Investment Manager

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=82 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>ConStar 2000 Property Management Systems</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ConStar 2000 Property Management Systems"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Release Notes"><U>Release Notes</U></A>   |   <B>Investment Manager</B>   |   <A HREF="id45.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Merging Financial Statements"><U>Merging Financial Statements</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id46.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tracking Utility Consumption"><U>Tracking Utility Consumption</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id52.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="AR Transaction Definitions"><U>AR Transaction Definitions</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id55.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Windows Terminal Services"><U>Windows Terminal Services</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=150 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=398 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Investment Manager</I></div> <div> <B>Introduction</B></div> <bR> <div> The investment management module for the ConStar 2000 system helps you manage a corporations investments. The name of the programme is Investment.exe. You can create a shortcut to this programme to place on your desktop.</div> <bR> <div> This module makes it easy to record new investments and purchase them through Accounts Payable; post the monthly accruals for the interest earned each month, and finally to redeem the investments on maturity (or earlier if necessary).</div> <bR> <div> Investment detail and summary reports are available to include in your monthly financial statements. As well, the ConStar Batch module includes a method for printing investment reports across corporations. For example, you may want to pull out a list of investments that will be maturing soon for each property manager so that the manager can decide what to do with the investments when they mature.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Creating a New Investment</B></div> <bR> <div> Use the following steps to either purchase a new investment, or to enter an investment that was purchased previously. If you are purchasing a new investment, make sure that your date is set to the date when the purchase is made, so that the Accounts Payable system will know when you made the purchase.</div> <bR> <div> Your initial screen will look like this:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0643ff70.gif" border=0 width="575" height="503" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>Institution:</B> Use the browse button (or press F10) to select the name of the investment institution from the vendor list. Investment institutions must be in the ConStar 2000 vendor list because Accounts Payable will be used to pay for the investment.</div> <div>  If the institution cannot be found on the vendor browse list, use the <IMG SRC="0654d190.gif" border=0 width="77" height="25" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> button to create a new vendor description. If you are going to pay for the investment with a system-generated cheque, make sure you include the correct address for the vendor. Press [Tab] to move to the next field. If possible, also include a contact name, a phone number, and an email address. These fields are printed in the investment review reports described below.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Certificate:</B> Enter the serial number of the investment instrument. Press [Tab] to move to the next field.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Name:</B> Identify what type of investment this is. For example: GIC or BOND. Press [Tab] twice to move to the next field.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Purchase Date:</B> Enter the date when the purchase was made, in the form mm/dd/yyyy. Press [Tab] to move to the next field.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Maturity Date:</B> Enter the date when the investment comes to maturity, in the form mm/dd/yyyy. For example, if you purchase a GIC for a year and the purchase date is 01/01/2004, the maturity date will be 01/01/2005. Press [Tab] to move to the next field. You will see that the system has calculated the number of days for the investment.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Purchase $:</B> Enter the value of the purchase. This is the amount actually paid for the investment. Press [Tab] to move to the next field.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Maturity $:</B> Enter the value of the investment when it matures. (Principal plus interest). Press [Tab] to move to the next field. You will see that the system has calculated the interest that will be earned. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Accrual Debit: </B>Enter the GL account number that will be debited when the monthly accrued interest is posted. Normally this would be an asset account called Interest Receivable. You can also click the browse button or press [F10] to select an account from a browse list. Press [Tab] to move to the next field.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Accrual Credit</B>: Enter the GL account number that will be credited when the monthly accrued interest is posted. Normally this would be an equity account for investment interest earned. You can also click the browse button or press [F10] to select an account from a browse list. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Rate %:</B> Enter the interest rate for this investment. For example, the rate might be 3.00 percent. If the investment has different rates (e.g. 3.00 for the first year, 3.25 for the second year etc.), do not enter a rate into this field. Instead, click the <IMG SRC="0660e0d0.gif" border=0 width="14" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> button to the right of the rate field. This will display another screen when the various rates can be entered.