This manual describes how to use MoneyTender and MoneyTenderE. The emphasis is on using MoneyTenderE, however, MoneyTender is, in most cases, simply a subset of MoneyTenderE. In the cases in which there is a distinct difference, rather than simply an addition of features, the actions of both programs are described.
An attempt was made to organize this manual in an order that a new user might need functions in MoneyTender. So, the first section describes how to set up accounts, then set an initial balance, then create transaction categories, and finally, create a transaction.
It is my hope that you enjoy using MoneyTender.
To enter or delete an account name, or to modify an exisiting account name, begin on the main register screen. Tap on the account dropdown list and scroll to the bottom of the list, using the arrows at the top and bottom right of the list. On the last line of the list is the entry Edit Accounts. Tap on this entry.
On this screen you may enter new accounts, edit the names of existing accounts, or delete an account.
To add a new account, select an empty line and enter the name of your account.
To modify an existing account name, edit the account name to change it to the new name.
To completely remove an account, delete the account name.
You may add, modify, and remove multiple accounts before tapping on Done.
If you have removed an account with existing records, after you tap on Done, you will be asked if you wish to remove the records associated with the account. Under normal circumstances, the answer to this question should be Yes. However, if you feel you have removed an account in error, then you may answer No and later return to the account edit screen and reenter a name for that account. Once the account has a name, the records should again be visible.
Note: Account records are removed only when the Done button has been tapped and the you have replied Yes when asked if records should be removed. If you remove a name in the Edit Account Screen, then add another in its place, you have only modified the name. To remove records, you must remove the name, tap on Done, and answer Yes when asked about removing records.
To set your initial balance, or to modify your existing balance, start at the Main Register Screen, tap first on Menu, then tap on Actions, and finally tap on Modify Balance. Or you may use the command shortcut "O".
Enter the amount for your starting balance in the field provided. To enter balances less than zero, preceed your amount with a "-".
This same process may be used to modify your balance at any time. However, subsequent balance modifications are in addition to any current modifications. In other words, if you enter a starting balance of 70, then later modify the balance by -20, the final modification applied to your account will be 50.
To enter a new category, or to remove an existing category, tap first on Menu, then tap on Actions, and finally tap on Edit Category List. Or you may use the command shortcut "C",
Use of the Category Screen is quite simple. To add a new category, enter a category name into the text field, then tap on Add. To remove a category, highlight the category you wish to remove, then tap on delete.
Categories are stored in the order in which they are entered, and will be presented to you in that order. This allows you to enter your most used categories first, since these will be the most accessable categories.
From the Main Register Screen, tap on the New button. This will show the Transaction Screen. This screen is the heart of MoneyTender.
For the simplest transaction, first enter a Payee name, then enter an amount.
Tap on Done. This will create a transaction in the current account, and that transaction will show up on the Main Register Screen. The Payee field and the amount are the only required fields on this Screen. If either one has not been filled out when you tap on Done, you will receive an error.
Since this is the most important screen in MoneyTender, each item will be explained in detail, going from top to bottom, left to right.
By default, the transaction is assigned the current date. If you wish to enter another date for your transaction, tap on the box containing the date. You can then select the date for your transaction.
Again, by default, the current time is assigned to your transaction. If you wish to assign a different time, tap on the clock icon on the upper right of the screen. You can then select the appropriate time for your transaction.
You may enter a check number into the Check field if appropriate. If you've entered previous checks, then you can tap on the '+' just to the right of the Check field, and the next check number will automatically be placed into the Check field.
Just to the right of the '+' is an 'ATM' icon. Tapping on this icon will place "ATM" into the Payee field.
The Payee field may be filled with up to twenty characters. This is a required field, and you won't be able to enter a transaction without entering something into this field. MoneyTender will try to guess what payee you entering, and will automatically fill in the unfinished part the payee you are entering. If MoneyTender guesses correctly, simply continue with your transaction on another field.
The Amount field is also a required field. You may enter either zero decimal places or exactly two decimal places. Amounts such as $15.1 are not allowed.
