If you do not want to create a detailed budget for your clients, you do not need to enter anything on this tab.
Remember, you can summarize the expenses in one annual figure on Column 1, Row 11, Living Expenses on the Cash Flow Tab.
However, if you want to track the individual expenses, you can enter them on this tab. MasterPlan will total them and display them on the Cash Flow Tab, Row 11.
On the projection reports, MasterPlan displays the numeric total from Row 11 on the Cash Flow Tab.
Note: If you click on Column 1 of the Living Expenses Row (Row 11) on the Cash Flow Tab, and look at the Formula Bar, you will see the formula displayed. If you type an annual figure, we will replace the formula with the constant dollar amount. If you decide later to do a detailed budget, enter the budget items on the Living Expenses Budge Tab, then click on Column 1 of the Living Expenses Row and press the F8 function key to reactivate the original formula.
To create the Monthly Cash Flow report, from the Main Menu Bar, click on Reports | Worksheets | Budget Worksheet.
Since this is a worksheet report, you can change the amounts on that window.
You can create a list of items that you want to include in the budget for most of your clients from the Tools Menu on the Main Menu Bar.
From the Main Menu Bar click on Tools | Manage Lists | Budget Categories.
Click on Actions | New.
Fill out the New Category dialog box. The Budget Item is the actual item itself, such a Food or Entertainment. The Category allows you to group the items by major categories such as Household or Entertainment, etc. If you have already created the desired category, select it from the drop-down list.
Click OK.
MasterPlan sorts this list in alphabetical order by Budget Item, but you can change the order of the items for each client.
You can enter the items individually, or you can load the list of master (default) items which you created from the Tools | Manage Lists | Budget Categories window.
To change a monthly dollar figure or enter a new one, select the desired cell and type the amount or enter the formula.
Click on the row and press Alt + the up arrow to move an item higher in the list.
Press Alt + the down arrow to move an item down in the list.
In addition to the items in the Actions Menu, MasterPlan displays some additional items in the Actions Bar.
This button is turned off when you are in this tab, since all items that you enter here will be in addition to items already entered in the Portfolio Menu (and the Scenario Menu for the What-If Budget items).
Whether or not you load the list of standard (default) items, you can always add a new item to the existing list on the Living Expenses Budget Tab.
To do so, click on the New Item button (Alt + M). The new item will be added to the end of the list.
Type of name of the Budget Item. Click in the appropriate cell, type in the amounts using the F6 Escalation Key, if desired.
MasterPlan will not include this item in the master list; it assumes that you want to create this item for this client only.
To include a new item in the master list, return to the Tools Menu.
To change or edit the description (name) of a budget item, click somewhere on the row of that item.
Click on the Edit Item button. Edit the name and click OK. The monthly dollar amounts will remain unchanged.
To clear the amounts and the name of the item, click on the row and press the Clear Row button.
You cannot get this item back unless you retype it or leave the Tax and Cash Flow Form by closing without saving the changes you made. If you chose to do this, you will lose all changes made to all sections of this form in this session.
To load the master list of items created in the Tools | Manage Lists | Budget Categories window, click on the Load Defaults button. MasterPlan will only load items from the master list that do not already exist on the current Living Expenses Budget Tab. It will not erase or replace any existing items.