3. The percentage of net profit.
Such information will help you to locate exactly when and where your losses come; during what months and from what causes. It will enable you to turn losing months this year into profitable months next year; to tell whether your losses were due to a too great expense account, or to too low gross profits.
The percentage columns on the sheet are the most important, because only by percentages can you make proper comparisons, and know just how your business is headed. You cannot guess percentages; you must have a way of knowing continually what they are, in order to be certain of getting the right return on your investment.
In analyzing this Daily Exhibit, you will note that it is ruled for five weeks and two extra days, in order to provide for any one and all months of the year. The various columns are provided so that the entries in them will give a clear-cut story of the actual state of your affairs, daily, weekly, and monthly. Each column will be considered in the order in which it appears on the form.
First Column — "Merchandise on Hand."
In starting this record the first day, the figures entered in this column must be an actual physical inventory of your stock on hand, priced and extended at cost. Do not total this column.
Second Column — "New Goods Added to Stock."
The figures entered in this column should be the total value of all new goods received from manufacturers or jobbers on the particular day. If you return any articles to the seller immediately upon receipt, and before putting them into your stock, deduct such goods from the invoices and enter only the net amount in this column. This column should be totaled every week and every month.
Third Column — "Goods Returned by Customers; — Deduct from Sales."
The total value of all goods returned by customers extended at the prices charged customers should be entered in this column daily. Every week and every month this column is totaled.
Fourth Column — "Cost of Goods Returned; — Deduct from Cost of Goods Sold."
The cost of all goods returned by customers should be entered in this column. The cost prices can always be secured from the Stock Record cards, as previously explained. Total this column every week and every month.