Frequently Asked Questions

"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." - III John 2

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We give away our free Ledger program to advertise our business and show you an example of our work.  We also want you to experience the pleasure of using quality software.

After many years in software development we've come to the conclusion that simplicity and reliability are more important when it comes to business software than the number of features.  Our goal is to impress you with the quality of our software and with our ability to build secure reliable systems your business can depend on.

We also provide tools and professional assistance to other software developers who want to build a superior product.

There isn't one.  Ledger is a free program with no strings attached.  We hope you enjoy using it and want to tell others about it.  (If you'd like to make a donation please click on the BUY NOW button on the support page.)

Because Ledger is so easy to install and use we didn't bother with a manual since we figured you probably wouldn't read it anyway.  Instead everything you need to know to get started is on our quick start page. 

. . . well perhaps . . . not everything!  The biggest difficulty you're likely to encounter when using our software is that it assumes a basic understanding of the principles of accounting and in particular the function of a general ledger.  Unlike other popular accounting systems our software is not dumbed-down to accommodate users that haven't taken the time to understand the fundamentals.

Our goal is to provide you with software that will contribute to your long-term business success and for this to happen we believe it's important that you grasp the basic principles of accounting.  Once you've mastered these principles (which isn't that hard!) we're confident you'll find Ledger better and easier to use than any other accounting system (except maybe LedgerPlus!!)

If you'd like a good book that provides an excellent introduction to accounting we unreservedly recommend Accounting Demystified by Jeffry R. Haber.  We think it's the best accounting book we've seen and suggest it's likely to be the only book on accounting you'll ever need (unless of course you decide to become an accountant!)  For a concise explanation that may be useful as an additional resource please see our essay on accounting theory.

If you still can't find the information you're looking for either on our quick start page or here on this FAQ page please don't hesitate to email support@responsive.co.nz and we'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.  Or even better post them in the Responsive Software Google Group where we can answer them for everyone's benefit.

When you install Ledger the default location for the database is C:\Program Files\Responsive Software\Ledger\Database.  The database files are created automatically in this folder when you run Ledger for the first time.  If your data is important to you then you need to make sure this folder gets included in your regular backup.

If you've installed Ledger on a drive other than C: (say X:) you need to change the BDE setting.  Go to the control panel and run the BDE Administrator.  Click on the Databases tab, click on RSLEDGER and change the PATH value from C:\Program Files\Responsive Software\Ledger\Database to X:\Program Files\Responsive Software\Ledger\Database.  Then exit the BDE Administrator and save the changes.

Check also that the Paradox network control directory is accessible by the BDE.  To do this go to the control panel and run the BDE Administrator.  Click on the Configuration tab.  In the tree view click on the + sign to expand the nodes Configuration, Drivers, Native and PARADOX.  On the right hand side next to NET DIR check that the directory specified exists and is fully accessible on your computer.

If your computer is using a language other than English you may also need to change the BDE setting.  For example if you are in Mexico and your computer is using Spanish go to the control panel and run the BDE Administrator.  Click on the Databases tab, click on RSLEDGER and change the PATH value from C:\Program Files\Responsive Software\Ledger\Database to C:\Archivos de Programa\Responsive Software\Ledger\Database.  Then exit the BDE Administrator and save the changes.

If you installed a beta release of Expression WebDesigner or some other recent software from Microsoft you may also get this error.  This software contains a bug that prevents the Borland Database Engine from accessing a database correctly.  To fix this problem either uninstall the offending software or contact Microsoft to see if they can provide a fix.

On the Entries, Accounts and Cashbooks screens only the accounts for the currently selected Default Accounting Company will appear in the Account drop down list.  (Ledger is multi-company which means it can handle multiple accounting entities.)  When you first install Ledger the Default Accounting Company is set to <Default>.  You can change this by going to the File menu and selecting Configure.  Then go to the Workstation tab, select <Default> (or a company name) from the Default Accounting Company drop down list and click on the OK button.

If you're using Ledger in a client/server configuration and your User Name has not been set up as an Administrator through the Ledger Server you will not be able to access the Maintain menu on the Ledger Client.  To fix this go to the Ledger Server main screen.  Then go to the File menu and select Users.  Put a Y in the Administrator field next to your User Name.

Ledger allows you to specify a default period that limits the number of visible entries.  If you want to see all the entries in an account you need to turn this off.  Go to the File menu and select Configure.  Then click on the Workstation tab.  Remove the ticks from the Begin Period and End Period check boxes.  Then click on the OK button.

If you've installed Ledger on a computer running Windows Vista you may need to make some additional changes to the BDE configuration before it will run correctly.  For more information please see Configuration - Windows Vista.

BDE is short for Borland Database Engine.  This is the system software Ledger uses to access the database when it is stored in a Paradox format.

Paradox is a relational database management system (RDBMS) that was very popular before it was overtaken by Microsoft Access and which many still consider to be superior.  The Paradox database format is still widely used by many other applications because of its superior speed and efficiency.

