Account book

“ My reason for asking the question is, that I have lately found a manuscript book—a common thickish square account-book in a vellum back—containing at one end, as it seems, the minutes of the meetings of the Grub Street Society, signed by the members at each meeting: at the other end, the accounts of the funds of the association. If it should prove that the entries are genuine, and they should prove to be of any interest, I should send you some extracts from the book. ”

“ It is stated by competent witnesses that a cash book, a journal, and a ledger are indispensable books of account for an efficient system of accounting, and that, in the smaller shops, even simpler entries showing merely the daily records of sales and record of purchases of merchandise would be sufficient. ”

“ It happens some years after that this city tradesman dies, and his executors finding his accounts difficult to make up, there being no books to be found but a day-book and a cash-book, they get some skilful book-keeper to look into them, who immediately sees that the only way to bring the accounts to a head, is to form a ledger out of the other two, and post every body's account into it from the beginning ”

“ The book so issued will be sent to the Press for notice and review, and will, some weeks later, be either Remaindered or Pulped. It is important to have a clear idea of these processes which accompany an author throughout his career.
A book is said to be Remaindered when it is sold to the secondhand bookseller in bulk; 10 per cent. of the sums so received, less the cost of cartage to and fro from shop to shop, and the wages of the Persuader who attempts to sell the volumes, is then credited to the author in his account, which is usually pressed upon the completion of the transaction. ”

“ Every page in the account books of certain kinds of business represents a day of business, and either the figures on both the debit and the credit side are added up and carried forward, or the balance of the two sides of the page is struck and carried over leaf to the next page.
So every day of the past year represents a page in the history of your lives: for every life, even the plainest and most humble, has its own peculiar history. ”

“ That will do to begin with; but, after a little while, as you must give credit, and some of your commodities, particularly grocery, amount to considerable sums, you may want more, so—ahem!—yes, this is the paper. You are to put your usual signature here; and, mark me, in precisely six months from this day, an account will be opened in your name with the London bankers, whose check-book I now present you with. ”

“ She bought a budget-plan account book and made her budgets as exact as budgets are likely to be when they lack budgets. ”

“ With the exception of the items transferred to the analysis sheet from the Cash account—where a Cash account is carried in the ledger—all items in the cash debit column of the analysis sheet represent, in the cash book, credits to certain accounts, and those in its credit column represent debits to certain accounts. The entries to the cash analysis column from the ledger Cash account, showing on its debit cash receipts and on its credit cash disbursements, must bring about the equilibrium. ”

“ But from the day in which the comptabilist system becomes legal to the exclusion of the monetary system, from the moment in which each individual has his personal account introduced into the registers of the accountant-general, his transactional life is henceforth, and for ever, represented on the one side by the mortgages and guarantees that he furnishes in order to obtain comptabilist unities, on the other hand by the balances of his account books that the accountant enters successively and indefinitely to his account. ”

“ There were loose papers and a number of account-books in the pigeon-holes, but a glance at them was sufficient to show me that none of them could be the documents I sought, even had it been probable that grandaunt would have kept such valuable papers so carelessly. The drawers, too, were filled with a litter of papers of various kinds and in the compartments at the sides of the desk, old account-books had been crowded until they would hold no more; but there was nothing which, by any stretch of the imagination, could be made to resemble “stocks, bonds and other securities.” ”

“ The first business taken up for consideration under the head of partnerships is a retail shoe business. The stock is kept in three classes: men's, women's, and children's shoes. Purchase and sales books, ruled to segregate transactions of each class, are used. The bank account is kept in the cash book, which is also provided with two columns for discount. All sales, whether for cash or on account, are recorded on sales tickets. ”

“ For the report form, it may be said that this method follows the reasoning of the average business man, particularly the man unacquainted with accounts, who subtracts his liabilities from his assets to find how much his present net worth is. The account form rests on the fundamental desire, deep-rooted in the system of double-entry bookkeeping, to show the two sides in balance. ”

“ Also, Seven Folio Account-Books, printed and ruled in accordance with the System, the whole being specially adapted for keeping, by an easy and accurate method, an account of all the transactions of the Farm. ”

“ Accounts which record income and expenses usually comprise only similar items, as where all sales of merchandise are recorded under one head or account and all purchases under another.
The Account Title.—The title given to an account is important. It should indicate clearly the content of the account. Accuracy is a basic necessity in accounting. ”

“ A title which does not clearly and truthfully indicate the nature of the account, or one which is so chosen that under it may be recorded items of various and doubtful kinds, gives prima facie evidence of an imperfect knowledge of accounting principles or of a desire to hide data which will not bear close scrutiny. ”

“ The methods last described for handling proprietors’ withdrawals and cash sales are the ones most frequently used in large businesses where simplicity of routine for current entry must be secured.
The Problem of the Purchase Journal Summary.—The practice of recording extraneous transactions in the purchase journal brings about at summary time a situation similar to that of the sales journal, when a controlling Accounts Payable account is maintained. The purchase journal is, and should be, the place of record for purchases made for the business. ”

“ Since the closing of the books contemplates the drawing up of financial statements and since all record-keeping must have in view from the very beginning a proper classification of accounts giving the desired information to be reflected finally in the statements, it seems best at this point to consider some phases of account classification before proceeding with a detailed explanation of the method used in adjusting and closing the books. ”

