Getting Started Tutorial

This page is a quick reference to get you started. It is recommended that you print this page out so that you can easily refer to it while you install and explore Cashbook Complete.


Installing the Software:

• Download the software to your hard drive (eg. save it to the "My Documents" folder to easily find it again)
• Start the Installation Process - Select Open (or Run) from the download screen. If you don't have an "Open" option then use "My Computer" to browse to the "My Documents" folder and double click on the file you downloaded (eg. cshbk420b.exe).
• Incomplete Downloads - If there is an error at this stage then you haven't downloaded the entire file, so click here.
• Welcome Screen - You should get "Unzipping files" and then a green Welcome screen.
• Install It - Click on "Install Cashbook Complete" and then click OK. At the end of the installation click OK again.

Introduction to the Demo:

• Cashbook Demo Icon - Double click on the Cashbook Demo icon on your desktop
• Welcome - Read the Welcome screen, ... and close it
• Main Screen - The main screen is broken up into modules - represented by the green boxes (Cashbook, Contacts, Invoicing, etc.)
• Menu - The menu at the top (File, Edit, Cashbook, etc.) is also organised by module
• Toolbar - The toolbar has the most common screens on it for easy access. A lot of screens also have their own toolbar.
• Calculator - Click on the calculator near the right had side of the tool bar, ... and close it.

Cashbook Demo:

• Cashbook - Click on the Cashbook button on the top left corner of the main screen. The Cashbook screen is the heart of any cashbook based program. It closely resembles your bank statements, and each time you get a bank statement it needs to be reconciled to the bank statement. Transactions can be entered into the cashbook from the "Bills to Pay" screen and the "Payments Received" screen. They can also be entered manually into this screen.
• Bank Rec - When you get your bank statement, you simply tick the transactions off in the B (Banked) column, and check that the bank balance shown on your bank statement and the Cashbook are the same.
• Line Details - Click anywhere on the third line from the bottom. You will see some extra line details at the bottom of the page. They change for each line.
• Split Transactions - On the fourth line from the bottom, double click on the word "Split". A screen will come up which shows how one transaction is split into several smaller transactions. This is used for example when a credit card payment is split into it's components, or a motor vehicle expense is apportioned between home and business, or money banked as one lump sum is split into it's individual invoice payments. ... Close the Split screen.
• Graph - Click on the Graph button at the top of the cashbook screen. That shows your income and expenses over the last year for that account. ... Close the Graph screen.
• Importing Bank Statements - There are two buttons at the top of the cashbook screen (with the picture of a funnel) for importing bank statements from the internet. You can import bank statements from all the major banks, and can set up rules for repetitive transactions.
• Help - Click on the Help button (yellow question mark) for that screen (not the one on the main toolbar), and you will see how comprehensive the help is. The green hyperlinks at the top of the help screen go to other related topics. ... Close the Help screen and close the Cashbook screen.
• Budgets - Click on the Budgets button. You can enter Budgets and compare them against Actuals as the year progresses. ... Close the Budgets and Actuals screen.
• Payments Received - Click on the Payments Received button. When you receive your cheques from your customers, then enter them in here. If you have lots of cheques, you can print the list out for combining with a Deposit slip. ... Close the Payments Received screen.
• Bills to Pay - Click on the Bills to Pay button. Here you can (if you want to) enter all your bills that need to be paid so that you can manage your creditors. ... Close the Bills to Pay screen.
• Reports - There are several reports you can print out. The main ones are the Summary Report and Detailed Report. There are more standard reports under the Cashbook menu (next to the File and Edit menu).

Contact Manager Demo:

• Contacts Lookup - Click on the Contact button (top centre). This shows all the contacts that you do business with. This includes customers, suppliers and all other contacts. Type the word Bob into the Search box and press Enter. The list of companies now only includes those ones which have "Bob" anywhere in the company or employee name. The search is not case sensitive (ie. it treats Bob the same as bob and BOB). If "Search All" is clicked then all fields will be searched. Double click on "Colonial Cottages Ltd".
• Contacts Screen - This has all the contact details for that particular customer or supplier.
• Reminders of People to Call - The third employee (Basil Wendle) has a date next to his name. You can use that date to remind you to call him on or after that date.
• History - Click on the Invoice History button. This shows this customers invoice history. There is also a history for the Cashbook, Quotes, Projects (Jobs), etc. ... Close the Invoice History screen.
• Reminders of People to Call - The third employee (Basil Wendle) has a date next to his name. You can use that date to remind you to call him on or after that date. ... Close the Contact screen.
• People to Call - Click on the "People to Call" button (just below the Contacts button). This shows a list of people to call. ... Close the "People to Call" screen.

Invoicing / Statement Demo:

• Invoice Lookup - Click on the Invoices button (centre left). This screen lets you look up an invoice, or create a new one. By default this screen shows you the incomplete invoices (that have not been printed and sent yet). Click on Outstanding. This shows the invoices which have been sent but have not been paid yet. Click on All, and then type print into the Search box and press Enter. This list all invoices which have "print" in their name. Type 400 into the search box and press Enter. This brings up invoice INV00400. Press the "New" button
• Invoicing Screen - This is where you enter your invoices. Select a company from the pull down menu to the right of "To". If you move your mouse over the toolbar for this screen you will see Tool Tips for what that button does.
• Column Options - Some people want columns for product code, product description, quantity, and price. Some only want a description and a price. Some want a discount column, and some definitely don't! Press the fifth button from the left hand side (a hand holding a piece of paper). If it is greyed out then select a company first. These are the column options for invoicing. Try ticking and unticking some options. You will see the invoicing screen underneath change to reflect your column option.
• Printing - Enter some text into the Description column, a price into the "Unit Price" column, and print it out (it won't print a blank invoice).
• Invoice Status - You will see that the status has gone from Incomplete to Outstanding. The invoice cannot be changed now (unless you click the pencil eraser). ... Close the Invoicing screen.
• Invoices Outstanding (or Debtors List) - Click on the Invoices Outstanding button (centre left). These are the invoices which have not been fully paid starting with the oldest at the top. There are two different types of reports you can print out - A detail report which lists each invoice, and a summary report (or debtors aged balance report) which only lists the total outstanding for each customer. ... Close the Invoices Outstanding screen.
• Statements - Click on the Statements button, and double click a customer to print out their statement. There are two tick boxes which let you decide on the level of detail you want on the statement (print payments made), and whether you want a payment slip at the bottom of the invoice. You can also make small adjustments to the statement date (for example if you want the statement to be dated for the end of the month, but it is the first or second day of the month today).

You can now browse around the demo and have a look at the other features. You can change or add data if you wish. You can then create your own live data file as follows:-

Setting Up Your Own Database:

• New Cashbook - Close the demo down, and then click on the Cashbook Complete icon on your desktop. Select New and then press OK (or if you already have a data file, select "Open Cashbook" from the File menu).
• Setup Wizard - You will now be in the Setup Wizard which lets you configure the data file specifically for your company. The screens displayed are dependant on the options you select, so we won't go through each screen in detail.

If you have any suggestions for this page, please email us at support@acclaimsoftware.com