AM-F  Format Custom Financial Statements

Purpose of Program

Use this program to create specialized financial statements for your business.  You can customize the statement titles, add headers, label your total lines, place information in up to nine different column locations, print GL accounts, account numbers and descriptions, and use blank line and page break commands.  You can enter as many sub-divisions as you want for dividing your statement totals.  Be sure to consult your accountant when creating these financial statements to be sure that the statement totals properly reflect your chart of accounts.

This section is divided into a summary of the screen fields and their functions, and a short tutorial to help you create your first simple statements.

Field Explanations

Report Name

The 10 character name you give to your custom financial statement so that you can retrieve it after saving.  This does not print as a title on the statement itself.

Line

The line number of the statement format.  This is filled in automatically by the program.  A pointer always points to the current line.  The line number is only visible when printing the format layout, not when processing on the screen.

Op

The operator or command code.  You can choose your operators from an on-screen window.  The operator chosen determines which of the screen columns (T, B, P, L, etc) you are allowed to fill in.  These are summarized in General Program Operation below.

G/L From

The starting value to use when printing or totaling GL accounts.

G/L Thru

The ending value to use when printing or totaling GL accounts.

T

This report utility allows up to 20 uniquely identified totals.  Assign a number (1-20) for one of the functions below:

If you are printing blank lines, this is where to enter the number of lines.

The program totals the amounts in the GL account range requested with a command to 'Get G/L Accounts’ (Ga), then places this amount in the total field which you assign a number (1-20) here.  For any of the total commands (add, print, or clear), this field identifies which of the assigned totals (1-20) is to be operated upon.

B

In this column, you put the number (1-20) of the total field you want to use as a base to calculate percentages against when you choose the Calculate %'s option in GL-N  Print Custom Statements.  For example, if you want to show each asset account amount as a percentage of the asset total, you would put the number you have assigned to the asset total into the B column.

The B column also serves the purpose of holding the sum of the amounts when using an At (Add to Total) command.

P

If the command in the Op field is Ga, this field determines whether the accounts are to printed on the statement or not.  This gives you the option of reading GL accounts into your statement without printing all of them.  Enter a Y or N.

L

If you choose to print only one category of account amounts (e.g. current amounts only) when you run GL-N  Print Custom Statements, then use this column to enter the locations where the fields will print on the statement.  The program controls the column layout if more than one category is selected for a report (e.g. current amounts and 1 year past amounts).

You can use this location flexibility to print account amounts in one location and then print the total offset slightly.  The locations for a single column format are based on increments of 5 character positions from left to right margin.  Enter a number between 1 and 9.

$

Specifies if a dollar sign is printed before the amounts specified in the current line.  Enter Y or N.

D/C

When entering a pT (Print Total Field) command, you must enter the debit or credit status of the total into this field.  Consult your accountant to confirm this status, as it depends on the types of accounts totaled.  If the total amount is opposite the expected debit or credit, it will print in brackets.

Description

Use this field to enter the text of a title or header.  Account totals, when printed, can also be given a text heading.

Other operations are available in the menu listed across the bottom of your screen.  These options vary as to their availability.  As always, you need to watch the bottom line on your screen to know which options are currently available.

General Program Operation

To begin a new format, or to display an existing one, type the format name into the Report Name field.  You can lookup existing formats by pressing F2 (or by clicking on the Lookup button).

If this is a new format, the Mt (Main title) must be placed on line 1.  Use this command as the first line of your report format.

The line pointer (>) is placed on the first line for editing.  Pop-up menus and the function key definitions at the bottom of the screen keep you informed of your options at all times.  The Op command window appears every time you begin a format line.  Note that these commands are not on-screen editing commands; they are used to tell the report program how the identified totals and accounts will be handled in your report.  The window options are as follows:

tO - top Of form

Go to the top of the next page.

Mt-  Main title

The statement's main title.  This is only allowed once within the format and is always the first line.

pH-  print Header

Print a format header line.

Ga-  Get G/L accounts

Get a specific account or group of accounts and print them and/or total them.

At-  Add to total

Add one total field to another.  Generally used to keep track of running totals or subtotals.

pS-  print Single line

Print a single dashed line (--------------).

pD-  print Double line  

Print a double dashed line(=========).

pB-  print Blank line  

Print blank lines; you specify a number of lines in the T column.

pT-  print Total field  

This command will print a total that has been accumulated from the G/L account records or from the Add Total command.

Ct-  Clear total field    

Sets an assigned total to zero if you need to reuse it.

With each command you use a different combination of the screen columns to specify the parameters for the command.  During format entry, the cursor only goes to the columns needed for the current command.  For example, only the 'Get G/L Accounts’ command used the G/L From/Thru column; the main title column does not use a $ option.

Each time you complete a format line, the program prompts you to save it. Then use thee arrow key to move down to the next blank line and click Add to add a new line.   Once you are finished with one statement format, you must press <Esc>  (or click on the Exit button) to exit the program before entering another format.  This updates the format file and assures you of later access to the format.

Sample Formats

To give you an idea of how this format specification works, simple examples will be presented, with the steps involved and the underlying reasons detailed.  The three sample formats shown in this section take you from a very simple to a reasonably complex format.

