106 



THE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



ings entails practically no additional 

 trouble so long as it is done at the time 

 when the transaction takes place. The 

 headings of the columns can, of course, be 

 ■varied to suit individual cases, as those 

 which would be suitable for the stock- 

 breeder might be quite wide of the mark 

 for a poultry farmer, agriculturalist, or 

 dairyman. These columns when totalled 

 up will show what the farmer has received 

 and expended under the various heads 

 during the month, quarter, or year, as the 

 case may be. 



If anything be sold for cash on the spot, 

 the money received should be at once 

 entered on xhe left hand side of the cash 

 book under the one or more headings 

 concerned, as well as in the "Total" 

 column, and a receipt shoiild be given, 

 care being taken to fill in the rotigh de- 

 tails of the sale on the counterfoil of the 

 receipt book for further reference if 

 needed. 



Cash received should always be paid 

 into the bank if a bank account be oper- 

 ated on at all, and payments of every kind 

 should be made by cheque only ; thus the 

 bank balance as reflected in the cash 

 book should at all times agree with the 

 balance shewn in the bank pass book, if 

 to the latter be added the amounts of any 

 outstanding cheques. Should a discrep- 

 ancy appear it will be found that the 

 bank have debited the farmer's account 

 with a " ledger fee " or an item for ex- 

 change," or possibly ■' interest on over- 

 draft " if the farmer fails to keep a vigi- 

 lant watch on his l)alance. Should this 

 be the cheque should be written to 



cover these charges, and handed to the 

 bank, so that a corresponding entry could 

 then be made in the farmer's cash book. 

 Thus a constant check is kept on the 

 bank accoitnt, and if the pass book be sent 

 frequently to the bank to be written up, 

 and be examined carefully on its return, 

 any mistake or dishonest act is quickly 

 discovered. 



A farmer may say, however : " Yes, that 

 is all very well, but I frequently require 

 money to pay out for small matters on the 

 farm where a cheque would not be con- 

 venient, also for household and personal 

 expenses, where loose cash is essential." 

 To this I reply always, as far as possible, 

 anticipate your requirements by writing 

 and cashing beforehand a chcqtic sufficient 



to cover your needs ; but if you have 

 failed to do this and wish to use the 

 money you may have in hand awaiting 

 your next trip to the bank, take the 

 money, but iv)-ite a cheque for the amount, 

 payable to " wages," or " house expenses " 

 or "whatever heading it is you want the 

 cash for, and pay in this cheque as part of 

 your next deposit, so as to keep your cash 

 book and pass book in harmony. 



The amateur bookkeeper who attempts 

 to keep accounts where payments are 

 received and made, sometimes in cash and 

 at other times through his bankers, is 

 certain to meet trouble and annoyance, as 

 oftentimes small sums in cash are dis- 

 bursed and no record is kept at the 

 moment and no receipt taken ; afterwards 

 the memory is ransacked in vain for a.n 

 explanation of the shortage, whereas if the 

 payment had been made by cheque, the 

 counterfoil would be there to prove it. 

 Similarily, if all monies received be paid 

 into the bank, the duplicate slips in the 

 deposit book will always show when any 

 cash has come in, and has not been duly 

 entered in the cash book. It will be 

 found most satisfactory to enter up all 

 cash receipts and payments on the even- 

 ing of the day on which they took place, 

 if this cannot be done at the moment. 



INVOICE. 



When anything is sold on credit, an in- 

 voice should be made out in pencil on 

 one of the "bought of" forms, setting 

 forth number or quantity, price and 

 amount of each item, and a carbon sheet 

 should be inserted between that form and 

 the next below it, by which means an 

 exact copy is kept. The invoice should 

 be sent with the stuff sold or by the first 

 post : the duplicate is to be pasted into 

 the scrap book. 



SCRAP BOOK. 



This has a double purpose to serve. The 

 first half is for the accommodation of the 

 duplicate invoices mentioned above ; these 

 should be securely pasted into the scrap 

 book well up to the left hand edge of the 

 page, always leaving a space on the right 

 hand side, in which remarks can be written 

 if desired. To economise space, one in- 

 voice can be pasted over another, so long as 

 none of the figures are covered up. The 

 latter half of the book is to be devoted to 



