SDFM

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manual template
2004 ... Your company
Title page 1
Use this page to introduce the product
by <AUTHOR>
This is "Title Page 1" - you may use this page to introduce
your product, show title, author, copyright, company logos,
etc.
This page intentionally starts on an odd page, so that it is on
the right half of an open book from the readers point of
view. This is the reason why the previous page was blank
(the previous page is the back side of the cover)
Contents
Table of Contents
Foreword
Part I Introduction
1 Overview
................................................................................................................................... 4
2 License
................................................................................................................................... 4
Part II Passwords
1 Overview
................................................................................................................................... 5
2 Logon ................................................................................................................................... 6
3 Changing
................................................................................................................................... 6
Part III Databases
1 Overview
................................................................................................................................... 7
2 Backing
...................................................................................................................................
UP
8
3 Restoring
................................................................................................................................... 9
Part IV Static School Data
10
1 Overview
................................................................................................................................... 10
2 Updating
................................................................................................................................... 11
3 Database
...................................................................................................................................
Backup Location
11
Part V Current Week
11
1 Overview
................................................................................................................................... 11
2 Inset Days
................................................................................................................................... 13
3 Finalising
...................................................................................................................................
Week
14
4 Staff Meals
................................................................................................................................... 15
5 Viewing
...................................................................................................................................
Weekly Totals
16
Part VI Past Weeks
16
1 Overview
................................................................................................................................... 16
2 Childrens
...................................................................................................................................
Meals
17
3 Staff Meals
................................................................................................................................... 17
4 View Weeks
...................................................................................................................................
Totals
18
Part VII Start New Week
18
1 How to
................................................................................................................................... 18
Part VIII Staff
19
1 Overview
................................................................................................................................... 19
II
Title of this help project

2 Add ................................................................................................................................... 20
3 Delete................................................................................................................................... 21
4 Modify
................................................................................................................................... 23
23
Part IX Class Rooms
1 Overview
................................................................................................................................... 23
2 Add ................................................................................................................................... 24
3 Delete................................................................................................................................... 24
4 Modify
................................................................................................................................... 24
5 Class...................................................................................................................................
Members
24
Delete
......................................................................................................................................................... 24
Move to new Class

