















SIGMA Lite Cashbook





			       User Guide












































Copyright 1988-1996 Nemesis trading

You may not copy or modify all or any portion of this program or merge it into another program unless authorised in writing by Nemesis Trading. This program is provided solely for the use of one legal entity (i.e. one registered company or family unit) this entity being the person or company in whose name it has been registered and whose name appears on the title screen of the program. You may use the program only on a single computer owned or operated by you. You may transfer the program from one computer to another which you own or operate provided that you do not use or permit the use of the program on more than one computer at a time. You  may not make the program available on a network of computers.

All rights reserved. Neither this publication nor any part of this publication may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated or reduced to any electronic medium or machine readable form without the prior written permission of  Nemesis Trading.

Nemesis Trading  provides this manual and software as is without warranties, express, implied or statutory, with respect to contents hereof, including, without limitations, any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, all of which are expressly disclaimed. Neither Nemesis Trading nor any of its agents, consultants, distributors or dealers shall in any event be liable for any indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising from the use of this publication. Nemesis Trading may make improvements and/or changes in the product or program as described in this manual at any time and without notice.

Although Nemesis Trading has used its best efforts to eliminate inaccuracies from this manual, this publication could contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes made from time to time to the information contained in this manual will be incorporated in later editions of this publication.
1. INTRODUCTION & INSTALLATION

SIGMA LITE is designed to make the handling of your monetary transactions as easy as possible.  Every effort has been made to create a program that is both user friendly and efficient.

The information you enter is presented to you in a clear, easy to follow manner, and all parts of the program are accessed with as few keystrokes as possible.  SIGMA LITE is very forgiving, and lets you back out of most operations before you commit yourself.

SIGMA LITE includes the following features:
 
	Allows you to work with up to 10 separate accounts, sharing only payment/deposit types.

	A clear interface employing easy to use menus, and pop up windows.

	Listings of information are generally displayed in a scrollable form meaning all your transactions are displayed on screen for viewing and editing.

	Automatic payments by day, week, or month - just set and forget.  They can be edited, cancelled or deferred at any time.

	Intelligent updating - when you are idle, SIGMA LITE is checking your files and updating (sorting) them if necessary.

	The ability to export your data to a Lotus 123 or compatible spreadsheet.

	An on-line help system available at the touch of a key, with help related to the task you are currently performing.

	Pop-up listing screens, for when you can't remember a category or type.

	A pop-up calculator with standard arithmetic functions.

	A high level of customisation.


We hope you find SIGMA LITE as easy to use and helpful as we do.  Any suggestions as to improvements for future versions are welcome, and should be addressed to

Nemesis Trading
P.O. Box 269
Silverdale
Auckland
New Zealand.

Phone +64 (09) 427-9330	Fax +64 (021) 785-133	Mobile +64 (021) 436-405



1.1: Backing Up Your Disks
 
SIGMA Lite is supplied on one disk in a format that is ready to run. 

The disk contains the SIGMA LITE Cash Book program, the installation files (required for other than single floppy drive users), the help file, payment/deposit types and category files, as well as the demonstration account and Databank file supplied for use in conjunction with the tutorial in chapter 4.
Make a Back-Up

Before doing anything with your copy of SIGMA LITE, make a working copy of it. Use the following procedure to do this:
 
	Power up your computer in the usual way.

	At the DOS prompt type 

DISKCOPY A: B:

	and press ENTER.

	Put the SIGMA LITE program disk in drive A and a good quality blank disk in drive B ( two drive systems only ).

	Follow the screen prompts (with a single drive system, you will need to swap disks when prompted to.)

	When the disk copy is finished, the computer will prompt

DISK COPY FINISHED, COPY ANOTHER ? Y/N _

	Press N then ENTER.
	
When the disk copy is finished, put your original disk in a safe place. The copy you just made is for everyday use, and will be referred to as your 'Work disk'.  Do not use your original disk as a work disk.

SIGMA LITE is not a bootable disk, but you may copy all the files from your work disk to a bootable disk if you wish.  A bootable disk is one that has been formatted with the /s option - see your DOS manual for  more details.



1.2: Installation 

Floppy drive systems

Single drive systems

No special installation is required for single floppy drive systems.  After following the above procedure for copying your disk, SIGMA LITE is ready to go. To begin using SIGMA LITE,
 
	Power up your computer in the usual way.

	When the DOS prompt appears, place your work disk in drive A, type SIGMA LITE and press ENTER. 

	Either correct the date (see chapter 2, Fundamentals) or press ENTER to accept the default date.

	Proceed to chapter 4 (First session & tutorial) to start learning how to use the program.
 
Dual drive systems

If you have a dual drive system and will only be using 2 or 3 accounts, then you may run SIGMA LITE simply by using your work disk in drive A as above. However using a second disk solely as a data disk leaves you @ 140K extra for data, which is useful if you plan on using all 10 available accounts.

To install a second disk as your data disk follow these steps
 
	Power up your system as usual. 

	When the DOS prompt appears, place your work disk in drive A and a blank formatted disk in drive B. 

	Type DUAL then press ENTER.

The installation program will move your data, help and demo account files to the disk in drive B.

	To begin using SIGMA LITE, type SIGMALIT and press ENTER.

	Either correct the date (see chapter 2, Fundamentals) or press ENTER to accept the default date.

	Proceed to chapter 4 (First session & tutorial) to start learning how to use the program.


Hard Drive Systems

An installation program is supplied for hard disk systems.  To install SIGMA LITE on your hard disk,
 
	Power up your computer in the usual way. 

	When the Dos prompt appears put your work disk in drive A, type A: and press ENTER.

	When the A prompt appears type HARDINST and press ENTER.

The installation program will first check your system to determine how many hard drives you have.

	If your system has more than one hard drive, pressing the SPACE BAR  will toggle between them (i.e. if you have 2 hard drives C & D, the program will display C as your choice, but pressing the SPACE BAR will make D your choice. Pressing it again will make C your choice)

	When the drive you want to install SIGMA LITE on is displayed, press ENTER.

Next, the program will check that there is enough space available on your hard drive to complete the installation. You must have at least 250K (@ 250000 bytes) free on your hard drive.

Assuming there was enough space and drive C was selected, you will then be prompted with

OK to create directory C:\SIGMA : Y

If this is where you want SIGMA LITE to be installed, press ENTER to continue. Otherwise press N and ENTER and you will be given the chance to enter a different sub- directory name.

The sub-directory name you enter does not have to have been created, as the program will create it for you. However it will not create sub-directories of non existent sub-directories (i.e. if you enter 'PRIVATE\SIGMA' as your choice, and the sub-directory PRIVATE does not already exist, you will be prompted for a new name.

If the sub-directory you enter already exists, you will be informed

Directory already exists ... press any key

	Press a key to continue with the installation.

You will now be prompted 

 Continue with installation [Y/N]? : Y

	To continue press ENTER. To cancel the installation press N then ENTER.

Assuming you chose to continue, the program will now install your copy of SIGMA LITE in the desired sub-directory.


If you have taken your work disk out of the A drive, or the program cannot find any of the files it needs to install SIGMA LITE properly, you will be prompted to place the correct disk in the drive.
It will also create a 'Batch' file in the root directory of your boot hard drive, called SIGMA.BAT. This will tell SIGMA LITE where to find your data and help files every time you start it.

If SIGMA LITE has installed correctly you will be prompted with

Installation complete ... press a key

	Press any key to return to the C prompt. 

	To begin using SIGMA LITE, type SIGMALIT and press ENTER.  

	Either correct the date (see chapter 2, Fundamentals) or press ENTER to accept the default date.

	Proceed to chapter 4 (First session & tutorial) to start learning how to use the program.

2. SIGMA LITE - FUNDAMENTALS

2.1: Using The Menus

SIGMA LITE utilises a clear, easy to use menu system. The various cashbook functions are displayed vertically with a highlight bar placed on the current (or last used) menu item.  You can operate the menus in either of the following ways.
 
	Use the UP/DN cursor keys to move the highlight bar up and down the menus, and press ENTER when the option you want is highlighted.

	Press the letter or number indicated in the square brackets to the left of the option you want.

When you perform a task, SIGMA LITE will return the highlight bar to the same position on the menu.  This is handy if you want to repeat the task, and also reminds you what function has just been performed.

Many options on the main menu have sub-menus associated with them. They will be shown overlapping the main menu. On completion of a task selected from a sub-menu, the highlight bar will again be returned to the option on that sub-menu just selected. To remove a sub-menu, you have two options

	Press the ESC key - this key is almost always used as a backing out key. This will return you to the previous menu.

	Choose '[Q] - Main menu' (which appears on every sub-menu) by either of the methods described above.  This will return you to the previous menu.

The GENERAL HELP menu (see chapter 11 for more details) has numerous levels of sub-menus. Use either method described above to back up one sub-menu at a time. Otherwise the GENERAL HELP menu works in exactly the same way as other menus.

2.2: Common Keys

In designing SIGMA LITE we have tried to make the program as consistent as possible, to ease learning and speed up its operation.

For this reason certain keys are used consistently throughout the program. The following are the most regularly used keys in SIGMA LITE.


The ESC key is generally used for backing out of any situation or cancelling a selection. It backs out one step at a time. Use the ESC key whenever you have made a mistake in selecting something, or wish to cancel a selection, e.g removing a help screen, the calculator or a sub-menu. Sometimes ESC will save changes just made, but you will be informed in this User Guide when this is about to happen.


The ENTER or RETURN key is most often labelled with a left pointing kinked arrow. This key is used to indicate acceptance of an option, selection of a menu item or the completion of editing a field.  Use it to say 'I'm finished' or to tell SIGMA LITE to continue. It will always be referred to as the ENTER key in SIGMA LITE.



The BACKSPC key is used to delete the character to the left of the cursor in normal editing, pulling all other characters to the right of the cursor over one space, but it has a further use. When the highlight bar is on a text field, you can press BACKSPC to begin editing the field. The cursor is placed to the right of the last character in the field. 



The UP arrow key is used mainly for moving the highlight bar in menus, or for moving up lists of information. On a menu it moves the highlight up one option, or to the last option if pressed from the first option in a menu. In lists it moves up one item until it reaches the first, whereby it does nothing. It can also be used like ENTER to indicate you have finished editing a field, moving you up one field.



The DOWN arrow key works in the exact opposite manner to the up arrow, as described above, i.e. down through menus and listings etc.




Pressing the F1 key at any time activates SIGMA LITE's help system, displaying help screens in pop-up windows. So when you're stuck for an answer, hit F1 for some context sensitive help. See chapter 11.




F2 toggles the pop-up calculator for any quick calculations you may need to do anywhere, anytime. See chapter 11 for details on how to use this feature.





The F3 key is used when entering payments or deposits, to search for the previous type or category matching the initial characters entered by the user.




The F4 key is used when entering payments or deposits, to search for the next type or category matching the initial characters entered by the user.







The F9 key is mainly used when entering transactions. It will pop up a list of the relevant types or categories (By pressing it twice in this mode, you can add types and categories). Also used when entering or editing deposit/payment categories to jump to a specific line. The third use is in reconciliation and automatic transaction mode, where it is used to edit a previously entered transaction.


The DEL key erases the character currently under the cursor and pulls all characters to the right over one space when editing fields. It is also used when editing automatic transactions and within the reconciliation screen to delete the highlighted transaction, and in the categories and types definition screens to delete the highlighted category name. It indicates that you wish to delete or erase an entry.

These keys will be referred to throughout the manual in bold type.  Two other keys not mentioned are the LEFT and RIGHT cursors.  See  the next section for a description of their use.

2.3: Field Entry

Entering Text in Fields

SIGMA LITE allows you to edit text fields in much the same way as a word processor. All the normal editing keys can be used.

To move between fields, use the Up/Dn cursor keys. The highlight bar will move from field to field. To enter text in a field, begin typing and the highlight will change to a one character cursor until you are finished editing.

To begin editing a field already containing text, press BACKSPC and the cursor will appear after the last character in the field.

While typing your entry you can use the following editing keys:

The  BACKSPC key pulls all characters under and to the right of the cursor left one space, erasing the character that was previously to the left of the cursor.  If the cursor is at the extreme left of the field, it works in the same way as the DELETE key described below.

The DELETE key erases the character under the cursor, pulling all characters to the right of the cursor over one space.

The LEFT cursor key moves the cursor left one character in the field and the RIGHT cursor key moves it one character to the right.

Use the ENTER key to indicate you have finished editing the field.

The UP and DOWN cursor keys also indicate you have finished editing a field, and move you to the previous/next field respectively.

The ESC key completes the entry like ENTER, but often also takes you out of the current option.  This happens when defining payment/deposit types and categories for example, returning you to the SET-UP menu.


Entering Numerical Values

When entering numerical values in fields in SIGMA LITE there is one important convention to be noted. You are not required to enter a decimal point, but if you do leave off the decimal point, the last two digits automatically become the fractional part of the value entered. The following are examples of how this works.

To enter

Type


$40.00

4000




or        40.




or    40.00


$450.00

45000




or     450.




or 450.00


$1.50

150




or      1.5




or    1.50


$1.54

154




or    1.54



	So leaving off the two zeros, or forgetting the decimal point, will result in a number 100 times smaller than you wanted. Some care is therefore required when entering numbers ending in double zero, until you become used to the convention.

Negative numbers are preceeded by a minus (-) sign but are otherwise entered in exactly the same way.

The same editing keys are available for entering numbers/values in fields as are available for text entry.  These keys are listed on the previous page.

Entering Dates

The date is entered in the form DD/MM/YY. The convention for entering dates is very simple. When SIGMA LITE first boots up, it displays the current system date.

