ACCOUNTS, MEMORANDA AND TABLES. 155 



the great advantage that if one copy is correct the other is 

 bound to be so. Stationery of all kinds is now so reason- 

 able in price that there is no excuse whatever for using rough 

 paper or inferior binding. 



Settlements per contra, instead of by cash, are confusing 

 to those not specially trained in accounts, and are, there- 

 fore, to be avoided, so far as may be possible. But in some 

 parts of the country it is a very common custom. So it 

 may happen that the manager receives 55. cash and a 

 receipted account of 55. in settlement of a gas bill for IDS. 

 The best way of dealing with this is to enter the full amount 

 of i os. as received, and to enter the contra of 55. as paid 

 out of petty cash. The same procedure is followed with 

 respect to a larger account, say of ^25 for gas and coke, 

 settled by a receipted contra account of ^13 and a cheque 

 for 12. But the ^"13 is a larger sum than is usually 

 paid out of petty cash, and, therefore, a cheque for the 

 amount must be obtained at the next board meeting. The 

 account is passed for payment in the ordinary way, but the 

 cheque is drawn in favour of the company, and paid in to 

 their account. The bill of 13 is, of course, entered in 

 the expenditure book in the usual way. 



The expenditure on revenue is recorded as shown with 

 regard to capital, and a convenient way is shown in 

 Form V (p. 170), which is very similar to Form III. In 

 fact, Form III is simply a summary of the annual totals of 

 Form V. The invoices or statements, having been arranged 

 in consecutive order, are entered as shown by the two 

 examples. 100 tons of coals have been purchased at a 

 cost of ^75, subject to a discount of i J per cent, for prompt 

 payment. The net amount is ^74, is. 3d. Items that 

 belong to capital are entered as a total under the head of 

 capital, and it is not necessary to dissect them, as that is 



