Bank Genie on the Web

by ideasforgardens.com

This site is dedicated entirely to users of Software developed by ideasforgardens.com

Bank Genie- Software for the Penny Wise
”Watch the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves”

If you DON’T already have a copy, Click HERE to read about it and buy your copy.

Other Links:- About us Garden Software Ideas for Gardens Cultivars Garden Photos

Getting Started 16^th Nov 2004

Please print this item, and then read it thoroughly. It describes the simple steps we recommend to help you "Getting Started" to Bank Genie.

1 Installing Bank Genie.
First, close down all applications which are running on your computer.
Then, simply insert the Bank Genie CD into the drive, and wait for a few seconds. The auto-installer will begin to run, and the first Dialog Box will appear. (If this does not happen inside 30 seconds, eject the CD and try again.)
Read each dialog box. If you accept all the default settings (recommended) then just click the appropriate button to proceed with the installation. At one stage, you will have to click on a button to acknowledge that you accept the Licence agreement.

You don’t have to restart your computer after the installation is completed.
The Bank Genie icon will appear on your desktop.

2 Starting Bank Genie
Start Bank Genie by clicking on the Bank Genie Icon which has been placed on your desktop.
You will get a message advising you that Bank Genie is not registered. Press OK and continue. (You don’t need to register just yet)

3 Explore the Tabs on the Bank Genie Menu

System

A number of programs under this tab to allow you to configure the Bank Genie system to your personal requirements.

You'll find a program to set your Preferences (Date format, Language etc), and two programs related to passwords.

Other programs under this tab are used for System Maintenance functions. (Backups, configuration, etc)

VERY IMPORTANT: This tab also has an Exit option to allow you to close the Bank Genie application. Use the Exit button at all times for normal shut down of Bank Genie.

Edit

Standard Editing options for use when you are running Bank Genie programs

Files

Important support files for the Bank Genie application. All of these files are user maintainable. The purpose of each file is fairly obvious. Follow the Tutorials on your first attempt to use the programs under this pad.

Programs

The Bank Genie “ACTION” programs are found under this tab. These are discussed in more detail below.

Tools

A Calculator, and a Calendar/Diary for your convenience

Register

Licence agreement details and Programs with links to our website to link to purchase and register the Bank Genie software.

Get familiar with the system before registering. You may add up to 50 transactions to your database before registration is required. You will be reminded to register each time you add a transaction after 40 transactions have been added.

Help

Help, Tutorials, About Bank Genie, and very important, Bank Genie on the Web.

4 CLOSING Bank Genie
To close the Bank Genie application at any time:-

If you are using a Bank Genie program then close it by using Quit, Done or Escape buttons as applicable.

You will be returned to the Bank Genie Menu. You may then:

a) Click on the Exit button on the screen.

b) Click on the Bank Genie "System" menu pad then click "Exit" on the drop down list.

c) Use the standard windows Close option i.e. click on the x in the very top right hand corner of the screen.

ALWAYS USE ONE OF THE DESCRIBED OPTIONS TO CLOSE THE BANK GENIE APPLICATION.

YOU RUN THE RISK OF DAMAGING FILES IF YOU TURN YOUR COMPUTER OFF WHEN A BANK GENIE PROGRAM IS RUNNING.

5 HELP Topics
Click on the Bank Genie "Help" menu pad and click on the option "Help Topics".

Read ALL Topics. They are quite short but give a huge insight into Bank Genie.

Pay particular attention to:-

a) Program, screen and report naming Convention

We have our reasons for what one user described as "cryptic" program names. Read how Screen names and Report names relate to Program Names and how these names help you to refer precisely to any element of the system when seeking support.

b) Help Icons and their use

When you click on this topic the Example button at the bottom of the screen is enabled. Click on it and learn how to use the Help Icon which appears on many screens in the Bank Genie system.

This step is essential if you wish to learn how to use the inbuilt Bank Genie Help facility correctly.

c) Instruction abbreviations

A scheme to cut down on Instruction text e.g. HELP > Tutorials below!

d) Tutorials ESSENTIAL READING

Read how to do tutorials. They are prepared to guide you through the operation of the Bank Genie system and show you the full features available in the system.

6 Preferences
You will now understand the instruction System> Preferences-BS198. Do it!

Configure the preferences to your liking. (e.g. Currency, Date Format, Language, etc). This screen is fairly simple. Drag the Help Icon around the screen and read the items.

In particular, be sure to read the Help under the "Password Protection" checkbox. If you decide to enable password protection be sure to memorise the following:

The default user name is : ADMIN

The password for this profile is: admin

Save your settings before quitting the program.

Be aware that if you set Password Protection ON, and at some date you forget your password, you can lock yourself out of Bank Genie. Its not the end of the world though. You can copy two files, "parametr.dbf" and "parametr.fpt" from the Bank Genie CD (keep it safe!!) into the Bank Genie installation folder. This resets your preferences to default (no password protection) and you can get back into Bank Genie. You will not lose any data.

7 Tutorials
This step is ESSENTIAL. PLEASE read it entirely. Repeat if necessary.

Run the program HELP > Tutorials-BS001 from the menu

The Bank Genie Tutorials selection program (BS001) starts.

