES
records and see how your utility bills vary from month to month.  If you are
like me though,  you'll probably create a separate master category for each
utility so that you can track it even more closely; either way is fine.

Another example would be a master category for AUTO LOANS.  You may have two
cars,  each with a monthly payment to be made.  It may not be necessary for you
to have a separate master category for each car loan - with one category called
AUTO LOANS you could categorize each payment under one category.  Again this
lets you see how much you spent each month on all AUTO LOANS.

What I hope is clear now is that Check*Master's master categories can be
customized however you want them.  What you want to watch, though, is getting
too specific.  A master category should be set up once and never changed - if
you kept changing them your reports would lose their meaning because maybe
category 1 originally meant XYZ Power Company,  but now (6 months later) it
means ABC Telephone Company.   If you created a report at the end of the year
for category 1 (ABC Telephone Company) you would also receive information about
XYZ Power Company,  since that's what category 1 used to mean!  See how
confusing it could become?

Type U and then M to edit the master categories.   Windows will open to show you
the current settings - a default master category list is provided. Enter the
number of the category you wish to change and press ENTER.  The cursor will now
be ready to accept your category definition.  After entering the category press
the F10 key to accept it.  You may use your left and right cursor keys to
alternate between the category number and definition fields to make changes
before you press F10.  At any time you can press the escape (ESC) key to return
to the main menu.  If you are updating a category and press the ESC key the
category you are currently editing will remain unchanged. That's all there is to
it!   It really takes longer to explain than it does to do it.

NOTE : For those of you who don't believe that master categories are really
needed you can turn this feature off.  I STRONGLY advise against it, however
when testing this product someone suggested I add this capability - and the
customer is always right!  See 'Alter Category Switch From' described below.



                               Utilities - Cont.

                             Edit Quick-Payee List (Q)
One of the reasons I created Check*Master was to make tracking my checks easier.
Since I write a lot of the same checks each month I didn't want to type the full
name of company I was writing the check to (talk about lazy!).  That's why I
created the Quick-Payee list.  The Quick-Payee list is a list of companies or
people that I frequently write checks to.   I associate a letter of the alphabet
with the company.  When I am entering a PAYEE for a check I only have to type
say an 'A' and Check*Master will automatically fill in "Joe's Food Store".  I
can also type "JO" and press ENTER - Check*Master will search the Quick-Payee
list until it finds an item that begins with JO.  If it finds one it will fill
in the name automatically.

To create a Quick-Payee list type U at the main menu and then type Q. This is
similar to creating your master categories in that you use the cursor keys (or
ENTER key) to move between the fields.

Enter a letter of the alphabet in the left-hand field and the text associated
with that letter in the right-hand field.   When you are happy with that
definition press the F10 key to accept it.  You can press the ESC key to quit
the editing process.

The Quick-Payee list is a handy short-cut to use when you write a lot of the
same checks every month.  Still,  if you don't want to use them then you don't
have to - simply leave them blank!

                              Alter Budget Switch From (B)
Typing B alters this switch between on and off.  When on Check*Master will force
you to allocate each record entered to a pre-defined budget category.

                             Alter Category Switch From (C)
Typing C alters the switch between on and off.  When on Check*Master will force
you to categorize each record entered according to a defined list of categories.

                              Change Checkbook Balance (H)
This is where you can cheat!!  Sometimes no matter what you do you have to alter
Check*Master's check-book balance manually. Selecting H from the Utilities menu
will allow you to do this but please, only as a last resort!

                             Change Account Info. (A)
Typing A from the Utilities menu will allow you to change the information of
the checking account currently in memory.

                            Switch Checking Account (S)
This option allows you to change the check book currently in memory (if you
only have 1 defined you will be told about it!).  If you have more than one
checking account defined pressing A will cause each account defined to be
displayed one at a time.  If the account displayed is the one you want to
switch to then press Y - pressing any other key will cause the next account to
be listed.  You may press the ESC key to abort and not switch to a new account.


                               Utilities - Cont.

                        Create New Checking Account (N)
Pressing N from the utilities menu will allow you to set up and switch to a
new checking account.  Remember you can have up to 10 accounts defined.  If
you have defined 10 and try to define another all life as we know it will
cease to exist (caught your attention didn't I !) - actually the only thing
that happens is a message informing you that you have reached the limit but I
needed to see if you were awake.  You will be asked for information about the
account the same as when you established your primary account the first time
you ran Check*Master.

Pressing the ESC key while the utility menu is displayed returns you to the
main menu.


