US847184A - Ledger-index. - Google Patents

Description

No. 847,184. PATEN-TED MAR. l2, 1907. D. JOHNSON.

LEDGrEBl INDEX.

ABPLIouIoN FILED JULY 11. 1905.

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UNTTED STATES PATENT @FETCHv .y Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 12, 1907.

Application filed July 11,1905. Serial No. 269,238.

T0 all whom, t may concern:

Be it knownthat I, DUVAL JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Pine Bluff, in the county of Jefferson and State of Arkansas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Index- Ledgers, of .which the following is a specification. j

This invention relates to a ledger-index for ordinary cash-books, day-books, vand journals, the object of the invention being to provide an index portion for each page or set of pages of such booksexposed when the book is opened, said portion havingcolumns to receive the numbers of the pages of the ledger whereon the accounts of the customers of a business establishment are kept, the several columns being designed to receive the pagenumbers of diiferent portions of the ledger in order that all items to be posted in any given portion of the ledger may be posted at one time to avoid the necessity of posting to the entire ledger and shifting from page to page at widely-separated points, whereby the operation of posting to the ledger will be simpliiied and trouble, time, and labor saved.

Figure 1 of the drawing represents a leaf from an ordinary day-book, showing the exposed page thereof provided with the ledgerindex; and Fig. 2 represents a leaf from a cash-book provided with the invention.

The numeral 1 represents an account sheet or leaf the exposed page of which is shown provided with a main column 2 (which may be suitably headed) to receive the subjectentries, at the right of which are columns 3 and 4L to receive the item amounts in dollars and cents and their respective totals. 4At the left of the column 2 the page is ruled to form a ledger-index portion 5, subdivided to provide columns 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, each of said columns having a head-space ll, and above these head-spaces appears the general heading Ledger Folio or a similar heading appropriately worded to indicate the purpose of said columns. The head-spaces 11 are designed to receive suitable in dicia indicative of the pages of a ledger to which they are respectively appropriated. As shown, the index portion 5 is intended for use in connection with an eight-hundred-page ledger, the headspaces of the respective columns 6. 7, 8, 9 and containing the figures 1-200, 201-401, "1101-6013 and 601-801, indicating that column 6 is devoted to the first quarter, column 7 to the second quarter, column 8 to the third quarter, and column 9 to-the fourth quarter, of the ledger, the index thus treating the ledger as divided.intoquarter-sections for convenience, as hereinafter described., in posting the entries from the day-book thereto. Of course this mode of division is notessential, as the number of columns in the index may vary and the division may be made in accordance with the size of the ledger. The column 10 is a checking-off column and though preferably ,used may be dispensed with. Atthe left of the index portion 5 an appropriately-headed date-column l2 is arranged.

In the ordinary process of posting when the accounts are about to be posted the bookkeeper or his assistant takes an index and quickly notes on the j ournal-page the ledgerpage numbers, which are placed in proper juxtaposition to the entries. The accounts are then posted, the bookkeeper taking each item in succession from top to bottom of the journal-page and posting the. same in the ledger or ledgers. This operation requires much time, as, owing to the fact that the numbers are successively taken and which are so taken in order to avoid confusion and as far as possible liability of skipping and are necessarily disposed in haphazard relation or without regard to the relative positions of the accounts in the ledger, the accountant is compelled to successively jump to widelyseparated portions of the ledger. With my construction this disadvantage and laborious process is obviated, as preliminary to posting the index-numbers instead of being placed in any convenient position the bookkeeper may iind are placed according to the pages of the portions of the ledger which they designate in the colums 6, 7, 8, or 9, as will be readily understood from an inspection of the drawing. Thus when the entries are to be posted in the ledger the accountant may first post the first two hundred pages of the ledger by reference to column 6, and then in succession post the other sections,whereby the successive entries posted are confined to more or less closely-related pages, the necessity of successively jumping to widely-diiierent portions of the ledger being thereby obviated and time, trouble, and labor saved. The postings as made may be checked in the column 10 or opposite the ledger-page numbers in the columns 6, 7, 8, and 9, as indicated in the drawing.

It will be observed that by checking the IOO ledger-page numerals in columns 6, 7, 8, and 9 as each item is posted and after posting checking down the column 10 it may be readily determined in a moment whether or not the most common error of omitting a post has been committed. Also it will be apparent that the several columns 6, 7, 8, and 9 may apply to diierent ledgers where all the sales of an establishment are entered in one book, in which event the book may be successively transferred to several ledgermen for posting. The checking-column 10 will in this case enable an auditor checking down said column to see at a glance whether or not all postings have been made. Establishments using city and country account ledgers and a petty-account ledger will 'find the index oi' great convenience, as the columns 6, 7, and

Fig. 2 shows a specimen page of a six-hunl 8 may be used for indexing the city and country ledgin presence of dred-page cash-book embodying the invention, the cash entries being placed in columni. The invention is applicable to day-books, cash-books, and journals for use in connection with ordinary led ers or loose-leaf ledgers. When a loose-leafle ger is used, the ledgerpages may be denoted alphabetically instead of numerically. Having thus I claim is An account-sheet ruled for use as a day book, journal or the like provided with a ledger-folio index formed by vertical parallel columns, said columns having an appropriate general heading and being respectively appropriately designated to represent different portions of the ledger.

In testimony whereor1 l affix my signature two witnesses. 1

DUVAL JOHNSON.

described the invention, what Witnesses:

WM. L. MATTHEWS, H. C. KILGORE.

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