PRINCIPLES AND DEFINITIONS 



12. PRINCIPLES AND DEFINITIONS. At the begin- 

 ing of every business, except farming, some system of accounting 

 from which its owner can form an estimate of its development at 

 any time, is thought absolutely necessary. In farming it is the 

 last. And, although the keeping of accounts must always be 

 incidental to the business itself, because it results from it, yet 

 it is such ail important essential in securing the greatest profit 

 from the farm that every farmer should keep an account with 

 his farmstead, if ambitious to obtain the most profitable re- 

 turns from his management. For after all, profit is the incentive 

 to all business activity. This is just as true on the farm as it is 

 in any branch of commerce or manufacturing. It's the profit we 

 think of that spurs us on to grow better grain, or fruit, or to 

 raise finer stock than our neighbors. And then when we've sold 

 the stock we've raised aud the grain or fruit we've grown and 

 have pocketed the proceeds, we've completed a business exchange 

 or transaction that ought to be put on record, the recording of 

 which is nothing more or less than bookkeeping, hence: 



13. BOOKKEEPING is the art of recording business trans- 

 actions distinctly and systematically so as to show the money 

 received, disposed of and on hand, the credits given, and the 

 assets, liabilities, and general status of the business, person or 

 tirm. There are two methods of keeping books known as Single 

 aud Double- entry. 



14. IN SINGLE ENTRY there is but one debit or one 

 credit to a transaction, and only personal accounts carried to 

 the Ledger. It is therefore imperfect and iucomplete and never 

 used in modern business, because accounting that isn't accurate 

 is worse than noue at all. Single-entry affords hardly half-a-loaf 



at best, but 



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