If there should be any errors in the Trial Balance, proceed at once to prove each Ledger separately, by using the above condensed form. It is readily seen that the balances of the Debit Ledger must agree with the difference between the Debtors' debit and credit columns in the Check Journal, with the balances brought forward from the previous month; the balances of the Credit Ledger must agree with the Creditors' debit and credit columns in the Check Journal, with the balances brought forward from the previous month; while the Miscellaneous Ledger must agree with the footings in the Classified Record, Special and Sundry Columns, and such items as might have been posted to this Ledger. Therefore, if an error should appear in the Trial Balance, each book can be proven separately. It proves the correctness of the entries into any of the four classes of accounts. It enables the bookkeeper to locate the error to the different classes of accounts, and also to ascertain if the error is on the debit or credit side.

The Combination Check Journal, Condensed Trial Balance, and the Proof Posting and Ledger Proof System used together, is the best and most accurate system the world has ever seen.

The Invoice Sales Book. This is the greatest labor-saving system that has ever been devised for retailers who render itemized bills at the end of the month.

The following cuts are photo-engraved from originals, and are given to fully illustrate the system. By referring to the first cut, we find an invoice attached to a stub; upon this stub the charges are made direct from the sales-ticket, and at some convenient time during the month, the bills are made from the stubs, and are ready for the customers at any time.

These books can be made to contain full page bills, also to have two, three and four to the page. This can be arranged however, to meet the requirements of the business; if various sizes are required they can be made on loose sheets, punched and placed in a patent binder, as needed; when the bills have all been detached at the end of the month the stubs can be removed and bound permanently, making a book of each month. If only one size is used, they should be made up in books and bound with about 250 sheets, and paged; when the bills have been detached, the covers can be cut off even with the stubs, which will require less space. To use this book, an index is required, and when an account is started upon the stub it is to be indexed therein at once. The Ledger page is also written on the stub and bill, so that at the end of the month, with the Journal and Cash Book posted, and all tickets charged, you are ready to prepare the bills for the mail, by footing the stubs and bills, the totals of which must agree.

The use of this system will save nearly 75 per cent of the work required by others. It matters not how many items are purchased during the month, they can all be found upon one or possibly two stubs instead of having to look over many pages of the old forms, and instead of having to post the amount of each purchase, the total of each account is posted, under the date of the last day of the month, thus, errors in posting are reduced to a minimum.

Should the stub be too small for the month, it can be footed in short and the amount carried to a new one; on the old stub should be written "carried to page-" and on the new stub "from page—" thus leaving reference to all items without referring to the index. After the stubs and bills are all footed, the bills are then detached, and as the Ledger pages have been written upon all the stubs and bills (if the customer has a Ledger account) you can refer to the account in the Ledger to add the balance if any, or deduct any credits that may have been made without having to refer to the index.

After the bills have been mailed, the footings of the stubs are posted to their respective accounts, and the totals are carried from page to page, the total for the month being posted to credit of merchandise.

The original size of the first cut was 15% inches wide by 16 inches long, containing three bills to the page, though the size and number of bills to each may be varied according to the requirements of the business.

If an itemized ticket is sent with all goods, and a duplicate kept on file, then the pages of the book can be greatly reduced in size. The stub would then be used only for the date and amount, while the bill takes the form of a statement. The tickets are filed according to date for reference, etc.

A careful examination of this system will prove its great worth as a labor saver and ready reference, but a still greater saving of labor will be found in the following illustration.

The stub used in this form is blank about 11⁄2 inches wide, and is used only for binding.

The charges are made at once upon the bill, and must be written with the best copying ink; at the end of the month the bills are footed, and then copied into an impression book, from which they are posted. The Ledger pages should be written upon all bills before copying, so it will not be necessary to folio the impression book, and that reference to the Ledger to add balances, etc., can be made without referring to the index. The total footing of the impression book is then posted to Credit of Mdse. Great care must be exercised in making these bills,

The Burrows-Bosworth Hardware Co. HARDWARE, STOVES, FURNACES, PAINTS, OILS, ETC.

as a great many of them must be copied a month after being written. The writing should be plain, without shading, but firm, and with the best copying ink that can be obtained.

In a wholesale business

Rendering Statements--Wholesale. where the accounts are long and numerous, the work required to make the statements is a very tedious task. With many business houses it is impossible to get their statements out before the 8th and 10th of the month, and while this work is being done the trial balance is delayed, and the work for the new month accumulating. All this delay and over-work can be prevented by using the system herein illustrated and explained. I have used it with a set of books consisting of four Ledgers, containing 6500 active accounts, and was never later than the 2d. day of the month mailing statements. There is no change in the system of bookkeeping, and no extra books required. The same form of

statement is used, except that they are made with a stub at the top, as shown in the inset form. They are made in length to suit the requirements of the accounts, and are printed upon loose sheets, perforated and punched, so they can be easily placed in, or removed from, a suitable binder. If the Ledgers are large the statements should be made into forms covering about 200 pages of the Ledger; this will make them more convenient to handle. It is an easy matter to arrange the statements in the binders to correspond with the accounts in the Ledger, and if any new accounts are opened, or started after the statements have been arranged and folioed, the binder can be opened and the new ones added in their proper order. If a suitable binder cannot be procured, use large brass fasteners; they will answer as well, and are much cheaper. About the 10th of the month, or as soon as convenient, you can begin to make the statements; once or twice a week after posting the sales, you can go through the Ledger and make statements for all accounts up to date, and by keeping all the work up, at the end of the month the statements can all be ready for the mail by the first or second, regardless of the length or number of accounts. After rendering a statement, write the balance in pencil in the Ledger, and check it at some convenient place. If any are omitted, they will be easily detected. If this system is once used, it is safe to say it will never be abandoned.

The Voucher System of Bookkeeping. A great deal of interest has been manifested of late in what is called "The Voucher System" of bookkeeping. Although it is practically new, it has been thoroughly tested, and is used by many of the largest firms and corporations in the country. The system is intended to do away with the necessity of keeping accounts with creditors, and is used only where the accounts are promptly settled. It is better adapted to some kinds of business than to others, but it is generally recognized as an accurate, satisfactory system, that can be used in almost any kind of business. Some objections have been brought against it, prominent among them are that more time is consumed by its use than by the ordinary system, and that much trouble is had because so many of the vouchers sent out from the office are never returned. In answer to these objections can say, from experience, that all things being equal, the voucher system will save time and labor. As to the return of vouchers, this has been overcome by having the check and voucher printed upon the same sheet, thus insuring their return through the banks, or by printing in bold type at the bottom of the voucher these words-Please date, receipt, and return this voucher by first mail."