INITIAL VALIDATION

The first time you start the system after installation, you will see a window with the title "Enter Registration Values" that displays a "PC Key" and asks for "Your key". To get the value of "Your key', you must contact Compugene Software and provide the value of the "PC Key" textbox. After you receive the "Your key" value from Compugene Software, enter it into the text box labeled "Your key" and click the "Validate" button. If you entered the correct key, the system will start up normally and the "Enter Registration Values" window will not be displayed again.
Note: the PC Key is generated once for your system. Even if you terminate the program without entering the valid "Your key" value, the next time you start the system, the same "PC Key" will appear. This means you can enter the "Your key" value obtained from Compugene Software at any time, even if you restart the software at a later time.




DATABASES

All databases used by the Compugene Membership System have a suffix of .CSD;
the provided sample membership database shipped with the system is named SAMPLE.csd

Note: The title bar caption is set to your organization name when the software is initially generated before being sent to you and can only be changed by Compugene Software.

The database name to open at startup can be changed via the Database|Open menu option. The system will always first attempt to open the database that was active the last time the program was closed.

Note: When you start up the system with a new or empty database (0 records) or open a new database, the only valid function is the Add function, to add at least one record into the new database.


SYSTEM FILES

Some important files that you should be aware of that are shipped with the system or created by you are:

CMS.TXT contains Templates for reports
CMS.SCT contains the seat chart, which will be created by you
CMS.PCT contains the cemetery plot chart, which will be created by you
CMS.PWD password file (see Security)
CMS.EWP backup password file

SECURITY SETUP

You may call Compugene Software for the initial default password and logon id if you want to use the security feature, or set up your own ids and passwords using the Secure toolbar button from the Main Window . Security is not enabled automatically when you install the system. To enable security at any time, press the Secure button on the Main Window toolbar and use the Password Options menu item to set the minimum password length in the Security Administration window to a value greater than zero. The security feature can be turned off from the Security Administration window/Password Options menu by setting the minimum password length to zero. (Warning: Once security is enabled, only master-privilege users will be able to access the Security Administration window!).


SETTING UP MEMBER TYPES

One of the first tasks you need to do is to determine what different member types you will have in your institution. See the Member Types section for complete details. You need to set member types whenever a particular member is to have different fees (dues, building fund, chevra) than other types. For example, you might have a type of Full for a full member family (husband and wife) that will pay full dues and another member type for a Single person (just a man or a woman) that would be set to half dues or some fraction of the full dues.
Whenever you enter a new member into the system, the member type should be selected by you on the Member sign-up date: this is where you enter the date that this member officially became a member. This date could be important in determining seniority in regards to seating appointments, and in case of conflicts in scheduling, and in other matters that might arise

Permanent seat indicator: if checked, this means this member owns at least 1 permanent seat

Locked indication: if checked, means data for this member cannot be changed in other windows

No label indication: if checked, means labels will not be printed for this member even if the member is part of a general label printing

Member type: choose one of the Member Types that you have set up via the Options (Options) menu/General option

Board member indicator: if checked, this member is a member of the board

Sisterhood member type: Choose different type of membership: associate, regular, life

Tribe: Choose the tribe: Kohan, Levi, Israel

Box number: the mail box or storage box (“cubbie”) number assigned to this member

Number of kids: used to determine the Youth fees that will be displayed in the Youth column of the Accounts Receivable window, based on the Youth Fee amounts set in the Miscellaneous Fees window.

Occupation: up to 2 can be specified, such as one for husband and one for wife

E-mail addresses: up to 2 can be specified, such as one for husband and one for wife. These e-mail addresses will be used to send statements to the member if the e-mail statement feature is enabled via the Options|Operational|E-mailing window and also if the check box for sending e-mail to this member is checked on this window (see below). If two addresses are specified, both will receive statements via e-mail if the above criteria are satisfied.

Seat assignments: opens up the window for Seating assignments (see Seating)

Plot assignments: opens up the window for cemetery plot assignments

Last aliyah date: enter the date of the member’s last aliyah

Special arrangements: if applicable, you can use this button/check box to display the Special Arrangements Window, which allows you to specify special lower rates for indigent members for their dues, youth, chevra and building fund amounts, and also institute a payment schedule that differs from the normal pay periods you have established for this member type.