This screen has 4 windows. The top left pane contains a list of all programs, the top right pane describes the selected program, the bottom left pane contains a list of all the tutorials for the selected program. The bottom right pane describes the selected tutorial.

As soon as the program starts, the first and most important tutorial is already selected. It's on… tutorials!
If you haven’t done so already, please do the following immediately the first screen (BS001S01) appears:

Click on the "Step 3 - Click here" button (everything else is preset). Screen BS001S04 appears. Follow the instructions in the edit boxes. It is essential that you understand all the powerful features of this little screen as explained in these items.

8 Prepare the system for your personal use.
The Input Transactions program (BS201) and Transaction Analyser (BS008) are the main "Action" programs.

Before you start using these programs, however, you need to overwrite some default settings.

As a bare minimum, you need to set up at last one Bank Account.

Run the "My Bank Accounts" program (BS003).

When you start this program you will find one Bank Account already listed in the initial screen. DONT DELETE IT.

Instead, use the program to change its name to one of your own Banks and change the details as appropriate.

There’s a tutorial (see end of this step) to guide you if you prefer, but please continue reading these instructions to get an idea of what you need to do.

Look for the Help Icon (as described in Step 5 above) in the second screen (BS003S02).

Drag the Help Icon around, and read all available Help (under various buttons and fields).

Choose a Statement number from your own records where you wish to begin using Bank Genie.

Beware! You can’t go back after you reconcile your first statement (unless you un-reconcile the statements in reverse order), so choose your first statement number carefully.

You may also wish to review the Expense codes included with Bank Genie.

Run the program "My Expense Codes - BS004". Review the list. Delete any you dont need. Add new items if you wish.

You CAN’T delete the "TRANSFER" expense code. It is SPECIAL as explained in other parts of Bank Genie.

You can do the above by following these tutorials:
Step 1 Program Selection Step 2 - Tutorial to select

------------------------------ -----------------------------------------------------------------

Program BS003 BS003(18) Changing a Bank Profile

Program BS004 BS004(19) Adding a new Expense Code

9 Entering Transactions
You can enter transactions in a number of ways.
a) Manual entry: The Input Transactions program (BS201)
This is a fairly straight forward program to use. Go ahead and play with it to get a feel for how it works.
Then, do the tutorials to learn how to add a simple transaction, and how to add a multiple element transaction.
There is quite a lot of hidden functionality (little nic-nacs). These are explained in the Help under the control buttons and fields. A few are explained by example (e.g. how to do a transfer). I added a print button to the Help screen so you could follow the steps from a hard copy.

b) Standing Orders - BS202
The program is called Standing Orders, but you can use this for any regular Debit or Credit, or items you pay off by installments etc.
Do the tutorial(s) for BS202 to set up your first regular payment profile.

When you have all your regular payments created, you run this program and click the “Process” button once per month for each bank.
Bank Genie examines the profiles, and automatically generates transactions in the appropriate Banks for payments due in that month.

What date in the month? Theres no time limit. My method is to run the program and generate the Standing Orders on “payday”, so I can plan around all the regular payments I have to allow for in that month.
You can define your own “payday” in the My Bank Accounts program (BS003).

When you run the “Process” option in the program, Bank Genie will show you the actual date range for the Month/Year which you select i.e. from Payday, to the day before payday the following month.

When you start using the system, (or if you fall behind) you can go back in time as required by setting the Year/Month input fields. You can also, if you wish, process ahead (not recommended, to avoid shock and or depression)

c)On-Line Banking downloads.
The final method of generating transactions in Bank Genie is to download transactions from your Bank over the internet, and import them into the system.

A sample file downloaded from a Barclaycard Account is installed on your computer during the installation, and a tutorial is provided to show you how the import program works, using this downloaded file as an example:

Do: Tutorial BS012 (16) Import a BarclayCard download

If you write cheques, you will be ahead of on-line banking if you are carefully managing your finances. Thus, when you download from the On-line bank, you may create duplicates.

During the import, Bank Genie halts when it has read the imported transactions, and displays these records.
You have the option to Proceed or escape. The purpose is to allow you to review what is about to be imported.
By double-clicking on any transaction, you can Exclude any transactions which will cause duplication.

If you don’t have time to do this, duplication is not a big problem, as you can simply compare the details (good for confirmation) and delete as required after they have been imported to Bank Genie.

10 Transaction Analyser (BS008)
This powerful program allows you to analyse your Bank transactions in virtually any combination of parameters.
You simply make your selections, and click on the GO button.
Its meant to be paperless, but you can click on the Print button to make a hard copy of any list of transactions resulting from your queries.

There are a number of special features involving the bank of arrow buttons positioned beside the From Date and To Date fields. Use the Help facility to explore these features.

You can’t add new transactions in this program (BS008), but you can edit any transaction displayed.
On reconciled items, editing is restricted to changing Expense codes, or making corrections to Cheque Dates or Effective (Bank) dates so that transactions fall into the category or date range of your choice.
If you are using Bank Genie for business purposes, you can also edit a transaction and link to Supplier Invoices.

11 Registering Bank Genie

If you have PURCHASED Bank Genie and have a LICENCE Number, then proceed to : "Registering Bank Genie".

Back to Bank Genie on the Web home page

Links to the some of the Main Sections of our other sites on the Web
About us Ideas For Gardens HOME page Cultivars Garden Photos Garden Software Garden Paintings