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Plan® -- Your Vision of Tomorrow®.
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By popular request, we have decided to begin a FREE e-mail based MONTHLY PROFIT PLAN TIPS NEWSLETTER. Each month, this news letter will include tips regarding new and old features of Profit Plan. The goal is to help you improve your planning skills in easy stages. For each of you we hope to provide at least one insight about some feature that may have been unknown or unclear to you in the past.
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PROFIT PLAN PLANNING TIPS - December, 2001
What's New in the "--- Recent Models ---" List
Now up to 10 in list.
Deleting models from list and hard drive.
Using Zip Files in Profit
Plan
Save directly into zip file.
Open directly from zip file.
Navigating in Profit Plan
v2001
Using the Edit/View Account Button
Using the Edit/View Assumptions Button
Preparing for Next Year's
Budget
Removing Excess Early History, If Necessary
Rolling the Planning Horizon Forward
Updating Last Years Budget Figures
Upgrading to Profit Plan v2001
Topics in the January/February Issues
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Profit Plan Training Classes
We have had many ad-hoc requests for Profit Plan Beginner and Advance training classes. We hope to be able to provide these in 2002 but we need some help from you to gauge the when and where of this.
If you are interested, please access our training page to let us know what you think. Your responses will help us determine if, when, and what training classes are offered!
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The "--- Recent Models ---" List has been renamed
For your convenience, Profit Plan maintains of list of "--- Recent Models ---" at the bottom of its File Menu. While it is preloaded with the names of the sample models automatically shipped with Profit Plan, this list is maintained dynamically. Each time you open a model, the model's list file name is inserted into the #1 position in the list and the other model names are "pushed down" the list. When the list is full, the last model is pushed off the list entirely. When one of the lower models is selected, it is first opened and then its name is moved up the list into the #1 position. Any model on the list can be selected with the mouse or by pressing the number to the left of the model name on the list. Thus, pressing 5 opens model #5 and moves it into position #1 in the list. Model #1 moves down to #2 position, etc.
All this is pretty standard in Windows applications and is available in all versions of Profit Plan. But Profit Plan v2001 introduced several new features into the File menu. In this issue we will cover only those that apply to the "--- Recent Models---" section of the menu.
To begin, older versions of Profit Plan called this section the "--- Recent Files ---" section of the menu. And in fact what appears here are names of recently loaded "FMP" files. But these FMP (Financial Master Plan) files simply contain a list of all the component files that together make up the full financial master plan model. What Profit Plan actually does when you select one of these FMP files is open up all components in the entire model. Each component file is automatically loaded into the appropriate main tab within Profit Plan for you immediate use thereafter.
To emphases that you are really opening a full model, and not just a file, when you select one of the fmp entries in the list, we renamed the list itself to "--- Recent Models ---" in Profit Plan v2001.
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What's New in the "--- Recent Models ---" List
In older versions of Profit Plan, the Recent Models list was restricted to five models. So you could press a digit between 1 and 5 to open a previously loaded model directly from the list. In Profit Plan v2001, we expanded the list to allow up to ten models. This new maximum value is also controllable from the File / --- Recent Models --- / Max Models in Recent List menu text box. To allow more or fewer models in the list, simply change this menu item's value.
In older versions of Profit Plan, models could not be deleted from the Recent Models list. Profit Plan v2001 now allows this but generally only when Profit Plan is first loaded each session. At that time, a model can be deleted by highlighting (but not clicking) a model in the list and then pressing the [Delete] key. This removes the entry from the Recent Models list but does NOT remove the model from the hard drive. (To remove the entire model, first open the model and then use the File / Delete Model menu option.)
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Using Zip Files with Profit Plan
As many of you know, "ZIP" files are specially compressed archives of one or more normal files. Their advantage is that they can use up to 90% less disk space than the original uncompressed files and can be used to store many related files together inside a singe archive file. These archive files than may be offloaded to floppy disks, e-mailed to another site or user, etc.
Prior to Profit Plan v2001, archiving or e-mailing a Profit Plan model was a bit tedious. First one needed a zipping application, such as WinZip. Then one selected all the component files that comprised a given model via the Windows Explorer and "added" them to a new or existing zip file using WinZip or a similar application. Later, to reopen the archived model, one would first open the zip file from the Windows Explorer and then open the related model from within Profit Plan.
