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

Merchandise Purchased.

When merchandise arrives, it is cared for as described under “Purchase Records” and when the total cost and selling values of the goods on any invoice have been figured and transportation charges, etc., distributed, the selling values are entered on Form 17, shown in Fig. 20. Two copies of this form are used every day, one for cost prices and one for selling prices. Each invoice requires but one line on each of these forms, so one form is ordinarily ample for a day’s stock transactions. In the left hand column is entered the number of the invoice and in the Dr. column pertaining to each department is entered the selling price of all articles which are covered by that particular invoice. The sum of all the values entered in the Dr. columns on any one line should therefore equal the selling price of all articles covered by the invoice whose number appears at the left.

This same procedure is followed with all invoices received, and therefore covers all merchandise transactions. It will be noted that there are no “Requisitions”, properly so-called, in cases like this where the incoming goods are sent direct to a department. The department head receipts for such goods by simply placing his name or initials in the right hand column of the retained copy of our original order. (See Purchase Records.) This simplified way of handling such a transaction saves an enormous amount of unnecessary work, and is just as sound as the Requisition System.