SBFM: Installation Requirements and Limitations

• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Small Business Financial Manager for Microsoft Excel, version 1.0

SUMMARY

The following information describes the system requirements for installing the Microsoft Small Business Financial Manager for Microsoft Excel (SBFM). It also describes known limitations in the application as well as known issues with third-party accounting programs.

MORE INFORMATION

The minimum system requirements for the Microsoft Small Business Financial Manager for Microsoft Excel are as follows:

• A personal computer with a 386DX or higher processor (486 recommended)
• Microsoft Windows 95 operating system or a Microsoft Windows NT workstation operating system version 3.51 or later (will not run on earlier versions of Windows)
• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95 (will not run on earlier versions of Microsoft Excel)
• 8 megabytes (MB) of memory for use on Windows 95; 14 MB of memory for use on a Windows NT workstation
• Hard disk space required: 10 MB available (excludes requirements for Microsoft Excel for Windows 95)
• One 3.5-inch high-density disk drive
• VGA or higher resolution video adapter (SVGA 256-color recommended)
• Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
• Accounting data from a system supported by the Microsoft Small Business Financial Manager for Microsoft Excel

If You Have a Previous Version of Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Small Business Financial Manager for Microsoft Excel Setup installs a shortcut on your desktop to start Microsoft Excel for Windows 95. If you have a previous version of Microsoft Excel on your computer in addition to Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, the Microsoft Small Business Financial Manager for Microsoft Excel shortcut starts the last installed version of Microsoft Excel. If the shortcut opens a version of Microsoft Excel other than Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, reinstall Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, then reinstall Microsoft Small Business Financial Manager for Windows 95. You do not need to remove your previous version of Microsoft Excel.

If You Have a Network Version of Microsoft Excel

You cannot install the Microsoft Small Business Financial Manager for Microsoft Excel if you are using a version of Microsoft Excel that is run from the network. You must have Microsoft Excel installed locally on your computer before you can install the Microsoft Small Business Financial Manager. If you are running the network version of Microsoft Excel, you may have problems installing the Microsoft Small Business Financial Manager.

Though Setup does not include a special network setup mode, you can distribute the Microsoft Small Business Financial Manager for Microsoft Excel over a network (provided you have obtained the appropriate license to do so). To do this, use the following steps:

1. On the network server, create a folder called SBFM.

2. In the SBFM folder, create three folders and name them Disk1, Disk2 and Disk3.

   The new folders should resemble the following:

         <drive:>\SBFM\Disk1
         <drive:>\SBFM\Disk2
         <drive:>\SBFM\Disk3
   

   where <drive:> is the letter of the network drive.

3. Copy the contents of each of the Setup disks to the appropriate folder on the network server (that is, copy the contents of Disk 1 to the Disk1 folder, and so on).

4. Once the disk contents are copied to their respective folders on the network, start the Setup program from the desired workstation. Note that each workstation must have a local installation of Microsoft Excel.

Installing Microsoft Access 2.0 After SBFM

If you are going to install Microsoft Access 2.0 on your computer and you have already installed Financial Manager, follow these steps:

1. Uninstall SBFM.

2. Install Microsoft Access for Windows, version 2.0.

3. Re-install the Microsoft Small Business Financial Manager for Microsoft Excel.

Special Instructions on Types of Accounting Data You Can Import

Accounting data created by Simply Accounting for Windows. You cannot import a database into Microsoft Small Business Financial Manager for Microsoft Excel if it's concurrently open in Simply Accounting. Before you use the Import Wizard to import or update a database, verify that the database isn't already in use by Simply Accounting; if it is, close it.

Accounting data created by Great Plains Accounting for DOS. If you copy Great Plains accounting data from another computer to use with the Microsoft Small Business Financial Manager for Microsoft Excel, you must copy the entire data directory and any subdirectories intact. Otherwise the Microsoft Small Business Financial Manager for Microsoft Excel may not be able to locate the accounting data once you've copied it, because Great Plains points to data in specific directories.

Accounting data created by Peachtree Complete Accounting for DOS. Peachtree maintains two master files, SYSCOMP.D@@ and SYSCOMP.K@@, that contain the names and locations of all your accounting data files. Peachtree places these master files in the same folder as the Peachtree program files, instead of in the same directory as your accounting data. The Microsoft Small Business Financial Manager for Microsoft Excel can't locate your accounting data without these master files. If you don't have the Peachtree software on your computer, and you want to import Peachtree accounting data that was created on another computer, be sure to copy not just the accounting data from the other computer, but the two SYSCOMP master files from the Peachtree program folder as well.

Accounting data created by Peachtree for Windows version 3.0. You can't import a database into the Microsoft Small Business Financial Manager for Microsoft Excel if it's concurrently open in Peachtree for Windows. Before you use the Import Wizard to import or update a database, verify that the database isn't already in use by Peachtree for Windows; if it is, close it.

Accounting data created by Quickbooks, you must have Quickbooks installed on your computer, and the company .QBW file to import must be in the same folder as the Quickbooks program files.

REFERENCES

README.TXT, Small Business Financial Manager Setup Disk 1

AppNote: WE1278.EXE: "Questions and Answers: Small Business Financial Manager"

The following file are available for download from the Microsoft Software Library:

 ~ WE1278.EXE

   ARTICLE-ID: Q119591
   TITLE     : How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services