But “neither a borrower nor a lender be”—which is another way of saying that I O U’s are to be avoided. When the money is repaid, the I O U, of course, is returned to the person who gave it.
In cases where money is received in payment of an account, and the acknowledgment is put on the account itself, the account is “discharged,” as it is called, in any one of the following ways. The person to whom the account is due writes on it her own name, and, preceding her name, the words, “Paid,” “Received Payment,” “Received,” or “Discharged,” or—if such be the case—“Same time paid,” or “Paid by cheque.”
Or this form may be used. Suppose the amount to be £25 10s. and the discount five per cent.
| 21st September, | ||
| By cash | £24.4.6 | |
| ” Discount, 5% | 1.5.6 | |
| £25.10.0 | ||
| Marion Featly. | ||
Should you be receiving payment for somebody else, you sign as you would a letter in similar circumstances. Thus:—
Same time paid,
for Margaret Bell,
Ellen Chapman.
or,
Paid by cheque,
Mary G. Grove,
per Ina Meadows.
Some polite people, in discharging accounts write “with thanks” in the left-hand bottom corner or under their signature. In the case of tradespeople, it is a courteous phrase that sometimes goes a long way towards securing another order.
Receipts of all kinds should be kept for at least six years. After that time you may either continue to keep them or make a bonfire of them. The reason for your being then free to please yourself is that actions for unclaimed debt arising out of a simple contract are limited to six years from the date of the cause of action. After six years you are safe against being called on to pay the money a second time.