......................................................................................................................................................... 25
25
Part X Children
1 Overview
................................................................................................................................... 25
2 Add ................................................................................................................................... 25
3 Delete................................................................................................................................... 25
4 Modify
................................................................................................................................... 25
5 Funds................................................................................................................................... 25
6 Free Meals
................................................................................................................................... 25
7 Meal Preference
................................................................................................................................... 25
8 Move ...................................................................................................................................
to new Class Room
25
9 Importing
................................................................................................................................... 25
10 CSV Format
...................................................................................................................................
Guide
25
26
Part XI Meal Types
1 Overview
................................................................................................................................... 26
2 Modify
................................................................................................................................... 26
3 Description
................................................................................................................................... 26
4 Cost ................................................................................................................................... 26
26
Part XII Money Received/Paid
1 Overview
................................................................................................................................... 26
2 Selecting
...................................................................................................................................
Class Room
26
3 Selecting
...................................................................................................................................
Child
26
4 Credits
................................................................................................................................... 26
Add
......................................................................................................................................................... 26
Delete
......................................................................................................................................................... 26
Modify
......................................................................................................................................................... 26
5 Refunds
................................................................................................................................... 27
Add
......................................................................................................................................................... 27
Delete
......................................................................................................................................................... 27
Modify
......................................................................................................................................................... 27
Contents
III
6 Finalise
................................................................................................................................... 27
Part XIII Weekly Statement
27
1 Overview
................................................................................................................................... 27
2 Date ................................................................................................................................... 27
3 Banking
...................................................................................................................................
Detail
27
4 Printing
................................................................................................................................... 27
Part XIV Forms
27
1 Overview
................................................................................................................................... 27
2 Weekly
...................................................................................................................................
Register
27
3 End of...................................................................................................................................
Week Register
28
4 Daily ...................................................................................................................................
Kitchen Report
28
5 Arrears
...................................................................................................................................
Letter
28
Index
Introduction
1.1
Overview
School Dinner Finance Manager has been developed to assist school administrators with the
onerous process of managing the School Dinner cycle.
Listed below are some of the many features designed to make your daily dinner routines a lot
easier.
Manage multiple classes within year groups.
Track history of payments for each child.
Create arrears letters.
Easily move children to new year group.
Produce daily reports for Kitchen manager.
Create weekly meal sheet per classroom.
Create end of week balance sheet per classroom.
Generate weekly financial statement.
Easily insert Inset/Public holiday days.
Child default meal type.
Backup/Restore database.
Import Child detail from CSV.
Password controlled access
Research has show that SDFM can save between a half to a whole day per week of
your administrators valuable time.
1.2
License
License Agreement
You should carefully read the following terms and conditions before using the software. By using
this software you indicate that you accept the present license agreement.
DISCLAIMER
This software is provided on an "as is" basis without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied,
including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular
purpose. The person using the software bears all risk as to the quality and performance of the
software. The author will not be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect or similar
damages due to loss of data or any other reason, even if the author or an agent of the author has
been advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event shall the author's liability for any
damages ever exceed the price paid for the license to use the software, regardless of the form of
the claim.
Restrictions
You may not use, copy, modify, translate, or transfer the programs, documentation, or any copy
except as expressly defined in this agreement. You may not attempt to unlock or bypass any
"copy-protection" or authentication algorithm utilized by the program.
Introduction
You may not remove or modify any copyright notice or the method by which it may be invoked.
Operating license
You have the non-exclusive right to use any enclosed program only by a single person, on a
single computer at a time. You may physically transfer the program from one computer to
another, provided that the program is used only by a single person, on a single computer at a
time.
Passwords
2.1
Overview
Password are your key to the software, if you do not know your password then you will not be able
to gain access to the program.
SDFM does not force you into any restrictive password policy, by that we mean that you are not
forced to have a password of a particular length and are not forced to change it on preset
intervals.
Passwords can be any length and may contain any mix of characters that you wish, making
passwords too long can cause problems when typing them in and are also easier to forget.
7 to 9 characters are normally an acceptable length for secure passwords, especially if you
include the odd number within the password.
Password are case sensitive, for example Amer1ca is different from amer1ca. Notice the 1 in the
password, this makes it difficult for people to guess passwords. If your school is called St Johns,
and you had that as your password STJOHNS, that would be fairly easy for somebody to guess,
but if you had STJ0HNS then it would make a little harder.
You should never write passwords on a slip of paper and then keep it under the monitor or
keyboard, it is the first place people look. Also don't use your name, school name, or anything
that is easy to guess. If your school is called St Johns, and you had that as your password
STJOHNS, that would be fairly easy for somebody to guess, but if you had StJ0hns (notice the
zero) then it would make a little harder.
2.2
Logon
After the initial installation and adding of the Class Room and Child information, you will be
prompted for a password every time you launch the application.
The startup password is letmein and you are advised to change this as soon as possible to
prevent others from gaining access and modify data.
2.3
Changing
The password can only be changed during the application startup. Once you have been prompted
for the password, you can click the Change Password button. This will make available to you the
option to enter a new password.
You must enter your current password prior to clicking the Change Password button, otherwise
you will be prompted to do so.
Enter your new password twice, once in the Enter your new password box and again in the
Confirm your new password box. Click OK to continue, if there is a discrepancy between the two
passwords that you entered then you will see a message advising you.
Passwords
Click OK and try again.
Databases
3.1
Overview
SDFM is supported by several tables which contain a variety of information, such as Child
Names, Meal Costs, Current and Historical class meal registers.
SDFM has the ability to take periodical backups or snapshots of these tables. Then in the event of
a table becoming corrupted due to reasons outside of your control, a working copy can be
restored.
SDFM automatically creates a backup of your tables just before finalising the register at the end
of a week, there is also a menu option which allows you to perform a backup at any time of your
choosing.
When a backup is taken, every table is backed up, but when restoring from a backup you are
allowed to pick and choose which tables you want to restore. This allows you to restore only the
table that has become corrupted.
Care must be taken when restoring tables because any data in the current table is immediately
overwritten and is unrecoverable, unless of course a backup was made before the recovery..
Manual backup are given a name of your choosing, whereas automatic backups are given a name
by the application in the format WEyyyymmdd.bkp
By default backups are made in the application install folder, but you have the choice of
nominating your own backup location. For example you may have an automated procedure which
backs up all the Schools data overnight and you may want to include the SDFM tables in this
backup. The School Static Data options has this option.
It is accessible via the Data menu
3.2
Backing UP
Select the File menu and then Backup Database option. The following screen will be displayed.
Enter a name of your choosing for the backup name, do not put the .bkp at the end, the
application will do this for you.
Enter a description to briefly describe this backup.
Click OK. and after the backup is complete you should see
Databases
3.3
Restoring
Click the File menu and then Restore Database, the following screen will be displayed.
The default location is obtained from the School Static Data. In the example above the backup
folder is in the School Dinners Folder.
To Select the backup that you wish to restore, click on it's name in the Backup Files pane on the
right of the screen displayed dialog box. The screen will change to following.
10
In the Tables to Restore pane, click each of the tables that you wish to restore, for example if only
the Meals table has become corrupt, then only click on that table. A tick will appear in the box to
indicate that you have selected this table for restoring.
When you are ready, click the Restore Selected Tables button.
A message will be displayed telling you that the tables were restore successfully and that you
need to close the SDFM application and restart.
Static School Data
4.1
Overview
Static data is a collection of information that relates to your School. It contains the following
information:
School Name
Address
Telephone number
Fax number
Email address
Head Teacher name
Database Backup location.
This is information generally only entered once and will be used by the application on a regular
basis. For example the Static Data is used to include your School name in any reports that are
generated.
Static School Data
4.2
11
Updating
To enter the Static Data, choose the Data menu and then School Static Data, the following
window will appear.
Complete all the fields and click Save and then Close. Should you require to make changes to
this data at a later date, then repeat the above process and then Save.
4.3
Database Backup Location

