INFO Bank Manager (3)

2.5 The Account Enquiries Main Menu ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This menu provides all the necessary enquiries needed to make the most of your computerised bank records. To access the Account Enquiries Menu - Select "Account Enquiries" from the Context Menu and press <return>. You will see a menu offering these options .... Show Account Details Statement to Screen Statement to Printer Show Regular Payments Return to Main Menu 2.5.1 Showing Account Details ======================= Very straightforward. Just higlight this option and press <return> and the computer will respond by showing the following information. a. Your Account Balance b. Your Overdraft Limit c. Total Funds Available (including OD Limit) d. Cheque book status (yes or no) e. Cheque Guarantee Limit f. Debit Card Status (yes or no) g. Cash Card Status (yes or no) h. Your Account Number i. The "brand name" of your account j. The latest 7 transactions on your account (Fields Shown = CODE, AMOUNT and BALANCE) Pressing <return> after viewing your account details returns you directly to the Account Enquiries Main menu. 2.5.2 Obtaining a Bank Statement (on screen) ========================== This is just as straightforward as obtaining a balance. Just highlight the "Statement to Screen" option and press <return>. You will shortly be presented with an 80 coloumn screen statement. In order to make an 80 coloumn statement possible on the standard model B, it is necessary for the computer to exit SYSTEMS bank and load a second small program. After you have finished viewing the statement, the computer will Re-load SYSTEMS bank from scratch. The only change as far as the user is concerned is that you will be returned to the "Main Context" Menu rather than the "Account Enquiries" Menu. 2.5.3 Obtaining a Bank Statement (to printer) ========================== Very simalar to obtaining a screen statement. Just highlight the option "Statement to Printer" from the Account Enquiries Menu and press <return>. You will be asked to READY PRINTER. Please make sure your printer is on-line and ready to print before CONFIRMing the command. if in any doubt, then ABANDON the command and check your printer first. A full bank statement is dumped to the printer upon CONFIRMing this command. 2.6 Using the Regular Payments Facilities ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This version of SYSTEMS bank provides a useful new feature which enables the user to store all regular payments he/she may have. Some examples of regular payments are as follows ... Gas Bill, Electricity Bills, Phone Bills (quarterly), Community Charge, Savings, Mortgage Payments, Credit Cards etc. The idea of the regular payments options is to store every regular payment on a seperate disc file, then select the payments valid for this particular month, and then dump them all to your statement using just one command. Most regular payments are made by Standing Order or Direct Debit. If you follow the examples given below, you should quickly understand the method employed, and will then be able to use this new option to the full .... 2.6.1 Creating New Regular Payments ============================= If you haven't used version 3a of SYSTEMS bank before, then you will not have any regular payments on file. So lets assume for example you wish to store the following Regular Payments (RP's) on file ... a. Savings Plan - Monthly - #30.00 - Paid by Standing Order b. Mortgage - Monthly - #573.44 - Paid by Standing Order c. Matt's Pocket Money - Monthly - #20.00 - Paid in Cash d. Electricity Bill - Monthly - #25.34 - Paid by Direct Debit e. Water Rates - 6 Monthly - #44.23 - Paid by Direct Debit f. Phone Bill - Quarterly - variable - Paid over the counter In order to add RP's you need to access the "Account Maintenence" Menu and select "Insert Regular Payments". There will be some disc drive activity before you see a screen like this .... CODE TRANSACTION EXTENSION AMOUNT REFERENCE SUSPENSION TAG Complete the screen as depicted below. Either follow this example through (we'll do example a. from the above list) or alternatively, substitute your own data for the dummy data given .... CODE - Enter a transaction code plus extension as if you were in transactions mode. To take Example a. given above, you would enter "P SO" (Pay Standing Order) in the CODE field and press <return>. Use the table given under section 2.3 if desired in order to select your preferred tranaction code. TRANSACTION ) The computer will automatically complete these fields EXTENSION ) once you have completed the CODE field above. AMOUNT - Enter the amount of the RP in pence - If you're following the example above (example a.) then you would enter 3000 <return> (for #30.00). The computer will insert a decimal point. REFERENCE - You will notice that the computer will offer an automatic reference. Should you wish to accept this then just press the <return> key. In our example (example a.) we will override this, so enter "SAVINGS PLAN" and press <return>. SUSPENSION TAG This is provided to give the user the option to "suspend" a regular payment, but still keep it amoungst the others on file. This is not important right now as it is fully explained later, so just highlight OFF and press <return>. Now check the RP data is correct before CONFIRMing as requested to by the computer. ABANDONing will take you back to the Account Maintenence Menu. Once confirmed you will be asked if you would like to add ANOTHER Regular Payment to the file. Selecting ANOTHER will present a new page to complete as before. FINISHing will save the input data and return you to the Account Maintenence Menu. Shown below are some more "screenshot" examples of inputting Regular Payments which should be of help .... ______________________________________________________________________ Example