The Special Arrangements Window (shown above) allows you to insert amounts that differ from the standard amounts for this member type as set up in the Options|General|Member Types window. You must enter amounts for Dues, Youth, and Chevra. If you check the Special check mark under the Building Amount, then the amount you enter in the Building box will be used as the amount to be charged for this member; otherwise, this member will be charged the amount displayed in the Bldg Total column of the Accounts Receivable window.  The Rollover check boxes, if checked, allow you to use the same settings for the next year after you do a New Year reset.

You can also create individual payment schedules for Dues, Bldg, or Other items by clicking the appropriate buttons. You will get a window (see below for an example of a Building Fund payment schedule window) that will allow you to enter amounts due and the dates they are due going forward.




Round Robin: opens the Round Robin (Mishloach Manot) window for this member

Relationships: this opens a window where you can specify if a member is related to another member and how they are related

E-mail statements: Allows you to indicate whether this member will receive statements via e-mail (see Options)



SETTING UP REASONS FOR PAYMENT

Reasons for payments fall into 5 basic categories; items defined in the first 3 categories (Fixed, User-Chosen, Misc) will appear as column headings on the Accounts Receivable window grid:

Fixed - these items come set in the system and their names are not changable by the user but their values are either computed results based on other values (Building Owed, Building Paid, Past Due, Amt Owed), or are determined from other settings (Youth - based on the number of children set in the View Window and the youth fees that are set in the Misc Fees Window) or are set by the user via the Member Types Window using the Member Types button of the Options window (Dues, Chevra, Youth, Building Total)

User-Chosen - these are 5 column headings for 5 payment reasons that can be chosen by the user; the defaults are: Kol Nidre, Rabbi's Fund, CIA, Dinner, High Holiday. These can be used for the 5 most prominent payment reasons that your institution would like to appear in their own columns on the Accounts Receivable Window grid.

Misc - payment reasons other than the ones in the above categories are considered Miscellaneous reasons and will appear in a small grid below the Misc column on the Accounts Receivable Window when you double-click an amount in a cell in the Misc column. These reasons are entered/selected by the user when recording pledges and payments, and they are saved so they need be entered just once and can be selected from a drop-down list during subsequent pledge/payment entry.

Fees - these values are set in the User Fees window, reached from the Misc Fees button on the Options|Financial Window. These fees are based on the particular amount owed for each of your member types. For example, you might impose a Security fee and base the cost on member type - this way an out-of-town member might pay 0 Security fee while a couple living in town might pay a fee different from a single resident.

Categories - these are fees set for reasons that have sub-categories that you establish. An example might be Sisterhood levels of membership such as Life Member, Associate Member, Full Member or any other club fees that have sub-categories. These values are set in the User Fees Window, which is reached from the Options|Financial Wndow via the Misc Fees button.

SPECIFYING YEARS IN DATES
Years may be entered as 2-digit years (e.g. "02") or 4-digit years (e.g. "2002").
Years are always stored internally as 4-digit years. If a 2-digit year xx between "00" and "20" is entered, it will be stored as 20xx. If a 2-digit year yy between "21" and "99" is entered, it will be stored as 19yy. Thus, all years are expanded to 4-digits internally and all calculation, sorting, etc. is performed on 4-digit years.

TIPS
Other useful tips for getting started (also see the Tips Help section):
You can view and update already-entered member data in two ways: either via the View window from the main window or by double-clicking the date column of the row of the member whose information you desire on the Accounts Receivable window (also referred to as the large grid).
You can view and update already-entered non-member data only via the Non-Member window (grid).
You can view and update already-entered accounts payable data only via the Accounts Payable window (grid).

You are strongly urged to familiarize yourself with the contents of this Help document, as there are many features available to you which may not be readily apparent just by viewing the various windows of the program. For further learning assistance, you can order our CD-ROM video tutorial, which is played on your PC and demonstrates many of the features of the system. Contact us at admin@compugene.com for details on how to get the instructional CD-ROM.