There now remain one or two special points which, while not of general application, are sufficiently important; to merit attention. In the forefront must be placed questions arising where a workshop or jobbing department is run as part of the business. For instance, most ironmongers execute small repairs, and many other businesses 110(1 it necessary to keep a department of this kind. It will be seen at once that some record of eavh job must be kept, if it is only in order that the customer's account may he property charged, or if the transaction be one for cash there is still the necessity of arriving at the cost of the work executed. In order that the cost price of the repairs may be accurately ascertained it is essential that the record should include, and distinguish between, time and materials, and for the purpose of identification each job should be the subject of a number, and Le known by that number until it is completed. A ticket or label bearing this specified number should be affixed to each article, or, if this is not possible, then the number should be chalked or painted on the subject-matter of the repair. No particular ruling is necessary, so long as the record includes the number of the job, name and address of the customer, short details of the work required to be done, and columns for the time and materials spent and consumed in connection with it. The particular form and size of this register will vary, naturally, with each business, but so long as the main principles are borne in mind the trader may use his own discretion as to what conditions he adopts. In large establishments, an assistant is usually relegated to the duty of delivering materials to the jobbing department. The foreman in charge of the workshop gives requisition tickets for the goods lie requires, which will represent the amount of materials handed over to that department, and as each should bear a job number they should be charged under that job number until the work has been completed. In a similar manner each workman should record on a time card the amount of time spent on each particular job. These items will have' to be carried to the debit of the job number, and when the work has been finished it will be at once apparent that a certain amount of time has been spent thereon, and the materials consumed will also be recorded. From this basis the charge
made to the customer can be arrived at. The total amount of paid in the jobbing department should naturally bear some resemblance to the total wages charged to the various jobs, and although all the workmen may not be engaged on particular jobs for the entire number of their working hours, it is always advantageous to know what time bus been spent on work which is not chargeable to customers. Leakages in the nature of the waste of time or labour can be easily detected if this plan is followed. When the work has been completed, of course an entry is made in the sales day-book, or the transaction is treated as a cash sale, according to the circumstances, in a similar manner as if the article had been sold over the counter in the usual way.
The next point to which attention may be directed arises where the business is acquired by purchase or otherwise. One of the most important matters which a retailer under these circumstances should consider, is the method of arriving at a proper statement of his financial position the moment he confluences business. If the business is built up from an empty shop, of course the records wit: complete themselves in due Coe--se, but where the business is purchased, if there has been no valuation of stock a proper inventory should be made at the time of commencing business, and a correct statement of assets and liabilities should be drafted in order to arrive at a clear starting-point, because, if this starting-point is lost in obscurity, no matter how carefully records are kept during the period of trading, and no matter how careful the final round-up of the figures may be, the result shown will be quite unreliable for obvious reasons.
The foregoing general observations will apply, more or less, to such traders as butchers, fruiterers, greengrocers, ironmongers, stationers, &c., but in connection with sonic trades there are certain special points which are indicated in other articles. See for example, GROCERS' ACCOUNTS; DRAPERS' ACCOUNTS; BAKERS' ACCOUNTS.