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NONPROFIT GENERAL LEDGER
USER MANUAL
Version 1.11
by
William Meacham
April 1, 1989
This is a user-supported product. It is not public domain and it
is not free. You are granted a limited license to use this
product on a trial basis. If you wish to continue using the
product after evaluating it, please register. Send $40 (manual
on disk) or $55 (to get a printed manual) to the address below.
You may make copies of this software for your friends or computer
club, etc. You may not resell the software for your own profit.
See Chapter 2 for more information.
BENEFITS OF REGISTRATION: (a) Additional utility program to
print an audit trail and reconstruct your files after disk
errors; (b) notice of future upgrades; (c) reduced price on
future upgrades.
Copyright (c) 1989 William Meacham
Reliance Software Services
1004 Elm Street, Austin Tx 78703
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY AND LIMITED WARRANTY
THIS SOFTWARE AND ACCOMPANYING WRITTEN MATERIALS, INCLUDING
INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE, ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY AS TO
THEIR PERFORMANCE, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR
PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF
THE SOFTWARE IS ASSUMED BY YOU.
If you purchased the software directly from me, William Meacham,
dba Reliance Software Services, I'll replace a defective diskette
without charge for 90 days after you purchase it.
IN NO EVENT SHALL WILLIAM MEACHAM, RELIANCE SOFTWARE SERVICES, OR
ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION OR
DELIVERY OF THIS SOFTWARE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS
PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, AND
THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PRODUCT,
EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
Contents
Chapter 1 About This Manual 1.1
What is in this manual . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1
How to use this manual . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2
Novice: New to accounting . . . . . . . . 1.2
Professional: Know accounting but new to
computers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3
Expert: Experienced with both computers and
accounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3
Everybody . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3
Typography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3
Chapter 2 About The Software 2.1
The Nonprofit General Ledger program . . . . 2.1
Not just for nonprofits . . . . . . . . . 2.2
An "On-line" System . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2
How to use the program -- Overview . . . . . 2.3
Experience necessary . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4
Equipment Needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4
About Shareware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4
Why register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5
Restricted permission to copy . . . . . . 2.6
Other Reliance software . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6
Reliance Mailing List . . . . . . . . . . 2.6
User Interface source code . . . . . . . . 2.7
Chapter 3 Fundamental Concepts 3.1
Account numbers and codes . . . . . . . . . . 3.1
Major Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2
Functional Categories . . . . . . . . . . 3.3
Service Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3
Funding Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3
Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3
The InterFund Clearing Account . . . . . . . 3.3
The budget process . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4
The accounting cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5
Funding cycles that do not match your fiscal
year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5
Preparing an income statement for the funding
cycle -- procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6
Setting up a budget for the funding cycle --
procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6
Using the system without codes . . . . . . . 3.7
i
Chapter 4 Getting Started 4.1
What is on the diskette . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1
To copy the software for others . . . . . 4.2
How to install the software . . . . . . . . . 4.2
Floppy disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3
Hard disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4
How to use the keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5
Using the cursor control keys . . . . . . 4.5
Entering dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5
Entering a negative number . . . . . . . . 4.6
Yes/No Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6
Correcting mistakes . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6
Caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6
Chapter 5 The Startup Program 5.1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1
Caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2
Plan ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2
Starting the program . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3
Two floppy disk drives . . . . . . . . . . 5.3
Hard disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3
Fiscal year dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3
The Startup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5
Overview of the Startup Menu . . . . . . . 5.5
Change colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7
Change dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8
Enter organization information . . . . . . . 5.8
Set up your printer . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10
Compressed print . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10
New page method . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.11
Add ledger accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.12
Account number . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.12
Account title . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.12
Debit/Credit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.12
Year-to-date balance . . . . . . . . . . 5.13
This period balance . . . . . . . . . . 5.13
Yearly budget and period budget . . . . 5.13
Remaining in budget . . . . . . . . . . 5.13
Max accounts, Number used and Number
left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.13
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.14
Change ledger accounts . . . . . . . . . . 5.15
Displaying different accounts . . . . . 5.15
Changing an account . . . . . . . . . . 5.16
Delete Ledger Accounts . . . . . . . . . . 5.17
Print trial balance . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.18
Display system control information . . . . 5.19
Print system control information . . . . . 5.21
Chapter 6 The General Ledger Program 6.1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1
Caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1
Starting the program . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1
Two floppy disk drives . . . . . . . . . . 6.1
ii
Hard disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1
System dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2
Current processing date . . . . . . . . . 6.3
The Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4
Post ledger accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.6
Posting transactions . . . . . . . . . . . 6.7
General journal postings . . . . . . . . . . 6.8
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.8
Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.10
Making corrections . . . . . . . . . . . 6.15
Debit one account with multiple credits . . 6.16
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.17
Credit one account with multiple debits . . 6.19
Posting more than eight debits or
credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.19
View transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.20
View chart of accounts . . . . . . . . . . 6.21
Print reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.22
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.23
Transaction Journal . . . . . . . . . . 6.24
Close books -- end of period . . . . . . . 6.27
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.27
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.27
Close books -- end of year . . . . . . . . 6.29
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.29
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.30
To cancel the process . . . . . . . . . 6.30
To continue and not cancel . . . . . . . 6.31
Add ledger accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.34
Delete ledger accounts . . . . . . . . . . 6.34
View Ledger Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . 6.34
View/change system control information . . 6.35
Organization Information . . . . . . . . . 6.35
Printer Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.36
Dates and control information (view only) . 6.37
Transaction journal . . . . . . . . . . 6.37
Change colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.39
The Transaction Information program . . . . 6.39
Chapter 7 The Utility Program 7.1
Installing the program . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1
Starting the program . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1
The Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1
Audit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.4
List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.5
Fix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.6
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.6
Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.6
Zero the Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.9
Chapter 8 Protecting your data 8.1
Backing up your data . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1
Floppy disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1
Hard disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1
iii
Caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2
Insufficient disk space . . . . . . . . . 8.2
Restoring your data . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2
Floppy disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3
Hard disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3
End of month backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3
Using the BACKUP program . . . . . . . . . . 8.4
If things go wrong with BACKUP . . . . . . 8.5
Using the RESTORE program . . . . . . . . . . 8.5
If things go wrong with RESTORE . . . . . 8.7
Do not copy BACKUP files . . . . . . . . . . 8.7
Chapter 9 Error messages 9.1
Chapter 10 Understanding the Reports 10.1
Report Heading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.1
Trial Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.2
Budget listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.2
Budget Variance Report . . . . . . . . . . 10.2
Acct # . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.3
Acct title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.3
Current period actual . . . . . . . . . 10.3
Current period budgeted . . . . . . . . 10.3
Current period variance . . . . . . . . 10.4
Current period var% . . . . . . . . . . 10.4
Year to date actual . . . . . . . . . . 10.4
Year to date budgeted . . . . . . . . . 10.4
Year to date variance . . . . . . . . . 10.4
Year to date var% . . . . . . . . . . . 10.4
Remaining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.4
Totals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.5
Income Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.5
Functional category totals . . . . . . . 10.5
Percentages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.5
Major category totals . . . . . . . . . 10.5
Income statement summaries . . . . . . . 10.5
Balance Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.6
Functional category totals . . . . . . . 10.6
Fund balances and InterFund Clearing
Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.6
Percentages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.6
System Control Information . . . . . . . . 10.6
Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.6
Dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.7
Data files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.7
Ledger accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.7
Transaction journal entries . . . . . . 10.7
Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.8
Chart of Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.8
Transaction Journal . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.8
Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.9
TN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.9
Acct # . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.9
Acct title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.9
iv
Dr and Cr amounts . . . . . . . . . . . 10.9
Memo description . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.9
Audit Trail Report . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.9
Appendix A Fundamentals of Nonprofit Accounting A.1
Fundamental Principles . . . . . . . . . . . A.1
Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A.2
Liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A.2
Owners' Equity and Fund Balances . . . . . A.2
Profits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A.3
Revenues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A.3
Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A.4
Debits and Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . A.4
Example: For-profit . . . . . . . . . . . . . A.5
Example: Nonprofit . . . . . . . . . . . . . A.6
Cash vs. Accrual Accounting . . . . . . . . . A.7
Cash basis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A.7
Accrual basis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A.7
The Balance Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A.9
The Income Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . A.9
A note on depreciation . . . . . . . . . . A.10
The yearly accounting cycle . . . . . . . . A.10
Appendix B Examples of Use B.1
The East West Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.1
Chart of accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.1
Monthly cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.4
Cash receipts and disbursements . . . . . B.4
Accruals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.5
Closing the month . . . . . . . . . . . . B.6
Community Services, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . B.6
Service programs and funding sources . . . . B.7
Chart of accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.7
The budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.11
Budgeting for different funding cycles . B.13
Appendix C Using a Laserjet printer C.1
Compressed print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C.1
On-disk documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . C.1
Laserjet Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . C.2
Appendix D Technical Information D.1
Data files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D.1
Record type declarations . . . . . . . . . D.2
Types and constants for TACCESS . . . . . D.3
Using the data files . . . . . . . . . . . . D.4
Appendix E Reliance Software Order form E.1
Other Reliance software . . . . . . . . . . . E.1
The Reliance Mailing List program . . . . E.1
User Interface source code . . . . . . . . E.2
Order Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E.3
v
Figures
Figure 5.1: Dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4
Figure 5.2: Startup menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5
Figure 5.3: Change Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7
Figure 5.4: Organization information . . . . . . . 5.8
Figure 5.5: Set Up your Printer . . . . . . . . . .5.10
Figure 5.6: Add ledger accounts . . . . . . . . . .5.12
Figure 5.7: System Control Information . . . . . .5.19
Figure 6.1: System Dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2
Figure 6.2: The Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4
Figure 6.3: Post Ledger Accounts Menu . . . . . . . 6.6
Figure 6.4: Data entry screen for posting
transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.8
Figure 6.5: View Transactions . . . . . . . . . . .6.20
Figure 6.6: View Chart of Accounts . . . . . . . .6.21
Figure 6.7: Print Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.22
Figure 6.8: Transaction Journal . . . . . . . . . .6.25
Figure 6.9: Close Books at End of Period . . . . .6.27
Figure 6.10: Close Books at End of Year . . . . . .6.29
Figure 6.11: End-of-year Closing Dates . . . . . .6.32
Figure 6.12: View/Change System Control
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . .6.35
Figure 6.13: System Control Information . . . . . .6.37
Figure 7.1: Utility program Main Menu . . . . . . . 7.2
vi
Chapter 1
About This Manual
This manual tells you how to use the Nonprofit General
Ledger program, a powerful, yet easy-to-use accounting program.
Like any software manual, it has two purposes:
1. To teach you how to use the software.
2. To serve as a reference once you have learned the
fundamentals.
If you know accounting and know computers you can probably figure
out how to use the program without much help, but I encourage you
to read the manual. Things will go faster if you do.
What is in this manual
Here is what you'll find in each chapter:
Chapter
1 About this manual. Tells you how to use the manual.
2 About the software. What the software does. Equipment
needed. About Shareware. Overview of how to use the
software.
3 Fundamental Concepts. Fundamental principles of how
the program works.
4 Getting Started. What's on the diskettes. How to
install the software. How to use the keyboard.
5 The Startup Program. Reference for the NGLSTART
program. An explanation of each function in the
Startup program.
6 The General Ledger Program. Reference for the NGL
program. An explanation of each function in the main
Nonprofit General Ledger program. Also covers the
TRANINFO program.
Page 1.1
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 1.2
Chapter 1, About This Manual
7 The Utility Program. Reference for the NGLUTIL
program. An explanation of each function in the
Utility program.
8 Protecting Your Data. How to back up data you have
saved.
9 Error messages. Explains the error messages that may
appear in the program and what to do about them.
10 Understanding the Reports. Explains each of the
reports the program prints.
Appendix
A Fundamentals of Nonprofit Accounting. Some basic
points on how nonprofits are different.
B Examples of Use. One real and one fictional example of
how organizations can use the NGL program to keep their
books.
C Using a Laserjet printer. Tells how to use the Hewlett
Packard Laserjet and similar printers with the program.
D Technical information. Tells about the data structure.
This is for programmers who need to know how to extract
data from the files on disk.
E Order Form. Order the Registered User version of this
and other Reliance software.
How to use this manual
This section tells what to read depending on your experience
with computers and accounting. Find the description that applies
to you and follow the instructions there.
Novice: New to accounting
Read Chapter 2 first. It gives you an overview of the
program. Next, skip to Appendix A for an introduction to
accounting for nonprofits. You need to understand this first.
You may also wish to read Appendix B, "Examples of Use," at this
point, to get a feel for how the program can work for you through
the accounting cycle.
When you feel comfortable with accounting concepts, read
Chapter 3. It tells how the program does what it does.
When you are ready to start, carefully follow the
instructions in Chapter 4 to install the software, then proceed
through Chapters 5 and 6 to run the software.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 1.3
Chapter 1, About This Manual
Professional: Know accounting but new to computers
You too should read Chapter 2 to find out what the software
does. You can get by with skimming Chapter 3, but pay attention
to how the account numbers are set up. You probably won't need
to read Appendix A. You may wish to read Appendix B to see
examples of how to use the software. When you are ready to
start, carefully follow the instructions in Chapters 4, 5 and 6.
Expert: Experienced with both computers and accounting
I know you are anxious to get started, so you can skim
Chapter 3 -- pay attention to how the account numbers are set up
-- and then jump right into Chapter 4 and go to it. When you
have questions, refer to Chapters 5 and 6.
Everybody
When you need help with a specific topic, look in Chapters 5
through 7. These explain each program function. Be sure to
follow the instructions in Chapter 8 to back up your work after a
session with the program! Look in Chapter 9 for an explanation
of any error messages you encounter.
Typography
When specific instructions are given, what you are to type
is underlined like this:
Enter: NGL
What the computer shows on the screen is set off like this:
==================================================================
PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE OR UP-ARROW TO GO BACK
==================================================================
Chapter 2
About The Software
This chapter gives an overview of what the program does and
what you can do with it. It also tells you what equipment you'll
need to run the program, and how the Shareware concept works.
Finally it mentions some other fine software you can get from
Reliance Software Services.
The Nonprofit General Ledger program
The Nonprofit General Ledger program is a powerful, yet
easy-to-use accounting program designed specifically for the
small nonprofit organization. Accounting for nonprofits is
different from accounting for for-profit organizations.
Nonprofits need to keep track of how much money is spent on
different service programs. They also need to know where the
money from different funding sources goes. This program keeps
track of both. Specifically, the program does the following:
- Separates revenues and expenses according to service program
and funding source. This makes it easy to report expenses
to funding organizations.
- Prints a consolidated income statement and balance sheet as
well as detailed income statements for each service program
and funding source. You get an accurate picture of the
organization's financial position.
- Prints a great variety of other reports, including a trial
balance and budget variance reports.
- Provides a complete audit trail of all transactions. Your
auditor can easily verify the accuracy of your financial
statements.
- Compares actual to budgeted expenses and receipts. This
helps you to manage the organization effectively.
- Shows the effect of transactions on the budget immediately,
as they are posted. If an expenditure would exceed the
budget, you can post it to another budget category instead.
This eliminates the need to go back and make adjustments
later.
Page 2.1
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 2.2
Chapter 2, About The Software
- Is extremely easy to use; data entry is simple and
intuitive, and all program functions are menu-driven. Your
books will always balance; the program prevents you from
making an unbalanced entry.
In developing this program I have worked closely with
nonprofit administrators and accountants. I have used this
program myself for over a year to keep the books for an
educational nonprofit in Austin, Texas (See Appendix B). In the
course of using it and watching others use it I have learned what
works and what doesn't, and I have continually refined the
program. I think you'll like it. You should be aware, however,
of two limitations:
- Account number categories are predefined and you cannot
change them. Asset accounts, for instance, always begin
with 1, and Liability accounts always begin with 2. You may
have to revise your chart of accounts to fit this scheme.
- The program prints a consolidated balance sheet, but not
separate balance sheets for separate funds. It does print
income statements for separate funds. If there is enough
interest, I'll add true fund accounting to a future version
of this program. Please contact me if you need this
feature.
Not just for nonprofits
You can use this software for personal or business use too.
Businesses can treat "service programs" as cost centers or
divisions. This way you can keep track of each area of your
business as well as the firm as a whole.
If you want, you can totally ignore "service programs" and
"funding sources." Just don't set up any codes for them. That
way this is a plain-vanilla general ledger system. It is based
on fundamental principles, and the way it keeps track of your
accounts is valid regardless of the type of enterprise.
An "On-line" System
The Nonprofit General Ledger system is an "on-line," not a
"batch" system; your accounts are posted, or updated, as soon as
you make an entry. This has the advantage of speed and
immediacy; you can print financial statements and check the
balance in an account at any time without having to wait for a
batch posting cycle. (It also means that the only way to correct
mistaken entries after you post them is to post a reversing entry
later.)
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 2.3
Chapter 2, About The Software
How to use the program -- Overview
The Nonprofit General Ledger system consists of two
programs, a Start-up program and the General Ledger program
itself. (A third program, the Utility program, is available only
to registered users.) First use the Start-up program to set up
your chart of accounts and other essential information and to
enter account balances from your previous system. After you have
entered your account balances, use the General Ledger program to
keep your books.
The process is as follows:
1. Plan your chart of accounts for the computerized system.
You'll need to translate your previous chart of accounts,
since the Nonprofit General Ledger uses special codes to
keep track of service programs and funding sources. You'll
need to decide how you will use the codes to fit your
organization. This is an unexciting but vitally necessary
step. The more thought you give to this step, the more
helpful the program will be to you.
2. Balance your books before converting to the computerized
system. When you enter your existing account balances, if
you are not in balance the Start-up program will "plug" the
difference to ensure that the computerized system is always
in balance. It is best to be sure your books balance
correctly before making the conversion so there won't be any
surprises.
3. Convert to the computerized system. Use the Start-up
program to enter the account balances from your previous
system. You may also enter budget amounts for revenues and
expenses at this time.
4. To maintain a complete audit trail, you should print the
Trial Balance report when you have entered all your accounts
in the Start-up program.
5. Maintain your books using the General Ledger program. Post
entries from your checkbook and receipts journal monthly,
after you have balanced your checkbook. Make accruals at
the end of the month and then close your books to clear out
the monthly totals. You may print budget variance reports
and financial reports at any time.
6. Print the Transaction Journal report after you close out the
month and save it for your accountant or auditor. Whenever
you post a transaction to ledger accounts the program keeps
an audit trail in the Transaction Journal. You can print
this at any time. With the initial Trial Balance report and
a complete set of Transaction Journal reports, your books
can be fully reconstructed if anything damages your computer
or your data.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 2.4
Chapter 2, About The Software
7. Use the budget variance reports to maintain control of
expenses. Timely reports mean you know how much you can
spend.
8. Use the reports generated by the system to report to your
funding organizations; they show exactly how grants and
donations were spent.
9. Close your books at the end of the year. This clears out
all revenue and expense accounts and adjusts your fund
balances in preparation for the next year.
Experience necessary
You don't need to know a lot about computers to run this
software, but the more you know, the better off you'll be. I
assume you have a basic knowledge of how to use DOS to copy files
and run programs. If you don't, refer to your DOS manual.
You should have some acquaintance with bookkeeping and
accounting. An appendix explains some of the principles of
Nonprofit accounting, but if you are a complete novice you should
get someone to help you. This program is designed for people who
keep books, either for Nonprofits or for themselves or a small
business.
Equipment Needed
- An IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 or compatible computer with two
floppy disk drives or a hard disk and one floppy disk drive.
NOTE -- I supply the software on a 5 1/4" 360K diskette. If
your computer has 3" diskettes you'll need to find a way to
copy the program.
- At least 256K of RAM (Random access memory).
- A printer that can print 132 columns of information. An
80-column printer that can print 132 columns in compressed
mode will work.
- Diskettes, paper, printer ribbon, etc.
About Shareware
This program is Shareware. That means you may try it out
without paying for it first. It also means you may make copies
of it for your friends or computer club and upload it to computer
bulletin board systems. If you continue to use it after trying
it out, please register and pay for it.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 2.5
Chapter 2, About The Software
Why register
If you bought a disk from a user group or shareware
distributor, you have not purchased the program. You've only
purchased the disk itself and the right to try out the software.
But now you've got the software, so why should you pay for it?
Here are some good reasons:
- You can get a printed copy of this manual.
- You'll get an additional utility program, described in this
manual but not included in the Shareware version. The
Utility program does the following:
* Prints an audit trail sorted by account number. The
General Ledger program prints transactions by date. If
you want to find all the transactions that affect a
particular account number, the sorted audit trail is a
big help.
* Prints the transaction log report for transaction
history files as well as the current one. Once a
transaction log is saved as a history file, the General
Ledger program cannot print it, but the Utility program
can. You'll need this if you lose your printed reports
from the past.
* Fixes damaged files. If the power goes out or there is
a problem with your disk, your data files could be
damaged. The Utility program can read your data files
and make a new copy with new indexes, so your data is
repaired.
* Zeros out the budget. When you start a new year and
want to set up a new budget, it's a big help to be able
to zero out the old one all at once instead of account
by account.
- I'll notify you of future upgrades and you'll be able to get
the upgrades at a greatly reduced price.
- You'll be supporting the Shareware concept. You get to try
out software before purchasing it. Because I don't
advertise, I can keep the prices low. By registering you
help continue this trend.
- If you use it, you should pay for it. That's fair to
everybody.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 2.6
Chapter 2, About The Software
Restricted permission to copy
You may make copies of the Shareware version of this program
for your friends, for your computer club, and for other non-
business uses. You may place the Shareware version on computer
bulletin boards for others to download.
You may not sell the software for your own profit. User
groups may charge a fee to cover the cost of the disk and
administration as long as this does not exceed $10, U.S.
If you make copies for others, you may not modify the
software or documentation in any way. You may add a description
of your user group or software distribution group if you wish, as
long as you don't modify any of the other files.
You may NOT give away or sell the non-Shareware Utility
program, NGLUTIL.EXE. You may make a copy of the Utility program
for your own backup, but that's all.
Other Reliance software
This is one of several software products from Reliance
Software Services. Others include the Reliance Mailing List
program and the source code to the user interface used in the
General Ledger and the Mailing List program.
Reliance Mailing List
The Reliance Mailing List program maintains a data file of
names and addresses and other information. You can print out
lists and mailing labels in various formats. It features the
same easy-to-use, menu-driven interface as the Nonprofit General
Ledger program. It's a natural for individuals, nonprofits and
small businesses. Features include:
- Holds over 2 billion names (limited by disk space)
- A standard 360K diskette holds about 1,200 names
- Prints mailing labels, one, two or three across
- Prints lists in four different formats
- Writes a "mailmerge" file to export data to other programs
- Contains eight sublists within the data file, selected by
Yes/No criteria
- A three-character user code allows thousands of selection
criteria
- Sorts output by last name or zip code
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 2.7
Chapter 2, About The Software
You can get the Shareware version of this program for only
$6. The Registered User version contains an additional Utility
program that does three things:
- Merges files on several diskettes onto one disk, such as a
hard disk.
- Splits files on a hard disk onto several diskettes.
- Fixes files that have become damaged because of power
failures or a bad disk, etc. The Utility program recovers
all the good data in your data file and creates a new data
file containing only undamaged data.
The Registered User version costs $25. You get the Mailing
List program and the Utility program with complete documentation
on disk. For $35, you get the disk plus a nicely printed copy of
the documentation. Use the order form at the back of this
manual.
User Interface source code
The menu-driven user interface used in Reliance products was
written up in Computer Language magazine, October 1987, page 57
and April 1988, page 117. Features include:
- On-screen data entry forms with complete cursor control
- "Bullet proof" data entry of strings, real numbers,
integers, booleans and dates
- Control of screen attributes and colors
You can get the Turbo Pascal source code for only $6. You
can freely use the source code in your own applications without
paying any royalties. Specify Turbo Pascal 3.0, 4.0 or 5.0. Use
the order form at the back of this manual.
Chapter 3
Fundamental Concepts
This chapter goes into some detail about how the program
accomplishes what it does. It tells you how the account numbers
include codes for service programs and funding Sources. It
explains:
- The codes used to identify your ledger accounts, service
programs and funding sources. How to set up your chart of
accounts using these codes.