                                Check*Master Reports

There are times when simply searching and printing records is not enough.  For
that reason I've added a couple of reports to help you track your expenses and
manage your budget.  Select the Reports option from the main menu by typing R.
The report options are :

                                   Check Register
This report is similar to the report you get when you  print the results of a
search. The major difference is that this report will print every record since
you began using Check*Master and will show the effect each record had on the
checkbook balance.  New in version 2.4 is the ability to specify a date to
begin the display/printing process.  Enter any starting date and the report
will start from there - however all calculations will be corret. This is handy
for comparison with your checkbook to see if you've made any errors.  For
obvious reasons this report will only show records pertaining to the check book
currently in memory.

                                  Balance Checkbook
A rudimentary checkbook balancing report can be selected by typing B from the
Reports menu.  You will be asked for the ending statement balance of your most
recent statement.   After entering this figure Check*Master will consider your
outstanding checks, deposits and ATM records and let you know if you are in
balance.  If you are not in balance the difference between the bank balance
and Check*Master's balance will be displayed.  Again, you can only balance the
account currently in memory.

                                   YTD By Category
This report can be selected by typing Y from the Reports menu. You will be shown
a list of your master categories and asked to select one to report on.  Type in
a category number and press ENTER.  You will then be asked to enter a year to
report on.  The report you will see will show you the total number and amount
of all Checks, Deposits and ATM transactions affecting that category for the
year you selected.  This report will show the effects of all check books
defined to Check*Master,.



                                Creating Your Budget

                          Overview Of Check*Master's Budget

When I was trying checking and budgeting software I kept running into the same
problem - my budget.  The way I use a budget is to:

         . Create a list of all the bills I pay each month
         . Decide how much I need to set aside from each pay check to equal the
           monthly amount needed
         . Each time I get paid I divide the money over the categories
         . Whatever is left is spending money (if there is any left!)

Now every time I write a check, use the ATM or make a deposit I decrease or
increase the amount I have set aside for a specific category.By setting up a
udget this way you seldom have any surprises or wonder where you'll get the
money to pay a certain bill.  My car insurance is due quarterly so I set aside
enough money out of each pay so that when the bill is due I have the money to
pay it - no surprises!
                            Creating / Editing The Budget

To establish your budget for the first time,  or to edit a budget you have
already  established,  select option 'B' from the main menu.

Once the budget is displayed you will see a command line at the bottom of the
screen informing you that you have 5 commands available - Edit, Transfer, Print,
List, or Alternate Budget.  You may select one of these options by typing the
hi-lited letter of the function you wish to perform.  Before I describe each of
these commands lets first look at the budget display.

There are two ways to list the budget - the first way is the default short
list.  This is the screen from which other functions of the budget can be
accessed.  This screen will show only the budget category name, the amount
needed per month and the amount currently allocated.   As you write checks or
make deposits or use the ATM the amount currently allocated will change
accordingly.  This screen is a way to show your entire budget at-a-glance but
it doesn't show you everything about the budget.

Select a 'full list' by pressing 'L' from the main budget display.  What you
will see is a full screen look at the first 20 budget categories.  Pressing
any key will display the second 20 categories.  The headings for this 'full
list' are described below.

The 'AMT/PAY' field will show how much money needs to be set aside from each
pay check to equal the monthly amount.

The 'AMT/YEAR' field shows how much is spent each year for each category
(which sometimes is very depressing!).

The 'DUE' field displays which day of the month the bill is to be paid by.
This is for informational purposes only.


                      Creating/Editing The Budget - Cont.


The 'L/U#--DATE" fields show the record number which last updated each
category and the date of the record.  This is tracked automatically by
Check*Master each time you enter a record.

If you have never established a budget within Check*Master before then all of
the categories will be OPEN...... You can set you budget up by editing each
category as you need to. In my budget I define the last category as LEFT.  This
is for the money that is not needed to pay bills - my spending money. Any
checks, or ATM transactions that I make outside of paying bills is deducted
from this category.

To edit a category press 'E'.  A hi-lite bar will appear over the first budget
category.  You can use the up/down arrow keys or the Pg Up and Pg Dn keys to
position the bar over the category you wish to edit.  Press the space bar to
edit the category currently hi-lited.  A window will appear at the top of the
budget display which will allow you to change the category name, amount needed
per month,  per pay, day of month the bill is due, etc.

                      Edit Budget Ŀ
                     Category Name : OPEN......       
                     Amount needed / month :    $0.00+
                     Amount needed / pay   :    $0.00+
                     Amount Current        :    $0.00+
                     Due on what day       :  0       
                      Press F10 When Finished 

Make whatever changes you need to make and press the F10 key to continue
(You can also press the ESC key to abandon the edit and not save any changes).
You will need to repeat this for each of the budget categories you need to use.

I have provided room for 40 categories per budget (2 are available) - I don't
think most people pay more than 80 bills each month (at least I hope not!).
If you notice the top of the budget display should show that budget #1 is the
current budget.  Since some people may need more than 40 budget categories an
options is available to load another budget consisting of 40 more categories.
Pressing 'A' from the main budget display will cause the second budget to be
loaded.  Any check, deposit or ATM records added will affect the budget
currently in memory only.

