Pourcent

Pourcent v.1.5 Shareware proposed by Guillaume Dupont e-mail:100740.1033@compuserve.com A customisable business/finance calculator, unmatched for repetitive calculations. Key words: BUSINESS, FINANCE, CALCULATOR, INTEREST, MORTGAGE, S3A Introduction. ============= Think of the real daily use of your fancy "business calculators": hundreds of additions and percentage calculations (margins, discounts, interest rates, yields,...)? Was your calculator really designed for that? Pourcent was: it performs all standard arithmetic calculations with the usual keys, including use of parenthesis, but it is particularly useful for percentage calculations. Its usefulness is unmatched for repetitive calculations and related "what if" questions. It gives on a very simple screen more than a business calculator or a spreadsheet. Pourcent offers a choice of ten different screens corresponding to different business (growth rate, markup,...) or finance (mortgage, compounded interest rate, maturity of an annuity) situations . Each screen can be modified by the user. An additional module performs calculations of Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) on any set of of dated cash flows. Content. ======== The pourcent.zip file contains the following: - pourcent.opa is the application file - readme.txt is this documentation - pourcent.dbf is a data file - pourcent.rsc is a help file - changes.txt is a list of major changes from the last version Installation. ============= To install Pourcent: - copy pourcent.opa to any \app\ directory - copy pourcent.rsc and pourcent.dbf to an \opd\ directory on any disk (not a flash SSD). Both files must be in the same directory. Then install the application like any other, by pressing <Psion-I> in the system screen... If you had installed a previous version of Pourcent, you must replace the files pourcent.opa and pourcent.rsc. Operation. ========== Press <Enter> on the Pourcent icon. Once Pourcent is started, press <Help> for instructions. I strongly recommend, that you go through all the screens of the help menu, to get all the benefits of Pourcent. Pourcent.rsc is the help file. You can delete it when you feel familiar enough with the programme, if you need to save disk space. The <Help> key will then become ineffective. The menu options themselves, which are displayed when the <Menu> key is pressed, are self explanatory. In addition to the menu options, one can select any particular screen by pressing <Tab> twice. One can also directly access the "decimal places mode" selection window by pressing the diamond key. Registration. ============= Pourcent is Shareware. You can use it freely during 14 days. After this period, if you find it useful, please register. Otherwise remove it from your computer. You can register on CompuServe via SWREG (GO SWREG. Registration ID: 8622. Registration fee US$20.00). Alternatively you can send US$20, GBP15, DM30, CHF25, or FF100 in cash by mail. Send bank notes, no checks. Do not forget to send your e-mail address with payment. Note that sending cash by mail is at sender's risk. My address is: Guillaume Dupont 25, rue Pauline Borghese 92200 Neuilly sur Seine France Upgrade from a previous version is free. Registered users will receive via e-mail a registration code, which allows customization of screens and removes nagging screens. The following instructions are all available ============================================ on line from the help menu of Pourcent. ======================================= General ------- Pourcent performs two types of operations: - "business" calculations using percentages (sales tax, margin, growth rate,...) - "finance" calculations (mortgage, maturity of an annuity, compounded interest). In both cases it gives instant answers to all possible "what if" questions. Ten different calculation screens are available. Each screen comprises four lines. Depending on the type of screen, the user sets the content of two lines (business screens) or three lines (finance screens), in whichever order he wishes, and lets the programme calculate the other line(s). Each screen works like a little spreadsheet, with four cells (the four lines). The difference is that in Pourcent each cell can be alternatively a data input cell and a calculated cell. An additional module performs calculations of Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) on any set of of dated cash flows (see the corresponding help section). Press <Psion-N> to start it. Operation --------- To enter a number into a line, key it directly, or calculate it, in the bottom window, and then press+the "line key" corresponding to the line, where you want this number to go (the "line key" is the letter in the last column of each line). After any data input the four lines are printed in reverse, to remind the user, that a calculation is expected for the figures to make sense. To perform a calculation, after at least two (business) or three (finance) other lines have been filled, simply press the corresponding "line key", when the bottom window is empty. The rule is: - line key pressed when bottom window filled => data input - line key pressed when bottom window empty => calculation Press <Esc> to clear the bottom window, <Menu> to access the main menu. Screens, line labels and line keys ---------------------------------- Ten different screens are available. Press <Tab> twice, or <Psion-M> and <Tab>, to select a new screen. Each screen can be modified. Press <Psion-Z> to modify the currently displayed screen. You will have to go through three successive dialog windows: - first window to set the "screen name" and the "calculation mode" (see corresp. help screen). The screen name is the text, which appears in the screen selection window, when you change screen with <Psion-M> - second window to set the four "line labels" (the text at the left of each line of the screen) - third window to set the four "line keys" (the letter at the right of each line) . You can set them to make them more meaningful (I for Interest rate, A for Annuity,...), or for better comfort of utilisation: in business screens, I have chosen A, Q and W because these keys are one above each other on the French keyboard. You may want to choose Q, A and Z on a QWERTY keyboard... Calculation modes ----------------- Irrespective of what