</div> <bR> <div> If the investment is a security, one does not know in advance what the rate of return will be, but the purchase documents should have some kind of estimated rate associated with it. Enter this estimated rate. Later you will be able to update the market values when posting the monthly interest accruals.</div> <bR> <div> The variable rate screen looks like this:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="06720f40.gif" border=0 width="544" height="500" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> First, tell the system if the investment is compounded, by selecting the correct option at the bottom of the screen. If you want ConStar to compound the interest, the compounding will be done in every month where you enter an interest rate.</div> <bR> <div> Now click into the RATE field for the first month shown and enter the starting rate for the investment.</div> <bR> <div> Continue doing this for every month when the rate changes. If the rate changes annually, but the compounding is semi-annual, you would enter the same rate in the 6-month field.</div> <bR> <div> If you don't know the rates for the entire period of the investment, only enter the rates as far as you know.</div> <bR> <div> When you have finished entering the rates that you know about in the correct months, click on <IMG SRC="0684d1a0.gif" border=0 width="77" height="26" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">. This will generate the monthly interest values.</div> <bR> <div> If you are satisfied that the interest values are correct, click on <IMG SRC="0694d190.gif" border=0 width="77" height="25" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> to write this data to the database and then close this screen.</div> <bR> <div> You have now entered the basic information ConStar 2000 needs to create the investment description and to generate the monthly interest accrual information. Click the <IMG SRC="06a4d1a0.gif" border=0 width="77" height="26" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> button at the bottom of the screen.</div> <bR> <div> Now the bottom portion of the screen will look something like this:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="06c3ce60.gif" border=0 width="572" height="230" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> A separate record has been created for each month of the investment period. Each record shows the monthly amount to be accrued (based on the daily rate that ConStar 2000 has calculated) plus the amount accrued to date. If you have entered an existing investment that started some time ago, the system will put a checkmark for the months that have already passed, to indicate that the postings were already done. This assumes that the monthly accruals had been logged through General Journal entries. Make sure these checkmarks are correct before you leave this screen.</div> <bR> <div> If you entered an existing investment your data entry work is now complete.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Paying For A New Investment</B></div> <bR> <div> If you want to use ConStar 2000 to pay for this investment, by system cheque or pre-authorized payment, you will need to set up information for Accounts Payable. Click on the tab called <B>Purchase</B>. The screen will look like this:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="06e3b7b0.gif" border=0 width="571" height="123" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>Pay From (Credit):</B> First, pick the bank account you will use to pay for the investment purchase. Click the drop-down arrow to select a different account.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Invest In (Debit):</B>  Enter the GL account number that will be debited when the payment is posted. Normally this would be an asset account called Investments. You can also click the browse button or press [F10] to select an account from a browse list. Press [Tab] to move to the next field.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Penalty (Debit):</B>  If you are paying a penalty for purchasing the investment, enter the GL account number that will be debited when the payment is posted. You can also click the browse button or press [F10] to select an account from a browse list. Press [Tab] to move to the next field.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Penalty Amount:</B> Enter the amount of the penalty being paid.</div> <bR> <div> Choose the type of payment you will be making. If you select None, the system will not post anthing to Accounts Payable.</div> <bR> <div> When you have completed all these fields and are ready to send this information to Accounts Payable for further processing, click <IMG SRC="06f4d1b0.gif" border=0 width="77" height="27" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">.</div> <bR> <div> When you go to Accounts Payable, you will find this item in the <B>To Post</B> screen. From there, you can process this item like any other Accounts Payable item.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Posting The Monthly Interest Accruals</B></div> <bR> <div> Each month you can post the monthly accrued interest amounts for active investments. This posting is done in the General Ledger module.</div> <bR> <div> Start the General Ledger module and set the date to the month and day when you want these accruals to be posted. You will probably want to do this on the last day of the month.</div> <bR> <div> Go to Utilities - Post Investment Accruals.</div> <bR> <div> The screen will look something like this:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="09c1c890.gif" border=0 width="540" height="393" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> This screen is showing that there are 2 active investments. The Monthly column is showing the amount to be posted for the current month of April.