- The budget process: how to utilize the Nonprofit General
Ledger program to maintain your monthly and yearly budgets.
- How the program handles the monthly and yearly accounting
cycle.
- How to handle funding cycles that do not match your fiscal
year.
Some familiarity with fundamental accounting principles is
assumed; if you need to refresh your knowledge, please read the
Appendix A, Fundamentals of Nonprofit Accounting, first.
Account numbers and codes
The financial and budget reports produced by the program are
distributed according to service program and funding source (you
also get consolidated statements for the entire organization).
Note -- A service program is an activity that the
organization spends money on. This includes "program
services," or social service activities, and "support
services" such as administration and fund-raising.
A funding source is a person, entity or class of people
where the organization gets its money. This includes
individual donors, foundations, and fund-raising
activities.
You can find out exactly how much you have spent as well as how
much remains in the budget for each service program and funding
source. In order to get this information out of the system,
however, you must first put it in. You do this by defining codes
Page 3.1
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 3.2
Chapter 3, Fundamental Concepts
for your service programs and funding sources. These codes are
part of each account number. When you post revenues and
expenses, the codes tell you to which account to post them. You
must understand the codes embedded in the account number in order
to use the system effectively.
All account numbers are six digits, and the digits have the
following meaning:
Digit Meaning Valid codes
--------------------- Major Categories 1 - 6
|
| ------------------- Functional Categories 00 - 99
| |
| | ---------------- Service Programs 0 - 9
| | |
| | | -------------- Funding Sources 00 - 19
| | | |
1 23 4 56
Major Categories
These are the fundamental divisions of the income statement
and balance sheet. Only numbers 1 through 6 are allowed, and
each has the following meaning:
1 -- Assets
2 -- Liabilities
3 -- Fund Balances (This corresponds to Owner's Equity
in for-profit accounting)
4 -- Clearing Accounts (Unique to the Nonprofit General
Ledger system; used to transfer
amounts between budget categories)
5 -- Revenues
6 -- Expenses
You may not redefine these categories. Any account number
that begins with an "1" is an asset category, any account that
begins with a "2" is a liability, etc.
The major categories are characterized as "debit accounts"
or "credit accounts," according to whether the usual balance of
the accounts in the category is a debit or credit balance.
Assets and Expenses are debit accounts; all the the other
categories are credit accounts. If a debit account has a credit
balance (for instance if your checking account is overdrawn) or a
credit account has a debit balance, the amount is shown with a
minus sign.
Contra accounts are the opposite of the other accounts in
the category. All the Asset accounts, for instance, are debit
accounts, but the contra account "Accumulated Depreciation"
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 3.3
Chapter 3, Fundamental Concepts
should be a credit account. You designate an account as a contra
account when you first add the account to the system.
Functional Categories
The second and third digits of the account number identify
subdivisions within the major categories. Within Assets, for
instance, you might have Cash, one or more Checking Accounts,
Savings Accounts, Furniture and Fixtures, Equipment, Vehicles,
etc., as well as Accumulated Depreciation. You can define these
as you wish; and you may have 100 of each, numbered 00 through
99. The only exception to this is Fund Balances. The functional
category for Fund Balances can only be 00.
Service Programs
You may define up to ten service program codes, 0 - 9,
corresponding to activities or projects in which your organiza-
tion engages. I recommend that you use service program 0 for
Administration, but this is up to you.
Funding Sources
You may define up to 20 codes, 00 - 19, for funding sources,
the entities or activities from which your organization gets
money. I recommend that you reserve funding source 00 for Public
Support, but again this is up to you.
Examples
Appendix B, Examples of Use, contains two examples of how
these codes are to be used. You may wish to look at that
appendix before you go on.
The InterFund Clearing Account
The InterFund Clearing account (IFC), number 400000, is the
only account that is predefined in the program. You will always
have this account; you do not need to set it up yourself, and you
cannot delete it. It serves a number of purposes.
- When you first set up your accounts with their starting
balances, the IFC account is used to balance the ledger. If
the accounts you enter are out of balance, the difference is
placed in the IFC so the ledger as a whole is always in
balance.
- When the program computes the balance sheet or closes the
books at the end of the year, any revenues and expenses that
cannot be closed to a fund balance are closed instead to the
IFC account. This ensures that the books can always be
closed.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 3.4
Chapter 3, Fundamental Concepts
- You may use the IFC as a temporary holding account when
posting expenses that would exceed a certain budget category
(we'll get to the budget process shortly). Instead of
posting to the account that would exceed the budget you may
instead post to the IFC and later transfer that amount to a
different budget account.
- You may set up any other Clearing accounts (accounts that
begin with "4") you wish and may use them in any way you
wish, but you must close them or transfer their balances
elsewhere before the program closes the books. The program
will not do it for you. On the balance sheet, Clearing
accounts appear after Fund Balances and are treated as fund
balances. In other words, Assets will always equal
Liabilities plus Fund Balances plus Clearing accounts.
The budget process
The Nonprofit General Ledger system allows you to enter
budget amounts for each revenue and expense account. (The budget
amounts are applicable only to revenue and expense accounts.
This program does not do balance sheet budgeting.) You may enter
both a yearly and a period (normally monthly) budget amount, and
you may do so at any time. For example, suppose you wish to
limit your postage expense to $100 per month, or $1,200 per year,
and to allocate the expense equally between two service programs.
You would enter $600 for the yearly budget and $50 for the
monthly budget for each of the two programs. You could then use
this information in two ways:
- When you enter an expenditure for postage, the General
Ledger program computes and displays the amount remaining in
your budget for the year. You have instant feedback as to
how much you have left to spend. If the amount would exceed
the budget for one service program you would know it right
away and could instead allocate it to the other program.
- You may print budget variance reports at any time, although
typically you should do so at the end of the month, after
all the expenditures for the month have been entered. The
report lists what percentage of the budget has been spent in
the month and in the year to date, as well as the amount
remaining for the rest of the year. With this information,
you can plan expenditures (or additional fund raising
efforts!) accurately.
It is good management practice to plan your budget on a
yearly basis, then track actual revenues and expenses against the
budget as the year goes by. However, you can change the budget
amounts at any time. There is no audit trail for the budget
amounts, since they do not affect the financial condition of the
organization. You have complete flexibility to adjust your
budget as circumstances change.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 3.5
Chapter 3, Fundamental Concepts
The accounting cycle
The flow of accounting information runs in monthly and
yearly cycles. The monthly cycle is concerned with budget
comparisons and the yearly cycle is concerned with budget
comparisons and with updating your fund balance accounts to
prepare for the next year. The Nonprofit General Ledger program
keeps two ledger totals and two budget amounts, monthly and
yearly, for each ledger account.
The only function of the monthly totals is for comparison
with your monthly budget. At any time during the month you can
see how much you have posted to the account during that month and
how this compares to your monthly budget. At the end of each
month you will select a menu option to close the books for the
month. This has no effect on your fund balances; all it does is
to set the monthly totals to zero, in preparation for the next
month.
The yearly totals accumulate over the course of your fiscal
year, and are not cleared out at the end of the month. At any
time you can see how much you have posted to the account during
the year and how this compares to your yearly budget. At the end
of the year you will select a menu option to close the books for
the year. This does have an effect on your fund balances; it
closes the revenue and expense yearly totals to the fund
balances. The fund balances are updated and the revenues and
expenses are set to zero in preparation for the next year.
You have to close the books for a month in order to start
making entries for the next month, and you will have to close the
books for the year in order to start a new year. When you close
the books the current processing date is automatically set to the
first day of the next period.
Funding cycles that do not match your fiscal year
The Nonprofit General Ledger program works on a fiscal year
basis (which you determine -- it need not run from January to
December). However, a grant may run for less than a year or span
two fiscal years, covering several months in one and several
months in the next. This will require special treatment at the
end of the fiscal year, when you close your books, and at the end
of the funding cycle.
At year-end, all the revenue and expense accounts are closed
to the appropriate fund balances and are set to zero in
preparation for the next year. This will distort the income
statement for the funding cycle; any statement produced in the
next year will not include amounts entered in the prior year,
even though they are included in the funding cycle. It will also
throw off budget calculations for the next year.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 3.6
Chapter 3, Fundamental Concepts
The solution is as follows:
- Save the year-end income statement. For reporting purposes
you will have to add the figures from that statement to the
income statement produced at the end of the funding cycle in
the next year.
- Adjust your budget amounts after the books are closed and
before you start making entries for the following year.
Preparing an income statement for the funding cycle -- procedure
Here are the steps involved in preparing an income statement
for a service program whose funding cycle that spans two
different fiscal years:
1. Save the income statement produced when you close your books
at the end of the year.
2. Print an income statement at the end of the funding cycle.
3. To report expenses to your funding source, add the figures
on the year-end statement to those on the statement at the
end of the funding cycle.
If the service program is again funded for another year an
additional step is necessary:
4. Set up new codes for the service program and funding source
for the next funding cycle and a new set of revenue and
expense accounts for these codes.
If you simply continue to use the same accounts, expenses
for two different funding cycles will be mixed, distorting
your financial reports. Instead, set up a whole new revenue
account and set of expense accounts for the combination of
the new service program and the new grant. As soon as you
enter the new funding cycle, post revenues and expenses to
the new accounts, not to the old accounts.
Setting up a budget for the funding cycle -- procedure
The same considerations apply to the budget process for
service programs whose funding cycles do not coincide with your
fiscal year. For instance, if you budgeted $1,200 for an expense
category for a service program which is funded for eight months
in one year and four in the next you would do the following:
1. For the first eight months, budget $800 for the year. This
is, in effect, an eight-month budget.
2. Just before closing the books for the year, run the budget
variance report so you will know how much remains in the
eight-month budget.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 3.7
Chapter 3, Fundamental Concepts
3. Before posting anything in the following year, adjust the
budget amount to equal $400 for the four months remaining
plus whatever was left at the end of the previous eight
months.
4. If the program is funded for another cycle, set up new
accounts with new service program and funding source codes,
as outlined above, and set up the budget for these accounts
for the eight months left in the second fiscal year.
If you follow these steps, you will keep each funding cycle
separate so you can accurately report your expenses to your
funding organizations and effectively monitor the budget for each
service program.
Using the system without codes
If your organization is extremely small, has only one
service program or primary activity, and does not need to report
expenses to a funding organization, you may do without service
program and funding source codes. When you set up your chart of
accounts, simply end each account number with "000." In other
words, only the first three digits of the account number, the
major category and the functional category, will be meaningful.
Since the program is based on fundamental accounting principles,
the program could be used in this way to keep the books for a
small business or an individual as well as a nonprofit
organization.
Chapter 4
Getting Started
This chapter tells what is on your diskettes, how to install
the software, and how to use the keyboard to enter data. Follow
the instructions for installing the software carefully.
What is on the diskette
The following files are on the diskette you got from
Reliance Software Services. If you got the diskette from another
source, be sure these files are present.
- NGL111.ARC This is an Archive file. It contains within it,
in compressed format, the following files:
- NGLSTART.EXE The Startup program. You must run this
program first to create data files, set up ledger
accounts and enter beginning account balances.
- NGL.EXE The Nonprofit General Ledger program. This is
the program you'll work with on an ongoing basis to keep
your books.
- TRANINFO.EXE A small utility program that tells you what
transactions are in a Transaction Journal file or a
transaction journal History file.
- NGL111.DOC The documentation for the Nonprofit General
Ledger program, version 1.11. This file.
- ARCE.COM The program that extracts the files from the
Archive file.
- HINSTALL.BAT Installs the program on hard disk.
- FINSTALL.BAT Installs the program on a floppy disk.
- READTHIS A text file describing how to install the program.
In addition, if you have the Registered User version of the
software, there is a subdirectory named REGISTER. The Utility
program, NGLUTIL.EXE is in this subdirectory. This is available
only to registered users; it is not on the Shareware disk. The
Page 4.1
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 4.2
Chapter 4, Getting Started
Utility program lets you print an Audit Trail of transactions
sorted by account number and reconstruct damaged data files.
To copy the software for others
If you want to make a copy of the software for someone else,
please do NOT use the Diskcopy command. Instead, do this:
1. Format a blank diskette. Use the DOS Format command. If
you do not know how to do this, refer to your DOS manual.
2. Place the distribution diskette (the diskette you got from
me) in drive A:. If you have two floppy disk drives, place
the newly-formatted diskette in drive B:.
3. Type: COPY A:*.* B:
and press the Enter key.
This copies all the files except those in the Register
subdirectory from the distribution diskette to the newly-
formatted diskette. The program in the Register
subdirectory is for registered users only; please do not
copy it for others.
If you have only one floppy disk drive, the computer will
tell you when to insert the Source diskette (the one you are
copying from) and the Target diskette (the one you are
copying to).
If all you have is the Archive file, NGL111.ARC, you may
copy the file for others and upload it to computer bulletin board
systems (BBSs) for other to download. Please do not copy or
upload the Registered User program, NGLUTIL.EXE.
How to install the software
There are two installation batch files on the diskette, one
to install on floppy disks and one for hard disks. They extract
the program files and the manual from the Archive file and copy
them to another floppy disk or a hard disk. The program and
manual won't all fit on one floppy disk, so you'll need two, one
for the program and one for the manual.
The installation batch files do nothing to your Autoexec.bat
and Config.sys files.
If you have already extracted this manual from the Archive
file but have not installed the software, then you probably know
enough to do it without the batch files. If you have two floppy
disks, extract and copy *.EXE to one floppy and the manual,
NGL111.DOC, to another. If you have a hard disk, make a
subdirectory named \NGL and then extract and copy all the files
to that subdirectory.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 4.3
Chapter 4, Getting Started
Following are detailed procedures for using the batch files.
Floppy disk
If your computer has two floppy disks drives you'll want to
keep the program on one diskette and your data on another. For-
mat 4 diskettes and use the FINSTALL program to copy the program
files onto the first and the manual onto the second. The third
diskette is your data diskette, and the fourth is to back up your
data. Here is the procedure:
1. Format four blank diskettes. Put your DOS diskette in drive
A: and put a new diskette or one whose information you want
to erase in drive B:. Then,
* Enter: FORMAT B:
NOTE: When this manual says to enter information, it
means to type what is shown and press the Enter key.
The Enter key has a picture of an arrow going down and
to the left. On many keyboards it is labeled "Enter."
Follow the instructions on your screen to format the
diskette.
Repeat this step for all four diskettes.
2. Place the distribution diskette in drive A: and a newly-
formatted diskette in drive B:
* Enter: FINSTALL A B
Follow the instructions on your screen. First this copies
the program files to the diskette in drive B: and then tells
you to remove the diskette and insert another one.
When you insert the second diskette, it copies the manual.
The first diskette will be your working copy of the program.
The second contains the manual on disk.
3. If you have the Registered User version, install the Utility
program as well.
a. Put the program diskette you just made in drive B.
b. Enter: COPY A:\REGISTER\*.EXE B:
4. Label the working program diskette "Nonprofit General Ledger
Program" with a soft-tip pen. Label the documentation
diskette "Nonprofit General Ledger manual." Remove the
distribution diskette from drive A: and store it in a safe
place, free from dust, magnetism and extremes of heat and
cold. You can always make another copy if your working copy
becomes damaged.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 4.4
Chapter 4, Getting Started
5. Label the third newly-formatted diskette "Nonprofit General
Ledger Data" and the fourth, "Nonprofit General Ledger Data
Backup."
Hard disk
If you have a hard disk, use the HINSTALL program to install
the program in its own subdirectory. Both the program and its
data files must be in the same subdirectory. You'll also need to
format a blank diskette for backup.
1. Start your computer as you usually do. Then
* Enter: C:
NOTE: When this manual says to enter information, it
means to type what is shown and press the Enter key.
The Enter key has a picture of an arrow going down and
to the left. On many keyboards it is labeled "Enter."
The "C>" prompt should appear on your screen. (If your hard
disk has a different letter, substitute that letter in these
instructions.)
4. Place the distribution diskette in drive A:, the floppy disk
drive. (If your 5 1/4 inch floppy drive is not drive A:,
substitute the letter for your drive in these instructions.)
Then,
* Enter: A:HINSTALL A C
This creates a subdirectory named \NGL and copies the
program files and the manual to that subdirectory.
5. If you have the Registered User version, install the Utility
program as well.
* Enter: COPY A:\REGISTER\*.EXE
6. Remove the distribution diskette from drive A: and store it
in a safe place, free from dust, magnetism and extremes of
heat and cold. You can always make another copy if your
working copy becomes damaged.
7. Place a new diskette or one whose information you want to
erase in drive A:.
* Enter: FORMAT A:
Follow the instructions on your screen to format the
diskette.
8. Label the newly formatted diskette "Nonprofit General Ledger
Data Backup."
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 4.5
Chapter 4, Getting Started
How to use the keyboard
When you run the program you'll enter data by filling in
blanks on forms that are displayed on your computer screen.
Simply type the information requested, then press the Enter key.
When you press the Enter key the cursor moves to the next data
entry field. (The "cursor" is the blinking underline or solid
block that indicates where the next character you type will be
displayed.)
Using the cursor control keys
While entering data, you may move around the screen and
correct your entries by using the arrow keys to move the cursor.
Here is a chart showing what keys to press:
================================================================
Labeled Arrow Ctrl Function
Action key key key* key
MOVE
Back a character left S
Next character right D
To beginning of line Home A
To end of line End F
Previous line or field up E F3
Next line or field Enter down X F4
DELETE
Character to left Backspace
Character at cursor Del G
Entire entry Y F2
CANCEL data entry Esc
* To use a Ctrl key, press Ctrl, type the key, then release both
keys.
================================================================
Entering dates
To enter a date, type the month, the day and the year, six
digits, then press the Enter key. For instance, to enter April
25, 1988, do the following:
Enter: 042588
You may omit the century when entering the year. If you enter
"88," the century is added and "1988" is displayed. If you enter
a year between 80 and 99 the century is assumed to be 19; if you
enter a year between 00 and 79 the century is assumed to be 20.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 4.6
Chapter 4, Getting Started
You may enter any century you wish by typing all four digits. For
instance, to enter April 25, 1950,
Enter: 04251950
Entering a negative number
To enter a negative number type a minus sign first, then the
number, then the enter key. For instance, to enter "-123.58,"
Enter: -123.58
Yes/No Answers
Sometimes a question will appear, such as "Do you wish to add
another Ledger Account?" Type Y for Yes or N for No. Do not
press the Enter key.
In some cases the answer to the question ("Yes" or "No") is
already displayed. To accept the answer displayed, press the
Enter key. To change the answer displayed, type Y or N without
pressing the Enter key.
Correcting mistakes
If you make an error, use cursor commands to correct it. The
easiest way is:
1. Move the cursor to the line where the mistake is.
2. Press the "delete entire entry" key (Ctrl-Y or F2).
3. Enter: the correct information
Caution
Please do NOT reset or turn off your computer before you
exit the program, or you may lose some of the data you have
entered. The operating system keeps the data you have entered in
an internal area, called a "buffer," in the computer's memory and
only periodically actually writes it to disk. If the power goes
off before the data is written, you will lose it. For safety's
sake, always exit the program before turning off your computer.
Also note -- please do NOT change data diskettes while you
are in the program. There should be no need to change data
diskettes unless you are keeping the books for more than one
organization. In this case, always exit the program before you
change data diskettes. If you do not, data from the first
diskette still stored in the computer's memory may damage the
data stored on the second diskette. Always exit the program
before changing data diskettes.
Chapter 5
The Startup Program
Introduction
This chapter gives detailed instructions for running the
Startup program. You must run the Startup program before running
the Nonprofit General Ledger program itself. In the Startup
program you will define certain information the program needs,
including:
- The beginning and end of your fiscal year and the current
fiscal period.
- The name and employer ID number of your organization to
print on the reports.
- Any special codes your printer needs to print in compressed
print mode, if you have an 80-column printer.
- Your initial chart of accounts, account balances and budget
amounts. You will enter information about each ledger
account; when you finish, your ledger accounts will be ready
for use by the General Ledger program.
The Startup program creates four data files on the disk
drive that you specify, all with the extension "NGL." LEDGER.NGL
contains the ledger account information; INDEX.NGL contains an
index which allows fast access to any ledger account; SCR.NGL,
the System Control Record, contains such information as the
system dates and printer control codes, etc.; and TRANJRNL.NGL,
the Transaction Journal file, contains a record of the transac-
tions that affect the balances in the ledger accounts.
When you enter your accounts, the program ensures that you
will always be in balance. If the debits you have entered exceed
the credits or vice versa, the difference is posted to the Inter-
Fund Clearing (IFC) account. The balance in the IFC account is
recomputed whenever you return to the Startup Menu after entering
or deleting accounts.
You may run the Startup program as many times as you wish in
order to enter all your account information. Once you post tran-
sactions from within the General Ledger program, however, you may
not run the Startup program again. (You may add new ledger
Page 5.1
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.2
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
accounts within the General Ledger program, should you need to do
so.)
After you enter all your accounts and are satisfied that
they are correct, you should print the Trial Balance report and
save it. This will serve as the beginning of your audit trail.
Caution
Please do NOT reset or turn off your computer while you are
still in the Startup program, or you may lose some of the data
you have entered. Always exit the program before turning off the
computer.
Please do NOT change data diskettes while you are in the
program. There should be no need to change data diskettes unless
you are keeping the books for more than one organization. In
this case, always exit the program before changing data
diskettes. If you do not, data from one diskette may damage the
data stored on another diskette.
Plan ahead
Before running the Startup program you need to plan your
chart of accounts. If you are converting from a manual system or
another computerized system, translate your existing chart of
accounts to the system used by the Nonprofit General Ledger
system; see Chapter Three for a complete explanation. Each
ledger account in your old system should have a corresponding
account in the new system. Get an accurate trial balance from
your old system so you can compare it to the Trial Balance report
produced by the Startup program.
If you are starting out all new, plan your chart of accounts
to give you the management information you need. Consult your
accountant. Although you can add accounts at any time, your
system will make more sense if it is thoroughly designed ahead of
time.
If you plan to use the budgeting feature, plan your budget
also. Then enter your budget in the Startup program at the same
time as you enter your account balances. You can also enter your
budget in the General Ledger program, but it will go faster in
the Startup program.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.3
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
Starting the program
Two floppy disk drives
1. Place the working copy of your program diskette in drive A
and your data diskette in drive B. Be sure you are "logged
on" to drive A (the cursor is at the "A>" prompt).
2. Enter: NGLSTART
Hard disk
1. Change to the appropriate subdirectory of your hard disk.
Assuming that you have installed the program in the NGL
subdirectory,
Enter: CD \NGL
2. Enter: NGLSTART
After you enter the program name the title screen appears.
Press the space bar to go on or Esc to cancel the program. When
you press the space bar the following message appears:
==================================================================
On which drive do you want your data files? _
==================================================================
If you have a computer with two floppy diskettes, the data
files should normally be kept on drive B. If you have a computer
with a hard disk, keep your data files on the hard disk, usually
C.
Enter: the letter for your drive.
If you have run the program before, your entry from last
time is displayed; press Enter to accept it. You may also press
ESC to cancel and return to the operating system.
Fiscal year dates
If this is the first time you have run the Startup program,
the program asks you the dates of your fiscal year and then
creates the four data files on the drive you have specified. If
this is not the first time you have run the Startup program, you
will go directly to the Startup Menu; skip to "Startup Menu,"
below. If it is the first time, the following screen appears:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.4
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
==================================================================
DATES
Please enter the following dates. All four
dates are required. Press ESC to cancel.
Beginning of fiscal year: __/__/____
Beginning of current period: MM/DD/YYYY
End of current period: MM/DD/YYYY
End of fiscal year: MM/DD/YYYY
==================================================================
Figure 5.1: Dates
This screen enables you to define your fiscal year and
current budget period. Normally the budget period would be one
month, but you may define it as a quarter or a half-year or
whatever you wish. Enter each date.