“ Let exact accounts be kept with all the country societies round about you, that have their books from your stock; and desire the stewards of those societies to take the care of those books they receive from you upon themselves, and to engage for punctual returns of money, or an account of the books unsold being safe in their hands. ”

“ Real Account. A real account is a record of transactions with respect to a particular property. Properties which we possess are termed resources or assets; therefore all real accounts are also asset accounts. ”

“ The accounts are kept as if every different sort of account belonged to a separate person, and had an interest of its own, which every transaction either promotes or injures. If the student find that it helps him, he may imagine a clerk to every account: one to take charge of, and regulate, the actual cash ”

“ That system of accounts which groups only one kind of data under each particular account title is better than a system which mixes its records by grouping dissimilar data under a single head. Yet, caution is always to be exercised against too great detail and an unnecessary multiplication of accounts. Oftentimes essential facts and forces of business activity are lost sight of in a maze of detail. ”

“ In modern times, however, with the growth of business, it was soon found impracticable to keep one book of first-entry for all transactions, and accordingly it became necessary either to treat the journal as an intermediate book, in which the transactions might be brought together and focused as a preliminary to being recorded in the ledger, or else to split up the journal into numerous books of first-entry, each of which might in that case be employed for the record of a particular class of transaction. ”

“ In everything, you must take care that the said treasurer records in his book and in that of said accountant, stating what is delivered to him, and the results of the bartering, it being entered in his book and in that of the said accountant—every one being present at the entries in said books, in order that each division of said entries may correspond with that of the other book, no more in one book than in the other. ”

“ Does it occur in your books as well as in those of other firms, that separate accounts are opened for the wife and for the children?-Never for the wife; but, of course, an account is opened for the children when we are employing them. ”

“ A sales journal gives volume of sales, a purchase journal shows the amount of goods purchased, and analytic columns in the cash book show the main sources of receipts and their amounts, and the main classes of expenditures and their amounts. A bill book is used for recording notes receivable and payable, and inventory books for scheduling all kinds of property, assets and liabilities. ”

“ Once an account goes on your books, never lose sight of it or give up until it is settled, or otherwise disposed of. It is a bad habit to skip an account when making out statements. Treat them all alike. It may be advisable to classify your accounts, but you should never fail to push the collection of every account on your books. ”

“ Even as a recording of current transactions, bookkeeping is hardly an exact science. As a representation of the condition and trend of a business, it uses symbols of certainty to express values that actually are in constant flux. It may be said that in commercial or investment banking or any business extending credit success depends on knowing what not to believe in accounting. ”

“ For that reason it is perhaps needless to do more than name the cash book, ledger, petty cash book, cash receipt book, and postage book as the principal records maintained for financial purposes. Many librarians unite their issue and receipts from fines books, while others keep separate records; but it is best for beginners to keep their cash affairs strictly apart, and in the ordinary fashion of good business houses. The donation book is the record of all books, prints, maps, or other gifts to the library, ruled to show the following particulars: Author and Title | Vols. ”

“ An account title is often used in one business to include items not mentioned under that title in another business. One finds also terms and titles peculiar to particular businesses. However, there is a tendency towards a standardization of the terms used in balance sheets. It is the purpose here to present and explain those which are common to practically all businesses. These include the asset titles Cash, Notes Receivable, Accounts Receivable, Merchandise, Investments, Deferred Charges or Expense Assets, Furniture and Fixtures, Delivery Equipment, Buildings, and Land. ”

“ There is one small appendage of the private library which must be mentioned before we close the chapter. A list of the prices which he has paid for his books forms a record that is indispensable to the book-collector. It is impossible to carry all one's 'bargains' in one's head, and if pencilled inside the book itself it is exposed to that publicity which one naturally shuns. Such a record is of something more than curious interest, for a knowledge of the rise or fall in the price of those books in which he is interested is essential to the collector. ”

“ However, the student should always supply mentally the contra of each entry shown in the group reference account. For the sake of clarity, the personal pronouns “we” and “us” will be used instead of the impersonal name.
Accounts with Cash and Notes Receivable.—Entries to the Cash and Notes Receivable accounts are comparatively simple and are shown in the following schedule:
Transactions with cash are self-explanatory. ”

“ We, of course know you cannot tell exactly what it would sell for but we suppose you can form an opinion somewhere near its value. We would be pleased to have you furnish us with your account sales of each lot sold, and your account current when all is closed out. ”

“ Some business men write so many checks that they take no pains at the end of the month to figure up their account and examine every check, and never notice it unless the balance given by the bank is so far out of the way that it attracts attention. ”

“ This must be done very carefully as the “date” is not always a safe guide. [Pg 478] The use of subsidiary journals with one summary posting to offset many detailed contra postings and inaccurate dating of the summary posting, often make the “date” an uncertain guide. Care should therefore be exercised so that the points marked include a complete, i.e., a debit and credit, posting of every journal.
Form 46. Account Marked for Analysis
Procedure of Analysis.—The content of each account between the marked points is now analyzed according to the journals from which the postings have been made. ”

“ Then do you say it is the case that the money is entered in the man's account whenever he has an account with you?-If the man to whom the money was to be paid had an account, it might probably be put to that account ”