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The Columbia University Libraries reserve the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law. Author: Hazell, Walter Howard -/ Title: Office organization for printers Place: London Date: 1920 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET MASTER NEGATIVE * ORIGINAL MATERIAL AS FILMED . EXISTING BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD 366 H33 Hazelly Walter Howard, 1869- Office organisation for printers, by W. Howard Hazell London, Issued by the Costing commit- tee of the Federation of master printers, 1920 IV, 112 p. forms. 22 cm. o I RESTRICTIONS ON USE: TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA FILM SIZE: 36m ry\ REDUCTION RATIO: D \ IMAGE PLACEMENT: l/f ||A\ IB IIB DATE FILMED: )|-h-W INITIALS: VJ^ TRACKING # : /y)5// 03>7^U FILMED BY PRESERVATION RESOURCES, BETHLEHEM, PA. CO ^ ■v^ CJl 3 3 cr o >> 05.0 3 X -D p ^£ CX) en ^-< OOM o 01 3 > CD o m (DO X N X ISI ^ ^'" .'V^^ »i 'V4 a? s^.. ^ ... ^^>>' 3 3 Ul o 3 3 JP/ > A^ a? 8 i 3 K3 O r "151; El! I? I? rs3 00 a S ig to N3 1.0 mm 1.5 mm 2.0 mm ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghiiklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1 234567890 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuwvxy2l234567890 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ' ;hijklmnopc 12345678< abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 3^0 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ^ _ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 2.5 mm 1234567890 V ,^<^ A. >. ■-«•. ^^>^. ■^ ^ fc? fp ^ m o •D m "o I ' _1 0(0 5 m 3D O m V. 'iy 'iy •-* rs> CJl o 3 3 i h fi li si 8 /^* ^ ^ />►. TfO ¥^33 Cdmnbta lBmt>tviitp LIBRARY School of Business OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS BY J » «• • .1 a I ■■> W. HOWARD HAZELL B < • • i 4 " » a -J J I »* • t 1 • • •* 1 1 • J J 1 SECOND IMPRESSION Issued by the Costing Committee OF THE FEDERATION OF MASTER PRINTERS 24 HOLBORN, LONDON, E.C. I 1920 • • t ' . . , • « k • - • First Edition, May 1919 Ktf^ittte^'F^Vmaty 1920. ; » Jot • • • r H33 PC in I PREFACE The organisation of the printing industry, and the adoption and advocacy of improved methods, have been proceeding rapidly in the last few years, and the war has hastened instead of retarded this very satisfactory development. The ' Federation Costing System ' and the ' Accountancy System for Printers ' have been sold in very large nimibers, and the methods advocated widely adopted throughout the coimtry. 'Estimating for Printers' followed -as a natural sequence to the ' Costing System/ and '^Office Organisation for Printers' is now pubHshed in the hope that it may be of general use to printers. It has been written with the idea of suggesting various wa)^ by which the organisation of an of&ce may be systematised, wasteful methods eliminated, and reason- able checks and safeguards introduced. It is not pre- tended that all the possible labour-saving methods and checks are mentioned, or that there are no other forms of organisation suitable for a printing ofl&ce ; nor does it deal with book-keeping and accoimtancy, factory organisation, or the very interesting question of scientific management. The suggestions are made in the hope that they may be of assistance to those who have not closely studied office organisation and modem methods, and may give some hints to those who are interested in these questions. No two offices are exactly alike, and the methods suitable for a large business are not always desirable in a small one, and for this reason various alternatives are mentioned. I 1; li IV PREFACE The post-war and the reconstruction problems may be as difficult of solution as many war problems, but un- doubtedly one of the most urgent that faces master printers is how to pay high wages and at the same time produce printing at prices low enough to stimulate the demand, to provide work for the returning soldiers, and to maintain our overseas trade. This object can only be attained by improved methods, increased efficiency, and greatly in- creased output, and if master printers should find any help in this book in attaining these ends, the object of the writer will have been achieved. W. H. H. May, 1919. CONTENTS CHAPTER -/ PREFACE . . . I. THE PRINCIPAL n. THE STAFF • • • • • III. THE DEPARTMENTS IN THE BUSINESS IV. THE CASH BOOK AND LEDGERS V. TRAVELLERS VI. ESTIMATES FOR WORK .... VII. ORDER SHEETS OR WORK TICKETS III. THE DAY BOOKS, DELIVERY BOOKS, ETC. IX. PURCHASING GOODS INDEX PAGS « • • lU I 25 29 50 57 72 82 89 PUBLICATIONS 105 II0-II2 Ij -''Sg^ >.^-.-;~«^,-^ ■•^- I OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS CHAPTER I THE PRINCIPAL The organisation, or re-organisation, of a printing business is not a task that can be accomplished in a few hours, as the conditions and methods of each business vary, and though the general principles are the same, the details of the business must be carefully examined and the organisation adapted to the circumstances. In organising a business, it is better to begin from the top, and for the principal to consider whether his own work could not be better planned, and his time used more effectively, than imder the existing conditions. In many cases the heads of printing firms began their career when telephones and typewriters were hardly used at all, and card indexes, loose leaf ledgers, and other modem ofl&ce methods were imknown. If they have been immersed in their business, and have not had much opportunity for examining the methods and organisation of up-to-date ofiices in this and other coimtries, it is probable that the methods of their ofl&ce are behind the times and less efl&cient than they should be. A printer cannot go into another printer's ofl&ce, and ask him to explain all his methods to him — although friendship amongst printers and the inter- change of ideas have greatly increased in the last few years B > il !l II II' a OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS —and there is a risk that his business may get into a rut. The pace of change in business methods is quickenmg. and it is only the man who keeps himself and his organisation abreast of the altered conditions who will win the reward of a successful business man. What was good enough ten or twenty years ago is obsolete to-day, and what is the best to-day wiU be old-fashioned and of Uttle value in less than a generation hence. There is an excellent custom in American colleges that the professors shall have a year's vacation-without loss of salary— once in seven or ten years, in order that they may spend that time in study in other umversities or countries, so that their knowledge, researches, and methods may be the best and latest. There is at present, unfortu- nately, no Master Printers' College to which a pnnter can go to study the most up-to-date methods of organisation and production ; but this loss of opportunity of training in a business college can be partly overcome by visitmg trade exhibitions, attending the meetmgs of the Master Printers' Federation, and, if such a journey should be possible, by visiting foreign countries, and particularly America. As there is Uttie competition in printmg between this and other countries, there is much less objection on the part of oversea printers to show their methods and their factories to an Enghshman, and the time spent can only be of benefit to the visiting printer. The class of work, the machinery, and the system may l^ entirely different from tiiose in his own works, but if he did not come back from such a journey primed witii ideas for the better organisation of his factory, it would prove eitiier that his metiiods, machinery, and men were perfect-an altoge^er impossible position-^r else, what is much more probable, he was too conservative and set in his way to benefit by the developments and improvements he had seen. The advantage of starting the organisation from the top is that the methods introduced in the principal's room THE PRINCIPAL 3 and occupations will set an example to. and percolate though, the office. Organisation means efficiency, and efficiency saves time and prevents wasted effort, and therefore by replanning his work, the principal should find the time required to re-organise the whole of his office. The time and brains of the principal are the most valuable m the whole business, and his aim should be to depute to others the non-essential routine details, and to reserve to himself the essential points of control, direction and organisation. Some printers burden themselves with too many imnor detaUs which could be equally weU carried out by a clerk, and as they are immersed in these details they have not the time to deal with the larger questions which no clerk can handle, and which do not cry aloud for attention if they are overlooked. In organising any busmess, it is a sound maxim that no way of doing work or any system in use is the best, until it has been ex^ed and It IS proved that no other and better method can be found. Because a man or a method has worked for many years without friction or breakdown is no proof that thev cannot be improved, and this axiom appUes to the principal as weU as to everyone in his employment. Many businesses are limited in size, not by the energy of the pnncipal or tiie amount of capital available, but by the hmitation of his power of deputing work to otiiers • the successful printer, as his business grows, deputes to others more and more, and he need not and should not dTvelo s °°^^ """-^ '^^^' ^ ^"^ '"'^'"^^^ The success of a printer Hes largely in his power of judgmg the character of the men he gathers about him and his capacity for wisely deputing his work to them and developing then: sense of responsibihty. The head of a prmtmg busmess is first an administrator and organiser and secondly a printer. He does not set type or lork a prmtmg machine unless he has a very small business, and 4 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS even then much of his time must be given to administra- tiL A principal must spend his time m planmng the work of oihers. and studying their <=haracter and ca^city. so that he may judge if they are the best men for the SsJtions they hold ; in watching the finance of his bus^- S^ r in plamiing schemes for its future development S 'adapting it to changing conditions It is essential Zt to enable him to organise well and adnumster wisely, £ id have a wide technical knowledge but the power of administration, particularly m a large busmess. is the more important quaUty. A principal who is a good XuS^Sor can gather -und him skilled overseers and J^ers who are experts in their own branch, and the Si would probably succeed; but if the pnnapal STbad organiser, though a skilled printer, the busr^ss Lnot succeed, owing to bad finance, a badly selected stafi, Sd other cau^s wWch are the result of the absence of a good administrative head. First let the principal consider if he does any trivial tasks^r clerical work which can be carried out by his sub. ordinates, and then hand them over to so™^^«?^;,^J*f Lks and rooms of some printers are fiUed with papere Ss and correspondence in ill-assorted heaps ; but in weU-o^ganised offi^s every desk is cleared for work, and riy paper worth preserving is properly filed away out of Se d4 Such a room sets an example to the whole ^ce tospires confidence in customers, and saves the time f d temSr of the principal. It is in hh4 lln^ \ lui^ lieb / liii lipti T _. , 1, M& Ib2 / \ I / I 1 m Iffio \ \ \ 1 , tSQ /S8 \ \ X-4J mo li-(> \ 1 , * Ittn /A> \ I u'tti /W Hoi Zip ^6 lt^9 dOO lH4f m li4.a uq Ift2 JYi IHO (JVC fif\ }^ ^ilt \3lea vw m /3? T i ' 3£rt '^ f ■^ " ^& I7fi \ 1 — 1 1 iHC t2ln m IZ4 L ' ^ I^Z \ i26 l^Q V go IIS ! V M ll(p 1 li \ 5ic na ll lA l\ i \ J iDi m 11 / \ ^ X \ ^ iCD IIQ 1 l\ A /. \j -[ \ L l^^ilUixjtk 6U4AC. 04 ^ t(\f{ li i\ . /> r- ^^ \ \ /'[ dl aJZI/ / lA^ ciU^i/Ll^ 28d iota 11 •M i f \ \ \ i U 1 m \ V / \/ 28P lOQ \ ^ h \ iSi IQQ 1 i\ A it 1 \r 2/c qn V \ J V / \ ^ qio r 1 J \/ \ ^ 26c on T \ 2S6 QQ T ^ T \, A (PQ iSa On T \ '> / J iAL KK ]t \l • * ao Rk • Its. KK- • • kt^ RS , • ts Rn • • • no. in • • • an. % • 2a. • • • • /:f • • ■ (0 _ :_. 1 • s • • • • • • • • • • • • • r ' ..J 3 1 11 i^'^l 1 • • « m «f f I Foim No. 1« Page 11. — Graph of Composmg Boom Becords Ill 12 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS book-keeping, is his own book-keeper, it is essential that a qualified accountant should examine the books and audit the accounts. The advice of the accountant will also be of^value to the printer on depreciation and sinking funds, income-tax allowances and returns, and similar matters, which are complicated to those unaccustomed to deal with such questions. • The organisation within the office is of primary importance to the printer ; but almost equally important, though perhaps less tangible in its results, is the organisa- tion of the printing trade of the country. It is essential that, if a master printer wishes to gain the full benefits of organisation, he should belong to the Master Printers' Association, and support its activities in every way. There are still some printers who think they are strong enough to stand alone, but they Httle realise the good that has been done and the greater good that will be done in the future for the printing trade by the organisation and co-operation of all master printers. The increase of State interference with trade due to the war, the standardisation of prices and conditions, the fixing of wages in large areas, and the protection of the interests of printers in countless ways, can only be dealt with by an association that represents the whole trade. Many printers complain that the improvements they make in their methods, or the lessened cost of production due to new machinery, are too often lost owing to the fooHsh cutting of prices by their com- petitors. The surest way of overcoming this difficulty is by co-operation with and the education of the com- petitors, which can be best accomplished by membership of the Master Printers' Federation. The printer who desires to organise his business should see that this most necessary part of organisation is not omitted. At the meetings, whether costing or any other subject is discussed, he will learn something that will help him, and at these meetings he can often find a fellow printer who will advise THE PRINCIPAL 13 him on some knotty point of organisation, management, or costing. Some printers take a rather narrow view of this matter, and are apt to ask what is the immediate return they will receive for their annual subscription. The question instead should be asked, what would the position of the printing trade be now, if there had been no association to protect its interests ? The control of paper and other materials, the protection of essential men from enlistment, the improvement of the conditions