This index lists Guides that describe how to set up, configure, or use Manager. Most Guides are listed under only one heading. But some apply to more than one heading and are listed accordingly. These guides are also available for offline viewing as a PDF book.

First Steps

These Guides will get you started, providing information on how to establish businesses and users, set initial preferences, and choose the functional modules and accounting method you will initially use. (You can always add more or change later.) Guides about localizing Manager for your country are also found in this group.

• Initial Setup: Install or update desktop edition on Windows | Install or update desktop edition on macOS | Add a new business | Name or rename a business | Enter business details | Set base currency | Define foreign currencies | Set language | Use right-to-left languages | Set date format | Set time format | Set first day of week | Set number format | Backup, restore, import, and transfer businesses | Remove a business
• Summary: Customize a business | Simplify Manager | Set reporting period | Choose between accrual or cash basis accounting | Display account codes on the Summary page | Exclude zero-balance accounts from Summary page | Clear transactions in Suspense account | Close an accounting period
• Business Localization: Add localized settings and features | Update localizations and report transformations
• Users: Create users | Set user permissions

Structuring Accounts

Once you have established a business in Manager, the most important task is structuring your accounts to match your form of organization, method of operation, legal reporting requirements, and management information needs. Effort here will pay dividends as long as you run your business.

• Chart of Accounts: Design a chart of accounts | Build a chart of accounts | Add an ordinary account | Add custom control accounts | Set account codes | Delete an account | Set up accounts receivable | Set up accounts payable
• Capital Accounts: Set up and use capital accounts | Use capital subaccounts
• Special Accounts: Use special accounts | Avoid automatic credit allocations with special accounts
• Common Business Situations: Simplify equity accounting for sole traders / proprietors | Set up business as a self-employed services provider
• Starting Balances: Enter starting balances | Fix starting balances

Customizing a Business

Manager includes many features for customizing your business’ look to the outside world. It also allows customization of inputs and displays to streamline your internal workload.

• Business Logo: Add or change a business logo
• Custom Fields: Use custom fields | Add an image to a custom field
• Footers: Add static information to transaction forms with footers
• Form Defaults: Set form defaults

Program Features

Many features of Manager appear consistently throughout the program or draw upon several functional modules or settings. These make the program fairly intuitive to use.

• Learn the Program: Experiment with a test business | Import a sample business | Search the Guides | Download a PDF version of the Manager Guides
• Common Procedures: Search for records | Sort lists and tables | Create non-inventory items | Use reference numbers | Show line descriptions on transaction entry forms | Apply a discount to a line item | Enter a discount as a separate line item | Clone transactions and reports | Use the Copy to function | Use HTML code in fields | Perform calculations in number fields | Copy lists and reports | Use Manager on small screens | Obscure onscreen information | Navigate transaction lists with previous and next arrows | Set lock date
• Tax Codes: Create and use tax codes | Choose between tax-exclusive and tax-inclusive prices | Work with multi-component custom tax codes | Reverse charge VAT (Value Added Tax) | Make tax codes inactive | Adjust tax accounting for partial personal use
• Divisions: Create and manage divisions | Use divisions for the Balance Sheet | Use divisions for the Profit and Loss Statement | Correct missing division selections
• Projects: Create and use projects
• PDFs: Create PDF files of transactions and reports
• Emails: Email transactions and reports | Email transactions and reports in PDF format | Attach files to emails sent from Manager | Use email templates | Review email | Track whether emailed attachments have been viewed | Troubleshoot email issues
• Batch Operations: Use Batch Create and Batch Update functions | Use the Batch Delete function | Use the Batch View function
• Attachments: Attach supporting documentation | Organize attachments with folders
• Reports: Create reports | Collapse account groups in financial reports | Issue customer statements | Issue supplier statements | Create sales invoice reports | Create a budget | Generate income and expense forecasts | Prepare a quick profit and loss statement | Create custom reports
• History: Audit transaction history

Bank and Cash Accounts

These Guides describe accounting techniques for physical cash, bank accounts, credit cards, and other forms of money.

• Bank and Cash Accounts: Set up a bank or cash account | Set up credit cards | Track cleared and pending status of bank transactions | Import bank statements | Use multiple currencies
• Receipts: Record a receipt | Use receipt rules to categorize imported transactions | Make cash sales (sell without sales invoices) | Record customer deposits and advances | Find and recode receipts | Exchange inventory with a receipt form | Record early payment discounts on receipts for sales invoices | Handle dishonored cheques | Create receipts from customer statements
• Payments: Record a payment | Use payment rules to categorize imported transactions | Make cash purchases (purchase without purchase invoices) | Record supplier deposits and advances | Find and recode payments | Exchange inventory with a payment form | Pay a refund | Record early payment discounts on purchases | Create payments from supplier statements
• Inter Account Transfers: Transfer money between bank and cash accounts | Post inter account transfers from imported bank statements
• Bank Reconciliations: Reconcile bank accounts

Expense Claims

Expense claims are a method of accounting for business expenses paid from personal funds by owners, employees, or others.

