FAQs for ACCOUNTS CD USERS
(Note: Some of these questions have only been asked by one user but we have included them here as
other users may have been confronted with the same or similar issues. Please note we have edited the
original questions and in some cases combined several questions into one).
Q: I’ve been using your accounts books for several years. I’ve now bought a computer and would like to
purchase your Accounts CD.
A: If you are not an experienced and competent PC user, please do not buy our CD until you have
gained more computing skills or it will only lead to grief and frustration for us both. Although we believe
our CD is about as simple as it can get (and we think probably as simple or simpler than any rival), for
many people it is still more complicated than writing a letter on a computer or sending an email. Best to
stick with the book version for another year and get more experience with your PC before buying our
Accounts CD.
Q: I’m thinking of buying your Accounts CD, how much does it cost and can I re-use it next year?
A: The Accounts CD currently costs £49 (which includes VAT and UK post & packing). At the end of the
year, you simply re-use the CD for the next year, ie the £49 is a one-off cost. This information is on our
website (click on the button “Accounts CDs”, then click on either CD image to get more information).
Q: I’ve seen your Accounts CD advertised on your website. How does it work?
A: Our Accounts CD comprises a fully featured spreadsheet which we use under licence together with the
template data files designed by Peter Hingston and which mimic the accounts book pages. The
spreadsheet we use ("As-Easy-As") is well established and the big advantage of this approach is the onscreen image mimics the book quite closely and the underlying "arithmetic engine" is stable and reliable.
A spin-off is you can use the spreadsheet for other activities such as cashflow forecasting. To enter your
accounts on the CD you simply open the appropriate page (ie file) on the Accounts CD, move the cursor
to where you want to enter the figure and then type in the amount. The big advantage of the CD is it
should save you time as it automatically adds up your columns, carries forward balances and does the
year-end summaries.
Q: Do you have a demo disk of your Accounts CD?
A: Sorry, we don’t. This is due to licensing and anti-piracy issues.
Q: I am currently using the VAT version of your accounts book, which I like and I now want to put my
accounts on computer. Do you sell a CD version of your VAT accounts book?
A: No. Although this was originally planned for launch in Spring/Summer 2004, other book writing by
Peter Hingston is taking much longer than anticipated and the VAT CD project has had to be postponed,
possibly indefinitely.
Q: I’ve installed the CD satisfactorily and started entering data, but the file dates seem to be wrong [Blue
CD version].
A: One likely cause is that when you edit the default date in Month01-Bank, you must use numbers (not
letters) to represent the month.
Q: After installing the CD I started to put in our accounts from last year, which worked fine but I then
opened up one of the weeks ahead and its date was incorrect...any idea why? [Yellow CD version].
A: If you jump ahead you merely see the default date. The date function on this CD works each time you
save and close a week, then when you open the next week it will be the correct date. It assumes you are
working sequentially through the weeks from Week 1 onwards. If you are not working sequentially not
only will the date be wrong but so will the balances.
Q: I’ve entered the start date but it’s coming up as May 1904! [Yellow CD version].
A: The date function in this CD starts in January 1900 and increments up from there. If the year entered in
Week01 is written as 04 it assumes 1904. I suggest you go back to Week01, cell D85, and check the date
is written exactly in the format DD/MM/YYYY so the 3rd May 2004 would be written as 03/05/2004,
complete with the forward slashes between the numbers as shown. Then check at the top of the screen
that the date you have entered is correct, including the year. Now SAVE the file. On opening Week02, it
increments 7 days to date the file. Check it's OK and then save and continue. You must save a file on
closing or the date function and balances will not carry forward correctly.
Q: I tried to start the Accounts CD from a back-up floppy disk but it didn’t work.
A: It’s good to back-up your accounts data to a floppy disk or CD. But if you try to initiate the program by
double-clicking on any of these data files, either it will not work or your PC may even try to run the files
through an incorrect program, eg MS Works or Excel (which recognise the .wks file suffix that we also
use). This is called an “association”. The correct way to access any back-up file is to initiate (start) the
Accounts CD and then open the back-up file using the File>Open command. See also the next FAQ
below.