of Stationery Office contracts, and negotiations with the Trade Unions are only a few of the vital matters dealt with ; and when at the same time a great educative campaign on costing, co-operation, and price-cutting is being carried on, any printer must admit that his annual subscription to the Federation is the wisest expenditure he makes. n ( II CHAPTER II THE STAFF In small businesses the principal will probably personally engage all his employees, but in a larger business the overseers of the departments usually engage their own work-people, and the selection of the of&ce staff and over- seers remains with the principal. Whichever method be adopted, it is most important that time and care should be given to the selection of anyone in a position of any responsibility. The value and suitability of a craftsman can soon be gauged by the quahty and quantity of his work, but the less common and less easily tested qualities of tact, judgment, power of control, and knowledge are essential for anyone in a position of responsibility. ' Fire the fools * was an expression much in vogue in America some years ago, and it was thought to be a sign of good management that the fools should be discharged ; but it was found in many factories that for various reasons there was too much * hiring and firing,' and the staff was always changing. Now the test of good management is not to hire the fools, but carefully to select the individuals who are must suitable for the task, and to train and develop them carefully, and so retain the best brains and workers. In most balance-sheets there is a large amount amongst the assets for goodwill; but another and very valuable form of goodwill is the knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm of the staff, which will be largely due to the careful selection, judicious training, and advancement of »4 THE STAFF 15 his employees by the principal. Difficult cases may arise where a man may be capable of occupying a position of minor responsibihty, but as his section of work or the department he controls grows in size and importance, his powers do not correspondingly increase. The time will then come when the principal must decide that a change must be made, and someone of greater capacity put in his place. A weak though willing head of a department may do incalculable harm by lax control and inefficient methods, and it is far wiser to make the change as soon as the inability efficiently to control the work is shown, rather than to wait until the department is disorganised. Careful enquiries should always be made from past employers, and if possible verbal references should be sought, as in conversation a former employer will say more and can answer definite questions in a way that cannot be done by letter. If the applicant is to handle cash, it is well at least to ask if he would have any objection to the principal taking out a fidelity guarantee with some society, and possibly canying it through, as the enquiries of the society are more thorough than those of an employer. If the appHcant has an unsatisfactory record, he will prob- ably object to such enquiries, and the interview can be terminated ; and if the guarantee be carried through, the employer will have the benefit of the insurance for as long as he chooses to keep it in force, and the knowledge that the past record is good. In the case of a clerk, it is well not to rely only on references, but also to give a series of tests similar to the work th^t is to be done. If standard columns of figures for casting and cross-casting, percentages, or shorthand and typing, or memory tests, &c., are given to two or three of the existing staff, the normal speed or accuracy of the of&ce can be gauged, and if the same tests be appHed to candidates, the principal will know exactly how closely they approach his office standard. His salaries and F. I V ' i6 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS standard may be high or low, but the tests prove at once the relative value of the candidate. For instance, a telephone clerk must have a voice that is clear and pleasant on the telephone, a good memory for numbers and names, an equable temper, and suf&cient tact to deal with impatient customers. Too often the charge of the telephone is left to a junior office boy with a harsh voice and assertive manner, which are apt to repel the customer. In considering the qualities necessary for the clerical staff, accuracy is the essential quality, and speed of secondary importance, and the salary that can be paid depends upon these qualities. In the office, as well as in the works, the actual salaries or wages paid are of minor importance compared with the cost of producing an article. In some large offices the cost records of routine clerical work are kept in somewhat the same manner as the hour- costs of compositors and machines, and the salaries vary accordingly. A printer when engagmg a clerk, and par- ticularly when giving any increases in salary, should be guided by the output rather than by the salary paid. A shorthand typist who can accurately take down from dictation and transcribe her notes 50 per cent, faster than another, or an order clerk who remembers the details of his customers' work, and can make out his orders clearly and in a good hand, so that no questions need be asked by the workers, are both worth a high salary, and yet are less expensive assistants than those who have not these quahties and earn a lower salary. The master printer need not be alarmed at high salaries if he thereby obtams high efficiency and low costs, but what he should fear is low salaries, which are not cheap if they lead to inefficiency, which must ultimately mean high costs. When engaging the office stafE it is desirable to give a letter stating the terms of engagement, such as hours, salary, hoHdays, and notice required, and a record should be made on the engagement card or in the private wages THE STAFF 17 record. This will prevent dispute or uncertainty on the termination of the engagement^ as these conditions are not definitely fixed as is the case with employees in the factory. A long period of notice is usually not desirable, as if an employee becomes unsatisfactory notice has to be given, and he naturally wiQ not work with much enthusiasm while imder notice. On the other hand, if he obtains another situation, he is anxious to leave at once, and often- times feels aggrieved if he cannot do so. Legal notice depends on when the wages are paid — ^those paid weekly require a week's notice, those drawing their salaries monthly, a month's notice ; but the custom is that over- seers and those in responsible positions should have a month's notice, although they may be drawing their salaries weekly. Any uncertainty on tMs point can be obviated by a letter stating the terms. The office staiK do not usually record their time on commencing work on any clocks, as is the case with the employees in the works, although the clock system has been introduced in many offices in America. Some record should be kept of the times of arrival, and an attendance book, signed by each person on entering the office, giving the hour and minute of their arrival, is an effective check. The principal can from time to time examine this book, and reprimand any clerk who makes a practice of arriving late. Apprentices should always be carefully selected, as they are the future skilled workers. A lad of low edu- cational standard, or of poor physique, should not be apprenticed, and in most houses a period of one to three months' trial is required. Then if a satisfactory report is given by the overseer, and — ^if there be any doubt as to health — a doctor's report also, the apprenticeship deed can be signed. The training of the apprentices and clerks should be encouraged by the principal, by allowing time off if necessary to attend technical classes, and by the payment f] IP fi )l if- i8 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS of part or of the whole of any fees. If the classes are wsdy selected, either trade classes, costing, shorthand, or book- keeping, &c., the worker must be more efBcient afterwards. The knowledge that the attendance at classes and the passing of examinations will be remembered when there is a chance of promotion will encourage the employees to attend regularly and to strive to pass the exammations. In some houses tiie copy of the indenture is endorsed each year with a record of the apprentice's progress, and if m addition a bonus in cash is paid, which is based on a systeni of marks for good conduct, punctuaUty, attendance at classes. &c.. the annual endorsement is a stmiulus to the apprentice, and tiie possibihty of the loss of the bonus retrains him from some of the usual youthful irregularities. The endorsement of tiie indentures is a smtable time for the principal to see tiie apprentice witii tiie overseer and to find out if he is being properly tramed and is hkely to be a good araftsman. When anyone is engaged the best form of record is a card similar to Form No. 2. pages 2<^i. These cards shoiJd be filed alphabetically by surname, or numencaUy by wages-book number, and in one group for the whole woito. or in departments witii a separating guide card.^ T^e • standard passed ' and ' entered in factory register only apply to young people. A brief note of any references cl^ be entered on the back of tiie card, and all changes of wages or any special circumstances should be entered on the card and initialled. In tiiis way. even m a large works, tiie principal witii Uttie labour can keep f touch witii aU changes in tiie staff or rates of pay. When a person leaves the card is completed and filed witii tiie Mead ' cards, and should he be re-engaged the card is corrected and put back again m tiie ' Uve drawer. The cards can also be used for recording any accidents, special payments made, or details as to lengtii of notice or terms of engagement In this way a complete record covenng •«i THE STAFF 19 many years is obtained with a minimum of labour, and it is invaluable in tracing old employees, giving references, and making any Government returns, as it obviates himt- ing through the wages book to obtain the information. The cards should be kept imder lock and key by the timekeeper, wages clerk, or principal. In some cases an envelope similarly printed is more convenient for holding references, &c. For the private staff a book, imder lock and key, is useful, as fuller notes are often required. The duties of the of&ce staff and overseers should be well planned and clearly defined, so that there may be no overlapping and no imcertainty as to who is responsible for any part of the work. There is no more fatal obstacle to the smooth and easy running of a factory or an of&ce than for two or more persons to deal with the same matter, which will probably lead to contradictory instructions, and on other occasions, owing to the uncertainty as to who is responsible, the whole question may be overlooked. It is essential that the duties of each person should be clearly defined, and that the number of persons through whom instructions, &c., have to go before they reach the actual clerk or worker should be as few as possible, compatible with efficient control. In planning the work, the prin- cipal should see that as the business grows, or in a large business, too many persons do not look to him for instruc- tions, as this would lead to overseers and clerks waiting whilst he was engaged with others, and he would not have time to look into many matters that require his attention. A chart showing the route of instructions and area of responsibihty of each person is useful in planning an office and obviating these difficulties. In a small office the duties might be arranged so that the principal can do all his book-keeping and deal with his customers ; and the overseer of each department would deal direct with him. In a larger business, however, the work must of necessity be more divided, and it would be impossible for 20 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS 13 I in a v Q t S 0} 8 A ^ « d 2 o m (8 •d CIS -d 03 ^ (S 1 I I . I I (§ THE STAFF 21 I § I g «3 •a •3 a £ 11 "I 1 &* (I) CO p O a o o s fl 08 1 a 9 00 O i p 22 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS one principal to deal with all the queries that arise in the works, and also to direct the office and outdoor staff. The following is a suggestion for planning a larger office, but the actual planning in each office must depend on the circumstances of the business and the tastes and capacities of the principal. Overseer, Composing. Machine. Foundry. Warehouse. Paper and Material Stock- keeper. Timekeeper and Wages Clerk. Order Clerks. Estimating and Cost Clerks. Travellers. Correspondence and other Clerks. -Production u •a o tf ft tt •a -Distribution -Finance (Cashier. Ledger Keeper. Collectings, accounts. -Purchasing Material, S-c. In this case the works' manager would always be in to attend to the works, and the principal, whilst constantly in touch with the production side 6f the business through the works' manager, would chiefly devote his time to the control of the office, the travellers, and the customers. The principal should see that there is someone to act as deputy or understudy for each person whose absence —either expected or unexpected— would cause delay or confusion in carrying on the work. If an order clerk, cashier, or overseer is away, the deputy ought to know how the work should be done, and have some idea of the work in hand. The ideal should be so to arrange the duties of THE STAFF 23 the staff, that the absence for a few days of anyone, from the principal downwards, would not interfere with the smooth running of the organisation, and the customers' demands could be dealt with satisfactorily. Questions of poHcy and important matters would naturaUy be post- poned until the person in authority returned. Some people think that by keeping all the work and records in their own hands, so that nothing can be done without their knowledge, or during their absence from the office the work cannot be carried out so well, they prove them- selves invaluable to their employers. This policy, how- ever, is often the sign of a weak person who fears the capacity of those beneath him ; whereas the strong, able man organises his work and deputes properly, and holi- days and temporary absence through iUness only prove his ability and foresight. The staff are capable of making many suggestions for improving the methods of working, and it is well to con- sider carefully any that are made, although they may seem to be useless, as a rebuff will stem the flow of suggestions, and the adoption of one encourages more. Possibly there may be some printers or overseers who would resent sugges- tions from those under them for changing and improving the methods and organisation, as they consider them a