Creating a Set of Books

There are four ways to create a set of books.

• Convert a set of NV1 books (see "Appendix C" for instructions)
• Create a set of books based on one of the NV2 Starter Books
• Create a set of books from scratch
• Import accounting data from other software (contact Q.W.Page for details)

Creating a Set of Books based on Starter Books

Several Starter Books are provided with each installation of NewViews. In a standard installation, these books can be found in the following directory:

c:/nv/starter_setups

Additional Starter Books can be downloaded from the Q.W. Page website. If you can't find one that meets your requirements, please send an email to support@qwpage.com.

A set of books that is created using one of the Starter Books is fully modifiable to meet your specific requirements, i.e. accounts and reports can be modified, added or deleted as required.

Using Starter Books not only saves you time, it provides you with examples of report and account setups. All Starter Books contain generic financial reports, a trial balance, and sample customer, vendor and sales accounts. Details are provided below.

For more details on the Starter Books listed above, see Starter Setups.

Additional information on the Starter Books for non-profit organizations can also be found in the section Non-Profit Starter Template.

Starter books have a trial balance with numbered accounts, using the following convention:

• 1000-1999 - Assets
• 2000-2999 - Liabilities
• 3000-3999 - Equity
• 4000-4999 - Revenue
• 5000-5999 - Cost of Goods
• 6000-9999 - Expenses

If the numbering convention above is not suitable, you can change the name and/or description of any account at any time, even if you have already entered transactions.

Accounts that are not required should be deleted. New accounts can be added as needed, or organized into sub-categories, even if the books have been in use for years. There are virtually no restrictions on account names - they can be any combination of characters and unlimited in length. Examples of account names are shown below:

Account
Name	Description
101	Bank
1001	Bank
BANK	Bank Account
CIBC	Bank CIBC
CIBC430043	Bank CIBC Current Account
1000.CASH.CIBC	Bank CIBC

Some Starter Books have certain items hidden e.g. those used for Inventory and/or Payroll. These items can be displayed and used at any time.

It is not necessary for a set of books to have a complete general ledger before your start to enter transactions. Most organizations have to accommodate changes to reporting requirements, products and services offered, etc. on an ongoing basis. NewViews enables you to add/modify reports and add accounts as required to meet these changing needs.

To create a new Set of Books based on a Set of Starter Books:

1. Using Windows, copy the file corresponding to the Starter Books you want to use (see the table above for file names) to the directory in which NewViews is installed - usually c:/nv.
   
   
2. Rename the copy of the Starter Books. Most organizations choose a filename that corresponds to the name of their organization.
   
   For example, if Acme Company wants to create a new set of books based on the Canadian Starter Books, they could rename the file canada_basic.nv2 as acme.nv2.
   
   Important! When the file is renamed, the extension .nv2 must be used.
   
   
3. Run the NewViews Workstation.
   
   
4. Issue the command Tools>Script Evaluate, navigate to the script database_id_set.qw_script (under c:/nv/nv2.exe/system) and click <Select>.
   
   
   
5. Enter the name of the file - including the path - that was created in steps 1 and 2 and click <Ok>. For example, enter the file name:
   
   c:/nv/acme/database.nv2
   
   Instead of typing the name of the file, you can also click the folder icon, navigate to the file and click <Ok>.
   
   
6. Once the books have been created, they can be opened as described in Opening a Set of Books.

Creating a Set of Books from Scratch

Please note! It is significantly easier to modify a set of books that has been converted from NV1, or created using a set of Starter Books, than it is to set up books that are created from scratch.

We do not recommend using this method unless you are an experienced NewViews user with a strong background in basic accounting principles as you will have to manually add all the necessary reports and accounts and ensure the report arithmetic is set up correctly (see (Totalto Structure) for more information on Report Arithmetic).

To create an empty set of books:

1. Run the NewViews Workstation.
2. Insert a new row in the login table with the Edit Insert command. Or, you can simply press the <Insert> key. A blank row will appear in the table; the User, Autoopen and State fields will be filled in automatically.
3. Position on the File field. Enter a file name for the books you want to create, including the complete path. Be sure to use a forward slash ( / ) and not a backslash ( \ ) as the separator in the file path, and to give the file name the extension .NV2. Note: The file name you specify must not exist currently.
   
   For example, to create a set of books in the default NewViews installation directory (c:/nv) with the name brand_new_corp, you would enter:
   
   c:/nv/brand_new_corp.nv2
   
   
4. Position on the State field, press <F3> and select <Open>. Or, you can simply double click the State field to open the books. Since these books do not yet exist, you will be prompted to create the database. Click <Create Database> to proceed.
5. You will then be prompted to initiate a default setup for the new set of books. Note that this setup does not add any actual accounts or reports, but simply creates the framework the enables the Database Explorer to function. Click <Setup> to proceed.
6. A prompt indicating that the windows setup has completed will appear once the books have been created. When you click <Ok>, both the books and the NewViews Workstation will close automatically.
7. The books can now be opened as described in Opening a Set of Books.