The dates must be consistent; for instance, the beginning of
the current period may not be before the beginning of the fiscal
year, etc. If you enter an inconsistent date an error message
will appear and you will not be able to proceed without correc-
ting the error.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.5
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
The Startup Menu
After you have entered the dates, the data files are created
and the Startup Menu appears:
==================================================================
NONPROFIT GENERAL LEDGER
STARTUP MENU
Please select:
1 Change colors
2 Change dates
3 Enter organization information
4 Set up your printer
5 Add ledger accounts
6 Change ledger accounts
7 Delete ledger accounts
8 Print trial balance
9 Display system control information
10 Print system control information
ESC Exit the program
==> __
==================================================================
Figure 5.2: Startup menu
Overview of the Startup Menu
Here is what each of the options on this menu is for:
1 Change colors. If you have a color screen you can change
the program's colors. This does not work on a monochrome
screen. If you have a Compaq computer that emulates color
on a monochrome screen, use this to adjust the brightness.
2 Change dates. This allows you to change your fiscal year
and fiscal period.
3 Enter organization information. Enter your organization's
name and address and federal Employer ID Number (EIN) as
well as your state tax or ID number, if any. The organi-
zation's name and EIN appear on all reports.
4 Set up your printer. Install your printer so the program
can make it print in compressed print and go to the top of
the page correctly.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.6
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
5 Add ledger accounts. Enter information for each ledger
account, including the account number and title, the begin-
ning balance, and the budget amounts for the period and the
year.
6 Change ledger accounts. This lets you change information
for ledger accounts already added.
7 Delete ledger accounts. If you add the wrong account number
for a ledger account, you can delete it with this option.
8 Print trial balance. Print the trial balance report after
you enter all the ledger accounts and before you enter
transactions in the General Ledger program in order to
verify that you have entered everything correctly. When you
are sure all the information is correct, save the report for
your audit trail.
9 Display system control information. This displays the
fiscal year dates, the number of ledger accounts entered so
far, the organization's name and address, etc. Use this
display to verify your data entry.
10 Print system control information. This gives you a printed
copy of the system control information.
ESC Exit the program. The Esc key always gets you out of
whatever function you are in. In this case it gets you out
of the program altogether. You are asked if you really want
to quit, so don't worry about hitting the Esc key
accidentally.
The rest of this chapter explains each of these options. To
select a menu option,
Type: the number
and press the Enter key.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.7
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
Change colors
If you have a color monitor or a Compaq computer, which
emulates color on a monochrome screen, you can change the text
and background colors. This option does nothing if you have a
monochrome monitor. When you select this option, the following
screen appears:
==================================================================
CHANGE COLORS
Please enter your choice of colors or
press ESC to cancel.
DARK COLORS BRIGHT COLORS
-------------- -------------------
0 - Black 8 - Dark Grey
1 - Blue 9 - Bright Blue
2 - Green 10 - Bright Green
3 - Cyan 11 - Bright Cyan
4 - Red 12 - Bright Red
5 - Magenta 13 - Bright Magenta
6 - Brown 14 - Yellow
7 - Light Grey 15 - White
This is reverse video
This is emphasized
Background color (0-7): 0
Text color (0-15): 7
Is this OK? (Y/N) ___
==================================================================
Figure 5.3: Change Colors
When you enter both a background and text color, the colors
change on the screen. When you are happy with what you see, type
Y to answer the question, "Is this OK?" If you type N, the
cursor goes back to the background color entry. To cancel and
return to the colors in effect before you selected this option,
press Esc.
The colors are stored in a configuration file on the program
diskette. If that file gets erased or if you start the program
from a different drive or subdirectory, the colors will change
back to the original. You can choose this option any time to
change them.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.8
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
Change dates
This option lets you change the dates you entered when you
first started the program. The Dates screen appears, with the
dates you entered filled in. Use the arrow keys to move to the
date you wish to change, press F2 to delete the date, and enter
the new date.
Enter organization information
Use this option to enter data describing your organization.
The data entry screen looks like this:
==================================================================
ORGANIZATION INFORMATION
Name: ______________________________
Address:
Address:
Address:
Federal Employer ID Number:
State Tax or ID Number:
==================================================================
Figure 5.4: Organization information
Some of the information on this screen is optional. Only
the Organization Name and the Federal Employer ID Number appear
on the reports. An accountant or bookkeeper keeping books for
several organizations would want to fill in the rest in order to
be able to verify whose books he or she was working on.
Enter the information requested. You can use the arrow keys
to go up and down over the data entry fields and make correc-
tions. If you press ESC, you return the Startup Menu without
saving any of the information you have typed.
For the Federal Employer ID Number, enter all nine digits
with no dash. The program prints a dash after the first two
digits automatically on all the reports.
When you press the Enter key on the last line, the following
message appears:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.9
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
==================================================================
PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE OR UP-ARROW TO GO BACK
==================================================================
This allows you one more chance to go back and make correc-
tions if you wish. To complete the data entry, press the space
bar. You do not need to press the Enter key.
The information you have entered is stored in your data
files and the Startup menu reappears.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.10
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
Set up your printer
Use this option to install your printer. The program prints
both 80-column and 132-column reports. To print 132 columns on
paper that is 8 1/2" wide (9 1/2" counting the holes on each
side), it must print in compressed print. Most dot matrix
printers and a few daisy wheel printers can do this; the program
has to send the printer special non-printing control codes to
make it do so.
Most printers advance the paper to a new page when they
receive a code called a form-feed, but some do not. If yours
does not, you can tell the program to advance a line at a time
instead.
Use this option to enter the codes. The data entry screen
looks like this:
==================================================================
SET UP YOUR PRINTER
This program prints reports that are 132 columns wide. Are
you using an 80-column printer in compressed print mode? YES
COMPRESSED PRINT ON
Enter up to four control codes to turn compressed print on:
==> 15 ==> 0 ==> 0 ==> 0
COMPRESSED PRINT OFF
Enter up to four control codes to turn compressed print off:
==> 18 ==> 0 ==> 0 ==> 0
NEW PAGE METHOD
Does the Form Feed code (12, or control-L) make your printer
go to a new page? YES
==================================================================
Figure 5.5: Set Up your Printer
Compressed print
To answer the question whether you will print in compressed
print, type Y for Yes or N for No. If you answer No, the cursor
skips the control codes. If you answer Yes, you must enter them.
The codes are the decimal equivalents of the control
characters used for your printer. The program comes set up for
the Epson printers (FX-80, etc.); the codes shown above are just
like entering \015 and \018 in Lotus 123. Your printer manual
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.11
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
should list the control codes to put your printer into compressed
print, and then back to normal print. They are often found as
part of a BASIC program to control the printer, like this:
10 LPRINT CHR$(15); REM TURN ON COMPRESSED PRINT
The number you want here is 15. (Note -- the actual number
or numbers will differ from printer to printer; this is only an
example.)
Sometimes the codes are listed in a table as the names of
the characters to be sent to the printer, like this:
ESC "P" 16.5 lines per inch
In this example you should send two characters, first the
Escape character, then an upper-case "P." You will have to find
the decimal equivalents of each character and enter them; do not
try to enter the characters themselves. Look for an ASCII chart
in the printer manual which lists all the characters and their
numeric equivalents (use decimal equivalents, not hexadecimal).
If you cannot find the codes for your printer, try using the
Epson codes shown above; many printers use the same codes. If
that does not work, you may be able to set a switch on the
printer itself to make it print compressed all the time. In this
case, set the switch before you run the Nonprofit General Ledger
program and answer No to the question "Will you use an 80-column
printer ...?"
To test the codes, print the Trial Balance report.
New page method
Most printers advance the paper to the top of the next page
when they receive a form-feed code (decimal 12, hexadecimal 0C,
or control-L). Some older printers do not do this, so the
program can advance a line at a time instead. The form-feed
method is faster and quieter. If your printer recognizes the
form-feed code, answer Yes; if it does not, answer No.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.12
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
Add ledger accounts
Use this option to enter information for each of your ledger
accounts, including the balance in the account on the date when
you'll begin using the Nonprofit General Ledger system to keep
your books. When you select this option, the following data
entry screen appears:
==================================================================
ADD LEDGER ACCOUNTS
Press ESC to cancel without saving the information
Account number: ______
Account title:
Debit/Credit (D/C) :
Year-to-date balance: $
This period balance: $ Max accounts: 32000
Yearly budget: $ Number used: 1
Period budget: $ Number left: 31999
Remaining in budget: $
==================================================================
Figure 5.6: Add ledger accounts
Following is an explanation of each data entry item:
Account number
You must enter a six-digit number, from 100000 to 699919.
Invalid or duplicate numbers are rejected with an error message.
See Chapter Three for an explanation of the structure of the
account number.
Account title
This descriptive title appears on the reports and on the
data entry screen for posting journal entries.
Debit/Credit
Enter D for a debit account or C for a credit account. The
appropriate code for the account number you entered is displayed
automatically. You should change it only if the account is a
contra account. To accept the code as displayed, just press the
Enter key.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.13
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
Year-to-date balance
Enter the balance in the account as of the date when you
will start using the Nonprofit General Ledger system to keep your
books. By doing this for each account you enter your initial
trial balance, which, of course, should be the same as the ending
trial balance before converting to the Nonprofit General Ledger
system. Before you start making journal entries in the General
Ledger program you can change this balance by using the option
Change Ledger Accounts on the Startup Menu. After you start
making journal entries, the only way to change it is to post a
transaction in the General Ledger program.
This period balance
You may not enter anything in this field. You should
convert from your previous system to the Nonprofit General Ledger
system at the beginning of a budget period, when this amount is
zero. Whenever you make journal entries, the program computes
this balance. It is zeroed out when you close the books at the
end of a period.
Yearly budget and period budget
You enter these fields only for revenue and expense
accounts; for other account categories, the cursor skips them.
The yearly budget is the amount you budget for the account for
the whole fiscal year. The period budget is the amount budgeted
for each fiscal period. You may change these amounts at any
time.
Remaining in budget
You do not enter this field. For revenue and expense
accounts it is computed and displayed after you enter the yearly
budget amount. For other major account categories, nothing is
displayed.
Max accounts, Number used and Number left
You do not enter these fields. The program computes and
displays them so you will know how many accounts you have entered
and how many remain available. "Max accounts" is predefined in
the program. "Number used" is the number of accounts already
entered; this does not include the account you are currently
entering. "Number left" is the difference between the two.
Before you add any accounts the number used is one, not zero.
This is because the program creates the InterFund Clearing
account when it creates the data files.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.14
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
Procedure
1. The cursor starts at the Account Number. For each field on
the screen, enter the appropriate data. You can use the
arrow keys to move up and down through the fields and enter
or correct data. Press ESC if you wish to cancel data entry
for this account.
2. After you enter the last field (yearly budget for revenue
and expense accounts, year-to-date balance for all other
accounts), the following message appears:
==================================================================
Do you wish to save this information? (Y/N or up arrow) ___
==================================================================
If you wish to store the information in your data files,
type Y; otherwise use the arrow keys to go back and make
changes or type N to throw away this information.
3. The message "SAVED" or "NOT SAVED" appears, depending on how
you answered the question. The following appears:
==================================================================
Do you wish to enter another ledger account? (Y/N)
==================================================================
Type Y or N. If you choose to enter another ledger account,
the input fields are blanked and the cursor returns to the
Account number, otherwise the Startup Menu reappears.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.15
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
Change ledger accounts
This option allows you to change ledger account information
that you have already entered. First you are asked for the
account number:
==================================================================
CHANGE LEDGER ACCOUNTS
Please enter the account number, or press ESC to cancel
==> ______
==================================================================
Enter the account number. If you enter an account that is
not on file, the following message appears:
==================================================================
ACCOUNT NOT FOUND
Do you wish to view the closest one found? (Y/N) ___
==================================================================
If you type N or press the up-arrow, you go back to entering
the last name. If you type Y or if the program found the account
you entered, the data entry screen appears. At the bottom of the
screen, the following choices are displayed in a reverse-video
box:
==================================================================
Account: P=Previous N=Next F=First L=Last; C=Change information Esc=Quit
==================================================================
Displaying different accounts
You can now browse forward and backward through the file.
In the Choices box you need only type the letter; do not press
Enter after it.
P Takes you to the previous ledger account. If you are
at the first account you stay there.
N Takes you to the next ledger account. If you are at
the last account you stay there.
F Takes you straight to the first account on file.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.16
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
L Takes you straight to the last account on file.
When you have found the account you want, press C to change
the information. If you press Esc, you go back to entering the
account number. Press Esc again to return to the menu.
Changing an account
When you type C, the choices disappear and the cursor goes
to the account title. (You cannot change the account number. If
you have entered the wrong account number, you'll have to delete
it and re-enter it.) Use the arrow keys to move up and down over
the screen and change the information. When you get to the end,
the following message appears:
==================================================================
Do you wish to save this information? (Y/N or up arrow) ___
==================================================================
If you wish to store the changes in your data files, type Y;
otherwise use the arrow keys to go back and make changes or type
N or press Esc to throw away the changes.
The message "SAVED" or "NOT SAVED" appears, depending on how
you answered the question, and the Choices box appears. If you
are done, press Esc to go back to entering the account number,
then press Esc again to go back to the menu.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.17
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
Delete Ledger Accounts
Use this menu option to delete an account entered incorrect-
ly. When you select this option, you are asked for the account
number:
==================================================================
DELETE A LEDGER ACCOUNT
Please enter the account number, or press ESC to cancel
==> ______
==================================================================
Enter the account number. If you enter an account that is
not on file, an error message appears. You do not get to look at
different accounts, as you do in Change Ledger Accounts. This is
to help prevent deleting the wrong account.
If you enter a valid account number, the data entry screen
appears, with the following message at the bottom:
==================================================================
Is this the ledger account you wish to delete? (Y/N)
==================================================================
The account information is shown so you can verify that you
have chosen the correct account. Type Y or N. You do not need
to press the Enter key.
The message "DELETED" or "NOT DELETED" appears, depending on
what you have chosen, and the following message is displayed:
==================================================================
Do you wish to delete another ledger account? (Y/N)
==================================================================
Type: Y or N. If you choose to delete another account,
you are again asked for the account number. If you choose not to
delete another account, the Startup Menu reappears.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.18
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
Print trial balance
Use this menu option to print the Trial Balance report in
order to verify that you have entered all your accounts
correctly, or to see which accounts you have entered already.
After you have entered all your ledger accounts and are satisfied
that they are correct, you should print the Trial Balance report
once more and save the output. This will serve as the beginning
of your audit trail.
A complete explanation of the Trial Balance report is given
in Chapter Ten. The procedure for printing the report is as
follows:
1. Make sure your printer is turned on and has paper in it.
The paper should be positioned so the top of a new page is
at the print head.
2. From the Startup Menu,
Enter: 8
3. The report is printed, and the following message appears:
==================================================================
Printing Trial Balance Report
Press ESC to cancel
==================================================================
To stop printing before the report is finished, press Esc.
You'll be asked if you really want to quit, so don't worry about
pressing Esc by accident. After the report is printed, the
Startup menu reappears.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.19
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
Display system control information
When you select this option, the following screen appears:
==================================================================
SYSTEM CONTROL INFORMATION
Dates
Current processing date 1/ 1/1988
Beginning of fiscal year 1/ 1/1988
Beginning of current period 1/ 1/1988
End of current period 1/31/1988
End of fiscal year 12/31/1988
Data files are on drive C; 1,461,568 bytes are free.
Ledger accounts
Maximum number of accounts 32000
Number used 69
Number left 31931
Transaction journal entries
Maximum number allowed 32000
Number used 0
Number left 32000
Last transaction number 0
PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE
==================================================================
Figure 5.7: System Control Information
You cannot change the information on this screen, you can
only look at it. When you are done, press the space bar to
return to the menu.
Following is an explanation of the items on this screen
which may not be self-explanatory:
- Current processing date. In the Startup program this is the
same as the beginning of the current period. In the General
Ledger program you enter this when you start the program.
- Ledger accounts. This section shows how many ledger
accounts you are using and how many more you may add before
reaching the maximum allowed. The maximum is 32,000, which
should be plenty.
- Transaction Journal entries. This section shows how much of
the Transaction Journal has been filled and how many entries
remain free. In the Startup program the number used will
always be zero because once you have started posting
transactions you can no longer run the Startup program. See
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.20
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
page 6.37 for more information about the transaction journal
entries.
- Last transaction number. In the Startup program this will
always be zero. See page 6.37 for more information about
the transaction number.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 5.21
Chapter 5, The Startup Program
Print system control information
The System Control Information report lists all the infor-
mation displayed on the System Control Information screen as well
as the organization name and address, etc. and the printer
control codes.
The procedure for printing the report is as follows:
1. Make sure your printer is turned on and has paper in it.
The paper should be positioned so the top of a new page is
at the print head.
2. From the Startup Menu,
Enter: 10
3. The report is printed and then the Startup Menu reappears.
Chapter 6
The General Ledger Program
Introduction
After you have entered all your accounts in the Startup
program and your beginning trial balance matches the ending trial
balance from your previous bookkeeping system, you are ready to
use the Nonprofit General Ledger program to keep your books.
This chapter tells how to use the General Ledger program. It
also tells how to use an additional program, the Transaction
Information program, to find out what is in a transaction history
file.
Caution
Please do NOT reset or turn off your computer while you are
still in the Startup program, or you may lose some of the data
you have entered. Always exit the program before turning off the
computer.
Please do NOT change data diskettes while you are in the
program. There should be no need to change data diskettes unless
you are keeping the books for more than one organization. In
this case, always exit the program before changing data
diskettes. If you do not, data from one diskette may damage the
data stored on another diskette.
Starting the program
Two floppy disk drives
1. Place the working copy of your program diskette in drive A
and your data diskette in drive B. Be sure you are "logged
on" to drive A (the cursor is at the "A>" prompt).
2. Enter: NGL
Hard disk
1. Change to the appropriate subdirectory of your hard disk.
Assuming that you have installed the program in the NGL
subdirectory,
Enter: CD \NGL
Page 6.1
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.2
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
2. Enter: NGL
After you enter the program name the title screen appears.
Press the space bar to go on or Esc to cancel the program. When
you press the space bar the following message appears:
==================================================================
On which drive do you keep your data files? _
==================================================================
Your entry from last time is displayed; press Enter to
accept it or press F2 to delete and then enter a different
letter. You may also press ESC to cancel and return to the
operating system.
System dates
After you enter the disk drive, the following screen
appears:
==================================================================
SYSTEM DATES
East West Center of Austin
Last processing date: 3/31/1988
Beginning of fiscal year: 1/ 1/1988
Beginning of current period: 3/ 1/1988
End of current period: 3/31/1988
End of fiscal year: 12/31/1988
Please enter the
current processing date ==> 03/31/1988
==================================================================
Figure 6.1: System Dates
The name of your organization is displayed as well as the
dates defining your fiscal year and current period. The last
processing date is the date you entered as the current processing
date the last time you ran the program (the first time you run
the program it is the first day of the current period). The
initial value for the current processing date is the same as the
last processing date.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.3
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
Current processing date
The current processing date is used as follows:
- Whenever you post a transaction, it is dated with the
current processing date. This date appears on the
Transaction Journal report as an audit trail. Note that
this indicates only when the transaction was posted, not
when it took place. For instance, you may wait until the
end of the month to post all the checks you have written
during the month. If it is important to you to note the
exact date of each check, enter it in the memo field.
- The current processing date appears in the heading of each
report so you will know when the report was printed.
- The date ensures that all transactions are posted in order.
The program only goes forward in time. You cannot enter a
date for the current processing date that is earlier than
the last processing date. (It can be the same as the last
processing date.)
NOTE -- This means that after you close the books at
the end of a period or the end of your fiscal year, you
cannot go back and post more transactions for the prior
period. In other words, you cannot make prior period
adjustments except as transactions in the current
period. You need to make sure you have posted all the
transactions for the period before you close the books
for that period.
- There is no provision for changing the current processing
date from the Main Menu. If for some reason you wish to
change the current processing date after you have completed
the System Dates screen, exit the program and start it up
again.
To accept the date shown, just press the Enter key. To
enter a different date, press F2 to delete the date shown and
then enter the new one.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.4
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
The Main Menu
After you enter the current processing date, the Main Menu
appears:
==================================================================
NONPROFIT GENERAL LEDGER
MAIN MENU
East West Center of Austin
Please select:
1 Post ledger accounts
2 Print reports
3 Close books -- end of period
4 Close books -- end of year
5 Add ledger accounts
6 Delete ledger accounts
7 View ledger accounts, change title & budget
8 View/change system control information
9 Change colors
ESC Exit the program
==> _
==================================================================
Figure 6.2: The Main Menu
Following is a brief explanation of each Main Menu option:
1 Post ledger accounts. This is where you will do most of
your work with the General Ledger program. Using this
option you make journal entries which are immediately posted
to ledger accounts.
2 Print reports. The program offers a wide variety of reports
including financial statements, budget reports for manage-
ment and a transaction journal for an audit trail. This
menu option allows you to print these reports.
3 Close books -- end of period. Use this menu option to close
the books at the end of each budget period, zeroing out the
totals in preparation for the next period. Don't do this at
the end of the last period in the year, though; use the next
option instead.
4 Close books -- end of year. At the end of the fiscal year
use this menu option to close all revenue and expense
accounts to the appropriate fund balances in preparation for
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.5
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
the next year. This option also prints your year-end
financial statements.
5 Add ledger accounts. If you need additional ledger
accounts, use this option to add them. Unlike the Startup
program, in this option you cannot enter an initial balance;
you add the account with a zero balance and then post
entries to it using Option 1.
6 Delete ledger accounts. Use this option to delete unused
ledger accounts. The account must have a zero balance or
you cannot delete it.
7 View ledger accounts, change title and budget. This option
allows you to check the balance in an account by viewing it
on the screen. You may also change the account title and
the budget amounts. Use this option when you want to revise
your budget.
8 View/change system control information. This option allows
you to view the system control information that you entered
in the Startup program. You may change noncritical infor-
mation such as your organization's name and address and the
printer control codes. Use this option when you change
printers.
9 Change colors. If you have a color screen you can change
the program's colors. This does not work on a monochrome
screen. If you have a Compaq computer that emulates color
on a monochrome screen, use this to adjust the brightness.
ESC Exit the program. The Esc key always gets you out of
whatever function you are in. In this case it gets you out
of the program altogether. You are asked if you really want
to quit, so don't worry about hitting the Esc key
accidentally.
The rest of this chapter explains each of these options. To
select a menu option,
Type: the number
and press the Enter key.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.6
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
Post ledger accounts
When you select this option, another menu appears:
==================================================================
POST LEDGER ACCOUNTS
Please select:
1 General journal postings
2 Debit one account with multiple credits (post Deposits)
3 Credit one account with multiple debits (post Checks)
4 View transactions
5 View chart of accounts
ESC Return to Main Menu
==> _
==================================================================
Figure 6.3: Post Ledger Accounts Menu
The following options are available on the Post Ledger
Accounts menu:
1 General journal postings. Use this option to post multiple
debits and multiple credits in the same entry or to make
several entries in a row, to different debit and credit
accounts.
2 Debit one account with multiple credits (post Deposits).
Use this option to post one or more credits with the
corresponding debit going to one account. You enter only
the credits and the program computes the total and posts the
debit automatically. You would use this to post entries
from your cash receipts journal or deposits into your
checking account.
3 Credit one account with multiple debits (post Checks). Use
this option to post one or more debits with the correspond-
ing credit going to one account. You enter only the debits
and the program computes the total and posts the credit
automatically. You would use this to post entries from your
checkbook, crediting the cash account and "spreading" the
debits over various expense accounts.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.7
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
4 View transactions. You can view the transactions you have
posted to see where you left off the last time you were
entering data.
5 View chart of accounts. If you forget your account numbers
and don't have a printed chart of accounts handy, use this
to look them up.
Posting transactions
We'll look at each of these transactions shortly. First,
here are some comments about posting ledger accounts in general,
regardless of which type of transaction is used.
The process of posting transactions is, in standard accoun-
ting terms, two processes in one: (1) making journal entries and
(2) posting the entries to the ledger accounts. In the Nonprofit
General Ledger system there is no general journal as such. When
you post a transaction the debits and credits are posted immedi-
ately to the ledger accounts, not recorded in a journal and
posted later. In computing terms, the system is an "on-line,"
not a "batch" system. This has the advantage that your ledger
accounts are always up to date. You do not have to wait until a
batch posting run is completed to see the balance in any account.
