BOOK-KEEPING. 
the dealings that pafs betwixt a merchant and his corre- 
fpondents; which may be very ufeful and neceffary on many 
eccalions. 
9. Pocket-book. This is a (mail book, of a portable 
fize, in which a merchant fets down the bargains he makes, 
the expences he is at, the debts he pays, or l'ums he re¬ 
ceives, with every other part of bud net's lie tranfafts while 
abroad. And when he comes home to his connting-lioiife 
Or Ihop, he transfers the things contained in this book, each 
to their proper places in theV,hide-book,or books fublidiary. 
Factors of great bulineJs fontetimes keep another fmall 
book, called the Memorandum-book. Into this are copied, 
from letters as they come to hand, fliort notes of the leve* 
ral commiffions for baying goods contained in them ; and, 
as the commiffions are effected, the notes are croffed, or 
liave forne mark affixed to them. This is more convenient 
in doing bufmefs, than to be continually running to the 
letters themfelves. T'hefe are the fublidiary books moftly 
in ufe: but a merchant is not tied down or reftrifted to 
them ; he may keep fome, and n eg Wit others, or invent 
dnore, as the nature of his btifinefs requires, and he finds 
Convenient; 
Of the Application of the It a li an Method to the BOOKS 
of SHOPKEEPERS. 
Jfc. 
If the preceding principles and examples be thoroughly 
underftbod, there will be little-difficulty in adapting them 
to any trade whatever ; but the tranfaftions pf lliop- 
keepers are fo numerous, and for fuch fmall Turns, that 
more time would be required to make regular journal en¬ 
tries for them than can be afforded. Yet, as a general 
view of his affairs is as neceffary to the fliopkeeper as to 
the merchant, recoil lie nntft dill be had to the Italian me¬ 
thod; the labour of which mult therefore be abridged as 
ynuch as is confident with clearnefs and accuracy. The 
mode of book-keeping that is generally adopted by ffiop- 
keepers, is that of entering in one book all the goods they 
buy, and in another every thing they fell, either for ready 
money or upon credit. The former has ufually a money 
column for the films, and it is caft up ; but no ufe is made 
of the totals. When goods are bought for ready money, 
if they are already entered in this book they mud alio be 
written off the eafh-book, which is additional trouble 
(even more than double entry); and, if they be not entered 
in this book, it is clear that the amount of goods is not 
eorrecl:, and fuch articles mud be fought for amongft the 
other payments, and collefted together when the amount 
of goods bought is to be afeertained. 
611 the other hand, the fold-day-book generally has two 
money-columns, in one of which the Aims of goods fold 
upon credit are entered, in the other tliofe of goods fold 
for ready money; and, as this book is always at hand, mo¬ 
nies received on account are alfo entered here. Two legers 
are alfo ufually kept, which contain perfonal accounts only : 
in one, thofe of perfbns from whom they buy, in the other, 
tliofe of perfbns to whom they fell. Once a year the dock 
of goods on hand is valued. The amount of this, toge¬ 
ther with the balances.of the two legers, fhew how much 
they are worth at that time, and cdnfequently the amount 
of Profit and Lois fih.ee the former valuation erf St-ock-. 
But it gives no fatisfaciion as to the amount of Profit or 
Lofs that ought to have appeared, nor what portion of the 
Goods may have been purloined, nor what is the amount 
or nature of his expences ; neither can it. be afeertained 
that the books are correct. It is in fait a mere book ac¬ 
count ; a total of property without any account of the 
means by which it may have been either increaled or di- 
minilhed; a total of what is, but no account of what there 
ought to have been. If information of this kind be want¬ 
ed, and without it every bufmefs is carried on in the dark, 
it mull be fought for at an expence of trouble infinitely 
.greater than would have kept the books originally by the 
Italian method. 