The Database backup location can be any hard drive on your system, if you have a local area
network (LAN), then you may want to store these backups on a folder somewhere on the network.
This should allow you to have the backups automatically save to tape during your normal network
backup. You will need to seek the assistance of your Technical Support staff if you are not certain
what to do.
Current Week
5.1
Overview
The Current Week form is where you will enter the meals taken by each child, this can be done on
a daily basis or at the end of the week.
The first time that you use the application, you will see a message when displaying this form. The
message will scroll across the top of the screen advising you that there is no active week and that
you should Start a New Week.
12
Please refer to the Start New Week section for further information.
Below is snapshot of the Current Week Screen.
Staff Members are also eligible to take meals and you can add these via the Staff Meals Tab
shown below.
If you need a summary of the week, you can obtain a snapshot by clicking on the View Weeks
Totals Tab shown below
Current Week
5.2
13
Inset Days
Inset days are not part of the normal term breaks and normally occur outside of these. To mark a
day as Inset or any day outside of the terms breaks you can right click on the button labeled "To
mark a day as an Inset Day or Holiday Right Click" as shown
below.
This will mark the Meal taken for every child as "H" as shown below. This is applied to all children
in the school for that day.
14
If you need to mark an individual child as being away on Holiday or Absent then you can select
the appropriate code from the drop down list shown below
5.3
Finalising Week
Finalising your week is normally done on a Friday after you have completed the entries for each
child, this involves the meals they have taken during the week and the addition of any funds that
may have been handed into the school to cover their meal costs.
Once finalised you cannot make any changes to the data for that week, so think carefully before
clicking the button. Make sure that all your numbers are correct.
Click the Finalise Current Week button as show below:
The following message will be displayed:
Current Week
15
You will notice that this tells you that you will no longer be able to make changes, but you will be
able to view and print from the Past Weeks logs. It also advises you that a backup has been taken
prior to the finalisation. So in theory this means that if you realise that you have made a mistake
and have not started a New Week, you cana restore the database back to how it was prior to you
clicking the finalise button.
5.4
Staff Meals
To add a staff meal, click on the Staff Meals Tab, the following screen will be displayed.
To add a meal taken, click on the New Button and select the staff member from the drop down list
box.
Now choose a meal type from the drop down list for the appropriate day. Click the Save button.
Repeat steps for each Staff member, selecting the correct meal type for the required days.
16
5.5
Viewing Weekly Totals

