The SANE
Community Exchange
System
Table of Contents
HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL ...1
What is the Community Exchange System ...2
The Community Exchange System Web Site ...3
Remote Trading ...4
Co-ordinators ...5
Example of a Trade...6
Frequently Asked Questions ...7
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS...9
Login Page...9
Home Page ...9
Horizontal Menu ...9
Vertical Menu ...9
VERTICAL MENU – OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS...12
Seller Actions ...12
Enter Transactions ...12
Online Invoice...14
Buyer Actions...17
Online Trading Slip ...17
Send Order Form ...18
Querying ...19 My Account Balance...19 Statement of Account ...20 Miscellaneous ...22 Trading Documents ...22 Trading Sheets ...22 Trading Slips ...22
Home ...24 Members ...24 Member List...25 Contact Details ...26 My Record...27 Personal Details ...27 Checkboxes...28 Personal Actions ...29 Offerings ...30
Goods & Services Categories ...30
Category Lists ...30 Wants...34 Add Wants...34 Announce...35 Add Announcement ...35 This Group ...37 Trading Statistics ...37 Trader Statistics ...37 Trading Activity ...37 Member Balances ...37 Membership Statistics ...39 Membership Growth ...39
Local Area Co-ordinators...40
HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL
This manual has been compiled to assist you in understanding and using the SANE Community Exchange System (CES). Most of the information contained here can also be found as contextual information on the CES web site at www.ces.org.za.
We have structured it in such a way as to make it easy to find your way around both the manual and the system.
The structure is as follows: INTRODUCTION
This section merely gives background information about the CES, and has nothing to do with using the system.
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
This starts with the first screen you get when you sign onto the system. It explains how you log in, then carries on to your personal Home page from where you will be able to access all the required functions.
We will explain how to access each function and how to perform it in a step-by-step manner.
We will describe at the start of each function the path you need to follow to finally reach the screen where details are found.
For instance, to edit one of your transactions, the path is:
Path: My Statement of Account on the Vertical Menu>>Trades for last 30 days displays>> Click on the Description of the required transaction>>The relevant screen displays.
Disclaimer:
The CES web site is constantly developing and so this manual will have to be constantly updated to keep it in line with the web site. For this reason it is important that you regularly download the latest version of this manual or else you might find that some features are not described and the functioning of others has changed.
While every attempt will be made to keep this manual up to date and accurate, we cannot guarantee that it will always perfectly reflect the features and functionality of the web site.
What is the Community Exchange System
The object of this Community Exchange System (CES) is to facilitate trade with others without using our conventional national currency.
By ‘trade’ we mean the normal economic activity of selling goods and providing services by ‘sellers’ or ‘providers’, and the purchase of these by ‘buyers’, ‘customers’, ‘clients’ etc. In this manual we will use the terms ‘buyers’ and ‘sellers’.
Trading in this system requires no supply of conventional money, either by the
community as a whole or by each participant. Instead of using a ‘hard’ currency, which has to be created and then allocated according to some formula, the ‘currency’ of this system is the numerical record of the values of goods and services that sellers delivered to buyers. You could say it is a record of the energy expended by sellers for their
buyers.
Our currency unit is called Talents. The number of Talents represents the price that sellers give to the goods and services that that they are offering for sale. The value of a Talent is based on the Rand, but this is purely to give it a reference that is meaningful to participants. It is in no way tied or linked to the Rand and will deviate from the Rand over time.
There are no rules for pricing in the CES. The ‘law’ of supply and demand prevails. However, within the context of the CES, certain services that otherwise would not be highly valued, might increase in value because of their relative shortage. Other services that outside the CES are expensive might be cheaper in the CES because the providers wish to attract custom.
Goods and services are advertised on the web site through an Offerings List, which is similar to the Yellow Pages. Participants look through this list, or do a search, and if they find anything they want they contact the seller who then provides the goods or service. Payment is effected through a cheque-like Trading Slip which serves both as an acknowledgement of delivery and a means of payment for the goods or service. The information on the Trading Slip is entered by the seller into the Enter Transactions feature of their account. This credits the account of the seller and debits that of the buyer.
Accounts record these debits and credits, giving a balance after each transaction. A four per cent levy is added to all transactions (buying and selling), which goes to the Administration for running the system.
To ensure that unscrupulous buyers do not exploit the system, details of each participant’s overall trading position are available to all.
The Community Exchange System is an initiative of the South African New Economics Network
(SANE). SANE is a registered non-profit organisation (NPO Registration – 012-739NPO). Contact SANE at: PO Box 44928, Claremont, 7735; Tel: 021 689 6892; Fax: 021 683 4104; Email: [email protected]; Web: www.sane.org.za
The Community Exchange System Web Site
The web site serves as the ‘bank’ where details of trading transactions between account holders of the SANE Community Exchange System (CES) are recorded. It also gives you a directory of the goods and services that account holders are offering, and all the information you require to communicate and trade with others.
After entering your Account Number and Password you are presented with the ‘Home page’ of your account, from where you can access all the functions, features and
facilities of the site. From any other page you can get back to your account Home page by clicking on the [Home] button at the top or by clicking on the SANE logo at the top left.
The features and facilities of the site are accessible through two sets of menus on your Home page:
a horizontal set across the top (this set is constant across the site and always available)
a vertical set in the middle (this changes on subsequent pages)
The horizontalmenu provides information about the account holders in your CES group and allows you to change your personal information that others can see. It also provides contextual help on each page.
The vertical menu in the centre gives you access to your personal account. This is the heart of the system where details of all transactions are recorded. It also provides
information about the general trading position of the Community and shows the standing of each account holder at the current point in time.
To obtain more information about any page, click on the [Help] button on the right of the horizontal menu. When you have finished a session on the site please Log Out by clicking the red button at the top right. This will ensure that no one can get access to your account by pressing the Back button of your browser.
Remote Trading
It is possible to trade with members of other Talent Exchange groups, that is, with members outside your own group.
Remote trading is effected through virtual members listed in the Members List (e.g. “Cape Town Virtual”, “Pretoria Virtual”). Virtual members are in most respects the same as ordinary members except that their offerings are those of the entire groups they represent.
