BOOKKEEPING FOR GRAIN ELEVATORS. 31 



The individual needs and the i)cculiar conditions surrounding ele- 

 vators in different parts of the United States may require accounts 

 in addition to those discussed herein. If this be the case accounts 

 covering special requirements may be opened along the same general 

 lines. 



THE TRIAL BALANCE. 



From the discussion of the Journal and the Ledger, it will be noted 

 that all entries made in the Ledger originated in the Journal. Two 

 points therefore must be kept constantly in mind, namely: (1) No 

 entries are to be made direct to the Ledger, but must be posted 

 from original entries in the Journal; (2) the equality of the debits 

 and credits of each page of the various Journal forms must be proved 

 before any figures are either carried forward or posted to the Ledger. 

 It follows, then, that if the Journal pages are proved to be in balance 

 and the entries are correctly posted, the Ledger also must balance. 

 In order to prove whether or not the equality of the debits and credits 

 has thus been maintained, a Trial Balance must be taken of the Ledger 

 at the end of each month. A Trial Balance consists of a schedule 

 of the open accounts in the General Ledger showing in one column 

 the accumulated debits and in another column the accumulated 

 credits of the respective accounts. The footings of the two colunuis 

 m.ust be equal. A stock form of Trial Balance book should be se- 

 cured for the permanent preservation of the monthly Trial Balances. 



At the close of each fiscal period it is necessary to " close the books" 

 and to prepare a Balance Sheet and an Income and Expense Statement 

 in order to ascertain the results of the period's operations and the finan- 

 cial position of the company. 



CLOSING THE BOOKS. 



By the expression "closing the books" is meant the process of 

 balancing all income and expense accounts by transferring their 

 balances to the Loss and Gain account. After this has been done, 

 the only open accounts to be found in the Ledger are the balance- 

 sheet accounts which represent the assets and liabilities of the com- 

 pany. 



Preparatory to closing the books, it will be necessary to make the 

 following schedules : 



Grain on hand and in transit List by kind, class, gi'ade, and price. 



Merchandise List by Hnd, class, condition, and price. 



Storage tickets outstanding List by kind, class, grade, and price. 



Accrued storage on stored grain List by ticket number, date, bushels, and 



rate. 

 Accrued interest on notes receivable List by name of drawer, date, time to run, 



interest rate, and amount of note. 



