How many times in a day do you open a calculator for a simple percentage
calculation? How many times do you need to re-do the same calculation, changing one figure only?
Too much for an ordinary calculator, and too little for a fully fledged spreadsheet... Now you can do it
the clever way on your Communicator: open one of the BusFin screens of Finanz, enter 2, 3 or 4 data, and let Finanz calculate the missing number, with the minimal
number of key strokes.
The good news is that if you want to change one data and re-do the calculation,
you will also do it with a minimal number of strokes. And you can "reverse" any calculation,
like with the "solver" of a spreadsheet: "what should this parameter be, if I want
the result to be this instead of that, all other things being equal...?" Each screen of Finanz operates like a little spreadsheet, where each cell can be alternatively a data entry cell and a calculated cell.
Finanz has 4 main views, corresponding to 4 different applications :
- a specialised calculator for business and finance (BusFin) calculations. The screen of this calculator can be selected in a list of 18, to address all possible BusFin calculations (margin, growth rate, interest rates, mortgages, annuity, savings account, discounted cash flows, bonds,…).
- a functions calculator: all sorts of formulae can be stored under 24 function buttons (simple mathematical functions like log or sqrt, but also VAT or volume calculation, temperature or currency conversion,…). Each button can be modified by the user.
- a currency converter with 24 currency buttons. The user can select the currencies from a built-in list of more than 140. Exchange rates are updated by internet connection (disclaimer).
- a days calculator to calculate the number of days between 2 dates, or the opposite.
The upper window is the calculator window, where basic arithmetic calculations (including percentages) can be carried on, either in standard algebraic mode, or in RPN (Reverse Polish Notation) mode. This calculator has 10 memories.
With 16 customized screens, or "models", Finanz covers most business or
finance situations: sales tax, mortgage, leasing, margin, discount, cumulated interests or growth,...
See the table of amortization of a loan, with the details of paid interests and amortized capital at each term, and the calculation of cumulated interests and balance of capital due:
Currency conversion: enter a number, press one of the 24 currency buttons and the amount is instantly converted in the 23 other currencies (on most other converters you would need to select currency A first, then currency B, before you can do anything). The set of 24 currencies can be fully customized (the currencies can be selected from a list of more than 140). Exchange rates are updated via internet connection on a simple menu command (disclaimer).
DCF (Discounted Cash Flows) analysis: create a list of dated cash flows and calculate Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Net Present Value (NPV). You can easily create fixed amount regular cash flows (monthly, quarterly or annual) and add exceptional amounts at any date,
then modify and re-do the calculations...
Finanz features a Bond calculation model, with calculations of Price, Yield to maturity and Accrued interest. The number of coupon payments per year can be selected (1, 2 or 4) and the model supports two conventions for the calculation of the number of days for accrued interest: "actual/actual" and "30/360".
In its Functions mode, Finanz offers a set of 24 functions, which can be fully configured by the user: the name and formula of each function can be modified, so that it can
be programmed e.g. for VAT calculation, currency conversion, or any other unit
conversion (including temperature or mileage).
The formula interpreter used for functions accepts an unlimited number of parenthesis (see the "Sinus (deg)"
example below, complicated on purpose), and recognizes most scientific functions (sin, cos, log,...), so that the application could even be turned into a scientific calculator.
The formula interpreter also accepts multiple variables: in the "feet - inches > cm" example below, 2 variables named "inches" and "feet" are used, while the "free formula" uses 3.
A "Percentages for Dummies" model calculates all possible percentages from any given set of 2 numbers, and a days calculator gives the number of days between two dates. In both cases "reverse" calculation is possible):