The reason why remote trading is done with virtual members rather than directly with remote members is because our currency, Talents, cannot leave a group. Every credit within a group has to be matched by an equal debit to maintain the overall zero balance of the group. A virtual member is like an ordinary member having an account in more than one group and buying and selling on behalf of the members of those groups. To find out what members in other groups are offering, go to the Offerings List (click the
[Offerings] button at the top). This will bring up the list of offering categories. To look through the offering categories of remote groups, click on the Other Groups
drop-down list at the left end of the grey bar and select a group. This will change the Offerings List to that of the selected group. Now you may look through the various categories in the normal way and you will see what is being offered by members of the remote group.
To search for an offering in other groups, type a search word in the Search Groups box on the grey bar and press the [Go] button. This will find all instances of what you are looking for in all groups, including your own group.
If you find something that you want, obtain the member’s contact details by clicking on the member’s name. Note which group the member belongs to and write down the account number. Contact the member and arrange the trade in the normal way. The seller is ‘paid’ (i.e. credited) in the normal way. You (the buyer) would issue a trading slip (most probably an online one) authorising the seller to debit your account and credit theirs.
The seller (i.e. the member in the remote group) would then enter the transaction details in the normal way, except that before selecting a name from the Buyer drop-down list, he or she would first select your group from the Group drop-down list. This would display the list of members in your group, allowing the seller to select your name. Your statement of account will show as the seller the virtual member representing the group of the remote seller (e.g. if you are in the Cape Town group and the seller is in the Johannesburg group, “Johannesburg Virtual” will appear as your seller. For the actual seller in the Johannesburg group, “Cape Town Virtual” will appear as the buyer). For more information on remote trading, read about it on the web site.
Co-ordinators
Local area co-ordinators are designated members of a group whose main function is to serve as ‘branches’ of the CES. Many CES members do not have computers or are not sufficiently familiar with them to be able to access their accounts and use the functions available.
Co-ordinators may be contacted for assistance of any sort. Each sub-area of a group may have several co-ordinators so contact the one living nearest to you.
Every co-ordinator offers at least the service of inputting your transaction information, that is, entering the information about your sales (goods you have sold or services you have provided) so that your account is credited.
Most co-ordinators offer much more than this but phone around if you cannot find the service you want. Most will provide you with paper versions of the offerings and wants lists. This will allow you to see what is on offer and what other people are looking for. Without this information it is very difficult to engage in trading with others.
Some co-ordinators will allow you to use their computers to access your account, and will provide assistance or training if you are not familiar with the system.
Other co-ordinators will provide you with Trading Slip ‘cheque books’ that you can use when purchasing goods or services from sellers. Yet others will help you compile or improve your offerings in order to attract custom.
Look under the CES Services category of the Offerings List to find what services co-ordinators offer.
Example of a Trade
Requirement: Your car needs an oil change.
Step 1: You either click on the [Offerings] button on the horizontal menu to see if anyone is offering oil changes or car maintenance, or type oil change in the Search box. Someone is offering oil changes for T80 but you must bring your own oil and oil filter.
Step2: In the Offerings list you click on the person's name to obtain contact details. You phone up the person (the seller) and agree on a time and place for the oil change.
Step 3: The oil change takes place and then you (the buyer) fill in a Trading Slip (obtainable from the home page), giving the date, your name, your account number, the amount (T80) and your signature. Fill in the same details on the counterfoil and get the seller to sign it. Then cut the counterfoil off the slip and hand the main part to the seller, and keep the counterfoil for yourself. For the seller your Trading Slip represents your payment for and acknowledgement of the service or goods delivered; for you the counterfoil represents your receipt for the service or goods delivered.
Step 4: You leave, satisfied that your car has fresh oil. The seller then goes to a computer and enters the details of the trade into the Enter Transaction Details option of their trading account. This becomes a credit for the seller and a debit for you. You are now obliged to provide goods and services to the community worth T80.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question Answer
How can I begin trading without any money in my account?
The trading system does not require that you have anything in your account to begin trading. As ‘money’ in this system is just a book entry, there is no need for a supply of it. You begin by going into debit (not debt). This means your account has a negative balance but unlike with
conventional money there is no stigma attached to it (unless it gets large and is never reduced). Your debit simply means that you owe the community goods and services to the value of the debit. What is to stop me just entering
‘payments’ into my account so that I get lots of credits?
You don’t need credits to trade so there is no point in this. In any case, your credits are someone else’s debits, and they will question your false trades with them. Your trading position, which is open for
everyone to see, will also reveal what you are doing.
What if someone exploits the system and then leaves the community without giving anything in return?
This can happen but equally someone who has given more than they have taken can also leave the community. If someone exploits the system it is the community that bears the burden, not any particular
member. What if someone doesn’t pay me for
work I have done for them?
That is impossible. You – the seller – are responsible for entering into the computer the “payments” you receive, and you will be immediately credited for them.
What if someone takes more from the system than they give back?
Before agreeing to trade with someone you should check their balance. If you see they have made a lot of purchases and are running a large debit, then refuse to trade until their standing has improved.
What if my service is popular but I can’t find anything I want? What is the use of a large credit balance if I can’t spend it?
Don’t trade unless you feel there is something you can get in exchange. As more and more people join the community the more likely it becomes that someone will have something you want. Encourage others to join.
Question Answer
How are goods and services valued? Members value their own goods and services. The law of supply and demand applies, but within the context of a closed group. This frequently differs from the situation outside.
Is there just the one Talent Exchange group?
No, there are several established CES groups in different parts of the country, with new ones being introduced in other areas all the time.
Is it possible to trade between the different Talent Exchange groups?
Yes! All the CES groups are linked and inter-group trading is possible. The Talent is almost as versatile as the Rand. This means you can trade with any account holder nationally and your offerings are nationally accessible.
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
Login Page
The login page is available at www.ces.org.za. You may also use the addresses
www.talents.org.za, www.talentexchange.org.za and www.sane.org.za/ces.
This page also contains general information about the CES, an online application form to join the CES, a demonstration site and links to other web sites with information about complementary currency systems.
You need to enter your personal account number and password in order to get into your personal account.
After the ‘Account No’ entry there is a legend ‘Remember me?’. If you tick the checkbox to its right, then the page will remember your account number. This is a great feature if you regularly forget your account number. There is no danger in using this feature as the system does NOT remember your password so no one else can access your account.