Setting up a budget is not a trivial task.  It involves careful planning and
forces you to ask yourself some tough questions.  I've never done without a
budget and would never want to, however not everyone feels the same way.  For
that reason you have the ability to turn the budget feature off and use
Check*Master for recording checks, deposits and ATM records only.

To turn off the budget select option U from the Check*Master main menu and then
type B. Notice the phrase "ALTER BUDGET SWITCH FROM  : " will now say OFF - to
turn it on simply type B again. You can turn this option on and off as you like.



                    Transferring Money Between Budget Categories

This option allows you to move money between budget categories. For example, say
you have a category called LEFT with $100.00 currently allocated, and a category
called ELECTRIC with $50.00 currently allocated.  You've just received your
electric bill and it's $60.00.  If you were to write a check for $60.00 and
deduct it from the budget category called ELECTRIC you would then have a
negative balance for that category of -$10.00.  Using the Transfer (T) option
you can transfer $10.00 from LEFT to ELECTRIC to cover the difference.

To perform a transfer type T while the budget is displayed.  A hi-lite bar
will appear over the first category.  Use the up/down arrow keys or the Pg
Up/Pg Dn keys to position the bar over the category you wish to transfer money
from and press the space bar.  An 'F' will be displayed to the left of the
category name to signify a transfer FROM this category.  Next position the hi-
lite bar over the category you wish to transfer the money to and press the
space bar again.  The transfer will take place and the updated budget will be
displayed.

When I get paid I allocate the deposit to a category called LEFT. Then I use the
Transfer option to distribute the amount needed per pay from LEFT to each
category.  Once again, this may sound harder than it is.  It only takes me
approximately  10 minutes to do this.

                              Printing The Budget

While I was developing Check*Master I couldn't decide whether or not to create
an option to print the budget - after all you could just display the budget and
press the shift key and the PrtSc key simultaneously to print the screen.  The
only thing that bothered me was that the print-out would also show the command
line  options and it looked kind of sloppy.   You can print the budget by typing
P while the budget is displayed.  A window will pop-up to remind you to have
your printer turned on and ready.  Press any key to continue and the budget will
be printed.  If your printer is not turned on you'll see a nasty message and the
budget will be displayed again.

While the budget screen is displayed you may press the ESC key to return to
the Check*Master main menu.



























21
                          Programming Notes And Limitations

Check*Master was written using TURBO BASIC Version 1.1 from Borland
International.  There are some assembly language routines to handle screen saves
and restores in the windowing routines, however they were provided by Borland
with the TURBO BASIC Disk.  The actual windowing routines were written and
released into the public domain by Rick Fothergill, who credits Dave Evers, Tom
Hanlin and Jim LeMay for providing the back-bone code.  I can't thank these
gentlemen enough for the tools they've provided - it saved me hours of work!

There is a limitation in Check*Master which you should know about. You are
limited to $99,999.99 when entering records.  I hope this isn't too much of a
hindrance - it will be corrected in a later release if enough people ask for it.

                                       Summary
Check*Master has always been a 'labor of love', so to speak.  The 1.0 version
took approximately 1 year to complete.  After using this program for a while -
and after giving copies to everyone I knew who has a P/C - I discovered some
ways to enhance and improve it (see the README.DOC for a complete list of
enhancements).  The 2.0 release represents approximately 6 additional months
of work, and the 2.4 release took another month or so.  If you like this program
and use it on a regular basis please register it !  If you register I promise to
make every effort possible to correct any 'bugs' you report as soon as possible.
Your registration fee will not make me rich,  by any means,  but it will help to
support  my efforts for future releases.   If you have any questions or ideas
for enhancements or want to report a bug by all means contact me at the address
listed on the registration sheet.   I will not accept telephone calls for
support - I don't think the modest registration fee warrants it.

Some  of  my ideas for future releases are :

               . Expanded reporting capabilities including graphs
               . More efficient indexing allowing faster searches
               . How about DBASE compatible files?

By the way,  since you read this far I guess I should tell you  - If you want to
bypass the initial registration and title screen add a -N when you execute
Check*Master - type CM -N.  You can also have the program load a check book
file other than the primary one by typing -Cxx where xx is the number of the
check book file.  You can use both command line options together, for example
typing 'CM -N -C03' will execute the program, bypassing the registration
screen and loading check book number 3.  You don't really need the space
between the options however you must use capital letters.

Also I said I would explain how to recover 'deleted' records.  Well, they
really aren't deleted - they are just 'flagged' as deleted which causes
Check*Master to ignore them.  If you perform a search on all records with an
'X' in the 'Cleared' field you will be shown all 'deleted' records.  You may
edit any deleted record and change the 'Cleared' field to 'Y' or 'N' and the
record will no longer be ignored.  I hope to hear from you.















