**CIVIL AIR PATROL**

**QUICKEN® HANDBOOK**

**FOR UNITS BELOW WING LEVEL**

Civil Air Patrol gratefully acknowledges the contributions of Jennifer
Brenner, CA Wing Director of Finance, and Capt. Ira Rosenberg, of CA
Wing Squadron 56, for having the vision to utilize Quicken® for
financial reporting for units below Wing level. The initial draft of
this manual was developed several years ago and the squadrons of CA Wing
have been successfully utilizing Quicken® for several years.

This publication was revised to provide assistance to all Finance
Officers of units below Wing level, and Wing and Region Directors of
Finance in performing their duties. Any comments or suggestions should
be directed to your Wing Director of Finance, your Wing Financial
Analyst or to <fm@capnhq.gov>.

**TABLE OF CONTENTS**

Installation and Set Up 4

Getting Started 6

Entering Checks 8

Entering Deposits 13

Bank Transfers 15

Reconciling Your Accounts 16

Reports 25

Year-End Requirements 34

Back Ups 35

**INSTALLATION AND SET UP**

1\. Copy the four Quicken® files to a directory on your computer where
you can easily find them. The files are:

FY06UnitMaster.IDX

FY06UnitMaster.QDF

FY06UnitMaster.QEL

FY06UnitMaster.QPH

2\. Install Quicken® according to the instructions you received with
your Quicken® package.

3\. Once Quicken® is installed you should open your new unit files. From
the upper left-hand corner select "File" then select "Open."

![](media/image1.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

4\. You will need to rename the Quicken® data file to include your wing,
unit number and unit name in the following format: Two-letter wing
identifier plus three-digit unit number plus unit name. An example would
be: VA095 -- Coastal Composite Squadron.

![](media/image2.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

5\. Once the file has been renamed, the new name will appear at the top
of your screen.

**GETTING STARTED**

1\. You need to rename your bank accounts in Quicken®. Select "Cash
Flow" on the top toolbar. Select "Cash Flow Accounts." Select "Checking
Account #1." Select "Overview." Select "Edit Account Details."

![](media/image3.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

2\. From this screen you can rename the checking account, change the
bank name, enter the account number and add a contact name and phone
number. If you have more than one checking account or if you have any
savings or CD accounts you should change them the same way.

3\. Once you have changed all your account names you need to enter
beginning balances. Select "Cash Flow" from the top tool bar. Select
"Cash Flow Accounts." Select the account you wish to add a beginning
balance for. Select "Register."

![](media/image4.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

4\. On the first line where it says "Opening Balance" change the date to
10/1/05. Tab to the "Deposit" area. Enter the bank balance from your
bank statement at 9/30/05. Quicken® will ask if you wish to record a
transfer back into the same account. Answer "yes." If you have any
outstanding checks or deposits that have not cleared your bank you need
to enter those, also.

5\. Once you have entered all your opening cash balances and any
outstanding items you are ready to enter transactions.

**ENTERING CHECKS**

1\. You may either handwrite checks and then enter them in Quicken® or
enter payment details and then print checks. If you wish to print checks
directly from Quicken® follow these steps.

2\. Click on the "Checks" icon. The following screen will appear.

![](media/image5.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

2\. Select the appropriate checking account you wish to use. Enter the
payee's name. Enter the amount. Enter the payee's address.

3\. Select the correct category from the list. These categories are
predetermined and must not be changed. You may add subcategories if you
would like to track things in greater detail, but in order for the
consolidation to occur at year-end, these main categories must not be
changed. If you need to use more than one category on a single check
select "Split" and you can enter as many categories as you need.

![](media/image6.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

4\. When you are finished click "Record Check." You may keep entering
checks and then print or you may print each one individually. When you
print the checks make sure you start with the correct check number and
the correct check style.

![](media/image7.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

5\. If you are going to handwrite checks you will still need to enter
them into Quicken®. Select "Cash Flow," select the correct bank account,
and then select "Register." Select an empty transaction at the bottom.
Enter the date, number, payee, amount, category and memo.

![](media/image8.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

6\. If you need to enter more than one category, select "Split." You can
then enter multiple categories as needed. When you finish, click on "OK"
to save the split and return to the check register. Click on "Enter" and
your check is now recorded.

![](media/image9.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

**ENTERING DEPOSITS**

1\. To enter bank deposits select "Cash Flow," select the correct bank
account, and then select "Register." Select an empty transaction at the
bottom. Enter the date, select deposit, enter the name on the received
check into the payee field, enter the deposit amount, select the correct
category from the list, enter a memo, and then click "Enter."

![](media/image10.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

2\. If you have received several member checks at the same time and they
will be posted to the same category, you may wish to create a customer
name called "Members." You can then split the deposit and list every
payee/customer name in the memo field using the same category. If you
have multiple checks and they need to be posted to different categories
(income accounts) it would be more appropriate to enter each check
separately.

![](media/image11.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

**BANK TRANSFERS**

1\. If you need to transfer funds between two accounts, such as savings
to checking, select "Cash Flow," select your savings account, and then
select "Register." Select "Transfer" at the top of the register screen.
Select the account you are transferring the money from, the account you
are transferring the money to, the date and then the amount. Click "OK"
when you are done. We do not recommend the use of the "transfer"
function within Quicken®. We recommend that the transaction be entered
into each bank account independently.

![](media/image12.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

**RECONCILING YOUR ACCOUNTS**

1\. You must reconcile all your bank accounts whenever you receive a
statement. Most banks send bank statements monthly and the reconciling
the bank should be a high priority task.

2\. Select the first account you wish to reconcile from the list.

3\. Verify that the opening balance agrees with the ending balance on
your previous reconciliation.

4\. Enter the ending bank balance from your current statement.