If you have forgotten your password, click on Forgotten your password? at the bottom right. You will be taken to a screen where you will be able to enter your account number. Your password will be e-mailed to you using the address on file. If you have forgotten both your account number and password, you will have to e-mail the system administrator at [email protected], or contact your local area co-ordinator.
Once your account number and password have been entered correctly, you will be taken to your personal Home page.
Home Page
From this page you can reach all the functions and facilities available to account holders. To get back to this page click on the [Home] button or the logo at the top left. The Search box at the top permits you to search for the offerings of participants in your group. Type in what you are looking for and press the [Go] button. This will show you all the offerings matching your query. You may also type in a participant’s account number, first name or surname (not both). It will only produce a result if they have an offering.
Horizontal Menu
The horizontal menu at the top gives you access to the list of participants, your personal record in that list, the list of participant offerings, the list of participant wants, a list of announcements of interest to the group and various items of interest about the group.
Vertical Menu
The vertical menu in the centre of the page gives you access to your personal trading account.
The following functions are divided into those you perform as a buyer, those you perform as a seller and the ability to query your trading position and that of the group.
Seller Actions
This allows you to perform various actions as a seller.
1 to 4 Enter Transactions is where you enter details of your sales, which translates into the credits in your account (and debits in the buyer’s).
5 Send Invoice allows you to email an invoice to a buyer.
Buyer Actions
This allows you to perform various actions as a buyer.
6. Send Online Trading Slip allows you to email a ‘cheque’ authorising the seller to debit you for your purchase.
7. Send Order Form allows you to email a detailed order to a seller, together with an order number.
Querying
Enables you to acquire details of your own account and the balances of other members
8. My Account Balance shows you, on the current date, the total number of sales and purchases you have made, and gives you your overall balance. 9. My Statement of Account gives details of all sales and purchases you
have made, including your balance after each transaction.
Miscellaneous
This enables you to print and/or download the standard trading documents and perform other miscellaneous tasks.
10. Trading Documents takes you to a page where you can send online Trading Slips or download them in various formats. Other trading documents are also available.
CES Ideas Exchange
This gives access to the Discussion Forum where you can engage in written
discussion with other members of the broader Community Exchange System. You can subscribe to this forum by entering your full name and e-mail address and clicking the
[Subscribe] button. In a similar way you can unsubscribe when you no longer wish to be part of the discussion group.
Online Help
Every page has contextual help. Click the [Help] button at the top right of any page to get help on that page. To close a help panel, click on one of the small [Close] buttons at the top or bottom of the panel.
Logging out
Please log out after you have finished your session by pressing the red [Log Out]
button. This will prevent anyone accessing your account after you have finished. You will be logged out automatically after twenty minutes, so do not go away from your computer for longer than this during a session.
VERTICAL MENU – OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
Seller Actions
Enter Transactions
This is where you, as the seller, enter the transaction details of the sales you have made. You can only enter information relating to your trading account. If you are entering information for another person then you must first log in as that person. This means they will have to provide you with their account number and password.
NOTE: The information that you enter here should be that obtained from a Trading Sheet or Trading Slips signed by the buyers of your goods and services. If you have no signature or written confirmation of the amount(s) entered here, you have no comeback if the buyer challenges your entry. There are four ways to enter transactions. The first enables you to enter single
transactions where you know the buyer’s name but not their account number. The second is similar to the first but quicker to use because it does not load the complete list of members, but you MUST know the buyer’s account number. The third allows you to enter multiple transactions. This is much the same as the second but it allows you to enter up to 20 transactions at one time.
The fourth allows you to enter the details of an unlimited number of transactions. You can type the transactions online or, to avoid being connected to the internet for a long time, you can type them offline. Once you are online you can copy the details and paste them into a form to submit them all at once.
These four methods are described in greater detail below.
Path: Home>>Enter Single Transaction (list) from Vertical Menu
The following details are available for entry:
Group If your buyer is in a remote group then first select the group of the buyer from the Group down list, otherwise ignore this drop-down.
Buyer Select the buyer’s name from the Buyer drop-down list OR enter the buyer’s 4-digit account number. Names in the drop-down list are sorted alphabetically by surname or organisation/company name. To jump directly to a name press the first letter of the (sur)name, repeatedly if necessary. If by mistake you select a name from the drop-down list and you type in an account number, the typed account number will be the one chosen. If you are trading with a buyer in a remote group, you must first select the member’s group from the Group drop-down list above.
3. You will then be asked to confirm the information you have just entered. If the information is correct, press the [Confirm] button and the information will be saved in your account. It will be reflected immediately as a credit in your Statement of Account and as a debit in the buyer’s Statement of Account.
After submitting the information the form will clear, ready for you to enter the details of another transaction. If you have nothing more to enter then press the [Back] button or any of the green buttons across the top.
Path: Home>>Enter Single Transaction (quick) from Vertical Menu
This is similar to the method described above; the only difference being that you must know the buyer’s account number as there is no drop-down list from which to select the buyer.
Path: Home>>Enter Multiple Transactions from Vertical Menu
The entry of individual transactions on the multiple transaction form is exactly the same as described above for the quick, single transactions. By default 5 entry templates are presented on the screen. You may however increase this to a maximum of 20 by selecting the number from the Sales to enter drop-down list.
Path: Home>>Paste Transaction Data from Vertical Menu
This feature enables you to captures sales data off-line. You can prepare your sale information in one go or keep a file that you update as you go along. Then you only need to paste that information once a week or once a month. If you are a regular trader this feature could save you much time online
When you access the feature you are presented with a blank box that is at first not very inviting and perhaps a bit confusing because there is no template for inserting the different categories of information (buyer, amount, description). Once you get used to the interface, however, it will probably become your preferred mode of transaction entry as it works very fast.
To capture your sales data open a text editor such as Notepad (you can also use MS Word or any other word processor/text editor). Enter your sale information by typing the
buyer's account number in the first line, the amount in the second line and a description of the sale in the third line, as in this example:
ABTE1234 150
Bedside table
Each sale consists of three lines like this. To remember the order of the lines think of the acronym ‘BAD’ – Buyer, Amount, Description!
You can enter as many of these three-line sales as you like, one below the other. Do not leave any blank lines.