To change the date, just start typing, and you will erase the contents of the date field replacing them with your entry. If the date you enter is invalid, pressing ENTER will restore the system date, otherwise your entry will be accepted as the new date. SIGMA LITE remembers the last date you entered every time you change it, and places this value in any date fields that appear.

To make date entry quicker and easier, you do not need to enter a completely new date, but rather only the part that needs changing.  Note how this works with the following examples.


If the current date was 01/05/88 (1 May 1988) then

To change to 

Enter



02/05/88


2



19/05/88


19



05/06/88


56



01/12/88


0112



01/12/87


011287



The program works on the number of days in each month and months in each year, and this is the key to quick entry. For example from above entering 56 for 05/06/88 works because SIGMA LITE knows 56 days in one month is not possible. It accepts 5 for day and 6 for month.  

But for 01/12/88, you cannot enter 112, as the 11th day of the 2nd month is quite valid, returning 11/02/88 instead of the desired 01/12/88. 

A bit of care is therefore required.

 3. LICENSING

 3.1: Registration

The registration form should be filled out, printed and returned by every person who wishes to use SIGMA LITE, and returned along with your shareware fee.

When you register you will be sent a code to enter. that will show your name on all of your printouts, and you will be advised of the latest versions as they are released.

Once the code is entered, SIGMA LITE is registered in the name of the purchaser, and is licenced to the purchaser for use on their system only.

3.2: Filling in your name

After loading SIGMA LITE you will find the program indicates the name as being

Unregistered - Shareware copy - Demonstration Only

You may now enter your own details by pressing the F10 key as indicated.

You will be presented with a screen similar to the following : 

	Company name	 :
Address		1:	
			2:
			3:
			4:

Regist. code	  :











You cannot enter a registration code until the details have been entered, and the registration form printed.

To continue with the registration, begin filling in the relevant details as prompted. The cursor will automatically be placed at the beginning of the company name field. Use the normal editing keys (outlined in section 3 of chapter 2 of this user guide) to enter information and make corrections. Remember to press ENTER when you have finished editing each field.

The 'Company Name' is the most important, and must be entered exactly as you wish it to appear. There are two reasons for this.

	The name you enter will appear on the date entry screen and above the main menu when using the program.

	The name will appear at the top of every printed report.

The address lines are required so we know where to return your registration code. They will not be visible anywhere when using the program or printing reports.

When the details are as you wish them to appear, press the ESC key, and you will be prompted 

Are the details absolutely correct ? _

with the following message on the Status line at the bottom of the screen
 
Type Y for YES, or N for NO, then ENTER

Check that all the details are correct, especially your company name.

If there are any errors, press N then ENTER and you will be returned to the date entry screen. From there you can either :

	press F10 to return to the registration screen, and re-enter the details

or

	Carry on without entering details right now.

You may re-enter company details as many times as you wish before answering Y to the above question.

NOTE

Once you answer Y to this question, the  'Company Name' CANNOT be changed.

The form we receive from you must contain the permanent company details as you wish them to appear.

If the details are correct, make sure your printer is online. Then

	Press Y, then ENTER and you will be prompted 

Check printer and press <ENTER>

	Press ENTER and the form will be printed with the relevant details for your company.

Post this form to :

SIGMA Lite  Registrations
Nemesis Trading
P.O. Box 269
Silverdale
Auckland
New Zealand.

Enclose your international money order for  US$20.00 (NZ$40). Or if you like you can fax it to +64 (021) 785-133, and include your credit card number, expiry date, the name on the card, your signature and the words "I authorise you to charge my card US$20.00(NZ$40)".

We will then generate a unique code for your company, and return it to you.


3.3: Entering Your Code

Once you receive your code from us, you can enter it and 'unlock' your system. Proceed to the registration screen by pressing F10  from the date screen (as described above).

SIGMA LITE remembers that your company details have been entered and these will appear in the detail fields. The cursor is automatically placed in the Regist. Code field, prompting you to enter your code.

Please note that entering the incorrect code will result in the following message : 

Incorrect registration code!
	PRESS ANY KEY

There is no harm in entering the wrong code.  But if you pressed F10 and do not yet have your code, cancel by pressing ESC and answering N to the question.

NOTE

To make entering the code easier and avoid confusion, zero's are interchangeable with the letter 'o'; and the number 1 with the letter 'i'.  So if the code ESI00Q was entered as ES1OOQ it would still be correct.

Enter the code as supplied by us, and press ENTER.  If the code has been entered correctly SIGMA LITE will imbed the code within the program permanently, creating a live system.  You can now use all of  SIGMA LITE's features.

NOTE

If your company changes its name, contact Nemesis Trading at the address listed in section 2 of this chapter. 

We will advise you what to send us to obtain a new copy registered under the new company's name.

4. FIRST SESSION & TUTORIAL


Before beginning this chapter, make sure SIGMA LITE is properly installed on your system (refer to chapter 1).

You should now be ready to begin using SIGMA LITE properly. The first part of this chapter explains setting up a new account and planning how to get the best out of SIGMA LITE. 

The second part contains a hands on tutorial. This will allow you to try out most of SIGMA LITE's features without fear of losing any of your own valuable data. If you feel confident enough, you can skip the tutorial and move on to the subsequent chapters.


4.1: Getting Started

To begin using SIGMA LITE, boot your computer in the normal way, then read the relevant section following.

Floppy Disk Systems

When the DOS prompt appears replace your DOS disk with the SIGMA LITE program disk. If you installed SIGMA LITE on 2 drives using DUAL, place your data disk in drive B. Then type the following

sigmalit [drivespec][\path]

The two words in square brackets indicate optional parameters. If you want SIGMA LITE to use the default settings, just type SIGMA LITE.

 [drivespec]

This allows you to over-ride the default setting and indicate an alternative drive to use for your data. Typing

sigmalit a:

indicates SIGMA LITE should use drive A for data. 

If you are running SIGMA LITE from a floppy drive but have a hard disk, typing

sigmalit c:

would tell SIGMA LITE to use the current directory of your hard drive for data.

 [\path]

The \path option allows you to set a path for your data (i.e. to put your data in a separate directory). The \ by itself returns you to the root directory of whatever drive specified. Replace the word 'path' with any directory name available on the specified drive. If the path you enter is not correct, SIGMA LITE will use its default setting.
 
 
For example, typing
 
sigmalit b:\data
 
would indicate that SIGMA LITE should use the directory 'data' on the B drive for data files. 

Typing
 
sigmalit \data
 
 indicates SIGMA LITE should use the directory 'data' on the default drive (depends on system).
 
Using the path allows you to have several separate sets of accounts running from one copy of SIGMA LITE, but note that all reports will still appear with the same registered company name.
 
There is no limit to the number of data disks you can have, so it may pay to keep accounts with large numbers of transactions on  separate disks.

After pressing ENTER, SIGMA LITE's date entry screen will appear.  

If you specified drive B on a single drive system, or use a separate data disk, remove your program disk and place your data disk in drive A (on a single drive system drives A and B are interchangeable).

If you have a dual drive system and ran the DUAL installation program, make sure your data disk is in drive B.

If the date is correct, press ENTER, otherwise correct the date as described in chapter 2.

Hard Disk Systems

When the DOS prompt appears, type the following command

sigmalit [drivespec][\path]

The two words in square brackets indicate optional parameters. If you want SIGMA LITE to use the default directory (specified by you when you installed SIGMA LITE in chapter 1) on your hard drive, just type SIGMALIT.

 [drivespec]

This allows you to indicate which drive to use for your data. Typing

sigmalit a:

indicates SIGMA LITE should use drive A for data instead of your hard disk (make sure there is a data disk in drive A).
 
 [\path]

The \path option allows you to set a path for your data files (i.e. to put your data files in a separate directory). The \ by itself returns you to the root directory. Replace the word 'path' with any directory name available on the specified drive. If the path you enter does not exist, SIGMA LITE will inform you of your error.

For example, typing

sigmalit \cashdata
 
 would tell SIGMA LITE to use the cashdata directory of your hard drive for your data.
 
Using the path allows you to have several separate sets of accounts running from one copy of SIGMA LITE, but note that all reports etc. will still appear with the same registered company name.

After pressing ENTER, SIGMA LITE's date entry screen will appear. This screen will tell you which drive/path your data disk should be in. If you have specified a floppy drive for data, place a data disk in the relevant drive now. If the date is correct, press ENTER, otherwise correct the date as described in chapter 2.

 Help! (where are you?)

You must have the help file (sigma.hlp) in the directory you specify for data, otherwise you will get an error message when you try to use the help function.


4.2: The Account Selection Screen

After entering the date, the account selection screen appears.  If this is the first time you have used SIGMA LITE, the only account set up will be for the tutorial.  All the other accounts will show 

*** new account ***

You will need to set up a new account to start using SIGMA LITE.

Creating A New Account

To create a new account, move the highlight bar onto any of the unused accounts and press ENTER. Alternatively, press the number for the account you wish to create (i.e the numbers 0 through 9). You will be prompted 

Do you want to create a new account? Y

To continue creating an account, press ENTER.  If you don't want to create an account press N then ENTER. 

If you chose Y you will be prompted 

NEW ACCOUNT NAME:
NEW ACCOUNT NO       :

The cursor will be in the account name field. Enter your description of the account and press ENTER. The cursor will be placed in the account number field.

Entering an account number is optional, unless you plan on using the Databank Disk option. If you do enter one, it must be in the form 000000-00, 0000000-00, 000000-000 or 0000000-000. 
If you enter an account number in the wrong format, you will be prompted

Error! Account number must be in the form 000000-00 or 0000000-000
PRESS ANY KEY

You must then press a key and re-enter the account number, or delete it from the field.

Press ENTER when the account number is correct.  You will be prompted 

Opening account balance:			0

Enter an initial balance in the manner described in section 3 of chapter 2.

NOTE

The 'Opening' balance should be the end of month balance on your  bank statement, for the month before the month you are beginning to use SIGMA LITE. (e.g. if you are starting with SIGMA LITE in August, you should enter your statement balance at 31st July)

Also, it is likely that there will be transactions from the previous month that didn't appear on your statement before the end of that month - these transactions must be entered into SIGMA LITE. (See chapter 8, Entering Transactions)

After entering an initial balance, you will be shown the account details and balance you entered. You will be prompted

Is this correct? Y

If the details are correct press ENTER, and you will be presented with the SIGMA LITE Main Menu with the new account selected. To cancel creating the new account, press N then ENTER. You will return to the account selection screen without creating a new account.

Maintenance Options

The options listed at the bottom of the screen for copying, deleting, etc. are described in full in section 4 of chapter 12. Please refer to that chapter for details.


4.3: The Main Menu

After selecting an account the Main Menu, shown below, appears.

CASH BOOK MAIN MENU

 [S]	-	Set up types and categories
 [P]	-	Enter information for payments
 [D]	-	Enter information for deposits
 [L]	-	Listings of information
 [R]	-	View/Edit and Bank Reconciliation
 [Y]	-	End of year update
 [O]	-	Options and configuration
 [A]	-	Select a new account
 [C]	-	Check for due auto transactions
 [Q]	-	Quit to DOS

All  SIGMA LITE's features are accessed from this menu and the three sub-menus that stem from it. These sub-menus are contained under options [S], [L] and [O], and are detailed in chapters 6, 9 and 5 respectively.

The currently active account is listed on the status line at the bottom of the screen. This line will generally tell you where you are or what function you are performing. If you are being questioned it will show you which keys you can press in response. Keep an eye on what it says.

The registered owner of this copy is displayed at the top of the screen.  The name shown here will print on all reports, as will the Account Name and Number.

4.4: Getting The Most Out Of SIGMA LITE

SIGMA LITE is a powerful cash management program and you should spend time planning how you are going to set SIGMA LITE up so as to get the most out of it.

The Planning Stage

The section that requires the most planning is setting up types and categories, and more specifically, categories. Payment and deposit types refer to the physical manner in which money enters and leaves your account, eg cheque, cash, EFT-POS, automatic payment, etc.

Categories refer to where you spend money and where it comes from.  Thinking about these and setting them up logically means you will be provided with meaningful and easy to understand information in reports and screen output.

Use a piece of paper to list the categories you both spend money under and receive money in. Spend time thinking about every category you are likely to use and leave plenty of space for extra categories. You are guaranteed to need extra categories once you start entering payments (those miscellaneous suppliers we use now and then, etc.) and fitting the extras in, in a logical sequence makes much more sense in reports and listings.

You should, if possible, leave 10 free lines between normal transaction categories and the totals categories, and if you have an overall total category, leave 5 lines between it and the sub-total categories.  Leave 2 or 3 lines between sub-groups such as living expenses, car costs, stock purchases from various vendors etc. Setting up types and categories is outlined in chapter 6.

SIGMA LITE can be used as soon as at least one payment and one deposit category have been defined, but you should set categories up as completely as possible before beginning for the reasons already described.

Set up your automatic transactions at the same time, as described in chapter 7.

Where Do I Start?

Once you have set up your categories and types you can begin entering transactions and printing reports (assuming your copy is fully registered).  There is a logical sequence to using SIGMA LITE as outlined below.

Setting up I (initially, once only)

	Back up your disks (chapter 1)
	Install SIGMA LITE for your system (chapter 1)
	Load SIGMA LITE and press F10 for registration - fill in details, print registration form and post to us (chapter 3)

Setting up II (When new account required, or revisions to defaults)

	Create a new account for your transactions (chapter 4)
	Configure SIGMA LITE, i.e. decide whether to keep old transactions, when to print audit trail, where to send it, what colours to use etc. (chapter 5)
	Set up payment and deposit types (chapter 6)
	Set up payment and deposit categories (chapter 6)
	Set up automatic transactions (chapter 7)

 Monthly cycle of tasks

	Start entering transactions from cheque book butts, EFT-POS receipts, deposit butts etc. (chapter 8)
	Print or view on screen reports at your leisure (chapter 9)
	Correct, add and delete transactions in SIGMA LITE from your statement when you receive it.  Then checkmark those that have cleared (chapter 10)
	Continue with reconciliation at end of month - print any reports before continuing, then update. Uncheckmarked transactions are ghosted for later clearing(chapters 9 & 10)
	One cycle finished - checkmarked transactions deleted, year-to-date totals reflection of current spending/earnings 

End of financial year

	End-of-year update for next financial year (chapter 12)

Following this series of steps is the logical way to use SIGMA LITE.  The cycle repeats each month, straying out of the cycle for tasks such as adding extra categories or changing defaults, and to perform an end-of-year update.