You can run the Trial Balance report or any of the financial
statement reports at any time and your information is always up
to date.
What takes the place of a general journal is the Transaction
Journal. Every transaction you post is recorded in the Transac-
tion Journal file, and the entries in the file can be printed at
any time by printing the Transaction Journal report. Together
with your initial Trial Balance report, the Transaction Journal
reports serve as a complete audit trail. If anything should hap-
pen to your computer or your data, your books could be completely
reconstructed from these reports.
In addition, the program will not let you post out-of-
balance entries; your books will always balance. You can use the
Nonprofit General Ledger system with complete assurance that your
accounting is always on a sound basis.
You are limited to eight debits and eight credits per
transaction. If you need to post more, you must break up the
transaction into two or more transactions, making sure that each
balances, before posting.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.8
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
General journal postings
When you select this option from the Post Ledger Accounts
menu, the following screen appears:
==================================================================
------ DEBITS ------ Remaining ------ CREDITS ----- Remaining
Acct # Amount in budget Acct # Amount in budget
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
TOTALS:
Memo:
Press ESC to cancel; move cursor to end to post
Transaction # 599
==================================================================
Figure 6.4: Data entry screen for posting transactions
This data entry screen is common to the first three options
of the Post Ledger Accounts menu. You may post up to eight
debits in the left column and up to eight credits in the right
column. As you do so, the total debit and credit amounts are
calculated and displayed on the Totals line. The Memo line is
for the memorandum description of the transaction. Transactions
are numbered sequentially; the number for this transaction is
shown at the bottom, below the instructions.
Procedure
1. The cursor is at the upper left, at the first debit account
number.
Enter: the debit account number
2. The account title appears below the account number. This
allows you verify the account number. The cursor moves to
the right, to the amount field.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.9
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
Enter: the debit amount
3. The debit amount entered is added to the total debits and
the total is displayed below, on the Totals line. The
cursor moves down to the next debit account number. Repeat
steps 1 and 2 for each debit entry.
4. As soon as you press the Enter key on a blank debit account
number, the cursor moves to the right column, the first
credit account number.
Enter: the credit account number
5. The account title appears below the account number. The
cursor moves to the right, to the amount field.
Enter: the credit amount
6. The credit amount entered is added to the total credits and
the total is displayed below, on the Totals line. The
cursor moves down to the next credit account number. Repeat
steps 4 and 5 for each credit entry.
7. As soon as you press the Enter key on a blank credit account
number, the cursor moves to the Memo field at the bottom of
the screen.
Enter: the memo description of the transaction
8. The following message appears:
==================================================================
Do you wish to save this information? (Y/N or up arrow) ___
==================================================================
This allows you to go back and change your entries if
necessary. When you are sure your entries are correct and
you wish to store the information in your data files, type
Y; otherwise use the arrow keys to go back and make changes
or type N to throw away this transaction.
9. The message "POSTED" or "NOT POSTED" appears, depending on
how you answered the question. The following appears:
==================================================================
Do you wish to post more? (Y/N)
==================================================================
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.10
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
Type Y or N. If you choose to post another transaction, the
data you entered is erased and the cursor moves back to the
upper left, enabling you to start over with a new transac-
tion. Otherwise, the Post Ledger Accounts menu reappears.
Example
Here is an example of posting multiple debits and multiple
credits at the same time. Let's suppose that the East West
Center owns a photocopier which was purchased for $3,000 and
which has an accumulated depreciation of $500, so its book value
is $2,500. The Center does not need the photocopier and can
trade it for a new computer whose retail price is $3,000. The
Center will gain a $3,000 asset and give up only $2,500, so it
makes a gain on the trade of $500. The journal entry for this
transaction would be as follows:
Item Description Dr Cr
160000 Computer Equipment 3000
151000 Accum. depr. furn & fix. 500
150000 Furniture & fixtures 3000 (photocopier)
513000 Other income 500
To record trade of photocopier for computer, record gain
on sale, and remove the accumulated depreciation from
the books.
The procedure for entering this transaction would be as
follows:
1. From the Post Ledger Accounts menu,
Enter: 1
2. The data entry screen appears, with the cursor at the first
debit account number.
Enter: 160000
3. The account title appears and the cursor moves to the Amount
field. The screen looks like this:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.11
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
==================================================================
------ DEBITS ------ Remaining ------ CREDITS ----- Remaining
Acct # Amount in budget Acct # Amount in budget
160000 _________ ______ _________
Computer equipment
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
TOTALS: 0.00 0.00
Memo:
Press ESC to cancel; move cursor to end to post
Transaction # 601
==================================================================
Enter: 3000
4. The cursor moves down to the next account number field, and
the total at the bottom of the debit column is increased to
3000:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.12
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
==================================================================
------ DEBITS ------ Remaining ------ CREDITS ----- Remaining
Acct # Amount in budget Acct # Amount in budget
160000 3000.00 ______ _________
Computer equipment
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
TOTALS: 3000.00 0.00
Memo:
Press ESC to cancel; move cursor to end to post
Transaction # 601
==================================================================
Enter: 151000
5. Again, the description appears and the cursor moves to the
amount field.
Enter: 500
6. The cursor moves down to the next account number field and
the debit total is again increased. The screen now looks
like this:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.13
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
==================================================================
------ DEBITS ------ Remaining ------ CREDITS ----- Remaining
Acct # Amount in budget Acct # Amount in budget
160000 3000.00 ______ _________
Computer equipment
151000 500.00 ______ _________
Accum. Depreciation, FFE
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
TOTALS: 3500.00 0.00
Memo:
Press ESC to cancel; move cursor to end to post
Transaction # 601
==================================================================
You have now entered all the debits and are ready to enter
the credits.
Press the Enter key without typing anything.
7. The cursor jumps to the first account number on the credit
side of the screen.
Enter: 150000
8. The account description is displayed and the cursor moves to
the amount field.
Enter: 3000.
9. The credit total is increased and the cursor moves to the
next account number.
Enter: 513000.
10. The account description is displayed and the cursor moves to
the amount field.
Enter: 500.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.14
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
11. The credit total is updated and the cursor moves to the next
account number, as usual. This time, however, something new
happens; an amount is displayed under "Remaining in budget."
==================================================================
------ DEBITS ------ Remaining ------ CREDITS ----- Remaining
Acct # Amount in budget Acct # Amount in budget
160000 3000.00 150000 3000.00
Computer equipment Furniture, Fixtures & Equip.
151000 500.00 513000 500.00
Accum. Depreciation, FFE Other income 29500.00
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
TOTALS: 3500.00 3500.00
Memo:
Press ESC to cancel; move cursor to end to post
Transaction # 601
==================================================================
The revenue account has a budget, and the screen displays
the amount remaining in the budget after the $500 credit is
subtracted. In this case, the display means that after posting
the gain of $500 on the trade of assets, $29,500 remains to be
raised in "other income" from public support. The amount
remaining will be displayed whenever you post an amount to a
revenue or expense account that has a budget figure associated
with it.
Press the Enter key without typing anything.
12. The cursor moves to the Memo field.
Enter: Trade photocopier for computer, gain on sale, remove
accum. deprec.
13. The message "Do you wish to save this information" appears
and the screen looks like this:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.15
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
==================================================================
------ DEBITS ------ Remaining ------ CREDITS ----- Remaining
Acct # Amount in budget Acct # Amount in budget
160000 3000.00 150000 3000.00
Computer equipment Furniture, Fixtures & Equip.
151000 500.00 513000 500.00
Accum. Depreciation, FFE Other income 29500.00
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
______ _________ ______ _________
TOTALS: 3500.00 3500.00
Memo: Trade photocopier for computer, gain on sale, remove accum. deprec.
Press ESC to cancel; move cursor to end to post
Transaction # 601
Do you wish to save this information? (Y/N or up arrow) ___
==================================================================
13. At this point the data entry for this transaction is
complete. In order to post the transaction, you would type
Y. The message "POSTED" would appear and you would be asked
if you want to post another transaction.
Making corrections
As you can see, you can easily move from field to field on
the data entry screen to enter several debits and several credits
at one time. The example did not show that you can just as
easily move back to correct your entries. Use the Backspace or
Delete key to erase incorrect entries in order to retype them,
and use the up-arrow to move to a previous field. (Even though
the account and the amount fields are on the same line, you must
use the up-arrow to move from the amount back to the account
field.) To delete an entry (both account number and amount)
altogether, press F2 to erase the account number and press the
Enter key or the up-arrow.
Experiment with this screen, entering data and deleting it,
moving the cursor forward and backward through different fields,
etc. Just be sure to cancel the entry with the Esc key or answer
No to the question "Do you wish to post this information?" to
avoid posting erroneous entries.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.16
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
Debit one account with multiple credits
Using this menu option, you enter one or more credits and
the program computes the total and posts the offsetting debit.
This can be used to post deposits into your bank account. One
deposit may have several revenue components, and it is convenient
to post them all and have the program calculate the total debit.
When you select this option you must enter the account to
debit; the following message appears:
==================================================================
Please enter the debit account number: ______
==================================================================
Enter: the number of the account you wish to debit. You
can also press the up-arrow or Esc to select a different menu
option.
The data entry screen appears, with the debit account number
and title already entered:
==================================================================
------ DEBITS ------ Remaining ------ CREDITS ----- Remaining
Acct # Amount in budget Acct # Amount in budget
101000 0.00 ______ _________
Checking Acct FKLN 067000847
______ _________
______ _________
______ _________
______ _________
______ _________
______ _________
______ _________
TOTALS:
Memo:
Press ESC to cancel; move cursor to end to post
Transaction # 599
==================================================================
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.17
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
The account number on the debit side is an illustration
only; the account number you select will be displayed. The
cursor is positioned at the first credit account number. This
screen is nearly the same as the screen for general journal
postings. The only difference is that you make entries only on
the credit side; you cannot move the cursor to the debit side.
You may post up to eight credits; as you do so the debit total is
computed and displayed.
Procedure
1. The cursor is at the first credit account.
Enter: the account number.
2. The account title is displayed on the line below so you may
verify the account number. The cursor moves to the amount
field.
Enter: the amount.
3. The credit amount entered is added to the total credits and
the total is displayed below. In addition, the amount is
added to the debit amount and the debit total and both are
displayed on the debit side. The debit total will always
equal the credit total. If the debit or credit account is a
revenue or expense account with a budget amount entered, the
amount remaining in the budget is also computed and
displayed. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each credit you wish to
enter.
4. As soon as you press the Enter key on a blank credit account
number or on the eighth credit account number, the cursor
moves to the Memo field.
Enter: the memo description of the transaction
5. The following message appears:
==================================================================
Do you wish to save this information? (Y/N or up arrow) ___
==================================================================
This allows you to go back and change your entries if
necessary. When you are sure your entries are correct and
you wish to store the information in your data files, type
Y; otherwise use the arrow keys to go back and make changes
or type N to throw away this transaction.
6. The message "POSTED" or "NOT POSTED" appears, depending on
how you answered the question. The following appears:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.18
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
==================================================================
Do you wish to post more? (Y/N)
==================================================================
Type Y or N. If you choose to post another transaction, the
data you entered is erased and the cursor moves back to the
upper left, enabling you to start over with a new transac-
tion. The debit account remains the same; its amount is
reset to zero. If you type N, the Post Ledger Accounts menu
reappears.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.19
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
Credit one account with multiple debits
Using this menu option, you enter one or more debits and the
program computes the total and posts the offsetting credit. This
is typically used to post checks. Various expenses are the
debits and the checking account is the credit account. For your
audit trail, you should note the check number on the Memo line.
When you select this option you must enter the account to
credit. The data entry screen appears, with the credit account
number and title already entered. The procedure for this screen
is exactly the same as for debiting one account with multiple
credits, except you make your entries on the debit side instead
of on the credit side. See the preceding section for the
complete procedure.
Posting more than eight debits or credits
You are limited to eight debits and eight credits per trans-
action because a transaction cannot span more than one data entry
screen. You may find that you need to post more than eight
debits or eight credits at once. In this case you'll need to
split the transaction into two. For instance, if there are 10
revenue accounts to credit for a single deposit, enter eight on
one screen and the last two on the next screen. Be sure to enter
the same information in the Memo field to identify them.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.20
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
View transactions
This option on the Post Ledger Accounts menu allows you to
view transactions that have already been posted. You can only
see transactions that are in the Transaction Journal. After you
clear the Transaction Journal (see below, page 6.25), you can no
longer view the transactions that were contained in it. The main
reason for this option is to find out where you left off if you
are interrupted in your work.
When you select this option, the last transaction you posted
appears, with the following choices at the bottom:
==================================================================
Transaction: P=Previous N=Next F=First L=Last; C=Change memo Esc=Quit
==================================================================
Figure 6.5: View Transactions
You can now browse forward and backward through the Transac-
tion Journal. In the Choices box you need only type the letter;
do not press Enter after it.
P Takes you to the previous transaction. If you are at
the first transaction you stay there.
N Takes you to the next transaction. If you are at the
last transaction you stay there.
F Takes you straight to the first transaction on file.
L Takes you straight to the last transaction on file.
When you have found the transaction you want, press C to
change the information. You can change only the Memo field, not
the account numbers or amounts, because these have already been
posted. When you press C, the Choices box shows the following
instructions:
==================================================================
Press Enter (<┘) to save changes or Esc to cancel
==================================================================
Enter any changes you want to make to the Memo field, and
then press Enter to save the changes or Esc to put the field back
the way it was.
When "P=Previous," etc. appears in the Choices box, press
Esc to quit viewing transactions and return to the menu.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.21
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
View chart of accounts
This is here in case you forget an account number and do not
have a printed chart of accounts handy. It displays the chart of
accounts on the screen. When you select this option, a screen
similar to the following appears:
==================================================================
ACCT # TITLE Dr/Cr Service Funding
Program Source
ASSETS
100000 Cash on hand D 0 00
101000 Checking Acct FKLN 067000847 D 0 00
110000 Savings Acct FKLN D 0 00
120000 Accounts Receivable D 0 00
130000 Inventory -- Food D 0 00
131000 Inventory -- Books D 0 00
132000 Inventory -- Other Merch. D 0 00
133000 Paper goods for food service D 0 00
140000 Prepaid expenses D 0 00
150000 Furniture, Fixtures & Equip. D 0 00
151000 Accum. Depreciation, FFE C 0 00
LIABILITIES
200000 A/P -- Food C 0 00
201000 A/P -- Books C 0 00
202000 A/P -- Other Merchandise C 0 00
210000 A/P -- Utilities C 0 00
211000 A/P -- Phone C 0 00
212000 A/P -- Other C 0 00
220000 Salaries & Wages Payable C 0 00
230000 Sales Taxes Payable C 0 00
Press Enter (<┘) to continue or Esc to quit
==================================================================
Figure 6.6: View Chart of Accounts
The screen shows the first 21 lines of your chart of ac-
counts. The column labeled "Dr/Cr" contains a D if the normal
balance is a debit balance or a C if the normal balance is a
credit balance. "Service Program" and "Funding Source" show the
codes embedded in the account numbers.
Press Enter to view the next 21 lines. You can only go
forward, not backwards. When you are done, press Esc to go back
to the menu.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.22
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
Print reports
This menu option allows you to print all the reports pro-
duced by the Nonprofit General Ledger system. A complete expla-
nation of each report is given in Chapter Ten. This section
explains the procedure for printing the reports. When you select
this option, the Print Reports selection screen appears:
==================================================================
PRINT REPORTS
Type "Y" next to each report you wish to print. "No" will be
assumed if you just press ENTER. Press ESC to cancel.
Trial Balance .......................... NO
Budget listing ......................... NO
Budget Variance Report
all accounts ......................... NO
by service program ................... NO
by funding source .................... NO
functional summary ................... NO
Income Statement
all accounts ......................... NO
by service program ................... NO
by funding source .................... NO
Balance Sheet .......................... NO
System Control Information ............. NO
Chart of Accounts ...................... NO
Transaction Journal .................... NO
==================================================================
Figure 6.7: Print Reports
Here is a brief description of each report:
- Trial Balance. Lists each account number and title and its
balance, either in the debit column or the credit column.
To the right there are blank columns for you to pencil in
adjustments. Total debits and credits are shown at the end
of the report.
- Budget Listing. This lists the budget, both period and
year-to-date, but not actual amounts or variances.
- Budget Variance Report. Lists the period budget, the year-
to-date budget, the amount actually received or spent in the
period and year to date, and the variance or difference
between the two for revenue and expense accounts. It also
lists the amount remaining in the yearly budget. The report
can be summarized in four ways:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.23
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
- All accounts. Each revenue and expense account is
listed.
- By Service Program. Figures are summarized by service
program; different funding sources are added together.
- By Funding Source. Figures are summarized by funding
source; different service programs funded by the same
source are added together.
- Functional summary. Figures are summarized by functional
category (for instance, Salary expense, Phone expense,
etc.) regardless of service program or funding source.
- Income Statement. Because ledger accounts are posted
immediately, you can obtain a current income statement at
any time. The report can be summarized in three ways:
- All accounts. Each revenue and expense account is
listed. This also includes a functional summary.
- By Service Program. Figures are summarized by service
program; different funding sources are added together.
- By Funding Source. Figures are summarized by funding
source; different service programs funded by the same
source are added together.
- Balance Sheet. The balance sheet shows what the books would
look like if they were closed, but this option does not
actually close the books.
- System Control Information. A listing of the organization's
name and address, the number of ledger accounts available
and used, the number of transaction records used and
remaining, etc.
- Chart of Accounts. Lists each account number and title and
whether it is a debit or a credit account.
- Transaction Journal. Prints a record of each transaction
posted. This serves as your audit trail; you should save
all these reports for your accountant or auditor.
Procedure
1. Before printing reports do the following:
- Be sure your printer is turned on and is properly connected
to your computer.
- See that it has plenty of paper.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.24
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
- Line up the top of the first sheet with the print head so
the report will print properly on each page.
2. You may select any combination of reports for printing.
Type Y for each report you wish to print. For reports you
don't want, just press the Enter key. To change a selection
from Yes to No, type N over the Yes displayed. You can
press the up-arrow key to return to a report and change your
selection.
3. After you press Y, N, or the Enter key on each Yes/No field,
the following message appears:
==================================================================
PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE OR UP-ARROW TO GO BACK
==================================================================
This allows you one more chance to go back and make correc-
tions. When you press the space bar your reports are
printed.
4. For each report, the following message is displayed:
==================================================================
Printing Income Statement -- all accounts
Press ESC to cancel
==================================================================
If you want to stop printing, press Esc. You'll be asked if
you really want to stop, so don't worry about pressing Esc
by accident.
5. When all the reports have been printed, the Main Menu is
redisplayed.
Transaction Journal
When you select the Transaction Journal for printing, there
is one more step. After the report is printed, the following
screen appears:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.25
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
==================================================================
TRANSACTION JOURNAL
Maximum entries allowed: 32000
Number used: 291
Number left: 31709
The Transaction Journal should be cleared to make
room for more entries only if your Transaction
Journal Report was printed correctly.
Did you receive a complete, legible report?
==================================================================
Figure 6.8: Transaction Journal
The Transaction Journal file contains a record of each
transaction you have posted. This file can hold 32000 entries;
if it fills up you cannot post any more ledger account transac-
tions. You'll have to clear it out to make room for more
entries, and you can clear it out only after printing it. This
ensures that you will always have a printed audit trail.
NOTE -- The number of entries in the Transaction Journal is
not the same as the number of transactions. A transaction
with one debit and one credit takes one entry; a transaction
with more than one debit or more than one credit takes one
entry for each debit and one for each credit. For more
information, see page 6.37.
Before you clear the Transaction Journal, make a backup of
your data files. See Chapter Eight for the procedure. This way
you can go back and post more transactions if there are some you
forgot to post.
You can clear the Transaction Journal only if you answer Yes
to two questions:
- "Did you receive a complete, legible report?"
- "Do you wish to clear the Transaction Journal to make room
for more entries?"
If you answer No to either question, the Transaction Journal is
not cleared. If you answer Yes to the first question, the second
appears. If you answer Yes to it as well, the following message
appears:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.26
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
==================================================================
TRANSACTION JOURNAL CLEARED -- HISTORY FILE IS D:TR00598.NGL
PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE
==================================================================
The Transaction Journal is emptied out and a new file is
created, a history file. This file is a copy of the Transaction
Journal with a different name. The numbers in the file name
refer to the last transaction number. In the above example, the
last transaction in the file is number 598. The Utility program,
available to registered users, can print the Transaction Journal
report and an additional audit trail report from the history
files.
You may print the Transaction Journal report as often as you
like in order to verify your entries. We recommend that you
print an audit trail copy of the report and clear the Transaction
Journal at the end of each month. Write "audit trail copy"
clearly on the report and store it in a safe place for your
accountant or auditor.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.27
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
Close books -- end of period
Here is the screen that appears when you select this option
from the Main Menu:
==================================================================
CLOSE BOOKS AT END OF PERIOD
This zeroes out all the period revenue and expense
amounts and resets the processing dates for the next period.
BACK UP YOUR FILES BEFORE YOU DO THIS! IF YOU HAVE NOT BACKED UP YOUR
FILES, PRESS ESC TO CANCEL, EXIT THE PROGRAM, AND THEN BACK THEM UP!
Enter period ending date or
press ESC to cancel
Current processing date: 3/31/1988
Current period ends: 3/31/1988
Current year ends: 12/31/1988
Next period begins: 4/ 1/1988
Next period ends ==> __/__/____
==================================================================
Figure 6.9: Close Books at End of Period
Overview
Closing the books at the end of the period does two things:
- It changes the current processing date to the first day of
the next period. This is the only way you can bring the
current processing date forward from one period to the next.
- It zeroes out the period totals. This has no effect on the
year-to-date totals or on the fund balances. The only
purpose of the period totals is for comparison with the
period budget.
NOTE -- Use this option at the end of every period but
not at the end of the year. At the end of the year,
use option 4, Close Books -- End of Year, instead.
Procedure
Before you close the books at the end of the period, do the
following:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.28
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
1. Make an extra backup copy of your data files. Label the
backup "Prior to closing, MM/DD/YY." If you should ever
need to go back and make corrections to a prior period, you
can use this backup copy. (Of course, you will then have to
re-enter all the activity that happened since you made the
backup, and you should throw away any subsequent Transaction
Journal reports you may have printed.) See Chapter Eight
for how to make a backup.
Make the backup before you clear the Transaction Journal.
2. Print the Budget Variance report if you are using the
program to keep track of your budget.
3. Print and clear the Transaction Journal (see page 6.25).
4. Then select this option.
The Close Books -- End of Period screen appears. The
program computes the beginning of the next period; it is the day
following the end of the current period. The cursor is
positioned at the ending date of the next period. If you have
not made a backup, press Esc. Otherwise,
Enter: the next period ending date.
The program sets all the period revenue and expense balances
to zero and changes the current processing date. When it is
done, the Main Menu reappears.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.29
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
Close books -- end of year
Here is the screen that appears when you select this option
from the Main Menu:
==================================================================
CLOSE BOOKS AT END OF YEAR
Press ESC to cancel
This closes all revenue and expense accounts to the appropriate fund
balances. It prints the trial balance and financial statements beforehand and
the transaction journal and a post-closing trial balance afterwards. Be sure
your printer has plenty of paper.
BACK UP YOUR FILES BEFORE YOU DO THIS! IF YOU HAVE NOT BACKED UP YOUR
FILES, PRESS ESC TO CANCEL, EXIT THE PROGRAM, AND THEN BACK THEM UP!
You have 273,408 bytes free on drive D.
If the Transaction Journal fills up during the process the program will
print it and will not proceed until you clear it out to make room for more
transactions. You'll need about 88 entries.
Transaction Journal
Maximum entries allowed: 32000
Number used: 291
Number left: 31709
Do you wish to print the Transaction Journal first? (Y/N) YES
==================================================================
Figure 6.10: Close Books at End of Year
Overview
Closing the books at the end of the year does a number
things:
- It closes all revenue and expense accounts to the
appropriate fund balances, zeroing out the year-to-date
totals and increasing or decreasing the fund balance
accounts accordingly.