reflection on themselves for not having found the defect. Such an attitude is fooUsh in the extreme, as though the principal or the overseer may be the cleverest man in the business or department, the strength of the business is the sum of the brains employed in it, and suggestions for improvement should be welcomed, from whatever source they come. As an incentive to the employees, cash prizes may be offered for any suggestions that are adopted, the value of the prize to be according to the economies effected by, or the improved working due to, the suggestions. A minimum should be fixed for any suggestion that is accepted, and though the results may not always be M 24 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS worth the minimtim prize, the payment for minor sugges- tions may lead to some of considerable value. It is a good plan to have a letter-box marked ' Suggestions ' in which employees can put their letters, or when Works Committees are formed under the Betterment Scheme any ideas for improving office or works methods could be discussed with the Committee. An office is often divided into many small rooms, and there is a tendency for the clerks in each section to consider that they are only to work in their own section. If this be allowed, one room may be busy and another slack, and it is well to have a large open office if possible, and a competent head clerk in charge. This will lead to much greater flexibility, and the work can be more easily trans- ferred than when the clerks are working in separate rooms imder various persons. There are many advantages in having a large open office, as it is much easier to supervise the workers, and less time is wasted when the clerks wish to communicate with each other if the office consists of one open floor instead of a number of small rooms. When planning an office it is essential to see the route that correspondence and orders have to follow, e.g. order clerks should be near the works, telephone room central, and the principal or manager so situated that he can supervise the whole office. In some offices considerable time is wasted by clerks and others leaving their desks to go to the telephone. An extension telephone costs about 6d. per week, and if a clerk requires the use of a telephone, much more than this sum will be wasted if he has to leave his desk continually to answer calls. A competent person should always be responsible for deahng with callers ; they may only be messengers, or they may be important customers, but any dilatoriness in attending to their wants immediately or an ungracious reception is bound to give a bad impression, and ultimately interfere with business. CHAPTER III THE DEPARTMENTS IN THE BUSINESS It is impossible to treat the whole of a printing office as one complete and uniform department, as even in the smallest business the composing and machine rooms are so different in their product, plant, and requirements, that a separation into different sections or departments is desirable. If the Federation Costing System be intro- duced — as would be the case in any well-organised business — it is absolutely essential to sub-divide the works into several departments according to the various processes, so as to obtain a unit of production for each of the processes, such as 1,000 ens, a compositor-hour, or var5dng hourly rates for each machine. Quite apai:t from the actual costing and the hourly rates, the sub-division of the business into departments, and the consequent division and allocation of expenses, sales, &c., assists very greatly in tracing waste or error, fixes responsibility upon the right person, and enables the principal more easily to find the leakages and rectify the errors. It may be objected that in small businesses this sub-division is not necessary, and that little is done without the proprietor's knowledge; but every printer hopes that his business may grow and prosper, and it is more likely that success will follow on his efforts if he starts with sound and accurate methods. It would be much more difficult at a later date, when the business had grown considerably, to institute the correct system ; and 25 I 1 26 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS the value of the comparison of figures and the advantages of sound methods in the preceding years would have been lost. In every case the printer must decide how far he will sub-divide his business and analyse his accounts, and to what extent he will prepare and compare the various percentages, &c. The larger the business is, the greater need there is for a careful and accurate sub-division and tabulation of statistics and percentages ; they are the ever-varjdng barometer of the business, which shows the principal where he must direct his attention and energy, and in what departments there is little need for investi- gation at the moment. The manufacturing departments are usually divided into composing, foundry, printing, Hthographing, binding, &c., as these are distinct processes, and for costing pur- poses it is desirable that the departmentalising should, as far as possible, follow the Hues of the different processes. In ad<3Ktion there must be a materials department, or several materials departments, such as paper, binding materials, &c. General expenses and outwork should be treated as separate departments. As far as possible all expenses should be debited to their respective depart- ments, so that the expenses may be compared at definite periods, and those in authority can watch the expenditure closely and economise wherever possible. The general wages book and the private wages book should be divided into sections, so as to give a separate total for each department, and the total should be posted weekly to the departmental account 'in the private ledger, or monthly, if the weekly totals are collected in a summary book. The clerks' salaries, and any salary drawn by the principal, would be debited to general expenses, and a separate total should be kept of travellers' salaries, com- mission, and expenses, and posted to a travellers' commis- sion and expenses accoimt. At the end of the year each traveller's turnover should be compared with his total THE DEPARTMENTS IN THE BUSINESS 27 expenses, in order to find the percentage of cost, and to judge as to the value of the traveller. The sub-division of wages and purchases into a few accounts in the ledger is an advantage, as at the end of the year the totals can be compared and analysed, and the investigation may be of considerable value. They are also of value in preparing Form i of the Costing System. In very large businesses it wiU probably be desirable to carry this analysis still further, and to have a separate account in the private ledger for the sales and purchases of each of the departments. Special accounts would be debited with the wages and purchases for the department, and a share of the overhead and general expenses, as allocated by Form i of the Costing System. The sum of these expenses wiU be the total cost of the department, and to find the total sales and profit on the department it would be necessary to credit each department with a fair proportion of all the charges for work done. The simplest method would be to analyse the charges for each job, and instead of crediting a general sales account, to credit the sales account of each department through an analysis day book, in the same way as is suggested in a later chapter for the analysis of the bought journal. The difference between the debits and credits in the depart- mental account in the private ledger will show the net profit made in that department. Although this niethod is in use and is desirable in large businesses, it is not suitable for smaller businesses. In order that the cost of the various processes can be correctly found, it is necessary to know the value of plant in each department, and a separate plant account should be opened in the ledger for each of the departments, so that the correct depreciation may be known when pre- paring or revising the hourly rates. If in a printing office the plant has not thus been divided amongst the depart- ments, the total value of the plant should be allocated on m 28 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS a fair basis to the departments, and as purchases of plant are made the invoices should be initialled with the depart- mental letter, and debited to the correct department. It is convenient to give a number or a letter to each department to distinguish it on work tickets, invoices, &c., and as departments increase, or are sub-divided, a new number or letter can be given to each. If the system of letters be adopted, the initial letter of the department could be used, e.g, ' C ' = Composing, ' G ' = General Expenses, and sub-divisions of a department could be described by the main and a subsidiary letter, e.g. 'CM.' = Composing, Monotype. If it is a long time since the plant has been purchased or valued, it would be well to engage a valuer with a know- ledge of the printing trade to report on the whole plant, and to give a separate value to the plant in each depart- ment. It is possible that the plant stands at a fictitiously high value in the printer's books owing to his having written off insufficient depreciation in past years. On the other hand, if he has been cautious and written off sufficient depreciation, he may find that, owing to the appreciation in the value of machineiy due to the war and its probable high cost later, the value in his books— which is probably the basis of his insurance poHcy— is considerably less than its replacement value, and if a fire should occur it would be impossible for him to replace the destroyed machinery with the sum he receives from the insurance. In either case the valuation would be of considerable service in properly organising the business and in meeting the difficulties of the future. The inventory prepared by the valuer, if all the subsequent purchases are correctly entered, would be of considerable value in deahng with any old plant, &c., and would form a very satisfactory basis for a claim for insurance in case of any fire. _ ... ^r-^.. ■&■ CHAPTER IV THE CASH BOOK AND LEDGERS ■/ Probably no change in recent times has so much affected the work of an office as the introduction of the card index and the loose leaf system for books. The possibilities of labour saving are many, and in various ways the new methods have very great advantages. It should be borne in mind, however, that card indexes and loose leaf methods should only be handled by a trained staff, as a card wrongly filed amongst thousands of others might cause a serious error, and at least a considerable loss of time in tracing the misplaced card. The youngest and rawest office boy is the very last person who should be allowed to handle the loose leaf records. If, however, ordinary precautions are observed, and the care of card indexes and loose leaf and fiUng methods is placed in the hands of certain responsible persons, the risk of error practically disappears. In the following pages suggestions are made for the use of modem methods, but their adoption must be varied and extended to suit the particular conditions of each business. The cash book is usually a bound book, though in excep- tional cases loose leaf books have been used where there are an immense number of entries daily, but this does not probably apply to printers. In large businesses it may be convenient to sub-divide the cash book and to have separate books for receipts and payments, or for town and country, or printing and newspaper and advertismg accounts. A summary cash book would then be necessary to collect the totals, &c., from the various subsidiary cash 39 30 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS books. By this means each cash book would correspond with a similar ledger or set of ledgers, which would simplify the postings and balancing, and by having various books the cashier, ledger clerks, and auditors might be working at the same time, which would be impossible if there were only one principal cash book. If there should be only one cash book, it is an advantage, if there are several ledgers of difEerent classes of accounts, for the cash book to have analysis columns in which each item is entered as well as in the cash book column proper (see Form No. 3, page 31). Thus, if there are four sold ledgers, of town, country, newspaper, and advertising customers, the four anal5rsis columns in the cash book would enable the ledger clerk to pick out instantly the items he had to post into the ledger on which he was working, and the trial balance would be faciHtated by having separate totals in the cash book for each ledger. All receipts for cash should be paid into the bank, and should not be used for payment of accounts or petty cash or other payments. Payments should be made daily into the bank, and a cheque drawn from time to time for wages and other cash payments. This method is much better than using the receipts of cash for cash payments, and renders the checking and verifying of cash very much easier. A printed and numbered receipt form is desirable for keeping a record of all receipts that are given, and the receipts could be manifolded, the manifold forming a record, which can be checked with the cash book. The ledgers should undoubtedly be on the loose leaf principle. The advantages are numerous. There is no need for an index, as the ledger is automatically self- indexing like a dictionary. The ledger is never full, and only leaves of current accounts have to be handled, as old leaves of live accounts and leaves of dead accounts are transferred from time to time to a ' dead ' or transfer ledger. The saving of the clerk's time is considerable. I !''