Fig. 3. Combined Voucher and Check Used by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company
Some houses are slow in returning receipted invoices, resulting in many annoying delays. If the invoice is kept on file we at least have a record of the transaction, and it may be very necessary to refer to the invoice for prices or other information.
The back of the voucher is usually printed with a form for a distribution of the amount to the account or accounts to which it should be charged. A typical form is shown in Fig. 2. For permanent filing a voucher of this style is folded so that the number appears at the top, followed by the name of the payee, and the distribution record.
4. Voucher Checks. A step in advance of the early form of voucher with separate check is the voucher check. This is a form which combines the voucher and check.
Of voucher checks there are many forms, each designed to meet some special condition, or to conform with the ideas of the accountant. While these forms exhibit many variations in detail they may be divided into two general classes: folded voucher checks and single voucher checks.
The folded voucher check is usually twice the width of an ordinary check, making it regular check size when folded. This is intended to provide a receipt for the payment of items listed, by the endorsement of the check. Several such forms are illustrated.
Fig. 3 is a form of combined voucher and check used by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, The account is transcribed on A, this being a sheet twice the width of a check. This form is made in duplicate, B being the carbon copy which is filed as a record of authority for the issuance of the voucher. The check itself, shown in C, is written on the back of the original voucher. A. When folded, this form is the size of a regular check and goes through the bank in the usual manner. The endorsement of the payee is a receipt in full for the items covered by the voucher.
This is a representative form of the folded voucher check. Naturally the details recorded will vary in different businesses, but the general plan is subject to slight changes. Some objection is raised by banks to the folded form. The claim is made that considerable inconvenience is caused in handling in the bank, by checks slipping between the folds.