You should now feel confident enough to begin using SIGMA LITE. 


4.5: SIGMA LITE Tutorial

The following pages are provided to let you try out most of SIGMA LITE's features without fear of losing your own transactions. They are provided as a hands on guided tour, explaining what is happening as you move through the different menus. They do not give in depth explanations. These are provided in the relevant chapters of this User Guide.

There is a demonstration account (account number 9) provided for use with this tutorial. You may delete it at any time, but preferably after finishing the tutorial. It contains types, categories, automatic payments and  transactions (some ready for clearing, some needing editing). 

By now you should have made a working copy of SIGMA LITE, and be aware of how to start it up. If not then return to chapter 1 and work your way through it.

Lets get started...

If you have already started SIGMA LITE, then please return to the Account Selection Screen (press A from the Main Menu) and reset the date to 16/02/94. Otherwise start SIGMA LITE and enter 16/02/94 as the date. 

Select account number 9 by pressing the 9 key.

Options

Press O. This presents you with the Options menu. As you can see we have pre-set a few things for you.

	The output option is set to DIRECT. This is the fastest method of updating the screen. If you have a CGA monitor then this may cause an effect known as snow. If so then return to this menu later and press O to change it to NO SNOW.
 
	The GST rate is set as 12.5%. If the rate is changed by the government, then you will need to come here to alter it.

	Audit Trails are set so that they will be logged to a file on your disk. If you do not wish to keep printed records of your transaction entries, then press A until this shows as NONE. Until you have registered your copy and entered your registration code, you should not set this option to AS YOU ENTER, as all printouts are disabled.

	Reconciled Transactions is set to ARCHIVE. If you have no wish to keep a record on disk of cleared transactions, then press R to change this to THROW AWAY.

	Press S to save the new settings to disk, so that next time you load SIGMA LITE it will set things up as you have requested.

	Now press Q to return to the Main Menu.

Categories & Types

Press S to access the Setup Types and Categories Menu.

We will now proceed to set up a new payment category, and delete a deposit category.

Press 1 to choose payment categories. As we are already using categories 1 to 16, we will set up our new category as number 17.

	Use the down arrow key and move the cursor to row 17. This row should have no name or other data on it.

	Type Petty Cash and press ENTER

	The cursor is now on the ADD TO field. As we do not wish to have this account adding to a sub total account, just press ENTER.

	The cursor is now on the GST field. Press SPACE and notice that the field now shows 'GST'. Press SPACE again and it will change back to '---'. The space bar acts as a toggle, switching this option on and off. Leave it switched off for now and press ENTER to move to the Year-To Date Total field.

	For now we will leave this field blank also. Normally you would enter an amount here when transferring from a manual cashbook system. Press ENTER and the cursor will move to row 18, ready to enter another category.

You have now entered your first category. Press ESC twice, bypassing printing categories, to return to the 'Setup Types .....' menu.

Press 2 to choose deposit categories. You should now be looking at the Define Deposit Categories screen. You will notice that we have already defined categories 201 to 204.

	Use the down arrow key and move the cursor to row 203. This row is called 'Sale of Assets'.

	As we wish to delete the category, press the DEL key. 

	Notice that the computer only deletes the Name, ADD TO and GST fields, not the Year-To-Date Total. 

You have now successfully deleted a category. Press ESC twice to return to the 'Setup Types .....' menu.

Automatic Transactions

Automatic Transactions are a very useful feature of SIGMA LITE. We will proceed to add an Automatic payment, and to edit one.

	Press A to access the Edit Automatic Transactions screen.

	Use the down arrow key to move the cursor to the row numbered 5.

	Press the F9 key to edit this transaction.

	You will be presented with a new screen asking if the interval is in days or months. As we are only going to change the amount of this payment, press ENTER here and at the next question, to leave the information displayed the same.

The screen you are now on is one you will be seeing a lot of while using SIGMA LITE. It is much the same for entering information in Automatic Transactions, and for entering information in manually entered Payments and Deposits.

	Press the ENTER key five times, accepting all of the previously entered data. The cursor should now be on the first amount field.

	Type 35500 then  press ENTER. This changes the amount under the loan payment category from $335.00 to $355.00. As the bank fee hasn't altered we do not need to change the amount under that category.

	Press ESC to indicate that you have finished editing this transaction.

	The window that has popped up has the response 'O.K. - Save it' highlighted, so press ENTER to accept this.

You will see on the Edit Automatic Transaction screen, that the amount of the edited Automatic Payment has been increased to $355.20

Now that you have had a glimpse of what an Automatic Transaction is made up of, lets add a new one. 

	Press P to add a new Automatic Payment.

	At the first question type D then ENTER, to indicate that the interval is in days.

	At the next question type 14 then ENTER to indicate that it is every 14 days (fortnightly).

	Type A then ENTER in reponse to the Deposit Type prompt. Notice that SIGMA LITE finds the first type starting with A, in this case 'Automatic Payments'.

	The date field should currently be showing 16/02/94 as the default date. Type in 24 then press ENTER. Notice that this has changed the date to 24/02/94.

	In the Payee field type C M Banks then ENTER.

	To skip the comment field press ENTER.

	We want to enter the category for this transaction as 'Printing & Stationery'. Type P then press ENTER.
	This has found the first payment category starting with P, in this case 'Plant & Machinery'. As this isn't the category we require, press the F4 key to show the next one. You will  have to press F4 twice more, as 'Printing & Stationery' is the fourth category that starts with P, then press ENTER to select it and move to the amount field.

	Once you have the correct category showing, type in 15000 then press ENTER. This enters the amount of our payment as $150.00

	Type B then ENTER,  followed by 20 and ENTER. This enters $0.20 as a Bank Charge for each transaction. The total amount, showing at the bottom of the screen, should be $150.20.

	Press ESC then ENTER to finish with this transaction and save it.

You will see on the Edit Automatic Transaction screen that this transaction has been slotted in at number three.

	Press ESC twice, and you will be returned to the Main Menu.


 Entering Transactions

Press the P key to select entering payments. You will notice that this screen is similar to the Automatic Transaction entry screen. It is filled in the same way.


Lets assume you have your cheque book in front of you, and you have the following cheques to be entered 

Chq #	Date		Who To		Category		Amount

703826	05/02/94	O.T.C.		Printing & Stationery	$  25.43
703827	05/02/94	J Johnson	Wages			$ 291.84 
703828	05/02/94	B & I Video	Stock			$2154.98

	In the 'Cheque Number/Payment Type' field enter 703826 for the first cheque. Then press ENTER.

	The date should be showing as 24/02/94 (from the date entered on the Automatic Payment you just set up). Type 05 then ENTER to change it to 05/02/94.

	Type in O.T.C. then ENTER in the Payee field.

	Press the ENTER key to skip the comment field.

	Type pri then ENTER. Notice that this skips the fields just starting with P (as per the Automatic Transaction section), and takes you straight to 'Printing & Stationery'.

	Type in 2543 then ENTER.

	Press ESC, then ENTER to accept 'O.K. - Save it'.

Now that you have been guided through entering the first cheque, enter the next two by yourself. Notice that you are in the 'Cheque Number/Payment Type' field with the next cheque number automatically showing. To accept this just press ENTER. 

Press ESC twice when you have finished entering the third cheque. This will return you to the Main Menu.

Entering deposits uses the same procedure, so if you want to try it, press D from here and practice entering a few.

Reconciliation and Editing entries

This is the 'Heart' of SIGMA LITE, and what sets it apart from other Cashbooks.

From the Main Menu press R. You will be shown the previous closing balance and asked if it is correct. Assuming it is, press ENTER.

The top half dozen lines of the screen show the previous closing balance, the statement balance, outstanding cheque and deposit totals, and your cashbook balance.

The previous closing balance is what the bank said your balance was at the end of the previous month.

The statement balance is what the bank said your balance was at the end of the last statement you have reconciled to, since the end of the previous month.

The outstanding cheque and deposit totals are the totals of all cheques and deposits you have typed in to SIGMA LITE, which have not yet appeared on a bank statement.

The cashbook balance is the last bank balance, plus uncleared deposits, minus uncleared payments. This is what your account balance would be if all unpresented payments and deposits were cleared through your account today.

These figures will change as you make entries on this screen. This of course means that as you tick each entry as being presented on your statement, the statement balance will change. This allows you to see after each entry whether or not your cashbook balances with your bank statement.

Included at the back of the manual is a mock-up bank statement provided for reconciling this demonstration account. You should now have this statement in front of you ready to practice reconciling.

You will notice that the cursor is on the first transaction line, in the middle section of the screen.

	Press the down arrow key to move the cursor to the line that contains cheque number 497335.

	Check that the amount on the statement for this cheque, and the amount on the screen are the same.

	As they are the same, press ENTER.

You will notice that two things have happened. There is now a tick to the left of this 
transaction to show that it has been reconciled, also the amount of this transaction has been added to the transactions on statement total, and affected the statement balance.

	If you press the ENTER key again, this will untick the transaction and have the opposite effect to the above. Make sure that before moving on to the next action, you leave this transaction ticked. 

	To tick the next transaction on the statement, press the down arrow until the cursor is on the line that has an Automatic Payment for 650.15.

	Once again check that the amounts on the statement and on the screen agree. If so press ENTER.

The next transaction on the statement is a bank fee for $2.00. Use the PGUP/PGDN and UP/DN arrow keys to search the on screen transactions for this one. You will note that it does not appear. As is the case with most bank generated charges, you will not be aware of them until receiving your statement. We have provided an easy way of dealing with them.
 
	Press the P key to indicate you wish to add a payment.

	By now you should be familiar with this screen, and be able to enter the payment off the statement without any help.

	Once it is typed in and you have pressed ENTER to 'O.K. - Save it', press ESC twice. This will return you to the reconciliation screen with the newly entered transaction highlighted. 

	Check that the amount is the same as that on the statement, and if so press ENTER to tick it.

	The next transaction is a deposit. You should move the cursor to it on the screen and, after checking the amount, press ENTER to tick it.

The Statement Balance, on the second line of the screen, should now read $11631.05. This should be the same as the balance on your bank statement after these four transactions. If it isn't then you must have ticked some transactions incorrectly. If necessary go back and untick them all and start this section again.

To gain some experience with this mode, work your way through the rest of the statement ticking off transactions that appear. 

The only thing to watch out for is the last transaction on the statement. This appears with a different amount than it does on your screen. Working on the theory that it must have been mis-typed from your cheque butt, you will need to edit it before ticking it. 

To do so

	Move the cursor so that it is highlighting this transaction.

	Press F9, and you will be presented with the standard Transaction Entry screen.

	Press ENTER five times so that the cursor is on the amount.

	Type 215489 and then ENTER to change the amount.

	Press ESC then ENTER to save it.

	This will return you to the Reconciliation Screen with the transaction highlighted. You should now press ENTER to tick it as reconciled.

The on screen statement balance and the final balance on the bank statement should agree. If not then you have made a mistake. Go carefully back over what you have done, if necessary unticking everything and starting again.


Summary

That ends the tutorial on the main features of SIGMA LITE.

You should now be confident enough to start using the program with your own data. 

If you get stuck anywhere, remember that help is available on the F1 key. Also, the remainder of the manual goes into more depth on all of the program's features.

I trust you will get as much use and enjoyment out of this product as we do.

 5. CONFIGURATION

Choosing OPTIONS AND CONFIGURATION from the main menu brings up the following sub-menu, with the highlight bar on the first option.

OPTIONS MENU

 [O]	-	Screen output:  NO SNOW
 [G]	-	Set the GST rate:  12.50%
 [C]	-	Set Colours
 [D]	-	Printer device name
 [T]	-	Printer type:Epson compatible
 [Z]	-	Display 0-total cat's:  YES
 [S]	-	Save configuration to disk
 [Q]	-	Main menu














These options allow you to customise SIGMA LITE to suit your particular system, screen, etc.

 [O] - Screen output (toggle)
 
This option allows users with certain screens to improve the performance of the program.  Recommended settings are as follows

Type of monitor

Setting


Mono/Text

Direct


Hercules

Direct


EGA

Direct


CGA

No Snow


VGA etc

Direct



With a CGA graphics card, an effect known as snow can drastically affect the readability of the screen. Setting the NO SNOW option removes this effect, but slows the scrolling and screen updating down.  Setting DIRECT with some CGA compatible cards will not result in snow, so experiment.

 [G] - Set the GST rate

This option prompts you to enter a new GST rate. Enter it as a percentage, not a decimal, i.e. enter 12.5% as 12.5 (not .125).

Pressing ENTER accepts your new entry while ESC will cancel the change.

 [C] - Set colours
 
Choosing this option brings up a sub-menu listing the current colour settings for various parts of the screen. Press the number relating to the colour you wish to change. You cannot use the cursor keys on this sub-menu.

After pressing a number, use the cursor keys to move the pointer to the colour settings you wish to choose and press ENTER. Each colour selection has a background colour and a corresponding foreground colour illustrated by three X's. After pressing ENTER you will return to the colour settings menu, where you can either make further colour changes, or return to the configuration menu.

Pressing either Q or ESC from the colour menu will return to the configuration menu. The screen will redraw with your new colour choices.

