Abstract: A document handling terminal is disclosed having a read unit, a printer, an inscriber and an endorser unit, a printer, an inscriber and an endorser unit. A microprocessor in the terminal controls the operation of the various input output units by means of an operation control table loaded into said microprocessor from a host computer. A plurality of instructions in the table are executed in a sequence without branches or jumps by comparing a condition field in each instruction to information stored in a condition register. If the comparison indicates equal, the operation code of the instruction is executed, otherwise not. The execution of an instruction controls data transfer within a buffer store, between the buffer store and input output registers, the setting of operation indicators and changing of data in the condition register. The input output units are selectively operated according to the state of the operation indicators asynchronous to execution of the instructions.