Q: My Accounts CD was working great to begin with, but has now gone “bonkers”!
A: Assuming your PC is functioning correctly and you don’t have a virus, then if you have another
spreadsheet program on your PC (such as MS Works or Excel), then the most likely cause is one of
those spreadsheets has “captured” some or all of your Accounts CD data files. Windows has “associated”
your accounts data files with its own Microsoft spreadsheet and is now trying to run them. To check, in
the AsEasyAs Open window (that lists all the accounts files), highlight any accounts file that is behaving
strangely, right click, then click on “Properties”. The file Type should be: WKS File. Anything else and you
have a problem! Please note there is nothing wrong with having other spreadsheets on your PC (we do)
BUT you must heed any Windows warning that it is about to create an association. To avoid unintended
associations, only open an accounts file by starting the Accounts CD then open the file using the
File>Open command.
Q: Can I use Excel, Works (or another spreadsheet) to run the accounts data files?
A: No! Although Excel, Works (and others) may recognise the .wks suffix of our accounts files, the date
functions and heaven knows what else will NOT work correctly. Please do not try this! The correct
spreadsheet to use is the As-Easy-As (ASAWIN) program supplied on the Accounts CD.
Q: Can I run more than one version of the CD on my computer?
A: Yes, this can be done in a couple of ways, but I think the easiest is to rename the current version of the
Accounts CD that is on your computer and then do a normal installation of a second version. The
procedure is as follows:
1. Rename the current ASAWIN folder. To do this click (or double-click) on My Computer, then Local
Disk (C:), then right-click ASAWIN to get a drop-down menu. Click on Rename then rename
ASAWIN, eg OLDCD
2. Next alter the current shortcut on your desktop so it can find the folder you have just renamed. To do
this, right-click on the shortcut icon, then click on Properties. Change the “target” line from:
C:\ASAWIN\asawin.exe to: C:\OLDCD\asawin.exe then change the “Start In” line from: C:\ASAWIN
to C:\OLDCD Then click on Apply and then OK.
3. Now put the original Accounts CD in the CD drive and install it as per normal.
Q: The Accounts CD has loaded OK (under Windows XP) but I don’t know how to get the shortcut onto
my desktop.
A: With previous versions of Windows, the shortcut icon appears automatically but with XP you need to
extract it manually. You will find the sc (shortcut) icon trying to hide in the “data” folder in ASAWIN. Click
and drag it onto your desktop. Its default name is simply “sc” for “shortcut”. Rename it to suit yourself, eg
“Accounts”.
Q: I’ve loaded the Accounts CD but I don’t seem to have a licensed version. Help!
A: You have obviously not read the manual (on the CD) because the program is looking for a serial
number which we give in the manual otherwise it gives you this warning message.
Q: During installation of the CD (under Windows XP) I get a warning message when the Data files have
all been loaded that “The system cannot find the path specified” but it also says “Installation complete”.
A: Don’t worry. It should all work fine. The key statement is that the installation is complete. Proceed as
normal.
Q: I have recently bought an Accounts CD (Yellow version) from you and have loaded it into my computer
with no problems at all. I am using your Yellow Book at the moment, so I started with WEEK01.WKS and I
put in all my figures taken from the book. I have encountered a problem in that the WEEK02 opening
“Money in hand at start of week” is showing as zero, which is incorrect. Have I typed something in wrong?
A: The balances transfer automatically from one week to another, but you must type in the "Money in
hand at end of week" in the MONEY RECORD column. This is the money as counted (rather than
calculated) and it is this counted figure that goes forward to the following week. If you don't do that there
is a "Discrepancy" and the following week's opening "Money in hand at start of week" will just show as
zero.
Q: Can I open several files at the same time (ie Weeks or Months, as appropriate), enter data in one file
and see the balances change on-screen in the other files?
A: No. You can have more than one file open at the same time but (unlike some spreadsheets) these will
not update on-screen. The balances update when you save and close one file, then open the next Week
or Month file (as appropriate).