Frequently Asked Questions
1. General Questions
- What is the difference between the free trial and the full version?
- What is a Registration Key?
- Do I need a Registration Key for the free trial?
- Where can I buy my Registration Key?
- Can I download newer versions of the software?
- How do I find out if there is a newer version available?
- How do I upgrade to a new version?
2. User Settings
- What is the recommended screen resolution?
- How do I free up some space on my screen?
- How do I hide the toolbar?
- How do I hide the Accounts view?
- How do I switch between the Statements view and Transactions view for an account?
- How do I display parent category totals?
- How do I sort information?
- How do I change the date format?
- How do I change the number of decimal places?
- How do I change the decimal place character?
- How do I change the thousands separator character?
- What is the "Shade Alternate Lines On Screens" user option?
- What is the "Open Last Workbook On Start Up" user option?
- What is the "Statements Displayed Newest To Oldest" user option?
- What is the "Look and Feel" user option?
3. Accounts, Statements and Transactions
- What is an Account?
- How do I add/edit/delete Accounts?
- What is a Statement?
- How do I add/edit/delete Statements?
- What is the Statement Reporting Year?
- What is a Transaction?
- How do I add/edit/delete Transactions?
- How do I assign a Category to a Transaction?
- How do I enter a New Charges transaction?
- How do I enter a Payments/Refunds transaction?
4. Categories and Parent Categories
- What is a Parent Category?
- How do I add/edit/delete Parent Categories?
- What is a Category?
- How do I add/edit/delete Categories?
- How do I change the Parent Category on a Category?
- What is a Category Wildcard Pattern?
- How do I add/edit/delete Category Wildcard Patterns?
- How are Category Wildcard Patterns used?
5. Troubleshooting
- How do I provide feedback or request a new feature?
- How do I report a bug?
1. General Questions
1.1 What is the difference between the free trial and the full version?
When you download the full version of the software you can use it for free for a 14-day period. This is referred to as the free trial.
The free trial allows you to test out the software with your credit cards, and lets you see it working on your computer. Each time you start your free trial you will be reminded of how many days you have remaining, and you will be provided with the options to buy a Registration Key, and to unlock the software.
When your free trial expires you can choose to buy a Registration Key if you wish to continue using the software, or you can uninstall it.
Top of page
1.2 What is a Registration Key?
A Registration Key is a unique code we create for you when you make your purchase and it allows you to unlock the software. When you receive your Registration Key, all you have to do is copy and paste it into the current version of the software you have installed. You don't need to download and reinstall a new version.
Top of page
1.3 Do I need a Registration Key for the free trial?
No - the free trial will work from the moment you download and install the software. You will need a Registration Key if you want to keep using the product after the 14-day trial period.
Top of page
1.4 Where can I buy my Registration Key?
You can purchase your Registration Key from the Online Store on our website.
You will receive email delivery of your Registration Key when your purchase is confirmed. For immediate delivery we recommend you pay online with a Credit Card or via Paypal, however we accept a whole range of payment types, and you can pay by phone, fax or online. Please visit our online store for full details.
Top of page
1.5 Can I download newer versions of the software?
Yes - after you have purchased your Registration Key you can download all updates for the version number you have purchased, free of charge.
For example, if you purchase version 3.0, you can download all the new builds starting with the number 3.0 (eg Build 3.0.061027, Build 3.0.070309, Build 3.0.070610, etc).
Please visit the Support Pages on our website to see a change history of the builds released to date.
Top of page
1.6 How do I find out if there is a newer version available?
From the menu choose and it will check if there is a new version available.
If your firewall prevents this function from working, please visit the Support Pages on our website and review the change history to find the build number for the newest version. To find out the current build you have installed, from the menu choose , and you can find the build number displayed on the screen.
Top of page
1.7 How do I upgrade to a new version?
From the menu choose and it will check if there is a new version available. If there is a new release available you will be presented with the option to "Visit Website Now". Clicking on this button will take you to the website and provide you with instructions on how to upgrade to the new version.
If you are using an older version of the software and it does not have a "Visit Website Now" button, then please visit the Download pages on our website. Select the full version of the product you wish to install and follow the instructions provided.
The Windows download is designed to automatically replace older versions of the software you have installed, and therefore you should not uninstall the older version first. Simply download the new version and run the installation wizard. It will cause no harm if you accidentally run the new installation wizard multiple times. With the Linux and Mac zip file versions however, it is recommended that you delete the existing installation directory before unzipping the new version.
