9. Why are sales slips not given with every purchase in all stores? 10. What is a cash register? What are the advantages to the proprietor of a store in having a cash register? B. BUYING ON CREDIT I. Monthly Statement 1. Many stores do not require that their regular customers pay cash for each purchase. It is often more convenient to pay by the week or by the month. In that case, the bookkeeper for the store keeps a record or an account of all the purchases and sends a bill or statement of the account to the customer at the end of the month. The customer keeps his sales slips and checks up the bill before paying it. If a customer has his purchases charged, the sales slip is sent for approval to the Credit Department before he is permitted to take the goods. If the purchaser is known as a reliable customer, the slip is returned to the clerk with "O. K." or "approved" stamped on it. Then the clerk delivers the goods and the slip to the customer. 2. A statement of account is somewhat like a sales slip. It has a heading, but there are a few more items on it. The statement or bill is usually on a larger sheet of paper. 3. (a) Examine the headings of several bills, either of some you have brought from home or of those illustrated. (b) What do you find on the bill that is not on the sales slip? (c) What is omitted on the bill that is on the sales slip? C. HOW PAYMENTS ARE MADE I. In Cash or by Check 1. When a person receives the monthly statement, how may he pay the bill? (a) He may go to the store and pay cash or give a check on a bank. (b) He may mail a check. 2. Why is it never wise to send money in a letter? Other ways of sending money to distant places will be discussed later. 3. No matter how the bill is paid, the dealer gives the customer a receipt. It may be in one of several forms. (a) "Received payment" or "Paid" may be written or stamped upon the bill, with the date and name of the firm. If a clerk receipts a bill, he signs the firm's name and adds "per" with his own name or initials. Per is a Latin word meaning through or by. (b) After the check has been cashed, it is returned through the bank to the customer, as a canceled check. Such a check is a receipt, for it must be signed on the back by the firm or person to whom it was made out. In order to save postage many business houses do not send receipted bills to their customers except upon request. (c) Some business houses have little booklets of blank forms for receipts, on which the names, dates, and amounts may be quickly written. |