 [D] - Printer device name
 
Allows reports to be output to a file instead of to the printer. You can enter any valid DOS file name and extension, eg
 
CB05_88.TXT
 
To return to printer output, enter PRN as the device name. Pressing ESC cancels this option, leaving the previous setting unchanged.

[T] Printer type

Choosing this option toggles between an Epson comaptible printer driver, and a HP Laser/Deskjet compatible one.

 [Z] - Display 0-total cat's: YES (toggle)
 
Some of your categories may not be used every month. If they are not used you may not want them appearing on your printouts. Setting this option to NO ensures that unused categories do not appear on your printouts (both yearly and monthly).

If you are not using all of your categories, you can use some of them as "heading" accounts to enhance your printouts. I.E. If Categories 3 through 5 are vehicle expenses for different vehicles, and category 7 is Total vehicle expenses, you may have category 1 as VEHICLE EXPENSES, category 2 as ---------------- and category 6 as ----------------------. 
 
If you then set this option to YES, this would effectively give you a heading of Vehicle Expenses, and underline the vehicle expense categories prior to printing the Total Vehicle Expense category.
 
 [S] - Save configuration to disk
 
All of the above changes made from the CONFIGURATION menu remain operative for the current session only, unless you choose this option.  Saving configuration remembers all the changes you have made and they become the default settings for future sessions.

 [Q] - Quit Main menu

Choosing this option quits the 'Options Menu' and returns you to the 'Main Menu'. This can also be accomplished by pressing ESC.


 6. CATEGORIES AND TYPES

 6.1: Set Up Payment Categories

Payment categories are used to group your payments under logical spending categories used by your business.  You can have up to 50 payment categories, numbered 0-49, and can sum individual categories under total categories.

The following example shows the 'Define Payment Categories' screen and should help to explain how this works
DEFINE PAYMENT CATEGORIES

ADD TO

GST

Y-T-D- TOTALS


1

Rent

11

GST

25.00


2

Power

11

GST

10.00


3

Cleaning

11

GST

10.00


4



---

-----

0.00


5

Stock - Smiths Wholesalers

12

GST

120.00


6

Stock - Hutt Wholesalers

12

GST

100.00


7



---

-----

0.00


8

Car repayments

13

GST

500.00


9

Petrol

13

GST

150.00


10



---

-----

0.00


11

Shop running costs

15

GST

45.00


12

Stock purchases

15

GST

220.00


13

Car running costs

15

GST

650.00


14



---

-----

0.00


15

Total expenses

---

-----

915.00



The example shows a business with three main spending areas,  (shop running costs, stock purchases, and vehicle running costs). Each contains more specific spending categories. The specific categories have their own Year-To-Date totals, which are added to the Total Category specified in their ADD TO field. 

Total categories cannot themselves be used as a category in a transaction, and are marked by an asterisk when called up by the F9 key on the reconciliation screen.

To add or edit a payment category

From the Main Menu choose

[S] - Set up types and categories

then choose

[1] - Set up payment categories

You will be presented with a screen containing 19 visible rows for categories, each with four fields, namely 'DEFINE PAYMENT CATEGORIES', 'ADD TO',  'GST' and 'YEAR-TO-DATE TOTAL'.

Row 0 is reserved for GST. The only change you may make to this category is to its Year-to-date total.

 To enter a new category

	There are four ways to move between rows
 
	Use the UP/DN cursors to move 1 row at a time.
 
	Use the PGUP/PGDN keys to move 1 screen page (19 lines) at a time.  

	Use the HOME/END keys which will take you to the first or last used row respectively.

	Press F9.  A box will pop up prompting you to enter the row number you wish to go to. Type the number (1-49) and press ENTER.
 
Description

Once you reach the row you want, begin typing and the highlight bar will change to a one character cursor.  You can enter a category description of up to 38 characters.
 
 Use the backspace, delete and cursor keys to edit the entry if you make mistakes.  Press ENTER to move to the ADD TO field.

Add to

The ADD TO field allows you to add the category's total to another  category that has been set aside as a Total category.

 Enter a row number other than the present row number and less than 50.  It is recommended that total categories are placed after the other categories for clarity.  Press ENTER to move to the GST field.
 
 NOTE

 If a category is a total category, i.e. is specified in some other category's 'ADD TO' field, it cannot be used as a category when entering transactions. It can, however, have its own ADD TO specified, making it a sub-total field.  The purpose of a total category is to summarise similar spending areas into one total.
 
GST

The GST field allows you to specify whether GST normally applies to expenses in this category.

 This field is a toggle, i.e. pressing any key except special editing and function keys alternates between 'GST' and "---"  (meaning no GST). Press ENTER to move to the YTD Total field.

YTD

The Year To Date Total field records the running total for each category from the start of the financial year up to the last reconciliation. This figure is updated when performing the end of period update (see chapter 11 Bank Reconciliation for more details). 
 
 NOTE
 
The only reasons to edit this field are if you have wrongly categorised something in a previous month (in which case you should adjust two categories equally, 1 plus the amount and 1 minus the amount), OR if you are starting to use SIGMA LITE in the middle of a financial year and want to transfer over the YTD Totals from your manual system.  
 
 Just type in the new balance and press ENTER.  A window  will pop up prompting 
 If you wish to change the total, press Y and ENTER, otherwise just press ENTER.
 Press ENTER to move to the next category row.

 To edit a current category

	Use one of the methods described above to move to the row & field you wish to edit.  You can amend the field in the following ways
 
	To edit the Description, Add To or YTD Total field, press BACKSPC.  The highlight bar will change to a one character cursor appearing at the end of the field. You can then use the normal editing keys to amend it.

	To completely change the contents, just start typing.

	To erase the contents of a field press the spacebar, then use the UP or DOWN cursor key to move to another row.

	To alter the GST field press any key except  ENTER. This toggles between 'GST' and "---" (no GST).

	To remove a category completely, press the DEL key. Note that this will just delete all the current settings for this category. Any transactions you have entered that use this category, will still do so.
 
When you have finished editing categories, press ESC to return to the SET-UP sub-menu.

 6.2: Set Up Deposit Categories

Deposit categories are used to group your deposits under logical income categories for display in reports and listings. They are identical to payment categories in their setting up and use, but are numbered from 50 to 99. The previous section explains how to set them up.

 6.3: Set Up Payment Types

Payment types describe what form funds are transferred from your account in.  

These could include cheque, automatic payment, credit card, cash, etc.  You can define up to ten payment types. These types are global (used by all the accounts within SIGMA LITE).


To add or edit a payment type 

From the Main Menu choose :

[S] - Set up types and categories

then choose

[3] - Set up payment types

You will be presented with a screen containing ten rows for entering payment types into.  Follow the instructions below to add/edit payment types.

 To add a new payment type

	Use the UP/DN cursor keys to move the highlight bar to the required row.

	Start typing, using the backspace, delete and cursor keys to correct mistakes.
 
When payment type is correct, press ENTER.  Press ESC to return to the SET-UP menu.

 To edit a payment type

	Use the UP/DN cursor keys to move the highlight bar to the required row.
 
	Press BACKSPC to begin editing the field. The highlight bar will change to a one character cursor appearing at the end of the field. Use backspace, delete and cursor keys to edit the entry.

	If you wish to completely change the name, just start typing and it will over-write your current entry.

	To delete a payment type, press DEL. This will not effect transactions already entered using this type.
 
Press ESC when finished all edits, to return to the SET-UP menu.

 6.4: Set Up Deposit Types

Deposit types define what form funds come into your account in.  

These could include automatic payments, credit card deposits, cash etc. They are identical to payment types in their setting up and use. The previous section explains how to set them up.


7. AUTOMATIC TRANSACTIONS

Automatic transactions can be either payments or deposits. After setting up the automatic transactions, the computer will advise you whenever they are due, and allow you to approve them. They are then processed by SIGMA LITE in the same way as normal transactions.

Automatic transactions can be entered with any frequency, from daily onwards.

To enter or edit an automatic payment 

From the Main Menu choose
 
[S] - Set up types and categories
 
then choose
 
[A] - Edit automatic payments
 
If you have not entered any automatic transactions yet, the center section of the screen will be blank with a highlight bar extending the full width of the screen.  The quick key guide at the bottom of the screen provides some useful information.

If you have entered automatic transactions previously, these will be listed here in the order which they are next due. The highlight bar will be on the first transaction.  

You can define up to 100 automatic transactions per account. The screen can only display 18 at once, but  you can use the UP/DN cursor keys, PGUP/PGDN keys and HOME/END keys to scroll through them all.

7.1: Entering New Automatic Transactions

To enter a new automatic transaction, press P or D for automatic Payments or Deposits. You will be presented with a new screen showing
 
Add a new automatic Payment
 (Obviously it would say 'Deposit' if you chose D)

You will be prompted 

Is the interval in Days or Months ?   _

Enter either D or M to indicate your choice. (For weekly transactions enter D and choose 7 at the next prompt, for fortnightly choose D and enter 14 at the next prompt , and so on.) 

You will be prompted 

Every how many days ?
(If it was a monthly transaction then the prompt would be 'Every how many months ?'). 

Type in the correct figure and press ENTER. The interval can be any number from 1 to 999.

You are then displayed a third screen which closely resembles the payment and deposit transaction screens.

Filling In The Details

The top half of the screen looks like the following for an automatic deposit

DEPOSIT TYPE (F9 for list) :
DATE OF THE NEXT AUTOMATIC DEPOSIT : 	22/06/88
PAYER :
COMMENT :

There are four fields to fill in within this screen.  You can move freely between them using the UP/DN cursor keys, and make changes as you go. 
 
You should fill in these fields in the following way

1] The type must be entered in order to save the transaction.  If you can't remember the type, you have three options
  
	You can press F9.  A pop-up window will appear listing all available types. You can scroll through them using the normal movement keys.  Press ENTER to accept the highlighted type, which will then be placed in the field. 

	If the type you want has not yet been set up, pressing F9 twice will allow you to add it. Once it is added pressing ESC will return you to the window mentioned above, where the type you have just added will be available to choose.

	Alternatively, press the first letter or letters of the type and press ENTER.  SIGMA LITE will find the first type starting with these letters. You can then use the F3 and F4 keys to find the previous/next type starting with these same letters.  This search works for any number of characters from 1 onwards.  For example, to find 'Cash' but avoid 'Credit card' you would type 'ca' and press ENTER.
 
2] Next is the date entry.  It defaults to the date entered either in the previous transaction or at the start of the session.  To change the date use the method described in chapter 2, Fundamentals.

3] Next is the PAYER/PAYEE, which you must enter also.  Enter the name here.  You can edit it using the normal editing keys.  Press ENTER when finished to move to the comment field.

4] The comment field is optional, and gives you the chance to include a short reminder or note about a transaction.

This information can be entered in any order and can be altered at any point.  Use the UP/DN cursors to move between the fields, and press BACKSPC to re-edit the information.

After entering the comment, or bypassing it by pressing ENTER or the DOWN cursor, you automatically move to the transaction entry section of the screen.


Entering Amounts and Splits

An automatic transaction, like normal transactions, can be entered under one category or can be split over up to 100 categories.  This allows great flexibility in itemising a transaction.  Entering an amount requires two steps which are :

1] Enter the category either by name or number.  If you can't remember the category you want you have three options
 
	Press the F9 key to pop up a window listing available  categories. Use the UP/DN cursors and/or PGUP/PGDN keys to select the category you want and press ENTER.Totals categories will be preceded by an asterisk, and cannot be selected.

	If the category you want has not yet been set up, pressing F9 twice will allow you to add it. Once it is added pressing ESC will return you to the list of categories, where the category you have just added will be available to choose.

	Alternatively, press the first letter or letters of the category and press ENTER.  SIGMA LITE will find the first category starting with these letters. You can then use the F3 and F4 keys to find the previous/next category starting with these same letters.  This search works for any number of characters from 1 onwards.  For example, to find 'Car expenses' but avoid 'Credit card charges' you would type 'ca' and press ENTER.

NOTE

Remember, you cannot use a total or sub-total category (one where other categories 'ADD TO' it), or category zero (GST) in the transaction.  If you try to, SIGMA LITE will inform you of your error.
	
2] After entering the category name, you must enter an amount.  Enter this in the manner described in chapter 2, Fundamentals. 
 
The F10 key toggles GST. If you are using the GST option and the category you have chosen is set as GST applying, pressing F10 will turn it off for this automatic transaction. Conversely if GST does not normally apply to the chosen category, pressing F10 will switch it on for this automatic transaction. If GST does apply the transaction shows in three parts - amount excluding GST, GST on the amount, and total including GST.  Press F10 again to toggle off the GST split.  The toggle works for the category currently highlighted.
 
After entering the amount, you move to a new line.  You can either continue entering categories and amounts, which splits the transaction over more than one category, or you can complete the transaction as described in the next section.
 
A running total, including GST, of this transaction is shown at the bottom of the screen.
 	
You can insert and delete transaction lines in the following way
 
	Press the INS key to move all transactions from the current line down, leaving a blank line for another category.

	Press the DEL key to remove the current line and 'pull up' all lines below.  The total at the bottom of the screen is automatically adjusted.  Note that once a line is deleted it cannot be retrieved.

Completing The Automatic Transaction

To complete the automatic transaction, press the ESC key.  If you have entered all required details, you have three options

[O] - OK : save it
[Q] - QUIT : do not save
[C] - CONTINUE editing

The highlight bar defaults to 'OK: save and exit', so to accept this automatic transaction, just press ENTER and the transaction will be saved, returning you to the automatic transactions listing screen.

If you wish to cancel the transaction, press either Q or  ESC.  You will again be returned to the automatic transactions listing screen. Once you are returned to the automatic transactions list, you can either continue adding/editing or press ESC to return to the SET-UP menu.  
	