In standard mode Ledger runs as a single program that accesses the database directly using the BDE (Borland Database Engine.)  When you install Ledger it operates in standard mode by default with a single-user setup.  On a LAN you can switch to a multi-user setup and continue to use standard mode where Ledger runs as a single program on each computer and directly accesses the database via the BDE.  Standard mode is suitable for a small number of users on a LAN.

In client/server mode Ledger runs as two separate programs - one as a client and the other as a server.  Only the server program has direct access to the database (which can be either Paradox via the BDE or Firebird/Interbase.)  When a client program is started it must establish a connection to the server using the TCP/IP protocol in order to access the database.  Whenever the client needs some data it sends a request to the server via the TCP/IP connection.  The server then retrieves the requested data from the database and returns it to the client.  And whenever the client wants to save some data it sends it to the server which then stores it in the database.

Before a client can connect to the server the user is prompted to enter a User Name and Password.  A connection is only allowed if the User Name has been set up in the server program and the correct Password has been entered.  Client/server mode is suitable for a TCP/IP network (including the Internet) and where there are a large number of users.

Firebird is a relational database management system (RDBMS).  It is an open source product and is completely free of registration, licensing and deployment fees even for commercial applications.  It is based on source code released by Borland Software Corporation on 25 July 2000 under the InterBase Public License v.1.0 and shares much in common with Interbase.

For more information please see the Firebird website www.firebirdsql.org.

Interbase is a relational database management system (RDBMS).  It is a closed source product developed and marketed by Borland Software Corporation.

For more information please see the Interbase website www.borland.com/interbase.

To convert your Ledger database from Paradox to Firebird first change to client/server setup.

Next install and configure Firebird.  Make sure the Firebird server is running and accessible from the computer where the Ledger Server is installed.

Edit the file C:\Program Files\Firebird\Firebird_1_5\aliases.conf using a text editor (e.g. Notepad) and add the following line:

     rsledger = C:\Program Files\Responsive Software\Ledger\Ledger.FDB

On the server workstation create a shortcut to the Ledger program C:\Program Files\Responsive Software\Ledger\Ledger.exe and rename it Ledger Convert.  Right-click on this shortcut and select Properties.  Then click on the Shortcut tab.

In the Target field after the "C:\Program Files\Responsive Software\Ledger\Ledger.exe" filename (and outside the quotation marks) add the command line parameter /v.  Then click on the OK button.

Shutdown the Ledger Server if it is running.

Double-click on the Ledger Convert icon to start the conversion.  Enter the Firebird User Name (default SYSDBA) and Password (default masterkey) and follow the prompts.

After the conversion has finished delete the Ledger Convert shortcut.  Be careful not to run the conversion a second time or you will need to delete the Firebird database and start again.

Right-click on the Ledger Server shortcut and select Properties.  Then click on the Shortcut tab.

In the Target field after the "C:\Program Files\Responsive Software\Ledger\Ledger.exe" filename (and outside the quotation marks) change the command line parameter from /s to /s /f.  Then click on the OK button.

Double-click on the Ledger Server icon and enter the Firebird User Name and Password to restart the server.

The Framework is a generic business application that we make available to our clients as a starting point for customized software.  It includes a general ledger function, a cashbook function, a document and image repository, a point-of-sale function that operates both on-line and off-line and an HTTP server function for web site development.  It also includes all the logic necessary for client/server communications and database management.

The full Delphi source code for the Framework can be downloaded under either a commercial licence for US$3,650 or a non-commercial licence for US$50.  (The source code for each licence is identical.)

The Framework was used to build Ledger.

Although it would be nice to create software that runs reliably on multiple platforms the high cost of doing so means that for most business applications it can't be justified economically.  This is especially true for applications used primarily within an organisation and for packaged software where the market consists mainly of Windows users.

However our Framework does include a secure HTTP server function that can be used to provide a browser interface whenever this is necessary to allow public access from the World Wide Web.

We've been using Delphi since its release in 1995 and believe it's still demonstrably the best tool for developing secure reliable Windows applications.  None of the other tools we've looked at come close to matching Delphi's ease-of-use, elegance, speed, stability, flexibility and power.

The Pascal language that Delphi uses is ideally suited to expressing coded business logic in a way that's easy to read, understand and maintain.  Many other languages popular today are derived from C which is used predominantly to build operating systems and device drivers.  Not only is C more difficult to read than Pascal, in our experience many C programmers actually take pride in writing code that is hard to understand and maintain.  (We also believe begin, end, and, or, not, procedure and function are more readable than {, }, &&, ||, !, void and ().)

Because a Delphi program is compiled it can produce a single stand-alone executable that's guaranteed to run reliably on all versions of Windows whereas the behaviour of a program developed with an interpreted language is dependent on the version of the installed scripting engine.  This is the hidden reason many software developers are forced to use the Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) model because without full control of the system on which the program is running they are unable to guarantee a reliable operation.

For more information about the advantages of Delphi please see The Business Case For Delphi