Post Exchange Methods / A Manual for Exchange Stewards, Exchange Officers, Members of Exchange Councils, Commanding Officers, Being an Exposition of a Simple and Efficient System of Accounting Which Is Applicable to Large and to Small Exchanges Alike.

by Paul D. Bunker

Issuing Coupons.

Figure 15. (Reduced in size)

The first thing to be done is to have the various organizations submit their lists of men who are entitled to credit at the Exchange. This is usually done a few days after pay day, it being the excellent custom in most Exchanges to issue no coupons until about five days after, in order to attract some of the cash that is apt to be plentiful for only a few days. One of the best forms for such a list known to the writer is Form 25, shown in Fig. 15. It measures 9 × 20 inches and may be punched to fit a loose leaf file. It is faint ruled horizontally six lines to the inch in order to fit typewriter spacing. The length of this form enables a whole company of 110 men to be entered on its face, without resorting to the necessity of turning a page. In garrisons where the organizations are uniformly smaller, the length of the form can be correspondingly reduced. Each organization fills out one of these sheets on a typewriter, entering the names of the men in pay roll order in column 3. In column 2 is entered the rank of each man, and in column 4 is entered the amount of credit he desires, which must not exceed one-third of his pay. The men sign their names in column 1 and in space A is printed the statement to which they subscribe—that they request credit to the amount of one-third of their pay and that they promise to pay for their coupons on the pay day after drawing same, etc. This list is then sent to the Exchange at the regular time, preferably a day or two before coupons are to be issued.

There is a point in this connection that sometimes causes trouble, due to the fact that pay day never comes on the first of the month. There are two ways of handling the situation. The first is to have the companies submit their lists to the Exchange on the first of the month and the Exchange issue coupons on this authority until the last of the same month with the exception of the five days after pay day, during which time, no coupons are issued. The men pay for the coupons on the pay day which occurs in the succeeding month. The principal objection to this method is that if a man draws his full allowance of coupons on or near the first of every month, he would, if he deserted a few days before pay day, cause the Exchange a loss of twice his monthly allowance. The second way of proceeding obviates this defect: it consists in having the companies submit their lists a few days after each pay day. The Exchange issues coupons on this authority and all of these coupons are supposed to be paid on the pay day which winds up this period. Therefore, it is seen that the Exchange runs a smaller chance of loss, or rather, the chances are that the loss will be smaller.

Figure 16, Actual size

Upon receiving these lists, the coupon clerk at the Exchange takes a supply of Form 19, shown in Fig. 16, and enters the names of the men at the top of these cards, one card for each man who is entitled to credit. This work can be done at odd moments during the month. It is also a good plan to enter the amount of credit to which the man is entitled. This data should be entered at the very top of the card where it will catch the eye. These cards are 3 × 5 inches, specially printed; they fit into the filing cabinet, to be described later. One standard drawer 15½ inches long will hold enough cards to take care of a six company post. The cards should be of fairly good writing stock, but no thicker than is necessary to insure ease of handling. They can be obtained from any job printer, but care should be exercised that they measure precisely 3 × 5 inches, otherwise, they will prove very troublesome to run over rapidly in the drawer, because some will be larger than others. Plain cards of this size can be bought at $1.50 per thousand from regular dealers. All cards pertaining to any one company are behind an index card bearing on its tab the designation of that company. It is also a convenience to have a set of alphabetical guides for each company, as they facilitate finding and filing the cards. After any of these cards receives a record, it is highly important that it not be lost or stolen, so the drawer containing them should be locked except when actually in use. When any man applies for coupon books at the Exchange, he signs his name in the space provided on the card, the clerk adds his own initials as witness, stamps in the date and enters in ink or indelible pencil (or preferably by means of a rubber stamp) the amount of the coupons issued. If the clerk does not recognize the man, he compares his signature with the same man’s signature on Form 25, which he should have near him for this purpose and to see that the man does not overdraw his allowance. He also requires the man to sign his name on the stub of the coupon slip or the cover of the coupon book issued. In addition, the clerk should have at hand a strip of paper on which he has entered in rotation along the left hand margin the serial numbers of the coupons he has on hand. Such a strip can be struck off on the adding machine. As coupons are issued, the clerk should enter opposite each number, the name of the man to whom it was issued. He can do this while the man is signing the coupons, so no time is wasted. In the evening, this strip is given to the Steward or cashier and the total value of coupons issued is entered in the proper place on the Steward’s daily report (Form 4, Fig. 5). The record of this strip is checked by comparison with the number of coupons left in the possession of the coupon clerk.

It is found in practice that Form 19 contains sufficient space for noting the transactions of any month, for very few men will draw coupons as many as six times during the month. It will be noted that this scheme does not contemplate restricting the men to but one drawing during the month, as is the practice in some places. The Exchange loses trade by such methods, and much better results are obtained by permitting the men to draw when they please.

When the end of the month arrives, the coupon clerk disregards it by continuing to use the same set of cards right along until 24 hours before pay day occurs. (It should be understood by the whole garrison that no coupons will be issued during this time, in order to allow the coupon clerk to work up his pay table collection sheets). By means of an assistant, the coupon clerk transfers the total of the coupons shown on each Form 19 to column 10 on Form 25 opposite the name of the man to whom that particular Form 19 refers. As fractional parts of a dollar are not issued, $5.00 can be abbreviated to “5”. At the same time, the coupon clerk reads off the totals of any unpaid cards that have been carried from the preceding month, these figures being entered in the same manner in columns 5, 6 or 7, as the case may be. It will be noted that these cards have no place for “brought forward” entries. This is unnecessary labor and is therefore omitted. It is no argument against such a practice to ask what would happen if one of the old unpaid cards became lost, because we might ask the same question concerning the current cards. The answer lies in the fact that the checking system will take care of such cases. In this instance, columns 5, 6 and 7 are checked back to the Forms 25 pertaining to the preceding month.

It will be noted that our Form 25 makes provision for entering Laundry charges and has in addition a spare blank column for such miscellaneous collections as may be found desirable. The particulars of the Laundry entries will be dilated upon later. When the amounts that the various men of any organization owe to the Exchange have been entered in their proper columns, each line is added across and the totals due from each man entered in the proper column. Each column is then totaled on the adding machine and the footings checked by comparing the total of the total column with the sum of the totals of the other columns. If they agree, that sheet is ready for payment, and a like process is instituted with the other sheets. These sheets and the Forms 19 are the only papers that need be taken to the pay table.