When you have finished typing them, highlight the lot with your mouse (or press Ctrl + A) and then select ‘Copy’ from the Edit menu (or press Ctrl + C). Then log into your account and click on ‘3. Paste Transaction Data’ under ‘Seller Actions’ on the home page. Click in the ‘Paste or type sale data’ box and then go to the Edit menu at the top and click on paste (or just press Ctrl + V). This will paste your sale data into the box. Next click on the [Submit] button. This will send your data to the server, which will
line everything from that point on will be blank.
If you have made a mistake press the [Cancel] button and correct the error. When you are satisfied with your sale entries as shown on the confirmation page, press the
[Confirm] button. This completes the operation and you will see that you have been credited for the sales if you check your statement of account.
This is a very useful way of entering regular sale information. For example, if you need to debit someone or a group of people at the beginning of each month (e.g. for
subscriptions or rent) you could have the sale info saved in a file. All you would have to do is open the file, copy the data, paste it into the box and press [Submit]. This could be done within a matter of seconds and it would eliminate data entry errors.
A small levy is added to every sale that you enter. The levy rate varies from group to group. The levy effectively reduces the amount you are entering by the amount of the levy. The buyer is also levied the same amount and this effectively increases the price by the amount of the levy. Levies go to the CES Talentry (treasury) which holds them until the CES Administration requires additional revenue for expenditures.
The date of entry is added automatically. The date recorded by the system might be different to the date entered on a Trading Slip, as the slip date is usually the date of the transaction while the system date is always the date on which the information is
entered.
Editing/Deleting Transactions
Path: Home>> My Statement of Account from Vertical Menu>>
If you make an error entering a transaction (e.g. you typed “100” instead of “10”) you have 10 days to correct the error. Your statement of account lists all your sales and purchases. At the top of the list all sales that you have made in the past 10 days are editable.
Click on the Description field to display the Edit/Delete Transaction form. Edit the Amount or Description and then press the [Update Record] button.
Delete the entire record by pressing the [Delete Transaction] button. This will delete the transaction from your Statement of Account and reduce your overall income and balance by the amount shown in the record. It will also decrease the overall expenditure and balance of the buyer by the same amount. Deleting a transaction record will also adjust the overall figures for the group (see Member Balances).
Levies paid will also be adjusted, or recovered if the transaction is deleted.
Use this feature to refund a buyer rather than getting the buyer to enter a counter transaction. If you do the latter you will be levied twice.
Online Invoice
required. An invoice is then a statement of the hours you spent on the job and provides the buyer with the total amount that you wish to be credited.
There are many other situations in which an invoice would be useful, but it is most useful if you just want to keep a record of your trades.
The sending of an invoice is also a signal to the buyer that you want to be sent a Trading Slip or that you are going to credit yourself and debit the buyer.
The following details are available for entry:
Group If your buyer is in a remote group then first select the group of the buyer from the Group down list, otherwise ignore this drop-down.
Send To Select the buyer’s name from the Buyer drop-down list. Names in the drop-down list are sorted alphabetically by surname or
organisation/company name. To jump directly to a name press the first letter of the (sur)name, repeatedly if necessary.
The buyer will not appear on the list if he/she does not have an email address.
Description Enter details of what was provided (e.g. “doz eggs”, “Replaced kitchen sink”, “Back massage”, “Boxes of vegetables”).
Units This means the quantity of the items provided. Most often this will be 1. You can only fill in numbers in this column so do not attempt to write “1 doz” or “2 bunches”! If it is not clear what your units refer to indicate this in the Description field (e.g. “dozen”, “5 litre
bottles”).
Unit Price Fill in the price of one unit of what you provided. If you provided a once-off service you would have “1” in the Units column and the total price in the Unit Price column. Only numbers and the decimal point may be entered in this column.
Shipping If there is any cost related to getting your goods to the buyer, enter that here (e.g. postage, courier).
1. Complete all details as shown above.
2. Press the [View] button, to view an on-screen replica of the invoice that will be emailed to your buyer.
3. Press the [Cancel] button if something is not correct. This will take you back to the form where you can make the necessary correction(s).
4. Press the [Send] button to have the invoice emailed to the buyer and a copy of it emailed to you for reference purposes. You may also wish to print out a copy for your records.
are valid in the Units column and only numbers and the decimal point are valid in the Unit Price column.
A unique Invoice Number will be generated by the system and will appear on your invoice. The date will also be inserted automatically, and will be the current date. All calculations are done automatically, which you can check on the replica that is shown on the screen before you press the [Send] button.
Buyer Actions
Online Trading Slip
Path Home>>Send Online Trading Slip from the Vertical Menu
If you cannot meet face-to-face with the seller to hand over a paper Trading Slip or do not wish to post or fax one, send an online Trading Slip using this form. While this online version has no signature and is therefore not a legal document, the email sent to the seller contains your name and email address, which it gets from the database. Before sending an online Trading Slip, check first with the seller if it is acceptable to do so. The following details are available for entry:
Group If your buyer is in a remote group then first select the group of the buyer from the Group down list, otherwise ignore this drop-down.
Send To Select the seller’s name from the Send to drop-down list. Names in the drop-down list are sorted alphabetically by surname or
organisation/company name. To jump directly to a name press the first letter of the (sur)name, repeatedly if necessary.
The seller will not appear on the list if he/she does not have an email address.
Amount Use a decimal point in the Amount field, not a comma.
Description Enter details of what you received (e.g. “2 dozen eggs”, “Massage”, “5 boxes mixed vegetables”, “2 packets curry powder”).
1. Complete all details as shown above.
2. Press the [Send] button to send the Online Trading Slip to the seller.
The seller will receive an automatically-generated email (the Online Trading Slip) which authorises him or her to enter the information into the Transaction Details feature of his or her account. This will debit your account for the amount indicated and credit the seller’s.
You will receive by email the ‘counterfoil’ of the Online Trading Slip; an
acknowledgement of sending the Slip. It will contain the same details as on the Online Trading Slip and represents your confirmation of ‘paying’. Store it in an email folder in case there is any dispute with the seller.
Send Order Form
Path Home>>Send Order Form from the Vertical Menu
Use this form to generate an Online Order Form that will be emailed to the seller from whom you would like to purchase something.
While in most cases of trading on the CES an order form is not necessary, there might arise situations where you wish to send an order. For example, you might wish to provide the seller with some detail with regard to quantities and selection you require. An order form is then useful for the seller to avoid getting your order wrong.
There are many other situations in which an order form would be useful, but it is most useful if you just want to keep a record of your trades.