To the right of the Amount field, is a set of selectors to tell MoneyTender the type of transaction. By default, transactions are withdrawals, that is, the amount is subtracted from the current account balance. Withdrawals are indicated when the 'W' is highlighted. Deposits - when the amount is added to the current balance - are indicated when the 'D' is highlighted. As a time saver, if you select the 'D' while the Payee field is empty, MoneyTender will automatically fill the Payee field with the word "Deposit". You may also select to transfer money to another account. Transfers subtract money from the current account and add money to the indicated account. When you select the 'T', an account selector list will appear near the bottom of the screen, and you may select the account to which to add the transferred money.
On the following line, you may tap on the box next to the label Cleared, to indicate that the transaction has been cleared through your banking institution. Normally you won't checkmark this box when entering a new transaction.
Just to the right of the Cleared checkbox, is a rather cryptic checkbox labeled "Save Payee?". The usage of this checkbox needs a bit of explanation.
Normally, when you enter a transaction, MoneyTender check to see if the payee you've chosen has been entered before, and, if not, that payee gets saved so that MoneyTender can guess this payee the next time it is entered in the payee field. There may be times when you don't want the payee saved. For example, if you're on your European vacation, and don't really believe you'll be in Paris again in the forseeable future, you may not want to save the name of the pastry shop in the list - especially if it has a name very close to another payee you do use often. When this box is not checked, the payee will not be saved.
By default, the box is checked, and the payee will be saved.
Next is a drop down list with the label Category. If you have defined categories, and wish to place this transaction into a category, you may choose a category from the dropdown list.
Finally, if you have selected transaction type 'T' (transfer), then the next line on the screen will allow you to select the account to which the amount will be transferred.
When you have finished, select Done. Until you select Done, no changes are made to your account.
If you wish to completely disgard all changes you've made, select Cancel. You will be returned to the Main Transaction Screen, and no changes will be made to your account.
To modify or remove an existing transaction, find the transaction within the Main Register Screen, then tap on the payee name. MoneyTender will show a transaction screen exactly like the one you viewed when originally creating the transaction. You may then modify any information contained in the transaction, including (but not limited to) payee, amount, note, and date.
The same rules apply as when entering the transaction: for the modification to be accepted by MoneyTender, you must have Payee and a valid amount.
To remove the transaction completely, tap on the Delete button at the bottom of the screen. Clicking on the delete button immediately removes the entire transaction, and this action can not be undone.
Commands are a way to save frequently entered transactions. You might, for example, choose to create a command for your rent payment. Once created, you may then enter a rent payment transaction into MoneyTender with just a few taps, saving the effort of repeating entries of amounts and payees each month.
Commands are not repeating events. In fact, commands are not events at all. They provide a way to save keystrokes by allowing you to pre-enter most or all information about certain payments. But a command is never entered as a transaction until explicitly executed by a user.
From the Main Register Screen, tap on the Cmd button. This will take you to the Command Screen. Like accounts, you can change, remove, and create categories for commands. There are a few command categories precreated, but if they aren't the categories you wish, they can be deleted or renamed, and new categories can be created.
To create a new command in the current category, tap on the button labeled New. A small window will pop up. The payee, amount, note, and transaction type fields and selectors have exactly the same meaning as in the transaction screen. The only new entry is the account drop down list.
From that list, select the account to which you wish the transaction to be applied.
So, if you are entering your rent payment, and wish that payment to be taken from your Checking account, select Checking from the account list.
Again, both payee and amount are required fields. If the amount changes each month, that's okay, just enter any amount here. As you'll see later on, you'll be able to change any of this information either permanently or temporarily.
When you've finished, tap on the Done button, and your command will be saved.
To abandon your changes, tap on the Cancel button.
Once you have saved the command, it will appear on the Command Screen. To modify, execute, or delete the command, tap on the payee of the command you wish to modify.
MoneyTender will show a screen that looks remarkably like the transaction entry and edit screen you've already seen. In fact, with a few changes, it is functionally the same screen.
The major changes show up in the buttons. Instead of Done, Cancel, and Delete, you have Exec, Save, Return, and Delete.
To execute a command - that is, to cause MoneyTender to create a transaction with the values showing, tap on the Exec button. You will be returned to the Command Screen, where you can then select another command to execute.
