BRANCH HOUSE CREDITS
Many businesses are conducted through branch houses, each in charge of a local manager. Customers are supplied by the branches, and it is customary to have each branch house collect its own accounts. Weekly reports of the business transacted, including sales, collections, and stock on hand, are made by each branch to the home office. Duplicate accounts, made up from these reports, enable the home office to keep in as close touch with each account as though collections were made direct.
Fig. 9. Card Record of Reports Received and Credit Granted
Fig. 10. Credit Card for Retailer's Use
Large concerns, operating many branches, have found by experience that it is best to pass on all local applications for credit at the home office. This work is handled by a division of the credit organization, known as the branch house credit department.
The forms shown and the system described herein were designed for the use of an oil company, and are very similar to those used by the large packing companies. When a dealer wishes to secure credit at a branch, the form shown in Fig. 11 is filled out in duplicate and signed by the local manager. The original is forwarded to the home office, while the duplicate is filed in the branch office, under the name of the applicant. Folders are used for this purpose.
Fig. 11. Branch Office Credit Application
Only the lower half of this form is filled in at the branch office. The rating, credit limit, and terms are entered when a reply is received from the home office.
When the application is received at the home office, the files are consulted for any information that may have been received previously, reports are asked from the agencies, and the decision made. The decision is made known to the branch house on the form shown in Fig. 12.
This form is made in duplicate, both the original and copy being forwarded to the branch. The original is placed in the branch house files, together with the application for credit. Both the cashier and the manager of the branch sign the duplicate, as an acknowledgment that they understand the terms, and it is then forwarded to the home office.
Fig. 12. Branch Office Credit Notice
In the home office, the original application and the statement of terms granted, signed by the branch manager, are filed together. A folder is used for each customer, filed alphabetically with subdivisons for states and towns. Every subsequent report and memorandum of credit information is filed in this folder.
When the report from a branch house shows an account to be past due, an inquiry blank, as shown in Fig. 13, is sent to the branch. This is in duplicate, the copy being retained at the branch house, and the original forwarded to the home office. In both offices, this report is eventually filed in the folder with other credit information.
A noticeable feature of this system is that all blanks are made in duplicate. This insures duplicate credit files in the home office and branches. It is, of course, necessary for each office to forward to the other any special data that may be received, from whatever source.