The following details are available for entry:
Group If your buyer is in a remote group then first select the group of the buyer from the Group down list, otherwise ignore this drop-down.
Send To Select the seller’s name from the Seller drop-down list. Names in the drop-down list are sorted alphabetically by surname or
organisation/company name. To jump directly to a name press the first letter of the (sur)name, repeatedly if necessary.
The seller will not appear on the list if he/she does not have an email address.
Description Enter details of what you require (e.g. “Dozens eggs”, “Hours massage”, “Boxes mixed vegetables”, “Boxes curry powder”).
Qty This means the quantity of the items required. This could be a physical quantity or hours. You can only type numbers in this column so do not attempt to write “1 doz” or “2 bunches”!
Comment Use this box to provide any other detail that you feel the seller should know. This could be about the product, delivery information, contact details etc.
1. Complete all details as shown above.
2. Press the [View] button, to view an on-screen replica of the order form that will be emailed to the seller.
3. Press the [Cancel] button if something is not correct. This will take you back to the form where you can make the necessary correction(s).
4. Press the [Send] button to have the order form emailed to the seller and a copy of it emailed to you for reference purposes. You may also wish to print out a copy for your records.
A unique Order Number will be generated by the system and will appear on your order form. The date will also be inserted automatically, and will be the current date.
Querying
My Account Balance
Path Home>>My Account Balance from the Vertical Menu
This shows your current balance of account.
It shows how many sales and purchases you have made as well as your total income,
expenditure and amount of levy paid. The right-most column shows your current
balance.
Healthy Balance
A healthy balance is one that hovers around zero (assuming that some sales and purchases have been made), for this indicates that the value of your sales more or less equals the value of your purchases.
Large Positive Balance
A large positive balance indicates that you are giving a lot but not getting much out of the system. It also means that you are not spending your Talents back into the
community so that others can benefit. No interest is earned by having a positive balance so there is no point in maintaining a large positive balance, though it could mean that you are saving Talents to purchase something expensive at a later date.
Large Negative Balance
A large negative balance indicates that you are taking more from the system than giving to it. If you are a regular trader this might indicate a temporary fluctuation below zero. You should refuse to sell to someone who has run up a large debit and made few or no sales.
If no one is coming to you for what you have to offer, then what you offer is not required, your offerings are too expensive or the descriptions of your offerings are not inspiring anyone. Try improving your offering descriptions or contact your local area co-ordinator for advice on attracting more custom.
Statement of Account
Path Home>>My Statement of Account from the Vertical Menu
This page gives your personal statement of account. It is not accessible to others. By default only details of the last 30 days are shown. Alternatively, you may select a specific time period by entering From and To dates in the grey bar at the top.
Column Description
Date This gives the date on which the item was added to your account through the Enter Transaction Details facility.
Account No - Name The account number of the person with whom the transaction was conducted. Red text indicates a purchase.
Description Sales you have made within the past 10 days are shown in green meaning that if you click on the description you will be able to edit the record. You may change the amount and the description of the transaction, or delete the entire record. Adjusting the amount will adjust your overall figures as well as those of the buyer and the entire group. The same applies if you delete the record. Use this feature if you have made a mistake when entering a transaction or you need to refund the buyer for any reason.
Credit This gives the amounts you received for your sales.
Debit This gives the amounts you paid for your purchases. Debits are indicated in red.
Levy This is the levy applicable to each transaction which is used for maintaining and administering the system.
Balance This column gives your balance after each transaction.
Black text indicates that your balance is positive (‘in the black’); red text indicates that your balance is negative (‘in the red’).
There is no stigma in having a negative balance as it is required by the system that the sum of all amounts ‘in the red’ has to be equal to the sum of all amounts ‘in the black’. Best is to have a balance hovering around zero as this indicates that you have a healthy balance: you are getting as much out of the system as you are giving to it. If your
balance remains in the red for a prolonged period and is steadily increasing (negatively) then it is time to do something about it. You need to make more sales and fewer
Edit/Delete Transactions
Once the system displays your transactions, you will be able to edit any sales that you have made in the last 10 days. These are displayed at the top of the list.
Click on the Description field to display the Edit/Delete Transactions form. Edit the Amount or Description and then press the [Update Record] button.
Delete the entire record by pressing the [Delete Transaction] button. This will delete the transaction from your Statement of Account and reduce your overall income and balance by the amount shown in the record. It will also decrease the overall expenditure and balance of the buyer by the same amount. Deleting a transaction record will also adjust the overall figures for the group (see Member Balances).
Levies paid will also be adjusted, or recovered if the transaction is deleted.
Use this feature to refund a buyer rather than getting the buyer to enter a counter transaction. If you do the latter you will be levied twice.
Miscellaneous
Trading Documents
Path Home>>Trading Documents from the Vertical menu
There are various trading documents available on the system for your use. They are in various formats such as MS Word, HTML or PDF. Select and download the ones most useful to you.
Trading Sheets
These are used in markets or shops where you expect to make a lot of sales and don’t want the bother of lots of loose Trading Slips. They are also used by sellers who are selling goods for others. For example, if a seller has left a range of goods at a stall at a fair or with a shopkeeper to sell, the buyers’ information can be recorded on this sheet instead of using Trading Slips. In such situations Trading Slips can get lost or mixed up with other members’ slips.
When using one of these sheets, get buyers to fill in their full information and to write clearly!
The HTML version can be printed directly from your browser screen; the MS Word version has to be downloaded and you have to have the associated program installed on your computer to print it.
Trading Slips
These are simple cheque-like slips that you can use when you are ‘paying’ someone. They convey the essential information that needs to be entered into the Transaction Details form by the seller.
Send an Online Trading Slip (e.g. when not meeting the seller face-to-face) or download one of the printable formats (2—6) in the list.
Online Trading Slips
If you send an online Trading Slip you will be identified to the seller by your name and email address, which will be taken from the database. The date will also be sent automatically.
The name of the seller will not appear on the Send to drop-down list if he or she has no email address. To find a name quickly, press the first letter of the seller’s (sur)name, repeatedly if necessary.
Read how to send an Online Trading Slip to a remote buyer on the input page which opens when you click on 1. Send Online Trading Slip.