•' THE CASH BOOK AND LEDGERS 31 o M O tz) U* % Ui n P « O 3 8 I I 2 I » I 1 I n § { I 32 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS and the whole of a customer's account is always in one place, which is not the case in a growing account in a bound book. The ledger, if the business expands, can be divided into two or more, and the accounts grouped in any way that is convenient. There are many forms of loose leaf ledgers ; they are mostly on the principle of a vice which grips the leaves so that none can be removed without releasing the vice. In some types of ledger a small lock and key is inserted in the back, so that the loose leaf mechanism cannot be opened and any leaves removed or inserted without the knowledge of the person holding the key. Other methods of checkmg are, to have the firm's name printed on each sheet, or by numbering the sheets consecutively and keep- ing a register of the issue of the sheets to a particular account. These checks, however, are not usually adopted, as an efficient system and carefully selected staff are the best preventatives against frauds. The binder should be of good quality ; a cheap one is probably an expensive one, as the ledger is never completed and the binder is used for years until it is worn out. One leaf should be kept for each account, and as the account grows new leaves can be inserted in the proper place. When an account runs to several leaves, the old leaves which are not required should be transferred to a ' dead ' binder, and still kept in strictly alphabetical order. On the top right-hand comer of each leaf the name of the customer should be clearly written in a space about half an inch deep and three inches long, as this faciUtates reference. The leaves should be inserted in strictly alphabetical order, and no index is needed. There is no index to a dictionary, and none is needed for a well-kept loose leaf ledger. A guide leaf with a lettered tab is a great convenience in turning up accounts. The tabs can be for each letter of the alphabet, or, if there should be many accounts, they can be increased, e.g. M, Mas, Mc, Mo, &c. If there should be more than one ledger, the accoimts can be divided alphabetically, e.g. THE CASH BOOK AND LEDGERS 33 A-L and M-Z, or territorially, e.g. London, Country, or England and Scotland, or by departments of the busi- ness ; in any case the clerk can immediately turn to the ledger where the account is. Definite rules for the filing must be adhered .to, as errors might arise with hyphened names and such names as McArthur, Macarthur and Mac- Arthur. The best way is to file under the first name in hyphened names, and to treat ' Mac ' as part of the name ; the three above names would then be treated as two, and in the order Macarthur and McArthur. In many offices there are numerous accounts with only one or two items per annum, or only a solitary transaction. It is not worth while using a whole leaf for such accounts, and at the end of each letter of the alphabet should be some leaves ruled for small accounts, three or more on each page. SMALL ACCOUNTS If there are very few of these small accounts, they can be entered one after the other on the small account leaves, but the best method is to index them by the ' third letter ' system. Each leaf would then contain the accounts of persons with the same letter of the alphabet for the initial and the third letter in the name. Thus the leaf headed S-n would include Santon, Sun Insurance Co., Senef elder, and the next leaf S-o would have the accounts of Snow, Stothert, Spode China Co., &c. If an account should become too large for the small account sheet, it should be transferred to a full leaf account. Should there be a very large number of small accounts, it may be found that a more detailed method of indexing is required than the third letter system, owing to the large number of names that are grouped under one heading. In this case a further sub-division can be made by using the fourth letter after the third letter, in cases where too many names appear under the third letter. Thus Sun Insurance Co. would appear on sheet S-n-i, Stothert \>r . eq s o V) a i S5 0) 4) o H I 00 »0 «o «0 O N 00 00 :2: o v^ ^ ^O O H 00 H 00 H 00 H -^ ^2: 0\ 00 o 00 c^ 00 H 00 'O «« o CO s 1 I 15 I THE CASH BOOK AND LEDGERS 39 No. I could be a printed slip attached to a copy of the statement asking for a settlement ; No. 2 a letter asking for the account to be paid ; No. 3 a request for payment by a given date, and No. 4 a notice that the account will be handed to the solicitors for collection unless payment is made within four days. If payments on account are received, they should be entered on the card. Each printer must decide for himself when and what form of pressure should be brought to bear on his customers, and great discretion must be used. Some customers will only pay on a fixed day, and others will never pay until they are threatened with legal proceedings ; some try to cut prices and delay payment, and they should be pressed; but others pay good prices and like long credit, and if their position is thoroughly sound, it will pay the printer to humour them and charge accordingly. The cards should be filed alphabetically with suitable guide cards, and when an account is paid it should be transferred to the ' dead ' drawer, and can be used again when the next account is rendered. It is an advantage to print along the top of the card the figures i to 31, to represent the days of the month. If a reminder is sent, a wire cHp of the ' Gem ' variety can be slipped on the card on the date the customer ought to be reminded again. All the cards that have to be dealt with are thus indicated each day, and there is no chance of any being overlooked. It is not advisable that the clerk who acts as cashier or collector should post the ledger^ and send out the reminders to customers, as he could then cover up for some time any irregularities in his books, whether due to error or embezzlement. Printers should be careful in granting settlement dis- counts, as they may easily wipe out all their profit by grantmg a small discount for earlier payment. If a customer procrastinates as to payment and asks for 2 J per cent, discount (which is quite different from 2^ per cent. per annum) if he pays the account monthly instead of $1 ! 40 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS quarterly, he is only paying his account about two months earlier than usual, as the quarterly account includes work done in each of the three preceding months. Should the printer agree, he is allowing a discount at the rate of nearly 15 per cent, per annum, which is a ludicrous percentage to allow if the customer's financial position is sound. If, on the other hand, the customer wants further credit and suggests bills, he is not willing to pay 5 per cent, for a three months' bill, but only 5 per cent, per annum. If customers insist on settlement discounts beyond the usual terms, a corresponding percentage should be added to the charges so as to maintain the usual net profit CASH PAYMENTS Small cash payments should be paid through the petty cash book, which should be kept on the following system. An original sum of, say, £5 or £10 should be paid to the petty cash, and at the end of each week or month the petty cash should be balanced and a payment made from the main cash book of the exact amount expended, thus bringing up the sum in hand to the original amount. The petty cash book should show the department for which the purchases are made, as well as the description of the articles purchased, so that the departments may be debited with their own purchases. Should the payments be numerous, it is well to have paper slips printed (of a standard card index size, e.g. 4x6 inches) with headings as on Page 41 and used as a voucher for each payment. The department or account to be debited, i.e. Com- posing, Machine, Travelling Expenses, General Expenses, &c., is shown, and the vouchers can be analysed, and the proper accounts debited at the end of the quarter or year. The principal, overseer, or other authorised person should approve the pajnnent, and the person actually receiving the cash should also sign the form. A complete record of all petty cash payments is thus obtained, and THE CASH BOOK AND LEDGERS 41 leakages are prevented and analysis and investigation are simplified. Debit. Date. Details. Rate. £ «. d. Received. Approved. WAGES BOOK The preparation of the wages book and the counting and payment of the wages should be arranged so that fraud may be prevented or at least made difficult. In a small office the principal will know all his employees, their rates of pay, and the hours they have worked, and may count out the wages himself. In this case a very simple record of the names of the employees and the amounts paid to each, and a separate total of the wages paid in each department is all that is necessary. When the business is larger, more elaborate records and careful checks are necessary. In far too many cases dishonest employees have robbed their employers through fraud connected with the wages book, and these frauds would have been obviated if proper checks had been installed. It is the duty of every employer to remove temptation as far as possible from his employees, and to remember that it is the handling of cash which is the greatest cause of dishonesty, as it is immediately usable, and the actual coins cannot be traced and recognised in the same way as '' M 42 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS cheques or goods. The following suggestions are checks which will prevent the frauds which from time to time have occurred in various offices. PROPER TIME RECORDING The first check is a proper system of recording the time of entering and leaving the works. The old-fashioned method of taking a numbered disc off a hook and dropping it into a box, which is removed at fixed times, has many objections. If the timekeeper be dishonest, he can act in collusion with a workman, and when he posts the time in the time book he could enter a man as arriving punctually, when he might have been half an hour late, or as being present when he was away for a day. This fraud could only be detected by the principal or overseer who knew when each man came to work going through the whole time book and checking each entry. This is impossible if there are many^ employees, and the overseer is really doing the work of the timekeeper. A better system is to use some form of time recording by which the employee records his number on a ribbon of paper on which the time is stamped, or a card on which the exact time of coming or going is marked by a clock. With a ribbon each time has to be transferred to a time book^ which involves labour and the chance of fraud or inaccu- racy. The best style of machine is one such as the Gledhill Brook Recorder, by which one card for the whole week is made out for each employee. He becomes his own time- keeper, as he takes his card on entering, punches on it the time by the clock, and puts it in a second rack. The clock is adjusted automatically to show whether the time be morning, afternoon, or evening, and by hand to show if the man be coming in or going out. At the end of the week the lost time and hours of overtime can be easily added and entered in the wages book, and if there should be any dispute as to the wages paid, the man's own record THE CASH BOOK AND LEDGERS 43 of his hours can be produced (see Form No. 5, page 44). The time recording clock should be kept under lock and key, and the key retained by some reliable person, as otherwise the clock could be opened and adjusted so as to punch a card for the whole of a week with whatever times may be desired. A bell rings at each record, and the time- keeper should watch that no person punches two cards. The overseer can initial the overtime on the card to show that the correct time has been worked. The cards of persons working overtime should be care- fully checked by the overseer, so as to see that no card is punched for a later hour than the time the employee was told to leave off, and the principal should remember that unless a trustworthy person be in charge of the clocks, a man might leave his work earlier than he was told to, and arrange with another worker to punch his card for him. There is no need for the cards to be punched on leaving work at the usual times, but only when the employee leaves during or before or after working hours. The cards can be specially printed so as to allow the total hours worked, lost, and overtime and the wages pay- able being shown on the card (see Form No. 6, page 45). This system has the advantage that one or more clerks can work on calculating out the wages at the same time, which cannot be done if one wages book is used ; and if there be any dispute with the workman as to how his wages are worked out, the card can be shown to him, and he can see his own time which he recorded himself, and details of calculation. In the printing trade, however, it may be found better, owing to the varying overtime rates and extras of various kinds, to enter in the wages book details as to lost and over time, to show the various deductions. The wages book should be ruled to suit the conditions of each office, as in many cases there are special deductions for sick funds, clubs, &c. In any case the wages book m m iifi ^\ ^ -5 DEC 1918. ,^ Weekendingi '9 Name. DAY IN BnaUMt ana 1 Supper Time*. | OUT f TOTAL OUT IN F A. M. P. M. 8i< ^^ 1 13( 630 93. S A. M. P. M. S" ► • M Ai M» 8. \ P. M. 13 \ T W A. M. 8^ '^ } P. M. i= Gat 9^8 Aa M« 8. I p. M, l3 1 T A* M* 8^ p. M. 1: 2 • Form No. 6, Page 48.— Time Card (front) This Side Out No. OS Name Wages ... Overtime: — (a hr«. @j\lOl% hrs* @ Deductions : — Lo*t Time ...../. hrs. ■ In$arucc • - Other deductions: Savings Bank / 6 n II L Wages Payable £| 3 /, 9 9 Form No. 8. Page 48.