ABBREVIATIONS.

¶ 6. The following list contains the principal abbreviations used by accountants in retail mercantile, mechanical, and agricultural pursuits.

¶ 6. Abbreviations. Their use. Abbreviating words. Use of period. Object.

Days of the Week.-Sun., M., Tu., W., Th., F., Sat.

Months of the Year.- Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, June, July, Aug. Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.

For abbreviating words no definite rule can be given. They should be so abbreviated that any person who may have occasion to refer to them at any time, will at once infer from the abbreviation the word abbreviated.

Every abbreviation should be followed by a period. An observance of this direction will prevent you from mistaking an abbreviation for a word, which you are liable to do if this direction is disregarded.

BOOKS.

T7. THE books commonly used in Book-keeping may be divided into two classes, Principal, and Auxiliary.

NOTE.

The PRINCIPAL BOOKS are

1. Day-book, sometimes called Journal.

2. Ledger.

The AUXILIARIES are

1. Cash-book.

2. Bill-book.

3. Invoice-book.

4. Memorandum-book.

In the prosecution of an extensive business, other auxiliaries are frequently used, but their forms must be adapted to the nature of the business.

are

In extensive mercantile pursuits, a Waste-Book, or Blotter is kept. In this the entries are made as they occur during the hours of business, and afterwards copied into the Day-book or Journal, and all errors are corrected. But in all cases of arbitration or litigation, the Blotter, being the book in which the entries were originally made, is the one that must be brought forward as evidence.

7. Principal books. Auxiliaries. Other auxiliaries, Blotter.

DAY-BOOK.

TS. THE DAY-BOOK is the book in which are recorded the accounts of

the day.

This book should contain a detailed history of business transactions, in the order of time in which they occur.

Each page is commonly ruled as seen in the following

Form of Day-book Page.

¶9. The uses of the several portions of the page are as follows: The column on the left is for the post mark and reference, both of which will be explained in a subsequent paragraph.

The central and largest portion of the page is appropriated to the names of the persons with whom business is transacted, and the names and quantities of the articles bought or sold.

The cost of each article is inserted in the first two columns at the right, the dollars in the first and the cents in the second. The sum of the costs of the several articles is entered in the third and fourth columns at the right, the dollars in the third and the cents in the fourth.

9. Use of each column of the Day-book page. Note. Heading pages. Mas-ters to be recorded in this book.

2

book, should stand at the head of the first page. The name may be omitted in heading the following pages, the place and date only being entered. These should be written in a large, plain hand.

Any transaction by which another person becomes indebted to us, whether by purchase of goods on credit, trade, labor, or otherwise, and also receipts of money, goods, labor, &c., by which we are part paid, or made indebted to another, should be immediately entered in this book. By observing this direction, much trouble and expense may be saved.

¶ 10. In making entries, much care is requisite. The following general rule should in all cases be strictly observed.

RULE.

Make every entry in the briefest possible form which can be made to express the meaning, the whole meaning, and nothing but the meaning. This rule is necessary to despatch and accuracy.

The above forms represent the first two entries upon a page of the

Day-book. The pupil will notice the order observed.

First; on the line above the double head line is written the place of business, month, day, and year. The pupil will infer from this that each page of the Day-book is to be opened in the same manner; that the heading must not be on the double head line, nor below it, but on the line above it.

Second; the first person with whom I transacted business was Charles Darrow; this is shown by his name being written first after the opening of the page. That he obtained something of me appears from the abbreviation Dr., which stands towards the right hand side of the page, on the same line with his name.

Third; the pupil will infer from this entry that when a person is Dr., the word To is written before the article, as seen in the entry.

10. Care in making entries. Rule. Its necessity. Forms of entry. Heading of the page. Dr. To. Line across the page. Cr. By. No date with last

entry.

Fourth; the second person with whom I transacted business on July 1st, was Philo Bronson, and as I wished to enter the transaction, I drew a line across the page just below the first entry. This line serves to separate the two entries from each other, and thereby prevent confusion.

Fifth; Bronson paid me something, that is, I had something of him. This is shown by the abbreviation Cr., which stands at the right of his name, and on a line with it.

Sixth; the pupil will readily infer, from this entry, that when a person is Cr., the word By is written before the article, as seen in the entry.

Seventh; as no date is written with the last entry, it is understood that the transaction occurred on July 1st, the date standing at the head of the page.

T 11. On page seventeen are several Day-book entries, which we will now examine, and observe what new features are presented in them.

The page of the Day-book is opened in the same manner as the last example considered, except the day of the month.

The first entry needs no explanation, being of the same character as those already examined. The second entry purports that I have had of Lucius Warner 5 bushels of potatoes, at 50 cents per bushel, the total cost of which is $2.50. But how does the entry show that they were 50 cents per bushel? The @ in the entry signifies at, or by the bushel; therefore, $.50 signifies that the potatoes were 50 cents a bushel.

In every case the @ is understood to signify by the yard, pound, gallon, bushel, or barrel, &c.; or, in other words, that the cost of a unit of the given quantity is the sum following the @, as in

use in all cases. Examples. Not used in case of a unit of the article considered.

Used if more or less than a unit be considered.

Second. The abbreviation @. Its