Getting Started: When opening this Budget/Reserve Tool workbook always select 'Enable Macros' if queried to do so by Excel.

Step 1
Select the General Information Entry screen (from the Main Menu press the Enter/Modify General Information button) and enter the appropriate information. Items in blue can be entered or modified by the user. Note, a small red triangle in the upper right-hand corner of a cell indicates further explanation or direction is available by simply moving and holding the cursor over that cell for a moment.

Step 2
Select the Operating Budget Entry screen (from the Main Menu press the Enter/Modify Operating Budget button) and enter the applicable operating budget items. Items in blue can be entered, modified, or deleted by the user. If an item has been entered, but no cost data has been entered it will be ignored in the budget and maintenance fee calculations.

Step 3
Select the Reserve Item Entry screen (from the Main Menu press the Enter/Modify Reserve Items button) and enter the applicable reserve (study) items and associated information. Items in blue can be entered, modified, or deleted by the user. If an item has been entered, but no cost data has been entered it will be ignored in the reserve funding and maintenance fee calculations. After the reserve items have been entered press the Re-Calculate button and the maintenance fee and reserve funding data will be updated. The complete Reserve Item Report will then be displayed. If any of the data needs to be modified or new data added, simply press the Modify Entries button to go back to the Reserve Item Entry screen.

Step 4
Select the Percent Funding and Modification Entry screen (from the Main Menu press the Enter/Modify Percent Funding button) and enter the desired percent funding requirements for the ten year study period. Note, percent funding targets with a light blue background can be modified by the user. Changes in the entered funding targets will cause respective changes in other associated items (e.g. maintenance fee and reserve contribution). Alternatively, percent funding targets may be modified automatically by the Tool to achieve a desired maintenance fee increase. This is accomplished by using the Goal Seek capability of Excel. A desired percent maintenance fee increase is selected using Goal Seek and the Percent Funding target is manipulated automatically to produce that increase. See Product Overview for an explanation of Operating Budget Prioritization versus Percent Reserve Funding Prioritization.

Step 5
Save your entries and the respective budget plan by pressing the Save button on the Main Menu screen. Note, the current configuration can also be saved by pressing the Save button on any screen. Do not use the Save As command from the Excel Menu Bar as this will not function properly. (If you accidently select the Save As command and the workbook locks up, then simultaneously press the Ctrl, Alt, and Del keys and select the Excel application and press the End Task button within the popup window.) To exit the Tool simply press the Exit button on the Main Menu screen. The workbook (file) can be renamed by simply renaming the file through the standard Windows file rename facility. This is done by right mouse button clicking on the file (from the folder view) and selecting Rename from the shortcut menu. The entire file name will now be highlighted. Simply type in the new name and press the enter key or click elsewhere on the folder display. If the file extension (.xls) was originally displayed, make sure to include this in your new name (e.g. Budget1.xls). If the file extension was not originally displayed, then the extension should not be included (e.g. Budget1).