b. Your Monthly Mortgage:- ================================ CODE P MTG TRANSACTION PAYMENT ) Entered automatically by computer. EXTENSION MORTGAGE ) AMOUNT 573.44 - (entered as 57344) REFERENCE Mortgage - Anglia Building Soc. SUSPENSION TAG OFF SET ~~~ Example e. Water Rates (by Direct Debit):- ======================================== CODE P DD TRANSACTION PAYMENT EXTENSION DIRECT DEBIT AMOUNT 44.23 - (entered as 4423) REFERENCE Water Rates SUSPENSION TAG OFF SET ~~~ ______________________________________________________________________ 2.6.2 Viewing Existing Reguar Payments ================================ This command gives a brief list of all the Regular Payments held on file. You should select the command "Show Regular Payments" from the "Account Enquiries" Menu (If you are in Account Maintenence then you will have to return to the Context Menu first by selecting "Return to Main Menu). The computer will show the TAG, CODE, AMOUNT and REFERENCE of each RP. Active Regular Payments are shown in Yellow (or "Bright" if using a monochrome monitor). Suspended RP's are shown in Blue (or "Dark" if using monochrome). Full explanation of RP Suspension tags is provided below .... 2.6.3. Running the Regular Payments File ================================= This option will apply all active regular payments to your account. To do this select the "Run Regular Payments" option from the "Transactions Menu". You will have to confirm your decision Before the computer askes you for a RUN DATE. Enter the date under which you wish run your regular payments (for example 23JUN90). This field cannot be blank. Having entered a Run Date the computer will apply all active RP's to your account statement under the date you have just specified. It will not apply any RP's which are SUSPENDED (see 2.6.4 below). When complete the computer will return you to the Context Menu. If you now request a statement you will see that various RP's have been applied. 2.6.4 What are Suspension Tags? ========================= You may recall when creating new RP Records (in section 2.6.1. above) the computer prompting for a SUSPENSION TAG to be either OFF or SET. Suspension tags are designed to provide a degree of flexibility when deciding which Regular Payments need applying to your accout. For Example .... Say you had the following RP's on your file ..... TAG CODE AMOUNT REFERENCE 1. OFF P MTG 553.44 Mortgage - Anglia Building Soc. 2. OFF P DD 36.60 NWLDC - Community Charge 3. OFF P TFR 50.00 Savings 4. OFF P BP 23.45 Water Rates Supposing you wanted to apply the first three to your account, but not the last one (number 4), as your water rates were not due until next month. You could do one of two things. You could delete it from the RP file - or you could AMEND THE SUSPENSION TAG TO "SET" instead of "OFF". The golden rule is .... Regular Payments with Suspension tags SET are not applied to your account when they are run. For example:- TAG CODE AMOUNT REFERENCE 1. OFF P MTG 553.44 Mortgage - Anglia Building Soc. 2. *SET* P DD 36.60 NWLDC - Community Charge 3. OFF P TFR 50.00 Savings 4. *SET* P BP 23.45 Water Rates If you now ran your Regular Payments file, only payment numbers 1 and 3 would be applied to your account. Payments 2 and 4 will stay on the RP file, but will remain "dormant" until the Suspension TAG is amended to OFF. Amending Suspension tags is explained later ..... 2.6.5 Amending & Deleting Regular Payments ==================================== It frequently becomes necessary to amend and/or delete items from the regular payments file as very few regular transactions are constantly the same amount. Some regular payments are not Monthly (for example - Water Rates) and would therefore need their Suspension Tags amending. In order to locate a regular payment for amending or deleting, you must select the "Amend/Delete RP Records" option from the "Account Maintenence Menu". Before you can amend or delete regular payments, you must first locate the correct record. To do this the computer allows you to enter up to 2 search fields. You will see the cursor flashing at the CODE field at present. If known, enter the TRANSACTION EXTENSION ONLY of the reglar payment - for example "MTG" for mortgage (note: Not "P MTG"). If this is not known then just press <return>. Having entered search data in the CODE field (or not as the case may be) the cursor will move to the AMOUNT field. If you know the EXACT amount of the regular payment, then enter this in PENCE ONLY (ie. 10000 for #100.00). If not known then just press <return>. Here are some examples of search data input ..... CODE = MTG ) Will look for a RP that is a MORTGAGE and has an AMOUNT = 40.22 ) amount of 40.22 - very specific! CODE = ) Will pick out any regular payment bearing an AMOUNT = 40.22 ) amount of 40.22. CODE = CSH ) Will pick all CSH (Cash) Regular Payments AMOUNT = ) irrespective of amount. CODE = ) Will pick out ALL regular payments on file. AMOUNT = ) Assuming the computer finds a matching record - full details of the regular payment will be displayed, and you will see a 4 option "mini-menu" on the left of the screen consisting of .... PROCEED DELETE ABANDON AMEND The PROCEED option will ignore the current matching record, and proceed to look for further matches. The DELETE option will delete the displayed regular payment from the file. The ABANDON option will abandon the command completely and return you to the Account Maintenence Menu. The AMEND option will allow you to amend the regular payment displayed. You amend a regular payment record in much the same was as creating new regular payments (see section 2.6.1). Should you not wish to alter a particular field, then pressing <return> leaves it unchanged. The SUSPENSION field can either be "OFF" or "SET". After amending you will be asked if you would like to amend ANOTHER regular payment record