This is now a bit easier with Profit Plan v2001. To store a model in a zip file, simply open the model in Profit Plan, if it is not already open. Then use File / Save As Zip... to replace or create a new zip archive of your entire model. The Save As Zip... process works as follows: First, the model itself is saved using the file name you specify. Then a Zip archive of the model is created or refreshed.
The Zip file is automatically assigned the same base name as the model itself. For example, if the current open model is named "My Company.fmp", the Zip file that is created, while saving, or accessed during a File / Open command is named "My Company.zip".
For those of you that wish to store a zip archive of your model on floppy disk, be aware that you first need to save it as a zip file on your hard drive. Then copy the resulting zip file to your floppy disk with the Windows Explorer.
To save space after the model is zipped, you can then use the File / Delete Model option. This will remove all of the model's component files from the hard drive, but NOT the ZIP archive file. Removing all of the original model this way can save as much as 6-12MB of disk space for you while leaving the model easily retrievable from the remaining ZIP archive.
To reopen a model directly from its Zip file, select File / Open. Then, when the Open dialog appears, change the "Files of type" drop down list from "Financial Master Plans (*.fmp)" to "Zipped Financial Master Plan (*.zip)". Then select the desired zip file from the list of those available within the folder. The model will be extracted from the zip file and then automatically opened.
One word of caution regarding older zip files... Profit Plan v2001 expects the name of the zip file you select to match the name of the actual model contained inside that zip file. This is how Profit Plan creates such Zip archives for you, when you use the File /Save As Zip menu option. But some of you will have older zip files on hand you created using WinZip or some other zipping product where the name of the model(s) inside the ZIP archive are NOT the same as the name of the ZIP file itself. In this case, Profit Plan v2001 will still extract the model(s) from within the archive Zip file without effort. But it will not be able to accomplish the next step of actually loading the extracted model into Profit Plan if it does not find an extracted FMP file with the same name as the ZIP file itself. Should this happen, a message to this effect will appear. If so, simply click OK and then use File / Open again. This time select the extracted model using its actual FMP name instead.
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Navigating with Profit Plan v2001
Profit Plan v2001 has so many new tool bar buttons and features, it is not easy to cover them all in one sitting. So we won't try. Each issue will address one or more features designed to make your life a little easier.
This month, we will talk about a couple of v2001 tool bar buttons that will help you keep your place as you navigate between Profit Plan's main tabs. These are the "View Accounts" and "View Assumptions" buttons. When clicked, they take you to either the Account Setup main tab or the Assumption tab last viewed.
The advantage of using these two buttons, rather than simply clicking on the associated main tab directly, is that the icon button also automatically preselects the account line that was being viewed previously. So no scrolling back and forth to find the same account within each tab.
In addition to tracking the account line between tabs, the "View Assumptions" button also preselects the time period of interest. This is particularly handy if one is looking at one of the financial statements and wishes to see just how a particular account's forecast value was generated in a specific period.
Once these buttons complete their navigation, they automatically convert themselves into "Edit" buttons instead. Thus, the "View Accounts" button becomes the "Edit Account..." button upon arrival in the Setup Accounts tab. Similarly the "View Assumptions" button becomes the "Edit Assumption..." button upon arrival in the Assumptions tab. This makes it easy to begin editing the account or its assumptions immediately upon arrival in the desired tab. Simply click on the same button once more to open the Edit Account or Edit Assumptions window.
The "View Accounts" is located on the main tool bar to the right of the "Proof Financials" button.Its icon is intended to look like a long account list with a pencil writing on it. When the cursor is hovered above this button, its tool tip reads "Edit Account..." if the Setup Accounts main tab is currently selected. Otherwise it reads "View Accounts".
The View Assumptions" button is located on the main tool bar to the right of the "View Accounts" button. Its icon is intended to look like an engineer's triangle above a ruler and with a pencil above it. The idea is that this button either helps you engineer a forecast for an account, or takes you to the Assumptions tab where you can begin doing so.