If you have made some mistakes, or need to split the transaction over more categories, press C. You will be returned to the first field at the top of the screen, and can re-edit any information in the transaction.

Keeping Things In Check

If you press ESC and have not entered all required options, the 'OK: save and exit' option will be replaced with an error message stating that required information has not been entered.  This will either be missing DEPOSIT/PAYMENT TYPE, missing PAYER/PAYEE, or missing amounts.

You will see a message resembling the following (containing one of the above error messages)

NO PAYER/PAYEE ENTERED!
[Q] - QUIT : do not save
[C] - CONTINUE editing

The highlight bar defaults to 'Continue entering.'  Press ENTER to return to the transaction screen and fill in the missing field(s).

If you wish to cancel the transaction, press either Q or ESC to return to the automatic transactions listing.

7.2: Editing a Current Automatic Transaction

Once on the automatic transaction listing screen, you can edit any automatic transaction in the following way

	Use the UP/DN cursor or PGUP/PGDN keys to highlight the automatic transaction you wish to edit and press F9.

	You will be prompted to change the frequency and interval of payments.  The previous values will be shown in the fields, so to leave them unaltered press ENTER for both.  To change them, type the new entry and press ENTER.
 
You will then be shown the transaction on the 'Edit Automatic Transactions', screen displayed as you entered it.
 
	Use the UP/DN cursor keys to move between fields and press BACKSPC to begin editing.

	To delete the contents of a field, press the spacebar and then BACKSPC.

	To cancel a change once you have started editing a field, backspace all characters and the previous value will return.  This only works before you move off the field with UP/DN cursors or ENTER.
 	
When you have finished making changes, press ESC. If all changes are valid, i.e. you have not deleted any required information such as PAYER/PAYEE, you will be prompted

[O] - OK : save it
[Q] - QUIT : do not save
[C] - CONTINUE editing
 
with 'OK: save it' highlighted. To accept the changes, press ENTER.  You will be returned to the automatic transactions listing screen, where the changes to the transaction will show.

To cancel the changes, press either Q or ESC to return to the automatic transactions listing screen, with the transaction unaltered.

To continue editing the transaction press C.

Once back to the automatic transactions listing screen, you can press ESC to return to the SET-UP menu, or enter/edit more transactions.

7.3: Deleting Automatic Transactions
 
From the automatic transactions listing screen you can delete an automatic transaction in the following way
 
	Use the UP/DN cursors and/or PGUP/PGDN to highlight the automatic transaction you wish to delete.

	Press the DEL key.  

You will be prompted

Are you sure you want to delete this auto payment? y

Press ENTER to delete the automatic transaction, or press N then ENTER to cancel the deletion.
 
NOTE

Once an automatic transaction is deleted it cannot be brought back. It will need to be re-entered if you have wrongly deleted it. Automatic transactions already approved are obviously not affected.
 
7.4: Processing Automatic Transactions

After entering the date and selecting your account, SIGMA LITE will check for any automatic transactions due up to the current date.  For flexibility it does not process them automatically, but rather displays the due transactions one at a time.  It displays a screen showing the first one due with the following menu

 [O]	-	OK:  accept this automatic transaction
 [F]	-	Forget the transaction for this time
 [S]	-	Save this transaction till later
 [L]	-	Leave all due transactions till later
 [E]	-	Edit the transaction first
 [D]	-	Delete the transaction permanently
 [A]	-	Accept all automatic transactions









The highlight bar defaults to '[O] - OK, accept this automatic transaction.'  To process the transaction and continue, press ENTER	. 

SIGMA LITE will either take you to the MAIN MENU, or, if there are further automatic transactions due, display the next one for you as above.

NOTE

If you have audit trails switched to 'Print as you enter', you must ensure that you have the printer switched on and ready before accepting an automatic transaction.

To choose from the other options on the menu,  press the corresponding first letter	. 
For all of the options listed (except [L] ), you will either be returned to the 'Automatic Transactions' menu to process the next transaction, or taken to the MAIN MENU if there are no further due transactions.

NOTE

Processing the automatic transactions does not clear them. It enters them in the current transaction file as normal transactions. You must still clear them within the bank reconciliation screen.

The options operate as follows:

[F] - Forget the transaction for this time

Choose this option to ignore the transaction this time and have SIGMA LITE bypass it. The due date will be set to the next cycle, and the transaction will be brought up for processing again then.

[S] - Save this transaction till later

To save the transaction for later, i.e. 'don't process it now but don't forget about it', choose this option.  SIGMA LITE will remember the transaction is still due and prompt you again next time you use the program.

[L] - Leave all due transactions till later

To ignore all automatic payments for the current session, but have SIGMA LITE remember them, choose this option and SIGMA LITE will prompt you to process them again at the next session.  This option takes you straight to the MAIN MENU.

[E] - Edit the transaction first

Choose this option to make changes to the transaction, before SIGMA LITE processes it for the current period. These changes will be permanent.

The transaction will be displayed for you on the 'Edit Automatic Transactions' screen.  See section 7.2 for information on editing an automatic payment. Press ESC when finished.  You can then press either ENTER or O to return to the 'Process Automatic Transactions' screen.

To continue editing press C. 

To cancel the changes press either Q or ESC. You will then be returned to the Automatic Transactions menu, prompting you to accept the transaction.  You can again choose from any of the options listed here, or press ENTER to accept the transaction and continue.
 
[D] - Delete the transaction permanently
 
An automatic transaction can be deleted from this menu without going into the 'Edit automatic transactions' section of the program.  To delete the automatic transaction permanently, choose this option and proceed as per section 7.3. This will remove the transaction permanently, and will not process it for the current date.
 
[A] - Accept all automatic transactions

If you have several automatic transactions due, and you know that they do not need to be edited or deleted first, you may accept all of them by choosing this option.

It is also handy for using SIGMA LITE to produce a cashflow forecast.

To do this simply copy the account you wish to work on to one of the spare account slots (see section 4 of chapter 12 for details on how to do this).

Then set up automatic payments and deposits for every known regular expense and income item. Where the amount varies each month or week, you would type in an approximate value.

Then you go to the date screen (from the main menu type A for new account then S for set new date). Set the date for 12 months ahead, access the account you have set up and choose A to accept all the automatic transactions due.

A Cashbook listing will then show you your expected position day by day for the next 12 months.

Obviously once you have finished the exercise delete the forecast account to avoid confusion with your trading account.



8. ENTERING TRANSACTIONS

8.1: Entering Payments

Entering payments is the second option on the main menu. You would usually enter payments using this option, but they can also be entered from the reconciliation screen.

The transactions are saved after entering and may be re-edited if necessary from within the bank reconciliation option.

Entering a payment is much like filling in a form.  The descriptive details are filled in at the top, and the monetary amount by one or more categories at the bottom.

Filling In The Details

The top section of the screen will look like the following

CHEQUE NO/PAYMENT TYPE (F9 for list) :
DATE OF THE PAYMENT :	15/06/88
PAYEE : 
COMMENT : 

There are four fields to fill in within this screen. You can move freely between them using the UP/DN cursor keys and typing in information as you go.

You should fill in these fields in the following way :

1]  The cheque number/payment type must be entered in order to save the transaction.  If it is a cheque, type in the cheque number here.  For other payment types, you can either type in the full description and press ENTER or use one of the following three options
 
	You can press F9.  A pop-up window will appear listing all available types. You can scroll through them using the normal movement keys.  Press ENTER to accept the highlighted type, which will then be placed in the field.

	If the type you want has not yet been set up, pressing F9 twice will allow you to add it. Once it is added pressing ESC will return you to the list of types, where the type you have just added will be available to choose.

	Alternatively, press the first letter or letters of the type and press ENTER.  SIGMA LITE will find the first type starting with these letters. You can then use the F3 and F4 keys to find the previous/next type starting with these same letters.  This search works for any number of characters from 1 onwards.  For example, to find 'Cash' but avoid 'Credit card' you would type 'ca' and press ENTER.

2] Next is the date entry.  It defaults to the date entered either in the previous transaction or at the start of the session.  To change the date use the method described in Chapter 2, Fundamentals.

3] Next is the PAYER/PAYEE, which you must enter also.  Enter the name here.  You can edit it using the normal editing keys.  Press ENTER when finished to move to the next field.

4] The comment field is optional, and gives you the chance to include a short reminder or note about a transaction.

This information can be entered in any order and can be altered at any point up to the time you save the transaction (and even after through Bank Reconciliation).  Use the UP/DN cursors to move between the fields, and press BACKSPC to re-edit the information.

After entering the comment, or bypassing it by pressing ENTER or the DOWN cursor, you automatically move to the transaction entry section of the screen.

Entering Amounts And Splits

A transaction can be entered under one category or can be split over up to 100 categories.  This allows great flexibility in itemising an account.  For example, if you were to write out a cheque at the garage for repairs to your vehicle, but decided to fill the tank at the same time, this transaction could be split between petrol and repairs for the one cheque.

Entering amounts takes two steps which are :

1] Enter the category either by name or number.  If you can't remember the category you want you have three options :
 
	You can press F9.  A pop-up window will appear listing available categories. You can scroll through them using the normal movement keys.  Press ENTER to accept the highlighted type, which will then be placed in the field.

	If the category you want has not yet been set up, pressing F9 twice will allow you to add it. Once it is added pressing ESC will return you to the window mentioned above, where the category you have just added will be available to choose.

	Alternatively, press the first letter or letters of the category and press ENTER.  SIGMA LITE will find the first category starting with these letters. You can then use the F3 and F4 keys to find the previous/next category starting with these same letters.  This search works for any number of characters from 1 onwards.  For example, to find 'Car expenses' but avoid 'Credit card charges' you would type 'ca' and press ENTER.
 
NOTE

Remember you cannot use a total or sub-total category (one where other categories 'ADD TO' it), or category zero (GST) in the transaction. If you try to, SIGMA LITE will inform you of your error.
 
2] After entering the category name, you must enter an amount.  Enter this in the manner described in Chapter 2, Fundamentals.
 	
The F10 key toggles GST. If you are using the GST option and the category you have chosen is set as GST applying, pressing F10 will turn it off for this transaction. Conversely if GST does not normally apply to the chosen category, pressing F10 will switch it on for this transaction. If GST does apply it shows the transaction in three parts - Amount excluding GST, GST on the amount, and total including GST. Press F10 again to toggle off the GST split. The toggle works for the category currently highlighted.
 
After entering the amount, you move to a new line.  You can either continue entering categories and amounts, which splits the transaction over more than one category, or you can complete the transaction as described in the next section.

A running total, including GST, for all splits is shown at the bottom of the screen.

You can insert and delete transaction lines in the following way 
 
	Press the INS key to move all transaction lines from the current line down, leaving a blank line for another category.

	Press the DEL key to remove the current line and 'pull up' all transaction lines below.The total at the bottom of the screen is automatically adjusted. Note that once a line is deleted it cannot be retrieved.

Completing The Payment

To complete the transaction, press the ESC key.  If you have entered all required details, you have three options :

[O] - OK :  save
[Q] - QUIT : do not save
[C] - CONTINUE editing

The highlight bar defaults to 'OK: Save'. To accept the transaction as entered, just press ENTER and the transaction will be saved. You will be presented with another blank payment screen ready to enter your next transaction.

If you wish to cancel the transaction, press either Q or ESC. You will again be returned to another blank payment screen ready to enter your next transaction.  
	
If you have made some mistakes, or need to split the transaction over more categories, press C .  You will be returned to the first field at the top of the screen, and can now re-edit any information in the transaction.

Keeping Things In Check

If you press ESC and have not entered all required options, the 'OK: save and exit' option will be replaced with an error message stating that required information has not been entered.  This will either be missing PAYMENT TYPE, missing PAYEE, or missing amounts.


You will see a message resembling the following (containing one of the above error messages)

NO AMOUNTS ENTERED!
[Q] - QUIT do not save
[C] - CONTINUE editing

The highlight bar defaults to 'CONTINUE entering.'  Press ENTER to return to the payment screen and fill in the missing field(s).

If you wish to cancel the transaction, press either Q or ESC. This  presents you with another blank payment screen ready to enter your next transaction.

When you have finished entering all of your transactions, pressing ESC twice will return you to the MAIN MENU.

8.2: Entering Deposits

Entering deposits is the third option on the main menu.  All deposits are entered from here.  They are saved after entering and may be re-edited later from within the bank reconciliation option.

Entering a deposit is identical to entering payments as described in the previous section.


9. REPORTS

SIGMA LITE has several reports, described in section 1 of this chapter.  It also has an option to export data in a format readable by most spreadsheets.  The following is the LISTINGS MENU, outlining the reports available.

LISTINGS MENU

 [L]	-	Listings go to:  SCREEN
 [P]	-	Display payment entries this month
 [D]	-	Display deposit entries this month
 [C]	-	Cashbook listing
 [M]	-	Show monthly entries by category
 [T]	-	Show monthly totals by category
 [Y]	-	Year-To-Date totals
 [S]	-	Reconc. summary (printer only)
 [X]	-	Export totals to LOTUS format
 [Q]	-	Quit to DOS















Listing destination

The first option sets the output device for reports.  Highlight this option and press ENTER, or press L, to toggle between the following two options:
 
SCREEN

When screen is selected, all reports are sent to the screen page by page. You will be prompted at the bottom of the screen to 'Press any key for the next page, or ESC to cancel'.

PRINTER DEVICE

Selecting this option sends reports to the printer device, defined as either the printer or a file (see chapter 5, Configuration).  Reports are simultaneously sent to the screen, but without pausing between pages.
 
Make sure that when the printer device is selected for reports, the printer is properly connected, on-line and reset ready to print.

Appendix B contains samples of the available reports.

