Chequebook Balancer Deluxe

This essay is about a suggested student project in Java programming. This essay gives a rough overview of how it might work. It does not describe an actual complete program. I have no source, object, specifications, file layouts or anything else useful to implementing this project. Everything I have to say to help you with this project is written below. I am not prepared to help you implement it; I have too many other projects of my own.

I do contract work for a living, which could include writing a program such as this. However, I don’t do people’s homework for them. That just robs them of an education.

You have my full permission to implement this project any way you please.

You may have used tools like Quicken or Microsoft money to help balance your chequebook. This program is similar except it is more extensible and customisable. It does the usual things, maintaining a database of people and companies you write cheques to and your monthly recurring charges.

The program is composed of replaceable modules defined by Java interfaces. This way savvy users can customize it or extend it to their heart’s content.

It also has a few features the commercial programs do not. It can tell you your actual balance, what your balance would be if all outstanding cheques suddenly cleared and your projected balance for any date in the future.

The interfaces include:

Print
print cheques.
Bank Statement
accept data from a bank statement. This may come from OCR, dialog box, Microsoft money interface to your bank, Quicken interface to your bank or a custom interface to you bank’s Internet or modem statement.
Import
import data in csv form from Excel, from Microsoft money, Quicken, Day-Timer or other custom source.
Export
export data in csv form for Excel, in Microsoft Money format, Quicken format, Day-Timer format or other custom source.
Smart Card
import data from a smart card that records cash withdrawals and direct debit purchases, simulated with a floppy, or simulated with a dialog box. You get a "free" bank balance when you do a cash withdrawal.
Charges
This module knows how your bank computes service charges, It is used to double checks that your bank is computing them as advertised and to account for them even before they show up on bank statements.

The program tracks which cheques have cleared, mainly by examining a bank statement, paper or electronic. However, it also can often guess which cheques must have cleared from knowledge of regular monthly charges and your bank balance snapshots when you do a cash withdrawal.

The program makes extensive use of Class.forName to allow the end user to attach new modules that replace or build upon the standard ones provided. The source code for the standard implementations is made available to help people write variants, or cannibalise bits of the existing implementations.

JMoney

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Print

Bank Statement

Import

Export

Smart Card

Charges