FINANCIAL PLANNER V1.5
----------------------

Start the program by highlighting the line under the Icon and pressing <Enter>.  The 'nag' screens can be removed by registering the program, which will also allow you 25 agencies.  The unregistered version allows you just 6 entries, to see the capabilities of the program. Working through the MENU commands will show you the capabilities of the program. 

The program basically works on 3 different levels:

Level 1.  To start, use <PSION-E> (or <Enter>) to enter a couple of agencies who send you bills, such as Electricity and Phone (The usual Update, Delete and Move options are available as always).   You can now move the vertical highlight to the required agency (either using the cursor, or pressing the first letter), and the horizontal highlight to the required month, and use <PSION-C> (or <TAB>) to enter the estimated bill.  The bottom line will show the total for each month.  Note that, although it starts up with January as the first month, you can use the horizontal cursor to make any month the first to be displayed.  All the settings you have will be remembered between sessions.  Once a payment has been made, you can use <PSION-R> (or the Space-Bar) to show a cost in Bold as a reminder.  The default is for a 12-month display, which is usable for costs up to 999.  If you need more than 3 figures, there is an option to configure the display to, amongst other things, reduce the number of months on display to prevent overlap.

Level 2.  If, like me, you run a separate account to pay the bills, you can use the planner to decide how much to transfer into the account each month. Press <PSION-W> to switch the bottom line to 'Transfer' and use <PSION-T> to put an initial estimate in for the amount.  Note that you can put the amount in for individual months, to the end of the screen (if you have less than 12 months in the display it will fill up the remaining months as though they are displayed), or for all months.  Now press <PSION-W> again, and the line will show the Balance for each month.  You can now increase or decrease the transfer accordingly, depending on how much in debt you are willing to go.  There is also an option to adjust the initial balance in case you are not starting from zero.  The program defaults to carrying forward the balance from the previous month, but this can be disabled using the 'Mode' option in the 'Config' menu.

Level 3.  This is the fully automatic mode that I operate.  Use <PSION-A> to enter the mode once you have completed all the entries.  From now on, the present month will always appear in the second column, leaving the previous month in case there is an outstanding payment.  All future payments will be de-reconciled, and the bottom window will show the predicted balance based on the previous months total.  This total is shown in bold, and can be changed if required.  Once the next month arrives, everything will move one column to the left, so you continually have a prediction for 11-months ahead.

In V1.1, I implemented an 'Edit memo' function along the same lines as the option in 'Agenda'.  Just use <PSION-+> to open up a notepad to keep records of extra details, numbers and references.  I also implemented the status window switching using <CTRL-MENU>.

In V1.2 I have implemented decimal places.  The only problem this generates is that of overlap between entries if you have too many digits.  I have tried to make the program sensible enough to avoid this, but if you do have trouble, just reduce the number of months on display until the overlap disappears.

In V1.3, I have implemented the capability to move the positions of the vertical lines, to design your own screen, and a 'Jump to Month' option.

In V1.4 I have implemented a proper Help function, and full printing support, including support for the PSIWIN 'Psion Print' driver.  The use should be self-explanatory, although remember you will almost certainly have to use the landscape mode.

In V1.5 I made the printout start at the same month as the display, rather than defaulting to January, and also made the balance carry-forward optional.

If you find the program useful and wish to register it, please see the file README.TXT for up-to-date instructions on how to register.  Apart from giving you a 'warm' feeling, allowing  you  25 agencies, and getting rid of the 'nag' screens, registering will give you access to full support and notification of  regular, free, updates. 


Al Richey
