[moneytalks] Re: Beta: Oddity or bug, sometimes what you think is being entered as a debit is a credit,
- From: "ROB MEREDITH" <rmeredith@xxxxxxx>
- To: <moneytalks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 14:48:26 -0400
Steve:
As you have figured out, I think it is much, much easier to simply use
different pay names for debits and credits. Sure, on rare accasion, a
payee may become a payer, but careful handling in this situation should
be all that is necessary. The word "cash" is a bad pay name because the
direction of the transfer may not be obvious.
We could consider saying something like "debit" or "credit" when
selecting names, but that wouldn't be up to me. In my case, it hasn't
been much of a problem, since like you, I understand how the program
operates. Also, you can press Alt+D to make the selected name a debit or
Alt+C to make the selected name a credit, saving a keystroke.
Rob Meredith
>>> steveziel@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 08/29/06 02:23PM >>>
Hello MT staff and everybody,
When I first got money talks, I figured I'd use the term Cash in the
payee
and payer field for cash transactions over the counter at the bank. One
cash
would be for cash deposits, and the other would be for over the counter
cash
withdrawals. Because of an oddity in MT, I've had to use Cash for cash
withdrawals and my personal name for deposits. Here's what is
happening.
Do this:
Step 1: Make a debit transaction with an item from your selection lists
under the payee field, assign a category and subcategory and save the
transaction. You can create a brand new payee at this step instead, if
desired. Of course, MT defaults to debits as they are more frequently
used.
Step 2: Now enter a credit as follows. Use Ctrl+T or whatever to enter
another transaction. Before entering any data in the payee/payer field,
shift+Tab to the credit/debit radio button and choose credit.
Step 3: Tab back to what is now called the payer field and type the
first
few letters of the name you used in step 1, or simply arrow down
through the
list box until you find that name. Now shift back to the radio buttons
and
notice that what you selected as credit has reverted back to debit, the
payer field has become payee, and the category and subcategory you used
when
making that transaction a debit is being used again. If you hadn't
shifted
back to examine the radio button, you would have thought you were
entering a
credit. In fact, the selection of the name in the payee/payer field was
last
used with a debit and you are now making a debit. What you thought was
a
payer has become a payee.
If in step 3, you had selected the name in the payee/payer box first,
then
shifted back to turn the debit button into a credit button, you would
have
noticed that the category and subcategory columns have, so to speak,
gone
missing, they are now blank. So you enter them again and save what is
now a
credit.
Now the program recalls this associated payee/payer name was last used
as a
credit. If you select that name in the payee/payer field, the credit
button
will become active, and to make it a debit, you'll have to shift back
to the
credit/debit radio buttons, activate debit,
and you will have to again re-enter the category and subcategory for
the
debit state. And on and on it goes.
The problem is MT doesn't notify you of this happening.
Basically the program is remembering the entry for the payee/payer
listbox
phrase chosen, recalling its most recent credit or debit status, and
recalling the category and subcat status and using them again.
Because of its current behavior I've had to change my terms used for
over-the-counter deposits and debits of cash. That in itself is
relatively
OK, but the program itself, or its documentation not notifying one of
this
behavior can cause real puzzlement for some, myself included. For
instance,
I have a friend who intuitively wanted to use his name for deposits and
withdrawals of cash and, being a new user, found that though he shifted
back
to make the default debit radio button a credit, after entering the
supposed
credit, it showed up as a debit. Quite confusing. Made for a difficult
reconciling, putting it mildly.
Is there a way to allow the same selected name in the payee/payer
listbox to
independently act as a credit or debit, regardless of what it was used
last?
Afterall, a payee can be a payer too. Failing that, can something be
done in
the program itself to let the user know that this behavior is going on.
Perhaps after speaking the name of the names in the payee/payer list
box, as
one arrows, the program can immediately speak the name of the
debit/credit
button that is highlighted for that payee/payer name, based on the
credit/debit status of the last usage of the payee/payer name.
I don't think disallowing a credit transaction for a particular name in
the
payee/payer field, if a name were first used as a debit, or the
reverse, is
a good solution. This would limit the flexibility of the program and
keep a
user from making credit/debit associations with the same name in the
payee/payer field. At least right now, one can use the same name as a
credit
or debit, though carefully. I think, ideally, the program should
disassociate a given name in the payee/payer field from the last
debit/credit usage, but some type of notification of credit/debit state
should be made when making the name selection in the payee/payer
field.
Thanks in advance for your consideration.
Steve
"I purr, therefore I am"
-- Descates
1596-1650
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- » [moneytalks] Re: Beta: Oddity or bug, sometimes what you think is being entered as a debit is a credit,
