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

Figure 28, (Reduced in size)

When these voucher checks are returned to us by our banker, we file them in a check filing drawer, equipped with sets of monthly tabbed guides, according to the voucher numbers, thus forming the voucher record for our cash disbursements.

It is hard to find a weak spot in the check voucher system, but some inspectors seem to object to it, so, until it is specifically authorized by the War Department, the inexperienced Exchange Officer would do well to stick to the system previously described.

To revert to our purchase record sheets: there is no necessity for noting thereon the amount paid on each invoice or the discount on same, as is sometimes done. This information will be shown in the cash book, and data should not be repeated unnecessarily. The remaining two columns (Balances) are used only when closing the books. Whenever this is done, the balance on each order is brought out to the proper column, the amount we owe being entered in the credit side of this column, and the amount due us being entered on the debit side. The total of the credit side of the Purchase column is then posted as a lump sum to the credit side of the “Bills Payable Merchandise” account on the general ledger, and the total of the debit side is posted to the debit side of the same account. Ordinarily, there will be no such debit entries. It will be seen that the net balance of the Purchase Record and of the above account should equal the difference between the total purchases and the sum of the totals shown in the “Creditors” and the “Discounts” columns in the cash book.

CASH DISBURSEMENTS.

The right or credit side of the cash book is, in general, of the same form as the debit side. See Fig. 11. As all distribution of merchandise to the various departments is made through the stock records, there is no necessity of trying to duplicate this information on the pages of the cash book. We, therefore, lump all merchandise payments under the heading “Creditors” and reserve a column for such payments only. In a similar manner, all payments for services rendered in the various departments could be entered under a heading, “Labor”, and the proper distribution or pro-rata share of each department could be shown on the receipted pay roll, as explained hereafter.

Other columns that will be needed are:—Maintenance, Fixtures, Interest and Discount, Appropriations, and Expense. All disbursements which can not be placed in one of the other columns should be entered under Interest and Discount. Under Appropriations, enter all disbursements voted by the Exchange Council for Athletics, Dividends, Sick in Hospital, etc. Under Fixtures should go all expenditures for permanent equipment (new) of the Exchange, and under Maintenance, all money spent for repairs, replacing of old equipment by new, and the like. In the Expense Column we carry such items as wastage, breakage, telephone and telegraph bills, fuel, light, insurance, printing and stationery, and such expendable supplies as twine, paper, etc., as are used in carrying on the business. When the Exchange Officer or authorized agent makes a purchasing trip on purely Exchange business, his authorized expenses should be entered in this column. Exchange Councils differ in their interpretations of what such expenses should be, and the Exchange Officer should have it recorded in the proceedings of the Council that such allowances of expenses are authorized.

To sum up:—the columns of the credit side of the cash book, reading from left to right are as follows:—Date; Description of item entered, giving name of creditor and a clue to the articles on the invoices; Voucher No.; Check No.; Net Cash; Discount; Creditors (or Merchandise); Labor; Appropriations; Fixtures; Interest and Discount; Expense; Sundries, and perhaps, one or two spare columns.