— Time Card (teck.) fl !f4 ;J.f. !l ''ll!i 46 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS should have columns headed with the details as shown in Form No. 7, page 47, with any additional columns necessary for deductions for sick funds, clubs, &c. The totals of the ' wages earned ' column plus the total of the two insurance columns is the amount of cash required for the wages, and is debited to the department in the private ledger ; the total of the two insurance columns is the value of insurance stamps for the week. When the workpeople are regularly employed, it is an advantage to have one or more short leaves which do not have columns headed No. ; Name ; Weekly Wages. The above three columns only appear on the left side of the left-hand page, and with a short leaf, four weeks' wages can be paid with one entry of the names, or more weeks if more short leaves are used. This saves much writing in a large establishment. The names, wages, and hours may be entered by a timekeeper, and the extensions calculated by a wages clerk, or the whole may be done by one or the other, but in any case it is well to have an occasional surprise audit. Errors in copying and extending may occur, and if another person makes the audit, the entries in the wages book should be checked from the engagement cards, the hours worked from the clock cards, and all the extensions calcu- lated afresh. This surprise audit will test the accuracy of the clerks and prevent fraud. The wages should be paid by someone in authority, and any unclaimed wages returned to the cashier. This will prevent ' dead heads ' from being entered in the wages book. The wages should be counted out by some person other than the one who makes up the wages book. This will prevent — unless there be collusion between the two clerks — a larger amount than is due being entered in the wages book, and the difference being abstracted by the clerk who both makes up and counts the wages. When there are three persons concerned — the clerk who makes up the wages book, the clerk who counts the money, and the official who pays. THE CASH BOOK AND LEDGERS 47 0.3 I 3 e2 ©•St: sp Si I 8 o 2 o<3 as 2 o <« X O c/) w o a> > o O O :z; o H en en O o u to d I CO 0) ,Q O U s 09 'a •d o o O d o a o :z; H !z; Pi ESTIMATES FOR WORK CO d o o d o u Q d o •s Pi d > O •s d o CO l-H 3 Q bO d d pq i-i O a CO 5 CO p •d 0) ;d a Pi Oi Pi d Pi ;z; l-H X Ph <: o o X H C/3 C/J Q »-< PQ ft S "A HH C/3 9 iz; m iJ ^ P M P$ o Jz; (I] o iz; H O Pi pa u u H I < 9 CO •2 u a* a !; s i ii 1 il Vrt S § ii ■ CO 2 O M 0) ^ §i M W b CA O «o bo u> bo S 5 ^ '-iS p< (Z4 (A O PQ m en CO 3 I CO 0^ CR A vrt CO 1^ bo o a ® CO V 4) a Q* ci 0) I V H *-^ f^ bo Pi IS 1 4> CO •s «rt bo s \ I ti a •if CO 2 a a g II I I £ <-a ^ ill >>) s ^ 0) I ^ St «s» Oi X en m B CD tn m m a 8 •-4 -M 4) 0) s H to I « 8 I I Si bo a> § 60 ^ I PQ 9s CO W O O g « en O O v«» IS I bO 0} bo w (§) (0 c* I «« ^ V o bO O o ctf -i^ o ,2 C/3 If a ill en H 1/3 O PQ tn »-rt V (^ « d) U O) V O N C/) CO — J5 • "o S w H ^ o H m 55 5 •-) ^ h] H O) C/) c« 0) 0) bo a> o> 0) 0) CO i^ - - O H ^ O CO « 4> CO bc (4 o ^ PQ •^ SI (0 o o e^ffi CO (9 CL « -C .ja ^ •2 ^ t? CO (4 £1 w _ CO « bO I 0) 111 s 1 8 a>*i U S»!!5WfcO(iiWPQ CO (O CO CO CO CO N -^ O N 00 CO d M l-l a bO o C ctf bo •^ :^ .s CO bo bo > (O bo bO V ' Total ental and H (0 O o ft 0) pi 0) S w Oh fl Sf -C -CJ & bO -fl «> .S g bo p -c .S « tlo ^ «« I ^ .2 .s -E -S s u a> ,S^ <^. .fi. a ^ -5 .a« 'o is bc O o 60 8 j •I 68 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS PRINTED ESTIMATE FORMS A printed estimate form for working out the details should always be used even for small jobs, except in the case of work for which there is a standard price in the office, such as billheads, visiting cards, &c., of a fixed character, as it is a record of the details and price, and prevents errors and misunderstanding. The form must vary in each of&ce, but as far as possible the printed skeleton should cover all the processes in the works, and thus help to prevent any detail being overlooked. Forms Nos. 10-12, pages 62-67, ^^ examples, and show the details necessary for certain classes of work, and any printer who has not already adopted this essential safeguard can from these suggestions prepare a form suitable to his needs. Samples of paper, &c., can be attached to the form, or inserted if it be in the form of an envelope. The estimate forms should be filed vertically in numerical order. Any form can be found by referring to the estimate cards which are filed under the customer's name. A quarto or foolscap folio form is convenient, and they can be filed vertically in drawers, or if there should be a large number it is simpler to place them on their side on shelves, with the top bearing the number to the front, and any form, old or new, can be found instantly. QUOTATIONS AND STANDARD CONDITIONS The quotation to the customer should state clearly the details of the work to be done, so that any departure from the specification can be charged as an extra. The conditions as to discount, length of credit, and payment of carriage should be included, and reference made to the standard trade conditions, which should be printed on the back of the estimate. The following are examples of suitable letters which express clearly the amount of work which is included in the estimate. A copy of the letter must be retained in the office, and if this be attached to the ESTIMATES FOR WORK 69 estimate form, it is convenient for future reference, as the sample, the estimator's details, and the quotation to the customer are all in one place. ESTIMATE No. 2896. October 14, 191 8. Dear Sir, We have pleasure in giving you the following quotation, which we hope you will accept. LEDGER. Size, Super Royal, five quires. Paper, Hand-made, G. Wilmot. Ruled Double Ledger pattern. Three quires one account. Two quires two accounts. Binding, Paged, full bound rough calf extra, double Russia bands, laced, lettering pieces back and front, lettered in gold ' Ledger 3.' Index, Loose, one letter, ruled feint and one down red, linen- backed. Full bound red basil, lettered in gold * Index 3., Price, £ : : carriage paid. Terms, net monthly. This estimate is based on to-day's cost of production, and on the usual trade conditions (which are given overleaf). Should any wage increase be agreed by the Master Printers' Asso- ciation while work is in progress, the charges will be adjusted, on any incompleted portion of the work, to meet the increased cost, as ascertained by the Costing Committee of the Association. Yours truly, John Drew & Son. Mr, Wm. Smith. ESTIMATE No. 8643. November 10, 191 8. Dear Sir, We have pleasure in giving you the following quotation, which we hope you will accept. PRICE LIST. Size, Demy 4to, 80 pages, frontispiece and cover. Paper and Printing, 64 pages supercalendered as sample * A ' printed text similar to your present catalogue. i6 pages art paper as sample ' B ' printed half-tone blocks with titles: Frontispiece art paper as sample • B, ' printed from 3-colour blocks, no title. Cover printed 4 pages in deep blue. I IWi Hi m •'*; 70 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS Make-up, folded, collated, thread sewn, frontispiece tipped in, cover drawn on, cnt flush. Quantity, 5,000. Price, ^ : : carriage forward. Terms, net monthly. All blocks supphed to us. DeUvery : 500 copies six days after final proof is passed. 2,000 daily until completed. This estimate is based on to-day's cost of production, and on the usual trade conditions (which are given overleaf). Should any wage increase be agreed by the Master Printers' Asso- ciation while work is in progress, the charges will be adjusted, on any incompleted portion of the work, to meet the increased cost, as ascertained by the Costing Committee of the Association. Yours truly, John Drew & Son. Mr. Wm. Smith. The standard trade conditions, which should be printed on the back of the quotation form, are as follows : STANDARD CONDITIONS, AND RECOGNISED CUSTOMS OF THE PRINTING TRADE. 1. Experimental Orders. — Work produced in an experimental way at customer's request will be considered an order, and charged for. 2. Proofs. — Author's alterations on and after first proof, including alterations in style, will be charged extra, ad valorem. No responsibiUty will be accepted for errors in proof passed by customer. 3. Customer's Property. — Customer's property when supplied will be held entirely at customer's risk, as regards fire or other unforeseen damage. Every care will be taken to get the best results where materials are suppUed by customers, but responsibility will not be accepted for imperfect work caused by defects in or unsuitability of materials so supplied. 4. Delivery. — Goods will be delivered when completed. 5. Expedited Delivery. — Should deUvery of work be required sooner than the normal time requisite for its proper production, every effort will be made to secure freedom from defects, but reasonable allow- ance must be made by customer in such cases. Should the delivery necessitate overtime being worked, or other additional cost being incurred, a charge will be made to cover the enhanced cost. 6. Quantity Delivered. — Every endeavour will be made to deliver the correct quantity ordered, but owing to the difficulty of producing exact quantities, estimates are conditional upon a margin of 5 per cent, (in colour work 10 per cent.) being allowed for overs or shortage, the same to be charged for, or deducted, pro raid. 7. Claims. — Any complaint must be made within ten days of receipt of goods, beyond which period no claim can be entertained. ESTIMATES FOR WORK 71 8. Standing Matter. — Lithc^graphic work will be effaced from stones and type distributed immediately after the order is executed, unless rent is paid for use of stones and type. 9. Acceptance. — Unless this estimate is accepted within one month of the date on which it is given, it does not necessarily hold good. 10. Contracts. — Estimates for publications are given upon the condition that not less than three months' notice is given to terminate the contract for the printing of monthly publications, and, in the case of weekly pubUcations, not less than one month's notice. 11. Force Majeure. — Every effort will be made to carry out any contract based on this estimate, but the due performance of it is subject to variation or cancellation owing to an Act of God, War, Strikes, Lock- outs, Fire, Flood, Drought, or any other cause beyond control ; or owing to inability to procure materials or articles except at enhanced prices due to any of the foregoing causes. Owing to the difficulty in obtaining and uncertainty as to price of material and wages paid, it is desirable that special clauses should be inserted to allow for any sudden and unexpected increase in the cost. This difficulty wiU probably be lessened in the future, but it is desirable to insert the clause, or put a time limit as to when the estimate can be accepted if there be any doubt as to the future. ii ■4 ' I I CHAPTER VII ORDER SHEETS OR WORK TICKETS The careful recording of an order in the office and accurate instructions to accompany the job through the works are essential for the correct carrying out of the work. When an order is received from a customer, it should not be put in hand unless the customer's financial position justifies its acceptance. In a small office, or one deal- ing with few accounts, the financial position of each customer would be known by the clerks dealing with the work ; but in larger ofiices, particularly when there are a great number of small accounts, it is desirable to have a card index in the office, to which the travellers and order clerks can refer before putting the work in hand. The card should show the name and address of the customer, the traveller responsible for the work, the route conveying the goods, length of credit and settlement terms, and the limit of credit to be given ; and it should be borne in mind that this limit of credit includes the amount on the ledger as well as all the work in hand. If the credit be satis- factory, a numbered order card 4 X 6, or 3 X 5, should be made out showing the date, customer's name, his order number, and brief details of the job. The cards should be filed alphabetically in a drawer under customers' names ; and if one customer has many cards, they can be again sub-divided into classes of work, e.g. ledgers, forms, 8vo. books, &c., or if the jobs have a title they can be arranged alphabetically. When the job is charged up, the day book folio should be entered on the card, and the card 73 i) ORDER SHEETS OR WORK TICKETS 73 placed in the ' dead ' drawer. The cards are much more convenient than a consecutively numbered order book, as only live cards are dealt with, and when a customer refers to an order, whether live or dead, the order card can be instantly found and the corresponding cost sheets, patterns, &c. In some cases it may be desirable to make out in addition and file in the office, a bag or envelope the same size as the order sheet, in which can be placed the customer's order and any subsequent instructions, a manifold copy of the estimate and any correspondence, and a sample of the paper, &c. When the job is completed this envelope with the cost sheet will contain all the information for charging the job and any extras that have been incurred, and can be filed away finally with the order sheet, cost sheet, and pattern for future reference in case the job should be repeated. The instructions on the order sheet should be so com- plete and clear that any one who works on the job can correctly carry out his portion of the work, and should there be repeated apphcations to the office for further details or explanations, it is a proof that sufficient care is not given to the preparation of the order sheets, and that time is consequently being wasted. If a job comes in regularly each week or month, everyone will know all the details of size, style, delivery, &c., and it is scarcely necessary to repeat more than the title of the job ; but in other cases full details are essential. The form of order sheet that is most suitable for an office will vary in many ways according to the size of the works, the class of trade, and the methods in vogue, and in large offices more than one type of order sheet may be useful for different kinds of work. A printer may decide to have one form for jobbing work and another for a large railway contract, or big jobs that take some months to execute, and each printer must decide which form is most suitable for his business, and the following suggestions can be adopted or modified accordingly. The ^!l u Q 2 m it o > U) .Promised„ Proof to ■ J £^H /^«< 1„- Set Bod Type. TtOtf)Wa Way. .. Imprint Z^" / point llhiiU (Machii Fie-iiailc WwriiPciimi LikcCeiiy Me«>A I Tniiidr (j^f iir Work and Turn (U fn A ■w A IXtmV ) /d p>g ^ oa Sbeet^JY _Xi^ », Cover- ^ r:7- -mJAr^ Electros • Zincs Halftones Furnished. We have ■ Make 3 .Ordiered from. Bhek<^ IU4"' Brevm Uraa*' Mm ^'^Tkrat-ealar IW Wi IMn WUm ^ •• d^^^^, « ti Changes R"" ^ ^^^ Cop&ann i^Foftns 5 jp^ -. Special Instructions ^ktdsad. » Number ' poiitioit- Sm^Sm Cnlnr *^ PifM Naabcr *^ Bind Swlffle Side Wire Thread' Silk Cnrd Fold ^z7J Perforate J^^Ji.* Score SMclRri* Block • -Hit.. Top Left Ja Pkd Pun«; h «^ hftl»» ^ Pebble «/ Insert Outsi(Je »»i«"«kr -si- Work E«pi»injbr-™ -far. Or. No.. ..Hr.Or.No.. Ehctio* bj WnJInt by . ;/ -toi. Or. No._ _Pdr. Or. Il«»_ -»■■ •J Ship to_ VVhen_ Charge to. Entered- Folio. F. Of B JSil .Previous Order No .*< Date Fonn No. 13, Page 76.— Job Ticket adopted by the TypoihetsB of America. I For O^ (k^.u>'\ iiQ tLmmw^. IO/li9 6 - (hiflU. loQy/S • i (d BINDING MATERIALS. OUT WORK. OATC. QUANTITY. OetORIPTION. 006T PCR OATCi PROOESS. oo«T. aia Yds. Yds Cloth Linen .„ « .•^ 9/. Leatherboards ^/'ruH-. Skins Leather. Sheets Gold ». Metal- 3 cXuJt^ Pairs ends and joints %^ Thresd Wire , String _ Silk .. .. Sundries Complete 'k OowNTwa. PROOFS SENT. ^i/^lfqi9 Rulers 1 1 1 1 Ml ^trndorr Form No. 15, Page 76.— Order Sheet (back). m Ac^ _<1* tptamen pp. AX ^M!^j refmrm. lUuitrahom Cavtr It*.. QqsL OsiMirai instrueflMiaf Pneft t» Uavt htrt -lUmU — S — • Copies nquirid ty • QJ..O ^runL-r^ ^o/^^n W- 7#mMU Ar. -Off dMkJol\ r>>,7C ^ (P.T.O.J WORK DONK a. COUPOSIHG^ Hand 'ii houra at "^/iq Mono OQ thousand at ^9 Corrections \I4- honrs at ^//Q Charge for staiKliog type Foreman Signature. Com. «•• t*> 4. iMrosmoN or Platis-^ 4 MACHINE- , sigs. pp. Printmf reams in iOi^cSeCiw (Ka^OQ ■) Bringing up cuts worVed with text Pnnung illustrations separately „ /6&0 wrapper* odd page* Alteration of title hourt DtUys—^o, hrj. Na Iwi Na.~...hn. Na hrj,. WOdLJR 9 9 V/(o fr*A; /OOO 5. WAREHOUSE— U-^ '««» ft PAPER- I Reams For text ^^' ^°^ „ illustrations... „ wrapper ... *»^ Quality Q>U Six im^J^jAa. /ruoLf Wdghl wo Sbeeti u3o Pnee fed/, too/ Dii. Handling >. OUTDOOR^ 1^ f6t >•. FOVIfDR K- (1) Moulding (a) Casting (3) Nickelling (4) Electrotyping Odd work at ticket enclosed X^JjL \o Remarka 9 ditrgcd X •i(o O* O- fO*/o £ 9 i9l 39 iff JO s Form No. 16, Page 76.