The following is the format for a simple financial statement, a Trial Balance.  Try to enter this statement yourself to get a feeling for the program.  The two sample formats following this one (BAL and INCOME) are also included so you can print or modify them if you choose.

Trial Balance Format

This format consists of 6 different lines.  After entering each line, you must save the line.

LINE 1:  This is the title of the format.  This will always print along with the company name and date at the top of each statement page.

Choose the Mt option from the Operations menu.

Type the words Trial Balance Report in the Description column.  Note how this program places the cursor only where you can make a legal entry for the chosen command.

LINE 2:  This is a header line.  It will be printed starting in the leftmost position, specified by the 1 in the Location column.

Choose pH from the Operations menu.

Type a 1 into the L field.

Type the words TRIAL BALANCE ACCOUNTS: into the Description column.

LINE 3:  Prints 1 blank line.  The number of blank lines printed is specified in the T column.

Choose pB from the Operations menu.

Type a 1 (for 1 blank line) into the T column.

LINE 4:  Prints the GL accounts starting with account number 10000 and ending with number 22300, inclusive.  The amounts printed (P=Y) will be summed into the total field 1 (T=1).  Any percentages to be calculated will use this assigned total as a base (B=1).  Because the statement printing program (GL-N, Print Custom Statements) offers the option of calculating percentages, you must set up a percentage base here.  Each item will print starting in the leftmost column (L=1), and no dollar sign ($=N) will be printed.  There is no Description because the descriptions entered in the chart of accounts will be used.

Choose Ga from the Operations menu.

Type 10000 into the G/L From column.

Type 22300 into the G/L Thru column.

Type 1 into the T column.

Type 1 into the B column.

Type Y into the P column.  This prints the account amounts.

Type 1 into the L column.  This prints into the first column space on the statement.

Type N into the $column.

LINE 5:  Prints a double line before the total (========).  This will be printed at column location 1 (L=1).

Choose pD from the Operations menu.

Type a 1 into the L column.

LINE 6:  Prints the assigned total 1 (T=1) using itself as a calculation base (B=1); the percentage will always be 100 (the Income Statement later in this section shows a more complex use of the calculation base column).  The assigned total 1 is specified to print in column location 1 (L=1), with no dollar sign ($=1), and the heading to be printed is Trial Balance Total.

Choose pT from the Operations menu.

Type a 1 into the T column.

Type a 1 into the B column.

Type a 1 into the L column

Type an N into the $ column.

Type a C into the D/C column.

Type the words Trial Balance Total: into the Descriptions column.

Balance Sheet Format

The following is a slightly more complex statement, a balance sheet.  If you still have your test company available, you can view this report format by requesting report BAL.  Notice that only ten lines can display at one time.  Use the up and down arrow keys to move the line marker to the line you wish to view or edit.

Note how in line 7 the total field 1 is cleared (Ct) so that it can be used for another account total, after the current account total has been printed in line 5.

In line 13, the Add Total command adds the total identified in column T (1) to the total identified in column B (2), and the sum is retained in column B.  Then total 1 is cleared in line 14.  Total 2 saves the total Liabilities, so that it can be added later to the Owner's Equity total.  Lines 13 and 14 demonstrate how you can reuse total 1 for each account and accumulate the sum of all these totals in the total 2 field.

Adding the Liability and Owner's Equity is done by the Add Total command in line 20, where total field 1 (which was cleared and now is being used for the Owner's Equity total) is added into total field 2 (containing the Liability total).

In line 23, total field 2 is printed.  This prints Liabilities + Owner's Equity, to complete the balance sheet.

The method of using one total field over and over, emptying it, so to speak, into other total fields which are holding the totals you wish to keep is a useful way to limit the number of unique operations in your format.

Income Statement Format

Finally, the most complex statement yet, an income statement.  If you still have your test company, you can see this statement format by requesting INCOME.  Notice the similarities between this statement and the earlier balance sheet.

In this format, the GL account amounts that are read into total fields 1 and 2 (income totals and expense totals) are all added into total field 3, which is then used as both the net total and as the calculation base for percentages.  In other words, this statement will show income and expenses as percentage of net income.

Whether you keep one total field and add all the others into it or keep multiple totals will depend on the kind of statement you are trying to create.

NOTE:  To correctly calculate the total amounts, the program will actually process the statement twice.  The first time the program is calculating totals in order to print the percentages the second time through.  This means you will not want to clear the field or fields you are using as a base.  Be careful not to use your calculation base as a "bucket" field that you continually fill and empty.

There are also differences between this statement and the earlier ones.  Notice, for example, that the totals are to be printed with dollar signs (column $).  Notice also that the account amounts are printed in column location 1, the subtotals in location 2, and the net total in location 3 (column L).

You will probably need to try to use this program a few times, print some statements, then improve your format until you are happy with it.  With a little practice you will be preparing sophisticated formats that give an individualized look to your company's financial statements.  You can specify specific account balances and the percentage printing option in the statement printing program (GL-N  Print Custom Statements), once the report is saved.  You can easily use this program for all of your statements, bypassing the standard statements in AM-E  Format Standard Financial Statements.