- It zeroes out the period totals, just as closing the books
at the end of a period does.
- It changes the current processing date to the first day of
the next fiscal year, which is also the first day of the
next budget period. This is the only way you can bring the
current processing date forward from one year to the next.
- It prints a number of reports:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.30
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
- optionally, the Transaction Journal before closing
- a pre-closing trial balance
- the income statement and balance sheet
- a post-closing Transaction Journal
- a post-closing trial balance
Procedure
Before you close the books at the end of the year, do the
following:
1. Make an extra backup copy of your data files. Label the
backup "Prior to closing, MM/DD/YY." If you should ever
need to go back and make corrections to a prior year, you
can use this backup copy. (Of course, you will then have to
re-enter all the activity that happened since you made the
backup, and you should throw away any subsequent Transaction
Journal reports you may have printed.) See Chapter Eight
for how to make a backup.
Make the backup before you clear the Transaction Journal.
2. Print the Budget Variance report if you are using the
program to keep track of your budget.
3. Print and clear the Transaction Journal (see page 6.25).
4. Then select this option. (Do not select Close Books -- End
of Period. This option zeroes out the period totals as well
as the year-to-date totals.)
The Close Books -- End of Year screen appears. It tells
what closing the books at the end of the year will do and gives
you the opportunity to print the Transaction Journal. If there
are any entries in the Transaction Journal, the answer to the
question "Do you wish to print ..." is displayed as Yes, other-
wise it is displayed as No, but you can change it.
To cancel the process
If you change your mind and decide to cancel the process of
closing the books at the end of the year, you may do so at three
places:
- On the initial screen, displayed above
- On the date screen, displayed below
- After printing the Income Statement and Balance Sheet
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.31
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
To cancel at these places, press Esc. You may no longer
cancel the process after you print the Income Statement and
Balance Sheet and the program begins to update the account
balances. If you cancel, the books are not closed and the system
dates are not changed.
To continue and not cancel
Put plenty of paper and a dark ribbon in your printer; this
procedure produces many pages of reports.
If there are any entries in the Transaction Journal, we
recommend that you print the Transaction Journal report first and
clear it out to make room for more entries (see page 6.25). The
process of closing the books at the end of the year creates one
entry in the Transaction Journal for each revenue and expense
account with a nonzero balance, plus one for the memo
description. In most cases this will be a sizable number of
entries, and it is best to clear the Transaction Journal to make
room for as many of them as possible. Type Y to print the
Transaction Journal or N to bypass this step.
If you type Y, the Transaction Journal prints and you are
asked if you wish to clear it. If you received a legible report,
go ahead and clear it. If you did not receive a legible report
and wish to print the Transaction Journal again, do this:
1. Type: N to indicate that you did not receive a legible
report.
2. Press the space bar to continue.
3. On the next screen, press the up-arrow. This returns you to
this screen, where you may print the report again.
Next, the following screen appears:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.32
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
==================================================================
CLOSE BOOKS AT END OF YEAR
Enter period and year ending dates
Press ESC to cancel
Current processing date: 12/31/1988
Current period ends: 12/31/1988
Current year ends: 12/31/1988
Next year begins: 1/ 1/1989
Next period begins: 1/ 1/1989
Next period ends ==> __/__/____
Next year ends ==> MM/DD/YYYY
==================================================================
Figure 6.11: End-of-year Closing Dates
1. The program has computed the beginning of the next period
and the next year; it is the day following the end of the
current year. The cursor is positioned at the ending date
of the next period.
Enter: the next period ending date.
2. The cursor moves to the year-end date.
Enter: the next year ending date.
The following message appears:
==================================================================
PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE OR UP-ARROW TO GO BACK
==================================================================
This allows you to review your entries and change them if
you wish. On this screen the up-arrow takes you all the way back
to the previous screen if you would like to print the Transaction
Journal again. You may also press ESC to cancel and return to
the Main Menu without closing the books or changing the dates.
To continue closing the books, press the space bar. You do
not need to press the Enter key. The reports begin to print,
first the Trial Balance, then the Income Statement and finally
the Balance sheet. The date on the reports is the last day of
the current fiscal year. After the Balance Sheet is printed, the
following message appears:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.33
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
==================================================================
Last chance to cancel! Press space bar to continue or ESC to cancel.
PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE
==================================================================
If you wish to cancel, press the ESC key. The books will
not be closed, the dates will be restored as they were before you
selected this option, and the Main Menu will reappear.
To continue, press the space bar. After this point you may
no longer cancel the process. When you press the space bar the
following message appears:
==================================================================
Closing the books . . . please do NOT interrupt!
==================================================================
The program processes the revenue and expense accounts,
closing them to the appropriate fund balances. Do not stop this
process by resetting or turning off your computer! If you do,
your data will be damaged and your books will not balance.
The program makes an entry in the transaction journal for
each revenue and expense account whose balance is not zero. If
the transaction journal gets filled up, it will print so that you
can clear it. You must clear it out in order to proceed.
After the books are closed, the post-closing Transaction
Journal report and Trial Balance are printed. We recommend that
you clear the Transaction Journal after the report is printed
(see page 6.25) in order to start the new year off with a clean
slate. The date on these reports is the first day of the new
fiscal year.
Finally, the Main Menu reappears. The books are now closed
and you are in the next fiscal year.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.34
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
Add ledger accounts
You may add new accounts at any time. The only restriction
is that you may not enter an initial balance. To change the
balance you'll have to enter a transaction so that there will be
an audit trail in the Transaction Journal. For revenue and
expense accounts you may enter period and yearly budget amounts
if you wish.
The procedure is exactly the same as in the Startup program,
except that you cannot enter an initial balance. Refer to page
5.12.
Delete ledger accounts
Use this menu option to delete an unused account. The
year-to-date balance and the period balance must both must be
zero or you will not be able to delete it. This ensures the
integrity of your ledger accounts and audit trail. If the year-
to-date balance is zero but the period balance is not, close the
books for the period and then delete the account. Closing the
books for the period zeroes out the period balance.
The procedure is exactly the same as in the Startup program,
except that the balance must be zero. Refer to page 5.17.
View Ledger Accounts
Use this menu option to find out the balance in any account.
At the end of the month when you are balancing to your bank
account it is convenient to use this option to check the account
balance. For revenue and expense accounts, you can find out the
amount remaining in the budget as well. You can also change the
budget amounts for revenue and expense accounts and the account
title.
The procedure is exactly the same as the Startup program
option Change Ledger Accounts except that you cannot change the
balance. Refer to page 5.15.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.35
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
View/change system control information
This option lets you view and change the system control
information you entered in the Startup program. When you select
this option the System Control Information menu appears:
==================================================================
VIEW/CHANGE SYSTEM CONTROL INFORMATION
Please select:
1 Organization information
2 Printer setup
3 Dates and control information (view only)
ESC Return to Main Menu
==> _
==================================================================
Figure 6.12: View/Change System Control Information
"System control information" includes the organization's
name, address and employer ID number, the codes for controlling
your printer, system dates and number of ledger accounts used,
etc. You may change the organization and printer information by
using this menu, but you may only view, not change, the system
dates, etc.
Organization Information
When you select this option from the View/Change System
Control Information Menu the Organization Information screen
appears. For information about this screen, see page 5.8.
If you only want to look at this information and not change
it, press the Esc key when you are done looking. If you wish to
change the information,
1. Use the cursor control keys to move to the field you wish to
change.
2. Press F2 to delete the incorrect information.
3. Enter: the new information.
When you press the Enter key on the last line, the following
message appears:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.36
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
==================================================================
PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE OR UP-ARROW TO GO BACK
==================================================================
This allows you to review your entries and change them if
you wish. You can press the Esc key to return to the System
Control Information menu without changing any of the organization
information. To store the changes you have made in your data
files, press the space bar. The data is saved and you return to
the System Control Information menu.
Printer Setup
If you ever change printers, you may use this option on the
View/Change System Control Information Menu to enter the codes
needed for your new printer. The procedure is the same as in the
Startup program. Refer to page 5.10.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.37
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
Dates and control information (view only)
This option on the View/Change System Control Information
Menu allows you to view the System Control Information screen:
==================================================================
SYSTEM CONTROL INFORMATION
Dates
Current processing date 3/31/1988
Beginning of fiscal year 1/ 1/1988
Beginning of current period 3/ 1/1988
End of current period 3/31/1988
End of fiscal year 12/31/1988
Data files are on drive C; 1,272,384 bytes are free.
Ledger accounts
Maximum number of accounts 32000
Number used 84
Number left 31916
Transaction Journal entries
Maximum number allowed 32000
Number used 291
Number left 31709
Last transaction number 598
PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE
==================================================================
Figure 6.13: System Control Information
You may not change any of this information. The procedure
is the same as in the Startup program. Refer to page 5.19.
Transaction journal
The System Control Information screen shows the number of
transaction entries used and the last transaction number used.
The transaction number is not the same as the number of entries.
Each transaction may use one or more entries in the Transaction
Journal. If the transaction consists of one debit and one
credit, it uses only one entry, otherwise it uses an entry for
each debit and each credit. (Closing the books at the end of the
year uses two additional entries, one for the memo description
for closing the revenue accounts and the other for the memo
description for closing the expense accounts.) The screen shows
the maximum number of transaction journal entries allowed (this
is preprogrammed), the number currently used and the number left.
If the number left is very small, you should print the transac-
tion journal and clear it (see page 6.25).
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.38
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
The last transaction number is the same as the "Last tran"
number that appears on the reports, and is used as an audit
trail. You know you have a complete audit trail if you have
Transaction Journal reports for all the numbers from the
beginning of the year to the present.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 6.39
Chapter 6, The General Ledger Program
Change colors
If you have a color monitor or a Compaq computer, which
emulates color on a monochrome screen, you can change the text
and background colors. This option does nothing if you have a
monochrome monitor. The procedure is the same as in the Startup
program. Refer to page 5.7.
The Transaction Information program
There is one more program on your diskette, TRANINFO.EXE,
which displays information about your Transaction Journal file.
Its main use program is to find out what period a transaction
journal file on a backup diskette covers. To run it,
Enter: TRANINFO
You are asked for the name of the file:
==================================================================
This displays information about a Nonprofit General Ledger
Transaction Journal file.
Name of file? (Ctrl-Break to quit) _
==================================================================
You may enter the name of the Transaction Journal or any
Transaction History file. Enter the full name and extension. If
the file is on a different disk, be sure to include the drive
letter as well. For instance you would enter "B:TRANJRNL.NGL" if
your Transaction Journal file were on drive B. If you want to
exit the program instead of entering the file name, press the
Ctrl key and Break key at the same time. You can also enter the
file name after the name of the program, for instance:
TRANINFO B:TRANJRNL.NGL
The program displays information similar to the following:
==================================================================
B:TRANJRNL.NGL contains transactions numbered from 495 through 598
and dated from 3/ 1/1988 through 3/31/1988.
It contains 291 physical records.
==================================================================
The number of physical records is the same as the number of
entries as displayed on the System Control Information screen.
Chapter 7
The Utility Program
This chapter tells how to use the Nonprofit General Ledger
Utility program. The Utility program is available only to
registered users. To find out how to register, see Appendix E.
Installing the program
The program is on a separate distribution disk, the
Registered User diskette. This diskette is not distributed as
shareware. (If you received this program from any source other
than me, you have an illegal copy. Please notify me right away!)
To install the program, copy all the files on the disk to another
disk. Instructions are given in Chapter 4 on page 4.3 for floppy
disks and 4.4 for hard disks.
Starting the program
The program file, NGLUTIL.EXE, must be present on the logged
disk and subdirectory.
1a. If you are using two floppy diskettes, place the working
copy of your program diskette in drive A:.
1b. If you are using a hard disk, log on to the disk and the
subdirectory where you have installed the program. These
instructions assume that the disk is C: and the subdirectory
is MAIL. If your system is different, substitute the letter
and subdirectory name for your system in the commands below.
- Enter: C:
- Enter: CD \NGL
2. Enter: NGLUTIL
This is the command that starts the program.
The Main Menu
The Main Menu, which is also the title screen, appears:
Page 7.1
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 7.2
Chapter 7, The Utility Program
==================================================================
NONPROFIT GENERAL LEDGER UTILITY PROGRAM
Version 1.11
Copyright (c) 1989 Wm. Meacham
Reliance Software Services, 1004 Elm Street, Austin Tx 78703
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, DO NOT COPY! This program is provided only
to registered users of the Nonprofit General Ledger program.
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
1 AUDIT -- Prints transactions sorted by account number.
2 LIST -- Prints transactions in transaction order.
3 FIX -- Reconstructs a damaged index. Reads the account
file and writes a new account file and index file
on a different disk or on the same disk. (Be sure
there's enough room.)
4 ZERO THE BUDGET -- Zeros out all budget amounts.
Esc Exit the program
==> _
==================================================================
Figure 7.1: Utility program Main Menu
The options on this menu are as follows:
1. Audit. This prints the Transaction Journal or a Transaction
History file sorted by account number instead of chronologi-
cally by transaction number. This provides a clearer audit
trail of what transactions affect each account.
2. List. This prints the Transaction Journal report just like
the General Ledger program. The difference is that you can
print the report for a Transaction History file in addition
to the Transaction Journal.
3. Fix. This fixes damaged data files. Files can get damaged
in a number of ways; the symptoms are strange things
displayed on the screen or cryptic error messages that end
the program abnormally. The Utility program recovers all
the data that is not damaged and writes it to a new set of
files on the same or another disk. Accounts with bad data
in them are not written to the new files. This builds a new
set of indexes for the files, so problems with indexes go
away too. However, you may lose some data; the InterFund
Clearing account is used to balance your books, if needed.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 7.3
Chapter 7, The Utility Program
4. Zero the Budget. This quickly zeroes out all your budget
amounts. This is quicker than going through each account
one by one.
The rest of this chapter explains each of these options. To
select a menu option,
Type: the number
and press the Enter key.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 7.4
Chapter 7, The Utility Program
Audit
The General Ledger program provides the Transaction Journal
report as an audit trail, but that report is listed chronologi-
cally by transaction number. To find out what transactions
affected a particular account, you'd have to look at each
transaction in turn. This menu option prints a different kind of
audit trail report, one sorted by account number. You can look
up an account number and find out what transactions were posted
to it. The report is explained in Chapter 10; this section tells
how to print it.
When you select this option, the following message appears:
==================================================================
On which drive do you keep your data files? C
==================================================================
Your normal data drive is displayed; press Enter to accept
it, or press F2 and enter a different letter to change it. You
can also cancel by pressing Esc. Enter the drive for your
regular data files even if the file you wish to print is on a
different drive. The program has to read the Index and Ledger
files to get the account names.
Next you are asked for the name of the file to print:
==================================================================
Enter the full name and path of the transaction file:
C:TRANJRNL.NGL_________________________________________________
==================================================================
The Transaction Journal file on the data drive you entered
is displayed, but you can change it and print another file
instead. To accept the Transaction Journal file, just press
Enter. To change it, press Backspace or F2 and then enter the
file name you want.
You can enter the name of a Transaction History file.
Remember, a Transaction History file is created each time you
clear the Transaction Journal (see page 6.25). The file name is
TRnnnnn.NGL, where "nnnnn" is the number of the last transaction
on file. For instance, the last transaction number in
TR00465.NGL is 465. You can enter a full drive and path name,
so you can print a file that is on another disk or in a different
subdirectory on your hard disk.
When you have entered the name, informative messages appear
and the report is printed.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 7.5
Chapter 7, The Utility Program
List
This prints the Transaction Journal report, just like in the
General Ledger program. The only difference is that you can
print the report for a Transaction History file as well as the
Transaction Journal, and you can print it for a file on a
different drive or subdirectory.
When you select this option, you are asked for the drive
where you keep your data files and for the name of the
transaction file (Transaction Journal or Transaction History
file) to print. The procedure is just like in the Audit
function, above. When you enter the information requested, the
report is printed.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 7.6
Chapter 7, The Utility Program
Fix
Introduction
Data files can get damaged in a number of ways. A diskette
might be bad, or the power might go out while the program is
writing to the disk, or random electricity might write incorrect
data on the disk. The symptoms of bad data are:
- Strange characters appear on the screen.
- Strange characters are printed, or the printer does strange
things.
- The program ends abnormally with a cryptic error message,
such as "Turbo Access Error 100 -- Disk Read Error."
The first two errors are caused by bad data in the Ledger
file of account information. Error 100 is caused by a bad Index
file; the index says there is a account record at a certain place
in the Ledger file, but that location does not exist in the
Ledger file.
The Fix option reads the Ledger file and writes a new file
with new indexes, either on the same disk or on another one. In
the process it examines each account record, and if it contains
bad data it does not write it out. As it writes, it creates new
index files, so the end result is that the new Ledger file
contains nothing but good data and the new Index files are all
correct.
If the program discards an account record, your books will
be out of balance. To fix this condition, a balancing entry is
made to the InterFund Clearing (IFC) account, account 400000.
After you run this option, you should print a Chart of Accounts
report and a Trial Balance report. If some accounts are missing
from your Chart of Accounts, use the General Ledger program to
add new ledger accounts to replace them. They'll have zero
balances. If the IFC account has a balance in it, post a
transaction to transfer the balance to another account or
accounts, probably the ones you have just added.
Procedure
When you select this option, the following screen appears:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 7.7
Chapter 7, The Utility Program
==================================================================
FIX
Please enter:
SOURCE drive and path, where the file to be fixed is located:
_____________________________________________________
TARGET drive and path, where the new file is to be written:
_____________________________________________________
==================================================================
First you specify the Source and Target drives. You can
specify a path and you can specify the same drive and path for
both the Source and Target files or a different one. This allows
you to write the Target files in the same subdirectory or in a
different subdirectory on the same disk.
You are then told to insert the Source and Target disks.
==================================================================
Insert Source and Target disks
PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE OR UP-ARROW TO GO BACK
==================================================================
If you need to change your entries you can press the up-
arrow. You can also cancel by pressing Esc. When both disks are
in place, press the space bar. If General Ledger files exist on
the Target drive and directory, and the Target is not the same as
the Source, you are asked if you want to overwrite them. If you
say Yes, they are erased before the new files are written.
The program reads the Source files and writes the Target
files, eliminating bad name records as it goes. The Target files
have the extension $$$ during this process. This is so they can
be written on the same drive and directory as the Source files
(extension NGL) if necessary.
When it is finished, the program tells you how many records
it has read and written.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 7.8
Chapter 7, The Utility Program
==================================================================
Number of accounts in the Source file: 84
Number of accounts in the Target file: 84
All done!
Now make a backup of the new files. Run the General Ledger program
to make sure everything is OK. If it is, delete the Source files.
The Source files now have the extension BAK instead of NGL.
PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE
==================================================================
If the number of Source and Target accounts are different,
you know that some bad account records have been eliminated. The
last line appears only if the Source and Target files are on the
same drive and directory. In that case the Source files are
renamed to have an extension of BAK (for Backup). If the Source
and Target paths are different, the files are not renamed. At
the end of the process the Target files are renamed from
extension $$$ to NGL.
Print your Chart of Accounts and Trial Balance reports for
the new files, and then add accounts or transfer balances as
needed to get the books as they were before your files became
damaged. When everything is OK, you can erase the old files. Be
sure to make a backup of the new ones.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 7.9
Chapter 7, The Utility Program
Zero the Budget
This is here as a convenience. If you want to stop using
the budget feature of the program, just run this option to set
all the budget amounts to zero. Or, when a new fiscal year
starts and you want to change your budget, you may find it easier
to enter the new budget if the old one is all gone. This option
goes through all the accounts and sets each budget amount to
zero.
When you run this option you are first asked if you really
want to do it:
==================================================================
This will zero out all the budget amounts in all your accounts.
Is this what you wish to do? (Y/N) ___
==================================================================
Enter Y or N. You can also cancel by pressing Esc. If you
answer Yes, you are asked where your data files are, and then the
budget amounts are zeroed out.
Chapter 8
Protecting your data
Like it or not, sometimes disks get damaged or data files
are accidentally erased. You should always make a backup copy of
your files whenever you have entered, changed or deleted data.
Store the backup diskette separately from your everyday data
diskette. If something should happen to your data diskette, make
a copy of the backup diskette and use it. Diskettes are cheap;
your time and data are not, so always make a backup! This
chapter tells you how to back up your data files and how to
restore them if they get damaged.
This chapter tells you the procedure for making a backup.
Look in Appendix B, "Examples of Use," for ideas about when to do
backups in your monthly accounting cycle.
Backing up your data
The Nonprofit General Ledger data files all have the ex-
tension NGL. The procedure for backing up your files is quite
simple. Just exit the program and copy them to a floppy
diskette.
Floppy disk
This procedure assumes that your program disk is in drive A:
and your data disk is in drive B:.
1. When you have exited the program and are at the operating
system prompt, remove the program disk and put a formatted
floppy diskette in drive A:.
2. Enter: COPY B:*.NGL A:
This copies all the data files from B: to A: When you are
done, label the diskette "Nonprofit General Ledger data
backup" and write the date on it.
Hard disk
This procedure assumes that your data is on drive C:. If
your system is different, substitute your drive letter in these
instructions.
Page 8.1
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 8.2
Chapter 8, Protecting your data
1. When you have exited the program and are at the operating
system prompt, put a formatted floppy diskette in drive A:.
The "C>" prompt should be showing.
2. Enter: COPY *.NGL A:
This copies all the data files from the drive you are on,
C:, to A:. When you are done, label the diskette
"Nonprofit General Ledger data backup" and write the date on
it.
Caution
If it appears that your files have become damaged, do not
back them up! If you back up damaged files, your backups will be
damaged too. Instead, restore the backup files. See below for
instructions.
Insufficient disk space
If you have too many files to fit on a single diskette or if
your files are too big, the following message appears:
----------------------------------------
Insufficient disk space
----------------------------------------
The most likely cause for this messages is having too many
files. Unless you have a very large number of accounts, no one
data file will become too big to fit on a diskette. Each time
you clear the Transaction Journal, however, a new history file is
created, named TRnnnnn.NGL, where "nnnnn" is the number of the
last transaction in the file. After a while you may accumulate
too many of these to fit on a diskette. The solution is simply
to start using a different backup diskette.
If you are using a hard disk and have a lot of accounts,
your files may be too big to fit on a floppy diskette. In that
case, see "Using the Backup Program," below, page 8.4.
Restoring your data
To "restore" means to copy the backup files onto the data
disk. When you do this, the files on your data disk become as
they were the last time you backed them up. Do this only if your
data files are damaged or accidentally erased. The procedure is
simple. Exit the program and copy the files from the floppy
diskette to the data disk.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 8.3
Chapter 8, Protecting your data
Floppy disk
1. When you have exited the program and are at the operating
system prompt, remove the program disk and put the backup
diskette in drive A:.
2. Enter: COPY A:*.NGL B:
This copies all the data files from A: to B:.
Hard disk
This procedure assumes that your data is on the hard disk in
the NGL subdirectory. If your system is different, substitute
your subdirectory name in these instructions.
1. When you have exited the program and are at the operating
system prompt, put the backup diskette in drive A:.
2. Be sure you are in the correct subdirectory. If necessary,
change to it by entering CD \NGL.
2. Enter: COPY A:*.NGL
This copies all the data files from A: to the hard disk.
End of month backup
This section tells how to make a special backup at the end
of each month (or quarter, etc., whatever your normal accounting
period is.) What you want to do is save a copy of your files
before you clear the transaction journal and close the month.
That way you can go back and add more transactions to the month
if you have to.
Note: If you do go back and add more transactions, you'll
also have to re-enter everything in the months following.
The program does not have the ability to keep an accounting
period "open" while you are entering data for a subsequent
period.
After you have entered all the transactions for the month
and are sure they are correct and complete, do the following:
- Print final statements for the month, but do not clear the
Transaction Journal yet. (See page 6.25.)
- Format a new disk. See your DOS manual for how to format a
disk. If you know enough about DOS to understand sub-
directories, you can make a subdirectory on your regular
backup disk for the month instead. Call it, for instance,
JUL89, if the month is July, 1989.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 8.4
Chapter 8, Protecting your data
- Copy the files LEDGER.NGL, INDEX.NGL, SCR.NGL and
TRANJRNL.NGL to the new disk or to the subdirectory.
