Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, first edition - Volume I, A-B.pdf/707

 B O O K-K E E P I N G. 587 the errors be the omiffion of a whole pod, the figure in the margin, for the fame purpofe as before. If wayif.to Ifcorrect fupply the defeCt is, to write it in a fethere be more Drs or Crs in the poft, proteed the fame parate place byoritfelf, with a reference to it from the way with each of them. And thus go on with the next place where it fliould have zdly. If only a word poit, and after it with the third, 6'c. till the whole jour- or two be wanting, they maybeen, be interlined or written upnal and Ledger be compared. on the margin, idly. If a whole pod be repeated, or As every thing is twice entered in the Ledger, once twice it is corrected by cancelling one of them ; upon the Dr fide of one accompt, and again upon theCr but thewritten, cancelling ought to be done in fuch a flight manfide of fome other accompt; it is plain, thaf the total ner, the original writing may dill be legible and drfum of all the money on the Dr fides will be precifely dinCt.thatfh/y. if only a word or fentence equal to the total fum of all upon the Cr fides : And there- be repeated, letInonelikeofmanner, be flightly cancelled, ithly. fore the accomptant, after revifing the books, is next, If there be any wrongthem word, or figure, the bed for further fatisfadion, to add up the Dr fides of the way is, to let the wrongname, word, or figure, ftjmd as whole Ledger into one fum, and the Cr fides into an- they are, but correCt the name, by a note on the marother. If they agree, it is highly probable that all is gin or foot of the page. midake If you commit a mifright; if they differ, fomething is unqueftionably wrong. take, and prefently difeover6thly, in the very time of wriThis addition of the Dr andCr fides is, by merchants, ting, the handfomefl way of itcorrecting to alter called the Trial-balance; and ought to be made, not or cancel any thing, but to write the podit is,or not fentence a- limply by taking the fum of every page, but by fumming beginning with fuch a phrafe as this, /fay ; as in the the Dr and Cr fides of every account feparately, and then new, adding thefe on every page into one fum. By going to following example: Sold A. B. I fay, Bought of A. B.. work in this manner, you lofe no labour; for when you II. Errors in the Ledger are of four forts. Jl, When come afterwards to clofe the accompts, inftead of adding an article is entered upon a wrong accompt : This is to their Dr and Cr fides anew, you take their funis from, be corrected, fird, by making the other fide of the faid accompt Dr to, or Cr by Error, for the fum of the faid the trial-balance. If, after the revife is made, the totals of the Dr and article ; which rectifies this accompt: After which, the Cr fides agree, the accomptant may,, without further article mud be entered in due form, in the accompt to trial, conclude the books to be right. But if they differ, which it belongs; or rather make the correction thus, his next ftep is to examine the Ledger by itfelf. Which viz. charge the one accompt Dr to the other, for fo' is done thus: Beginning with the firfl accompt, compare much per error. By either of thefe methods, the error the firft article ,on the Dr fide with, its counter-part (to is removed, and the purity of the books redored. 2dly, which the referring figure diredfs), and, upon finding When an article is entered in the right accompt, but upthem right, or making them fo, affix a dot to the end oa the wrong-fide; that is, upon the Dr fide, when it of the fum, or in the folio or month column of each of fliould have been upon the Cr fide, or ~vice verfa ■ to tliem, thus [].], to fignifythat they have been compared; correCt this, the fird thing to be done is, to remove the Proceed in like manner with all the other articles on the error, by making, the other fide of the faid accompt Dr Dr fide, and next with thofe upon the Cr fide; and then to, or Cr by Error, for the fum of the article: After go on to a new accompt, and from it to the followings till whichj the article mud be entered anew upon the .right the whole Ledger be finilhed. Here obferve, that, in pro- fide, as if no fuch blunder had happened, idly, When fecuting the examination, all the dotted articles you corqes there is an error in a fum of money : This, if it be too to are to be omitted, as having been compared already. is corrected, by a new charge on the fame fide,. The Ledger, being thus examined, if the corrections of the little, the defeCt; and if it be too .much, the midake is errors found bring the films of the Dr and Cr fides to a ba- for rectified a difeharge on the oppofite fide for the excefs, lance, the books may now be prefumed right; but if not viz. the byaccompt is debited or credited to, or by ditto fomething is ftill wrong: And there is no way left to difeo-r perfon, or ditto for fo much fliort-poded, or overver the miftake, but a more careful refearch of the books. charged. s^thly.goods, When an article is quite forgot, or neThis revifing or examination is what.merchants call glected, errors of this nature are eafily adjuded, viz. by‘ Pricking of the books ', and fliould not be put off till the making the entry omitted-; only that it is not to Ledger is filled up, but performed weekly, and in due be crouded in betwixt two formerobferve, entries,- in order to order,; that is, the Wade-book fhould be revifed, before make it poflefs the place it would have done, it come it be polled to the Journal; and the Journal ought to regularly in; for though the order,- whateverhadit be, can 1 be examined, before-it be tranfported to the Ledoer;- occafion no error in the ifiue, yet this interlining would and the revifing of the Ledger finiffied, before the ba- look more confuted and irregular than the difotder of the. lance is begun. date, which any perfon /killed in book-keeping will eafily perceive to have happened through midake. . Hovj Errors are corrected. Is explaining the method of correcting errors, we fnall. the Ledger, .mid raifuig from if artjoin the Wade-book and Journal together, becaufe .the Of-balatr/wg Inventory, to begin a nerj. Scp of Books-. C manner of correcting is the fame in both; aad then ihew the way of correcting miftakes in the Ledger. commonly once a-year balance or dofe ‘ I. Errors in the Wafle-book and Journal may be re- theirMerchants Ledger, and raTe from it the materials of an Induced to fix claffes, and corrected as follows. ventory to a new fet of books, for the enfaing year.. Now, ,