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Ratface Studios Forums » Cashcow Suggestions

1. rickmahmoud
   Member

   Hi B,
   I just downloaded the trial version. I do appreciate the amount of work it has gone into creating Cashcow to satisfy purpose but also simplicity. Now, one thing that I am not able to do is to be set budget by months or to choose begin and end date for a budget. My spreadsheet has very limited database capabilities but I can set the budget anytime and for any period I want. For example I can do it on a four-week basis on Cashcow (some months have more than 4 weeks) but the program doesn't let me choose the beginning date and end for the budget.

   For example, I installed the program today, Sep 20 and I would like to grab (even manually) all what has been going on from Sep 1 and copy it to Cashcow and so tomorrow I can continue on Cashcow and abandon excel. But if I choose 4 weeks (closest to the month) Cashcow lets me create a budget from Sep 20 to Oct 18. It seems that even if I want to start a new budget from Oct 1, I better not forget to start it that day, otherwise Cashcow won't let me back date it.

   Even if I choose monthly, it would be great to choose any begin and end date, even if it's in the past or the future in the calendar. By having date choosing flexibility I can even set a quartely or semestral budget.

   Also, on the transaction column where the date for the expense appears, I cannot change the date, past or future for that expense.

   Additionally, I would like to be able to have more columns on the right for commentary on specific expenses (for example: I can write taxable) and then search and track for expenses that are tax deductible.

   Thanks!

   Rick

   Posted 1 year ago #

2. bao
   Key Master

   Hi Rick,

   I'm glad you've decided to try Cashcow out.

   The idea behind having defined budget periods is so that Cashcow can automate the administration tasks usually involved with spreadsheets. This includes things such as copying over the categories, clearing the previous expenses etc.

   Cashcow currently has common budget periods of weekly, fortnightly, four-weekly, and also monthly. Everytime you start Cashcow, it checks to see if it should create a new budget based on the current date and the budget period you choose. This eliminates the need for the user to have to worry about setting up new budgets.

   An advantage of having commonly defined budget periods is simplicity however it has the drawback you mention that you don't have fine tuned control.

   In your particular situation, the best way is to export your data from Excel as a comma separated file (csv), and then import it into Cashcow.

   To do this, open a new spreadsheet in Excel. In the first column, paste in the date information (make sure it has the month as a number not a word). In the second column, paste in the amount information. In the third column, paste the description. In the fourth column, paste in the category information. Now save the spreadsheet in the csv format.

   Back in Cashcow, we should start from a blank slate. To do this, select the File menu, then choose Delete all records. If you have any records you wish to keep, make sure you back it up by choosing File -> Export records (do this before deleting all records). Now that we're starting from a blank slate, you can choose File -> Import records, and choose the csv file you saved with Excel. This will actually popup a dialog where you can choose the start date and end date. In the popup, the budget duration is set depending on the option you chose in the menu Budget -> Change budget duration.

   The instructions above should allow you to move your data from a spreadsheet into Cashcow.

   There is a way to track taxable items (although it may not be ideal depending on your perspective). If you add the word taxable to the description, the search option will be able to find it.

   Cheers,

   Bao

   Posted 1 year ago #

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