36 BULLETIN 381, U. 8. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Form 20.— GENERAL LEDGER— Continued. 
COUPONS. 
•o) 
1915 
1915 
. 
Dec. 
31 
Redeemed 
26 
19,600 
00 
Jan. 
1 
Balance 
160 00 
31 
Balance 
| 
150 
00 
Dec. 
31 
31 
Issued 
26 
27 
12, 390 00 
7, 200 00 
- 1916 
j 
: 
Jan. 
1 
Balance 
150 00 
General Ledger. 
The General Ledger contains the accounts of the business as a 
whole. It contains in summarized form the accounts showing the 
resources, liabilities, losses and gains, and the administrative accounts- 
In a corporation all the general ledger accounts are impersonal, even 
when a credit business is done either with creditors or customers, or 
both. A convenient type of ledger is shown in Form 20. 
It is very desirable from every standpoint that the accounts of 
similar businesses be standardized so that one business may profit 
by the experience of the rest. The Harvard Classification 1 of 
retail accounts has therefore been adopted to a considerable extent 
as the ledger accounts. They are equally adapted to large or small 
businesses. The titles and their explanation are as follows: 
EXPLANATION OF THE GENERAL ACCOUNTS. 
There are only two classes of accounts in the General Ledger, 
namely, accounts with property and nominal accounts. The accounts 
with property represent, not only accounts with physical property, 
but also property belonging to the business in other people's posses- 
sion, such as accounts receivable, commission due, interest, and so on. 
The nominal accounts are those showing losses or gains, or the results 
of the business, such as interest, taxes, insurance, salaries, general 
expenses, etc. In so far as property accounts show appreciation or 
depreciation, and also if the property has been sold for more than its 
cost, such accounts represent also losses or gains. This is true of 
merchandise accounts, real estate, and furniture and fixtures. 
The titles of the accounts and their contents are as follows : 
1 and 2. 2 CasJi. — This balance includes (1) the amount set aside for 
a revolving fund and for petty expenses, as explained on page 29, and 
(2) the balance due from the bank or banks. This part of the cash 
account should agree exactly with the bank statement, due regard 
being taken for the outstanding checks. 
i Harvard University— Bureau of Business Research. Bulletin No. 3. Harvard System of Accounts for 
Retail c.rocers. 1914. 
2 The numbers coriespond to the items in the Manager's Report, Form 7. 
