To Minimize the Error 39 



with the various amounts set opposite to them 

 and in due proportion as they have received 

 values from the labor of Mr. Brown. On the 

 other hand, Mr. Brown has parted with value — 

 labor — equal to the sum total of all the various 

 debts, $32.50 — and, therefore should be credited 

 by this amount. Double -entry is used in all of the 

 accounts, that errors may be minimized. If er- 

 rors are made, double -entry assists in discovering 

 them. Consider the first work report for illustra- 

 tion. If the column headed "hours" does not add 

 up 260, in this particular case, attention is called 

 to the fact that the man has lost time or that the 

 hours have not been set down or added correctly, 

 or that an error has been made in adding up the 

 column. If a mistake is made in multiplying the 

 various numbers of hours by 12%, the price per 

 hour, then the sum total in the last column will 

 not be $32.50. To prove the sum total, simply 

 multiply 260, the total number of hours, by 12%. 

 Prove each work report as above before the 

 various accounts are posted to the ledger. If 

 the total number of hours be an odd number, as 

 is the case in the account with Hay Field and 

 Orchard, the half-cent is dropped in one case and 

 added in the other, or Hay Field is charged with 

 $4.12 and Orchard with 63 cents. This treatment 

 will eliminate half- cents when the accounts are 

 posted to the ledger. 