- Label the new disk "Pre-closing backup" plus the month and
year and store it in a safe place.
Using the BACKUP program
The rest of this chapter tells you how to back up your files
when they are too big to fit on a single diskette. This can
happen if you have a lot of accounts and are using a hard disk.
Your DOS (Disk Operating System) diskettes contain a program
named BACKUP. This program program splits large files over more
than one diskette. The following procedure tells how to use it.
(There are different ways to do this, but this is one of the
simplest. Please read your DOS manual for complete details.)
1. You will need a number of blank formatted floppy diskettes;
the exact number depends on how big your data files are. To
be safe, have five or six blank formatted diskettes ready.
2. Be sure you are in the NGL subdirectory.
Enter: CD \NGL
You must already have copied the BACKUP and RESTORE programs
from your DOS diskette to the hard disk in this directory.
If you have not done this, you must have entered a Path
command that names the subdirectory where they are found.
(See your DOS manual for more information about the Path
command.)
3. Enter: BACKUP *.NGL A:
Leave a space between "BACKUP" and "*.NGL" and between
"*.NGL" and "A:." Type a colon, not a semicolon. This will
cause all the files with the extension "NGL" to be backed up
on the floppy diskette(s) in drive A.
The following message appears:
----------------------------------------
Insert backup diskette 01 in drive A:
Warning! Diskette files will be erased
Strike any key when ready
----------------------------------------
4. Place a blank formatted diskette in the floppy diskette
drive and press any key.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 8.5
Chapter 8, Protecting your data
The following message appears:
----------------------------------------
*** Backing up files to diskette 01 ***
----------------------------------------
and the file names are displayed as they are backed up.
5. Label the diskette -- use a felt-tip pen so you won't damage
it -- with the program name, the number of the backup
diskette and the date, so you will know when your last
backup was and the order in which to use the diskettes to
restore your files.
6. If more than one diskette is required, the following message
is displayed:
----------------------------------------
Insert backup diskette nn in drive A
----------------------------------------
where "nn" is the disk number. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until
the "C>" prompt appears, indicating that all files have been
backed up.
If things go wrong with BACKUP
The BACKUP program displays the file names as they are
backed up. If file names are not displayed, something is wrong.
Check the following:
- If the message "Bad command or file name" appears, the
BACKUP program is not in the same directory as your data or
you are not in the right directory. Use the CD command to
change to the right directory and copy the BACKUP program
from your DOS diskette.
- Be sure you have typed the command correctly. There must be
a space after the word "BACKUP" and after the file name
("*.NGL" in the example shown), but nowhere else. Type a
colon, not a semicolon.
Using the RESTORE program
This section tells how to use the RESTORE program to copy
files back onto your hard disk. You must use the RESTORE program
to restore files backed up with the BACKUP program. (This is
only an outline; there are different ways to do this, but this is
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 8.6
Chapter 8, Protecting your data
one of the simplest. Please read your DOS manual for complete
details.)
1. Be sure you are in the NGL subdirectory.
Enter: CD \NGL
The RESTORE program should be on the hard disk, in this
directory. The "C>" prompt should be displayed. You may
also enter a Path command that names the subdirectory where
they are found. (See your DOS manual for more information
about the Path command.)
2. Enter: RESTORE A: *.NGL
Leave a space between "RESTORE" and "A:" and between "A:"
and :*.NGL." This will cause all the files with the
extension "NGL" to be restored from the floppy diskette in
drive A. (Note -- instead of "NGL," type the extension for
your program's data files -- this is an example only.)
The following message appears:
----------------------------------------
Insert backup diskette 01 in drive A:
Strike any key when ready
----------------------------------------
3. Insert the first backup diskette in the floppy disk drive
and press any key. The following message is displayed:
----------------------------------------
*** Files were backed up MM/DD/YYYY ***
*** Restoring files from diskette 01 ***
----------------------------------------
and the file names are displayed as each is copied from the
floppy diskette to the hard disk.
4. If it took more than one floppy diskette to back up your
files, the following message is displayed:
----------------------------------------
Insert backup diskette nn in drive A
----------------------------------------
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 8.7
Chapter 8, Protecting your data
where "nn" is the disk number. Repeat step 3 for each
backup diskette until the C> prompt appears, indicating that
all your files have been restored.
NOTE -- When you restore your files like this, the files
copied from the floppy diskette(s) replace the files on your
hard disk. You may have to re-enter data you entered after
the last time you backed up your files.
If things go wrong with RESTORE
The RESTORE program displays the file names as they are
backed up. If file names are not displayed or the message "No
files found to restore" appears, something is wrong. Check the
following:
- If the message "Bad command or file name" appears, the
RESTORE program is not in the same directory as your data or
you are not in the right directory. Use the CD command to
change to the right directory and copy the RESTORE program
from your DOS diskette.
- Be sure you have typed the command correctly. There must be
a space after the word "RESTORE" and after the colon, but
nowhere else. Type a colon, not a semicolon.
- Be sure you have the right backup diskettes; use the DIR
command to view the directory. The files should have the
same extension as your data files.
Do not copy BACKUP files
Do not use the DOS COPY command to copy files from your
backup diskettes to the hard disk. Although the files on the
diskette have the same name as your data files, they have a
different internal format; and the Mailing List program cannot
use them. If you copy these files onto your hard disk you will
destroy your data files on the hard disk. Don't do it.
Chapter 9
Error messages
This chapter explains the error messages that may appear in
the programs. Some error conditions just make a noise without
displaying a message. This happens when you don't need a
message, for instance when you try to enter too many characters
in a field. Correct the entry and proceed.
An error message is displayed when more explanation is
called for. All error messages make a noise and display "PRESS
SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE" below the message. When you see an error
message, do this:
1. Press the space bar. Do not press the Enter key. The
message disappears and the cursor returns to the field in
error.
2. Correct the entry and proceed.
Following are the error messages that appear in the
programs.
ACCOUNT NUMBER ALREADY EXISTS
This appears when you are adding an account and the account
number you have entered is already on file. You may not have
duplicate account numbers. Enter a different account number.
ACCOUNT NUMBER MUST BE NUMERIC
This appears when you are adding an account and you enter
letters or characters in the account number. You must enter
digits, 0 through 9.
ACCOUNT NUMBER MUST BE SIX DIGITS
This appears when you are adding an account and what you
enter is not long enough. Enter all six digits for the account
number.
Page 9.1
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 9.2
Chapter 9, Error messages
ACCOUNT NUMBER NOT FOUND
This appears when you are entering an account number, to
post an amount to it or to change or delete it, and the number
you have entered is not on file. Enter the correct number.
If you forget your account numbers, you can remind yourself
in two ways:
- On the Main Menu, select "Print Reports" and then print the
Chart of Accounts report. This gives you a list on paper to
which you can refer.
- On the Main Menu, select "Post Ledger Accounts." On the
Post Ledger Accounts menu, select "View Chart of Accounts."
This shows you a list on the screen.
CAN'T DELETE -- BALANCE IS NOT ZERO
This appears when you try to delete an account and the
year-to-date balance or the period balance is not zero. If you
were to delete the account, your books would be out of balance,
so the program won't let you do it. Post an adjusting entry to
make the year-to-date balance zero. If this also makes the
period balance zero, you can delete the account. If the period
balance is not zero, you can delete it after you close the books
for the period. Closing the books for the period makes the
period balance zero, but does not affect the year-to-date
balance.
CAN'T POST -- NOT ENOUGH ROOM IN TRANSACTION FILE
This appears when you are posting ledger accounts. It means
that the transaction file cannot hold more transaction records.
Press Esc to stop posting, then return to the Main Menu. Select
"Print Reports" and print the Transaction Journal. After it has
printed you are asked if you want to clear it. If you got a full
and complete copy of the Transaction Journal, go ahead and clear
it. This makes room for more transactions, and you can then go
back and continue posting.
CANNOT CREATE <filename>
This appears program when the programs are creating files.
If the message says "IOResult = 5," it means that the disk
directory is full. If it says "IOResult = 101," it means there
is no more room on the disk. In either case, you'll have to
erase some files or use another disk.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 9.3
Chapter 9, Error messages
CANNOT OPEN <filename>
This may mean that you specified an incorrect drive or path,
or it may mean that your disk is damaged. Either enter the
correct drive or path, or restore your files from your backup
disk to a different disk and try again.
CRITICAL ERROR
This message appears when the operating system, not the
program, detects an error accessing the disk or the printer. A
message box pops up over the screen and tells you what kind of
error it is. If you can fix the error -- for instance by closing
the drive door or turning on the printer -- do so and then press
Enter. If you cannot fix the error, the only thing you can do is
press Esc to exit the program. If you exit the program, run the
Fix option of the Utility program to be sure that your data files
are not damaged.
Printer error
There are many causes for a critical printer error. Check
to see if the printer is turned on, connected to the computer and
on-line (usually indicated by a switch or light on the printer's
control panel). Make sure there is paper in the printer and the
ribbon is not used up.
DATA FILES NOT FOUND ON DRIVE X
The program cannot find all the files it needs on the drive
you have entered. Enter the correct drive or restore your files
from your most recent backup.
DATE MAY NOT BE EARLIER THAN BEGINNING OF CURRENT PERIOD
The current processing date must be within the current
period, as shown on the System Dates screen when you start the
General Ledger program or in the Startup program. Enter a
different current processing date or change the current period.
To change the current period in the General Ledger program
you must select one of the "Close Books" options on the Main
Menu. In the Startup program you can use the "Change Dates"
option on the Main Menu.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 9.4
Chapter 9, Error messages
DATE MAY NOT BE EARLIER THAN BEGINNING OF FISCAL YEAR
This appears in the Startup program when you are entering or
changing the system dates. The beginning of the current period
may not precede the beginning of the year. Correct either the
beginning of the year or the beginning of the period.
DATE MAY NOT BE EARLIER THAN BEGINNING OF NEXT PERIOD
This appears when you are closing the books for the current
period or for the year and are entering the end of the next
period. The program fills in the beginning of the next period
for you; it is the next day after the end of the current period.
The end of the next period may not come before its beginning. To
proceed you'll have to correct your entry.
DATE MAY NOT BE EARLIER THAN END OF CURRENT PERIOD
The current processing date must be within the current
period, as shown on the System Dates screen when you start the
General Ledger program or in the Startup program. Enter a
different current processing date or change the current period.
To change the current period in the General Ledger program
you must select one of the "Close Books" options on the Main
Menu. In the Startup program you can use the "Change Dates"
option on the Main Menu.
DATE MAY NOT BE LATER THAN END OF CURRENT YEAR
This appears when you are closing the books for the current
period and are entering the end of the next period. You have to
enter the end of the next period, and it may not be after the end
of the year. To proceed you'll have to correct your entry.
DATE MAY NOT BE EARLIER THAN END OF NEXT PERIOD
This appears in "Close Books -- End of Year." The date you
enter for the end of the next fiscal year must not be earlier
than your entry for the end of the next period. Correct your
entry for the end of the period or the end of the year.
DATE MAY NOT BE EARLIER THAN LAST PROCESSING DATE
The current processing date must on or after the last
processing date shown on the System Dates screen when you start
the General Ledger program or in the Startup program. You cannot
go backwards in time in this program, so you must correct your
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 9.5
Chapter 9, Error messages
entry. In the Startup program you can also change the other
system dates.
DEBIT/CREDIT MUST BE 'D' OR 'C'
When you are adding accounts, the code for whether it is a
debit account or a credit account must be 'D' for debit or 'C'
for credit. Correct your entry.
DIDN'T FIND AN ACCOUNT FOR XXX
This appears when the program is printing the budget report
and indicates that your data files are damaged. Run the Fix
option of the Utility program to repair them.
ERROR CREATING CLEARING ACCOUNT
This appears in the Startup program when you are setting up
your accounts for the first time. The InterFund Clearing
account, required by the program, could not be created. Your
disk or directory may be full, or the disk may be damaged. Erase
unneeded files or use a different disk and try again.
FATAL ERROR -- CAN'T FIND CLEARING ACCOUNT
This means that your data files are damaged. Run the Fix
option of the Utility program to repair them.
FIFTH DIGIT MUST BE 0 OR 1
In all account numbers the fifth digit, indicating the
funding source, may only be 0 or 1. Funding source codes are
limited to 00 through 19; see Chapter 3 for an explanation of the
account number codes. Correct your entry and try again.
<filename> CONTAINS NO TRANSACTIONS
This appears in the Utility program when you are printing
the Audit Trail report and the file you have specified does not
contain any transactions. Enter a different file name and try
again.
<filename> NOT FOUND
This appears in the Utility program when you are running the
"Audit" option and the transaction file you have specified does
not exist. Correct your entry and try again.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 9.6
Chapter 9, Error messages
FIRST DIGIT MUST BE 1 THROUGH 6
In all account numbers the first digit, indicating the major
category (Assets, Liabilities, etc.), may only be 1 through 6.
See Chapter 3 for an explanation of the account number codes.
Correct your entry and try again.
INVALID PATH
This appears when you are entering a path and file name and
the name is not formed according to the rules of DOS. See your
DOS manual. You'll have to correct your entry to proceed.
NOT IN BALANCE
This appears when you are posting ledger accounts and the
debits do not equal the credits. Correct either the debits or
the credits and make them equal; then you'll be able to post the
transaction.
PERIOD BUDGET MAY NOT BE GREATER THAN YEARLY BUDGET
When you are entering budget information for an account, the
budget for one accounting period may not be larger than the
budget for the entire year. Correct either the yearly budget or
the period budget.
SORT CANCELED BY USER
SORT FAILED -- RESULT CODE IS nn
These appear in the Utility program, in the Audit option.
The program is sorting the Transaction file and the sort cannot
proceed. Some of the result codes are as follows:
3 You need more RAM (Random Access Memory) in your computer.
If you have installed any "pop-up" or "terminate and stay
resident" programs such as Sidekick, exit the program and
remove them from memory, and then try again. Otherwise,
you'll have to install more memory.
10 There was an error writing to the disk. Either the disk is
full or there is a bad area on the disk. Exit the program
and erase unneeded files, and then try again.
11 There was an error reading the disk. Your disk is probably
defective. Copy your data files to a different disk and try
again.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 9.7
Chapter 9, Error messages
12 A temporary work file could not be created, probably because
the disk or the directory is full. Exit the program and
erase unneeded files, and then try again.
If the message contains a different result code, your data files
may be damaged. Run the Fix option of the Utility program to
repair them.
SOURCE FILES NOT FOUND
This appears in the Fix option of the Utility program. The
program cannot find the data files in the path you have entered.
Correct your entry, or insert the correct disk and try again.
THE LEDGER FILE IS FULL
This appears when you are adding ledger accounts to your
system. You cannot have more than 32,000 accounts.
THE TRANSACTION FILE CONTAINS NO TRANSACTIONS
This appears when you try to view transactions on the Post
Ledger Accounts menu and no transactions have been recorded.
You'll have to post some transactions before you can view them.
It also appears in the Utility program when you are printing
the Audit report. There are no transactions recorded in the file
you have named, so you cannot print the report. Enter a differ-
ent file name and try again.
THERE IS NOT ENOUGH SPACE ON DRIVE X
The current operation cannot proceed because you do not
have enough free disk space. You'll have to exit the program and
erase unneeded files before you can finish the operation.
THIS IS A RESERVED ACCOUNT -- YOU MAY NOT CHANGE IT
THIS IS A RESERVED ACCOUNT -- YOU MAY NOT DELETE IT
You cannot change or delete the InterFund Clearing account.
Choose a different account.
THIS IS A SYSTEM-GENERATED TRANSACTION. YOU CANNOT EDIT THE
MEMO.
This appears when you are viewing transactions on the screen
and a transaction has too many components to fit on the screen.
The only transactions this big are those generated by the program
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 9.8
Chapter 9, Error messages
when it is closing the books. In this case, only part of the
transaction is shown and you cannot change the memorandum field.
TRAN JOURNAL IS FULL -- YOU MUST PRINT AND CLEAR IT
This appears when you are closing the books for the year.
The program creates transactions and records them in the
transaction journal. If it becomes full during this process you
have to print and clear it before you can go on. You can avoid
this by clearing the transaction journal before you close the
books for the year.
TRANSACTIONS HAVE BEEN POSTED
YOU MAY NOT RUN THE STARTUP PROGRAM NOW
This appears if you run the Startup program, NGLSTART, after
having posted transactions in the General Ledger program. Once
you have started posting transactions you may not run the Startup
program because in it you can change balances without creating an
audit trail. If you need to add or delete accounts, you can do
so in the General Ledger program. You'll have to post a transac-
tion to change the balance from zero.
TURBO ACCESS ERROR
This indicates a problem reading, writing or creating a
file. The following table shows the most common errors:
Error number What it means What to do
4 Too many The operating system Create a CONFIG.SYS
open files cannot open another file on your boot
file. You do not have disk on in the root
a CONFIG.SYS file on directory of your
on your boot disk or hard disk. The file
you have one but it must include the
does not have a FILES command "FILES = n,"
command or the FILES where n is at least
command does not 16. See your DOS
specify a high enough manual For more
number. FILES must be information about
at least 16. the CONFIG.SYS file.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 9.9
Chapter 9, Error messages
100 Disk The program is trying Run the Fix option
Read to read past the end of the Utility
Error of the file. This is program. It was
caused by a bad index designed for just
file. The index says this type of
there is a name record problem.
at a certain place in
the master file, but
that location does not
actually exist in the
master file.
For errors not in this table, use the Fix option of the
Utility program to rebuild your data files and then try again.
If that does not work, contact me.
YOU CANNOT CHANGE COLORS ON A MONOCHROME MONITOR
This means just what it says.
YOU MAY NOT POST TO THE CREDIT ACCOUNT
This appears when you have selected "Credit one account with
multiple debits" on the Post Ledger Accounts menu and you enter
the credit account number under the debits. The program won't
let you do this; enter a different account number.
YOU MAY NOT POST TO THE DEBIT ACCOUNT
This appears when you have selected "Debit one account with
multiple credits" on the Post Ledger Accounts menu and you enter
the debit account number under the credits. The program won't
let you do this; enter a different account number.
Chapter 10
Understanding the Reports
This chapter explains each of the reports produced by the
Nonprofit General Ledger system. Sample reports are shown at the
end of the chapter; these do not appear in the on-disk version of
this manual. You print the reports through the Main Menu option,
"Print reports;" see page 6.23. Since the program posts
transactions to the ledger accounts as they are entered, without
waiting for a "batch" posting run, you may print any of these
reports at any time and the information will be current.
Report Heading
Each report contains the following information at the top of
each page:
- Organization Name
- Federal Employer ID Number (EIN)
- "Eff. date", or effective date -- the Current Processing
Date when the report was printed.
- The report title
- The page number
- The date and time the report was printed. Unlike the
effective date, this is the actual date and time from your
computer's clock when the report was printed.
- "Last Tran" -- the number of the last transaction that was
entered before the report was printed.
The effective date and the last transaction number provide
an audit trail; the information in each report is current as of
the date shown and reflects all data entry up to and including
the last transaction number.
Page 10.1
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 10.2
Chapter 10, Understanding the Reports
Trial Balance
The Trial Balance report lists each account and its debit or
credit balance. The total for each major category (Assets,
Liabilities, etc.) is printed below the category, and final
totals of all debits and credits are at the bottom. The program
will not accept out-of-balance transactions, so the debits always
equal the credits.
To use this report as a worksheet for making accruals and
adjusting entries, print it at the end of each fiscal period,
before closing the books or printing the Income Statement and
Balance Sheet. To the right of the account balances is some
space for you to pencil in adjustments.
Budget listing
This lists each revenue and expense account and its budgeted
balance for the period and the year. It also shows total
budgeted revenues, expenses and net income.
Budget Variance Report
This report is for management's use; it shows the amount
received or spent for each revenue and expense category, the
amount budgeted, and the variance or difference between the two.
In addition, it shows the amount remaining in each category. The
report may be printed in four ways:
- for all individual revenue and expense accounts
- by service program
- by funding source
- as a functional summary.
All four show the same information, but classified differently.
You can see the differences in the account numbers.
- The report by All Accounts shows the actual amount booked
and the budget for each ledger account, regardless of
service program or funding source. Each account number is
shown in full.
- The report by Service Program sums the accounts in each
functional category for all funding sources for a particular
service program, and one report is printed for each service
program. The account number shows only the functional
category (first three digits) and the service program
(fourth digit), but leaves off the funding source code (last
two digits) because accounts for different funding sources
are summed.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 10.3
Chapter 10, Understanding the Reports
- The report by Funding Source sums the accounts in each
functional category for all service programs funded by a
particular funding source, and one report is printed for
each funding source. The account number shows only the
functional category (first three digits) and the funding
source (last two digits), leaving off the service program
code (fourth digit) because accounts for different service
programs may be summed by funding source.
- The report by Functional Summary sums the accounts in each
functional category for all service programs and funding
sources; thus only the functional category (first three
digits) is shown. This allows you to see if you are
spending too much, for instance, on consulting fees or
travel, without regard to the service program or funding
source.
Following is an explanation of each column on the report.
Acct #
The full account number is shown only in the report for all
accounts. In the others an abbreviated account number indicates
that certain items have been summed. For instance, in the
service program report only the first four digits are shown,
three for the functional category (phone expense, postage
expense, etc.), and one for the service program. The last two
digits are left off because amounts from all funding sources for
the service program are included in one line item.
Acct title
Since more than one account may have been summed into one
line item, the account title is the title of the first account
for the functional category and service program shown. In the
example report for Service Program 1, for instance, the account
title for the revenue account, 5001, is the title of account
500100, but the amount shown under each column is the sum of two
accounts, 500100 and 500101.
Current period actual
The amount actually received (for revenues) or expended (for
expenses) in the current period. This figure reflects all
amounts posted to the account during the period.
Current period budgeted
The amount budgeted for the period. You can change this
figured by using the Main Menu option "View ledger accounts,
change title & budget."
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 10.4
Chapter 10, Understanding the Reports
Current period variance
For revenues, this is the amount actually booked less the
amount budgeted. For expenses, this is the amount budgeted less
the amount actually booked. A positive variance means more was
received or less spent than budgeted; a negative variance means
less was received or more spent than budgeted. A positive
variance is favorable and a negative variance is unfavorable.
Current period var%
The variance expressed as a percent of the budget.
Year to date actual
The amount actually received (for revenues) or expended (for
expenses) since the beginning of the fiscal year. This figure
reflects all amounts posted to the account during the year.
Year to date budgeted
The amount budgeted for the year to date. In the example
reports, with an effective date of 3/31/84, the year to date
budget is one fourth of the yearly budget, reflecting the budget
for one quarter. If your revenues or expenses are not typically
spread evenly over the year, this could be misleading. You can
change this figured by using the Main Menu option "View ledger
accounts, change title & budget."
Year to date variance
For revenues, this is the amount actually booked less the
amount budgeted. For expenses, this is the amount budgeted less
the amount actually booked. A positive variance means more was
received or less spent than budgeted; a negative variance means
less was received or more spent than budgeted. A positive
variance is favorable and a negative variance is unfavorable.
Year to date var%
The variance expressed as a percent of the budget.
Remaining
This is the total yearly budget less the year-to-date actual
amount. For management purposes this may be more meaningful than
the variances. On the example report for Service Program 1 the
Remaining column shows that all the budgeted revenue has already
been raised and $31,876.74 remains to be spent in the budget for
that service program.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 10.5
Chapter 10, Understanding the Reports
Totals
Totals for revenues and expenses are shown at the end of the
report. Grand Totals for the entire organization are shown at
the end of the last service program and funding source report.
Grand totals sum all service programs or all funding sources.
Income Statement
The Income Statement may be produced at any time and all
information will be current as of the date and last transaction
shown in the heading of the report. A separate income statement
is produced for all accounts -- this is a consolidated statement
for the entire organization -- and each service program and
funding source.
