PDA Software Library/pdasoftwarelib.iso/PSION/MISC/BANKP/BANKPLUS.TXT

Text File | 1995-08-18 | 9.5 KB | 295 lines

                          "BankPlus" by Pete Sipple
            Written for the Psion Series 3a  (July 1995)



BankPlus is a shortish procedure which allows the user to create up to eight
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.






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


BankPlus runs on a Series 3a only
(a Series 3 version, called Bank is also available)



To Install:

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

2. Copy BANKPLUS.OPA and BANKPLUS.HLP into the \APP\ directory

3. From the system menu, select Install Application, and select Bankplus



*Note to upgraders*

To install an updated program, simply copy the new .opa file over the top
of the existing ones.

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.




Files included with this release
================================
BANKPLUS.OPA    Application file
BANKPLUS.TXT    This text file
BANKPLUS.HLP    The BankPlus help file

Bank 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 very small file called BANK.INI will be created in M:\BNK\ . If it is removed,
it will be recreated, as it is vital to Bank's operation.

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




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


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 each bank account. Select 'Setup Accounts', and you
will be asked for a name for up to five accounts. Type in a name, ie CURRENT,
ACCESS, etc. Once the entries are completed, press [enter] to proceed to the
next screen 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
if it isn't displayed.



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 - press [enter]
to scroll
New - To Enter a new item
Transfer - Transfer funds between accounts
Std Orders - Setup or edit standing orders

View - View a list of transactions/balances in date order (Bank statement)
Check - To match BankPlus data with your bank statement
Balances - today's balance on all accounts

Tidy - Tidy entries older than specified date (entries are deleted)
Print - Print a list of transactions/balances in date order (Bank statement)

Setup Accounts - Change / setup bank account information
Defaults - To change the currency symbol and decimal places
Password - change password (a blank field will disable password facility)



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. When
BankPlus is run, it automatically pays any standing orders that are due in the
current month, or next month.

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



Viewing Bank Statements
=======================
Symbols used in the view/print statement options, are:

u = uncleared
D after the balance indicates a debit
< indicates the current balance at today's date

Using the up/down and pg up/pg dn cursor keys move the highlight bar to
a particular entry. Press Psion-U to update highlighted entry, or Psion-D
to delete highlighted entry. These commands are also available by
pressing [menu]





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



Notes:
======

Some users have commented that they are unable to close Bank using the delete
key from the Psion system. It IS possible to exit from outside Bank, but only
from the Bank manin menu.
There's a reason for this. Each account's balance is saved to memory and
compared to the file, so that if the machine crashes, the balance is protected.
If the program is exited suddenly, there's the danger that the balance may
trash. To prevent that danger, I've made it impossible to exit from outside
the program unless the main menu is displayed. Using KILL runs the risk of
losing your data. be warned. The correct way to exit is from within the
program using the Exit option (Psion-X). Apologies if this causes problems,
but I don't want to get into improving the error checking for exits, or
running the risk of losing balance information.




Bank and BankPlus
===============

BankPlus first started life as Bank, which ran on the Series 3 and Series 3a.  BankPlus,
an enhanced version for the Series 3a, was created, making improvements to most
functions, which could not be implemented into BANK due to screen/memory limitations.

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

Bank and Bankplus are available as Shareware. The registration fee of 5 UK pounds covers
BANK and BANKPLUS. If you would like to receive the latest version of either program,
please email the author. A disk copy can be sent for 6 UK pounds, which includes
registration, disk & postage.
==========================================================================




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

BankPlus is Shareware, and if you find this program useful,
you are asked to register it. The current price is 5.00 UK pounds, or 6.00 UK
pounds for registration, plus a disk copy of the latest version.
Cheques, made payable, to P.Sipple should be sent to the following address:

Pete Sipple
51 Eastwood Boulevard,
Westcliff-on-Sea,
Essex
SS0 0BY
England


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

1. Send a 5ukp note
2. Send a cheque drawn on a UK bank for 5ukp, made payable to "Pete Sipple"
3. Compuserve users can register online using SWREG - see below
4. Send a cheque drawn on a US bank, for 10usd, made payable to "Robin Holding", to the above address.
5. Send a cheque drawn from your local bank, but payable in sterling, to "Pete Sipple"
6. Contact a friend in the UK and ask them to forward payment in ukp.
7. Contact the author direct to negotiate an alternative payment method

If requested, you will be sent the most current version of BankPlus.



Please remember to include your email address (if appropriate), current
version number, and desired compression format (ie. ZIP, ARC). 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.

Users of Compuserve can register using the Compuserve SWREG service. Type
SWREG at the GO prompt, and quote 7101 as the registration ID. A charge of
$10 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



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.

4. Your name may appear in the "Hall of Fame" (!)




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




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

[e-mail]

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




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. Distribution
of reverse-translated source code is not permitted.


Written by: Pete Sipple
            29 July 1995