Cash Book Listings - Cashbook

Here you define what items are to print on the specific cash book reports. Each of these reports uses the transactions file, except for the cash statement report which uses the accounts file as well.

For each report you must define the print style to use and the data items which are to print.

Print Control

You can define up to eight printing styles for your system through the CONFIG user — see the System User Guide. These control not only the print style such as the number of characters per inch, but also the length and width of the report. The styles so far defined are shown at the bottom of the screen when you are prompted.

Data Items

You are asked to enter up to 10 data items (depending on the specific report) to print on each report.The file structure for the file concerned (cash book accounts or transactions) shows in the right-hand window when you take the option for any particular report. However, you can use the <F4–Select> key in the usual way to select a specific data item to print. It is the data item number which you enter, although the names are shown alongside too.

Column Display — Data Item 166

When choosing items from the transaction file in these reports, you can also specify the special data item of 166. This item displays the analysis values in the columns you defined for receipts or payments.In effect it gives you a print which looks just like the columns you would have used in your manual cash book.

Enter here the number of significant figures (i.e. the digits before the decimal point) which are to print in each column. Setting 5 would allow the value 12,345.99, and 7 would allow 1,234,567.99. If you had defined and want to print (say) 6 columns of figures, then it takes 60 print positions to do so if you answer "5” here. This is because each column needs a separating space, 5 digits, a decimal point, two decimal places and a sign — 10 characters in all. With 7 digits specified, then 72 print positions are needed.

This should always be the last item you specify for a report, due to the amount of printing space it can take up. Any columns which cannot be printed in the space available are omitted from the report — including any items which you might have given to print after item 166 on the report line.

Report Specification

An example of the entry screen used for report definition is shown below. You select the data items that appear on the report by entering the data item number concerned or using <F4-Select>

The OPTIONS Button

The Options button allows you to set defaults for how this report is printed. The items available here can also be amended at run-time if required and were discussed as part of the user section of this manual, although they are included here again for reference.

Before discussing the parameters you should note the buttons available at the footer of this parameter screen.

Paper Size - select the paper size the report is to be printed to (i.e. A4).You can elect to leave this blank in which case the report is printed as per the last/default page size of the printer, however, if you do this you can only choose fixed pitch fonts (and the screen is a slightly different layout) – selecting a page size is mandatory to use proportional fonts.

Default Printer Font – a font dialog is display allowing you to select as required, the default font to be used for this report. If you’ve sent the page size then all fonts are available, if you haven’t set this then only fixed pitch fonts can be assigned. You can also set bold/italic attributes and font size – note that if you haven’t set a page size then the font size option is not applicable (font is sized as per previous rules).

Selecting the Font Size

Generally you can’t go far wrong with 10point.However, if you have a lot of data items on your report, and are printing in portrait, 10point may be too big to fit all the required information without overlapping fields.

The positioning of fields across the page is determined by the item size – if you view the Account Status report this shows, be default, the account code (7 characters), P/B flag (2 characters), the account name (25), and six value items (14 characters each), together with spaces between the items this gives a total of 126 characters, or columns required, across the page (think graph paper – you have 126 ‘cells’ across the page).

Those 126 columns are split equally across the available page (page size and margins taken into account) as starting positions for data items – so the account code starts at column 1, the P/B flag at column 9 (account code plus 1 space is 8), etc. If you select a font size too big then the account code may not finish printing before the P/B flag starts causing the name to overlap the end of the account code. If this occurs then you can either reduce the font size or consider swapping the report to landscape orientation if the font size would go too small.

Default to Landscape – set to default the printed report to landscape, leave blank for usual portrait orientation. You may want to set reports such as the Sales Ledger Aged Debtors Report or the Cashbook Receipts Analysis Listing to landscape to increase the size of print as these reports require a large amount of detail to be printed.

Show Time in Report Headings – set to include the printed time in the report headings in addition to the printed date.

Include Selection Criteria – set to print any selection criteria that were applied to the report.

Email as Text – if send this report via email this option allows you to send as a text file attachment as opposed to, if left blank, PDF.

Omit Full Page Headings – When printing a multi-page report the system repeats the headings for each page. Setting this option reduces the heading details for the second and subsequent pages allowing more record detail to be printed per page.

Default Output to Spooler – Usually, when printing a report, the default printer is the last print device used. Select this option to set the default printer as the spooler for this report. This acts only as a default and doesn’t prevent you electing to print the report instead.

Allow Change of Printer Alias – when these options are configured then it is assumed you are printing as ‘direct windows print’ and this is the alias set by default. Setting this option allows you to change the default alias at run-time to one of the list of Datafile configured printers. If you change the alias to a ‘DOS’ style alias then the page size (length/width) is again picked up from the Print Style Profile and fonts depend on ASCII codes configured, although other settings such as ‘include time’ etc. remain from the OPTIONS display.

Print Negatives in Red – on selected reports, assuming you have a colour printer; it may be useful to print negative values in red. This option is not applicable if the page size is left blank.

The next set of parameters allows you to specify formatting and margin settings for both portrait and landscape when the page size has been set. The appropriate setting being used based on the orientation of the output selected at run-time.

Characters Per Line – the system displays the width of the report items on the right. If you leave this value at 0 (recommended) then the report width used in determining the start column positions of data items (as discussed above with regards to font size) is the larger of either the report print items or 80 columns.You can manually set a report width – from 64 to 255 columns. You may want to increase the number of columns on (say) a landscape report with few print items to bring the fields closer together to aid in reading.

