A PRACTICAL

SYSTEM OF BOOK-KEEPING,

FOR FARMERS, MECHANICS, AND MERCHANTS.

It is indispensably necessary, that every person who transacts any business should be acquainted with some concise, practical method of keeping his accounts. It will not be necessary for the pupil to understand every rule in arithmetic before he attends to this subject: every scholar should obtain some practical knowledge of Book-keeping, before he leaves school. There are various methods of keeping accounts, and we have here inserted the two which we consider best adapted to common business.-The best method for Farmers and Mechanics, whose accounts are not extensive, is, to have a single book, and enter each person's name, with whom an

5000

&c.

1835

Jan.

66

66

"7 do. do. of my apprentice, a

$0,75

Sept. 20" 1 day, myself and apprentice, repairing house,

5" window sashes for your house

April 25 7 days' work of myself on your house, ending

this day, a $1,12 per day

250

11 58

784

525

8690

Note. When an account is settled and balanced, it is customary to draw parallel lines under it as above.

DR.

1834

Oct.

JEREMIAH H. GOODALE.

9 To 350 feet of boards, at 2 cts

Nov. 12" 6 window blinds for your house, and hanging

85 days' work of myself, repairing your house,
laying floors, &c. at $1,08 per day
66 "5 do. do. of my apprentice, a 75cts.

account is to be opened, on the left hand page, Dr., and opposite thereto, on the right hand page, Cr., (appropriating the whole or half of a page to each person's account, as the case may require,) writing down each entry at full length, and the dates against them, as in Method First. But where many entries are to be made daily, (as in the case with Merchants, &c.) it is necesssary to have a DAY BOOK, and a LEGER, as exemplified in Method Second.

In the Day Book, the owner should charge every person Dr. to each article delivered them on account, and Cr. by each article received from them, at the time when the same was delivered or received; and every entry on the Day Book should be written at full length, and mention all the particulars necessary to make it fully understood.

Each entry made on the Day Book is to be posted, or placed in the Leger, assigning to each person's name a page, or part of a page, for the same; the Dr. being entered on the left, and the Cr. on the right hand of the page. When any article is posted, or transferred from the Day Book to the Leger, it should be noted on the margin of the Day Book, either by making a cross, (X) or two parallel lines, () and placing the figure opposite, denoting the page of the Leger to which it is transferred; and the date, and the page of the Day Book should also be placed on the Leger, to show the page of the Day Book from which each entry was taken; as exemplified in Method Second.

Aug. 21

6" 15 bushels of corn, a 96cts. per bushel
"3 do.

66

" 1 pork ham, wt. 31 lbs. at 12 cents
Sept. 1026 bushels potatoes, a 25cts.
1835

Jan. 25 cords of oak wood, a $5,00
May 10

"cash to balance

This is the form of an account remaining unsettled, and open for future entries.

[Page 1.

FORM OF A DAY BOOK.

WILLIAM MERCHANT, N. LONDON, APRIL 1, 1834.

We have given an example of the Day Book sufficient to show the manner of
keeping it. At the commencement of the book, the owner should write his name, to-
gether with the place of his residence, in the manner exhibited on page 1st, where
the pupil will observe the name of William Merchant, who is supposed to be the
person who owns the book, and residing in New London. The pupil will also ob-
serve, that the day of the month, &c. must be placed at the top of every page; and
when the date alters between the top and bottom of any page, the figure denoting
the day of the month is placed in a break in the lines which are drawn between the

entries.

By posting an account, is meant, transferring the entries from the Day Book to the
Leger. Every entry in the Day Book must be posted into the Leger; and when sev-
eral articles are entered in the Day Book at one time, it is not necessary to mention
them all in posting to the Leger, but merely to say "sundries," as in the following
Leger.

In posting an account, begin with the first name on the Day Book. Enter it on the
Leger if it be Dr., on the left, or if Cr., on the right hand of the page, thus enter
ing each under its proper head, placing the date and the page of the Day Book in the
columns ruled for that purpose; and mark the page of the Leger on the Day Book
opposite the entry.

Every Leger should have an Index, or Alphabet, to show on which page each
person's account stands.