BOOKS. 



goes to the left side of the account of the 

 said goods, and the latter to the right side 



Of llU: Cash account. 



The two purls in any case in the waste- 

 bnok, when pus'ed to the journal, are 

 d. ..minuted, the one tiie debtor, the 

 ),,,_ ) ii. en , ; iU.r, of that jvost ; ami when 

 carried from thence to the ledger, the 

 di-oior, or debior part, is enU-red upon 

 the Iff i side (hence called tiie debtor 

 side) of its own account, where it is 

 chuiged debtor to the creditor part : 

 again, the creditor, or creditor part, is 

 posi.ed to the right side, or creditor side 

 of its account, and made creditor by the 

 debtor part. Hence Italian book-keeping 

 is said to be a method ot keeping accounts 

 by douole entry, because every single case 

 of the waste-book requires at least two en- 

 trances m tiie ledger, viz. one for the debt- 

 or, and another for the creditor. 



From what has been said, it is evident 

 that the terms debtor and creditor are 

 nothing more than marks or characteris- 

 tics stamped upon the different parls of 

 transactions in the journal, expressing 

 the relation of these parts to one another, 

 and shewing to which side of their re- 

 spective accounts in the ledger they are 

 to be carried. 



Having .thus fur explained the meaning 

 of.the terms debtor and, creditor, we shall 

 now proceed to the ledger, or principal 

 book of accounts. 



Of the ledger. The ledger is the prin- 

 cipal book, wherein all the several arti- 

 cles of each particular account, that lie 

 scattered in other books, according to 

 their dates, are collected, and placed to- 

 gether in spaces allotted for them, in 

 ."Manner, that the opposite parts of 

 every account are directly set fronting 

 one another, on opposite sides of the 

 same f'.ilio. 



The ledger's folios are divided into 

 spaces for containing the accounts, on the. 

 head of which are written the titles of 

 tiie accounts, mark< d Dr. on the left hand 

 pyge, and Cr. on tin- r.glit: in-low whieh 

 stand '.he articles, with the word To pre- 

 fixed on the Dr. side, and the word Jiy 

 on ihe Cr. side ; and upon the margin 

 sire recorded the dates of the articles, in 

 two small columns allot; ed for that pur- 

 pose. The money columns are the same 

 as in other books; before them stand the 

 folio column, which contains figures, di- 

 recting to the folio where tiie corres- 

 ponding ledger-entrance of each article 

 is made ; for every thing is twice entered 

 in the ledger, viz. on the Dr. side of one 

 account, and again on the Cr. side of 

 some other account ; so that the ligurtj 



mutually refer from the one to the other, 

 and are of use in examining the ledger. 

 Besides these columns, there must be 

 kept in all accounts, where number, mea- 

 sure, weight, or distinction of coins, is 

 considered, inner columns, to insert tne 

 quantity ; and for the ready finding any 

 account in the ledger, it has an alphabet, 

 or index, wherein are written the titles 

 of all accounts, with the number of the 

 folio where they stand. 



Jloitf the ledger is filled up from the journal. 

 1. Turn to me index, and see \vhtlner 

 tiie Dr. of the journal-post to be trans- 

 ported be written there ; if not, insert 

 it under its proper letter, with the num- 

 ber of the folio to which it is to be car- 

 ried. 2. Having distinguished the Dr. 

 and the Cr. sides, as already directed, re- 

 cording the dates, complete the entry in 

 one line, by giving a short hint of tne' na- 

 ture and terms of the transaction, carry- 

 ing the sum to the money columns, and 

 inserting the quantity, if it be an account 

 of goods, &c in the inner columns, and 

 the referring figure in the folio column. 

 3. Turn next to tiie Cr, of the journal- 

 post, and proceed in the same manner 

 with it, botli in the index and ledger; 

 with this difference only, that the entry 

 is to be made on the Cr. side, and the 

 word By prefixed to it. 4. Tiie post be- 

 ing thus entered in the ledger, return to 

 the journal, and on the margin mark the 

 folios of the accounts, with the folio of 

 the Dr. above, and the folio of the Cr. 

 below, and a small line between them 

 thus 2. These marginal numbers of the 

 journal are a kind of index to the ledger, 

 and are of use in examining the books, 

 and on other occasions. 5. In opening 

 the accounts in the ledger, follow the or- 

 der of the journal ; that is, beginning 

 with the first journal-post, allow the first 

 space in the ledger for the Dr. of it, the 

 next for the Cr. the third for the Dr. of 

 the following post, if it be not the same 

 with some of those already opened, and 

 so on till the whole journal be transport- 

 ed; and supposing that, through inad- 

 vertency, some former space has been 

 allowed too large, you are not to go back 

 to subdivide it, in order to erect another 

 account in it. 



Though these rules are formed for sim- 

 ple posts, where there is but one Dr. and 

 one Cr. yet they may be easily tpplied to 

 complex ones 



Cash-book This is the most important 

 of the auxiliary books. It is so called, 

 because it contains, in debtor and creditor, 

 ull the cash thut comes in and goes out 