If you wish to change any information for the command, you may do so before executing the command. For example, you might have a command entered for your long distance carrier. The amount will probably change each month. You create a command with all the information and with some dummy amount. Each month, instead of entering all the information for this transaction, you tap on the command, change only the amount, then execute the command.
You may also save changed information. Change the appropriate information, then tap on the Save button. For example, you may have a variable rate mortgage. You've entered all the information, but the amount changes each year. When you've been informed of the amount change, you edit the command, change the amount, and tap on Save. The amount (and any other changes you have made) will be saved for the future.
The Return button is used to return you to the Command Screen without executing the current command. If you have changed information that you wish saved, you must tap on Save. Return will not save information, and any changes made will be lost unless you have first tapped on the Save button.
To delete the current command, tap on the Delete button. You be be immediately returned to the Command Screen.
MoneyTender has four options available from the menu bar. To see the options (and all other menu items) tap on menu while viewing the Main Register Screen.
Balance - Normal: When this option is selected, the balance that appears at the bottom of the Main Register Screen is the final balance after all transactions have been applied to the account.
Balance - Running: When this option is selected, the balance that appears at the bottom of the Main Register Screen is the balance of the account as of the last item on the screen.
Require Password: When this option is selected, MoneyTender will require the system password. You MUST have a password created in the Security application on your Palm compatible computing device to use this option. If you select this option, you will not be able to use MoneyTender until a valid password is entered. If you have not created a password on your device, create one using the security application, then enter that password when requested to do so by MoneyTender.
Don't Require Password: When this option is selected, MoneyTender will never require a password.
Edit Category List: When selected, MoneyTender will show a screen allowing you to add and delete categories from your category list.
Show Total Assets: When selected MoneyTender will show the total of all account balances.
Purge Items: MoneyTender allows you to remove transactions from the database without affecting your account balances. In MoneyTender, this option allows you to remove items marked as cleared. In MoneyTenderE, you select a date, and all transactions prior to and including that date are removed.
Modify Balance: When selected, MoneyTender allows you to directly modify the balance of the current account. This is a somewhat dangerous feature. MoneyTender keeps the amount you choose for the life of the account. If you choose to modify the balance of the same account at a future time, the modification is in addition to the existing modification. In other words, if you use this feature to enter a starting balance of $20, and in the future modify the account by $20, the account will show an additional $40. This modification amount will not show up in the register. While this option is available to you, the author recommends creating a transaction for your starting balance and any further modifications you make.
Show Minimum Balance: When selected, MoneyTender will determine and show the least amount of available funds in the account in the future. This feature can be used to plan discretionary spending by entering future bill payments. (For example, if you enter all payments due for the month, then the minimum available balance is your discretionary income.)
Delete From Payee List: MoneyTender places all payees into a database and uses them to attempt to autofill the payee line as you enter a payee. There may be times when you've misspelled a payee name, or for other reasons you don't wish MoneyTender to use a payee as an autofill candidate. In those cases, you may select this option and remove the payee from the list.
Export Data: Selecting this option creates a comma seperated value (CSV) list of your transactions in Memo Pad. You may then HotSync, copy this data to a file, then import it to your favorite spreadsheet program.
Export Text: Selecting this option creates a human readable list of your transactions in Memo Pad.
About MoneyTender: When selected, this option shows a screen with MoneyTender version information.
MoneyTenderE has some additional features on the Main Register Screen that aren't completely obvious, but can be big time savers.
The biggest time saver for most people is the ability to clear items directly from this screen, rather than being forced to edit the transaction to mark it cleared. To clear an item, tap on the small empty area just to the left of the date. A small dot will appear, showing that the item has been marked cleared.
Another time saver is more obvious. Once you have enough transactions in an account to require a scrollbar, you will notice that the scrollbar has two up arrows and two down arrows. The up and down arrows connected directly to the scrollbar act normally, that is, they scroll up or down one page. The outer arrows jump the account immediately to the first or last page of transactions.
Finally, in either Running or Normal Balance mode, tapping on the amount of any transaction shows the balance at the time of that transaction in the balance field. Tapping on the balance field changes the balance back to the correct balance for the balance option set.