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FLOWERS AND FIGURES 



Perhaps no one 

 system of accounts, 

 with all sources of 

 was intended for a 

 to a business of any 



ETWEEN flowers and fig- 

 ures there is, figurativelj', 

 a wide gulf, but that gulf 

 must be spanned, for flow- 

 ers must be figured. Bus- 

 iness principles must dom- 

 inate the business of a 

 florist, surely. He must 

 figure flowers as accurate- 

 ly as the contractor fig- 

 ures cubic yards of concrete or the 

 number of board feet in lumber. And 

 those who have not learned this lesson 

 have not found flower grow- 

 ing profitable. Long ago the 

 three Good brothers, of 

 Springfield, O., learned this 

 important thing about their 

 business, for they have been 

 florists all their lives. Their 

 experience in solving unusu- 

 ally complex accounting 

 problems will interest any 

 concern that has a great 

 deal of bookkeeping to do. 



In a Modem Way. 



Becognizing long ago that 

 it paid to do things in the 

 most modern way, these flo- 

 rists have developed their of- 

 fice work as the business 

 grew, until now it is a model 

 of efficiency. By letting 

 modern office equipment do 

 everything that could be 

 done in that way better, the 

 proprietors have not only re- 

 duced the running expenses of their 

 office from month to month, but have 

 lightened the burden of figures and 

 routine with respect to the office em- 

 ployees. 



One of the most 

 important things 

 in the business of 

 selling flowers is 

 that the money 

 received be prop- 

 erly credited and 

 outgoing consign- 

 m e n t s properly 

 charged. This is 

 especia 1 1 y true 

 with the Good & 

 Eecse Co., for 

 the company does 

 both wholesale 

 and retail busi- 

 ness in a large 

 way, many con- 

 signments going to 

 the most distant 

 parts of the world. 

 Starting with 

 this part of the 

 office routine, the 



By R H. HOSSICK 



cause contributes more to financial success than a good 

 showing distinctly the condition of the firm's affairs, 

 gain and loss. The system described in this article 

 large business, but embodies ideas that are adaptable 

 size. 



anns^pmiE 



accounting work is carried on by logi- 

 cal steps up to a final conclusion in the 

 trial balance. 



When the Good & Reese people get 

 an order, they make a memorandum of 

 it on a yellow debit ticket about the 

 size and shape of a No. 10 envelope. 

 The amount of the charge, the name of 

 the consignee, the date and other in- 

 formation are noted on this memoran- 

 dum, and the memorandum is passed to 

 the bookkeeper, who posts the proper 

 information to the ledger. 



The Office Bulldiag of Good & RecM Co. 



When cash or other credit comes to 

 the office, a notation is made on a white 

 memorandum slip, and from this the 

 bookkeeper posts directly to the credit 



Scene In the Office of Good & Reete Co., Springfield, Oliio. 



side of the customers' ledger. Near 

 the close of the day, after invoices 

 have all been made out and credits 

 practically all accumulated, the book- 

 keeper starts posting to the ledger. 

 This part of the work is one of the 

 most important and one of the most 

 valuable of the office practices in re- 

 spect to time-saving. 



The ledger page is ruled for charges, 

 balance, date and credit on both the 

 right and left halves. Thus the book- 

 keeper may utilize the full capacity of 

 a ledger sheet 11x11 inches. 

 Taking a ledger page from 

 the post binder, the operator 

 posts charges and credits by 

 separate runs on an adding 

 machine. Dates are taken 

 care of by date keys on the 

 machine. 



The Ledger's Testimony. 



While debits and credits 

 are being posted, the 

 amounts are accumulating in 

 the machine, so that when 

 the posting is finished a 

 total of both charges and 

 credits may be obtained 

 from the adding machine. 

 By checking the total of 

 charges posted against a pre- 

 determined total of invoices, 

 also figured on the machine, 

 the bookkeeper may prove 

 his debit postings for the 

 day. 

 To get a proof of credit postings, the 

 operator checks the total of credit 

 postings against a list of credits made 

 by the adding machine on a special 



form in duplicate. 

 In other words, 

 this is a summary 

 of cash receipts. 



In order to get 

 greater speed in 

 making out in- 

 voices, this work 

 also is done on 

 the adding ma- 

 chine. The invoice 

 blank is dropped 

 into the machine 

 the same as the 

 ledger page, and 

 date, folio and 

 amount are print- 

 ed, so that an in- 

 voice bearing a 

 number of items 

 may be totaled 

 with every assur- 

 ance that the final 

 figure is correct. 

 With more than 