labels and keys say, calculations are always performed in one of five ways, as set in the first dialog window of the screen customisation: - "direct" percentage calculation, where line2 = line1 + line3, and line4 = line3 as percent of line1. - "reverse" percentage calculation, where line1 = line2 + line3, and line4 = line3 as percent of line1. - mortgage repayment, with the 4 lines being initial mortgage, periodic repayment, number of annuities, and interest rate per period. - maturity of a constant annuity, with the 4 lines being annuity, future value, number of annuities, and interest rate. Calculation corresponds to annuities paid at the beginning of each period. - compounded interest rate, with the 4 lines being initial value, final value, number of periods, and interest per period. Calculator ---------- The bottom window is a basic calculator: - authorised keys are 0123456789+*/() <Eff> <Esc> <Enter> and the decimal separator (dot or comma), as per the system settings - to put 3x2 into A enter <3*2A> - to recall A into bottom window type <RA> - to add A and Q enter <RA+RQ><Enter> - type <S> to change the sign of the number in the bottom window - use arrows to move Q up to A, or A down to Q (useful to increase a number by a given %, then increase by same % again,...) - ... Example of a business screen ---------------------------- The following example shows how a "business" screen works. It is assumed that you are in "direct" percentage calculation mode and that the four line keys are A, Q, W and P, respectively: - to find 50.5 + 5% press <50.5A> to enter 50.5 into line1, then <5P> to enter 5 in line 4, and <Q> to calculate the result. - to find 60 x 5.8% press <60A> to get 60 into line1, then <5.8P> to get 5.8 into line4, and <W> to calculate the result. - to find the % difference between 67 and 85, press <67A85QP> - to find what A must be for A+10% to be 120, press <120Q10PA> - to change % rate to 6% and recalculate, press <6PW>, or <6PA> -,... Example of a finance screen --------------------------- Assume 10,000 are borrowed at an annual interest rate of 6%, and reimbursed in four years in equal monthly payments. Calculation mode is "mortgage". Line keys are M, P, N and I. To calculate the monthly payment, press: - <10000M> to enter 10,000 into Line1 - <6/12I> to divide 6 by 12 and enter the monthly interest rate into Line4 - <4*12N> to multiply 4 by 12 enter the total number of monthly payments into Line3 - <P> to calculate the monthly payment. Result = 234.85 Now find the annual interest rate corresponding to a monthly payment of 250: - <250P> to enter monthly payment - <I> to calculate monthly rate. Result = 0.77% - <RI> to bring it down to the bottom window - <*12><Enter> to multiply by 12. Result = 9.24% - ... NPV & IRR --------- The cash flows already recorded are graphically displayed on the screen. Press <Psion-A> to add more cash flows, <Psion-C> to clear them all, or <Psion-U> to update or delete one. The cash flow addition window (Psion-A) allows to add cash flows one by one or by batches of identical cash flows with the same periodicity (expressed in number of days, months or years). Press <Esc> when there is no more cash flow to add. Press <Psion-V> to check dates and values. To update or delete one particular cash flow (Psion-U), select it with the grey vertical line (use arrows), and press <Enter>. Press <Psion-I> to calculate the IRR or <Psion-N> to calculate the NPV. In this case the discounting rate must be entered. The first amount calculated is the NPV at the date of the first cash flow. Then the NPV at any other date can be calculated. Press <Psion-P> to return to the last Pourcent screen. Decimal places -------------- One can access the corresponding selection window either from the menu, or by pressing the diamond key. The user can chose one of three different modes for the number of decimal places to be displayed in the first lines (lines 1, 2 and 3 in "business" screens, lines 1 and 2 in "finance" screens): - "fixed number" (0 to 4) - "automatic", with a set minimum number of significant digits (2 to 4). Examples: With a minimum number of digits set at 2, the number 65.34 will give 65, and 0.06534 will give 0.065. With a minimum number of digits set at 3, the number 65.34 will give 65.3 and 0.06534 will give 0.0653... - "as entered", where the number of decimal places is always equal to the number of decimal places in the last number manually entered in the input window. The selected mode is valid for the numbers in the first lines. Percentages in line 4 (all screens) and number of periods in line 3 (in "finance" screens) are always displayed with 2 decimal places. Link Paste ---------- Pourcent can communicate with other applications, which also support Link Paste (Word, Data, Spreadsheet, Monnaie,...). Press <Psion-B> to import a number into the bottom window. Pourcent will interpret separators (decimals and thousands) according to the system settings. To export a number to another application, bring it to the bottom window, by pressing successively <R> and the corresponding line key. The number in the bottom window is available for copy as soon as Pourcent is in the background. Optionally <Psion-C> will convert the number in the bottom window to the system format (decimal and thousands separators). For example, assume that you are in Word and want to add 5.5% to a certain amount: - highlight the amount in Word and press <Psion-C> - bring Word to the background and Pourcent to the foreground - press <Psion-B> to import the amount, and <A> to put it into line1 (if A is the line key of line1) - press <5.5PQ> to add 5.5% (if Q is the line key of line2) - press <RQ> to bring Q to the bottom window, and then <Psion-C> if you wish to export it with thousands separators - bring Pourcent to the background and Word to the foreground - press <Psion-B> in Word... Latest version -------------- For the latest version of this programme (and a few others): http://www.imaginet.fr/~bdupont Disclaimer of responsibility. ============================= Users of Pourcent must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "Pourcent is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, warranties of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of Pourcent or any of its accompanying files". Last update 4 June 1997.