Paper Trading Slips
Each printed slip has a counterfoil that is kept by the buyer. The slip and counterfoil are together signed records that buyers and sellers should keep for reference purposes should there be any disagreement. A slip can also be regarded as the receipt you issue for services or goods received.
A Trading Slip differs from a conventional cheque in that you, as buyer, write your name (and membership number) on it and not that of the person you are ‘paying’.
You do not need to use these slips. You may convey the information verbally but by writing it down the chances of giving the wrong information are minimised, and without them you have no signed record of your trades. You may of course create your own forms or simply write the necessary information on any piece of paper.
HORIZONTAL MENU – OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
Home
No matter where you are on the system, this button always takes you back to your personal Home page.
Members
Path Members on the Horizontal Menu
This page allows you to go directly to account holders’ information pages or see lists of account holders according to the categories selected. You may also see members of other groups by selecting the group from the Groups drop-down list. By default your group will be selected.
Field Description
Select Allows you to directly select a member from the drop-down list. This will show the detail page for the member selected. The list is sorted alphabetically by surname or company/organisation name. To jump quickly to a name, press the first letter of the surname/name and then repeatedly to go to the next name until the name you require appears.
Account No Allows you to type in the right four digits of an account number in order to go directly to the detail page of the account holder.
Search Allows you to search for the detail page of any account holder. Type in either the first name or surname (not both together) or organisation/company name of an account holder, or the full account number or the right four digits of an account number. This will take you directly to the detail page of the account holder.
All active This button will show the list of all active account
holders. This is the full list of account holders excluding those which are hidden.
Co-ordinators This will show the list of local area co-ordinators for your group. Local area co-ordinators provide services for those without or who have difficulty using
computers.
New today This shows all new accounts created on the current day.
Field Description
Families These are accounts that are shared by more than one person living at the same address.
Companies These are all account holders registered with the CES as companies. They might not be registered
companies in terms of national legislation.
Organisations These are all account holders registered with the CES as organisations. They might not be registered
organisations in terms of national legislation.
Public Public accounts are ‘open’ accounts in that everyone can see their full statements of account. In this category are entities that are allied with the CES in some way, and are thus required to be transparent in their dealings with other members.
Remote This shows the list of virtual members that represent the remote groups with which your group is linked. Virtual members are required for trading with remote groups. See the section on remote trading at the beginning for more information.
Member List
Path Members from the Horizontal Menu>>Click a Category
Once you have clicked a category, a member list for that category will display.
This list shows account holders in your CES group according to the category chosen. Inactive (hidden) accounts are not shown, so the number of accounts shown might not be the same as the figure given in the group statistics (see This Group).
The list is initially sorted by surname but if you would like it to be sorted by account number or first name, click on A/C No. or Firstname at the top of their respective columns on the blue band.
If your sub-area filter is not set - that is, on the home page it shows All - all members of the group will be listed for the category chosen. If your area filter is set to a particular sub-area, only members in that sub-area will be listed and the name of the sub-area will be reflected in the title.
The # column indicates the number of accounts in the category chosen.
To obtain contact details, click on the account holder’s name. This will also allow you to see their list of offerings and trading position (account balance).
Click on the account holder’s E-mail address to send an email.
Accounts having the surname “Virtual” (e.g. “Johannesburg Virtual”) mean that the account holder is a virtual member that represents a separate remote trading group. Clicking on one of these virtual members will show you the complete list of offerings for the group represented by the virtual member. For more details, read the section on
middle of the grey bar. Type either the account holder’s first name or surname, or a company/organisation name, or an account number.
To print the full membership list, click on the printer icon after Print/View all at the right of the grey bar. This will bring up the full list (minus hidden/inactive and virtual
members) in a printable version. This list can be sorted by any of the column headings.
Contact Details
Path Members on the Horizontal Menu>>Click a Category>>Click a Name
This page shows the contact details of the selected account holder.
Members having the surname “Virtual” (e.g. “Johannesburg Virtual”) mean that the member is a virtual member representing a separate remote trading group. The offerings of virtual members are all the offerings of the remote groups they represent. For details of how to trade with remote account holders, read the section on Remote Trading at the beginning of this manual.
Below the account holder’s contact details are a number of actions that you may perform.
View offerings press this button to view the account holder’s complete list of offerings
View wants press this button to view the account holder’s complete list of wants
View trading position
press this button to view the account holder’s trading balance. If the member is a Public member type, the full statement of account will be shown. This applies to the Administrator account and may apply to others as well. This ensures openness of public accounts.
Enter
transaction
press this button to enter a transaction against this buyer. This will credit your account and debit the buyer’s
Send Trading Slip
press this button to send an online Trading Slip directly to this seller without having to choose the name from the drop-down list. You will be identified to the seller by your name and email address, which will be taken from the database. The date will also be sent automatically.
This feature will not work if the seller has no email address.
Send invoice press this button to fill in and send an invoice to this buyer
Send order press this button to fill in and send an order form to this seller
My Record
Path My Record on the Horizontal Menu
Personal Details
Update your personal details with this form. Please provide your full details; it helps others who want to contact you. In particular, provide the Suburb/Area where you live. This shows others which participants have offerings in their area. Lack of detail on this form may result in less custom for you.
Field Description
Password Passwords should be at least 8 characters in length. Try to include a few non-alphabetic characters for security. Your password is what protects your account from intruders, so look after it and do not leave it
exposed in an obvious place. The Administrator cannot provide your password if you have forgotten it; go to the login page and click on Forgotten your password?
to retrieve it. If you have forgotten both your account number and password you will have to contact your group administrator.
Firstname The name by which you are normally called.
Surname Your surname.
Address This is handy for deliveries and collections and should include suburb and postal code.
Phone (h, w fax & cell) Not mandatory, but useful.
Suburb/Area Make sure that your sub-area is correct. If not, select it from the list box. Selecting your sub-area here ensures that you are grouped with all others in your sub-area. If you do not have a sub-area selected you will not be seen by others who have filtered for your sub-area.
Postcode Not Mandatory.
E-mail This is important and helps with the placing of orders and is used by the Administration to send you updates, notices, lists and newsletters. Without an email
address you will not know what is going on unless you contact your local area co-ordinator.
Birthday Please give your Birthday. This detail is not seen on the general list; it is useful to the administrator for statistical and targeting purposes.
Checkboxes
There are a number of checkboxes, which if checked, will have the following effect:
Checkbox Description
Default to sub-area You will see only members, offers and wants for your sub-area.