Lines Per Page – if left at 0 (recommended) then the number of lines per page is determined by the font and page size. Alternatively you can set a number of lines per page, perhaps to give a greater gap between rows of data items.

Left Margin (mm) – set the size of the left hand margin (relative to page orientation in millimetres.

This set of parameters allows you to specify formatting and margin settings for both portrait and landscape when the page size has notbeen set. Two columns are definable, one to use if printing in portrait, the other if printing in landscape - the appropriate setting being used based on the orientation of the output selected at run-time.

Minimum Characters Per Line – the system displays the width of the report items to the right. If you leave this value as 0 then the report width is the larger of either the report print items or 80 characters. You can manually set a report width – from 64 to 255 characters wide – but if you set a width less than the items actually printed then this is overridden by the report width at run-time.

Maximum Lines Per Page – if left at 0 then when printing a report the system will determine the number of lines per page based on the report width and the printable area of the page up to a maximum of 72 lines per page in portrait mode or 50 lines per page in landscape mode. Alternatively you can set the number of lines per page, from 16 to 255, and this is then taken into account when deciding font size to ensure that number of lines is printed. If left at 0 then when sending to the spooler the lines per page is assumed to be 72 in portrait mode and 50 in landscape. If you require an identical print from the printer and the spooler then a maximum number of lines should be set.

Left Margin – set the number of characters to be used as a margin from 1 to 64.If you require a margin then when entering the value you need to take into account the report print width – a margin of 4 characters on an 80-character report will be bigger than a margin of 4 characters on a 132-character report. If left at 0 no left margin is applied.

Right Margin – if you require a margin to be applied on the right of the report set the number of characters accordingly (again 1-64), if leave as 0 then no right margin is applied.

Top Margin – set the number of lines to leave as a margin at the top of the page (1-32 lines). If left at 0 then no top margin is applied.

Bottom Margin – set the number of lines to leave as a margin at the bottom of the page (1-32 lines). If left at 0 then no bottom margin is applied.

Finally, you can set default options that are used when you send the report to print or e-mail.

Print Device – if using a stand-alone Datafile system then you can set a default printer to output to. This option only applies when sending to a print device; if last printer was spooler or fax then this remains the default. If using a networked Datafile system then you can still set this where you are printing to a networked printer – provided all terminals have a consistent device path. If the print device isn’t valid then the normal printer is offered instead.

E-mail Address – if the report is sent to email then here you can enter an email address that is to be used by default for this report – though it can be amended at run-time.

Once you’ve set the desired parameters select the SAVE option to apply for future prints.

Receipt Listing

Payment Listing

These user options print separate reports, one for receipts and one for payments. They are sorted into cash account order, and analyse the receipts and payments across the income and expense headings. They provide a detailed analysis of the receipt and payment transactions made during the chosen period, one line per detail.

The first five items on the report print information from the transaction posted to the cash account — typically journal number, date, amount, reference and description. These details print only once per journal, no matter how many analysis entries.

The last five items define what is to print for each analysis line. Typically you would show the memo account — either the sales or purchase ledger account code, or the income or expense code — the amount, the net of tax amount and the tax.

You can use special item 166 to include a print by column as one of these last five items (see above) although the next two reports would be better suited for this.

By default the report only includes transactions posted as Cash Book transactions – receipts for the receipt listing, payments for the payment listings. If set then the receipt listing also includes and receipts entered via the sales ledger, the payment listing includes payments entered via the purchase ledger.

Column No for Unknown

If including non-CBR/CBP transactions then no column number would be analysed on these transactions.If including item 166 on the report then set the column number that these unanalysed transactions are to be recorded under.

Receipts Totals Analysis

Payments Totals Analysis

These user options also print separate reports, one for receipts and one for payments. They are sorted into cash account order, and would normally be used to create reports which would look exactly like a manual cashbook. Only one line prints per journal, and the analysis details are summarised for printing.Normally you would show the date, reference and amount, and then use the special data item 166 to create the column analysis for each transaction. Totals are printed for the columns as well as for any other value items printed.

These reports also include the extra parameters discussed above.

Transfers Listing

This report specifically lists the transfer transactions that have made between cash accounts.Full journal reports are printed under General Reports and Analyses.

Bank/Cash Statement

These print reports for each cash account to look just like a bank statement. You can print up to ten lines from the account record in the header, and up to ten items from the journal transaction records in the detail lines.

As well as the data items from the transactions file you can choose to print from five other items derived from the transaction data, as shown in the table below.

Item Description

161 DB/CR-AMOUNT — this prints the transaction value in one of two columns headed debit and credit. Were you to print the amount itself, it would print in a single column regardless of whether debit or credit

162 RUNNING-BAL —this gives a running balance from the start of the year. A balance is calculated for each transaction regardless of whether it is printed or not, so that the balance which prints against a line represents the true account balance after applying that and all previous transactions

163 ALT-ACCOUNT — this prints the other account code as a cross-reference for double entry journals (found only in the nominal ledger)

164 DB-ACC-NAME - This prints the debit account name if the transaction contains a debit account

165 CR-ACC-NAME - This print the credit account name if the transaction contains a credit account

VAT Form 100

This option produces a pre-defined report layout – you only select the print control and any ‘Options’ parameters.

Article ID: 1166
Created On: Thu, Jun 28, 2012 at 12:05 PM
Last Updated On: Mon, Jun 19, 2023 at 6:28 PM

Online URL: https://kb.datafile.co.uk/article/cash-book-listings-cashbook-1166.html