5\. Enter the ending date on your bank statement. The statement ending
date can be found on the bank statement.

6\. If you have any bank service charges, enter the amount, the date of
the charge and select Account 9405000 -- Bank Fees as the correct
category.

7\. If your account has earned interest, enter the amount, the date the
interest was earned and select Account 5410000 -- Interest Income as the
correct category. Select "OK."

![](media/image13.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

8\. Place check mark next to the checks that have cleared and then the
deposits that have cleared. When you are done the difference at the
bottom must be zero. If it is not zero, you must investigate why it is
not and correct it. Never click "Finished" unless you have a zero
difference. If you need help, contact the wing director of finance.

![](media/image14.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

9\. When the difference is zero, click "Finished." The reconciliation
complete screen appears. Select "Yes" to print the report.

![](media/image15.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

10\. The next screen will ask you to name the report. The format for the
name should be similar to the example given below. Make sure the date is
the same as the ending date on the bank statement. Select "All
Transactions." Select "Print."

![](media/image16.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

11\. The finished report should be attached to the bank statement and
filed.

![](media/image17.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

![](media/image18.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

![](media/image19.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

![](media/image20.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

12\. If you have outstanding checks that are older than 90 days you need
to investigate. If you need to reissue the check because it was lost,
void the check, if it was written in the current fiscal year, and
reissue a new check. If the check was written in a previous fiscal year
(CAP's fiscal year runs from 1 October through 30 September) you should
follow the instructions in Step #14.

If you have deposits that are older than 30 days you should investigate
to see why the deposit has not been credited on the unit's bank account.

13\. To void a check, select it in the check register, select "Edit"
from the toolbar, select "Transaction", and then select "Void
Transaction." This will set the amount to zero and will place a
"cleared" check mark on the entry. When you do your next bank
reconciliation the voided check will already have a green check mark
next to it in the reconciliation register. Just enter the replacement
check as a new check as explained on page 8.

![](media/image21.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

14\. **If the check that needs to be voided is from a previous fiscal
year you cannot just go in and void it**. You should note the check
number, payee, and amount. Open the check register from which the
original check was written. Enter 1 October as the date and the payee's
name. Since this is a correction of a prior year entry this makes it
easier to find in a subsequent year. Enter the amount in the deposit
column. Select Account 5420000 -- Miscellaneous Income as the category.
In the memo field enter "Voiding check #\_\_\_\_. When you do your next
bank reconciliation you will need to check both the old check that you
are voiding and the new deposit you just entered. When you are done the
voided check and the new deposit cancel each other out.

**REPORTS**

1\. To print the CAP Form 173-2 report, select the "Reports" icon.

![](media/image22.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

2\. On the right-hand side under "My Saved Reports" select "CAPF 173-2."

3\. Select either "Current Year" or "Custom Dates" and enter the current
fiscal year dates.

![](media/image23.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

4\. Click on "Show Report." You should check to ensure that all income
and expenses have been categorized. Double-clicking on this report on
the "uncategorized income or expense" line and re-categorizing is all it
needs to fix the problem

![](media/image24.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

5\. Select "Customize" in the upper right-hand corner. When the next
screen appears, ensure that the "Display" tab is highlighted. Under
"Title" change the name to the following format: Two-letter state
identifier -- Unit Name -- Current Fiscal Year -- CAPF 173-2.

![](media/image25.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

6\. Under the "Accounts" tab click on "Mark All." Repeat for the
"Categories," "Payees" and "Category Groups" tabs.

![](media/image26.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

7\. On the "Advanced" tab, ensure that "Amounts" is set to all; all
items under "Status" are checked; "Transaction Types" is set to "All
Transactions;" "Transfers" is set to "Include All;" and "Subcategories"
is set to "Show All."

![](media/image27.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

8\. Your final report will look like the next example. The "Balance
Forward" number should be your beginning balance at October 1. The
"Overall Total" should be your ending reconciled bank balance at
September 30.

![](media/image28.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

9\. If you would like to see all the detail behind the income and
expense categories, you can print a Transaction Report. Click on the
"Reports" icon. On the right-hand side under "My Saved Reports" select
"Transaction." For the date range, select "Custom Dates" and then enter
10/1/05 to 9/30/06. Click on "Show Report."

![](media/image29.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

10\. The new report will contain the same items as the CAPF 173-2, but
all the detail will be shown.

![](media/image30.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="4.495833333333334in"}

11\. All reports may be exported to an Excel spreadsheet. From the
report screen select "Export Data." Click on "Report to Excel Compatible
Format." Save the report to your computer and give it an appropriate
name. You will then need to open Excel, find the file (it will have a
.txt extension), and open it up. You can also save reports as PDF files.

**YEAR-END REQUIREMENTS**

1\. Your wing director of finance may require additional items, but the
minimum required reports should include:

a\. a photocopy of bank statements showing the balances at 9/30 for each
account

b\. a photocopy of the reconciliation report for each account

> c\. a CAPF 173-2 report The report should be signed and dated by the
> unit Finance Officer and the Squadron or Group Commander..
> Additionally, the
>
> report should note the unit number, a contact phone number, an email
> address and a mailing address.

2.  All year-end reports must be submitted to your respective wing
    headquarters by November 1 each year. If Wings consolidate reporting
    by groups, then squadrons should have all of their data to the group
    by 1 November. The Groups should forward these consolidations to the
    Wing by 15 November.

**BACK UPS**

1\. You should make a back up of your files after each use. You may use
whatever medium is easiest, whether it is a thumb drive, CD, DVD, floppy
disk, etc. The back up should be stored at some other location than
where you actually enter your unit's data. This practice will ensure
that your data is secure in the event of a fire, system malfunction, or
natural disaster.