--Order Sheet (front). i Additional liMtnictlOAa. MACHINES COST 1 No. Sica MB. Priatiiv IMirt. TOTAU IUm retHou TeTAU ^ ^^J\ut. h-d* IMayi. tnu- p.'SL j ^- <. i. ^1 ' A «. '1' «. i<. Jea^Jt: 1 M- ? ; 1 ^ q 9 \DcyutA.. Ul 9 Qi dx 9 4> 1/ c5 <3/vv • / • /9 d i ! 1 ^^ lit 4 Form No. 17, Page 76.— Order Sheet (back). Il CHAPTER VIII THE DAY BOOKS, DELIVERY BOOKS, ETC. In many printing ofi&ces the value of each delivery is small, and any saving that can be made in the numerous detailed entries required to prove delivery and charge the goods correctly is of importance and value. The class of goods deUvered, whether from stock or made to order, and if the latter, whether delivered in one or several consign- ments — all aflEect the method to be adopted, and a printer may find it advisable to have more than one system for use in different sections of his business. One absolutely essential rule is that no goods may leave the premises without a written record being made, as otherwise the goods may not be charged or the customer may dispute the delivery of them, and unless a proper delivery note has been made out the printer would have no proof of deHvery. A counterfoil deUvery book is objectionable, as it requires the details to be written twice or thrice, which leads to error and loss of time. If a form similar to No. i8, page 83, be adopted, one writing answers three purposes, viz. (1) an office record, (2) a deHvery note, and (3) a receipt from the customer. The printed forms should be made up in books, perforated and double numbered, and interleaved with plain paper, num- bered in dupHcate, and when used a carbon sheet should be placed between the two leaves. When the goods are delivered, the customer should sign and return the per- forated coimterfoil, which should be pasted in the delivery 82 t\ THE DAY BOOKS, DELIVERY BOOKS, ETC. 83 '9pja 9A>np)u2ts '(ftp Sttff UAfipX pUV uStS 9SV9ffJ 'JU)f49fUnO0 stiff sv p9jC9qtunu 9pu 90tapv uo p9fV}s sv spooS 91(1. U0£ ^ m9A(j ui[o[ mox[ uotftpuoo pood ut p9at909^ Ox H s 2 I o CO Q o z Q Z hJ C4 1 U .9* cd 1 H c > M fe ffi 1 i ^ k > HH V k HI 1 k ) OS CO > . c > > ( ^ k ^ i "^ i ^ V *i c > % )» ^ > > 1 1 'I 84 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS book or filed numerically for reference in case there should be a dispute as to the quantities delivered. Usually the invoice cannot be made out when the goods are delivered, as the costs must be collated and extras charged up. If, however, the goods are ready-made and of fixed prices, such as stationery, books, &c., the invoice can be made out at the same time as the deUvery note, by adding another sheet printed as Form No. 19, page 85, in front of Form No. 18. The rate column and the cash columns together must be of the same width as the receipt counterfoil in the second form. A short piece of carbon, which is only as wide as the quantity and description columns, is placed between the first form or invoice and the second form or delivery note, and a carbon of the full width between the delivery note and plain interleaving paper. By this means the rate and cash columns only appear on the invoice and ofl&ce record. Another advantage of this method is that if there be a large amount of work delivered from stock, a fourth sheet may be added to serve as a work ticket or order form for the works or stock room, and in this way one writing produces (i) a priced invoice, (2) a detailed delivery note with counterfoil receipt form, (3) detailed instructions (with or without prices) for the stock-keeper to look out the goods, and (4) a permanent office record of the order, which also serves as a day book. It also has the advantage that all the entries are identical. The entries can be made with a hard indelible pencil, or in ink with a stiff manifolding pen. The entries can be made by a typewriter if a billing machine be used, or an ordinary typewriter if loose leaves instead of a book be adopted. In the latter case the leaves and carbons can be put together and knocked up to register by the typist ; or the leaves can be gathered and padded at head in the binding room. The carbon can be inserted in the three or four leaves, and they can then be ripped off by the t5^ist, and the forms will register without any trouble. This method saves the time of the typist. When this I THE DAY BOOKS, DELIVERY BOOKS, ETC. 85 0s H o .. oe III ^ o tr ui 00 C4 o O < -I oc -I o o z Q Z C/D H o^ Pi u t f-H • DREW PRIN HIGH S' Our Order No r, ro X .0 J^ ^ 'S ^ >ll I I >l 86 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS loose leaf method is employed, the last or day book leaf should be punched with holes so as to fit some binding, in order that the leaves may be kept in numerical order for posting to the ledger. The items would be posted to the ledger direct from the last sheet, which is not per- forated and remains in the book. In order to obtain the total sales, for posting to the sales account in the ledger, a summary of the items must be made. MANIFOLD INVOICES AND DAY BOOKS The ordinary printing job must be charged up in a day book when it is completed, and in this case a manifold book, as suggested above, with an invoice form printed and numbered, can be manifolded on to plain paper, and thus the invoice and day book are written at one time, and must be identical. An ordinary day book of foho size has, however, many advantages, and if a book posting type- writer be used similar to the Elliott Fisher machine, the invoice and day book can be typed together. In this case, in order to save space in the day book, it is better that the invoice should be printed — John Drew & Son sold to the customer, instead of putting the customer's name first. The order numbers and date must be so typed that they do not encroach on the cash columns in the day book. The day book must be ruled to correspond with the invoice. Credit entries can be entered at the end of the day book, so as to obviate the necessity for a special credit day book. If there are separate ledgers for different classes of work, e.g. Town, Country, Newspaper, Advertising, &c., it is desirable to have separate day books for each class of customer. This simpHfies the work of posting to accounts in the ledger, and also checking and balancing the books. If there should be a large amount of invoicing, there is an additional advantage in using a book-posting type- writer for a bound day book, or an ordinary typewriting THE DAY BOOKS, DELIVERY BOOKS, ETC. 87 o Q Z X o o is t UJ ui O Z o Q o Pi H CO ^ p2 o o X o .. o w z o _• Ui Z -« o UJ CO w to H- ^ I- ^ 111 K O CO CO CO f< to HI o CO O Q 00 H o O O u •p > O ^ § u o u p O Q o o o o o o tx ^H? H C, H VO 8vo. Memos Monthly Lists • I & li 88 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS machine for a loose leaf day book. Small adding mechanisms can be attached to the machine which will add the amount of each invoice separately, and also the total of the day book as shown in the outer column. Whether this method be suitable must be decided in each case by forming an estimate of the clerk's time saved, at the proper hourly rate, and then comparing it with 15 per cent, or 20 per cent, on the value of the special machinery to cover interest and depreciation. , LABOUR SAVING APPLIANCES An adding and calculating machine, similar to the Burroughs or Comptometer is a labour-saving appHance which is very useful in an office, and can be used for totalUng all books and invoices, wages sheets and cost dockets. As the machine will also subtract, multiply, and divide, it can be used for checking extensions on invoices, discounts, &c. The clerks should be suppUed with ready reckoners, both of the ordinary kind and special reckoners for paper, wages calculations, &c., and a special paper sHde rule for calculating equivalent weights, &c., is a great advantage. Enquiries should be made as to the best forms of ready reckoners that are available for the particular work in the office. In offices where there are a large number of customers, and accounts, invoices, &c., are sent out frequently, an Addressograph machine is of great value. Addresses are arranged on small tablets, and a whole Hst can be run off in series, or particular names can be picked out and any number of the same address can be printed. A machine of this character is useful for addressing labels for packages, &c. CHAPTER IX PURCHASING GOODS In a small business, or one of moderate size, the whole of the buying of goods of all kinds would probably be done by the principal; but as the business grows in size and complexity, some or all of the purchasing will be trans- ferred to the works manager, or a buyer, or in some cases to the heads of departments. If the buying be done by anyone but the principal, it would be well, when engaging the man, to have a clear understanding as to any * presents ' or Christmas gifts he may receive from any firm or any employee of a firm from whom the printer purchases goods. It should be made clear on his engagement that the acceptance of any such gift, unless he has first received his principal's consent, will be looked upon as a bribe, and may lead to his dismissal. The principal can then give his consent to a box of cigars or similar gifts at Christmas, if he thinks well ; and he can also inform the firms from whom he buys that he objects to any gifts unless they are made with his knowledge. The influencing of buyers by means of gifts is a curse to any trade, and a printer should do all he can to stop this abuse in his own business. Whoever may be authorised to order goods, he should always do so in writing, so as to prevent errors, and to keep correct records of all transactions. The order forms should be bound in book form, interleaved with plain paper, double numbered, and a carbon sheet inserted when 89 90 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS ON I H o OS CO o UJ < go: u o U CO 0> C4 o Q a: o o Q o s s o < -I c J o 111 0) »-^ UJ ec Q CO W H Pm ON H CO «o ^ 1 o tuo 00 CO § 1 •** •«* > 1 is Q ^ .4 • a 92 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS the order is made out. The letter or number of the depart- ment for which the goods are required should be written or printed above the order number, which will save time and prevent confusion when the goods arrive and the invoice is received. A suitable form for an order book is shown in Forms Nos. 21 and 22, pages 90 and 91. The page facing the order form can be used for recording the date, price, and quantities of complete or part deliveries, and if desirable, suitable headings and columns should be printed thereon. This is a great advantage when deliveries are spread over a long period, and a note can also be made of any promises of deHvery that may be made by the manufacturer. A memorandum can be made of the date on which the invoice is passed as correct, and so avoid the possibility of passing two invoices for the same items. The name of the customer or work ticket number can also be entered if the goods are ordered for a special purpose. Some firms attach a perforated coimterfoil to the order, printed with a statement to the following effect, though this is hardly necessary in the majority of cases when working under normal conditions. To Messrs. John Drew & Son. No ?.?^T. * We have received your order numbered as above, and *ii J 1* j.t. J 'J (the date fMntioned) will dehver the goods required on..; 19 Signature CHECKING GOODS ON ARRIVAL If the orders are placed by the office and not by the departments, it is advisable to make a triplicate copy — from which the prices can be omitted if desirable by using a short carbon or short leaf for the tripHcate — ^which should be given to the goods receiving clerk for the whole works, or the head of the department, so that he may know PURCHASING GOODS 93 what goods he is to receive. When the goods arrive, the person responsible should check the quantities, &c., with the tripUcate order, sign and date it, and return it to the office, where it should be attached to the invoice, or the buyer should initial the invoice and file the tnphcate order form in case of some enquiry as to the quantity or quality of the goods. It is more usual, however, par- ticularly in businesses of moderate size, not to use a tripUcate form, but to send the manufacturer's invoice to the head of thp department, to be used for checkmg the goods for quantity, quaUty, and price. Whichever way is adopted, it is well to have a rubber stamp with the following details placed on each invoice : Department No. {or name) Quantity and QuaUty Price Extension • ' Approved The person buying should place his initials after the price if it be correct, and also the number or name of the department to which the goods are to be debited; the person actually counting the goods and checkmg the quah^y should initial that Une, a clerk should check the extensions and additions, and the initials of the pnncipal or works manager or buyer would give his approval for posting in the bought journal and ultimate Payment. It isbetter that all extensions and additions should be checked by a clerk rather than by an overseer, as the time of the latter can be better occupied than by doing routine clenca work, and by collecting the invoices weekly a clerk wdl do the checking much more quickly, and can present the week's invoices in a batch fastened together for the approval of the principal. In some cases it may not be desirable for invoices to be passed into the works, and it may be necessary. !l 14 94 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS particularly in large works, for the person receiving the goods to keep a ' goods received ' book, into which details should be entered of goods he receives. The book should be forwarded to the office, or it should be manifolded and a dupHcate sent to the of&ce daily, and compared with the invoices and order book. Suitable ruling for this book is as follows : GOODS RECEIVED BOOK. Date. Name of Consignor. Quantity. Details of Goods. Weight, or No. of Reams, Ac Checked by. Sent to Dept. No. Form No. 23. DISCOUNTS All possible advantage should be taken of settlement discounts for prompt payment, though this may often be impossible if the capital be Umited and long credit be given PURCHASING GOODS 95 to the customers. A printer should, however, realise the high prices he pays if, as is sometimes the case, he prefers a three months* account net to a prompt monthly account 5 per cent. As in the quarterly account he would obtain on the average about two months' extra credit, he is really sacrificing a sum equal to between 20 per cent, and 30 per cent, per annum on the value of the goods, in order to obtain a few weeks of extra credit. It is evident that this is bad finance, and should be avoided if at all possible. In some branches of trade there is little or no discount given, whereas in others it may be a considerable sum ; and if these accounts be treated as part of the general interest and discount account of the business, all the departments take a share of the discounts, though they may really belong to only one or two specific departments. To obviate this, the order form may request that * All settle- ment and other discounts should be deducted from the invoice.' The departments would then be debited with the net cost of any goods they buy, and would receive the full advantage of any discounts thereon. Should the manufacturers object to deducting settlement discounts from each invoice, the correction can be made by the printer. Invoices for plant should be passed to ' Plant,' and if, as is recommended in another chapter, separate plant accounts are kept for each department, each invoice should also be marked with the departmental number, so that the correct account may be debited with the purchase. Care must be taken that repairs to and the maintenance of plant are debited to the working expenses of the department and not to plant. Only new machinery is plant ; the purchase of new parts to replace worn ones or the overhaul of an old machine is part of the working expenses of the business. A careful auditor would watch details of this character and prevent them from being wrongly treated. 