 9.1: Reports Available

[P] - Display payment entries this month

Displays all payments entered for the month/period so far.  Transactions are displayed in date order showing

Cheque number, date and payee
The comment
All category splits and amounts, with total transaction value
A monthly payments total at the end of the report.

[D] - Display deposit entries this month

Displays all deposits entered for the month so far. It has exactly the same format as the report shown above, but relates to deposits.

[C] - Cashbook listing
 
This listing shows the following information

Statement balance
Non-current transactions with date, type, amount, balance, and payer/payee on one line
Cashbook balance which equals the statement balance minus non-current transactions
Current transactions with date, type, amount, balance, and payer/payee on one line
Final balance as at current date
 
Category splits can be shown for the printed report only.  Before the report prints you will be prompted :

List individual categories for each transaction? N

To print transaction totals only, press ENTER.  To print individual categories for each transaction, press Y then ENTER. 

With printing of individual categories enabled, each transaction will take a number of lines, equal to the number of categories used, instead of just 1 line per transaction.

[M] - Show monthly entries by category

This report lists transactions grouped by categories. It prints payments then deposits and displays the following information 

Category number and name
Each transaction within that category with payment type, date, amount and payee.
Total of each category

Totals categories are listed after individual payment/deposit categories and display

Category number and name
The names of the categories that 'ADD TO' it along with their total
Total of each 'Total category'

Also listed are

A monthly total for payments
A monthly total for deposits
A deposits minus payments total for the month

[T] Show monthly totals by category

This report is a brief version of the above report, ignoring individual transactions, and showing

Totals for individual payment categories
Totals for payment totals categories
Totals for individual deposit categories
Totals for deposit totals categories
A deposits minus payments total for the month

[Y] Year to Date Totals listing

This report shows the same information as the above report, but it shows year-to-date totals rather than the current months totals. It is important to remember that the current periods category totals are not included in the YTD totals until after a reconciliation has been completed.

 
[S] Reconc. summary (printer only)
 
This option prints out the reconciliation summary of your account.
 
This shows the last period balance, the total of the cleared deposits and payments and the statement balance. It then lists uncleared payments and deposits and prints the actual cashbook balance.
 
[X] - Export totals to LOTUS format
 
As this is a comprehensive option, it is explained in the following section (9.2).
 
[Q] - Main Menu
 
Choosing this option quits the 'Listings Menu' and returns you to the 'Main Menu'. This can also be accomplished by pressing ESC.

9.2: Exporting To LOTUS

This option allows you to export your data to a Lotus compatible spreadsheet. There is a sample worksheet included on your SIGMA LITE diskette, and this should be copied onto your Lotus data disk (if using floppies), or into your Lotus data directory (if using a hard disk).

To do this use your DOS copy command, and copy across the file called 'SIGMA.WK1' from your work disk.

Exporting the files

When you choose this option, you will be presented with the following menu

What do you want to export?

 [N]	-	Category names only
 [M]	-	Monthly totals only
 [Y]	-	Year-To-Date totals only
 [Q]	-	Quit to listings menu
 







Once you have set up your category names, you should use the N option to export them to a Lotus compatible file. This will be imported into the lefthand column of your worksheet.

At the end of the month, whilst printing your end-of-month reports, you should use the M option to export your monthly totals to another Lotus compatible file. This will be imported into the relevant column of your worksheet.

If you require year-to-date totals for a worksheet of your own, these can be exported using the Y option.

NOTE

For all of the above options you should use unique filenames, as they will be used in  different places within Lotus. (e.g. for the name file you might choose 'catnames.txt', for the monthly total files you might choose 'apr88.txt' etc., and for the Year-to-date file you might choose 'ytd.txt').

On choosing any of the above three options you will be prompted

Enter filename for the export file :

You should type in the name you have chosen and press ENTER, to create the file. The status line at the bottom of the screen will show 'Writing export file'. Once it is created you will be returned to the Listing Menu.

If you do not wish to create a file at this time, then press Q or ESC, which will also return you to the Listing Menu.

NOTE 
 
The export function only exports categories that have either a name entered, or an amount in the Year-to-date field. Any unused fields  will therefore not appear  in the export file. Space is also allowed for headings between the payment and deposit categories, i.e the file will consist of your payment details, five blank lines , then your deposit details. Total categories are not exported.

Importing the files

Now that you have exported the data, you are ready to  import it into the Lotus worksheet supplied. This 'User Guide' assumes a working knowledge of the spreadsheet program you will be using.

Firstly you should copy the exported files into the directory (or onto the disk if using floppies) that you will be using for your spreadsheet data files.

Start your spreadsheet program in the usual way and load the suppied worksheet (called SIGMA.WK1). You will note that this worksheet has a space for you to type in your own company's name, and the financial period which the worksheet covers. It also has the names of each month at the top of columns C to N. It is assumed that your financial year is from 1st April to 31st March. If your year is different to this, you will need to re-arrange these. Consult your spreadsheet manual for details on how to do this.

Column A is reserved for your category names. To import the names from your SIGMA LITE account, place the cursor in cell A.11 and type '/FIT'. When prompted, type in the name you gave to the export file of your category names (e.g. catnames.txt). After a brief pause your category names will appear in column A.

To import your monthly total data, place the cursor in the cell relating to the appropriate month (i.e. cell C.11 for April, D.11 for May etc.), and type '/FIN'. When prompted type in the name you gave to the export file of your monthly total data (e.g. APR88.txt). After a brief pause your monthly total data will appear in the appropriate column and rows.

The worksheet supplied has been set up with space for 17 payment lines and 5 deposit lines. This is to match the categories used in the tutorial account supplied. If you are wanting to use this worksheet to import your own accounts into,  then you should use the Lotus 'insert row' command so that the number of blank lines and the number of categories used, are equal.

The suggested way of using this feature of SIGMA LITE is to create anticipated cashflows at the beginning of the year. Then as each months actual expenditure is completed, you may export this straight into your worksheet.

If you are an experienced spreadsheet user, you may of course devise your own worksheet formats for importing your data into.


10. BANK RECONCILIATION

The Bank Reconciliation option is used to clear transactions as they appear on your bank statement, and print out an end of month report. It is also used to edit previously entered transactions, and enter any new deposits or payments that appear on your bank statement (e.g. bank charges). This is the 'Heart' of the system and it is important that you understand exactly how it works.

10.1: The Reconciliation Screen

Choose Bank Reconciliation from the main menu.  You will be taken to the reconciliation screen showing your current balance at the top.  You will be prompted

Is the opening balance correct? Y

If the balance is the same as the bank statement balance at your last reconciliation, press ENTER.  Otherwise answer N, then ENTER, at which point you will be prompted 

Enter the correct opening balance : 0

To change the amount indicated (shown as 0 here), just type in the new amount and press ENTER.  You will again be asked if the balance is correct. Check the balance and if correct press ENTER.

At this point, all transactions will be shown on screen in date order.  If there are more transactions than will fit in the window, you can scroll up and down through them with the UP/DN cursors, PGUP/PGDN keys and HOME/END keys.

Marking Transactions

There are two types of transactions appearing, 'Ghosted' and 'Non-Ghosted'. There are also two  states transactions can be in, i.e. cleared & uncleared. 

They are represented in the following way:

	Ghosted transactions are a different colour, and have an asterisk to their left. This indicates that they were present, but not check marked for clearing, when the last recon- ciliation was performed. These transactions cannot be deleted or amended (see section 10.3, 'Clearing ghosted transactions' for further details). Also, these transactions are not included in your current monthly totals, as they were included in the month they were entered.

	Non-Ghosted transactions have been entered in the current period. They can be edited, deleted or check marked.

	Cleared transactions will have a tick to their left.  This means that they have appeared on your bank statement and have been check marked in a previous reconciliation session. They will be deleted from the current file when the next reconciliation is done.

	Non cleared transactions do not have the tick to their left. These have not yet appeared on your bank statement. If you proceed with the reconciliation to the monthly update stage, they will become ghosted transactions.
 
The check mark is a toggle, meaning you can turn it on or off by pressing ENTER. 

To mark a transaction for clearing :
 
	Use the UP/DN cursor keys, the PGUP/PGDN keys or the HOME/END keys to move the highlight bar onto the transaction you wish to mark for clearing.

	Press ENTER to turn on the check mark.

	If you check mark the wrong transaction, press ENTER again to toggle it off.

Repeat this process for all transactions you wish to process.

If you have punched a transaction differently to how it appears on your bank statement, then see the next section titled Editing Transactions.

	If previously unentered transactions appear on your statement (e.g. bank charges), then you can press P or D (for payment or deposit). You will be presented with the standard 'Transaction entry screen'. Proceed as per Chapter 8 for entering payments or deposits to enter the transaction.

	After you have finished entering the transaction you should press ENTER to set the checkmark on.
 
When all the relevant transactions are marked, press ESC and you will be asked the following :

[C] - Continue reconciliation
[E] - Edit more transactions
[Q] - Finished for now - Main Menu

with the highlight bar defaulting to '[Q] - Finished for now - Main Menu.'  Pressing ENTER will return you to the main menu as indicated, with the check marks saved for the next time you choose reconciliation.  
 
The other two options allow you to continue with the reconciliation (explained in section 10.2), or return to the reconciliation screen to change check marks and/or edit transaction details. Choose them in the normal way.

Editing Transactions
 
You can edit an unticked transaction from the reconciliation screen by highlighting the transaction and pressing F9 (If it is already ticked you will have to untick it first, edit it, then retick it). This will take you to the transaction entry screen matching the transaction type (either deposit or payment) and from here you can edit the transaction in the manner described in chapter 8, Entering Transactions.
 
Press ESC when you have finished editing the transaction, and you will be prompted 

[O] - OK : save it
[Q] - QUIT : do not save
[C] - CONTINUE editing

Press ENTER to save the changes and return to the reconciliation screen.  Any changes you made will be reflected here.  For example, if you alter the amount of the transaction, SIGMA LITE will recalculate the balance and display the new value. If you now want to checkmark the transaction you should press ENTER.

Deleting Transactions
 
To delete a transaction simply hilight it and press the DEL key. You cannot delete a Ghosted transaction. See section 3 of this chapter for details on how to get rid of ghosted transactions.
 
10.2: Continuing The Reconciliation
 
After pressing ESC from the reconciliation screen you are prompted 

[C] - Continue reconciliation
[E] - Edit more transactions
[Q] - Finished for now - Main Menu

To continue with the reconciliation and perform the month/period end "rollover", press C.
 
The screen will clear, prompting

[L] - Print listings
[F] - Print final report and update
[Q] - Quit to main menu

with the highlight bar defaulting to '[L] - Print listings'. You should usually choose this option to print out your reports and audit trails before updating.  
 
Choosing L brings up the same reports menu available from the main menu.  See chapter 9, Reports for details on the different reports and listings available.
 
NOTE

 You should print any of these reports that you require from this periods transactions, as continuing with the reconciliation from here deletes all this months transactions and resets monthly totals to zero. If there are audit trails saved, you will not be allowed to continue with the reconciliation until they have been printed.
 
To continue with the reconciliation, press F. You will be prompted

Set up printer now - are you ready to print the report? Y

Check your printer and press ENTER.  Your final report for the current period (showing beginning and ending balances, and listing uncleared transactions) will be printed. All check-marked transactions will be deleted from the current file and, if you have chosen it in the options screen, added to the archive file. 

Any transactions unmarked at this time will now be shown as ghosted transactions described earlier in this chapter. Also all period to date totals will be added to the year to date totals. The period to date totals will then be zeroed ready for the new period. 

10.3 Clearing Ghosted Transactions

Ghosted transactions can be cleared the same way as other transactions.  From the reconciliation screen, highlight the ghosted transaction and press ENTER to turn on the check-mark.  When you next reconcile, the transaction will be cleared along with the check-marked current transactions.

Ghosted transactions provide an easy way for you to keep track of any transactions that have not yet cleared.  There is no time limit on how long a transaction can remain ghosted, but they cannot be deleted or amended.

If there is a need to change a ghosted transaction, you will have to add an entry to 'contra' the amount, and then check mark both of them. Two examples of this follow :
 	
	If the ghosted transaction is a cheque for $120.33 that has now been cancelled, you would process a payment entry using the same cheque number for -$120.33.

	If the ghosted transaction is a cheque that was originally processed wrongly as $275.32, but was actually for $275.23, you would process a payment entry using the same cheque number for -$0.09.
 
In all cases ensure that you charge it to the same category as the original transaction. Also ensure that you check mark both transactions after entering the 'contra' one.



11. POP-UP HELP & CALCULATOR

SIGMA LITE includes a comprehensive context sensitive help system.  Context sensitive refers to the help system keeping track of your position and providing relevant help for that situation.

11.1: Context Sensitive Help

To receive help from anywhere in the program, press F1 and a pop-up help screen will appear.  This should provide an answer to your question if it is related to your current action.  Help screens assist by suggesting available key presses, or listing available options.
 
If there is only one screen of help information, you can press any key, including ESC to exit help.
If there is more than one page, pressing any key will show the next page, while pressing ESC will cancel help.

Pressing F1 from the help screen brings up the GENERAL HELP menu - see below.

11.2: General Help Options

Pressing F1 from a help screen brings up the GENERAL HELP menu, from which all available help topics are accessible.  To choose a specific topic you can:
 
	Press the first letter indicated in the square brackets to take you straight to that option.

	Use the UP/DN arrow keys to move to the option you want and press ENTER.

Many of the options on the GENERAL HELP menu open sub-menus.  To choose options from the sub-menus, follow the same procedure as above.

If you choose the wrong option you can back out one sub-menu at a time with each press of the ESC   key.  Again, pressing  ESC  from the main GENERAL HELP menu cancels help.

NOTE

If you get really stuck, it may help to go through the tutorial supplied in this User Guide, if you haven't already done so.  Remember, the User Guide is the best reference.