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Preparing for Next Year's Budget
Removing Excess Early History, If Necessary
First, you need to consider that the Monthly horizon can only hold 60 months in total, including both historical and forecast periods. So, if adding the most recent twelve months or so to your current monthly history would make the resulting total number of months in the horizon (including all historical and the new budget months) exceed 60, you will need to delete some of the earlier monthly historical data. For simplicity, we highly recommend you do this step first. Then adjust the ending historical and new ending forecast periods as a separate step.
If using Quarterly and/or Semiannual views also, be sure to consider that the same 60 period restrictions applies in these horizons also. For instance, no more than 60 quarters can be entered, including all historical and forecast quarters, in the Quarterly horizon.
If it will be necessary to remove some of the earlier history, remember that it is desirable that the first historical period in the Monthly View correspond with the first month of a fiscal year. While not critical, this will make it easier to use the Insert Annual Totals menu option on the Monthly Assumptions & Data Entry sheet to directly compare fiscal year totals of Monthly data with the corresponding fiscal year data in the Annual horizon.
To remove the excess earlier Monthly periods, if necessary, proceed as follows.
NOTE: When deleting earlier data, #REF! messages may appear in the resulting Assumptions Sheets where formulas referred to values that are no longer present on the adjusted sheet. For example, you may need to reenter the Retained Earnings value for the first historical period if it was once computed by referring to a period that has now been removed. Also, after the beginning retained earnings value has been reentered, you may need to use the main Options / Reset Assumptions menu item to completely clear other related #REF! error messages from the sheet. (On very large Assumptions Sheets, you may need to do this more than once.)
Rolling the Planning Horizon Forward
Once any excess earlier periods have been removed, to accommodate the 60 period rule, you next roll the Ending Period horizon dates(s) forward as necessary to accommodate the new historical and planning horizons we wish to utilize. Begin by selecting from the main menu, View / Set Up Fiscal Horizons... Then proceed as follows.
Profit Plan now adjusts the horizons as you specified. The Variance reports will roll forward to begin with the first new forecast period (year or month). The original forecast will still display in the Assumptions Sheet, but will now be in the blue area. This data now needs to be updated.
Updating Last Year's Budget Figures
You are now ready to enter the historical fiscal data in the new historical periods in the Assumptions and Data Entry Sheets. If you have not been utilizing the variance reports, import the data from QuickBooks, if available, or enter the new historical values manually.
If you HAVE been using the VARIANCE REPORTS, you can (and should) transfer the historical data now left in the Actuals (blue) columns of the Income Statement Variance and the Balance Sheet Variance reports into the Assumptions Sheet. Proceed as follows:
Working from left to right, first from the I/S Variance Report and then the B/S Variance Report, selecting one Actuals (blue) column at a time:
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Upgrade to Profit Plan v2001
If you are not yet using Profit Plan v2001, you owe it to yourself to consider upgrading before you begin next year's budget. As always, every edition is more powerful and robust than it's predecessor, as you can see for yourself by reviewing the upgrade history available at our What's New web page.
For those of you who have not yet returned your direct mail Upgrade Order forms, please note that the offer did expire a bit ago, along with it's discount pricing. But why not give yourself an early Christmas present and send it in now. Just add $10 to that old offer and still save an additional $20! (Upgrades will be $159 + shipping effective Jan 1, 2002.)
If you no longer have the direct mail offer, give us a call at (425) 483-0850 and we can set you up from our database.
If you never received your direct mail offer, please let us know by sending a quick email so we can update your shipping information in the database!
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We wish you HAPPY HOLIDAYS and a PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!
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Topics in the Upcoming January and February Issues
The January issue will begin the first of a two issue series concentrating on using "non-financial" accounts to greatly enhance your ability to build dynamic models of your business. We will do this using the Alpha Plus Inc sample shipped with Profit Plan. In the process, you will learn how to extract sample files from your installation CD, use the Edit Bar, add accounts that will let you forecast based upon physical and economic limitations. We will also be visiting the concepts of project and base-line planning.
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Copyright 2001 - Security Development Corp.
10406 - 40th Avenue SE
Everett, WA 98208 USA
tel: (425) 483-0850
fax: (425) 483-0683
sdc@sdc-usa.com