Stop lists You will no longer receive the monthly Offerings and Wants lists by email. The full Offerings List is available from the Offerings page.
Stop Newsletter You will no longer receive the monthly Newsletter. The Newsletter is available from the login page of the web site.
Stop Updates The Updates by email from the CES Administration are not available anywhere else, so if you check this option you will not be informed of events and receive no notifications from the Administration about what is happening in your group.
Hide Account If you wish to temporarily disable your account (you are going away, for example) tick this checkbox. This will stop your name from displaying on the Members List, your offerings from displaying on the Offerings List and your wants from displaying on the Wants List. If you also wish to stop mailings from the CES Administration, tick all three of the email checkboxes.
NOTE: If you really wish to be removed from the system altogether, write to the Administrator at [email protected].
Personal Actions
Below your personal record are a number of actions that you may perform on and with your own information.
My offerings: press the [View/Edit] button to list your offerings. To edit an offering, click on the title of the offering and that will take you to the Edit Offering form. Here you can amend any details and update your offerings to give them the current date’s timestamp. Updating will ensure that your offerings rise to the top of the category lists in which they appear. To update one or more offerings tick the checkboxes in the Update column and then click the small icon on the green bar at the bottom of the column. Click on the [Add New] button to add a new offering.
My wants: press the [View/Edit] button to list your wants. To edit a want, click on the title of the want and that will take you to the Edit Want form. Press the [Add New] button to add a new want.
My announcements: press the [View/Edit] button to list your announcements. To edit an announcement, click on the title of the announcement and that will take you to the Edit Announcement form. Press the [Add New] button to add a new
announcement.
View my balance of account: press the [View] button to view your current balance of account
View my statement of account: press the [View] button to view your current
statement of account.
Offerings
Path Offerings on the Horizontal Menu
Goods & Services Categories
All the offerings under the various goods and services categories displayed on this page constitute the Offerings List.
By default the offerings of your Talent Exchange group are shown. If you would like to see the offerings of other Talent Exchange groups, select a group name from the Other Groups drop-down menu at the left of the grey bar.
If you would like to search for an offering, name or any other detail relating to offerings in your own group, use the search box on the green band at the very top of the screen. If you would like to search all groups for an offering, use the Search Groups box in the middle of the grey bar.
You do not need to search for complete words or phrases. A search word that is found anywhere in the Offering or Details columns of the Offerings List, or matches an entered keyword, will find records that contain it. For example, a search for “edit” will find
records containing “editing”, “editor” “editorial” etc.
To view all offerings for your or a selected group click on the printer icon at the right of the grey bar. This will display a printer-friendly version of the entire list in a new window. This version shows the categories of the various offerings as well. Use this version if you want to make a printout as it will not include the navigation buttons at the top. Select any of the offerings categories to view the offerings in that category
You can also download a PDF version of the entire offerings list for printing out At the bottom of the list of categories are two options to select a date from which you would like to see offerings. The top option presents the offerings in the standard view and provides access to the advertiser’s contact details; the bottom option presents the offerings in a new window in a printer-friendly version as described above.
Category Lists
On selecting a category, the list of all offerings in that category of goods and services will show.
The list is initially sorted by date when the offering was added, with the latest at the top. By clicking on the Updated, Area, Offering and Name column headings the list will be sorted by those columns.
The Updated column shows when the offering was added to the list. To view the latest offerings, click on the Updated column heading and the list will be sorted by date with the latest at the top.
The Area column shows the area/suburb/town where the account holder making the offering lives or is located. It does not refer to the area where the item is available or restricted.
The Rate column indicates how much participants are asking for their offerings. This may be in Talents, Rands or a combination of both.
The Name column gives the name of the participant offering the goods or service. To obtain contact details, click on the name.
Adding an Offering
There are two ways to add an offering:
Path Offerings on the Horizontal Menu>>[Add Offering] button on the grey bar
or
Path My Record on the Horizontal Menu>>My offerings under Personal Actions>>[Add New]
Use this form to add your offerings to the Offerings List.
Field Description
Brief Title This should be short and concise. Use a title that is meaningful and attracts the attention of others looking for the services or goods you are offering. Offering titles are listed alphabetically.
Category Select a category from the drop-down list that best fits what you are offering. You may have the same offering under several categories.
Details Under Details give a description of your offering. There is no restriction on the length of your description but keep it brief and clear. Use numbers or bullets if your offering can be broken down into various categories.
Rate Give a rate or price for your offering. Indicate whether it is Talents, Rands or a combination of both. Rand-only offerings are not permitted and will be removed.
Keywords Type some keywords for your offering that users might search on, other than those already in the Title or Description. Separate words with spaces. You may type words that together do not exceed 255 characters.
Display for Select a time period from the Display for drop-down list that you would like your offering to display for. Your offering will automatically be removed from the list after the selected time period unless you select ‘Forever’. Use this facility to automatically remove offerings that are only relevant for a short time period (e.g. goods).
Field Description
Upload photo It is possible to illustrate your offering with a
photograph. To do this click the [Browse] button and select the digital photograph you have taken of your offer, which must be saved on your hard drive. This will then upload the photo and place it above the
description of your offering on the offerings list. Images must be small – no more than 100 pixels in height. Anything larger will simply not show. Only .jpg, .gif and .png formats are acceptable.
After you have added all details, click the [Add Offering] button. The offering is added to the Offerings List.
There is no limit on the number of offerings that you may have. You may also repeat the same offerings in different categories if there is uncertainty about which category to use, but don’t put all or any one of your offerings in all categories.
Keywords assist others in finding your offerings through the search facility. If you have described your offering as “Painting”, for example, make sure you have “painter” as a keyword as a potential buyer might use that word to look for someone who paints, rather than “painting”. Another example is “Baby sitting”. In this case use the following keywords: “babysitter baby-sitter baby sitter childminder child minder baby-sitting babysitting”.
Editing an Offering
There are two ways of editing an offering:
Path Offerings from the Horizontal Menu>>Select the Category which contains your offering(s)
or
Path My Record on the Horizontal Menu>>My offerings under Personal Actions>>[View/Edit]
In both cases a list of offerings will display. In the first case your offerings will appear among all the offerings for that category; in the latter case your offerings will be grouped together. Your own offering titles will appear in green in the Offering column. This
means they are clickable and editable. Click on the title in the Offering column and the Edit/Delete Offering form will appear.
