Navigation & Common buttons
Use the Family A & E Tracker Menu button on the Welcome screen, and in the lower left corner of all the main windows, to access all the components of Family Activity and Expense Tracker.
Each component of Family Activity and Expense Tracker has a New button (for creating new records), a Delete button (for deleting one or more records), a Find button (for searching for text on another record), a Sort button (for sorting the records by predetermined fields), an Import button (for importing sample or archived records) and an Export button (for backing up your data).
You will find a Help button on most of the windows in Family Activity and Expense Tracker. Included in the Help system is a Tutorial, which will introduce you to the most important features of that component. Just click the Tutorial button near the top of the Help window. More detailed explanations can be found by clicking the other buttons found near the top of the Help window.
There is also a Quit button and a Save button on each main window. Although records are normally saved when going to another record or closing the component, it is often a good idea to click the Save button after making changes, just to be safe.
Reports
Each component has its own report feature. In some cases you will use an intermediate screen to select options and sort orders for your report or invoice. In many cases you will go directly to the report. There is a Help button on each option window with more information about the report options.
On the output window you will find the following buttons: Save As... (saves the output as a text file for archiving or exporting to a word processor for formatting, etc.); Font (allows you to specify the size and font of the text in the report output); Print (usually just prints the output - you may need to print some reports in landscape mode); and Edit Report (allows you to make changes to the report before printing or exporting - when this button is unchecked (its normal position) you can click the main line of each record's output to go directly to that record.
There is also a row of buttons, just above the report's output field, that allows you to change the width of the columns (the tab stops) in the report. Just drag any of the little rectangles left or right to make the report more readable.
If you have any questions or comments about the software, feel free to write us at support@productivity-software.com
Tips on using Expense Tracker
You can keep track of all your expenses and easily generate Tax Form Reports in Expense Tracker. This component comes with a built is list of expense types which you can add to if necessary.
1) Start by clicking New. You will be asked if you want to Duplicate the current record or transfer just the Payee/Expense or Account information. Or you can start with a blank record.
- If you choose Duplicate you will be asked for the new expense Amount.
- If you choose Payee/Expense you will be asked to choose an Account, and then a new expense Amount.
- If you choose Account you will be asked to choose an Expense type, a Payee, and then a new expense Amount.
- If you create a new blank record you will be asked to choose an Expense type, a Payee, an Account, and then a new expense Amount.
You can either add an expense amount directly into the field provided or you can create a list in the Notes field and then click the Add to Expense Amount button. Any numbers not proceeded by the # sign will be added to the expense Amount.
If you use the standard mileage rate on your tax forms, then you can use the handy Travel Deduction calculator to enter the Miles (or Kilometers) and rate. This information will then be available for the Tax Form Reports.
Account Register
The Account Register button takes you to the Account Register window where all the debits you've entered into Expense Tracker and credits (Payments or Deposits) in Income Tracker for that account are listed.
At the top of the window you can choose another Account, Add Deposits & Payments (creates a new Income Tracker record), add a New Expense/Debit (creates a new a new Expense Tracker record), a Dates range (or a Start Date and End Date) and whether to display Descriptions or not. You can also add Daily Separators.
After clicking the Add/Select Account button in the Account Register, Expense Tracker, or Income Tracker window you are presented with an Account management window. There you will find fields where you can record the Account #, Account Type, Starting Balance, and the Last Check # Used for each Account and buttons to Create, Modify or Delete Accounts. A Current Balance for the account is automatically calculated.
Beside the Check # field is a Cl option which signifies that the check has cleared the bank. The Account Register report lists checks that have cleared (the Cl checkbox has been clicked on the Expenses record) as [C] and not cleared as [ ]. You can use this feature to reconcile your checkbook or account statement.
Above the Check # field is a Print button. When clicked a new Check Printer window opens where you can print your checks on any blank check. For more information click Help in this window.
Assign a Vehicle to the expense record. This is optional and you can keep track of any number of vehicles. Click the Service button to open a window where you keep track of when and where the Last Oil Change, Last Tune Up, Brake Service, Automatic Transmission Service and Tire Rotation was performed. You can also keep notes about your vehicle in this window.
Clicking the Shopping List button above the Notes field opens the Shopping List window. At the bottom of this window there are buttons that allow you to Add Items to the list, Remove All the items in the list, Print the list (so you can take it with you to the store), Sort the list and Close the window.
You can save up to four different shopping lists by clicking Save Default List and then retrieve them by clicking Restore Default List. These can be used as starter lists for different stores and then modified as needed.
Click Expense Report to generate a regular expense report or a Tax Form Report. With Expense Report selected, you have many choices and can select one or more Expense types, Payees and Accounts. With Tax Form Report selected you have fewer options, but you can choose and range of Dates by using the menu or the Start Date and End Date fields.
Tips on using Income Tracker
Income Tracker is used to keep track of income or deposits to accounts and works with Expense Tracker to create Account Registers.
1) Click New to begin. You will be asked if you want to Duplicate the current record or transfer just the Source/Account information. Or you can start with a blank record.
- If you choose Duplicate or Source/Account you will be asked for the new income Amount.
- If you create a new blank record you will be asked to choose a Source of the income, an Account, and then a new income Amount.
Click Add/Select Source and then Create Source to add a new source to the list.
2) Choose a Source and an Account from the lists or create new ones.
3) Enter the Income Amount. You can enter the Tax Type and the amount of Tax Collected.
There are two miscellaneous fields you can use for any purpose. One is in the upper right hand corner and the other is below the Source field. Click the Change button above either of these fields to modify the label for the field on all the records.
You can specify the type of income and record a check number if appropriate by clicking the How button. The choices of Cash, Credit Card, Check or Other will appear. Click the How button again to hide these options.
Use the Account Register button to view income and expenses for any Account. An identical button is provided in Expense Tracker. See the Account Register section above.
Click Income Report to generate a list of Income Tracker records to print or save.
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