1. Click the "Start" button and choose "Settings" then "Control Panel". Then Double click "Add/Remove Programs".

2. Select "Banker's Friend" in the Window and then click the 
"Add/Remove" button.

3. Follow the instructions to completely remove Banker's Friend.

Banker's Friend Basics

Banker's Friend uses a standard windows program window. You may choose from the various calculations by either using the "Calculations" menu or the pull down menu in the upper center portion of the screen. The specific calculation you choose will determine the required entries and other options. After entering the required information then press the "Calculate" button. The computation will then be displayed on the lower portion of the screen. 

File Menu - The File menu gives you several options. You may "Save As" to save the computation, "Print" to print the computation, or "Exit" to quit Banker's Friend.

Save As - This option saves the computation to a text file. Use the standard Windows "Save As" dialog box to name the file and choose a location to save the file. Computations are saved in text format with the ".txt" file extension. Please note that the saved computations use an equally proportionately spaced font (such as Courier) and will not align properly using other fonts.

Print - The print command will print the currently displayed computation to the Windows default printer. 

Exit - The exit command closes Banker's Friend.

Calculation Menu - The Calculation menu gives you the option to choose the type computation you need to make. This is identical to choosing the computation on the pull down menu on the main window. When you choose the desired calculation type the screen will be set up for the information needed for that particular computation.

Help Menu - The Help menu provides choices to obtain help, obtain registration information and to determine information about Banker's Friend. 

Help and Instructions - provides a window with information and instructions for using Banker's Friend.

Print Registration Form - This option will print a registration form to be mailed with your shareware fee to register the program.

Register Banker's Friend - This option will provide the opportunity to enter your name and registration number to officially register the program. The registration number will be mailed or e-mailed to you 
upon registration.

About Banker's Friend - This option provides information about Banker's Friend. Use this option to determine what version of the program you have.

Other Features

Append Calculations - The check box on the main screen allows you to keep accumulating the calculations to the answer window. This is useful if you want to save or print various related computations such as the options in a vehicle purchase. Since you can edit and add text to the answer window you may add comments to each calculation using normal text editing methods.

Printing - If you have a case where more control is needed over the printed material, first save the computation to a text file. The text file may be opened with any word processing program and formatted with more advanced formatting and then printed. You also may use the Copy and Paste technique described below.

Keyboard Shortcuts - A number of keyboard shortcuts are available. 

Use the tab key to cycle through the entry fields and control choices. 

As you press the tab key the various controls will receive the focus. When the "Calculate" button has the focus pressing "Enter" will make the computation. When the drop down menus have the focus pressing the up or down arrow key will change the selection. Nearly all the menu options have keyboard shortcuts, these shortcuts are shown by the menu item.

Entry Validation - Banker's Friend uses an input validation routine that will not allow nonnumeric values to be input. The routine will allow only numerical entries with one decimal added.

Tips and Hints - Banker's Friend provides a brief message located above the calculate button to assist you in using the program. This message will change depending on the computation.

Copy and Paste - Although not supported from the menu, the keyboard shortcuts using "Ctrl - C" to copy and "Ctrl - V" to paste are supported. Due to the nature of the program this is not a commonly used feature, but if you wanted to copy and paste the computation into another document it can easily be done.

Banker's Friend Window - Banker's Friend uses a small fixed size window. The window automatically opens to the center of the screen, although it can be moved to any location. The minimize button works in the normal Windows manner by allowing the window to be hidden from view and yet be activated by clicking on the button in the task bar.

Basic Loan Calculations

Loan Payment Calculation - The loan payment calculation computes the payment necessary to repay a loan under the input terms. You will need to input the loan amount, interest rate, and term. Using the pull down menu you may choose monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual payments. The rate is always entered as an annual rate, and the term is always entered as the number of payments depending on the payment frequency that is chosen. For instance the number of payments on a five year loan with monthly payments is entered as 60, while a five year loan with annual payments would have the term entered as 5.

Loan Amount Calculation - The loan amount computation computes the amount you can borrow at the stated rate, term and payment. This computation is especially useful in the early stages of planning. For instance if you are looking for a house and want a payment of $800.00 per month, simply determine the going rate for a 30 year loan and enter the appropriate information and calculate how much you can borrow. Similar computations can be made for vehicle purchases or any other loan need.

Loan Term Calculation - The loan term calculation assumes that you know the amount, rate, and payment, but are uncertain of the term. Enter the known information and the term will be calculated. In this computation it is possible to enter information that won't work. For instance if the payment you entered will not amortize the loan based on the rate and amount you may get an error message. 

Loan Rate Calculation - This calculation will compute the rate when given the amount, payment, and term. The rate will be computed as an annual rate and displayed as such. Keep in mind that you can end up with strange answers if you enter information that is invalid. 

Balloon Loan Calculations

Balloon loans are loans with a different final payment. Basically a balloon loan is a loan with a payment established on a longer term that the actual loan term. For instance, sometimes real estate loans have a 15-year term, but payments are scheduled over a shorter period such as 5 years. You may make a loan for $50,000 with payments of $500 per month for five years and a balloon payment of $40,000 after five years. 

To compute the terms on a balloon loan you are given the choice of entering the periodic payment ($500 in the example), or the balloon payment ($40,000 in the example), or the full term (180 months in the example). The balloon payment would be the final periodic payment and the loan balance immediately after making the payment.

Amortization Schedule

An amortization schedule is a summary of the payments on a loan with a breakdown of the principal and interest portion of each payment and the balance after each payment. This computation offers the option of either calculating the periodic payment or entering the periodic payment. If you have a balloon loan or only want a portion of the schedule enter the periodic payment and the final payment will be adjusted based on the term. In certain cases you may want to enter the periodic payment if the computed payment is different than the actual payment due to rounding.

Periodic Deposits & Sinking Fund

Periodic Deposits - The periodic deposit calculation computes the future value of a series of periodic deposits. For instance, if you want to see what saving $100 per month will accumulate in 10 years (120 months) enter the information and the calculation will be made. You may choose from a variety of periodic terms. Please note that the assumption is that the compounding frequency and the deposit frequency is calculated as being the same. If this is not the case you may want to adjust the rate. 

Sinking Fund - The sinking fund is similar to the Periodic Deposit computation except that you enter the desired future value and the program calculates the required periodic deposit to grow to the value. For example, if you are age 30 and want to be a millionaire at age 60 and want to determine the monthly savings required at 5% simply enter the numbers and the calculation will be made. In this case you would choose monthly deposits, 360 periods (30 times 12), 1,000,000 as the future value, and press calculate.

Certificate Yields

The certificate yield computation calculates the value of an investment at a fixed rate for a fixed term (entered in months). The annual percentage yield is calculated based on the compounding frequency as well as the interest earned and future value.