To obviate the inconveniencies, and to afford a ready 
means of obtaining every defirable- information, the fol¬ 
lowing method is calculated. It is attended with fcarcely 
any additional writing, though it requires correftneiS and 
attention. It depends on a fy Hematic arrangement of the 
Bought and Sold Day-books, and the following is a fpeci- 
men and defeription adapted to'the trade of a ffiopkeeper 
dealing in jewellery and fmall articles : but, to whatever 
trade it may be thought convenient to adapt it, it is effem 
tially neceffary that the arrangement be fully and com¬ 
pletely underftood before it be put in practice. 
Of the BOUGHT E>AY-BOOK. 
This book, as well as the Sold Day-book, is dated, and 
the columns titled at the top of each page, to prevent 
miftakes. The Jbjl column or margin is deffined for the 
folio of the Leger, to which the article is polled. The 
polling ftiould be as fimple as poffibie, without narration, 
and in one line and Atm for the whole entry, however nu¬ 
merous the articles may be of which it is compofed. The 
fecond contains the numbef attached to every article of ma¬ 
nufactured good? bought for fale in the (hop, in the order 
in which they are entered there. In the. third' -column, the 
fir ft line of each entry contains the names of the perfons 
from whom the.-articles were purchased, and their total 
amount. The.articles are then feparately delcribed on the 
fame line with the numbers which are attached to them. 
Articles which have been made to particular order, but 
which, not being to be kept in the ffiop, do not require to 
have a number affixed to them ; and articles bought in an 
immanufafhired (late; are alfo delcribed herein. The fourth 
column, is intitled Goods Dr. and contains the prices of all 
articles bought for falein the (hop, or. which have been made 
to order. The fifth contains the number of the page of 
the Sold Day-book, in which the articles are entered as 
di(poled of, and is entitled Reference. The ftxlh is entitled 
Manufadlory Dr. and contains the prices of all articles 
bought in an unmanufaftured rtate, orftinfit for fale by re¬ 
tail in, their prefent lhape, or to which.a number or mark 
cannot be attached, fuch as loo.fe pearl, unfet diamonds, 
iinwrought gold, (liver, See. in the following fpfecimen, to.. 
which ufually the mailer only has accefs, or of beads, See. 
of fcarcely any value, which are bought in large quantities, 
and which are difpofed of, or worked up, as occalion may 
require. The fevmtk, Cajh Cr. in which all Aims of money 
paid are entered. 
It will be obferved that the 4th and 6th columns are en¬ 
titled Dr. the 7th Cr. therefore, when articles which have 
been inferted in the 4th or 6th columns are paid for in 
ready money, extending the Aim in 7th column has the eff. 
feft of double entry ; and, when this is the cafe, the entry 
is not pofted to any perfonal account, but the margin is- 
filled up with the word Paid, in the place of the folio, as 
in Ex. 1. When money is paid to any workman or trader 
with whom the.lhopkeeper.de.als, it is of courfe inferted in 
the 7th column ; his name, See. having been deferibed in 
the 3d, with the word Dr. prefixed to it, as .in Ex, 2 ; 
and this entry is of courfe pofted to the Dr. fide of his ac- 
cou.nt in the Leger. All other entries in this book are 
pofted to the Cr. fide of the refpeftive accounts. When 
unwrought articles are made up for fale in the (hop, it is 
neceffary to-charge manvfaBory account with the ex pence 
of making, and to credit that account for the total value 
of the article when made, and to cRbirthe .Goods account 
for the fame, as in Example 3 and 4. Example 3 (hews 
the mode, in.which entries.are to be made for all kinds off 
expences, See. where no other calh-book is kept. At thef 
end of every month the three money-columns are caft up, 
and the accounts pofted in tire Leger, to the refpeftive ac¬ 
counts, and on the fides indicated by the titles of the feve- 
ral columns. Such per fops, however, who do not think 
it proper toexpofe to their clerks 'or affiftants, the (late of 
their finances, expences, Sec. may, without much trou¬ 
ble, keep a journal of a fmall pocket lize, in which arti¬ 
cles of that defeription, and alfo the amounts of the mo¬ 
ney columns of the Bought and Sold Day-book, may be 
entered ; and alfo a private Leger, which Ipould contain 
1 the 
