US1091594A - Ledger. - Google Patents

Description

G. B. SIPPEL.

LEDGBR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21, 1911.

1,091,594, Patented Mar. 31, 1914.

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C. B. SIPPEL.

LEDGER.

APPLICATION FILED 111111321, 1911.

1,091,594. Patented Mar. 31, 1914.

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CHARLES E. SIPPEL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

LED GER.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GHAnLns B. SIPPEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ledgers, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to books of account and contemplates an improved ledger.

The object of my invention is to provide such a book whereby the keeping of accounts is greatly facilitated and simplified and the structure of which is such that a very simple and accurate method of prepar ing the periodical statements for the other parties to the transaction, as I shall describe, may be employed.

In commercial institutions, where the account of each person or firm with which that institution does business has a particular place in the ledger, the various recitals set forth the so-called credits and debits In striking a balance, particularly in the matter of locating an error in the trial balance, it is frequently desirable to know the source of a particular credit or debit, mainly because of the appearance of that debit or credit in other books of the set to which the ledger belongs.

My invention contemplates a ledger wherein the ordinary ledger account is directly associated with a so-called analysis which comprises systematic ruling for the purposes of identification of entries, as will be pointed out. My invention is unique in this respect in that the source of each entry on the ledger is a matter of immediate information, without in any way complicating the ledger account-something which accountants are very anxious to avoid even though the bookkeeping system in other rcspects might thereby be improved. The reluctance with which bookkeeper-s and clerks adopt methods involving more complete recitals in the ledgers is proverbial, and the merit in this feature of my invention lies in the fact that the ledger account itsel remains untouched as before, while the additional information is in the nature of a supplement.

A further feature of my invention lies in an arrangement which comprises means whereby the periodical statement sheet is physically carried by the leaf of the ledger Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 21, 1911.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914. Serial No. 634,544.

upon which the account, to which it relates, appears. In practice, the statement sheet would be physically carried by the respective leaf of the ledger for the entire period which it covers and whenever an entry is made in the ledger account, a corresponding entry will be made in the account on the statement. This arrangement may be employed whether or not the analyses systems which I have described are utilized, although it will be seen that the combination is striking and that, when employed, the combination secures results not attainable by either feature alone, although these features are novel, per se.

It is, of course, understood that in practice, where monthly statements are the rule, the ledger account is carried on, month after month, on the same page, until the page is filled and the importance of a special feature of my invention, which I shall point out presently, will be understood when the utility of guide ruling is kept in mind. This feature resides in the provision of a particular kind of statement sheet and the particular manner of physically mounting it upon the leaf of the ledger. In the arrangement which I propose the statement sheet, once applied to the leaf of the ledger, holds an absolutely definite position so that certain systems, which I shall point out, can be followed. However, the monthly statement sheet can be applied to the ledger leaf to occupy any one of a number of positionsand this by merely folding the statement sheet in a certain way. Thus, as the account is carried down the ledger page, the statement sheets can be folded to correspond, so that the systematic ruling may tally, or a number of previously and differ ently folded statement sheets may be kept on hand so that a tallying one may be employed whenever the time for placing a new sheet arrives.

\Vhen the analysis systems are employed,

the ordinary ledger account may be dispenscd with and the statement sheet, which really contains a copy of the ledger account, may be substituted therefor. However, the entries on the statement sheet may be made additional to those in the ledger account instead of in substitution thereof, if that may be desirable.

The statement sheet of my invention is made in the form of a band, folded flat, and it is held upon the ledger leaf by its disposition on a portion thereof of reduced width. In other words, the leaf is notched at the top and at the bottom and the band fits snugly over this notched portion and in this way it is held against lateral displacement. This band or sleeve contains the usual heading of a statement of account and this heading is followed by a debit column, a credit column and a balance column, quite like an ordinary ledger account. It will appear that this sleeve can be folded fiat in position so that the printed portion thereof may appear in any definite position rela tive to the resulting face, and in this way the head of the statement columns may be brought into alinement with the live entries, in other words, current entries.

My invention is embodied in the structure illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a face view of the ledger page; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary face view thereof, showing a statement sheet in another position; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the plane of the line 33 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; and Fig. 4 is a rear view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 2.

Since the so-called loose leaf ledgers have come into vogue so extensively, I embody the features of my invention in this form of book specifically in the arrangement herein shown and particularly described. The ledger leaf is shown at A. The permanent ledger account is shown at B and it will be seen that it comprises rulings determining a place for the balance brought forward, a debit column, a credit column, and a balance column. The horizontal rul ings of the permanent ledger account are extended to the left, as shown at C and to the right, as shown at D.

C designates the debit analysis and D designates the credit analysis. The debit analysis comprises a miscellaneous column, a cash column, and a charge column. The credit analysis comprises a cash column, a credit column, and a miscellaneous column. Each of these analyses comprises a day column and may also comprise a folio or item number column. If, upon a certain date, a credit is to be made, this amount is recorded in the credit column of the permanent ledger account and also in the credit analysis in a column depending upon the nature of the credit. If the credit is in the form of a remittance it would be made in the cash column of the credit analysis. If the credit was for goods returned it would be made in the credits column, and if the credit was in the nature of a rebate, for instance, it might be made in the miscellaneous column. The place where that credit might be found in the journal or the cash book or any of the other books or papers in the set of the account to which the ledger belongs, may be designated in the folio or item number column.