The form allows you to modify any of the details of your offering record, or delete it from the Offerings List.
Edit the Title or Details of the record; select a new category from the Category drop-down list; edit your Rate or modify your keywords. When done press the [Update Record] button. Updating a record stamps it with the current date and this will ensure that it appears at the top of the category list it appears in.
Delete the record by pressing the [Delete Record] button. This will permanently remove the record from the Offerings List.
Offering Tips
Advertise your offerings in such a way as to make yourself ‘marketable’. Do not offer services that only have meaning in a corporate or business environment. For example, you are not likely to get many takers for “Coastal Management Consultant” or
“Aeronautical Engineer” within the CES context, though people might contact you for your services outside the CES.
Advertise services and goods that people will really want and can afford within the context of the system. Some examples are: handyman/odd job services, painting, gardening, sewing, child-minding, dog-walking, massage, car maintenance, computer training, photography, music lessons etc. The list is endless but requires some
imagination.
If you find that you are not getting any requests for your services then you know they are not wanted or are too expensive. Try adding some other offerings; reduce your prices. There must be something you can do that people want. Advertise a range of things you do and then cut back on some of them if you find you are getting too many requests.
The same applies to goods you want to sell. Don’t sell expensive equipment through the CES as this will place purchasers in heavy debit and make it difficult for them to reduce it. If you have expensive goods for sale ask for part payment in Rands.
Try to ensure that your listings in the Offerings List attract attention. Use descriptive headings for you offerings and explain what you offer clearly and attractively. A sloppy presentation with spelling errors and poor descriptions will put off prospective
customers. Watch how others do it and try to improve on theirs.
Most people will find your offerings by searching the list. Try to use keywords that you think people will search for. For example, you might offer “Painting” or “Cleaning” but buyers might look for “Painter” or “Cleaner”. Spelling mistakes or the use of American spelling forms (e.g. “laboring” vs “labouring” or “counseling” vs “counselling” may reduce or eliminate finds on your offering.
Treat your offerings as your personal ads in the “Yellow Pages”. Convince others that you are the best for the job and that you have the necessary experience. Make your ads stick out from the crowd.
Not all sales on the CES come through people contacting you for what you offer. Check the Wants List regularly. You will be surprised to find that often people will be asking for something that you can provide.
By being active on the CES people get to know you and you can let them know what you do. ‘Networking’ is important in both the Rand and Talent economies!
Wants
Path Wants on the Horizontal Menu
The Wants List displays the wants of those who have added to the list through the [Add Want] button on the Wants Page. If you can supply or respond to any of the advertised wants, please contact the advertiser. The advertiser’s contact details can be obtained by clicking on his or her name in the Name column on the right.
The list is sorted according to the dates the wants were added, with the latest at the top. Advertised wants will remain on the list for 30 days, after which they cease to display.
Add Wants
There are two ways of adding a want:
Path Wants on the Horizontal Menu>>Add Want on the grey bar
or
Path My Record on the Horizontal Menu>>My wants under Personal Actions>>[Add New]
Use the Add Want form to add your wants to the Wants List. For example, if you want someone to come and paint that room, mow your lawn, fix your car, lend you a tent, house-sit while you are away, look after your pet, accompany you to the opera, sell you a bed, etc., advertise it on the Wants List and see who responds. You can either pay in kind, Rands or Talents.
Your adverts will normally display on the list for 30 days. If you wish them to remain longer, tick the Keep after expiry checkbox. Please delete records before the expiry date if the want has been satisfied.
Editing a Want
There are two ways of editing a want:
Path Wants from the Horizontal Menu
or
Path My Record on the Horizontal Menu>>My wants under Personal Actions>>[View/Edit]
In the former case, you will see your wants among all the other wants; in the latter case your wants will be grouped together. In both cases your want titles in the Title column will be green and clickable. Click on the title and it will take you to the Edit/Delete Want form where you can edit or delete the want.
This form allows you to modify any of the details of your want record, or delete it from the Wants List.
Edit the details of this want record. When done press the [Update Record] button. Delete the record by pressing the [Delete Record] button.
Announce
Path Announce on the Horizontal Menu
This list displays announcements added through the [Add Announcement] button on the Announce Page. These are announcements about events or anything of interest to participants of your community exchange group.
The list is sorted according to the order in which the announcements were added, with the latest at the top. The actual dates in the Date column may not appear to be in date order as they could refer to the dates of events or, if no date was given, the date on which the announcement was added.
Announcements will remain on this list until a particular date specified by the person who added the announcement or, if no date was given, for 30 days, after which they will cease to display.
Add Announcement
There are two ways of adding an announcement:
Path Announce on the Horizontal Menu>>[Add Announcement] button on the grey bar
or
Path My Record on the Horizontal Menu>>My announcements under Personal Actions>>[Add New]
Use the Add New Announcement form to add an announcement to the
Announcements List. For example, if you want to advertise an event or draw others’ attention to a book or article, announce it in the Announcements List. You can announce anything provided it is not to draw additional attention to your personal offerings or wants.
Field Description
Title The Title field is for giving a brief title to your announcement (e.g. “Public Meeting”).
Date This field is for giving a date to announcements that are date specific (e.g. an event or expiry date). The
Remove after field allows you to specify when an announcement should be removed from the list. This is usually the same date as the event.
NOTE: You are not required to provide any dates associated with your announcement (e.g. it might be an announcement about a book). If no date is provided then the system will automatically insert the current date. If no Remove after date is provided the system will automatically insert a date 30 days after the current date, meaning that the announcement will disappear after 30 days unless you specify a date when it should
Field Description
Details The Details field for giving details about the
announcement (e.g. time, place, venue, description).
NOTE: Please delete announcements before the expiry date if they no longer have relevance (e.g. an event is cancelled).
Editing an Announcement
There are two ways of editing an announcement:
Path Announce from the Horizontal Menu
or
Path My Record on the Horizontal Menu>>My announcements under Personal Actions>>[View/Edit]
In the former case your announcements will appear in the list of all announcements; in the latter case your announcements will be grouped together. The title of your
announcements will be green and clickable. Click on the title in the Title column and the Edit/Delete Announcement form will appear.
This form allows you to modify any of the details of your announcement record