96 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS CHECKING AND POSTING INVOICES The invoices when passed for payment by the principal should be collected weekly or monthly, those from each manufacturer placed together, and the whole arranged in alphabetical order. It is better to deal with the invoices weekly, as if they are left to the end of the month it adds to the rush of work at the busy period. The seller's name and amount of each invoice should be entered in the bought journal. It is desirable to keep a record of the purchases for each department for purposes of investigation and comparison. This analysis can best be effected in the bought journal, and on the page facing the entry, columns should be ruled for the number of departments or groups into which the purchases are sub-divided, such as Paper, Machine Room, Binding Room, &c. ; and the total of these analysis columns debited to a materials account in the bought ledger. Alternatively, a separate analysis book can be used, into which the items are entered that have been entered in the bought journal. This method requires an entry for each invoice in the bought journal, and a corre- sponding posting to the account in the bought ledger. Another method, which saves a considerable number of entries, is to gather all the invoices from a manufacturer, and to check them with his statement, and to mark on it the total amount that is to be debited to each department. Only one entry, which is the total of the statement, is then made in the bought journal and ledger, and the analysis consists of one or more entries according to the number of departments concerned. This method may reduce the postings to a twentieth part if there are many invoices in each month. The statements and invoices must be carefully filed for reference, as they are not entered in the books in detail, and the auditor may wish to check the invoices with the statement, and the statement with the bought journal, while the papers are all collected together. PURCHASING GOODS ANALYSING PURCHASES 97 The further analysis of the purchases into different groups in each department can be made by using an ana- lysis sub-number or letter in addition to the departmental number. The grouping of the purchases which are included under general expenses is particularly useful, as waste or extravagance may be checked and economies made by comparing the purchases in various years, and any com- parison can be more easily made if the total purchases for each group are regularly prepared, than if the invoices for certain items are collected at various periods, and there is no certainty that some invoices or odd purchases have not been overlooked. In times of war or changing conditions this analysis is of great use in enabhng a printer with Uttle trouble to trace the source of his supplies over a period of years, or to know the amount of any class of goods purchased, and much time will thereby be saved. If the analysis of purchases should be adopted in a large business, each invoice should be passed with its depart- mental and group number or letter, thus : 2/4 or 2/7, or 2 /D or 2/G. A special analysis book should be kept with sections for each department or class of expenditure, and columns headed with the letter or number of each group. When a batch of invoices has been entered in the bought journal they should be entered in the analysis book, the name of the manufacturer being entered on the left-hand side, and the amount of the invoice in the correct analysis column. The book should be totalled monthly and compared with the bought journal to see that no error has been made. The purchases can be analysed in any manner the printer thinks suitable, and in more or less detail according to circumstances. The following are some typical and suitable headings for two departments. General Expenses,— Rent, rates and taxes, coal, gas, electricity, repairs to building, repairs to electric Hght- ing, fire insurance, accident insurance, stamps, telephones, stationery, sundries, &c. 98 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS Machine Department. — Black ink, coloured ink, rags, roller composition, lye and turps, oil, sundries. The cost of repairs to machinery is sometimes a pur- chase when it is done by an outside engineer, and sometimes a house job when it is carried out by an engineer on the premises. In either case the expense should be debited to the department to which the machine belongs, and the engineer on the premises should make a daily docket of his work and the materials he uses, so that they may be correctly charged and the expense correctly allocated at the end of the year on Form i of the Costing System. The materials can be grouped imder the heading ' Materials ' or under * Chargeable materials ' and ' Non-chargeable materials,' each with its own analysis, or under the heads of the departments. It is manifestly incorrect that an engineer in the works should be treated as a general expense on the whole business, as in this case a composing room with no machinery might pay as much of the engineer's expense as the machine room, where the bulk of his time is spent. In some cases it may be desirable to examine the incidence of repairs still further, and to know which machines require the greatest amount of atten- tion. All the important machines should be numbered, and this number should be entered on the engineer's daily docket. The cost clerk should keep a simple machine ledger with a page for each machine, and debit the proper account with the value of labour and materials involved. The printer can then know accurately which type of machhie is most economical owing to its low expense for repairs, and when a machine should be turned out because of time lost and expense incurred by constant breakdowns. FILING INVOICES Invoices should be filed vertically in order of date in folders, each containing the invoices from one manu- PURCHASING GOODS 99 facturer and bearing his name on the folder. The last invoice should be placed on top, so as to be seen when the folder is opened. It is hardly worth while to have a folder for accounts in which there wiU probably be only one or two invoices, and these small accounts can all be placed in alphabetical order in a miscellaneous folder, which is placed at the end of each letter of the alphabet. The folders can be of large post quarto or foolscap foHo size, and should be filed vertically in drawers with suitable guide cards. As the drawers and folders fill up, the invoices for a previous period of six or twelve months should be taken out, placed in alphabetical order, and bound in some simple manner by wire staples or by padding. This system is very much more efficient than the old and dusty method of placing invoices on a wire file, or in the trouble- some and bulky guard book in which the invoices are pasted away. By fihng the paper as suggested, any paper can be foimd in a few seconds, clean and convenient for handling, and much time is thus saved. Papers made to order should be carefully examined for quahty, and several reams weighed. If the paper be regularly ordered, it is well to keep, as a standard, speci- men sheets of the original making, as there may be a slight deterioration in each making so sUght as to escape detection, or certainly not sufficient to justify rejection ; but if the sUght deterioration should occur in each of several makings, the last would be very inferior to the original. Such deterioration would be prevented if each order were placed on the original sample or comparisons were always made with it. PAPER LEDGER One of the difficulties that a printer always meets is to keep a sufficient stock of the difEerent varieties of paper and sundry materials he requires without burdening y 100 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS PURCHASING GOODS lOI m himself with too heavy a stock, and filling his shelves with unsaleable oddments. The problem is increased when he is far from a large city and his sources of supply, and imless his business is small he will find that some form of stock ledger in which the receipts and issues of material are entered will add considerably to the efficiency of his business. The paper ledger should be on the loose leaf principle, and some cheap form of binder will answer the purpose. A sheet should be kept for each quality and size of paper that is used in large quantities, e.g. cream laid large post i8 lb., ditto 21 lb., and separate sheets for the same size and weight, but of a different price. A suitable pattern is shown in Form No. 24, page loi. The amoimt of paper should be entered in the respective columns when it is ordered, received, or issued to the printer. For the papers that are little used a sheet can be ruled with several accounts on the same page, and kept for various cream laids, or cream woves or printings. The leaves should be grouped according to class, e.g. cream laid, printings, tinted, &c., and in the front of each group an index leaf with a projecting tab should be placed. On the index sheet the papers should be grouped under sizes, and the weight and price and foUo of the page given. This method is convenient, as an order clerk by turning up the index sheet of a class of paper sees at a glance the weights and prices of papers of the size he requires, and by turning to the account he will find exactly how much is in stock. When an order is received requiring a large amount of paper it is desirable to make a pencil note of the order in the ledger, and if another job should be received, the ledger would show that the bulk of the stock had akeady been allocated to the first job, and thus prevent two jobs reaching the machine room at the same time when the stock was insufl&cient for both. If a small amount of paper is bought in specially for an order, there is no need to make an entry in the paper ledger, as the details will I i 1 g ^ 6 o Q CO (§ g I I » f 102 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS appear on the work ticket, which can be referred to if the order should be repeated. A Umit of maximum and minimum stocks should be fixed for the papers that are regularly used, and the Hmits entered at the head of the sheet, and when the stock is reduced to the minimum a fresh supply should be ordered. Before re-ordering, it is well to balance the stock with the paper ledger, and make any adjustment for errors or paper used for proofs, &c. The paper ledger can be kept in the office, where it is convenient for the principal and order clerks to refer to, or with a large stock and a com- petent warehouseman it may be kept by him, and it is of great help to him in using up oddments and finding exactly where all his stock is placed. Some printers may thmk that this ledger entails a great deal of unnecessary work, but printers who have adopted it reaUse its great advantages. The accumula- tion of stock that is unsaleable can be traced at once, as there will be no entries of any issues, and efforts must be made to clear out such stock. The total consumption per annum in each class of paper is shown, so that the principal can judge if the sales are sufficient to justify a special making instead of buying from stock, and so buy more cheaply. Another great advantage is that at stocktaking much tune and labour is saved. During the weeks before stock- taking the ledger should be compared with the stock to see if there are any inaccuracies, and at the stocktaking period a space of two or three Hues should be left for balancing, and the issues, &c., continued below. When convenient, a clerk can balance the paper ledger Hke an ordinary ledger, and copy on to the stock sheets the balances in hand, and thus avoid the difficult process of counting the whole of the stock on a particular day. The stock ledger would also be of great assistance in settling claims in case of a fire. Printers who have kept a paper ledger of this character have found that it has led to a consider- PURCHASING GOODS 103 1 able reduction in the number of papers stocked, as odd- ments and papers that are not much used are easily traced, and the time spent in keeping the records is repaid many times over by the economies made, and in addition there is much less UkeHhood of regular papers running out of stock. BINDING MATERIALS LEDGER Similar stock ledgers can be kept for other materials, such as lealher or any materials that are of value, and might be stolen or cannot be replaced promptly from the manufacturer's stock. In the case of leather, a series of symbols or letters can be arranged— which should as far as possible be self-explanatory— to save writing and to enable stock accounts to be correctly kept. Thus colours and quahties can be represented by the initial letters, e.g. r = red, p = purple, g = green, and c = calf, re = rough calf, and pg = pastegram. If there should be a duplica- tion of initials, the distinction can be made by using the first and last, or the first and an important letter in the word. The price per skin or dozen should be placed at the end, and to avoid numerous fractions in giving out portions of a skin, decimals should be used. A table showing the relation of decimals to fractions should be given to the man giving out the skins, and in a few days he will know that -25 means a quarter of a skin, &c., and so fractions of quarters, halves, and eighths will be avoided in the ledger. The issues should be posted from the work ticket or materials docket according to the system in use. An entry of 1-25 r/pg/66 would be posted to the stock sheet of red pastegrain costing 66 pence per skin. A fresh stock account would be opened for a different colour or