Top of page
2. Look and Feel
2.1 What is the recommended screen resolution?
We recommend a screen resolution of approximately 1024x768 or greater.
If you are using a smaller screen resolution (eg 800x600) then you may find that several of the buttons do not fit on the screen. Please refer to How do I free up some space on my screen? to fix the problem. Alternatively, you can use the pop-up menus (by right clicking within the screen) in order to access the same options. For example, right clicking in the Accounts view will bring up a menu with the options to Add, Edit and Delete an Account.
Top of page
2.2 How can I free up some space on my screen?
You can hide the toolbar and the Accounts view.
Please refer to How do I hide the toolbar? and How do I hide the Accounts view?
Top of page
2.3 How do I hide the toolbar?
From the menu choose .
Top of page
2.4 How do I hide the Accounts view?
From the menu choose .
Top of page
2.5 How do I switch between the Statements view and Transactions view for an account?
There are three ways:
- In the Statements view, double click on a statement to switch to the Transactions view.
- From the menu choose or .
- From the choose or .
Top of page
2.6 How do I display parent category totals?
The summary button and detail button allow you to toggle between category view and parent category view.
Top of page
2.7 How do I sort information?
Every table column in Home Credit Card Manager Lite can be sorted in ascending or descending order by clicking on the column name in the header of the table. The current sort order is indicated by a small triangle next to the name.
Top of page
2.8 How do I change the date format?
From the menu choose .
Top of page
2.9 How do I change the number of decimal places?
From the menu choose . You can enter a value from 0 to 9.
Top of page
2.10 How do I change the decimal place character?
From the menu choose . You can enter any single character, for example: '.' or ','. If you do not want a decimal place character, then enter a space.
Top of page
2.11 How do I change the thousands separator character?
From the menu choose . You can enter any single character, for example: '.' or ','. If you do not want a thousands separator character, then enter a space.
Top of page
2.12 What is the "Shade Alternate Lines On Screens" user option?
This option turns on or off the light shading of every second line throughout Home Credit Card Manager Lite.
Top of page
2.13 What is the "Open Last Workbook Start Up" user option?
This option will automatically open the last workbook you were working on, when you next start the application.
If the workbook is password protected, you will be prompted to enter the correct password before you can view the workbook.
Top of page
2.14 What is the "Statements Displayed Newest To Oldest" user option?
This option allows you to select the order in which the application will display the Statements.
If you select the option, the newest Statements will appear at the top of all lists and the oldest will appear at the bottom.
Top of page
2.15 What is the "Look and Feel" user option?
This option allows you to select the look and feel to be used by the application. If you change the setting, you must restart the application before the change will take place.
- The Operating System look and feel allows Java to render the application as close as possible to the Operating System it is running on (E.g. Mac, Windows, Linux, etc). Note: Under some versions of Linux, Java uses the Cross Platform (Java) look and feel for the Operating System look and feel so changing the option will have no impact.
- The Cross Platform (Java) look and feel is the standard Java look and feel, and looks the same no matter which Operating System you use it on.
This user option was introduced because of substantial differences between the Mac and Windows' implementation of the look and feel, and the problems some of our Mac OS X users have been reporting.
The Mac version of this application now defaults to the Cross Platform (Java) look and feel, which works with most configurations. If you are running on a Mac you can change it to the Operating System look and feel, however please note that some of the screens and text may not display correctly (depending on your personal configuration).
The Windows, Linux version of this application defaults to the Operating System look and feel (as they did in previous versions).
Top of page
3. Accounts, Statements and Transactions
3.1 What is an Account?
An account represents one of your credit card accounts. For each credit card you have that you wish to monitor through Home Credit Card Manager Lite you set up an account.
Top of page
3.2 How do I add/edit/delete Accounts?
Either click on the Add, Edit or Delete button in the Accounts view toolbar, or right click in the accounts table to produce a pop-up menu and select Add, Edit or Delete.
Top of page
3.3 What is a Statement?
A statement represents a statement you receive from you credit card provider. For each credit card statement you receive you set up a new statement in Home Credit Card Manager Lite.
Top of page
3.4 How do I add/edit/delete Statements?
Either click on the Add, Edit or Delete button in the Statements view toolbar, or right click in the statements table to produce a pop-up menu and select Add, Edit or Delete.
Top of page
3.5 What is the Statement Reporting Year?
The statement reporting year is used to group up statements in the yearly reports.
If a statement falls over a year-end period then you can use either year as the reporting year. For example, if a statement was from December 10 2007 to January 9 2008 then you could select 2007 or 2008 as the reporting year. The most important thing is to apply the same rule consistently from year to year.
