Part 5

Upon receiving these lists, the coupon clerk at the Exchange takes a supply of Form 19, shown in Fig. 16, and enters the names of the men at the top of these cards, one card for each man who is entitled to credit. This work can be done at odd moments during the month. It is also a good plan to enter the amount of credit to which the man is entitled. This data should be entered at the very top of the card where it will catch the eye. These cards are 3 × 5 inches, specially printed; they fit into the filing cabinet, to be described later. One standard drawer 15½ inches long will hold enough cards to take care of a six company post. The cards should be of fairly good writing stock, but no thicker than is necessary to insure ease of handling. They can be obtained from any job printer, but care should be exercised that they measure precisely 3 × 5 inches, otherwise, they will prove very troublesome to run over rapidly in the drawer, because some will be larger than others. Plain cards of this size can be bought at $1.50 per thousand from regular dealers. All cards pertaining to any one company are behind an index card bearing on its tab the designation of that company. It is also a convenience to have a set of alphabetical guides for each company, as they facilitate finding and filing the cards. After any of these cards receives a record, it is highly important that it not be lost or stolen, so the drawer containing them should be locked except when actually in use. When any man applies for coupon books at the Exchange, he signs his name in the space provided on the card, the clerk adds his own initials as witness, stamps in the date and enters in ink or indelible pencil (or preferably by means of a rubber stamp) the amount of the coupons issued. If the clerk does not recognize the man, he compares his signature with the same man’s signature on Form 25, which he should have near him for this purpose and to see that the man does not overdraw his allowance. He also requires the man to sign his name on the stub of the coupon slip or the cover of the coupon book issued. In addition, the clerk should have at hand a strip of paper on which he has entered in rotation along the left hand margin the serial numbers of the coupons he has on hand. Such a strip can be struck off on the adding machine. As coupons are issued, the clerk should enter opposite each number, the name of the man to whom it was issued. He can do this while the man is signing the coupons, so no time is wasted. In the evening, this strip is given to the Steward or cashier and the total value of coupons issued is entered in the proper place on the Steward’s daily report (Form 4, Fig. 5). The record of this strip is checked by comparison with the number of coupons left in the possession of the coupon clerk.

It is found in practice that Form 19 contains sufficient space for noting the transactions of any month, for very few men will draw coupons as many as six times during the month. It will be noted that this scheme does not contemplate restricting the men to but one drawing during the month, as is the practice in some places. The Exchange loses trade by such methods, and much better results are obtained by permitting the men to draw when they please.

When the end of the month arrives, the coupon clerk disregards it by continuing to use the same set of cards right along until 24 hours before pay day occurs. (It should be understood by the whole garrison that no coupons will be issued during this time, in order to allow the coupon clerk to work up his pay table collection sheets). By means of an assistant, the coupon clerk transfers the total of the coupons shown on each Form 19 to column 10 on Form 25 opposite the name of the man to whom that particular Form 19 refers. As fractional parts of a dollar are not issued, $5.00 can be abbreviated to “5”. At the same time, the coupon clerk reads off the totals of any unpaid cards that have been carried from the preceding month, these figures being entered in the same manner in columns 5, 6 or 7, as the case may be. It will be noted that these cards have no place for “brought forward” entries. This is unnecessary labor and is therefore omitted. It is no argument against such a practice to ask what would happen if one of the old unpaid cards became lost, because we might ask the same question concerning the current cards. The answer lies in the fact that the checking system will take care of such cases. In this instance, columns 5, 6 and 7 are checked back to the Forms 25 pertaining to the preceding month.

It will be noted that our Form 25 makes provision for entering Laundry charges and has in addition a spare blank column for such miscellaneous collections as may be found desirable. The particulars of the Laundry entries will be dilated upon later. When the amounts that the various men of any organization owe to the Exchange have been entered in their proper columns, each line is added across and the totals due from each man entered in the proper column. Each column is then totaled on the adding machine and the footings checked by comparing the total of the total column with the sum of the totals of the other columns. If they agree, that sheet is ready for payment, and a like process is instituted with the other sheets. These sheets and the Forms 19 are the only papers that need be taken to the pay table.

Pay Table Procedure.

It may be just as well to discuss this point here, because it is related to our coupon sales more closely than to anything else.

