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Fkbbdabt 12, .1920 ' 



The Florists^ Review 



29 



Coaveatlon Banquet of the Tennessee State Florists' Association at KnozvlUe February 6. 



answer. Every fifteen days thereafter 

 these cards are checked with the ledg- 

 ers and another letter sent until the ac- 

 count is taken care of. 



We find that this system costs us 

 about five per cent. Fifty per cent of 

 the accounts are paid by the second or 

 third letter. About ten per cent require 

 the full series of eight letters and from 

 these only three per cent send remit- 

 tances in full. From three per cent we 

 collect approximately fifty per cent. 

 Our losses for the last four years have 

 averaged three-fourths of one per cent 

 of our total sales. 



All collections are handled by mail 

 and telephone; no collector is used. We 

 sometimes write to out-of-town custom- 

 ers and if a reply is not received in five 

 or six days we wire them requesting an 

 answer to our letter. 



We still work on the theory that a 

 doubtful account on the books is worth 

 more than a box of roses in the trash 

 can. 



OFFICE MANAGEMENT. 



TTbe addreas of Bobert B. Mapes, of Knoz- 

 Tille, at the convention of the TenneMee State 

 Flortsts' Association, at Knozrllle. February 6, 

 on "Office Management and Oollectiona."] 



The last two years have witnessed a 

 wonderful growth in the use of records 

 of all sorts. Statistics, figures, facts — 

 these are the bases upon which every ac- 

 tivity of today, legislative, political or 

 commercial, is based. The days of hap- 

 hazard methods and incomplete records 

 have passed away, never to return. In 

 DO field of activity is this more true 

 than in business. Success in modem 

 business demands not only commercial 

 shrewdness — the ability to buy in the 

 cheapest market and sell in the dearest 

 — but it also demands accuracy. A flo- 

 rist may watch every detail of expense 

 at his greenhouses in order to produce 

 stock at the lowest possible cost; he 

 may use every effort to dispose of this 

 stock at the best prices, but if there is 

 a weak link in the administration of his 

 affairs, if the management of his office 

 is not up-to-date, he stands a good 

 chance of making a failure. In every 

 ofilee the keeping of scientific and sys- 

 tematic records of all the transactions 

 and all the facts is an important factor 

 of the business. Under present condi- 

 tions it is imperative that double con- 

 sideration be given each and every 



transaction in order to ascertain 

 whether or not it is a practicable one. 



Plan of Work Needed. 



No hard-and-fast rules for the man- 

 agement of an office can be laid down, 

 for conditions vary according to the 

 nature and magnitude of the particular 

 business. A certain system or method 

 might be successful in one office, while 

 it would not be adapted to all the con- 

 ditions in another. While the rules of 

 debits and credits and other general 

 rules are the same, each office manager 

 must map out a system or plan of work 

 that is especially adapted to the needs 

 of his office. 



The term, office manager, means more 

 than one who merely keeps the books or 

 handles the correspondence. He must 

 be in touch with every detail of the 

 business. When we take into consider- 

 ation the many duties falling to the 

 office manager we can at once see that 

 he has a real job and must be a man of 

 large caliber if the operation of the 

 business is to be a success. He must 

 possess an understanding knowledge of 

 purchasing, advertising, selling, credits, 

 deliveries, collections, correspondence 

 and accounting. In a small business he 

 may have to perform a number of these 

 duties himself, whUe in a large busi- 

 ness he would only oversee the workings 

 of these departments, but whether in a 

 large or small business, the principle 

 involved is practically the same, and 

 the office manager should have a thor- 

 ough understanding of all the workings 

 of the business. 



Taxes Have Aided Bookkeeping. 



The time has come in the florists' 

 business when we realize the impor- 

 tance of office duties. The income tax 

 convinced many of us that our system 

 of accounting did not afford the de- 

 sired information and showed that we 

 were not giving the office the time and 

 attention it should have. I believe it 

 is safe to say that all florists have made 

 marked improvements in their book- 

 keeping methods during the last three 

 years. We have learned that it is just 

 as important to do our posting and bal- 

 ance our books daily as it is to take 

 care of rush funeral work or catch a 

 certain train. We have come to a reali- 

 zation of the importance of taking care 

 of correspondence promptly and prop- 



erly, and instead of looking at the office 

 as a place of little importance we con- 

 sider it the heart of the business. 



Under the head of collections, which 

 is an important branch of office man- 

 agement, we must admit much improve- 

 ment during the last few years. The 

 government tax laws, while seeming to 

 impose an extra burden upon the busi- 

 ness man and causing a great deal of 

 extra work, have really been a bless- 

 ing. It has caused a general revision 

 of office systems, and therefore the slow 

 accounts are being watched more closely 

 than heretofore. The organization of 

 credit men throughout the country and 

 the exchanging of credit information 

 among business houses has also been a 

 great stimulus to collections, and the 

 man who is trying to deadbeat his way 

 is finding it a hard job. However, we 

 still have a great deal to learn about 

 collections and there are still many im- 

 provements to be made. Each day 

 brings us face to face with new ob- 

 stacles to be overcome, and as long 

 as business houses continue to do a 

 credit business we shall be confronted 

 with the problem of collections. I be- 

 lieve we should have our terms and re- 

 quire our customers to live up to them. 

 My observance has been that a dead- 

 beat, or a man who is slow in paying, 

 respects the business house most which 

 makes him pay his bills promptly. 



TYINQ TO NATIONAL CAMFAION. 



[The address of Henry Penn, chairman of the 

 national publicity campaign, at the annual meet- 

 ing of the Tennessee State Florists' Association, 

 at KnoxYllle, February 6.] 



The local florist who ties up to the 

 national campaign has the advantages 

 that stamp his store as one that has 

 standing in his community and, inci- 

 dentally, this has the effect of making 

 the purchase of flowers half sold before 

 a customer enters his establishment. 



Our slogan, "Say It with Flowers," 

 has reached the point where it not only 

 serves as a reminder to the prospective 

 purchaser of flowers, but also deter- 

 mines which store he shall trade at, as 

 it has behind it the Society of Ameri- 

 can Florists. 



Use the slogan in all your local ads, 

 car cards, stationery, etc.; make it work 

 for you to the end that your publicity 

 locally and the campaign nationally 

 bring together the main idea which 



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