Functional category totals
Each account is shown on a separate line. When there is
more than one account for a functional category, the total for
that functional category is printed to the right. In the example
report for All Accounts, for instance, there are two accounts for
functional category 616, Salary and Wages. The total for all the
616 accounts is shown on a separate line in a column to the
right. The account number is printed as the functional category
only (first three digits), indicating that it is a sum of more
than one funding source.
Percentages
Each line is shown as a percent of total revenues.
Major category totals
Total Revenues are shown below all the revenue items; Total
Expenses are shown below all the expense items; and Net Income,
Revenues less Expenses, is shown at the bottom of the report.
Income statement summaries
After the income statements for each service program and
funding source the totals are summarized according to service
program and funding source. The total revenues, total expenses
and net income for each service program or funding source are
listed on a single line, and the total for the entire organi-
zation is given below them. The amount on each line is shown as
a percentage of the amount for the entire organization. On the
Service Program summary, for instance, 14.53% of the
organization's revenues came from Service Program 0, 77.82% from
Service Program 1, and 7.66% from Service Program 2. This
enables you to see relative size, in financial terms, of each
service program and funding source.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 10.6
Chapter 10, Understanding the Reports
Balance Sheet
The balance sheet may be produced at any time and all
information is current as of the date and last transaction shown
in the heading of the report. The balance sheet is produced as
if the books were being closed, but they are not in fact closed.
You must close the books at the end of the year by using the Main
Menu option "Close books -- end of year;" a final income state-
ment and balance sheet are produced as part of that process.
The program only prints a consolidated balance sheet for the
entire organization, not for each service program and funding
source. It does not support true fund accounting. You should
set up a fund balance account for each combination of service
program and funding source that is valid for your organization,
as explained in Chapter Three, but assets and liabilities for all
funds are commingled.
Functional category totals
As in the income statements, each account is shown on a
separate line and if there is more than one account for a
functional category, the total for that category is printed to
the right. On the example report shown, this applies only to
fund balances; the sum of all the fund balances is printed on a
total line to the right.
Fund balances and InterFund Clearing Account
Please note that the InterFund Clearing Account (account
400000) and any other accounts beginning with "4" are treated as
fund balances and are added in with the 300 accounts to get total
fund balances. Before closing your books for the year, we
recommend that you post adjusting entries as needed to clear all
accounts beginning with 4 to the appropriate fund balances.
Percentages
Each line is shown as a percent of total assets. Because
your books always balance, total liabilities and fund balances
always equal total assets.
System Control Information
The System Control Information report lists pertinent
information having to do with the state of your whole general
ledger system. Following is an explanation of each section of
the report.
Organization
The organization's name, address and ID numbers are shown.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 10.7
Chapter 10, Understanding the Reports
Dates
The current processing date and the dates that define the
current period and fiscal year are shown. There are only three
ways to change the current processing date:
- Exit the program and start it up again, entering a new date.
- Close the books for the period. This sets the current
processing date to the first day of the next period.
- Close the books for the year. This sets the current
processing date to the first day of the next year.
Data files
This shows the disk drive on which your data files were
located when the report was printed.
Ledger accounts
The maximum number of accounts is predefined in the program;
you cannot change it. The number used is the number of ledger
accounts you currently have in use. The number left is the
maximum less the number used.
Transaction journal entries
This section shows how much of the Transaction Journal has
been used up and how many entries remain free. When all the
entries are used up you cannot post any more transactions. To
clear the Transaction Journal file to make room for more entries
you must first print the Transaction Journal report.
This section also shows the last transaction number used.
This is not the same as the number of entries. Each transaction
may take one or more entries in the Transaction Journal file. If
the transaction consists of one debit and one credit, then there
is one transaction journal entry for it; if there is more than
one debit or more than one credit then there is a transaction
journal entry for each debit and each credit. (Closing the books
at the end of the year uses two additional entries, one for the
memo description for closing the revenue accounts and the other
for the memo description for closing the expense accounts.) This
section shows the maximum number of transaction journal entries
allowed (this is predefined), the number currently used and the
number left. If the number left is very small then you should
print the transaction journal and clear it.
The last transaction number is the same as the "Last tran"
number that appears on the other reports, and is used as an audit
trail. You know you have a complete audit trail if you have
Transaction Journal reports for all the numbers from the
beginning of the year to the present.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 10.8
Chapter 10, Understanding the Reports
Printer
This section shows
- Whether your printer uses compressed print mode
- If so, what its initialization and reset codes are
- Whether it uses a form feed code to advance the paper to a
new page.
You can change all this by using the Main Menu option
"View/change system control information."
Chart of Accounts
This report lists each account number, its title, whether
the normal balance of the account is a debit or a credit, and its
service program and funding source code. You should keep this
chart handy whenever you are posting transactions so you can make
sure you post to the proper accounts.
You may wish also to write down a list of the name of each
service program and funding source next to its code as a further
aid to posting.
At the end of the report the maximum number of accounts, the
number used and the number left available is shown.
Transaction Journal
This report lists each transaction that you posted, in
chronological order. It serves as an audit trail and as a way
for you to check the accuracy of your postings. Because
transactions are posted directly to the journal accounts as they
are entered, there is no way to edit the transaction amounts in a
batch before they are posted. If you made a mistake, you must
make a correcting entry. Examine the transaction journal after
you post transactions to verify that you have posted them
correctly.
Save all copies of the transaction journal for your accoun-
tant or auditor. You can be sure that you have a record of all
transactions by noting the transaction number, labeled "TN"
beneath the date. Your file of transaction journal reports
should contain a record of each transaction number in sequence,
with none missing.
Following is an explanation of the items in each transaction
journal entry.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 10.9
Chapter 10, Understanding the Reports
Date
This is the "current processing date" in effect when you
posted the transaction. If you save up your checks to post at
the end of the month, this will not be the date of each check; it
is the date the transaction was actually posted.
TN
Beneath the date is shown the Transaction Number. Each
transaction is given a number in sequence; this serves as an
audit trail to make sure you have a record of each transaction.
Please note that this number is the number of the transac-
tion taken as a whole, regardless of the number of debit and
credit entries within the transaction. A complete transaction
may take one or more entries in the transaction journal. The
Transaction Number does not reflect the number of entries in the
transaction journal file.
When the transaction number reaches 32767, the next
transaction starts over at number 1.
Acct #
The account number of each debit and credit account affected
by the transaction is shown, the credits indented four spaces to
the right under the debits.
Acct title
The account title of each debit and credit account is shown
next to the account number.
Dr and Cr amounts
The debit and credit amounts posted are shown under the
captions "dr" for debits and "cr" for credits.
Memo description
Beneath the debit and credit entry lines is printed the memo
description of the transaction.
Audit Trail Report
This report is printed from the Utility program, available
only to registered users. Chapter Seven describes the program
and Appendix E tells how to order it. The report is similar to
the Transaction Journal, but lists the debit and credit amounts
by account number, not by transaction number. Use this report to
track down all the transactions that affected an account during
the period covered by the report. You can print this for the
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page 10.10
Chapter 10, Understanding the Reports
current transaction journal file or for a transaction history
file. The file name and its transaction numbers and dates are
printed at the top of each page.
The body of the report shows, for each account number, the
transactions that affected it and the debit and credit amounts.
The last line for the account number shows the net change in the
account balance, either a debit amount if the debits exceed the
credits, or a credit amount if the credits exceed the debits.
Appendix A
Fundamentals of Nonprofit Accounting
This chapter explains basic accounting principles as they
apply to nonprofit accounting. It is not a substitute for a
textbook on the subject; it is meant only to give an overview.
It explains fundamental accounting principals with examples from
both for-profit and nonprofit accounting. It shows how nonprofit
accounting resembles and also differs from for-profit accounting.
Fundamental Principles
A nonprofit organization differs from a for-profit in that
its purpose is not to make money for its owners but instead to
provide some benefit or service to the public. The organization
might in fact make a profit, but the owners of the organization
may not take the profits out of the organization. In most cases
the only owner is a corporation set up for a benevolent or
charitable purpose. Despite this basic difference there are also
fundamental similarities between nonprofits and for-profits.
Both nonprofits and for-profits are economic entities.
Their activities have economic effects both on others and on
themselves, internally. (Their activities have all sorts of
other effects too, but all we are concerned with are the economic
ones.) The task of accounting is to record and report the
economic effects of organization's activity on the organization
itself. More precisely, "Accounting focuses on the measurement
and reporting, in monetary terms, of the flows of resources into
and out of an organization, of the resources controlled by the
1
organization, and of the claims against those resources."
There are generally accepted accounting principles that
govern the process of measuring and reporting, and these are the
same for nonprofits and for-profits. Following are three
fundamental accounting equations:
1. Assets = Liabilities + Owners' Equity (Fund Balances)
_________________________________________________________________
1. Welsch, Glenn A. and Anthony, Robert N., Fundamentals of
Financial Accounting (Homewood, IL: Richard D. Irwin, Inc.,
1974), page 3.
Page A.1
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page A.2
Appendix A, Fundamentals of Nonprofit Accounting
2. Profits = Revenues - Expenses
3. Debits = Credits
Assets
Assets are those things owned by the organization that have
value expressed in dollar terms. Cash on hand or in the bank,
furniture and equipment, and someone's promise or obligation to
pay you money are all assets. Assets should be valued at their
original cost less any accumulated depreciation or other
reduction in value (fire damage, for instance). Organizations
that are exempt from federal income tax may not be required to
depreciate their assets, but I recommend that you do so because
anybody from a for-profit environment will not trust your
financial statements if you do not show depreciation.
Liabilities
Liabilities are the debts of the organization, or claims
that other people have on the organization. In general,
liabilities are either (1) assets you have borrowed or (2)
expenses incurred that have not yet been paid. If someone lends
you money or you buy something on credit, the amount of money you
owe is a liability.
Owners' Equity and Fund Balances
The concept of owner's equity is where nonprofits differ
from for-profits the most. In nonprofit organizations this is
called "Fund Balances" instead of "Owner's Equity." To
understand the concept, we shall look at for-profits first.
Owners' Equity represents assets that have been placed in
the organization by the owners rather than from borrowing.
Equity enters an organization in two ways: (1) through investment
by the owners, and (2) through profits retained in the
organization. Equity leaves an organization (1) when the owners
withdraw assets for their own use, and (2) through business
losses. The terms "capital" and "net worth" mean owners' equity.
In nonprofit organizations nobody invests any money if by
"investment" we mean hoping to get more money back later. In
nonprofit organizations the owners may not withdraw assets for
their own use. Instead assets are donated, to be used for the
charitable purpose of the organization. For this reason what
corresponds to equity in for-profits is not called "equity" but
"fund balances."
This term is used because money earmarked for specific
purposes is treated as being in separate funds. A "fund" is
defined as "a group of self-balancing accounts, which are used to
account separately for the receipt and use of contributions....
Each fund group is treated as a separate entity with self-
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page A.3
Appendix A, Fundamentals of Nonprofit Accounting
2
balancing assets, liabilities and fund balances." Nonprofit
organizations often need to make sure that certain funds are used
for specific purposes; they may be morally or legally obligated
to the people who donate money to them to see that money donated
for one purpose is not used for another. The total of all fund
balances corresponds to equity in for-profit accounting. Each
separate fund balance shows the amount of "equity" dedicated to
its fund.
Note: The Nonprofit General Ledger program only partially
supports this concept of fund balances. You can assign
revenues and expenses to different categories and print
income statements by funding source and by service program.
You can only print a consolidated balance sheet, however.
Just as equity can increase or decrease in a for-profit
organization, fund balances can increase or decrease in a
nonprofit. They increase through profits retained in the
organization, that is when the organization takes in more money
than it spends, and they decrease through the equivalent of
"business losses," that is when the organization spends more
money than it takes in.
The first accounting equation states that assets must equal
liabilities plus equity. This just means that of all the things
of value held by the organization, creditors can legally claim a
certain portion and the owners (for-profit) or the organization
itself (nonprofit) can legally claim what's left. To go further,
in nonprofits "what's left" is often divided into separate fund
balances, corresponding to the different charitable activities to
which the funds are dedicated.
Profits
Profits are the money made by an organization during a
specified period of time, determined by subtracting all expenses
for the period from the revenues generated during the period.
Profit is also known as "net income." Nonprofits may in fact
make a profit in this sense or take a loss if expenses are
greater than revenues.
Revenues
Revenues are the gross amount of money generated by
organization operations during a specified period of time. For
most businesses, revenues equal sales. For nonprofits revenues
come from donations and grants as well as, to a lesser extent,
_________________________________________________________________
2. Accountants for the Public Interest, How To Keep a Nonprofit
Organization's Books (Newark, NJ: Accountants for the Public
Interest, no date, pp 55, 56). This is a very useful book,
and contains a good bibliography.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page A.4
Appendix A, Fundamentals of Nonprofit Accounting
sales of goods and services. Revenues are often called "support"
to differentiate them from the sales revenues of a for-profit.
In the Nonprofit General Ledger program, however, they are called
"revenues."
Expenses
Expenses are the cost of performing the organization's
function during a specified period of time. Expenses for a for-
profit are the cost of doing business; for a nonprofit they are
the cost of providing the services the organization is set up to
provide. In the accrual method of accounting, explained below,
revenues and expenses are matched so that all the expenses
incurred in generating revenues during a certain period of time
are recorded for that same period.
Debits and Credits
Debits and credits are simply a conventional way of
categorizing assets, liabilities, equity or fund balances,
revenues and expenses. Whenever a bookkeeping debit entry is
made, a corresponding credit entry must also be made. This
ensures that the books balance and that the information flow is
correct.
For assets, a debit increases the account and a credit
decreases the account. For liabilities and equity or fund
balances, the reverse is true. Expenses decrease fund balances
and revenues increase them, so a credit increases a revenue
account, and a debit increases an expense account. Here is a
chart:
Type of Normal
account Increase Decrease Balance
Asset Debit Credit Debit
Liability Credit Debit Credit
Fund Bal. Credit Debit Credit
Revenue Credit Debit Credit
Expense Debit Credit Debit
The following chart puts all three accounting equations
together:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page A.5
Appendix A, Fundamentals of Nonprofit Accounting
Assets = Liabilities + Equity
Dr Cr Dr Cr Dr Cr
+ - - + - +
Revenues Expenses
Dr Cr Dr Cr
- + + -
Example: For-profit
To explain these concepts, let's follow an extremely
simplified for-profit example. Suppose you buy $1000 worth of
clothes on credit which you then sell for $1100, making a $100
profit. In accounting terms what happens is this:
Item description Dr Cr Balance
1. Inventory $1000 1000 dr
Accounts Payable 1000 1000 cr
(Purchase inventory on credit)
2. Cash 1100 1100 dr
Revenue 1100 1100 cr
(Sell inventory at a profit)
3. Expense (cost of goods sold) 1000 1000 dr
Inventory 1000 -0-
(Record reduction of inventory)
At the end of these transactions your financial statements
would look like this:
Balance Sheet
Assets: Cash $1100
Inventory -0-
Total Assets: 1100
Liabilities: Accounts Payable 1000
Equity: Retained Earnings 100
---
Total Liabilities & Equity 1100
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page A.6
Appendix A, Fundamentals of Nonprofit Accounting
Income Statement
Sales 1100
less: Cost Of Goods Sold 1000
Net Sales 100
Other Expenses -0-
---
Profit 100
All three accounting equations have been satisfied:
- Your business has $1100 in assets, namely cash. Of this you
owe $1000; this is a liability. The remainder, your profit
of $100, is owner's equity.
- Your profit of $100 equals your revenues of $1100 less the
expense of purchasing the goods, $1000.
- For each bookkeeping entry, the debits equaled the credits,
thereby preserving the integrity of the accounting equation.
Example: Nonprofit
A similar scenario for nonprofits would differ in one main
respect. You would not sell anything to make a profit; instead
you would incur expenses to perform a service. Let us suppose
that you raise $1000 in donations from the general public and
spend $900 to buy food for hungry people and contract with a
trucker to transport it to them for $50. In accounting terms,
what happens is this:
Item description Dr Cr Balance
1. Cash $1000 1000 dr
Revenue 1000 1000 cr
(Public support)
2. Food 900 900 dr
Cash 900 100 dr
(To record purchase of food)
3. Food expense 900 900 dr
Food 900 -0-
(To record reduction of food
inventory as food is distributed)
4. Transportation expense 50 50 dr
Accounts payable 50 50 cr
(To record cost of transporting food)
At the end of these transactions your financial statements
would look like this:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page A.7
Appendix A, Fundamentals of Nonprofit Accounting
Balance Sheet
Assets: Cash $ 100
Food Inventory -0-
Total Assets: 100
Liabilities: Accounts Payable 50
Fund Balance: 50
---
Total Liabilities & Fund Balance 100
Income Statement
Revenue (Public support) 1000
Food Expense 900
Transportation Expense 50
---
Net Income 50
As you can see, the accounting process is quite similar to
for-profit accounting. The same types of economic events take
place, they are simply called by different names.
Cash vs. Accrual Accounting
There are two methods of recording the revenues and expenses
for a given period, the cash basis and the accrual basis. Which
method you should use depends on the requirements of the people
who fund your organization.
Cash basis
The cash basis is so simple that it hardly needs explaining.
Revenues are recognized when the organization receives cash and
expenses are recognized when the organization disburses cash. In
the for-profit example, the cash basis would grossly misstate the
profits because the business received $1100 but did not pay out
any cash. In the nonprofit example, treating expenses on a cash
basis would overstate the fund balance by $50.
Accrual basis
When computing the for-profit's net income under the accrual
method, cash receipts and disbursements are disregarded. In-
stead, when the business sells goods or performs services, income
is earned regardless of whether cash was received or not. Simi-
larly, expenses incurred in order to produce the revenues for the
period are recorded in that period regardless of when cash is
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page A.8
Appendix A, Fundamentals of Nonprofit Accounting
paid out. In the for-profit example the expense, Cost of Goods
Sold, was recorded for the period even though no cash had been
disbursed. Thus, profits were accurately stated.
Similarly, in the nonprofit example the transportation
expense was recognized during the period even though no cash was
paid out. This shows that the organization is obligated to pay
the trucker. At the end of the period, the trucker has a legal
claim to $50 of the organization's assets; the other $50 is
retained in the organization. This $50 is not equity because no
owner can withdraw it for his or her own benefit; instead it is
called a "fund balance," meaning that these funds are available
for future benevolent activities of the organization.
You would also exclude expenses incurred to provide services
in the future from the current period's income statement.
Perhaps the organization must pay in advance before receiving the
food it intends to distribute. If it pays in the current period
for goods to be received in a future period, the expense would be
posted in the future period, not the current period. Similarly,
the cost of acquiring a fixed asset should be allocated over the
useful life of the asset, not all in the period in which it was
acquired (this is called "depreciation").
The idea of accrual accounting is to allocate to each period
(1) the income that comes from the operations for that period,
and (2) the sum of all expenses connected with earning that
income. This is called the "matching principle," because costs
are matched to revenues in each period. For nonprofits, you
allocate to the period all expenses connected with providing
service for the period.
The accrual method is clearly more accurate. You may,
however, need to use the cash method or a combination, depending
on your funding source.
- Most nonprofits use a modified accrual system. They are on
a cash basis throughout the year, and convert to an accrual
system at the end of the year. Throughout the year, expen-
ses are counted as expenses when actual cash disbursements
are made, not before. At the end of the year, general
journal entries record expenses that have been incurred but
not yet paid. The reason for this is simple. When com-
paring a monthly expenditure report against an organiza-
tion's records, auditors want to see canceled checks, not
unpaid bills. This is particularly true of governmental
agencies. Most have strict guidelines regarding accrued
expenses, and many will allow accrued expenses only in the
last month of the contract or grant.
- When you receive grant money, you may have to call it a
payable (deferred support) instead of revenue. If it is a
reimbursement for expenses already incurred, it is indeed
revenue; in effect, it is payment of a contract or grant
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page A.9
Appendix A, Fundamentals of Nonprofit Accounting
receivable. If it is an advance, however, it is a contract
or grant payable, a liability, not revenue. You owe someone
so many dollars in services. Since this is usually laid out
in line item categories, you actually "earn" this money
(recognize revenue) as you pay the bills incurred in
providing the services. The earning of revenue is triggered
by your cash disbursements. Monies left over in deferred
support at the end of the year are either applied in the
next fiscal year (carryover funds) or sent back to the
source (uncaptured funds).
- If all your support is from members or the general public,
and not from foundations or governmental agencies, you have
more flexibility. I recommend that you accrue expenses but
treat revenues on a cash basis. On an accrual basis, you
would record a pledge of support as income even though you
have not yet received the cash. But a pledge of support is
not a legal obligation. Even if it were, you would not sue
the donor if they failed to pay because it would alienate
other donors. In other words, you cannot really count on
getting the support until you actually get it. With accrued
expenses (incurred, but not yet paid), however, you can
count on the fact that you must pay.
The Nonprofit General Ledger program will accommodate all
these methods. It is up to you, with advice from your accoun-
tant, to set up your chart of accounts as appropriate.
The Balance Sheet
The balance sheet depicts the financial condition of an
organization at a particular point in time. It is a summary of
the assets, liabilities and owners' equity, or fund balances of
the organization.
The Income Statement
The income statement summarizes the operations of the
organization over a specified period of time. The beginning and
ending dates must be specified; a caption reading "for the month
(or year) ending ..." is OK. The income statement for a non-
profit is often called the "Statement of Support, Revenues and
Expenses," although the Nonprofit General Ledger program just
calls it the "Income Statement." It lists the revenues received
and the expenses incurred by the organization during the period,
with the net income (profit or loss) shown at the bottom.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page A.10
Appendix A, Fundamentals of Nonprofit Accounting
A note on depreciation
Accumulated depreciation measures how much of the value of a
fixed asset on the books has been used up, or expensed, as of the
balance sheet date. As the assets are consumed by the organi-
zation, the consumption is recognized through depreciation. For
instance, if the organization purchases a truck whose useful life
is three years, one method of depreciation (the straight-line
method) would allocate one third of the cost to the first year,
one third to the second year, and one third to the last year.
Each year one third of the value would be debited to depreciation
expense and credited to accumulated depreciation. Thus, the
"book value" of the asset is the cost less accumulated depre-
ciation.
Nonprofit organizations which are exempt from federal income
tax are not required by the Internal Revenue Service to
depreciate their assets. Nevertheless, I encourage you to do so
because your financial statements will make a lot more sense to
people from a for-profit background. Also, assets do in fact
deteriorate over time; a three-year-old truck is worth less than
a brand new one. Depreciation more accurately reflects the real
state of your assets than failing to depreciate.
For each of your depreciable assets, set up a contra-account
called "Accumulated depreciation." This should immediately
follow the associated asset account and will normally have a
credit balance in order to offset the debit balance of the asset.
At the end of each year you should post a debit to depreciation
expense and a credit to accumulated depreciation for each
depreciable asset according to a predetermined schedule.
The yearly accounting cycle
Revenue and expense accounts start off with a zero balance
at the beginning of the fiscal year and increase throughout the
year as donations are received and expenses incurred. The fund
balance accounts are not changed throughout the year. (In for-
profit accounting the owners equity account may increase or
decrease if the owner contributes or withdraws capital directly,
or if the company sells or buys back stock. Such transactions do
not take place in nonprofit organizations.) The fund balances
change only at the end of the fiscal year when the books are
closed. The revenue and expense accounts are zeroed out then,
and the net income or loss is posted to the fund balance
accounts. The revenue and expense accounts are thus prepared for
the next year, and the fund balances are updated to reflect the
net effect of all the transactions during the year.
Appendix B
Examples of Use
This appendix gives two examples of how organizations can
use the General Ledger program to keep their books. One is real,
the East West Center of Austin, whose books I have kept for over
a year using this program. The East West Center has several
service programs but only one funding source. The other,
Community Services, Inc., is made up, to give an example of how
to set up your system for more than one funding source as well.
The East West Center example shows a simple chart of
accounts and gives procedures for the monthly bookkeeping cycle.
The Community Services, Inc. example shows a more complex chart
of accounts and also discusses budgeting.
