USING THIS MANUAL
When using this manual, information will appear in the following formats:
Special Keys
Special Keys (such as Function Keys) will be enclosed in brackets [] as follows:
[F1] or [RETURN]
Prompts
Computer prompts will appear as follows:
Save this Record? _
User Input
When the manual says to ENTER something, you are to type in the information indicated and then press the [RETURN] key. If the manual says to PRESS a key, this means only that key - no [RETURN] is needed. Information that you are to enter into the computer will appear as follows:
Y or DELETE or [F1]
Computer Screens
Sample Screens will appear as follows:
Reports
Sample Reports will appear as follows:
USING THE SOFTWARE
Function Keys
The following function keys may be used throughout the RASER Accounting Software:
[F1] Answers "Yes" to a Yes/No question
Enters your terminal date for a date prompt
Selects an option from a lookup screen
[F2] Answers "No" to a Yes/No question
Moves to the "Next" item/record
[F3] Moves to the "Previous" item/record
[F4] Ends or quits this option
[F7] Invokes a Lookup Screen depending on your current prompt
[F8] Invokes the Recurring Journal Lookup Screen
when in Manual or Reversing Journal Entry
[F12] Invokes a System-Wide LookUp Screen
Edit Keys
The following edit keys may be used throughout the RASER Accounting Software:
Moves up to the previous line
¯ Moves down to the next line
[LINE DEL] Deletes the current detail line
[LINE INS] Inserts a new detail line
[CHAR DEL] Deletes the current character
[CHAR INS] Inserts a new character
[CLR LINE] Clears field to blanks
[PAGE UP] Scrolls up one page
[PAGE DOWN] Scrolls down one page
[HOME] Goes to the beginning
[END] Goes to the end
[INS] Turns "Insert" mode on
[RPL] Turns "Replace" mode on
Lookup Screens
Lookup Screens are a list of valid codes from which you may select. For example, when you need to select which Income Statement Format you would like to edit, you may press [F7] to invoke a lookup similar to the following:
You may also "prime" the lookup by typing in a letter and then pressing [F7]. For example, if you were to press R [F7], you would get the following lookup:
The following keys may be used while in the lookup mode:
[F1] Selects the current code
[F3] Starts the lookup over at the beginning
[F4] Exits without making a selection
[F7] "Reprimes" the lookup
Press a letter and [F7] to "prime" to a particular place
Moves up to the previous line
¯ Moves down to the next line
[HOME] Goes to the top of the lookup screen
[PAGE DOWN] Scrolls down one page
To select a code from within the lookup screen, you may use the and ¯ keys to move your cursor to the code you want and press [F1]. Or you may just enter the code that you want to select.
Printer Selection
The system prompts you for printer selection as follows:
Select Printer 1 2 3 or 0 for terminal
Enter the number of the printer to which you want to print. Printers 1 through (n) coincide with each of the printers that are set up on your system. Printer 0 will display the report on your screen instead of printing it on paper.
When displaying the report on the screen, you will be prompted with one of the following messages at the end of each page:
Press <RETURN> for MORE - <F3> to START OVER - <F4> to END:
<< END OF REPORT >> Press <RETURN> to Continue - <F3> to Start Over:
If there are more pages, you may press [RETURN] to see them or press [F4] to abort the report. If you are at the end of the report, just press [RETURN] to go back to the menu.
You may also press [F3] to start the report over. If you choose to start the report over, you may be allowed to reselect which printer you want. This allows you to view the report on the screen to make sure that it is what you want and then print it on paper without having the system repeat any sorting necessary to run the report.
G/L Accounting Period
After selecting most options from the General Ledger Menu, you will be prompted for the G/L Accounting Period as follows:
Company: XX G/L Accounting Period: pp/yy Ending: mm/dd/yy
Enter the period and the fiscal year for which you are working on. The default will be the current period. You will then be prompted to double check as follows:
Are you sure G/L Period 'pp/yy' is correct? (Y/N) Y Ending: mm/dd/yy
Enter Y to accept the period indicated, or enter N to go back and change it.
In General Ledger, the current period is NOT based on the current date. Rather it is based on the last period closed in G/L. For example, if you use a calendar year AND the last period closed is JANUARY (period 01/99) AND today's date is 03/15/99, the current period will be 02/99 - NOT 03/99.
NOTE: If you are not on a calendar year, the G/L accounting period will not correspond to the month of the year. For instance, let's say that your fiscal year starts July 1. Period 02/99 is not February, 1999; it is August, 1998.
Y/N/ABORT/DELETE
Throughout the RASER Accounting Software, you will be prompted to answer questions similar to the following:
Data Correct? (Y/N/ABORT/DELETE)
Enter Y - or press [F1] - if you agree with the prompt and want to continue (usually to save the information on your screen). Enter N - or press [F2] - if you want to go back and make changes.
Enter ABORT if you want to exit without saving any of the changes that you have made. The "ABORT" option is only available when you are changing an existing record.
Enter DELETE if you want to delete the information. This option is not always available when you are changing an existing record. For example, if you are working on a Journal that has already been posted, you are not allowed to delete it.
GETTING STARTED
Before you use your system "live", you may be required to first load information into a few files. The files need to be loaded in the following order:
· Chart of Accounts
· Accounting Period Record
· G/L Divisions & Departments (if applicable)
· Financial Formats
· Financial Analysis Indicators (optional)
· Set Up Automatic Month-End (optional)
See Chapter 12 - File Maintenance and Chapter 10 - Financial Formats for more information.