A debit entry made in the debit column of the permanent ledger account would be duplicated in the debit analysis. If the debit be for goods sold it is entered in the charges column of the debit analysis. If it be for cash returned it would be entered in the cash column and if it be for neither of these, such as transfer, it might be entered in the miscellaneous column. The additional date entry of course is made use of and the folio or item number column may also have its entry. It will now be seen that when a transaction is made it is recitedin the permanent ledger account and also in the corresponding analysis. In this way origin of the debit or credit may be known instantly and, since such information is invariably the first required .in attempting to locate an error in a trial balance, the accounting in this respect is greatly facilitated. The trial balance sheet is conveniently made up of the two analyses and in this way, not only is the origin of the items immediately disclosed, but the triple addition and cross com parison is an additional source of satisfaction that the computation is correct.

The name of the account is carried at the corner of the page as indicated at E. In alinement withthe ordinary ledger columns, and co-extensive therewith, the ledger leaf is notched at the top and bottom as indicated at F, F. The statement sheet Gr,which V is in the form of a band and which is folded flat, as illustrated in Fig. 8, is slipped over the leaf A until it rests in the notches F, F. The sleeve is made of such width that it fits snugly upon the reduced portion of the page and in this way it is locked in the notch against lateral displacement. Being folded fiat, the band is also looked against longitudinal displacement and thus, once upon the leaf, it retains a certain and definite predetermined position. The statement sheet G has a heading which provides for the account number, date, and name and which, incidentally, provides a series of special places under the notation Unpaid balances are shown in monthly spaces below. Mainly, this statement sheet is provided with a debit column, a credit column, and a balance column, and these columns may extend around the sleeve practically back to the beginning of the heading. Thus a long statement sheet is secured and, if one page of the ledger is. filled during the month, the band or sleeve may be shifted to another page, being refolded so that the unused rulings may come into'alinement with the rulings at the top of the new leaf. On the other hand, if an account of several months duration is found upon one page of the ledger, each new statement sheet occupies an advanced position, that is, the statement with the same name written thereon.

sheet is folded so that the space for the first entry thereon may come into alinement with the space for the next entry on the ledger leaf. As a matter of convenience, it is wise to carry on hand an assortment of statement sheets so that one folded in any required manner may be available at any time. In Fig. 1 I show a statement sheet folded so that the place for the first entry thereon comes into alinement with the place for the first entry on the ledger leaf, while in Fig. 2 I show a statement sheet folded so that the place for the first entry thereon comes into alinement with the place for the fifteenth entry on the ledger. It will be understood from this that any position may be had and that, after a number of entries, in excess of the number on one page of the ledger, are made on the statement sheet, the statement sheet can be shifted to another page and refolded so that the next open line thereof will come into alinement with the first open line on the ledger leaf.

It is to be noted that, by the construction contemplated, the statement sheet covers the ordinary ledger account ruling and it may suffice to disregard the ruling under the sleeve entirely. This is really the preferable practice since the permanent records are kept in the analyses and an additional permanent ledger account under the statement sheet is superfluous. In opening a new account the name is written on the ledger leaf and a statement sheet is disposed on that leaf The statement sheet is placed in the position shown in Fig. 1, with the line for the first entry in alinement with the line for the first entry on the leaf, and when the first transaction is made the debit or credit is entered immediately and directly upon the statement sheet and also upon the corresponding analysis. on the same line and under the same date, in accordance with the systematic supplementary ruling. All the business done during the month is recorded in this way, each transaction being recorded upon the statement sheet as it is made, and of course also permanently in the analysis, and at the end of the month the statement sheet is removed and sent to the customer. Then a new statement sheet is placed upon the leaf and is folded either then or previously to correspond with the required position.

It will appear that that portion of the ledger carrying the statement bands will be considerably thicker than the other parts thereof, and, to compensate for these differences, I providea plurality of division sheets S which are inserted in the book at intervals, for instance, for guide purposes where alphabetical notations would be provided upon them. These sheets S are made of slight thickness Where they register with the bands, as indicated at s and of considerably greater thickness where they register with the other parts of the ledger leaves, as indicated at s.

The statement band may be provided with a line of perforations P so that it may be opened up readily.

I claim:

1. In combination, a sheet notched at the top and bottom to form a portion of reduced size, the notches being opposite each other in vertical alinement and having their longitudinal edges parallel with the edges of the sheet, said sheet having vertical and horizontal ledger rulings located thereon to the right and to the left of the reduced portion of the sheet, and a statement sheet in the form of a sleeve fitting over the reduced portion of said first-named sheet, the statement sheet thus being held in definite position, said statement sheet having vertical and horizontal rulings, the horizontal rulings of the statement sheet and of the firstnamed sheet being spaced equal distances apart and registering with each other when said statement sheet is held in position.

2. In combination, a sheet notched at the top and bottom to form a portion of reduced size, the notches being opposite each other in vertical alinement and having their longitudinal edges parallel with the edges of the sheet, said sheet having vertical ledger rulings located thereon to the right and to the left of the reduced portion of the sheet, and a statement sheet in the form of a sleeve having vertical rulings thereon and fitting over the reduced portion of said firstnamed sheet, the statement sheet being thus held in definite position.

3. In combination, a sheet notched at the top and bottom to form a portion of reduced size, the notches being opposite each other in vertical alinement and having their longitudinal edges parallel with the edges of the sheet, said sheet having vertical and horizontal ledger rulings located thereon to the right and to the left of the reduced portion of the sheet, and a statement sheet in the form of a sleeve having vertical and horizontal rulings thereon and fitting over the reduced portion of said first-named sheet, the statement sheet being thus held in definite position and having its horizontal rulings registering with the horizontal rulings of said first-named sheet.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 15th day of June, 1911.

CHARLES B. SIPIEL.

\Vitnesses:

ARTHUR H. BOETTCI-IER, ALBERT G. MCCALEB.

(Ionics of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner oi Patents. Washingtoml). C.

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