The first thing to do is to make sure there is available a plentiful supply of change. Where there is no bank convenient to the post and the men receive their money from a paymaster, he will sometimes agree to bring with him an amount of change sufficient for the needs of the Post Exchange, but if there is a bank available, we should hesitate before imposing upon the good nature of the paymaster to this extent. It is a great convenience to the men to have their ten dollar bills “changed”, and no Post Exchange should demur when the men offer such bills in payment of their debts. We must always remember that the principal reason why the Exchange exists is to be a convenience to the enlisted man.

There should be three persons at the Exchange table on pay days; the Exchange Officer to personally receive the cash and make change, the Steward or book-keeper to read from Forms 25 the amount each man owes, and a clerk to check this reading with the men’s notes (Form 19), cancel them and deliver same to the men. A non-commissioned officer of the organization being paid is stationed beside the Steward to identify the men. He calls to the Steward the names of the men as they come up, the Steward calls off the amount that each man owes, the latter gives the money to the Exchange Officer. The clerk has meanwhile checked the total amount covered by Form 19 with the amount read off by the Steward, stamped the card “Paid” and placed it in front of the Exchange Officer for his inspection. The latter then gives the card to the man with his change and the incident is closed. It is usually found advisable to have a selected non-commissioned officer detailed to see that all men report at the Exchange table.

After payment is finished, the clerk should total the value of the cards he still holds for each organization and subtract it from the total shown by the proper Form 25. The sum of all these remainders should equal the amount of cash actually taken in at the Exchange table. This check should always be made, and at the earliest possible moment.

It sometimes happens that a man pays for his coupons before pay day; he may have been discharged or transferred, etc. In such a case this fact should be stamped on Form 25 and the total of such amounts deducted at the bottom of the sheet before going to the pay table. The amount of such payments should also be entered on the debit side of the Cash Book as “Pvt. Jones, Co. A, ... $3.00 ... $3.00”, the sums coming under the net cash and the credit coupons columns respectively. If he also paid $1.40 for laundry work done, this entry would be “Pvt. Jones, Co. A, ... $4.40 ... $3.00 ... $1.40”, the sums coming under net cash, credit coupons and laundry coupons respectively. The amounts collected at the pay table are entered in the Cash Book in the same way, all on one line. At the end of the month or when the books are closed, the total of the credit coupons column is posted as a lump sum to the credit of the Bills Receivable. Credit Coupons account in the Ledger and the Laundry collections are handled in the same way.

Having traced this branch of the coupon business to its end, let us retrace our steps and follow another branch until we come to the same goal, the Ledger.

Coupon Sales.

When the men receive their coupons, they use them for purchasing articles from the Exchange. The clerk making a coupon sale should identify the man making the purchase and make sure he is using his own coupons. He should also satisfy himself that there is no fraud, forgery, etc., connected with the coupons. These two operations are ordinarily instantaneous, requiring no waste of time whatever. The clerk then gives the purchaser the desired articles, tears off a corresponding value in coupons and drops them in his private drawer or compartment, meanwhile ringing up the sale on the cash register and giving the purchaser the receipt printed by the register.

After the day’s work is over, each clerk handles his coupon sales in the same manner as previously described for charge sales, and they are checked by the Steward as before. The latter enters on his Form 4, (Fig. 5) the amount of coupon sales made by each clerk, also, the total amount of coupons issued during the day. All these coupon transactions for any one day are then entered on a single line of Form 26 (Fig. 17) which is the same as that used for Form 7. As will be noted from an inspection of the cut, the coupons issued are entered in column A and the total receipts from all departments are entered in column B. These receipts are distributed among the department as shown, the value carried in column B equalling the sum of the amounts carried in the columns to the right.

Each Form 26 refers solely to one month’s transactions, there are no “brought forward” items. At the end of the month or whenever the books are closed, all of the columns on this form are footed up and the totals checked across. The total of column A should agree with the strip record which the coupon clerk has been keeping as previously described. The detailed process of checking this account will be described later, but it is evident that if the Steward has made out his daily reports (Form 4) correctly, and correctly copied the coupon records to Form 26, there can be no error in the latter statement. After successfully withstanding the checking process, the total of column A is posted as a lump sum to the debit side of “Bills Receivable, Credit Accounts” in the Ledger, writing the entry thus:—“Aug. 31 Credit Coupons $54.00”. It will be remembered that we must also credit this amount to the Outstanding Coupon account. We now transfer the total of the Store column to the Store Account in our Ledger, entering on the right hand or credit side, “Aug. 31 Coupon sales $8.15”. We proceed in like manner with our other departments. The total of column B must, of course, be charged (debited) against the Outstanding Coupon account in the Ledger.

