TEACHER/DOCTOR ACCOUNTING SYSTEM Getting Started .... ** The main processing program is STUDENT.PRG. Enter it by entering "DO STUDENT". #1. I urge that you immediately make a back-up diskette of ALL the files. You'll find yourself making changes to the various files in order to tailor if for your own use. In case a file gets corrupted beyond redemption, you'll always have the original as a resource. #2. I also suggest you make a hard copy of each of the .PRG and .FMT programs. You'll want to tailor the programs ... put in your own name, address, etc., for instance. You may have to change printer codes if mine don't apply to your printer. You'll certainly have an easier time tailoring the programs when they're in writing. #3. Basic Organization of the "System". You'll find I used file names such as a teacher would use who bills students. Files names are variations on the word "Student". You could as easily rename the files to Patients, or Clients, or whatever. Database files: STUDENT.DBF - the file of "active" students, with indexing: LNAME.NDX - indexed on last name (Lname) + first name (Fname) ID.NDX - indexed on their individual account number (Acct:Num) XSTUDENT.DBF - the file of "inactive" students, with the same indexing: XLNAME,NDX XID.NDX PAYMENTS.DBF - The file used to record checks or cash received during the accounting period. At month's end this file is posted to the STUDENT.DBF file automatically and, later during the month-end process, it's emptied and readied for the next month's use. TOTALPAY.DBF - A file showing net monthly receipts, which is posted to automatically during months'-end processing. It does nothing more than grow each month, and is called upon only when you instruct your computer (basic "Student" program, option #5, then option #3, and then, again, option #3) to print out a summary of receipts. It is automatically indexed in date sequence on PAYYEAR.NDX. **I URGE that in using this program you get in the habit of A Backing up your work. Why let a glitch put you in the dog house? Do this anytime you make a change. B Using ONLY the given programs for adding, editing, deleting, and accounting, for they tie together the loose ends you might other- wise forget ... some arcane indexing, for instance, that would give you future processing problems. C I've placed a couple of phoney records in the STUDENT.DBF and XSTUDENT.DBF files just to get you going. Once you're ready to start using the progam AND have added some usable records of your own, change these phoney records: In the STUDENT.DBF file you can do it by means of the EDIT program (Option #2 in the primary STUDENT.PRG menu). Replace my goofy entries with actual folks' details. In the XSTUDENT.DBF program, get to the dot prompt and enter ". USE XSTUDENT INDEX XLNAME,XID" and simply delete the offend- ing record (Control-U) and then do a "Pack." D Just so you can see some tangible effect at once, run the statement program from the diskette "as is". Enter: DO Student. Then enter the date (ALWAYS do this) and pick Option #5. At the next menu, pick option #4 and when it asks you, tell the computer to print statements for "all" the students. If you have an Epson FX printer, or a Gemini 10X or 15X, or Star SG-10 or SG-15, you'll get the varied printer effects I've put int the program. On other printers ... let's both be surprised. IN ACTUAL USE (Quickie tips): *****Call up the main processing menu by entering DO STUDENT. ALWAYS enter the date, and always as directed: two digits for the month (08 for the month of August, for instance), AND one or two for the day (08/05/86 produces "August 05, 1986" on your reports). It's neater to enter "08/ 5/86". You'll find yourself possibly using any of the seven options. You'll surely need option 5, for it's used to log incoming checks. For entering those checks (main student program, option 5, option 3, and finally option 1) there's a provision for simply entering a non-cash credit. It takes TWO hits on the "Enter" key to record your entry. The program will also accept a negative number. Simply precede your number with a "-". Moreover, if you simply enter a number (say, the number 12), the program will automatically add the ".00" and make it $12.00. If you want to enter $12.25 you must enter the period ... "12.25." When printing monthly statements or address labels, the program will only print those where there's a balance due (positive or negative) other than zero. This saves printing on any account that's been inactive for that accounting period. ###** You may want to retain the "Zz" record!!! Don't overprint the detail before you understand its function: Sometimes a student or patient has part of their bill paid by a third party. I've set this up for you as if the high school pays a portion of some students' lessons. Those students would have a "Y" in the field called "Scholarship". During the statement billing process (main Student menu, option 5, option 4) the student is billed at the reduced rate his record shows, and a memory variable is created so that ... as the very last state- ment billed, you'll invoice the school for their portion and even print on the school's statement the name of every scholarship student and how many lessons or treatments they're being billed for. As supplied, there's only provision for up to eight "scholarship" students. You can see how it's done: add more if you need them. I never have. The DBF record for the school is given the Lname "Zz" to insure that it's behind all the others in processing and gets all the preceding scholarship detail. The statement program even enters the billed amount into the school's DBF record for you.