• Expense Claims: Set up expense claim payers | Use expense claims

Selling to Customers

These important Guides relate to setting up and managing defined customers and quoting and selling goods and services to them on credit. Frequently, the sales process involves an integrated workflow that can vary considerably from business to business. Therefore, many of the capabilities described are optional. Manager’s ability to monitor status of the sales process is also described in this group. It also includes Guides on accounting for billable time and expenses that will be invoiced to customers.

• Customers: Enter customers | Edit or add customer information | Set starting balances for customers | Use customer codes | Manage inactive customers
• Sales Quotes: Create sales quotes | Monitor sales quote status
• Sales Orders: Create sales orders | Monitor sales order status
• Sales Invoices: Create sales invoices | Set up and manage recurring sales invoices | Monitor sales invoice status | Issue your first invoice to a customer | Offer early payment discounts on sales invoices | Refresh unit prices on sales invoices | Resolve overpaid status on sales invoices | Resolve automatic credit allocations on sales invoices | Offset simultaneous sales and purchase invoices
• Credit Notes: Use credit notes for customer returns and refunds
• Late Payment Fees: Assess late payment fees
• Delivery Notes: Create delivery notes | Use delivery notes
• Billable Time: Record billable time | Add billable time details with custom fields | Invoice billable time | Write off or write down billable time
• Billable Expenses: Record billable expenses | Invoice billable expenses | Write off or write down billable expenses
• Withholding Tax Receipts: Account for withholding tax on sales invoices
• Customer Portals: Establish customer portals

Purchasing from Suppliers

Guides in this group cover setup and management of defined suppliers and ordering and buying goods or services from them on credit. As with customers and the sales process, purchasing processes can vary.

• Suppliers: Enter suppliers | Edit or add supplier information | Set starting balances for suppliers | Use supplier codes | Manage inactive suppliers
• Purchase Quotes: Create purchase quotes or requests for quotation
• Purchase Orders: Issue purchase orders
• Purchase Invoices: Create purchase invoices | Set up and manage recurring purchase invoices | Monitor purchase invoice status | Add freight-in to inventory item costs | Account for withholding tax on purchase invoices | Adjust rounding differences on purchase invoices | Resolve overpaid status on purchase invoices | Offset simultaneous sales and purchase invoices
• Debit Notes: Use debit notes for supplier returns and refunds
• Goods Receipts: Create goods receipts | Use goods receipts

Inventory

Inventory includes tangible goods held for sale or production. Inventory management can be complex, and Manager’s behavior changes, depending on which functional tabs are enabled. Read Guides in the Overview section first to see which capabilities you want to use.

• Overview: Manage inventory - Part 1 Introduction | Manage inventory - Part 2 Continuation | Manage inventory - Part 3 Conclusion
• Inventory Items: Create and manage inventory items | Use inventory kits | Set starting balances for inventory items | Find and merge duplicate inventory items
• Inventory Transfers: Use inventory locations | Transfer inventory between locations
• Inventory Adjustments: Write off inventory | Write on inventory
• Production Orders: Use production orders to manufacture inventory items | Manage production stages | Understand insufficient quantity on a production order | Use production orders for repairs, maintenance, or improvements

Employees and Payroll

These Guides describe how to record earnings, deductions, and contributions associated with your employees, as well as how to pay employees what they are owed.

• Employees: Enter employees | Pay employees
• Payslips: Set up payslip items | Issue payslips | Set up and manage recurring payslips

Investments

Investments are marketable securities, something that can be bought or sold that represents an asset held to generate current income or future capital appreciation outside normal business operations.

• Investments: Track investments in marketable securities

Fixed Assets

Fixed assets include physical property owned by a business with long lifetimes. Their full cost is usually recovered over an extended period of time through depreciation rather than being counted entirely as a current expense.

• Fixed Assets: Purchase fixed assets | Expense fixed assets | Dispose of fixed assets | Migrate fixed assets from prior accounting system
• Depreciation Entries: Depreciate fixed assets | Calculate depreciation automatically

Intangible Assets

Intangible assets are non-physical property, such as patent rights, owned by a business with long lifetimes. Their full cost is recovered over an extended period of time through amortization rather than being counted entirely as a current expense.

• Intangible Assets: Purchase intangible assets | Dispose of intangible assets | Migrate intangible assets from prior accounting system
• Amortization Entries: Amortize intangible assets | Calculate amortization automatically

Journal Entries

• Journal Entries: Make journal entries | Set up and manage recurring journal entries | Write off bad debts

Advanced

Despite its overall simplicity, Manager can still present situations where more advanced knowledge is necessary.

• Software Version: Determine version number
• Application Data: Manage application data folder contents | Move desktop application data to another folder | Reduce data file size | Open a data file directly
• Users: Reset the administrator password | Display a custom logo on the user login screen
• Self-Hosting: Self-host a Manager installation
• Cloud edition customer support: Obtain cloud edition customer support