A summary of all these operations is shown graphically in Fig. 18. The solid lines show how a record is carried through the books until it arrives at the Ledger. The dotted lines show the various checking operations that are possible. Attention is especially invited to checking Forms 25 and 26 against each other.

In leaving the subject, it is deemed proper to state that the Exchange Officer should keep a single entry record of all unused coupons on hand. When they are first received from the printer, he should carefully check them in person and see that they are safely stored. His record of them should show the numbers and colors of the coupons and exactly how many of the various colors he has on hand at any time.

Coupons should be issued at a fixed time daily, and the Exchange Officer should see to it that the men are never disappointed, but are always able to secure their coupons at the specified time.

STOCK RECORDS.

In General.

One of the most important points connected with the running of any store, is that referring to the manner in which the records of the stock are kept. In most Exchanges, the stock records are not good; usually, because a clumsy or inefficient system of records is in force. An endeavor will be made in the description to be given hereafter to set forth a system whereby misuse of stock will be prevented and an accurate estimate of the profits made by each department will be possible. The objection may be made to this system that in a large exchange it would require the services of one clerk to keep the stock records alone, but when we realize that an inefficient stock record can and usually does result in losses that are sometimes much greater in value than this clerk’s wages, we see the futility of such an argument. It is useless to try to avoid the conclusion that we _must_ keep accurate track of our merchandise. In an exchange at, say, a 5-company post, it is economy to pay one man $100.00 per month or even more, to take exclusive charge of the stock records.

In the first place, it is essential to make clear in the minds of the Exchange authorities the difference between a stock room and a store room. The former is for storing merchandise that is bought in large quantities and will not be needed in the various departments for some time. The merchandise in the stock room is charged to it on the Stock Records until it is needed in one of the departments when it is sent to and its value charged against that department and credited to the stock room. A store room in the sense now considered is a place in which we may store the merchandise belonging to and already charged against any department. This “place” may be but a corner or a shelf in the stock room or any other room. As a general rule, it is best to charge merchandise direct to the proper department, as it saves time and work. Then, if the department concerned finds that it is inconvenient to keep this merchandise on its counters or shelves, it can transfer some of it to the proper store room until needed. Both the stock room and the store rooms should be under the jurisdiction of the stock clerk, the former exclusively so. Efficient locks should be provided for these rooms and he or his agent should be the only persons authorized to handle the stock therein.

The stock record is simply a stock ledger in which we keep accurate account of the numbers of articles acquired and dispensed. If practicable, it should show at all times the exact number of each article that we have on hand. Such a record is sometimes called a “Perpetual Inventory”. It would not be practicable in the usual case for us to keep such a record in post exchange business for the reason that it would be extravagant for us to record each cash or coupon sale made during the day. For example, during certain days of the month, such as pay day and the first day upon which coupons are issued, it is manifestly impracticable for us to make out a sales slip for each cash or coupon purchase because there are so many five and ten cent purchases that the cost in time and labor involved in such a method would outweigh the advantages gained. If the average sale amounted to a dollar or so, it might pay us to use sales slips similar to those used in recording our charge sales. Therefore, most Exchanges do not require cash or coupon sales to be recorded except on the cash register. Hence, there is no itemized record of the merchandise that is sold during the day for cash or for coupons, which in turn makes it impossible to keep a perpetual inventory. The result is that an inventory must be taken at least once a month.

If we now take such an inventory and calculate the selling price of all the goods found, the result will represent the receipts each department should turn in if they sold out all of their stock. If we keep adding to this amount the selling price of all merchandise that we receive for and issue to the departments for sale, and deduct the selling price of all articles which each department turns in to the stock room, we shall have, at the end of the month, figures which represent the receipts which should be turned in if each department were to “sell out”. By subtracting from these amounts the actual receipts turned in during the month, we find the selling price of the articles which _should_ be on hand at the end of the month. By taking an inventory at the end of the month and figuring out the selling value of the articles actually found, we can check the operations of our various departments. If there is any great discrepancy, it would show that our clerks are, in effect, taking articles from our shelves and the Exchange is not getting the benefit of its sales. It is not to be expected that these amounts will agree to the cent.

