Purpose: This document describes how to use the TBS Vehicle Maintenance program.
PREFACE
TBS Vehicle Maintenance provides a means to track scheduled maintenance, maintenance work performed, fuel usage, and the cost of operating vehicles or equipment.
Features of the program include:
Will track usage by miles, kilometers, or hours, selectable by vehicle.
Will track fuel usage by gallons or liters, selectable by vehicle.
Tracks maintenance work performed.
Tracks miles driven by driver.
Tracks expiration dates of drivers licenses.
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................. .. 4
Navigating Screens ........... .. 4
Main Screen and Toolbar ........... 4
Browse Screens ........... ... 6
Lookup Information from Another Table ........... 6
Data Entry Screens ........... .. 6
Notes Tab and User Defined Fields ........... 7
Installing the program ............................. .. .. .. 8
Loading Initial Data ................................. .. 8
The Data Entry Menu .......... .. 8
Browse the Autos file ......... .. 9
Browse the Vendors file ................................. .. . 9
Browse the Drivers file .............................. .. 9
Browse the Maint Types file ...................... .. 9
Browse the Sched Maint file ....................... .. 9
Browse the Maint Log ................................... .. 10
Browse the Fuel Log file............................... ... 10
Reports . .. ............................... .. 11
Report Menu .. ................................... .. 11
About Taylor Business Software ............. ................... . 12
Introduction
This manual is designed to be a user reference tool.
It is divided into the following major topic areas:
Installation describes how to install the program
Load Initial Data describes how to set up the initial data so that you can start to use the program.
Running the program Describes how to enter data and print reports.
The primary menu items that you will be using are DataEntry and Reports. DataEntry is where all of the routines used to enter information into the program are located. Reports is where all of the reports available are located.
Below the menu commands is a toolbar. The icons on the toolbar allow you to navigate thru the records in the vehicle maintenance database. When using the program, if you are not sure what the icon will do, position your mouse cursor on the icon and online help will be displayed. At various points in the program, the icons will be dim (lost focus which means that they are not active at that point in time)
The first 7 icons from the left allow you to:
Move to the first record in the table
Move up one page of records (One page is one screen full of records)
Move to the prior record
Locate a record.
Move to the next record
Move down one page of records
Move to the last record in the table.
The next 4 icons allow you to:
Select the current record (used to select the current record and return to another screen).
Add a new record
Edit the current record
Delete the current record
The last 2 icons
Select previous value
Get help
Browse Screens
Once you select a Data Entry menu option, you will be presented with a browse screen that will display the records in that table.
From this screen, you can select a existing record to edit (highlight the existing record, then click on the Change button or double click on the record, add a new record (by clicking on the Insert button, or the + toolbar icon), delete a record (by highlighting the record you want to delete, then click on the Delete button or the toolbar icon). There may be additional tabs above the records displayed that will change the order the records are displayed, or take you to a linked table.
At a number of locations
throughout the program, you will see the following icon: 
For example, you are entering info in the Autos table, and the program is prompting you for the Driver Id. You can click on this icon, and the program will open up the Browse Drivers routine, where you can select the driver from the list, or you can add a new driver at this time.
A number of the data entry screens have tabs across the top of the screen. You can click on each of the tabs to switch between the screens. In some cases, you will have to fill out information on multiple screens before you can save the record.
A number of the tables
contain a Notes tab to allow you to enter any miscellaneous information about
the current record. The autos table also contains a tab for user defined fields
which allows you to enter up to 6 fields of additional information. The titles
for these user defined fields can be set up in the Browse the Company file menu
option.
Installing the program
The program is distributed as a zip file. You will need a program to unzip the distribution file if you do not have a unzip program, you can download one from the internet. It is suggested that you unzip the program to a new subdirectory, for example: TBSVM. When you run the program, it will look for data files first in the subdirectory that you install it to, then in subdirectories that exist in your computers path setting. If you want to create a shortcut on your computer to the TBS Vehicle Maintenance program, create a shortcut that points to the TBSVEHICLE.EXE file.
The first time you run the program, it will create any required data files. These data files should be left in the same subdirectory as the program.
Once you have installed the program, run the program, and select Data Entry, Browse the Company file and enter information about yourself. This is also where you can set up user defined field names.
There may be important information on this release of TBS Vehicle Maintenance that did not make it into this manual. Please check out the README.TXT file in the subdirectory that you installed the program in for the latest updates about the program.
It is recommended that before you start to set up scheduled maintenance, that you set up some information in the program. For example, one of the items that you have to set up first is the Maintenance Types, which you will use to set up scheduled maintenance items. You can add the maintenance types when you are setting up a scheduled maintenance item, but it will probably be easier to enter all the maintenance types that you will need at one time.
