US775044A - Posting proof and balance books. - Google Patents

Description

No. 775,044. PATENTED NOV. 15, 1904. A. H. MOOSER & 0. H. ROOT. POSTING PROOF AND BALANCE BOOKS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26. 1904.

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PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT H. MOOSER AND ORVILLE H. ROOT, OF GRASS VALLEY,

' CALIFORNIA.

POSTING PROOF AND BALANCE BOOKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 775,044, dated November 15, 1904. Application filed May 26, 1904. Serial No. 209,923. (No modeL).

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALBERT H. MOOSER and ORVILLE'H. R001, citizens of the, United States, residing at Grass Valley, in the county of Nevada and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Posting Proof and Balance Books, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in balance-books or balance-sheets such as are used in commercial banks and a means for posting and proving the same.

It is customary in commercial banks to keep a daily-balance book for the guidance of the teller in paying checks of customers of the bank, which shows the net balances to the credit of the several customers or the overdraftamounts due the bank, as the case may be.

The balance-books in common use at the present time have their pages ruled into vertical columns, one for the names of the customers and the others for the balances. The names of the customers are written in alphabetical order, or a printed strip is pasted in having on it names of the depositors of the previous month. Each day the changes in the ledger balances are noted in a new column after the respective names, and the unchanged balances of the other accounts are brought forward into this column from the day before. The system of thus keeping the balance-sheet as commonly carried on in large commercial banks is a most tedious one, particularly where one man has to make several hundred changes each day. The book is only temporary in character and has to be entirely rewritten each month. Liability to err arises in the frequent transcript of the unchanged accounts, and where printed strips are used a number of dead accounts or the names of customers who have closed their accounts are kept on the book. Another objection to the present system is the cumbersomeness of the book required and the loss of time necessary and the danger of mistake in reading a balance which may be several columns removed from the name to which it belongs,-the names usually being written either on the left of a right-hand page or on the right of a left-hand page and the balances for the first half of the month being in columns on the left of the names and the balances for the second half ofthe month on the right of the names. Thus the balances for the first of the month and for the last of the month would be at the extreme outer edges of the two pages, with the names proximate to the adjacent edges of the two pages. VVithafull page of accounts one may readily commit an error in reading any particular account during the rush of business and in the hasty glance given. Furthermore. for each double page of the sheet only a single column of names is possible. which necessitates a cumbrous and awkward book.

The object of our invention is to providea simple, compact, quick-reference, practical, and perpetual balance-sheet and afford means to expedite posting and insure accuracy and. ease in striking a balance.

The invention consists of the parts and the construction and combination of parts, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a sheet showing ap'pli cationof our invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse section through clips for holding removable s ips.

A represents a sheet of heavy tough paper, fabric, or other suitable material to which are secured a series of metal clips 2 to receive detachable slips bearing the names of the customers and the clips 3 4 to contain slips showing the balances. The clips 2 are arranged in a column B and the clips 3 4 in respective parallel columns C D. The column Bis designated as the name-column, the column C the daily-balance column, and the column D the auxiliary balance-column. The various clips are secured to the sheet in any suitable fashion.

The names ofthe depositors are written on slips of thin cardboard adapted to be slipped into the clips 2 and held therein by any suitable means, the names in a column being arranged successively in alphabetical order, as shown. The slips of cardboard or paper in the clips 3 show the balances to the credit of the respective customers whose names appear in column B. Column D is only used for making up the balance-sheet. During the day when the book is being used for reference by the teller nothing appears in column D, all the balances standing in column C.

At the close of business each day when the bookkeeper makes up his sheet for the next day he notes the new balances ofthe various accounts which may have undergone change on slips in the corresponding clips in column D, not disturbing nor extending the balances of those customers who had neither withdrawn nor deposited any money for that day. As a guide in the proof he places a check against the old balance in column 0. The proof is then obtained from the sums of the new balances in the auxiliary column D and the checked balances in the balance-column (J, the overd rafts, represented in red ink, being added, of course, separately from the credit balances. Having proven the sheet, the slips in column C bearing the checked balances are removed and the corresponding slips in the auxiliary column D substituted, leaving column D blank. Thus the strips in column C always represent the daily balance, and the paying teller has only to glance at this one column to see what a balance is. As far as he is concerned, the position of the balance never changes. It is always immediately opposite the proper name. By this arrangement itis found that a balance-sheet can be made up in very much less time than by the old method. A plurality of name-columns and corresponding balance-columns may be disposed on the same sheet, saving the time of turning so many leaves to locate an account.

The book is perpetual. By means of the detachable slips the necessity of rewriting names and transferring balances to a new sheet, as under the old method, is entirely obviated. A great saving of time is furthermore effected by eliminating the liability of errors incident on such transfer. \V hen an account is closed, the name-slip may be removed and room made for a new account.

The invention is capable of being practiced with modifications of the form here shown, and we do not wish to be understood as limiting ourselves to the precise structure described, the essential features of the invention being the arrangement of two balancecolumns provided with detachable-slip-holding means in juxtaposition to and in conjunction with a name-column with or without detachable-shpholding means, the name and balance columns all being carried, however, on the same sheet. The only parts needing renewal are the individual slips in clips 3 or 4 when changes in a balance occur and an occasional change of the name-slips.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A system of keeping daily balances said system comprising a sheet with a column for the old account and a second and parallel column for a new balance each of said columns provided with slip-holding means, and slips fitting the said holding means, one of said slips containing the balance to the credit of the customer and the other slip containing a new balance said slips being interchangeable whereby the slip containing the new balance may be removed from its column and substituted for the slip containing the old account of the other column.

2. In a daily-balance book, a sheet having a vertical column with horizontal spaces, and two vertical parallel columns one designed for old and the other for new daily balances each of said columns having slipholding means,

and slips upon which said balances are noted said slips interchangeable to permit the new balance of one column to be substituted for the old balance of the other column.

3. In a daily-balance book a sheet having a column of spaces for the customers names, a second column for the old account of the customer, a third column adjacent to the sec 0nd column for the new daily balance of the customer, each of said columns having slipholding means, name-slips for the first column and slips with the old and new accounts for the other column and interchangeable from one to the other.

4. A means for posting and keeping daily balances in banks and the like, which comprises a sheet having a column for the receipt of names of customers of the bank, a column adjacent to the name-column for the receipt of the daily balances, an auxiliary balanceeolumn, and means carried by said sheet for holding detachable slips in said several columns.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALBERT I-I. MOOSER. ORVILLE H. ROOT. Vvitnesses:

ABIMELEOI-I B. CHAMPION,

LBEN KNIGHT SMART.

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