or FINISH amending. Selecting ANOTHER will resume the search using the search paramaters you entered earlier. Selecting FINISH will save amended records and return you to the Account Maintenence Menu. 2.6.6 Deleting ALL Regular Payments ============================= To delete ALL regular payments on file, select the "Amend/Delete RP Records" option from the "Account Maintenence" menu. The computer will prompt you for a CODE. Enter ALL and press <return>. You will be asked to CONFIRM or ABANDON. Assuming you confirm, all regular payments irrespective of Suspension Tag settings will be removed from the disc. 2.7 Amending Account Details ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You may recall entering your own name and address when creating your account plus various bank details as well. This option provides the means to amend the information stored. To amend, select "Amend Account Details" from the "Account Maintenence Menu". All current information will be displayed and the cursor will position itself at the beginning of the USER NAME field. To amend, just overtype. The computer will insert spaces if necessary to keep up presentation. To leave a field unchanged - just press <return>. After you have amended the 2 pages of information, you will be asked to CONFIRM or ABANDON your amendments. Upon confirming the new details will be saved, and you will be returned to the Account Maintenence Menu. 2.8 Resetting the Statement File ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It will eventually become necessary to delete your statement file & start a new one - IT IS RECOMMENDED YOU DO THIS ONCE MONTHLY in order to avoid the "disc full" or "can't extend" error messages that may corrupt the statement file. This procedure should be followed when you wish to reset your statement file .... 1. Print out your statement & file away safely. 2. Select "Reset Statement File" from the "Account Maintenence" Menu. 3. CONFIRM the option if you are sure. 4. You will now be asked whether you want the latest balance on your statement carried forward to the beginning of your new statement. Select "YES" and the computer will delete your current statement, then create a new one & insert your last statement's balance at the beginning. Select "NO" and the computer will delete your current statement, then create a new one with a balance of zero. In order to check that everything is correct - obtain a balance and/or statement by using the appropriate menu options. 2.9 Corrupted Statement Files ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A statement file may become corrupted when either a program error message "Can't Extend" is generated (ie. disc is full) or the user presses <break> whilst in Transactions Mode before issuing the "EXT" command. An automatic routine has been built into the program that will attempt to recover a corrupted statement. Every time the program is run the computer will check the statement file before allowing the program to be used. Any errors are detected at this point, and the computer will adjust the necessary files automatically if possible. This routine is completely transparent to the user. Statement file errors will only become apparant should a recovery sequence fail. *** The best way to aviod statement file corruption is to make *** *** regular backups and not to have too large a statement file *** SECTION 3 ~~~~~~~~~ 3.1 Programmers Notes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is the third version of SYSTEMS bank and most of the improvements made over other versions are as a direct result of user feedback. The program at present only just fit's into 32k of memory. Future expansions are planned, but they will be as a seperate program for unexpanded model B's. Please write or mailbox me if you feel any alterations and/or improvements could be made. Version 4 of SYSTEMS bank will be written once enough feedback is received and time permits. If you have used previous versions of SYSTEMS bank, then I hope the you think the improvements made in this version are worthwhile. Thankyou for taking the time to read this manual - having read it you will hopefully be more conversant with the operation of the program and will know how to deal with most circumstances that may arise. Duncan M. Webster ADDRESS FOR P.D. Library (Applications & Enquiries) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Duncan Webster SYSTEMS user support 7 Ashdale Thringstone Leicestershire LE6 4LW. Registered members may use the phone helpline already provided for their use. BULLETIN BOARD CONTACT POINTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Image Design BB - (0272) 817001 - Mbx Duncan Webster or *DUNCAN Resolve Communications - (0582) 832653 - Mbx Duncan Webster or *DUNCAN The Cellar BB - (0782) 551015 - Mbx Duncan Webster or *DUNCAN APPENDIX - SYSTEMS bank CODED INSTRUCTIONS LIST ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Transaction Mode Commands:- D - Deposit P - Payment (withdrawal) EXT - Leave Transactions Mode Transaction Command Extentions:- CSH ...... Cash VIS ...... Visa CHQ ...... Cheque MC ...... Mastercard CSQ ...... Cash & Cheques INT ...... Interest ATM ...... Cash Dispenser AMX ...... American Express SO ...... Standing Order DNR ...... Diners Club Int. DD ...... Direct Debit MTG ...... Mortgage SAL ...... Salary PLN ...... Personal Loan TFR ...... Funds Transfer FE ...... Foreign Exchange BGC ...... Bank Giro Credit EFT ...... EftPos UK CHG ...... Charges EUR ...... Eurocheque OTH ...... Miscellaneous PSV ...... Paysave BP ...... Bill Payment COR ...... Correction PYC ...... Payment Card DRC ...... Debit Card Enter a transaction plus extension as "<transaction> (extension)". For example ... D PLN - Deposit Personal loan P OTH - Pay Other P CHG - Pay Charges Etc ... Refer to manual for further details. Duncan M Webster.