670 



BOOK-KEEPING. 



Book- 

 Keeping. 



byomttiing 

 theonlydif- 

 ficulty in 

 his own ex 



amplcf. 



Tlie new 

 system of 

 balance in 

 the Day- 

 books. 



The Leger 

 balances 

 must be 

 equal to 

 those in 

 the Day- 

 books, part 

 by part. 



An index 

 for the per- 

 sonal ac- 

 counts in 

 the Day- 

 book. 



Several 

 Day-books 

 are neces- 

 sary for ex- 

 tensive bu- 

 siness. 



because l.c omitted the only difficulty which can oc- 

 cur in balancing a set of personal and cash accounts. 

 This happens when the merchant lessens his debt by 

 anticipated payment ; for this an allowance is made 

 to the merchant, which truly alters the correspondent 

 creditor side of the account, ( See Jan. 27. ) and must 

 be taken off by some title : discount is the one chosen 

 in the following system. Two entries are made 

 there, to explain the principle. The one for notes 

 payable could only be introduced by the author in 

 his original work. 



At length a true and correct system of balance in 

 the Day-books was published September 1809, in 

 Dublin. The experiment of its utility was tried on 

 a very popular work, known by the title of The Sys- 

 tem of Italian Book-keeping, by the Rev. Daniel 

 Dowling. The trial shewed immediately the only 

 error in the Leger of that work, which had crept in 

 by the mistake of a pretender to the knowledge of 

 the plan of double entry ; and it also shewed two er- 

 rors in the copy of that work published with the 

 name of Mr Jackson, for which there could be no 

 remedy but by single entry ; which is out of the 

 plan 



Thus the only point which remained to be attain- 

 ed to complete the system is now in existence ; and 

 an easy and true criterion is presented to the mer- 

 chant, to enable him to prosecute his business with- 

 out waiting for the tedious operation of distributing 

 and closing the accounts in the Leger ; and the book- 

 keeper is consoled, by shewing, that his balances in 

 the Leger are the same, part by part, with those in 

 the Day-books. See Balance-sheet. 



An index for the personal accounts, formed like 

 the index of the letter-book, will enable the book- 

 keeper to make out all personal accounts and bills 

 of parcels, in a more easy manner than can be done 

 while the Leger is kept in the abridged form in 

 which it appears in the printed systems. 



In houses of very extended business, it is necessary 

 to have two or three Day-books, that the clerks of 

 the sales may not be interrupted in making their en- 

 tries by the interference of the book-keeper, as a 

 Book A. for Monday and Thursday ; 

 Book B. for Tuesday and Friday ; 

 Book C. for Wednesday and Saturday. 



Nature of 

 Book- 

 keeping. 



CHAP. I. 



Nature of Book-keeping. 



1 . Every transaction of mercantile business consists 

 of two parts, the giving of one thing for another. 

 This giving away and receiving are two different re- 

 lations, each of which requires its distinct entry, to 

 shew the change of property ; and thus, 



2. Book-keeping is the art of keeping accounts by 

 double entry. 



3. It consists, first, In the method of recording 

 the transactions in the several books ; secondly, 



4. In transferring the accounts from one book to 

 another ; and, in some, from a particular account to 

 a general account ; thirdly, 



5. In the method of finally ending each account ; Book- 

 commonly called, closing the account. Keeping. 



6. The whole of property is distributed into, 



Money, 

 Wares, 

 Paper effects, 

 Single effects, 



Debts due to the mer- 

 chant, or by him. 



Engagements. 



7. And this entire property is generally expressed 

 by the word, Stock ; which means, fixed at the dis. 

 posal of the owner, and liable to all claims on him. 



8. The ordinary means of acquiring property be- 

 ing by barter or service, the word transaction, which 

 expresses the giving away, is applied to all mercan- 

 tile business, and the detail is as follows : 



9. Receiving, 1 



Paying, 



Lending, i 



d " ? Money. 



Borrowing, 



Lodging, 



Drawing, 



Buying, 



Selling, 



Bartering, 



Consigning, y Wares. 



Receiving consignments of, 



Making or receiving, 



Abatements for defects in, . 



10. Issuing, 

 Accepting, 

 Drawing, J> Bills. 

 Remitting, 

 Protesting, 

 Paying protested bills, for the honour of the 



drawer. 

 Receiving or paying bills, with discount. 



11. Issuing or receiving bonds. 

 Lending, 1 on bottomry, or 

 Borrowing, J at interest. 



12. Buying, T 

 Selling, vShi 

 Freighting, or letting f " ' 



to freight, J 



Buying, 1 



Selling, > Houses and Lands. 

 Letting, J 



13. Assigning, "J {"Active due to the 

 Counterbalan- ( !-... J merchant. 



Assigning, T 



Counterbalan- I 



cing, f 



Discounting, J 



Debts. 



1 



Passive due by the 

 merchant. 



14. Giving or receiving security for old debts. 



15. Making conditional bargains. 

 Making or receiving presents. 

 Finding or losing. 



CHAP. II. 



Principal and Auxiliary Books, 



16. 1st, The Waste Book. 

 2d, The Journal. 

 3d, The Leger. 



Principal 

 and auxi- 

 liary books. 