Top of page
3.6 What is a Transaction?
A transaction represents a new charge, payment or refund on your credit card statement. For each item on the credit card statement a transaction is created in Home Credit Card Manager Lite.
Refer to the importing transactions help topic for more information on creating transactions automatically.
Top of page
3.7 How do I add/edit/delete Transactions?
Either click on the Add, Edit or Delete button in the Transactions view toolbar, or right click in the transactions table to produce a pop-up menu and select Add, Edit or Delete.
Note: The option will remain disabled until the account contains at least one statement.
Top of page
3.8 How do I assign a Category to a transaction?
In the Transactions view, select a transaction and click on the category column. This will show a list of all valid categories to choose from.
All transactions that have not been assigned a category are highlighted with a border.
Refer to the category auto matching help topic for more information on automatically allocating categories to transactions.
Top of page
3.9 How do I enter a New Charges transaction?
Any transaction created with a positive amount will automatically appear in the Statement New Charges column.
Top of page
3.10 How do I enter a Payments/Refunds transaction?
Any transaction created with a negative amount will automatically appear in the Statement Payments/Refunds column.
Top of page
4. Categories and Parent Categories
4.1 What is a Parent Category?
A parent category is the highest level of grouping in Home Credit Card Manager Lite and is used to group categories.
Parent Categories should be set up to reflect the reporting comparisons that you require. Examples include: BILL, HOME, CAR, PERSONAL which can then be used to give you a total in each of these parent categories (by statements, by reporting year, etc).
A default set of parent categories is provided with Home Credit Card Manager Lite which you can change to suit your needs.
Any changes you make will be saved in your workbook along with your account information. This allows you to set up different category lists for different workbooks.
Top of page
4.2 How do I add/edit/delete Parent Categories?
From the menu choose .
Click on the Add, Edit or Delete button in the Parent Categories view toolbar.
You can only delete parent categories that do not have any categories linked to them.
Top of page
4.3 What is a Category?
A category is the lowest level of grouping, and is used to group transactions.
Each category must be linked to a parent category.
Categories should be set up to reflect the type of transactions that you have. For Example under the BILL parent category you may have categories: BILL - Electricity, BILL - Gas, BILL - Water Rates, etc.
Categories can easily be moved from one parent category to another. Refer to How do I change the Parent Category on a Category?
A default set of categories is provided with Home Credit Card Manager Lite which you can change to suit your needs.
Any changes you make will be saved in your workbook along with your account information. This allows you to set up different category lists for different workbooks.
Top of page
4.4 How do I add/edit/delete Categories?
From the menu choose .
Click on the Add, Edit or Delete button in the Categories view toolbar.
If you choose to delete a category that has been assigned to one or more transactions Home Credit Card Manager Lite will inform you how many transactions are linked to the Category. If you continue with the delete, then the transactions will have the category un-assigned from them and will go back to being un-matched. The transactions will not be deleted.
Top of page
4.5 How do I change the Parent Category on a Category?
From the menu choose .
Click on the parent category column and a list of valid parent categories will be displayed.
Top of page
4.6 What is a Category Wildcard Pattern?
A category wildcard pattern is link between a category and a keyword in a transaction description.
A category wildcard pattern is made up of a criteria and a pattern.
The criteria can be "contains" or "does not contain"
The pattern can be any combination of letters, numbers, symbols, etc.
For example: "contains restaurant" and "does not contain abc123" are both valid wildcard patterns.
Refer to the category auto matching help topic for more information on the usage of category wildcard patterns.
Top of page
4.7 How do I add/edit/delete Category Wildcard Patterns?
From the menu choose .
Select the category you wish to maintain.
Click on the Add, Edit or Delete button in the Wildcards view toolbar.
A description of the wildcards that will be applied to a given category is provided on the screen.
Top of page
4.8 How are Category Wildcard Patterns used?
Category Wildcard Patterns are used by the Category Auto-Matching tool.
Refer to the category auto matching help topic for more information on the usage of category wildcard patterns.
Top of page
5. Troubleshooting
5.1 How do I provide feedback or request a new feature?
We enjoy reading all the feedback we receive, so tell us what you think ... both positive and negative ... and let your comments go into the mix that will help shape future versions of the products.
If you have a question, a suggestion, something you like, something you don't like, a request for a new feature or a general comment, please visit the support pages on our website to submit your comments.
Top of page
5.2 How do I report a bug?
If you are having problems using Home Credit Card Manager Lite please visit the support pages on our website for all the latest help and support.
Top of page
Top Of Page