16 BULLETIN 985, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Cash Receipts. 



Every item of cash received is entered on a cash receipt (Form 4) . 

 This includes borrowed money payments on account and miscella- 

 neous receipts of every description. Care should be taken to use a 

 good pencil carbon sheet so as to insure a perfect copy. Patrons 

 should be trained to expect a receipt for every payment. Every 

 day the receipts are recorded in numerical order in the cash journal? 

 and the amounts are distributed to their respective columns. 



PAYMENTS. 



It is suggested that, whenever practicable, all receipts be depos- 

 ited in the bank and that all payments be made by check. When 

 this is done, the difference between the receipts and payments will 

 always be equal to the balance in the bank if all the checks have 

 been paid. It is a good practice to enter the check number in the 

 margin opposite the payee on the credit side of the cash journal and 

 to preserve the check as a receipt. A notation on the check of the 

 items paid is a valuable record. A special voucher check will be 

 found very convenient in a large business. The canceled check 

 should be attached to the original invoice or voucher and filed away 

 for reference. Cash discount should be taken at every opportunity, 

 not only because of the saving, but because the credit and reputation 

 for good business methods are greatly enhanced by a habit of prompt- 

 ness in meeting obligations. 



The Cash Journal. 



The cash journal (Form 5) provides a chronological record of the 

 financial transactions of the business and combines the features of 

 the cash book, journal, sales book, and purchase book. All trans- 

 actions must be journalized in detail or in totals in the cash journal; 

 consequently no items can be posted to the general ledger except 

 those appearing in the journal. On the left-hand page appear the 

 debit columns and on the right-hand the credit columns; at every 

 stage of the record the totals of the two sides must be equal 



DEBIT COLUMNS. 



Cash. — All receipts of cash of whatever nature are entered in the 

 cash column, the corresponding credits being made to the proper 

 accounts affected. 



Bank deposits. — The amounts of the deposits made in the bank 

 are entered in the bank deposits column. The bank balance, as 

 shown by the cash journal at the end of the previous month, is 

 carried forward to the head of the bank deposits column for the cur- 

 rent month, making it possible to ascertain at all times the available 

 amount of money in the bank by deducting the footing of the with- 



