Whether copies of the bills have to be made for any other purpose.
Whether a copy of the sales sheet has to be sent to the home office, or made for any department.
If additional copies of either are necessary, what colors to use for readily distinguishing them.
How many ledger clerks, and how to sort their work to the best advantage so that each clerk handles his work only.
How to file office and factory copies for quick reference.
How to plan all the above so that improper filing of sheets does not destroy the chain of record.
The reasons for these considerations will be better appreciated after further progress is made.
If the business student learns the capabilities of office machinery, the advantage of manifolding, the use of colored papers, and the important feature of correctly grouping statistics (which is almost an art in itself), he will have accomplished much. He should learn also to develop his own power of originality and suggestion.
The natural order in which order billing and shipping ought to be presented is the way in which the transactions occur. Methods of billing (making out invoices) in many businesses govern the manner in which the orders are made up, and therefore will be considered first.
In order to more clearly bring out the advantages of new methods, it is deemed advisable to consider old-style methods and contrast them with the newer ideas. By showing the weak points in the older methods and why the new are better, the gradual evolution and improvements can be traced.