Start Wizard

Getting Started

The Start Wizard is invoked in the following situations:

• You selected New from the File menu
• You started Principal Plan for the first time
• You started Principal Plan without specifying a file
• You started Principal Plan by creating a budget online

In each case, the Start Wizard will guide you through several steps to get started with a new Principal Plan file.

Steps

1. Provides a bit of information to get started. Press Quit to start without running the wizard, press Next to continue.

2. Press the Add Account button for each Account you want to add to the system. Many folks find it easiest to start with one checking account, until they get the hang of it. There is no limit to the number of Accounts you can add to the system.

3. To create an Account, enter a unique name, specify an Account type, specify a starting balance, a starting date and a note. One way to start is to use your most recent bank statement.

4. If you created a budget online, you already specified your income sources and you won't see this screen. On this screen you can press the Add Income button for each regular income source you want the Allocation Plan to include. When you hit Next, the Allocation Plan will be displayed. See more information about the Allocation Plan here.

5. To create an income source, specify the type (usually Regular Multiple), specify a name, an amount, and the frequency for the source. Once a month would be 1 time, every 1 month. Every two weeks would be 1 time, every 2 weeks etc.

6. Hit Finish to begin using the new file.