11.3: Calculator

SIGMA LITE includes a handy pop up calculator.

To perform calculations from anywhere in the program, press F2 and the calculator will appear in the top left corner of the screen.

The following keys are used by the calculator

1 - 9 keys

Entering numbers


+ key

Plus


- key

Minus


/ key

Divide by


* key

Multiply by


= key

Equals


ENTER

Same as equals key


BACKSPACE

Clear entry


C key

Clear all


F2 or ESC keys

Put calculator away



NOTE

In addition to the above keys, you can also use the UP/DN and LEFT/RIGHT cursor keys to move the calculator around the screen. So if you are wanting to use the calculator to work on some numbers in an onscreen report, but the calculator is covering the numbers, simply use the cursor keys to move it to a better position. When you use the calculator again in the same SIGMA LITE session, it will pop up in the position it last occupied.
 
The calculator also remembers the last number or key pressed before you put it away. Handy if you want to work on figures from two different pages of a report.

	Simply start processing the figures from the first page.

	Pop the calculator away with F2 or ESC.

	Move to the next page of the report that you want.

	Press F2 to pop the calculator up again, and the last figure you had is still there.

	If the last keys you pressed was a number key, then press an operation key before entering a number (i.e. +, -, *, /). Otherwise press a number key next.

NOTE

If the last key you pressed was an operation key, it will show on the left of the calculator display. If the last key was a number, there will be no operation key showing on the left of the display.


 12. CLOSING DOWN & MAINTENANCE

12.1: Closing Down

Closing down SIGMA LITE after your current session is very simple but must be done the proper way.  Never just turn off the computer when you are finished or you run the risk of corrupting your files and possibly losing a substantial amount of data.

The correct sequence in closing down is
 
	Return to the main menu

	Choose [Q] - return to DOS
 
You will be prompted

Are you sure you wish to quit to DOS? Y

If you have finished with SIGMA LITE for now then press ENTER. Otherwise press N and ENTER, and you will be returned to the Main Menu.

12.2: Backing up

You will be prompted

Back up SIGMA LITE files to floppies? N

The default is N, so to bypass backing up and quit to DOS straight away, just press ENTER. 

NOTE 

You should take frequent backups of your data. The time invested in backing up your account information may well save you a lot more time in having to try and re-create it if something goes wrong. 

Once you have the DOS prompt on your screen you may safely turn off the power.  

To back up your files, press Y then ENTER to begin the process. You will be prompted :

To which drive do you want to back up (A or B)? A:

Press either A or B, then ENTER to select a drive.  The backup process is a modified version of the DOS BACKUP command.  It allows you to back up all your data quickly and efficiently from within SIGMA LITE.  You can format disks as you go or use old disks. If you use disks that you have used before, all old files on them will be erased.  

You will be prompted to put the first backup disk in the drive.  You can then
 
	Press F to format a previously unformatted disk before you use it.  You will be prompted to put the disk to format in the drive. Follow the on-screen instructions to format the disk. When the process is finished, you will return to the backup process and be prompted again to press any key to begin backing up files.

	Press any key other than F or ESC  to begin backing up files.

	Press ESC to quit to DOS without backing up.
 
You will be prompted to put the next disk in the drive if the first disk becomes full.  Follow the above steps until SIGMA LITE indicates it has finished the backup process successfully.


12.3: Maintenance

SIGMA LITE includes several options for maintaining your data.  These options are accessed in two ways:
 
	Through the 'Account Selection' screen which appears after entering the date.

	From the main menu by choosing option [A], which returns you to the 'Account Selection' screen.

The options appear at the bottom of the screen, below the list of accounts .  They are
 [D]	-	Delete an account
 [C]	-	Copy an account to another account
 [B]	-	Backup all accounts to floppy disk
 [U]	-	Restore backups from floppy disk
 [R]	-	Rename an account
 [T]	-	Transfer categories from one account to another
 [S]	-	Set a new system date
 [Q]	-	Quit to DOS


Options

[D] - Delete An Account
 
As stated, this option allows you to delete redundant accounts and all related transactions.  To delete an account you no longer want, choose option [D].  You will be prompted
 
Account to delete? _
 
Enter the number of the account to delete, (0 to 9), and press ENTER, or press ESC to cancel. You will then be prompted :

Are you sure you want to delete account X? 

	To cancel the deletion, press N then ENTER, or press ESC.
 
	To delete the account, press Y then ENTER.  
 
If the account has a password set, you will then be prompted for the primary password for the account. If you type it in correctly, the account and all its related transactions will be deleted, leaving space for a new account in its place.
 
If you type it incorrectly you will be advised, and then returned to the Maintenance Menu.

[C] - Copy an account to another account
 
This option allows you to copy an account and all its transactions to another blank account.  To copy an account choose option [C].  You will be prompted 
 
Copy from which account? _
 
Enter the number of the account to copy from and press ENTER.  You will be prompted
 
Copy to which account? _
 
Enter the number of the account to copy to and press ENTER.  

If the account you want to copy to exists and has a password set, you will be prompted

Enter the password for this account :

Enter the account password. Assuming you enter it correctly you will be prompted  :

Are you sure you want to copy over account X?

Press Y then ENTER to copy the account.  To cancel, press N then ENTER or press ESC.

If you tried to copy from a new account, you will be prompted :

Cannot copy account X!
	PRESS ANY KEY

You can then press any key to return to the account selection screen.

[B] - Back up all accounts to floppy disk

This option works in exactly the same way as the backup process described in section 12.2.  Choose option [B], then refer to section 12.2 for details.

[U] - Restore backups from floppy disk

Choose option [U] to restore files.  Restore files only if your current files have become corrupted, or you are transferring data from one P.C. to another.  You will be prompted 

From which drive do you want to restore (A or B)?

Press the letter of the drive you wish to restore from and press ENTER.  You will be prompted

PLEASE INSERT RESTORE DISK NUMBER 1 IN DRIVE A:
	PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE, OR ESC TO QUIT

Place your first backup disk in the drive you selected (drive A selected in this example) and press a key to begin restoring.  If there is more than one disk, SIGMA LITE will prompt you when to put the next disk in the drive.  Follow the screen prompts until SIGMA LITE informs you that it has finished restoring.

If you cancel the restore process by pressing ESC you will get a message stating that the restore process has not been successfully completed.  You should always complete the restore process properly.
 
[R] - Rename an account

To rename an account choose option [R].  You will be prompted 

Account to rename? 

Enter the number of the account to rename and press ENTER.  You will be prompted

NEW ACCOUNT NAME :	old_name
NEW ACCOUNT NO. :	123456-00

The cursor appears at the end of the current account name.  You can now use the normal editing keys to correct it.  Press ENTER to move to the account number field.

Again, use the normal editing keys to correct the account number.  It must be in the format described in chapter 4.2, or you will get an error message.  Press ENTER when it is correct.

[T] - Transfer categories from one account to another

Choose option [T] if you have set up a new account whose categories will be essentially the same as one of your current accounts. You will be prompted with 

Categories from which account ?

Choose the account from which you want the categories transferred by pressing one of the number keys (0-9). You will then be prompted with

Copy them to which account ?

Once again choose the account that is to receive these categories. If the account you want to copy to exists and has a password set, you will be prompted

Enter the password for this account :
Enter the account password. Assuming you enter it correctly you will be prompted  :

Are you sure you want to copy over the categories of account X?

If so press Y then ENTER, the categories will be copied and you will be returned to the Account Selection menu. If not then press N and ENTER, and you will be returned to the Account Selection menu without copying the categories.

If when choosing the account to copy to above, you select an account that has not yet been set up, you will be prompted 

You must create account X before copying categories to it
			PRESS ANY KEY

Press a key and you will be returned to the Account Selection menu.


NOTE
 
You should be careful using this option, and usually only transfer categories to a new account that does not yet have any transactions, as this option copies all  categories across wiping any that you may have set up previously.

[S] - Set a new system date

Occassionally you will want to change the system date from within SIGMA LITE. Handy if you decide that you want to process your automatic transactions for the rest of the month, and you had set the date for the middle of the month.

After pressing S you will be presented with the standard date entry screen. Refer to chapter 2, Fundamentals, for details on how to fill in this screen.
 
Q] - Quit to DOS

This option allows you to quit SIGMA LITE without choosing an account or returning to the main menu.  To quit select [Q] and you will be prompted

Are you sure you want to quit to DOS? Y

Press ENTER to quit SIGMA LITE.  To cancel quitting and return to account selection press N then ENTER.
 
NOTE

If you quit from here you will not be prompted to print an audit trail or back up files, as there are no active accounts at this point.
12.4 End of Year Update

Selecting option Y from the Main Menu performs an end of year update. This resets all of your Year-to-date totals to zero. 

It should only be performed at the end of your financial year, after printing all month-to-date reports, performing an end of month update, and printing all year-to date reports.

NOTE

The End-Of Year update option does not clear the Archived Transaction files. Once you have decided that you no longer need them, you may delete them, from the Listings Menu. See Chapter 9, Reports, for more information on this.

12.5 The Backup Cycle

Computers are prone to losing data from any of a number of causes. Because of this frequent backup of your data is recommended.

The accepted routine is to have 8 seperate sets of backup disks. One set will be 1 or more disks, depending how many accounts you run and how big they are.


These sets should be labelled as follows : 

Set 1	Monday Backup
Set 2	Tuesday Backup
Set 3	Wednesday Backup
Set 4	Thursday Backup
Set 5 	Friday Backup Week 1
Set 6 	Friday Backup Week 2
Set 7	Friday Backup Week 3
Set 8	Friday Backup Week 4

Therefore on Mondays you use the Monday disk, Tuesdays the Tuesday disk etc. However on Fridays you use Friday Week 1 the first week, Week 2 the 2nd week etc, until you come to week 5 where you cycle back to week 1 again. This allows you to go back up to 4 weeks should you have problems with your data.

Keeping a label on the disk's jacket, on which you write the last date it was used, also helps to find the latest backups should you need them.

Another option also is to have 12 sets for use at the end of each month. You would use these just before performing the rollover. This would enable you to have another look at a months transactions if you needed to. 

As an extra precaution you should consider taking the backups home with you. Should your computer be stolen or destroyed this would enable you to quickly re-create your cashbook.




Disks are relatively cheap.


The time involved in re-entering data is not.






















Appendix A


Statement for Tutorial.




						                Statement of account with		
														
		John Smith				ABC Banking Group				Account name
		P.O. Box 2255				           Willis Street					SMITH JOHN HARRY
		WELLINGTON.				        WELLINGTON.					CHEQUE ACCOUNT

		DATE : 5 August 1988			Balance of  last statement dated 31 July 1988	Opening Balance:	$12589.60



Name other party

MTS

Particulars

Code

Reference

Debit/Cheque

Credit/Deposit

Date

Balance












497335

363.00 



1-8-88






Williams & Kett



Rent



A.P.

650.15


















Bank Fee

2.00










Amex











56.60

1-8-88

11631.05




Diners











83.95

2-8-88














497332

1231.60


















703823

106.61










N.M.L.







INS

75.24



2-8-88

10301.55
















124.10

3-8-88






A.G.C. Finance



Loan



A.P.

335.20










J. Fellini



Wages



A.P.

70.30










S. O'Reilly



Wages



A.P.

243.51



3-8-88

9776.64
















10652.58

5-8-88














703828

2154.89



5-8-88

18274.33


































































































































































































































   Closing

 Balance

18274.33





























Appendix B

Sample report printouts.


Payments this month

                           S.I.G.M.A. Software Limited.
                        Account 9 - J.H. Smith Demo Account
30/08/88                      PAYMENTS THIS MONTH                      Page 1

CHEQUE NO.	DATE		PAYEE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

703825		 01/08/88	Jackel Corporation
  4: Stock			3,933.20
  0: GST			393.32
					TOTAL:	4,326.52

Auto Pmnt	01/08/88	Williams & Kettle
  8: Rent			577.78
  0: GST  			72.22
  9: Bank Charges			0.15
					TOTAL:	650.15

Auto Pmnt	02/08/88	Insurance
15: Insurance			66.88
  0: GST				8.36
					TOTAL:	75.24

Auto Pmnt	03/08/88	A.G.C. Finance
 2: Loan Payments		335.00
  9: Bank Charges			0.20
					TOTAL:	335.20

Auto Pmnt	03/08/88	J. Fellini
11: Wages			70.10
  9: Bank Charges			0.20
					TOTAL:	70.30

Auto Pmnt	03/08/88	S. O'Reilly
11: Wages			243.31
  9: Bank Charges			0.20
					TOTAL:	243.51

Auto Pmnt	06/08/88	General Finance
  2: Loan Payments		400.00
  9: Bank Charges			0.20
					TOTAL:	400.20

Auto Pmnt	10/08/88	J. Fellini
11: Wages			70.10
  9: Bank Charges			0.20
					TOTAL:	70.30

Auto Pmnt	10/08/88	S. O'Reilly
11: Wages			243.31
  9: Bank Charges			0.20
					TOTAL:	243.51
							--------------

				MONTHLY TOTAL:	6,414.93

Cashbook Listing


			S.I.G.M.A. Software Limited.
		        Account 9 - J.H. Smith Demo Account
30/08/88         PAYMENTS/DEPOSITS THIS MONTH                 Page 1

DATE       	#/Type	PMNTS	DEPOSIT	BALANCE	PAYER/PAYEE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

	STATEMENT BALANCE ON 27/07/88		12,589.60

Non-current (outstanding) transactions:

