Farm Biz Versions 3, 4, 5A or 5B Upgrade to
Version 5D

Providing Farmers & Ranchers with
Computer Solutions for over 35 years.

Farm Biz Version 5D has a major new feature: (Released November 2011)

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Unparalleled feature cuts data entry time in 1/2!
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Yes! This phenomenal update will save you 50% or more in time every month. It'll save you oodles and oodles of hours for the year.

Vendor preferences are automatic transactions that are recalled only when you want them. Each Vendor can store the monthly transactions used most often for that vendor. You can specify a percentage to calculate and split an amount into multiple transactions. For example: the split between farm & personal electricity.

If you pay a fixed amount to a vendor every month you can specify the transaction amount instead of a percentage. For example: pay your Internet service $43.50 each month.

Farm Biz Version 5D now includes the ability to input the monthly transactions routinely used for each vendor. The Vendor Data Entry screen has changed to look like this.

This example illustrates the use of percentages. Multiple transactions can be input for a vendor. The sample shows the Vendor Data Entry screen with a percentage split for farm & personal electricity.

This will apply 70% of the total bill for the Farm Electric transaction and 30% for the personal transaction.

The next example illustrates the use of fixed dollar amount for vendor preferences. Single or multiple transactions can be input for a vendor.

Vendors normally used for Income can be setup too!

Tip: For cable or Dish TV service, if you enter only one transaction with the monthly dollar amount. Then, when you do your Checkbook Data Entry, just enter the vendor ID, and click Vendor Split and you will be finished inputting the check. Because when you click on Vendor Split the Description, Item, and Dollar Amount and any quantities are input for you. This is a huge time saver!

In this Vendor Data Entry screen a fixed dollar amount split between loan repayment and interest was used. When this vendor ID is entered in your monthly input you will only need to click the Vendor Split button to have these transactions entered for you.

WOW! Press only 2 or 3 keys for the vendor ID and click a button to input multiple transactions. Now that’s what I call a real time saver!

The transactions shown above can be changed in any way or deleted if the user changes their mind. If a vendor is picked that should not use any of the pre set transactions DO NOT click the "Vendor Split" button. Instead begin to enter data as usual.

Check out the new vendor print button on the Vendor View/Edit list.

There are Two new lists that show on the Screen or Print.

Lost Data: Some customers experienced their 2010 data disappearing after Year End Close. This problem is random. To safeguard against this loss we initiated an automatic backup in the Upgrade when closing the year. Please contact us for instructions on retrieving this backup, if your data disappears. Note:You should always make a Backup for insurance.

Remembering the View/List Sort Order: When you exit the program it remembers your preferred sort order.

Check Number Spinner: Click the up/down arrows or press the plus or minus keys on the number pad to advance/reduce the check number on the Checkbook Data Entry Screen.

External Numberpad on a Laptop: If you are getting an error message that the Num Lock Key was pressed, contact us for the work around.

The Calculator: When you press F-10 on the Checkbook Data Entry screen it was covering up the $ Amounts. We moved its' location to the upper left on the screen. If you prefer it to be larger & in the center of the screen, please call for the procedure to make this change.

The following changes are included in Version 5D.
Improvements in 5B, (released January 2009)

A slick feature is the One Screen option for Checkbook Data Entry. This makes it so that you no longer need to change screens between Expense & Income. This is ideal when you receive income but have deductions from the sale proceeds.
For example:

The Milk Check with several Deductions
Livestock Sales with Advertising Deduction or Hauling Fee

If you have ever run into one of these transactions you know that it can seem much more complicated then it really is. With "One Screen" you simply enter the Income/Expense on the first line with the Item Code, and on the next lines enter the subtractions along with the Item Codes that belong to the deduction. Expenses are automatically signed with a minus sign and subtracted from the checkbook. Income is automatically added to the checkbook.

Using the on-screen checkbook reconciliation is improved because the expense deductions are included in the net check amount.

Milk checks and crop/livestock check-offs are easier to input with the One Screen method. You can try out this new feature, then switch back to the old way without losing any data.

To facilitate your preference for Item Code Favorites we’ve added a preference option at the bottom right of the Data Entry Screen. The sequence is based upon your favorites order number.

Expense items only
Income items only
Both Expense, then Income
Combo Income, then Expense
Mixed Income & Expense

This makes it quick and easy to change your Item Code Favorites and find the item codes you want.

If you have trouble remembering to change from Expense to Income, then this option is for you. You will only need to change screens if you have Non-Cash to enter.

Improvements in 5A. (Released January 2008)

Windows Vista Compliant:

Fixes the conflict when Microsoft Office causes Farm Biz to terminate because of a license conflict with MS Office.

Fixes a year-end close problem when closing the year. Close the year works correctly on all prior versions of Windows but not Vista.

Versions 4B.3 and earlier running on Vista fails to remove the income & expense transactions for the entire year. This works on all other versions of Windows except Vista.

Some Vista security settings may prevent Farm Biz from backing up compressed (zipped). When a zipped backup is necessary, instructional message boxes are displayed. It is necessary to manually zip/unzip your data in these instances. Just follow the on screen instructions.

