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→Monthly Budget$ Master
| grade = B
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| cost = $12.00 (casette) $14.00 (diskette)
| manufacturer = SA2 Software, P.O. Box 2465, Naperville, IL 60565
| requirements = console, monitor or television, cassette recorder or disk drive and controller, Extended BASIC cartridge, printer is optional though recommended
}}
Monthly Budget$ Master comes in three configurations: two that come on cassette and one that comes on disk. The disk version and one of the cassette versions are written in Extended BASIC. The second cassette version operates out of console BASIC. This review is based on the cassette-based Extended BASIC version. It should be noted at this point that the program designers, Steven and Susan Albert, warn that the cassette version cannot be transferred to disk without major modifications by the user. Purchasers of the BASIC or cassette versions may trade for an upgrade at a cost of $5.
==Performance==
As the title suggests, this program is designed to track monthly expenses. It does this through the use of 31 predefined categories and as many as 14 user-defined categories. Each predefined category may have more than one entry, though only the total is recorded. Each month may included up to 75 entries. For example, you may enter, say, four weeks of grocery bills but only a cumulative amount will appear in the printout or on the screen display. However, the four entries would constitute four of
the 75 entries.
Because the program comes unprotected, the user may modify it to his heart's content.
This menu-driven program includes two parts. The main program is devoted to the accumulation and display of data on the screen while a second program, which is loaded separately, is used to output data to a printer.
The main screen of the main program features an eight-item menu. Included are commands to review account codes (the preset categories use one or two-letter codes), enter data, revise data, save data, erase data, input data from cassette, output results to screen and quit. The output to screen command allows the user to choose either screen display or printer options. Choosing the printer option results in a message telling you to load the printer routine into memory.
Account codes are simple to understand,
based usually on the first word
of the budget item they represent.
"F", for example, represents "food."
Data entry is directed by screen
prompt. Each entry must include the
account code and the amount. Entering
a non-existent code results in an
error message. You may then reenter
the proper code and continue. At any
time, you may press a key to return to
the main menu. Also, this screen displays
displays
the number of data entries you
have left before the available memory
is used up. Total amounts for any data
entry may be up to $99,999.99.
The revise data screen lets you
change any data entry. It includes a
command to change data filed under
the predefined categories and another
command to change data filed under a
user-defined category.
The · save data screen lists the
number of items in memory. You are
asked to enter the name of the month
prior to actually saving the data. This
feature allows you to use up to 20 characters,
essentially to define the data
file. As with all the screens, if you
change your mind you may press a key
to return to the main menu without
affecting the data in memory.
The erase data screen gives you a
choice of erasing all data in memory
or erasing either predefined data or
user-defined data.
The data input screen allows you to
load data out of one of two cassette
recorders. While loading, the name
that you gave the data file, whether the
name of the month or something else,
appears as well as the number of data
entries.
The output screen allows you to display
the data on the screen or to call up
the printer routine. The screen display
is not nearly as effective as the printer
routine, which uses 64 columns. The
printout includes the name of the category,
the amount budgeted, the actual
amount spent, the difference between
the budgeted and the actual amount
and the percentage of the actual
amount to the budgeted amount. One
problem with the screen display is that
once you start you must view all data
before you can return to the menu.
Although this takes only 20 seconds or
so, I'd just as soon have the option to
return to the menu immediately after
viewing the data I wanted "to see.
The budget is divided into five sections:
variable expenses, fixed
expenses, utilities and credit, offbudget
expenses (user defined) and
monthly balance. The monthly balance
category shows the entries made
for income, dividends and interest
income and other income sources. It
then shows the entries made in federal,
state and social security taxes.
The amount spent under the total of
budget categories is then deducted
from the net income and the amount of
money remaining is reported. This
screen summarizes total expenses and
displays the net results for the month.
Ease of Use: Using any financial
program takes a bit of experimenting
and reading. You have to learn the
codes and functions before you can get
down to business, and this budget program
is no exception.
Because all data entry is directed by
prompts, data entry is a snap. All
totaling and other operations is done
by the program.
Documentation: Monthly Budget$
Master comes with a lengthy manual
that takes the user through each step
of the program. Though it has a table
of contents, I would like to have seen
some sort of index.
Value: This program has a number
of things going for it, and one of them is
its price. Because the program comes
unprotected, the user has the perogative
to modify it to fit his own circumstances.
In fact, the manual provides
advice for the user who wishes to redefine
account names, codes and other
items. I think any user will appreciate
this kind of flexibility.
'''— JK'''
