Frequently Asked Questions - FAQs
General Questions
Q. Why SolveIT!? I mean, what will this program do for me?
A. See 101 Things You Can Do with SolveIT!
Q. Why SolveIT!? I mean I already have Microsoft Excel (or another spreadsheet). Why not just use that?
A. Well certainly you could. But you might want to consider two things. First, SolveIT! never needs any programming before it is ready to calculate an answer. You can't say that for Excel. Also, if you read Excel's help file, you'll see that there are some possibly severe limitations. For example a lot of the cash flow calculations such as NPV are limited to just 29 entries. Just try to do even a 3 year analysis of monthly cash flows with that limitation! SolveIT! allows for hundreds of periods. Excel also does not directly support simple interest calculations.
Q. Okay, there is a lot of stuff here, what's the easiest way to learn how to use this program?
A. Well, we don't know about the easiest way (we hope it is easy to use to begin with), but certainly a good way is to see the feature list and follow the links. Also, if you haven't already done so, please check out the Introduction as well as the General Instructions. On the other hand, you could just open up a calculator and start playing with the program. Go ahead. You won't break it!! Just remember though, that if you don't get the results you are expecting, then most likely its because you don't have a setting set the way we are expecting it to be set. That's when you should read this help manual. :-)
Q. This is good, but the Amortization Schedule seems to have a lot of features. I want to learn how to create different loans for many different scenarios.
A. Please see Sample Loans in the program's Help with step-by-step instructions for creating many different kinds of loan schedules.
Q. How do I order a registered version of the program? How much will it cost?
A. See Buy Now!.
Q. I'm currently running an evaluation copy of the program. What are the differences between the evaluation version and the "registered" version?
A. Basically there are none. Every calculator and feature is accessible during the evaluation period. Once the evaluation period has been reached, various calculators will not be functional. The evaluation period will last for 21 days from date of installation.
Q. I like the program but I'm not sure that I want to buy a copy and my evaluation period is over. Is it possible to continue evaluating the program?
A. Well, frankly, we are shocked! that the benefits of SolveIT! or AmortizeIT! are not immediately apparent to you. However, never fear. You sure can have the evaluation period extended. Please see "Need more time?" in the program's Help file.
Q. What did you use to write SolveIT!, AmortizeIT! and Loan*Calculator! Plus?
A. They all were written using Borland's Delphi, plus a few commercially and open source libraries. There are in excess of 450,000 lines of code required for SolveIT!. All were also written using the latest in OOP technology.
Q. Is the source code available for purchase?
A. Yes. But it isn't cheap. These programs represents approximately 3 man years of labor. Each license for the source code is negotiated on a case by case basis. You can think in terms of tens of thousands of dollars.
Q. How do I know that your APR calculation is accurate?
A. If you are concerned with the accuracy of SolveIT!'s or AmortizeIT!'s APR calculation, please see APR Validation.
Q. For that matter, how do I know that any of your calculators are accurate?
A. Well, we aren't going to say that there can't possibly be a bug in a calculator that could lead to an erroneous answer. However, there are several things you can consider. First, we have literally hundreds of thousands of users. Those users have made innumerable calculations. They would have informed us if they detected an error, believe me. But, if you'll read our Help file, you can see that we often compare our results with other programs, and government literature. For example, our documentation for the depreciation calculators includes examples from the appropriate IRS publication. We show you how the calculators get the answers that the IRS says they should get!
Capability Questions:
Q. Can I make random extra principal payments which impact an amortization schedule?
A. Yes, with SolveIT! and AmortizeIT! you can. See extra principal payments.
Q. Does SolveIT! and AmortizeIT! produce adjustable rate amortization schedules?
A. Yes. See adjustable rate amortization.
Q. Why is the amortization schedule a "2 pass" calculator?
A. See Recalc.
Q. Will the flexible amortization schedule do biweekly mortgages where the periodic payment is 1/2 of a monthly payment with the payment due every other week?
A. Yes. And very easily too. See biweekly mortgage acceleration technique and the example loan schedule for an accelerated biweekly loan
Q. What happens if the program calculates my payment to be $896.53 and the lender calculates it to be $896.52?
A. This is not a problem. First as a general note though, there is no such thing as the 'right' payment amount. The only thing about the payment amount which is important is both the lender and the borrower have to agree to it. (Now, the portion of the payment being applied to interest is an entirely different story.) Any way, with this said, if you want the payment amounts to match, see custom payments in the program's help.
Q. I'm the lender and sometimes the borrower pays me a few days early and then again sometimes they pay up to a month late. I want to calculate the interest owed me on an exact day basis. Can your programs do this?
A. Yes, Both SolveIT! v5.5 and AmortizeIT! v3.0 will calculate interest for an exact number of days. Please see the help topic Exact Day Loan Payments in the program's Help. Also, not only are exact date interest calculations possible for loans, but you can also do exact date future value, annuity and present value schedules as well.