The Data Entry Menu is shown below:
Browse the Autos file
Autos are the primary items that you want to track. These can be vehicles or any motorized equipment that requires periodic maintenance. When you set up a Auto, you can specify what type of fuel it uses (Gas or Diesel), and whether you want to track usage by miles, kilometers, or hours, and if you want to track fuel by Gallons or Liters. When you enter fuel for a vehicle, you can specify if the entry is in Gallons or Liters and the system will convert the entry to the default set up for that vehicle.
For the report listing scheduled maintenance functions to work correctly, the mileage on the vehicles needs to be updated periodically. If you are entering fuel usage information, this update is done automatically. If you do not enter fuel usage information, you will need to update the vehicles current mileage periodically (for example, monthly) before you run the scheduled maintenance report.
Vendors are people or companies that you use to maintain your vehicles, and is also used to keep track of the companies that you have purchased vehicles from.
Browse the Drivers file
Drivers are individuals that can drive any of the vehicles. You will be asked for the default driver id when you are setting up a vehicle record. If you use driver ids when you are entering fuel usage information, the system will keep track of the miles driver by driver. Reports are available that list drivers with expiring licenses.
This routine allows you to set up the master maintenance types that you will use when you set up scheduled maintenance activities, and when you record maintenance work actually performed. It is recommended that you also set up a MISC type for miscellaneous maintenance work that is done. You may also have to set up multiple maintenance types for similar items if the mileage or month intervals will be different. For example, you may want to have a OIL3 and a OIL5 to designate a Oil Change at 3,000 miles and at 5,000 miles.
The scheduled Maintenance file takes information from the Autos file and the Maintenance Types file, and creates an entry for that maintenance operation for the vehicle specified. You will set up multiple Scheduled Maintenance operations for each vehicle. For example, a oil change to be performed every 5,000 miles, a transmission service to be performed every 30,000 miles, a tune up every 100,000 miles You will probably need to use the owners manual to see what the manufacturers maintenance schedule is, and to set up the appropriate scheduled maintenance operations.
Once you have set up your existing vehicles, the following menu options are where you will use the program the most. It is important to understand how these will impact the systems ability to figure out when a vehicle is due for maintenance. In general, transactions should be entered in the sequence in which they occurred. Each time one of these transactions is entered, the program looks at the current mileage in the Autos file, and if the mileage from the current transaction is higher, will update the current mileage to the value that is being entered.
This is where you enter the maintenance work that has been performed. If this was a scheduled maintenance activity, the system will take the mileage and date the work was performed at, looked up the mileage interval and months interval from the Maintenance Types file, and update the entry in the Scheduled Maintenance file to reflect the time that this maintenance activity should next be performed. Over time, the entries that you enter here become the maintenance history for the vehicles.
The fuel log file keeps track of the fuel and oil usage for the vehicles. The information gathered here is used to calculate the fuel cost and oil cost that is displayed on the operating cost report. Over time, the operating cost report can help to identify, for similar vehicles, drivers that have a heavy foot or vehicles that are starting to need maintenance work.
Reports
The primary report menu:
Reports are available for each of the tables, There are a number of options that have submenus, such as the Report the Autos file with the right pointing arrow. Position the cursor on one of these menu options, and a sub menu will appear to the right, listing the various options. In these cases, the differences between the reports on the submenus will be how the information is sorted on the report.
From a technical standpoint, the reporting done in TBS Vehicle Maintenance is handled via Crystal reports. The information is processed and printed to a file, then the crystal reports file viewer is used to display the results. The reports are initially displayed to the screen, and you can then print out the pages that you wish.
The crystal reports toolbar is:
The printer icon will
allow you to print the report, the magnifier glass icon will allow you to zoom
in on the report, and increase or decrease the size of the image displayed on
the screen.
About Taylor Business Software
Taylor Business Software develops business applications. Our goal is to develop applications that are functional and easy to use. For those applications that we consider there to be a market for, we distribute them via shareware, so that you can try them to evaluate their usefulness. You can check out our web site to see what other applications that we have available at www.taylor-business.com.
You can also report problems on our website. Please go to the support section and fill out the problem submittal form. As soon as the problem is resolved, you will be emailed a notice as to the solution.
We are always looking for ways to improve this application, and if you would like to see additional features added to it, let us know, and we will consider them for a future release. Additionally, if you have been looking for a application to meet a specific need but have not found anything that meets your needs, let us know.
Taylor Business Software has extensive experience in accounting software, database development, file conversions, crystal reports, and programming in Business Basic and Clarion for Windows.
To contact Taylor Business Software
Taylor Business Software
1018 S. 7th Avenue
Avondale, AZ 85323
Phone 623-882-1321
Email Sales@Taylor-Business.com
Web Site www.Taylor-Business.com