You use the Week Totals tab to check that the numbers are correct for each Class Room. This is
a read only screen and is for viewing only. If you need a printed copy you can run a report as
described under the Forms help topic.
Past Weeks
6.1
Overview
Past weeks is a exact copy of the current week, it shows all meals taken for both Children and
Staff and displays the summary totals for meals taken and the financial position at the end of the
week for each class room. It is a read only option and no data can be changed.
To select the past week that you wish to view click on the Week Ending date selector.
Past Weeks
17
Select the date you require, it will automatically retrieve and display the data, assuming that the
date you selected was a school week and there was data entered.
6.2
Childrens Meals
Example of the Past weeks screen for children's meals
6.3
Staff Meals
Example of the Past Weeks screen for the Staff Meals
18
6.4
View Weeks Totals

Example of the Past Weeks Sumary totals
Start New Week
7.1
How to
Starting a new week, creates a new set of data for each child in the database. It copies across
their outstanding funds and takes any additions, deletions or changes to the child records.
Click the Start New Week Button.
Start New Week
19
The above date selector is shown, select the Friday of the week that you wish to start and click
the Start New Week button.
If you select a date that is not a Friday, you will see a message to that effect. You will also see a
message if you try and select a date that has already been used.
You will be returned to the New Current week screen.
Staff
8.1
Overview
If you have a situation where staff members and visitors take meals whether they be free or paid,
you will need to maintain a list of staff members so that you can include them on your daily
kitchen report and also record the money due for paid meals taken.
Below is a view of the staff maintenance screen.
20
8.2
Add
To add a new member of staff click on the New button as show below
Enter the staff member details in the fields Name and Position as shown below
Staff
21
Click the Save Button to update the staff database records with this new member.
8.3
Delete
To delete member of staff, first you need to select them from the list in the top half of the screen
and then click on the Delete button as shown below.
22
After clicking on the delete button you will be prompted to confirm your action as show below.
Staff
8.4
23
Modify
If you need to change the details of a staff member then click the Edit button as show below
Make the required changes and then click the Save button.
Class Rooms
9.1
Overview
Classroom maintenance allows you to add One or more classrooms to each year group. You can
also move classrooms upto the next level at the end of the academic year. This saves you the
effort of having to manually change each child. When a child is moved up a level, their current
funding position is also carried over with them.
An overview of the screen is shown below.
24
9.2
Add
Enter topic text here.
9.3
Delete
9.4
Modify
9.5
Class Members
9.5.1
Delete
Class Rooms
9.5.2
Move to new Class

10
Children
10.1
Overview
10.2
Add
10.3
Delete
10.4
Modify
10.5
Funds
10.6
Free Meals
10.7
Meal Preference
10.8
Move to new Class Room

10.9
Importing
10.10 CSV Format Guide

25
26
11
Meal Types
11.1
Overview
11.2
Modify
11.3
Description
11.4
Cost
12
Money Received/Paid
12.1
Overview
12.2
Selecting Class Room

12.3
Selecting Child
12.4
Credits
12.4.1 Add
12.4.2 Delete
12.4.3 Modify
Money Received/Paid
12.5
Refunds
12.5.1 Add
12.5.2 Delete
12.5.3 Modify
12.6
Finalise
13
Weekly Statement
13.1
Overview
13.2
Date
13.3
Banking Detail
13.4
Printing
14
Forms
14.1
Overview
14.2
Weekly Register
27
28
14.3
End of Week Register

14.4
Daily Kitchen Report

14.5
Arrears Letter
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Standard print

Part III Databases

Part IV Static School Data

Part V Current Week

Part VI Past Weeks

Part VII Start New Week

Part VIII Staff

2004 ... Your company

Title of this help project

Part IX Class Rooms

Move to new Class

Part XI Meal Types

Part XII Money Received/Paid

2004 ... Your company

Part XIII Weekly Statement

Part XIV Forms

2004 ... Your company

Title of this help project

2004 ... Your company

2004 ... Your company

Title of this help project

2004 ... Your company

Click OK and try again.

2004 ... Your company

Title of this help project

2004 ... Your company

2004 ... Your company

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Static School Data

2004 ... Your company

Static School Data

Database Backup Location

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2004 ... Your company

2004 ... Your company

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The following message will be displayed:

2004 ... Your company

2004 ... Your company

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Viewing Weekly Totals

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View Weeks Totals

Start New Week

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Start New Week

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2004 ... Your company

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2004 ... Your company

Move to new Class

Move to new Class Room

10.10 CSV Format Guide

2004 ... Your company

Title of this help project