01/07/88	497332	1,231.60		11,358.00	Telecoms	10: Telephone & Tolls	1,231.60
01/07/88	497335	363.00		10,995.00	I N Print	3: Advertising & Printing	363.00
19/07/88	Amex		56.60	11,051.60	Amex 	204: Sales shop 1	56.60
19/07/88	CV Card		83.95	11,135.55	C V Card	204: Sales shop 1	83.95
20/07/88	703823	106.61		11,028.94	Telecoms	10: Telephone & T	106.61
22/07/88	Diners		124.10	11,153.04	Diners	204: Sales shop 1	124.10
28/07/88	Amex		105.47	11,258.51	Amex	204: Sales shop 1 	105.47

	CASH BOOK BALANCE ON 27/07/88		11,258.51

Current transactions:

01/08/88 703825 	4,326.52		6,931.99	Jackel Corp	4: Stock		3,933.20
							0: GST		393.32
01/08/88	Auto Pmt	650.15		6,281.84	Williams & K	8: Rent		577.78
                                                                                                			0: GST                    	 72.22
                                                                                                 			9: Bank Charges	0.15
02/08/88	Auto Pmt	75.24		6,206.60	Insurance	15: Insurance		66.88
                                                                                                 			0: GST		8.36
03/08/88	Auto Pmt	335.20		5,871.40	A.G.C. Fina	2: Loan Payments	335.00
							9: Bank Charges	0.20
03/08/88	Auto Pmt	70.30		5,801.10	J. Fellini	11: Wages		70.10
							9: Bank Charges	0.20
03/08/88	Auto Pmt	243.51		5,557.59	S. O'Reilly	11: Wages		243.31
							9: Bank Charges	0.20
03/08/88	Cash		10,652.58	16,210.17	Cash	204: Sales shop 1	9,468.96
							200: GST		1,183.62
06/08/88	Auto Pmt	400.20		15,809.97	General Fina	2: Loan Payments	400.00
							9: Bank Charges	0.20
10/08/88	Auto Pmt	70.30		15,739.67	J. Fellini	11: Wages		70.10
							9: Bank Charges	0.20
10/08/88	Auto Pmt	243.51		15,496.16	S. O'Reilly	11: Wages		243.31
							9: Bank Charges	0.20

	FINAL BALANCE ON 30/08/88			15,496.16


Payments/Deposits sorted by category

                          S.I.G.M.A. Software Limited.
                        Account 9 - J.H. Smith Demo Account
30/08/88        PAYMENTS/DEPOSITS THIS MONTH SORTED BY CATEGORY        Page 1
CHEQUE NO.	DATE	AMOUNT	PAYER/PAYEE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
			== PAYMENTS ==
Category 0: GST
703825		01/08/88	393.32		Jackel Corporation
Auto Pmnt	01/08/88	72.22		Williams & Kettle
Auto Pmnt	02/08/88	8.36		Insurance
			--------------
			TOTAL:	473.90
Category 2: Loan Payments
Auto Pmnt	03/08/88	335.00		A.G.C. Finance
Auto Pmnt	06/08/88	400.00		General Finance
			--------------
			TOTAL:	735.00
Category 4: Stock
703825		01/08/88	3,933.20		Jackel Corporation
			--------------
			TOTAL:	3,933.20
Category 8: Rent
Auto Pmnt	01/08/88	577.78		Williams & Kettle
			--------------
			TOTAL:	577.78
Category 9: Bank Charges
Auto Pmnt	01/08/88	0.15		Williams & Kettle
Auto Pmnt	03/08/88	0.20		A.G.C. Finance
Auto Pmnt	03/08/88	0.20		J. Fellini
Auto Pmnt	03/08/88	0.20		S. O'Reilly
Auto Pmnt	06/08/88	0.20		General Finance
Auto Pmnt	10/08/88	0.20		J. Fellini
Auto Pmnt	10/08/88	0.20		S. O'Reilly
			--------------
			TOTAL:	1.35
Category 11: Wages
Auto Pmnt	03/08/88	70.10		J. Fellini
Auto Pmnt	03/08/88	243.31		S. O'Reilly
Auto Pmnt	10/08/88	70.10		J. Fellini
Auto Pmnt	10/08/88	243.31		S. O'Reilly
			--------------
			TOTAL:	626.82
Category 15: Insurance
Auto Pmnt	02/08/88	66.88		Insurance
			--------------
			TOTAL:	66.88
			==============
         MONTHLY TOTAL:	6,414.93
            		== DEPOSITS ==
Category 200: GST
Cash		03/08/88	1,183.62		Cash
			--------------
			TOTAL:	1,183.62
Category 204: Sales shop 1
Cash		03/08/88	9,468.96		Cash
			--------------
			TOTAL:	9,468.96
			==============
         MONTHLY TOTAL:	10,652.58

This month's DEPOSITS - PAYMENTS =       4,237.65

Payment/Deposit totals sorted by category

                           S.I.G.M.A. Software Limited.
                        Account 9 - J.H. Smith Demo Account
30/08/88   PAYMENT/DEPOSIT TOTALS FOR EACH CATEGORY     Page 1

CATEGORY					TOTAL
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

		== PAYMENTS ==

0: GST						473.90
1: Plant & Machinery				0.00
2: Loan Payments					735.00
3: Advertising & Promotion			0.00
4: Stock						3,933.20
5: Postage					0.00
6: Vehicle Expenses				0.00
7: Repairs & Maintenance				0.00
8: Rent						577.78
9: Bank Charges					1.35
10: Telephone & Tolls				0.00
11: Wages					626.82
12: Proprietors Drawings				0.00
13: Printing & Stationery				0.00
14: Office Expenses				0.00
15: Insurance					66.88
16: Freight					0.00
							--------------
					TOTAL:	6,414.93

		== DEPOSITS ==

200: GST					1,183.62
201: Loan Money					0.00
202: Proprietors Contributions			0.00
203: Sale of Assets				0.00
204: Sales shop 1					9,468.96
							--------------
					TOTAL:	10,652.58

This month's DEPOSITS - PAYMENTS =       4,237.65

Bank Reconciliation

                          S.I.G.M.A. Software Limited.
                        Account 9 - J.H. Smith Demo Account
30/08/88                  BANK RECONCILIATION                  Page 1

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Opening Balance on 27/07/88				12,589.60

Total Payments		0.00				12,589.60

Total Deposits			0.00			12,589.60

	TOTAL:  (Statement Balance)				12,589.60

Outstanding Payments:
* 01/07/88  497332	1,231.60		Telecoms
* 01/07/88  497335	363.00		I N Print
* 20/07/88  703823	106.61		Telecoms
  01/08/88  703825	4,326.52		Jackel Corporation
  01/08/88  Auto Pmnt	650.15		Williams & Kettle
  02/08/88  Auto Pmnt	75.24		Insurance
  03/08/88  Auto Pmnt	335.20		A.G.C. Finance
  03/08/88  Auto Pmnt	70.30		J. Fellini
  03/08/88  Auto Pmnt	243.51		S. O'Reilly
  06/08/88  Auto Pmnt	400.20		General Finance
  10/08/88  Auto Pmnt	70.30		J. Fellini
  10/08/88  Auto Pmnt	243.51		S. O'Reilly
				--------------
			Total	8,116.14				4,473.46

Outstanding Deposits:
* 19/07/88  Amex			56.60		Amex
* 19/07/88  CV Card		83.95		C V Card
* 22/07/88  Diners		124.10		Diners
* 28/07/88  Amex			105.47		Amex
  03/08/88  Cash			10,652.58	Cash
					--------------
				Total	11,022.70		15,496.16

		TOTAL:  (Cash Book Balance)		15,496.16


Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION & INSTALLATION	1.1
1.1: Backing Up Your Disks	1.2
1.2: Installation	1.3
Floppy drive systems	1.3

2. SIGMA LITE - FUNDAMENTALS	2.1
2.1: Using The Menus	2.1
2.2: Common Keys	2.1
2.3: Field Entry	2.3
Entering Text in Fields	2.3
Entering Numerical Values	2.4
Entering Dates	2.5

3. LICENSING	3.1
3.1: Registration	3.1
3.2: Filling in your name	3.1
3.3: Entering Your Code	3.3

4. FIRST SESSION & TUTORIAL	4.1
4.1: Getting Started	4.1
Floppy Disk Systems	4.1
Hard Disk Systems	4.2
Help! (where are you?)	4.3
4.2: The Account Selection Screen	4.3
Creating A New Account	4.3
NOTE	4.4
Maintenance Options	4.4
4.3: The Main Menu	4.4
4.4: Getting The Most Out Of SIGMA LITE	4.5
The Planning Stage	4.5
Where Do I Start?	4.6
4.5: SIGMA LITE Tutorial	4.6
Options	4.7
Categories & Types	4.7
Automatic Transactions	4.8
Entering Transactions	4.9
Reconciliation and Editing entries	4.10
Processing Automatic Payments	4.12
Summary	4.12

5. CONFIGURATION	5.1
[O] - Screen output (toggle)	5.1
[G] - Set the GST rate	5.1
[C] - Set colours	5.2
[D] - Printer device name	5.2
[T] Printer type	5.2
[Z] - Display 0-total cat's: YES (toggle)	5.3
[S] - Save configuration to disk	5.3
[Q] - Quit Main menu	5.4

6. CATEGORIES AND TYPES	6.1
6.1: Set Up Payment Categories	6.1
To add or edit a payment category	6.1
To enter a new category	6.2
To edit a current category	6.3
6.2: Set Up Deposit Categories	6.3
               6.3: Set Up Payment Types	6.3
To add or edit a payment type	6.3
To add a new payment type	6.4
To edit a payment type	6.4
6.4: Set Up Deposit Types	6.4

7. AUTOMATIC TRANSACTIONS	7.1
To enter or edit an automatic payment	7.1
7.1: Entering New Automatic Transactions	7.1
Filling In The Details	7.2
Entering Amounts and Splits	7.3
Completing The Automatic Transaction	7.4
Keeping Things In Check	7.4
7.2: Editing a Current Automatic Transaction	7.4
7.3: Deleting Automatic Transactions	7.5
7.4: Processing Automatic Transactions	7.6
[F] - Forget the transaction for this time	7.6
[S] - Save this transaction till later	7.6
[L] - Leave all due transactions till later	7.7
[E] - Edit the transaction first	7.7
[D] - Delete the transaction permanently	7.7
[A] - Accept all automatic transactions	7.7

8. ENTERING TRANSACTIONS	8.1
8.1: Entering Payments	8.1
Filling In The Details	8.1
Entering Amounts And Splits	8.2
Completing The Payment	8.3
Keeping Things In Check	8.3
8.2: Entering Deposits	8.4

9. REPORTS	9.1
Listing destination	9.1
9.1: Reports Available	9.1
[P] - Display payment entries this month	9.1
[D] - Display deposit entries this month	9.1
[C] - Cashbook listing	9.2
[M] - Show monthly entries by category	9.2
[T] Show monthly totals by category	9.3
[Y] Year to Date Totals listing	9.3
[S] Reconc. summary (printer only)	9.4
[X] - Export totals to LOTUS format	9.4
[Q] - Main Menu	9.5
9.2: Exporting To LOTUS	9.5
Exporting the files	9.5
Importing the files	9.6

10. BANK RECONCILIATION	10.1
10.1: The Reconciliation Screen	10.1
Marking Transactions	10.1
Editing Transactions	10.2
Deleting Transactions	10.3
10.2: Continuing The Reconciliation	10.3
10.3 Clearing Ghosted Transactions	10.4

11. POP-UP HELP & CALCULATOR	11.1
11.1: Context Sensitive Help	11.1
11.2: General Help Options	11.1
11.3: Calculator	11.2

12. CLOSING DOWN & MAINTENANCE	12.1
12.1: Closing Down	12.1
12.2: Backing up	12.1
12.3: Maintenance	12.2
Options	12.3
[D] - Delete An Account	12.3
[C] - Copy an account to another account	12.3
[B] - Back up all accounts to floppy disk	12.4
[U] - Restore backups from floppy disk	12.4
[R] - Rename an account	12.4
[T] - Transfer categories from one account to another	12.5
[S] - Set a new system date	12.5
Q] - Quit to DOS	12.6
12.4 End of Year Update	12.6
12.5 The Backup Cycle	.12.6

Appendix A	A.1
Statement for Tutorial.	A.1

Appendix B	A.1
Sample report printouts.	A.1
Payments this month	A.2
Cashbook Listing	A.3
Payments/Deposits sorted by category	A.4
Payment/Deposit totals sorted by category	A.5
Bank Reconciliation	A.6


Page 1.4		SIGMA LITE User Guide

SIGMA LITE User Guide		Page 1.1

Page 2.4		SIGMA LITE User Guide

SIGMA LITE User Guide		Page 2.5

Page 3.2		SIGMA LITE User Guide

SIGMA LITE User Guide		Page 3.3

Page 4.12		SIGMA LITE User Guide

SIGMA LITE User Guide		Page 4.11

Page 5.2		SIGMA LITE User Guide

SIGMA LITE User Guide		Page 5.1

Page 6.4		SIGMA LITE User Guide

SIGMA LITE User Guide		Page 6.3

Page 7.6		SIGMA LITE User Guide

SIGMA LITE User Guide		Page 7.7

Page 8.4		SIGMA LITE User Guide

SIGMA LITE User Guide		Page 8.1

Page 9.4		SIGMA LITE User Guide

SIGMA LITE User Guide		Page 9.5

Page 10.4		SIGMA LITE User Guide

SIGMA LITE User Guide		Page 10.3

Page 11.2		SIGMA LITE User Guide

SIGMA LITE User Guide		Page 11.1

Page 12.4		SIGMA LITE User Guide

SIGMA LITE User Guide		Page 12.5

Appendix A		SIGMA User Guide

SIGMA LITE User Guide		Appendix A

Appendix 	SIGMA LITE User Guide

SIGMA LITE User Guide		Appendix A

Table of contents		SIGMA LITE User Guide

SIGMA LITE User Guide		Table of Contents