Now if there is but one clerk in any department, it is easy to fasten the responsibility for any shortage, but where there are several, special steps must be taken in order to do this. Suppose we have four clerks in the store department; if they sell from the various shelves indiscriminately, or if one or more of them are sometimes away on duty, it would be manifestly unjust to hold any particular clerk or even all of them responsible for any shortages which might occur. The only solution lies in sub-dividing the store into sections, putting one clerk in sole charge of each and allow no clerk to touch the stock in another man’s section. In case a clerk in unavoidably absent, an inventory of his section can be made in a few minutes, and, if the results at the end of the month show it to be desirable, checked against the sales he had made. In this way, both the clerk and the Exchange are protected. A “roving” clerk or the Steward can take the place of the absentee in case of necessity. Heavy sellers like tobacco and the like can be placed in the sections of two or more clerks, thus taking care of pay day rushes. Unless some such scheme is adopted it will be absolutely impossible to fix the responsibility for any loss the Exchange may incur.

Those departments which are, in effect, “manufacturing” departments, such as the lunch room, meat market, etc., also require special treatment, especially in the matter of figuring the selling price of merchandise issued to them.

It goes without saying that the honesty of the stock clerk must be above suspicion. In case a civilian is employed, it is good policy—in fact, it should be considered imperative that he be required to execute a bond for the faithful performance of his duties.

With the above general explanation of the broad principles of this particular system, we are now prepared to discuss it more in detail. It seems generally conceded that the stock records can be kept most easily, cheaply and efficiently by means of the card index system. The present regulations, previously cited, specify an “inventory _book_”, and inspectors are prone to interpret the regulations literally. It makes little difference in our case which method is used, except that the card system is more efficient, as before stated. The handling of the inventory book requires no explanation, so, in order to provide for the time (which should be in the near future) when the up-to-date card system of inventory is specifically allowed in regulations, the following description is given. It is hoped that it will prove a conclusive answer to those who ask, “But suppose you lose a card.”

Inventories of Stock.

Let us start by taking an inventory of the stock we have on hand in the stock room. We take a pack containing a known number of cards, preferably numbered in sequence, like those shown in Fig. 19, and enter on the top line the name of each article as we come to it; in the right upper corner, the unit in which we sell it, whether pounds, bottles or what not; and at the right of the uppermost data line, the number of such units that we actually find on hand. We do this for each article in succession, using a different card for each. If we have various grades of the same kind of article (cigars, for instance) selling at different prices, a separate card will, of course, be made out for each different grade. (Never sell the same article at two different prices. For example, do not sell cigars for “10 cents each, 3 for a quarter”. Sell them at either price and put in a different brand of equal quality at the other price. It is proper to give reduction on a sale of a box of cigars at a time, but sell them _from the stock room_ in such a case, and not from the store. Another way, permitting sale from the department’s shelves, is by means of a discount slip, which will be touched upon later. The first method, however, probably suits our purposes best, especially when combined with the second.) The cards mentioned above should be left with the articles to which they refer until the inventory for that department is complete. We then look over the shelves to see that there is a card with every article, thereby proving that our inventory is complete, a point of superiority over the book form of inventory. We then gather up and count the cards to make sure that none are missing. The cards are then filed alphabetically behind a tabbed index card referring to that department, or that particular section, if the department is sub-divided. This same procedure is followed in taking inventory of merchandise in the store, lunch room, etc., except that a different colored card is used for each department. All sections of the same department use cards of the same color. As each department will have more or less merchandise in its store room, it will probably be best to take the store room inventories first, then take the articles in the sales rooms. Enter partial totals in pencil and the total in ink or indelible pencil on the first line under the heading, “On Hand”, the date being entered at the left. The number on hand, multiplied by the unit cost and selling prices, respectively, will give the total cost and the total selling price of all the articles on that card. For this purpose, the unit cost and selling prices are entered at the upper left hand corner of each card. The total cost prices are used in our inventories shown on our monthly statement, and the total selling prices are used in our stock records only. In large exchanges, these cards are not used again until the next inventory is taken, so it is seen that they will last for several months.

Merchandise Purchased.

When merchandise arrives, it is cared for as described under “Purchase Records” and when the total cost and selling values of the goods on any invoice have been figured and transportation charges, etc., distributed, the selling values are entered on Form 17, shown in Fig. 20. Two copies of this form are used every day, one for cost prices and one for selling prices. Each invoice requires but one line on each of these forms, so one form is ordinarily ample for a day’s stock transactions. In the left hand column is entered the number of the invoice and in the Dr. column pertaining to each department is entered the selling price of all articles which are covered by that particular invoice. The sum of all the values entered in the Dr. columns on any one line should therefore equal the selling price of all articles covered by the invoice whose number appears at the left.