price of pastegrain, and the sheets should be in alphabetical order of class of leather, secondly, of colour, and thirdly, in the numerical order of the price. The leather shown on the materials dockets must, by this method, correspond ■ r It. i( m 104 OFFICE ORGANISATION FOR PRINTERS with the amount issued, and errors in estimating, leather spoilt in manufacturing, or losses by theft, cannot be hidden from the principal. If stock ledgers should not be kept, * re-order slips* can be used. A printed sHp should be filled up giving a brief description of the goods, name of manufacturer, and date. This slip should be placed, with the end sHghtly projecting, on the fifth or tenth ream or fold of skins from the bottom of the pile, according to the minimiun that may be fixed, and when it is reached, the stock-keeper should send the sHp to the of&ce to notify the principal that the materials must be re-ordered. If the printer has a miscellaneous stationery stock, these re-order sHps are very useful, as they can be placed amongst the packages of pens or stationery on the shelves in such a position that they must be seen when the minimum is reached. The simplest way of purchasing materials is to send to the former manufacturers, and order ' as before.' If the quality and service should be satisfactory, it is undesirable to maie continual changes, but it is well to check prices (by obtaining quotations elsewhere) at regular intervals, so as to be certain that the materials are bought in the best market. When stock is taken at the end of the financial year, a considerable time is often wasted in copying out the stock sheets from the works. The original entry is likely to be more accurate than the copy, and it is simpler and more accurate for the original stocktaking sheets to be bound up in book form. If the purchases be divided into departments or analysed in groups in each department, these stocktaking sheets should be issued from the office showing the analysis letters or groups, and the various goods entered imder its correct group ; so that the open- ing and closing stocks may be adjusted with the analysis of purchases, so as to find the consumption of the various goods and stores during the year. INDEX Acceptance of estimates, 71 — of gifts by buyer, 89 Accidents, recording of, 18 Accountant, 12 Accounts, 10 — audit of, 10, 12 — customers', 36 — discounts, 39 — economies in keeping, 37 — following up, 37 — opening of, 36 — plant, 95 — rendering, 36 — small, 33 indexing, 33 Accuracy and speed of clerks, 16 Addressograph machine, 88 Agreement for travellers, model, 52-55 American colleges, 2 Analysing purchases, 97 suitable headings, 97 Analysis day book, 27, 96, 97 Appliances, labour-saving, 88 Apprentices, 17-18 — and technical classes, 17, 1 8 — bonus, 18 — indentures, 18 endorsement of, 18 — training of, 17 — trial of, 17 Association, Master Printers', 12, and principal, X2 Audit of accounts, 10, 12 — surprise, of wages book, 46, 95 Bad debts, 35 Balancing paper ledger, 102 Binding materials ledger, 103 Binding materials ledger, colours and quantities represented by initials, 103 Bonus for apprentices, 18 Bought ledger, 96, 97 Business, organisation of, r Buyer, acceptance of gifts by, 89 Card, engagement, 16, 18, 20, 21 — estimates, 60, 61 — index system, i, 29, 37, 72 — ledgers, 34 Cards, time recording, 43-46 Careless reading, 76 Cash book, 29, 30 petty, 40 sub-division of, 29, 31 — payments, 40 — prizes for suggestions by staflF, 23 — receipts for, 30 Character, travellers', 50 Checking and posting invoices, 96 — purcluised goods on arrival, 92 Claims, 70 — in case of fire, settling, value of paper ledger in, 102 Classes, technical, and apprentices, 17,18 Clerks, 15, 24 — accuracy and speed, 16 — cost, 98 — order 7, 76, 100 — records, 16 — salaries, 26 — telephone, 16 — tests for, 15 Colleges, American, 2 Commissions, travellers', 26, 51, 5a Committees, works, 24 105 ir io6 INDEX Complaints, customers', 7 Composing room report, 10, 11 Conditions of printing trade, stand- ing, 70 Contracts, 71 Copying correspondence, 48, 49 Correct estimates essential, 57 — records to be kept of goods purchased, 89 Correspondence, 9, 48, 49 — copying, 48, 49 — dealt with by principal, 9 — filing, 48 — recording, 48 — sub-dividing, 49 Cost dark, 98 — of processes, 27 Costing System, Federation, 9, 25, 27, 76 Credit, customers , 35, 39, 40» 7* — entries in day books, 86 Customers' accounts, 36 — competent person to deal with, 24 — complaints of, 7 — credit, 35, 39. 40> 72 — financial position of, 72 — property of, 170 — references for new, 34, 35 Day book analysis, 27, 96, 97 Day books, &c., 82-88 — — credit entries, 86 _ — manifold, 86 ^ — separate, for each class of customer, 86 Debts, bad, 35 Delivery, 70 — books, &c., 82-88 — expedited, 70 — note, 84 — of work from stock, 84 Departments, 25 — manufacturing, division of, 26 — sub-division of, 28 Deputies or understudies, 22 Details to be stamped on each invoice when purchasing goods, 93 Dictaphone, use of, 9 Discounts, all departments take share, 95 — quarterly accounts, 95 — settlement, 39, 94 Division of manufacturing depart- ments, 26 Duties of staff should be clearly defined, 19 Economies in keeping accounts, 37 — effected by suggestions of staff, 23 Efficient travellers, 50 Engagement card, 16, 18, 20, 21 — recording terms of, 18 — termination of, staff, 17 — terms of, staff, 16 Engaging staff, 16, 18 — travellers, 50 Engineer, 98 Entries in day books, credit, 80 Estimates, acceptance of, 71 — card, 60, 61 — conditions of, 68 — correct, essential, 57 — for work, 57-71 — preparation of, 57 — printed forms, 62-68 — quotations, 68-70 — standard conditions of printing, trade, 70 — travellers should not prepare, 56 Expedited delivery, 70 Expenses, travellers', 26 Experimental orders, 70 Federation Costing System, 9» 25, 27, 76 Filing correspondence, 48 — invoices, 98 Financial position of customers, 72 Fire, claims in case of, settUng, 102 Following up accounts, 37 Force majeure, 71 Form of order sheets or work tickets 7^ Forms, printed, for estimates, 62-68 Frauds connected with wages book, 41, 46 time recording, 42 General wages book, 19, 26, 41, Gifts, acceptance of, by buyer, 89 f, INDEX 107 Gledhill Brook time recorder, 42 Goods, purchase of, 89-104 ^- receiving clerk, 92 — received book, 94 .^ duplicate sent to office daily, 94 ' Graphs,' 9 — composing room report, 10, 11 Indentures, apprentices', 18 — endorsement of, 18 Indexing, vowel method, 34 Index system, card, i, 29, 37> 72 Instructions, 7, 19 — on work tickets, 73 — route of, 19, 22 Invoices, checking and posting, ^^ — fiUng, 98 — for plant, 95 . ^ ^^ ^ should be dealt with weekly, 96 Issue of materials, 76 Keeping accounts, economies in, 37 Labour-saving appliances, 88 Ledger, private, 27 Ledgers, 30 binding materials, 103 — bought, 96, 97 — card, 34 . — loose leaf, 32 — paper stock, 99-103 Letterbox for suggestions by staff, 24 Loose leaf ledgers, 32 system, i, 29, 30, 33 Methods, office, i Model agreement for travellers, 52-55 New customers, references for, 34, 35 Note, delivery, 84 Notice, legal, 17 Office, methods, i — organisation of, 12 — planned by principal, 4, 24 — planning of, 4, 22 — staff, 16, 17 — — duties, 19 engaging of, 16, 18 — — suggestions by, 23 Opening of accounts, 36 Order card, 72 — clerk; 7, 76, 100 . ^.^ -^ — forms for purchasing goods, 89- 91 _ — sheets or work tickets, 72-8I copies to be sent to each department, 74 form of, 73 instructions on, 73 Orders, experimental, 70 — urgent, 75 ^ ^ . Organisation of business, 1 — of printing trade, 12 — within office, 12 . ^. _, Overseers, authority of, maintainea by principal, 7 -^complaints, 8 — duties of, 19 — lax control by, 15 — selected by principal, 14 — usually engage workpeople, 14 Overtime, 43 Machinery, repairs to, 98 Maintenance of plant, 95 Manager, works, 22, 24 Manifold day book, 86 Master Printers' Association, 12, 13, 36 ^ . . , and principal, 12 Materials, issue of, 76 — ledger, 103 Matter, standing, 71 Maximum and minimum stocks of paper, 102 Paper ledger, 99-io3 balancing, 102 maximum and minimum stocks, 102 settling claims in case of fire, 102 stocktaking, 102 suitable pattern, loi Payments, cash, 40 — special, recording, 18 "Petty cash book, 40 sub-division of, 29, 31 io8 INDEX INDEX 109 i I. Planning of office, 4, 22 Plant accounts, 95 — invoices for, 95 — purchases of, 27 — repairs to and maintenance of, 95 — value of, 27, 28 Posting and checking invoices, 96 Preparation of estimates, 57 wages book, 41 Principal, the, i et seq, — absence of , 23 — administrator and organiser, 3 — aim of, 3 — and Master Printers' Associa- tion, 12 — complaints, 7, 8 — correspondence, 9 — dealings with employees, 68 — deputes work to others, 4 — duties of, 4, 22 — engaging staff, 16 — investigates existing system, 6 — judge of character, 3 — keeps tickler, 5 — plans duties of staff, 19 office, 4, 24 own work, i — purchase of goods by, 89 — reproofe by, 8, 17 — salary, 26 — selects staff and overseers, 14 — slunild delegate authority to others, 8 maintain authority of over- seers, 7 — small businesses, 7, 14, 19 — stocktaking, 5 — timetable, 5 — use of dictaphone by, 9 Printed forms for estimates, 62-68 Printing trade, organisation of, 12 standing conditions of, 70 Private ledger, 27 — wages book, 16, 48 Proofs, 70 Property of customers, 170 Purchases, analysing, 97 — of plant, 27 — record for each department to be kept, 96 — sub-division of, in the ledger, «7 Purchasing goods, 89--104 acceptance of gifts, 89 by principal, 89 — works manager or buyer^ 89 checking on arrival, 92 correct records to be kept, 89 deteils to be stamped oa each invoice, 93 order forms, 89-91 simplest way, 104 Quantity delivered, 70 Quarterly accounts, discounts, 95 Quotations, 68-70 Reading, careless, 76 Receipts for cash, 30 Received book, goods, 94 Receiving clerk, goods, 92 Record of purchases for each department to be kept, 96 Recording correspondence, 48 — accidents, 18 — special payments, 18 — terms of engagement, 18 — time, 42-46 by staff, 17 frauds connected with, 42 overtime, 43 Records of clerks, 16 goods purchased, 89 References for new customers^ 34, 35 — staff, 15 Rendering accounts, 36 Repairs to and maintenance of plant, 95 machinery, 98 Re-order slips, 104 Salaries, 16, 26 — travellers', 26 Sales account, 27 Selection of staff by principal, 14 Separate day books for each class of customer, 86 Settlement discounts, 39, 94 Settling claims in case of fire, value of paper ledger in, 102 Simplest way of purchasing (- materials, 104 I sups, re-order, 104 Small accounts, 33 . indexing, 33 Special payments, recording, 18 Spoilage work ticket, 76 Staff, l/^ et seq. — clerical, 16 — duties should be clearly defined, 19 planning of, by principal, 19 — engagement card, 16, 18, 20 termination of, 17 •—engaging, 16, 18 — legal notice, 17 — recording of time by, 17 — references, 15 — selected by principal, 14 — suggestions by, 23 — terms of engagement, i6 Standing conditions of printing trade, 70 — matter, 71 Stock, work delivered from, 84 Stocktaking, 5, 102, 104 Sub-division of correspondence, 49 departments, 28 petty cash book, 29-31 plant, 27 purchases in the ledger, 27 wages in ledger, 27 _ — works into departments, 25, 26 Suggestions by staff, 23 Surprise audit of wages book, 46 System, Federating Costing, 9, 25, 27, 76 Technical classes and apprentices, 17, 18 Telephone, 24 — clerks, i6 i Termination of engagement of staff, 17 Terms of engagement, recording,^ 18 staff, 16 Tests for clerks, 15 . Tickler, 5 Time recording, 42-46 Time recording by Gledhill Brook recorder, 42 cards, 43-46 — — frauds coimected with, 42 overtime, 43 Training of apprentices, 17 Travellers, 50-56 — agreements, model, 52-55 — character, 50 — commissions, 26, 51, 52 — engaging, 50 — expenses, 26 — salaries, 26 — should not prepare estimates, &c., 56 — turnover, 26, 35, 5 1 — value, 26 Trial of apprentices, 17 Turnover, travellers', 26, 35, 51 Typist, 9, 84 Understudies, 22 Urgent orders, 75 Valuation of plant, 28 Vowel method of indexing, 34 Wages book, frauds ^ connected with, 41, 46 general 19, 26, 41, 43, 46 private, 16, 48 preparation of, 41 surprise audit, 46 — subdivision of, in the ledger, 27 Work delivened from stock, 84 — estimates for, 57-71 — tickets or order sheets, 72-81 , —copies to be sent to each ' 3aepa;rtm^n^, 7*; :./ j ^-, — -T-forra of, 73 I ; • ^ ; ' ; instructions on, 73 * M % e If — -^&poilage>-76 , .^ ; Works cGmcaittces,^ 24, --manager, 22, 24 ^ t purchase of goods by, 89 — siib-djvi^ed into c^epartments, : 25, id". ' ' ■ 9 a > > • • * Printed by Spottiswoodb, Ballaniynb &> Co. Ltd. Colchester, London 6* Eton. England "I it ^ IIO PUBLICATIONS FEDERATION COST- FINDING AND ACCOUNTANCY SYSTEMS New Edition Demy Svo Rensed May 1919 KNOW YOUR COSTS The Federation Cost-Finding System will enable any printer to find his costs accurately. It will tell what expenses are purely productive and which are overhead. THE QUESTION OF COST and HOW TO FIND IT HOW TO RECOVER IT HOW TO ESTIMATE IT HOW TO CHARGE IT is clearly and explicitly explained • The system when adopted will expose faults and in- accuracies in your Works, and shows how to remedy them. The Costing Committee have a StafF of Secretaries who are available for'ihstaJling the system into any office; "'They Vririg the experience of many installa- tions and- appiy -it to yo^rsi treating everything with strictest Aopfidence. JSiiqvire for terms now. I^OST FREE 10/- PUBLISHED BY THE COSTING COMMITTEE Federation of Master Printers 24 HOLBORN, E.C.1 PUBLICATIONS III "ESTIMATING for PRINTERS" THIRD EDITION. REVISED SEPTEMBER, 1919 A BOOK THAT SHOWS HOW TO PREPARE AN ACCURATE ESTIMATE HOW TO WRITE AN ESTIMATE. :: :: :: HOW TO BUIIJ) AN ESTIMATE FORM. :: HOW TO TEST PAPER. THIRTY TABLES GIVE AVERAGE OUTPUTS OF ALL MACHINES IN EACH DEPARTMENT. :: :: THE QUANTITY OF INK REQUIRED FOR A JOB. THE AVERAGE TIME FOR A MAKE READY. PAPER TABLES. :: :: TYPE TABLES. INVALUABLE TO EVERY PRINTER. POST Free 6/- Publitlied lyy the Costing Committee FEDERATION OF MASTER PRINTERS, 24 HOLBORN, E.C.1. P.T.O. i 112 PUBLICATIONS If ^!V r i m MANY firms in all parts of the country have found it an immense convenience to be able to purchase their COSTING FORMS (Time Dockets, Cost Sheets, Paper Issued Forms, Continua- tion Sheets, Cost and Value and Value of Production Forms, etc.) ready printed, in any quantity (small or large), and assorted to meet any requirements. In addition to convenience, the forms could not be produced by individual firms at the price. The experience of many years has been put into the drafting of these forms and they are up to date in every respect. Send for a Specimen Set Small office, 8 employees, 9d. ; larger office, Is, 6d. Post free. PUBLISHED BY THE COSTING COMMITTEE Federation of Master Printers 24 HOLBORN, EG 1. ! i c I. m I '•' I 3iiifw.f.;i- Date Due COLUMBIA UNIVERS TY LIBRARIES 0041400933 «/ n FEB 1 5 1934 END OF TITLE