Dynamic Screen Re-draw - When screen settings of 1024 X 768 or higher are used, the Farm Biz menus would display smaller in the upper left corner of the screen. The change implemented in version 5A.3 keeps the menus and text large as though the screen resolution is set to 800X600 even though it isn't. This change enables touch screen users a larger target area for faster input.

Monthly transaction Date (Month & day) - Changed the date spinner (arrows or Plus-minus keys) so that it is not necessary to key a new month after the spin reached the end of the prior month. Now the spin goes through all days and months of the year. Calendar to use Reports “6 Transactions with Selections” uses a calendar when you click on Period Begin or Period End dates. Removable Drive Letters - Expanded the drive letters to be D-R letter J was missing on 4B.3, but now all letters D-R are usable.

Delete Farm after Backup - This question always appeared after a save to a floppy or removable media. Since the most common reply is NO, this question no longer is asked. For shared computers, it can be turned on by going to “7. More Options, System Configuration, Shared Computer”.

Personalized Descriptions - Close the year with version 4B.3 did not carry forward the Personalized Item code & Enterprise names.

Improvements in 4B.3 (Released January 2005)

Changed the way you handle backups when you load & save your data.

You can load & save your data to CD's, USB Flash Drives, USB Jump Drives, USB Memory Sticks, USB Thumb Drives and Zip drives. Drive letters D through L were enabled for this purpose. A floppy disk in Drive A still works like before.

Fixed the check number incrementing so it doesn’t get stuck any more.
Changed the sort order on the View/List so it stays in the same order as you used it last.
Added a print option for your favorites. Now you can print Item/Enterprise lists for favorites as well as many other selections. This is available at Input Information, then Personalized Descriptions.
Fixed Personalized Descriptions for Items and Enterprises so an attempt to use the scroll bar doesn’t bounce you back to the top record after the last one you just changed.
On the monthly input screen, the pull down list for item code has been changed. Now it is only your favorites. You can activate an item code for your favorites on the fly if you key a code that is in the master list but not in your favorite.
Changed Cashflow so it uses the favorites in the Item/Enterprise list boxes.
Made Cashflow so it adds Item/Enterprises on-the-fly like monthly.
Checkbook Reconciliation. The printed CB total didn’t match the screen CB total if the last check displayed was not checked as cleared. Now fixed
Memo Entries are now being sorted in the same order as you key them.

Version 3C.5 (Released in January 2003) Includes the manual on CD:

Complete 269 page manual is shipped on the CD. The installation automatically copies the manual to your hard disk. A colorful set of library books is the Manual icon on the Main Menu. At any time while using Farm Biz you can pull up the manual by clicking on the library books. There is a powerful word search and index searches. Plus you can view or print the chapter you want to review.

Acrobat Reader is required to view the manual.

Acrobat reader is supplied on the CD. If your computer doesn’t have Acrobat Reader 4.0 or newer you can install it by clicking on “Install Acrobat Reader from our Install Menu.

Another option is to browse the CD and double click on “AcroReader51_ENU_full.exe”.

Improvements in 3C.5 (Released November 2001 through December 2002) over earlier versions 3A.2

Changed the Item Category so you can enter a description & then click in the favorites to get the item code put in for you. On some versions it would replace your information with the item description.
Added a 3 way message when you key a vendor name in the “Current Vendor” name.
Yes lets you add the vendor like it does now.
No removes the vendor name and pulls down the vendor name list so you can pick the correct one.
Cancel removes the name from the current vendor and puts it into the Item/Category description.

Fixed printing of the vendor list
Fixed printing the Checkbook Reconciliation report.
Fixed a Networth on screen Calculation, for too large a number in qty/price, but the report was OK.
Corrected printing error trap FF0601-FRMSTDB- file not found.

Fixed a missing printed line, when it wanted to be the last line on the page. Earlier versions printed the comment “Printed by Farm Biz for Windows” on top of the line of data, which gave the appearance that the line was missing on some reports. The missing line was always included in all total lines. So your totals were always correct. You may want to reprint reports like Trial Balance, Check Register, & Money Borrowed when ever they were more than one page in length.
When you click FORWARD and you are at the last record, a warning message is displayed to let you know to use ADD NEW instead.
Added a sort on check # to the Monthly transaction list.
Added an alternate save to floppy method in case the one we use doesn’t work. You need to call us if you have this problem so we can tell you how to use the alternate method.
Corrected year-end close so the Cashflow carries forward the prior year debt load.

This is a complete new version and can be installed on top of your current version.

As always make a backup of your data to removable media, it's the best insurance you can have, before you start.

Order On-Line

Get your complete Farm Biz version 5D CD that is Windows 7 Compliant and includes Vendor Preferences for only $189.00 and continue getting Free Technical Support when you update. To order your software via credit card on-line we offer Secure Server to guarantee the utmost in confidentiality. If you need help shopping visit our Shopping Tips and then place your order. For even faster service call 1-800-438-7371.

Farm Biz Versions 3, 4, 5A or 5B Upgrade to Version 5D

There are Two new lists that show on the Screen or Print.

The following changes are included in Version 5D. Improvements in 5B, (released January 2009)

Farm Biz Versions 3, 4, 5A or 5B Upgrade to
Version 5D

The following changes are included in Version 5D.
Improvements in 5B, (released January 2009)