16 BULLETIlSr 362j U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTXJRE. 



have furnished these returns, and subtracted. Any returns from 

 cobs sold are subtracted from cob corn. The net expense is then 

 ascertained from these subtractions. 



The net unit expense is determined by dividing the amount of ex- 

 pense by the number of bushels handled. Since in the operation of 

 an elevator there are other items of expense which are more or less 

 fixed, and not within the control of the manager, it is necessary to 

 take these into account as a further consideration in arriving at the 

 total cost of operation. 



Bad debts in most cases will be prorated between sales of coal and 

 sales of other merchandise. 



Depreciation should be distributed against the elevator on the same 

 basis as other charges after having deducted a proper amount for 

 depreciation of coal sheds, warehouses, etc. 



Shrinkage and scale loss should be distributed according to the 

 amount of loss on each commodity as shown in the ledger accounts. 

 Other losses and charges, which will include such losses as uncollected 

 claims against railroads for leakage in transit, therefore, will be 

 directly chargeable against the kind of grain or merchandise upon 

 which the loss occurred. 



After having prorated the above charges, addition should be made 

 of these amounts to the net expense, and this will give the total cost 

 of operation. The total cost of operation being 100 per cent, the per 

 cent of cost of operation on each kind of grain and merchandise will 

 be determined as being the relative percentage of each to the total. 

 The net unit cost of operation is determined by dividing the amount 

 of costs of operation by the number of bushels handled in the case of 

 grain or by dividing the amount of cost of operation by the value 

 of the goods sold when determining the net unit cost of operation for 

 merchandise. The net unit cost of operation would be in terms of 

 cents and decimals of a cent per bushel on grain, and in the case of 

 sales of coal and other merchandise, it would be represented by a cer- 

 tain percentage, as, for instance, 6 per cent of the gross sales. 



BALANCING CASH WITH THE BANK. 



To determine the correctness of the cash transactions for the 

 month the following method will be found simple and adequate: 



(1) Determine whether the "bank deposits" column agrees with 

 the bank pass book as to individual deposits. Be sure that it is cor- 

 rectly footed. 



(2) Sort the returned vouchers, arranging them consecutively. 

 Compare them with the entries in the "bank withdrawals" column 

 and ascertain which, if any, are missing. List the numbers and 

 amounts of all outstanding checks for the next month's reference. 

 Outstanding checks may be listed either on an adding-machine tape 



