Splasm Software Discussions

As currently implemented, split transactions are a wonderful extension of Checkbook Pro's capability, but using them can have its difficulties. For instance, if one enters a total before defining the split, that entry is ignored and the total becomes the split total, not the entry total, thus allowing unintended revisions of the entry's total value.

The difficulty is compounded by the implementation of the split entry as a modal panel which cannot be re-positioned so one can see the split entries' effect entry being modified. Sometimes one can circumvent that blinding if there is room on the screen to scroll past it. Modal panels should not alter data they subtend in most situations. And in those situations, the user needs to be warned that they are revising the data the modal panel is only intended to articulate and explicate.

Splits would be more properly dealt with as subtotals of the entry total. Here are a few suggestions on how to implement splits as subtotals of an entry total that will enhance the user's understanding of 'outstanding amount' yet to be accounted for, rather than accepting the split total as a running revision of the entry total:

The use of split transactions if the following capabilities would be simplified, enhanced and more accurate if the following changes were made:

After each split's transaction amount is entered:

1. If the sum of split entries does not total the entry amount, automatically generate another suggested split, with the outstanding subtotal (either positive or negative) and highlighting and focusing the cursor on the new split's Description panel. This aids the user in keeping track of a running subtotal of each split entry as well as avoiding accidental modification the entry total (which should be allowed but flagged with a warning within the split entry panel).
2. If the subtotal of split entries equals the total, respond to an "enter/return" key stroke by highlighting and focusing on the entry total, preparatory to the user accepting and closing split transactions. (Currently the "enter" key after entering a split's amount is interpreted as the addition of another split, regardless of whether the subtotal of splits equals the entry total, which then has to be deleted before accepting and closing the split.)
3. Elsewhere, another user has asked that split entry transactions' "Tax Deductible" checkbox is more properly apportioned to each split entry individually, not the whole transaction. Anyone who deals with transactions composed of sale amt, sales tax, shipping charge will appreciate that! And it would entail a new ability to read, interpret and report split entries in the Smart Folder and Account Summary facilities, which would be a further grand addition of capability to Checkbook Pro!

These are all good ideas, thanks! We'll consider making these changes in a future version.

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Allan Woodall
Phosphorescent Phage
Splasm Software
http://www.splasm.com

I hope Splasm's Checkbook Pro is soon able to generate reports, either with smart folder or Summary, that can report split entries according to category.

Getting accurate Sales and Income Tax reports is very difficult if entries contain any combination of these:

* a split which is non-taxable (shipping charges received, for instance)

* another split that is income taxable but not state sales taxable (teaching, for instance),

* and another split which are both income taxable and state sales taxable (income from building something and shipping it within a state, for instance).

Help!

The current version of CheckBook Pro can provide accurate subtotals of Categories used for splits in its Summaries and Smart Folder totals, so using actual Category designations to track tax status is an option, here and now—with your example, for the third bullet point, it'd just be necessary to separate out the income and shipping cost amounts as different splits. But, you should know that the option for individual split lines to have unique tax status (using the checkboxes) is coming in the next major version, CheckBook Pro 3.0, which is due out before the year is over, so keep an eye out for that!

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Allan Woodall
Phosphorescent Phage
Splasm Software
http://www.splasm.com

Thanks! I found that capability in summary reports. Will check again in smart folder capability.

Tax status is not unitary: some business transactions are liable to both state and IRS tax, others liable only to IRS. Some business-related costs and purchases are tax exempt, others not.

Wouldn't the whole matter of selecting and reporting tax status be simplified by the ability to designate categories and sub-categories as individually tax-deductible or tax-exempt (though reportable)? Done once, active on every transaction. As tax laws change, simply add or change tax-related categories to track the changes.

To accomplish all this, of course, one would also need the ability to automatically access previous category state if accuracy of previous reports is needed. That's a hum-dinger!

As matters stand now in CheckBook Pro, I pay no attention to a separated checkbox for tax status, as I might at any time forget to click the box.

I simply encode tax status of both business income tax and sales tax with category names such as Bxinc:sale, BxRcpt:Tax:Sales:NY:Monroe, BxPmt:Tax:NY:Sales, Bxinc:Refund, BxRcpt:Shipping, BxExp:Supplies:Office, etc.

All good points, Dwain. Doing what you're doing in addressing tax-related status with custom categories is a great way of handling things in the current version. We'd be more than happy to look at adding support for designating specific categories or subcategories as individually tax-deductible or tax-exempt, to some future version. But, you'll be happy to know the ability to pick and choose which specific categories to include in Summaries is coming in CheckBook Pro 3.0 as well.

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Allan Woodall
Phosphorescent Phage
Splasm Software
http://www.splasm.com

That would indeed be a great help! Looking forward to 3.0

Thanks for all you and your team do in maintaining, and growing the capabilities of, CheckBook Pro. It is an amazing financial tracking and reporting tool, as well as a bank account management tool.