A^nuaryfi9o:m'}     Simple  System  for  Personal  Accounts.  37 
most  purposes  of  a  comparatively  small  business,  the  single  copy  is 
sufficient  and  satisfactory.  Numbering  the  slips  consecutively  is 
valuable  as  a  means  of  checking,  and  may  be  readily  done  with  a 
prescription-numbering  machine. 
At  the  close  of  the  day  the  slips  are  removed  from  the  cash 
register  by  the  person  who  has  that  part  of  the  business  in  charge, 
he  noting  the  fact  that  they  correspond  in  number  to  the  charges 
or  credits  rung  up  and  also  that  no  numbers  are  missing,  if  they 
have  been  numbered.  His  next  duty  is  to  post  the  accounts  in  his 
ledger.  For  this  purpose  a  special  arrangement  has  been  devised 
for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  the  copying  of  the  items  of  the  charge 
with  its  subsequent  loss  of  time  and  added  work. 
A  vertical  file  is  provided,  of  the  same  size  as  the  slip  or  slightly 
larger,  a  standard,  3x5  inches,  size  is  large  enough,  or  5  x  7  inches  if 
preferred.  The  individual  folder  has  a  printed  form  on  the  outside  for 
entering  the  date  and  amount  of  the  purchase,  a  device  for  holding 
the  slips,  and  they  stand,  in  the  case,  on  end,  opening  from  the  end, 
each  having  a  raised  tab  tor  the  name  of  the  customer. 
In  posting  the  sales  of  the  day,  the  desired  folder  is  lifted  from 
the  card-index  case  in  which  they  are  arranged  alphabetically,  the 
date  and  amount  of  the  sale  written  upon  the  outside,  and  the  sale 
slips  put  into  place  and  the  folder  returned  to  the  case,  thus  posting 
the  item ;  each  slip  being  treated  in  the  same  way. 
From  the  record  upon  the  outside  may  readily  be  learned  the  amount 
which  the  customer  owes,  and  when  it  is  desired  to  make  out  an 
itemized  bill  it  may  be  done  from  the  original  slips. 
As  the  bills  are  made  out  the  slips  are  retired,  in  regular  alpha- 
betical order,  to  a  filing  device  which  makes  the  slips  of  the  month 
into  a  book,  which  may  readily  be  referred  to,  while  the  total  sum 
of  indebtedness  and  credits  remain  upon  the  card,  and  are  replaced 
in  the  case  ready  for  the  succeeding  month.  Some  of  the  advan- 
tages of  the  system  are  : — 
First. — For  every  sale,  cash  or  charge,  the  clerk  must  go  to  the 
cash-drawer  or  register  and  thereby  be  less  apt  to  forget  to  make  a 
charge  or  credit  upon  the  day-book. 
Secondly. — The  ledger  accounts  are  always  active,  any  dead 
accounts  may  be  immediately  removed  from  the  card-index  case 
which  gives  the  same  advantages  as  a  loose  leaf  ledger. 
Thirdly. — And  principally,  the  items  of  the  charge  need  not  be 
copied  in  the  ledger,  whereby  time  and  work  is  saved. 
