Opale:Quickstart

From Freehackers

This page is intented to be a quick introduction on how to start Opale, create an account and begin using it. If you want to test the software, you can use this sample file.

[edit] Creating a new account

Launch Opale, then select new in the file menu. You are presented with a simple dialog to configure your new account.

Then you get an empty account. Let's configure it a little more. Go in the the Settings menu and choose Edit categories... . Categories are things like "School", "jobs" or "Flat" that qualify the purpose of an entry. You can of course only use a "misc" category and just don't bother anymore with it.

Next to it in the Settings menu, you can choose Edit methods... . Methods qualify how the money gets transfered from or to the account. Typical types are : checks, bank transfer, VISA....

Now, you can enter your first record. Click on the green "+" in the toolbar, or select New Record in the Edit menu, or, even better, just type Control+N on your keyboard.

The dialog you get should be self-explanatory. The date defaults to the current date.

[edit] Daily use

For everything happening to the bank account, you enter a record on the file.

Regularly, you compare what is in the file and what actually happened on your bank account. This an be when you receive your montly bank receipt, or when you check your account on internet.

If something is missing, you add it (after checking you know what this is and it is right for this entry to appear). For every record confirmed by the bank, you can check it (either press "space" if the record is selected, or click on the big red cross).

When everything is finished, the Checked Balance item at the bottom of the main window should be exactly what your bank report (or internet report) states. Else, you've got a problem that should be solved.