</div> <bR> <div> If some of these investments are securities, and you have an account update from your broker, this is the opportunity to update the current market value of the investment. This adjustment to the market value can be an increase or a decrease. Click into the Market Value field for the investment and enter the new market value as per your investment report. You will see that the Update button lights up. When you have entered the new amount, click on <B>Update</B> to re-calculate what the monthly accrual should be. Repeat this process for each investment that needs to be adjusted.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Click on <IMG SRC="0714d1b0.gif" border=0 width="77" height="27" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> to update the General Ledger. You will only be able to do this once a month.</div> <bR> <div> When the last month for an investment is posted, the system automatically flags the investment as completed. Normally, you would now use the Redeem Investment function to close the investment and move the money (both principal and interest) into the bank account. See below for details.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Modifying Or Adding Investment Rates</B></div> <bR> <div> Sometimes, you will not know the investment rates for the entire investment period. When new rates become available, you can modify you existing investment data to modify or add addition rates.</div> <bR> <div>  Before proceeding, please print out a copy of the investment detail report so that you can see the interest rates currently in the database.</div> <bR> <div> Now, edit the investment and click on the <IMG SRC="0720e0d0.gif" border=0 width="14" height="13" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> button to the right of the rate field. You will see this screen.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="06720f40.gif" border=0 width="544" height="500" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> First, tell the system if the investment is compounded, by selecting the correct option at the bottom of the screen. If you want ConStar to compound the interest, the compounding will be done in every month where you enter an interest rate.</div> <bR> <div> Now click into the RATE field for the first month shown and enter the starting rate for the investment. You MUST re-enter all the rate changes, even for months that have already been processed. Otherwise, you will not get the correct calculations.</div> <bR> <div> Continue doing this for every month when the rate changes. If the rate changes annually, but the compounding is semi-annual, you would enter the same rate in the 6-month field.</div> <bR> <div> If you don't know the rates for the entire period of the investment, only enter the rates as far as you know.</div> <bR> <div> When you have finished entering the rates that you know about in the correct months, click on <IMG SRC="0744d1a0.gif" border=0 width="77" height="26" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">. This will generate the monthly interest values.</div> <bR> <div> If you are satisfied that the interest values are correct, click on <IMG SRC="0754d190.gif" border=0 width="77" height="25" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> to write this data to the database and then close this screen.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Redeeming An Investment</B></div> <bR> <div> Edit an existing investment and position yourself to the investment you want to redeem. Then click on the tab called <B>Redeem</B>. This screen will look somethin like this:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0773c7e0.gif" border=0 width="572" height="126" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>Post to (debit):</B> First, select the bank account where the money should go.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Post From (Credit):</B> This would be the asset account where the investment principal was posted when the investment was purchased.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Interest Earned: </B>If the investment has run to its maturity, this field will already contain the correct amount of interest earned. However, if you redeem an investment early, you need to tell ConStar 2000 how much interest was actually earned. In this case, the system will generate an amount in <B>Interest Adjustment</B> to reflect the difference in the amount of interest expected and the amount of interest actually earned.</div> <bR> <div> When you have completed all these fields, make sure that the date showing is the date when the redemption actually happened, and then click on <IMG SRC="0784d1b0.gif" border=0 width="77" height="27" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> to update the General Ledger.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Investment Reviewing Reports</B></div> <bR> <div> The ConStar 2000 Batch module allows you to created printed reports of current investments across all corporations being managed.</div> <bR> <div> In the Batch module, go to General Ledger and Investment Reports. This screen will look something like this:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="07920a80.gif" border=0 width="544" height="424" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <B>Matures between:</B> You can provide a date range to search for investment maturity dates. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Sub-Title for Report:</B> You can provide a customized sub-title for the printed report to better indicate what the report contains.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Active Only</B> or <B>All Types:</B> Indicate if you want only current investments (those that have not reached maturity) or all investments recorded in the database.</div> <bR> <div> Searches can be done in one of three ways: by ConStar <B>User</B> (the person assigned as the manager of each property); by <B>Institution</B> (the vendors assigned to investment records); or by <B>Corporation</B>. The tab that is currently the visible tab will determine which search strategy the system uses. You must select one of these tabs and actually check-mark the available options before clicking the <IMG SRC="07a251b0.gif" border=0 width="37" height="27" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> (print) button.</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>