When orders are received direct from customers, whether in the form of letters or on the customers' blanks, it is customary to copy them on the house order blanks, from which orders are filled and billed. The most practical disposition of customers' original orders is to file them with their correspondence, instead of providing a special file for them. There are certain exceptions, as subscriptions received by a magazine and which, for certain reasons, should be kept by themselves; but that outlined can be regarded as a general rule. One reason for filing orders with the correspondence is that, in case of dispute, it will very likely be necessary to refer to past correspondence.
The manner of filing the house blanks depends on the number of copies made. Some houses make but two copies of the order—one to be sent to the customer as an acknowledgment, and one from which the order is filled. This leaves but one copy for the office, and this should be filed numerically, which also brings it in the order of the date. If the order copy is also used as a posting medium, it should be filed in a loose-leaf binder; otherwise a vertical file drawer can be used.
Another very satisfactory method is to enter the order in triplicate—one copy as an acknowledgment, an office copy, and a shipping copy—leaving two copies for the files. One copy should be filed numerically, the other alphabetically. This provides a cross-index without the necessity of writing a card index, showing how easy it is to provide valuable records by using ordinary care. A complete order record is provided by making one extra copy, which is done with no additional labor.
Orders received from salesmen on the house blanks are sometimes used as a posting medium, in which case they are filed in a binder, by date. Another method is to make the invoice in duplicate, and use one copy as a posting medium. In such case, the copy of the order can be filed alphabetically, bringing all orders from each customer together.
Fig. 23. Special Invoice
Folder—Open Browne-Morse Co.
Invoices. The method of filing invoices depends on whether or not a complete voucher system is used. When no voucher system is used, all invoices should be filed alphabetically in a vertical file. A folder should be used for each firm or person from whom goods are purchased, so that all of their invoices can be kept together. Invoices should be filed in the folder in the order of their dates, the last one in front.
With the voucher system, invoices are sometimes attached to the voucher, in which case they are filed according to the voucher number and a separate card index is kept for alphabetical reference. The more modern plan, however, is to file the voucher numerically, retaining the alphabetical index for invoices.
Invoices can be filed in the same file with the correspondence, or in a special file. When the former method is adopted a folder of a special color should be used. There would then be two folders for a firm, one for invoices and one for correspondence. Special folders with double folds are largely used for filing invoices, as shown in Fig. 23.