The East West Center
The East West Center is a nonprofit, educational organiza-
tion whose purpose is to educate the public about the effects of
nutrition on health and in particular to teach the benefits of a
macrobiotic diet and life-style. The Center does not receive any
foundation support. Its support comes from three sources: member
dues and donations, admissions to educational events such as
cooking classes and seminars in macrobiotic philosophy, and sales
of macrobiotic meals. The meal program introduces people to the
benefits of macrobiotics by offering a delicious meal and letting
them feel the healthy effects for themselves.
Chart of accounts
The Center's chart of accounts is set up for three service
programs and only one funding source. "Service programs" are
activities that the organization spends money on. The three
programs are as follows:
Program Service program code
Administration and overhead 0
The meal program 1
Education 2
Page B.1
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page B.2
Appendix B, Examples of Use
Funding comes directly from the service programs. Member dues
and donations are applied to administration and overhead; sales
of meals fund the meal program; and admissions to the classes
fund the education program. There is no need for keeping track
of separate funding sources, so the funding source code for all
accounts is 00. The organization's chart of accounts looks like
this: (This is one of the reports produced by the Nonprofit
General Ledger program.)
==================================================================
East West Center of Austin
Chart of Accounts
Acct # Title Dr/Cr Service Funding
Program Source
Assets
100000 Cash on hand D 0 00
101000 Checking Acct FKLN D 0 00
110000 Savings Acct FKLN D 0 00
120000 Accounts Receivable D 0 00
130000 Inventory -- Food D 0 00
131000 Inventory -- Books D 0 00
132000 Inventory -- Other Merch. D 0 00
133000 Paper goods for food service D 0 00
140000 Prepaid expenses D 0 00
150000 Furniture, Fixtures & Equip. D 0 00
151000 Accum. Depreciation, FFE C 0 00
Liabilities
200000 A/P -- Food C 0 00
201000 A/P -- Books C 0 00
202000 A/P -- Other Merchandise C 0 00
210000 A/P -- Utilities C 0 00
211000 A/P -- Phone C 0 00
212000 A/P -- Other C 0 00
220000 Salaries & Wages Payable C 0 00
230000 Sales Taxes Payable C 0 00
231000 Federal W/h Tax payable C 0 00
232000 Unemp. Taxes Payable (TEC) C 0 00
233000 FICA (Soc'l Sec) tax payable C 0 00
240000 Short-term loans payable C 0 00
241000 Curr. maturities of L/T debt C 0 00
242000 Rent received in advance C 0 00
243000 Meal ticket meals "payable" C 0 00
250000 Rental Deposits C 0 00
260000 Long term loans payable C 0 00
261000 Back taxes payable C 0 00
Fund Balances
300000 Fund Balance C 0 00
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page B.3
Appendix B, Examples of Use
300100 Fund Balance -- Food Service C 1 00
300200 Fund Balance -- Education C 2 00
Clearing Accounts
400000 InterFund Clearing Account C 0 00
Revenues
501100 Lunch revenue C 1 00
502100 Dinner revenue C 1 00
503100 Brunch revenue C 1 00
504000 Sales of books C 0 00
505000 Sales of other merchandise C 0 00
506100 Dessert sales C 1 00
507100 Food for resale C 1 00
508200 Classes C 2 00
509200 Workshops C 2 00
510000 Membership dues C 0 00
511000 Donations C 0 00
512200 Fees from Consultations C 2 00
513000 Other income C 0 00
514000 Rental revenue C 0 00
515000 T-shirts C 0 00
516000 Interest income C 0 00
Expenses
601000 Books for resale D 0 00
602000 Other merchandise for resale D 0 00
603100 Paper goods for meals D 1 00
604100 Kitchen supplies D 1 00
605000 Office supplies D 0 00
606000 Other supplies D 0 00
607000 Equipment D 0 00
608000 Postage D 0 00
609000 Advertising D 0 00
610000 Rent D 0 00
611000 Utilities D 0 00
612000 Telephone D 0 00
613200 Workshop expenses D 2 00
614000 Maintenance D 0 00
615000 Other expenses D 0 00
616000 Salary and wages D 0 00
616100 Salary & wages, food service D 1 00
617000 Non-food contract labor D 0 00
617100 Contract labor - meal service D 1 00
617200 Contract Labor -- education D 2 00
618000 FICA (Soc'l Sec.) expense D 0 00
618100 FICA expense -- food service D 1 00
619000 Donations D 0 00
621100 Food -- Texas Health Distr. D 1 00
622100 Food -- Whole Foods Market D 1 00
623000 Universe, food for resale D 0 00
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page B.4
Appendix B, Examples of Use
623100 Food -- Universe D 1 00
624100 Food -- Other miscellaneous D 1 00
625100 Food -- Produce D 1 00
626000 Freight (non-food) D 0 00
626100 Freight (food) D 1 00
627100 Dessert expense D 1 00
630000 Bank service charges D 0 00
632000 Copying expense D 0 00
640200 Cooking class expense D 2 00
==================================================================
You can see how the service program code, position 4 in the
account number, marks revenues and expenses for different pro-
grams. Accounts 617000, 617100 and 617200 are a good example.
617 means contract labor expense. This expense can be applied to
administration, meal service or education depending on the number
in the fourth position.
Please note the fund balances. It is important to set up a
fund balance for each valid combination of service program and
funding source codes so that the program can close the revenues
and expenses to the appropriate account.
Monthly cycle
This section outlines how the program fits into the Center's
monthly accounting cycle. After the month is over, we first
reconcile the checkbook and post all the cash receipts and
disbursements. Then we make adjusting entries to accrue
expenses, etc. Finally we print statements and back up the data
files. The steps we go through are outlined as follows, in the
form of instructions to the bookkeeper:
Cash receipts and disbursements
- Reverse A/P and A/R adjustments from the prior month, if you
have not done so already.
- Reconcile the checking account, and the savings account
statement. The cash should have been counted at the end of
the month.
- Code the checkbook stubs with the account numbers to which
the disbursements should be posted.
- Do the checking account. Post all checks and receipts, and
all interest payments and service charges. Balance to the
checkbook. If not in balance, find the error and post an
adjusting entry to fix it.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page B.5
Appendix B, Examples of Use
For payroll checks, post the amount of the check to Salary
Expense for the appropriate service program. Don't worry
about payroll taxes at this point.
- Do the savings account. Post all disbursements and re-
ceipts, including interest payments and service charges.
Balance to the savings account statement. If not in bal-
ance, find the error and post an adjusting entry to fix it.
- Do cash disbursements and receipts. Balance to the cash
count. If not in balance, fix it.
Accruals
- Exit the program and start it up again. When you do so, set
the date to the end of the month. The date on the following
transactions should be the end of the month.
- Post adjustments. These include the following:
* Meal ticket adjustments. The meal tickets should have
been counted at the end of the month. This adjustment
is to record how many meals members have paid for but
not yet eaten. (This is unique to the East West Center
and may not apply to you.)
* Accounts payable. Record all the unpaid bills for the
month; for each one, post entries to an expense account
and a liability (accounts payable) account.
* Accounts receivable. If anybody owes you money, post
an entry to a revenue account and to an asset (accounts
receivable) account.
* Payroll taxes. Record salary expense for taxes
withheld, FICA (social security) expense, and FWT
(federal withholding tax) and FICA payable. (We use a
manual payroll journal, with separate columns for FWT
and FICA withheld from the paycheck and another column
for the employer's matching FICA. The sum of the
columns for FWT and FICA withheld are posted as salary
expense and as FWT and FICA payable. The sum of the
employer's matching FICA column is posted as FICA
expense and as FICA payable. We separate each of these
into the three service programs. Ask your accountant
to set up a similar payroll journal for you. It is a
lot easier to make these entries at the end of the
month than to do it while you are posting cash
disbursements from the checkbook.)
- Print statements for the month. If all is OK, go on;
otherwise post adjustments to fix the errors. When all
errors are fixed, print final statements for the month, but
do not clear the Transaction Journal. (See page 6.25.)
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page B.6
Appendix B, Examples of Use
Closing the month
- Now do the pre-closing monthly backup. See "End of month
backup" on page 8.3. One way to do it is as follows:
* Exit the program.
* Make a subdirectory on the backup disk for the month.
Call it, for instance, MAY89, if the month is May,
1989.
* Copy the files INDEX.NGL, LEDGER.NGL, SCR.NGL and
TRANJRNL.NGL to the subdirectory.
This way you can always go back to a particular month if you
forgot to enter something. If you do go back, however,
you'll have to re-enter everything that you entered after
that in succeeding months.
- Start the program again and clear the Transaction Journal.
To do this, you'll have to print it first; see page 6.25.
- Close the books for the month (See "Close books -- end of
period," page 6.27). This changes the date to the first of
the next month.
- Reverse the A/P and A/R adjustments. Having done this, you
are ready for a new month.
Example: If you had posted $50 as a debit to Telephone
Expense and a credit to A/P Phone to record the unpaid phone
bill, you would now post $50 as a debit to A/P Phone and a
credit to Telephone Expense. Now when you post the cash
disbursements you won't have to remember to post the phone
bill as a debit to A/P Phone. You can post the debit to the
expense account, like all the other checks.
- Exit the program and do a regular backup (see Chapter 8).
Community Services, Inc.
This section introduces a hypothetical nonprofit agency,
Community Services, Inc. (CSI), that receives support from more
than one funding source. It shows how you would set up your
chart of accounts for more than one funding source as well as
more than one service program. CSI's mission is to teach the
economically disadvantaged youth of the community marketable
skills and to develop their self-esteem so they can become
productive members of the community instead of relying on welfare
or crime to support themselves.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page B.7
Appendix B, Examples of Use
Service programs and funding sources
CSI currently operates two service programs. The Prison
Visitation Project sends counselors to the county prison to
provide young inmates with counseling and information about job
and rehabilitation opportunities. The Youth Computer Literacy
Project is a new project to provide computer-based training in
literacy and the use of computers for various business-related
tasks such as word processing, spread sheet analysis, etc. It is
a pilot project and, if successful, will be replicated throughout
the country.
CSI is funded through donations from the general public and
through three grants. The national Foundation for Social
Progress (FSP) has been a longtime funder of the Prison project
and is underwriting a large part of the Computer project; these
are two separate grants. In addition the County Agency for Aid
to Disadvantaged Children is providing a grant to support a
portion of the Computer Project.
Chart of accounts
Here is how this information is coded in the ledger account
numbers:
- Service Program 0 is reserved for overhead.
- Service Program 1 is the Prison project.
- Service Program 2 is the Computer project.
- Funding Source 00 is Public Support, donations from the
general public.
- Funding Source 01 is the grant from FSP for the Prison
project.
- Funding Source 02 is the grant from FSP for the Computer
project.
- Funding Source 03 is the grant from the County for the
Computer project.
Thus, for CSI there are only six valid combinations of
Service Program and Funding Source codes:
- 000 -- overhead funded by public support
- 100 -- Prison project funded by public support
- 101 -- Prison project funded by FSP
- 200 -- Computer project funded by public support
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page B.8
Appendix B, Examples of Use
- 202 -- Computer project funded by FSP
- 203 -- Computer project funded by the county
Other combinations are invalid. The grant from FSP for the
Computer project does not fund the Prison project and the county
does not fund the Prison project at all, so there is no code 102
or 103.
Note: this limitation is not built into the General Ledger
program; it would accept combinations 102 and 103 as valid.
The limitation is imposed by how CSI makes use of the
program.
Following is CSI's chart of accounts. (This is one of the
reports produced by the Nonprofit General Ledger program.) This
example is somewhat simplified; your organization may have more
and will certainly have different account titles. It is meant to
represent the types of accounts a small social service agency
would have and to illustrate how the service program and funding
source codes are applied.
==================================================================
Community Services, Inc.
Chart of Accounts
Acct # Title Dr/Cr Service Funding
Program Source
Assets
100000 Cash D 0 00
101000 Checking Account D 0 00
102000 Money Market account D 0 00
103000 Misc Accts Receivable D 0 00
110000 Furniture & fixtures D 0 00
111000 Accumulated depreciation C 0 00
120200 Computer equipment D 2 00
121200 Accumulated depreciation C 2 00
Liabilities
200000 FWT payable C 0 00
201000 FICA payable C 0 00
202000 FUTA payable C 0 00
203000 State emp. taxes payable C 0 00
204000 Misc A/P C 0 00
205000 Loans payable C 0 00
Fund Balances
300000 Fund balance C 0 00
300100 Fund balance C 1 00
300101 Fund Balance C 1 01
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page B.9
Appendix B, Examples of Use
300200 Fund Balance C 2 00
300202 Fund Balance C 2 02
300203 Fund Balance C 2 03
Clearing Accounts
400000 InterFund Clearing Account C 0 00
Revenues
500000 Donations -- Public support C 0 00
500100 Don., public, Prison program C 1 00
500101 Grant, FSP, Prison program C 1 01
500200 Don., public, computer prog. C 2 00
500202 Grant, FSP, Computer prog. C 2 02
500203 Grant, County, Computer prog C 2 03
Expenses
600000 Executive Director salary D 0 00
600101 Executive Director salary D 1 01
600202 Executive director salary D 2 02
601000 Admin. Assistant salary D 0 00
601101 Admin. Assistant salary D 1 01
601202 Admin Assistant salary D 2 02
602000 Business Manager salary D 0 00
602101 Business manager salary D 1 01
602202 Business Manager salary D 2 02
603000 Staff Salaries D 0 00
603101 Staff Salaries D 1 01
603202 Staff Salaries D 2 02
603203 Staff Salaries D 2 03
606000 FICA (Social Security) D 0 00
606101 FICA D 1 01
606202 FICA D 2 02
606203 FICA D 2 03
607000 FUTA (Fed Unempl. Tax) D 0 00
607101 FUTA D 1 01
607202 FUTA D 2 02
607203 FUTA D 2 03
608000 State unempl. tax D 0 00
608101 State unempl. tax D 1 01
608202 State unempl. tax D 2 02
608203 State unempl. tax D 2 03
609000 Workers' compensation ins. D 0 00
609101 Work. comp. D 1 01
609202 Work. comp. D 2 02
609203 Work. comp. D 2 03
610000 Occupancy D 0 00
610101 Occupancy D 1 01
610202 Occupancy D 2 02
611000 Utilities D 0 00
611101 Utilities D 1 01
611202 Utilities D 2 02
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page B.10
Appendix B, Examples of Use
611203 Utilities D 2 03
612000 Phone D 0 00
612101 Phone D 1 01
612202 Phone D 2 02
.
.
.
etc.
==================================================================
Note that the service program and funding source codes apply
to the revenue and expense categories, not to the assets and
liabilities. For each functional expense category there are
three or four accounts, depending on the combination of service
program and funding source which is expected to pay for the
expense. The Executive Director's salary, for instance, can be
paid from any of three combinations. For completeness there
could be six accounts for each expense category, one for each
valid combination of service program and funding source, but
combinations such as public support for the prison program for
which nothing is budgeted are omitted to help prevent data entry
errors. Additional accounts can be added at any time if need be.
There are only two accounts for Depreciation Expense, 640000
and 640200. The only depreciable assets are furniture and
fixtures and the computers used in the Computer project, and
neither FSP nor the county make any provision in their grants for
depreciation expense, so the only possible combinations are 000,
overhead funded by public support, 100, the Prison project funded
by public support, and 200, the Computer project funded by public
support. Since management has elected to include all deprecia-
tion expense other than that for the computers in overhead, there
are only two Depreciation Expense accounts.
The program prints income statements for each service
program and funding source; the information for these reports
comes from the codes embedded in each account number. The
program prints a balance sheet only for the entire organization,
however, so the service program and funding source codes are not
needed in the asset and liability categories. (For clarity's
sake the asset accounts Computer Equipment and the associated
Accumulated Depreciation are coded for service program 2. This
is not strictly necessary and makes no difference for the balance
sheet report.)
Please note the fund balances. It is important to set up a
fund balance for each valid combination of service program and
funding source codes so that the program can close the revenues
and expenses to the appropriate account. In the example there
are six fund balances, one for each valid combination.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page B.11
Appendix B, Examples of Use
The budget
To illustrate how to plan the budget, here is Community
Services, Inc.'s expense budget for the year. (This is not a
report from the Nonprofit General Ledger program. You'll have to
build your budget outside the program, perhaps using a spread-
sheet program. You can then enter the budget in the General
Ledger program, and it will report revenues and expenses as
compared to the budget.)
==================================================================
Community Services, Inc. Expense Budget
Ovhead Prison Prison Comp. Comp. Comp.
Functional Public Public FSP Public FSP County TOTAL
Category 000 100 101 200 202 203
600 Executive Dir. 12000 6000 6000 24000
601 Admin Assist. 4000 12000 16000
602 Bus. Manager 5000 15000 20000
603 Staff 16000 32000 16000 64000
Total salary 12000 31000 65000 16000 124000
606 FICA expense 840 2170 4550 1120 8680
607 FUTA expense 360 930 1950 480 3720
608 St. unemp exp. 60 155 325 80 620
609 Work Comp exp. 240 620 1300 320 2480
Total pers. 13500 34875 73125 18000 139500
610 Occupancy 600 1800 2400
611 Utilities 300 900 600 1800
612 Phone 300 900 1200
613 Postage 150 450 600
614 Off. supplies 150 450 600
615 Pgm. supplies 600 1200 1200 3000
616 Copying/dup. 300 300 600
617 Equip. rental 600 600
620 Contract serv. 600 600
621 Consult. fees 600 600 1200
622 Prof. fees 200 600 800
630 Travel -- pgm 300 300
631 Trav., fundrais 600 600
640 Deprec. exp. 1000 30000 30000
651 Insurance exp. 1200 1200
652 Maintenance 600 600
653 Interest exp. 0
654 Bank charges 60 60
TOTAL 15760 0 37775 30000 82725 20400 186660
==================================================================
There are several things to notice about this budget:
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page B.12
Appendix B, Examples of Use
- The budget amounts for each functional category are spread
across the various combinations of service programs and
funding sources according to what the funding sources agree
to fund. For instance, FSP is funding most of the Computer
project, but the county has agreed to fund one staff
position and part of the utilities and program supplies, as
well as the fees for one computer consultant. Spreading the
budget across several columns like this allows you to
picture the organization as a whole as well as each
combination of service program and funding source.
- Many functional categories are funded by more than one
funding source. When you are posting entries, the program
displays the amount remaining in the budget for each
account. This helps you adjust expenditures between funding
sources as you enter the amounts so you can remain within
the budget for each category.
- Several combinations have nothing budgeted for them. For
instance, there is nothing budgeted for public support of
the prison project. You have the option of simply not
setting up accounts for such combinations or of setting up
the accounts but entering no budget for them. You can
always add new ledger accounts after you have started using
the program, so the choice is not critical. In the CSI
example, accounts have been set up for public support for
the prison project in case they are needed.
The revenue budget follows directly from the expense budget:
==================================================================
Community Services, Inc. Revenue Budget
Ovhead Prison Prison Comp. Comp. Comp.
Functional Public Public FSP Public FSP County TOTAL
Category 000 100 101 200 202 203
500 Revenue 15760 0 37775 30000 82725 20400 186660
==================================================================
Shown under each combination of service program and funding
source are the amounts needed to meet the expense budget. In
actual practice, of course, you will adjust your expense budget
to meet the funds you think you can raise and you will adjust
your funding targets according to the services you wish to offer.
The point of this illustration is that all you really need for
your revenue accounts is one for each combination of service
program and funding source that you expect to have. Once you
have determined what your revenue accounts will be, you can
budget your revenues just as you budget your expenses.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page B.13
Appendix B, Examples of Use
Budgeting for different funding cycles
In this example each grant is assumed to run for the same
twelve-month period as the organization's fiscal year. In real
life, things are seldom so easy. Please refer to the discussion
of funding cycles that do not match the fiscal year on page 3.5.
If a new funding cycle for CSI's prison project started before
the fiscal year end, they would set up a new service program
code, 3, and a new funding source code, 04, for the renewal of
the FSP grant. They would then add a whole set of expense
accounts, each ending in 304, as well as a revenue account,
500304. If they are careful to post revenues and expenses only
to the new accounts, their income statements for the program and
funding source will be accurate.
Appendix C
Using a Laserjet printer
This tells you how to use the Hewlett Packard Laserjet,
Laserjet II and similar printers. There are two problems.
- The program lets you enter only four control codes. These
are not enough to put the Laserjet printers into compressed
print mode.
- The documentation on disk is intended for continuous-form
paper. There is a form-feed and a page header every 63
lines. Because the Laserjet ejects to a new page every 60
lines, every other page contains only a few lines.
Compressed print
If you wish to print in compressed print, answer No to the
question "Are you using an 80-column printer in compressed print
mode?" on the Printer Setup screen. Then, before you run the
program, put the printer into compressed print mode from the
control panel or by using another program. If you answer No to
this question, the program won't send anything to the printer, so
it will remain in compressed print mode.
There exist Shareware utilities that control the Laserjet.
I can send them to you or you can get them directly from the
author (See "Laserjet Utilities," below). When you send the
registration fee, make a note on your registration form and I'll
include them with the Registered User disk. If you have already
registered, send me a diskette in a mailer with return postage
and I'll send them to you.
On-disk documentation
Set your printer to print 66 lines per page. The shareware
Laserjet utilities will do this. Then,
Enter: COPY NGL111.DOC PRN:
Page C.1
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page C.2
Appendix C, Using a Laserjet printer
Laserjet Utilities
You can get the program LASERJET.COM and its documentation
directly from the author:
Guy Gallo
P.O. Box 344
Piermont, NY 10968
It would be polite to send a diskette in a mailer with
return postage along with a small payment.
Appendix D
Technical Information
========
THIS SECTION HAS BEEN OMITTED FROM THE ON-DISK DOCUMENTATION
TO MAKE THE MANUAL SMALL ENOUGH TO FIT ON A DISK.
========
Appendix E
Reliance Software Order form
Other Reliance software
The Nonprofit General Ledger program is one of several
software products from Reliance Software Services. Others
include the Reliance Mailing List program and the source code to
the user interface used in the General Ledger and the Mailing
List program. To order your Registered User copy of the
Nonprofit General Ledger or any of the other products, use the
order form below.
The Reliance Mailing List program
The Reliance Mailing List program is a powerful database
program for names, addresses, phone numbers and other
information. Successfully used in an Austin political campaign,
it is also good for individuals, charitable organizations or
small businesses. It is extremely easy to use; menus show all
program functions. Features include:
- Maximum of over 2 billion names (limited by disk size).
- A standard 360K diskette holds about 1,200 names.
- Mailing labels, one, two, three or four across, including
Cheshire format.
- Four different formats to list names in the data file.
- A "mailmerge" file to export data to other programs.
- Eight sublists within the data file, selected by Yes/No
criteria.
- An additional three-character user code provides thousands
of selection criteria.
- Seven different ways to select output.
- Sorts output by last name or zip code.
Page E.1
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page E.2
Appendix E, Reliance Software Order form
User Interface source code
The menu-driven user interface used in Reliance products was
written up in Computer Language magazine, October 1987, page 57
and April 1988, page 117. Features include:
- On-screen data entry forms with complete cursor control
- "Bullet proof" data entry of strings, real numbers,
integers, booleans and dates
- Control of screen attributes and colors
You can get the Turbo Pascal source code for only $6. You
can freely use the source code in your own applications without
paying any royalties. Specify Turbo Pascal 3.0 or 4.0.
Nonprofit General Ledger User Manual Page E.3
Appendix E, Reliance Software Order form
Order Form
Use this form to order the Registered User versions of Reliance
software. Mail the form to:
William Meacham
Reliance Software Services
1004 Elm Street
Austin, Tx 78703
Make checks payable to William Meacham.
Your name: ____________________________________________
Address: ____________________________________________
____________________________________________
City, State, Zip: ____________________________________________
Product Price
Nonprofit General Ledger, manual on disk $ 40 ____
Nonprofit General Ledger, printed manual 55 ____
Reliance Mailing List, manual on disk 25 ____
Reliance Mailing List, printed manual 35 ____
User interface source code, Turbo Pascal 3.0 6 ____
User interface source code, Turbo Pascal 4.0 6 ____
Total enclosed: _______
What version of the Nonprofit General Ledger do you
have? (Version number appears on the opening screen.) _______
Where did you get your copy of the program?
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
THANK YOU!