Tools of the Trade

The Big Old Rubbermaid Tub in Andrea's Basement

The current storage place for old Loot Lizards data is in a big old Rubbermaid tub in Andrea's basement.  We've got tax data, old statements and dues sheets,  and some other random crud that we're hanging onto. (Like old software versions and manuals and that sort of thing.)

The Folder

We keep the current year's paperwork in a small three ring binder. It's turned out to be convenient to divide this into several sections: trade confirmations, the dues sheets, and official looking statements from bank and broker. (Correspondence from NAIC or Loot Lizards gets filed in with the dues sheets where there is any, as does any paperwork related to withdrawals of  cash.) The organization is the member related stuff and the statements.

For dividers, we use plastic envelopes that open from the top and give us a convenient place to stuff receipts, random deposit slips, cancelled checks and the like. The statements and dues sheets behind the dividers are sorted in reverse date order, with the most recent stuff right on top.

Each year after doing taxes, the contents of the folder relating to fiscal whatever are moved intoa bigger folder that contains multiple years which lives in the Big Old Rubbermaid Tub in Andrea's Basement. This keeps the current folder, well, current, and makes sure that stuff that we'd want to archive gets kept out of harm's way.

The Dues Sheet

This is just a list of the members, with some blank space on it for notes. The dues sheets from the early years are often scribbled notes on random bits of paper. As the club has gotten bigger and the transactions more complicated, we maintain a more formal list. The important thing is that we end up with a list of who paid what and what the Treasurer needs to take care of this month.

What ends up on the dues sheet is

The dues sheets live in the folder, sorted with the most recent thing on top. The Treasurer also attempts to keep a valuation from each meeting there. It comes in handy sometimes.

The Cash Bag

What temporarily lives in the cash bag

What permanently lives in the cash bag is

The Software

Original diskettes for this live in the Big Old Rubbermaid Tub in Andrea's Basement. These need to be installed in the original order, and about the only useful stuff on them is the sticker with the version number, which seems to be needed to update the software. There's also a manual with a neon sticker on the back with a similar version number. At this point in time (Feb 2000) the diskettes are old enough that they are not likely to be that good, so periodically, complete backups of the software and data are done. These require two diskettes and the most recent set should be in the diskette holder of the current year's folder.

Andrea keeps the books on her computer at work and periodically refreshes the ones on her home computer from there.

There are pretty good help files for the software, although the software itself is a little quirky. (Ok, the software can be downright annoying.)