54 BULLETIN 381;, U. S. DEPAKTMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 



ers' store, in order to attract country people and make them feel 

 at home, must avoid unnecessary decoration and the up-to-dateness 

 which characterize the successful city retail store. On the contrary, 

 the cooperative store should lead in everything which makes for 

 greater comfort, refinement, and economy in business. Thus it can 

 become a powerful educational influence in the community. 



It should be emphasized that no great amount of money is required 

 to keep the litter off the desk and counters and the cobwebs off the 

 shelves. Many valuable conveniences can be improvised by the pro- 

 gressive bookkeeper and manager, anti a duster costs practically 

 nothing. 



The first step in organizing any office, simple or complex, is to get 

 things off the desks and counters comj^letely at least once a day. This 

 means filmg; it means keeping things moving — papers, documents, 

 books; it means continually applying the old adage, ''A place for 

 everything and everything in its place J' Everything considered, the 

 alphabetical vertical file will be found most satisfactory; one section 

 for letters,, another for invoices, a third for catalogues, a fourth for 

 storing, etc. 



Failure to index papers and material which are frequently referred 

 to causes an enormous waste of time. This is due, generally, not to 

 ignorance of proper method but to a lack of the application of common 

 sense. Anybody can use a dictionary or a telephone index. There 

 are no better models of good indexing. If drawers become numerous, 

 number them and index the contents, thus saving the time and 

 annoyance of frequent hunting for misplaced things. 



Space does not permit more than a list of the desirable office con- 

 veniences which should be in every store. The cash register is an 

 indispensable aid toward good business methods if used absolutely 

 according to the manufacturer's and auditor's directions. Rather 

 have no cas,h register at all than not to use properly the checks for 

 accuracy which were the very origin of this valuable device. The 

 register can be dispensed with when the business warrants the in- 

 stallation of an overhead carrier system. This system is often found 

 to be one of the best investments in the store. Not only does it save 

 a large share of the salesmen's time, but it makes for greater accu- 

 racy and general improvement in the office methods. 



If properly used as an auxiliary to a system of records, the account 

 file, referred to on page 48, is a great convenience. But it must never 

 be forgotten that the account file is not a system of accounts; it must 

 not replace the permanent consecutive records described in the pre- 

 ceding pages. As a file for short-account slips of 30, or at the most 

 60, days, properly safeguarded, it is a great labor-saving device. 



A store can not long afford to do without a suitable adding machine. 

 For listing sales slips, invoices, and countless items of computation 



