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tion "Forwards." Thus the Balancing Department handles the ledger records for each month separately and their outstanding will be "Forwards."

After service bills are completed and ready for delivery to customer, the Ledger Record stub is cut from bill and retained in the department in ledger units. The day after the completion of this work, these ledger records, together with the corresponding Meter Reading Record, are turned over to a special group for listing on adding machines-meters, cubic feet and kilowatt hours from meter reading sheets, and revenue from ledger record. From this listing a proof on the bill extensions is effected, with the special advantage of computing the revenue from the original records. This listing is also the medium by which the total amounts of gas and electric sales are secured.

All credit stubs received between delivery and due date inclusive, are accumulated and posted at one time.

Credit stubs are assorted by due dates into one large section unit in Ledger Record and folio order.

The stubs are checked daily for those carrying bills rendered, prepayments and arrears from discontinued accounts, to give the necessary prompt service to customers affected.

Each day, for the section which falls due, these accumulated credit stubs are posted to the ledger records, by removing from the original ledger unit the record for those paid, which then divides the unit into a paid and an unpaid division, the former known as "Currents" and the latter "Delinquents." Instead of stamping on these "Currents" the exact date of payment, the corners of these ledger records are cut to indicate that they are paid in full on or before due date, and the stubs are combined with ledger record and filed as a separate unit. As a check or proof on this work, the addition of these "Current" stubs plus the addition of the "Delinquent," must equal the revenue listing prepared as previously mentioned.

In addition to the above, the total of the paid ledger records or "Currents" must equal the total of the actual cash stubs, previously added by the Cash Listing Group, which represents the 75 per cent referred to above as the proportion of business handled upon a cash basis, and individual accounting on the 25 per cent known as "Delinquents" is started.

All cash received on merchandise from date of rendition of bill to and including due date is posted on the merchandise ledger under the due date instead of actual payment date. Subsequently, a day or so before the succeeding month's billing date, all cash received after the due date, to and including the next month's billing date, is posted under the exact date of payment.

As a safeguard against loss or disarrangement of these ledger records, they are fastened together with a large McGill fastener until due date, after which the "Current" and the "Delinquent" records are clamped with a "Sure Shot" into separate units. Negotiation with the Singer Sewing Machine Company for a machine which will sew these records into book form is now under way.

For the storage of these records, twelve large steel desks have been installed, each desk containing forty 6 by 4 portable steel drawers. At present about six sections in each steel desk are guarded by two ledger keepers.

The ledger record is also used for discontinued accounts (different colored paper being a very desirable distinction for active accounts). They are treated the same as active accounts, but any active records in file at date of discontinuance would be attached to records and take their usual course. They remain in the month's work in which the account was discontinued until charged to uncollectible bills, after which they are filed in a separate set of drawers retained specifically for this class of ac

counts.

The Deposit Record must also be perpetuated and the reverse side of handbook is used as the most desirable place for this itemized accounting because it will be available when discontinuing the customers' service accounts.

MODERN BILLING METHODS

By the application of Billing Machines it is possible to write the bill and cashier's stub, post the ledger and write an abstract of current sold, in one operation. The machine mechanically computes the entire bill with the exception of the extensions for various rate steps, or for current sold at primary or secondary

rates.

However, as the machine accumulates the column at extensions, it is possible to obtain a positive proof of the correctness of the amount of bill after the entire run is completed.

The machine is equipped with cross footing mechanism, which automatically proves the correctness of distribution of energy sold under various rate steps, or at primary and secondary

rates.

For example, when the present reading is entered on the bill, it adds in the cross-footing register. When the previous meter reading is entered on the bill, it automatically subtracts in the cross-footing register, showing the difference between present and previous readings, which difference, if meter has a constant of 1, represents the amount of energy sold. As this amount of energy is distributed under the various rate steps, the cross-footing register automatically clears, and if distributed correctly, will register zero at end of operation.

As the amounts of charges for the various rate steps are written, these add in a special register, total amount is then transferred to the cross-footing register, and if a discount is to be allowed, the amount of such discount is placed in a separate register, which operation automatically deducts such amount from the Gross amount shown in cross-footing register, showing the operator the net amount of customer's bill. The net amount then being entered on the bill, the cross-footing register is automatically cleared and star printed, indicating correctness of entry.

It is claimed that the machine can be set up to suit any requirements and that the operation is simple and direct and not limited in its scope of application, as additional columns and registers can always be added.

There are two classes of machines on the market-Elliott Fisher Typewriter and Remington Accounting Machine (Wahl Mechanism).

BI-MONTHLY AND QUARTERLY BILLING

We understand that considerable consideration has been given by a number of companies to bi-monthly and quarterly billing of customers' accounts.

So far as your Committee is aware, there are only two companies which have given favorable consideration to such billing,

one company changing to bi-monthly and the other to quarterly, restricting the change, however, to residential accounts only. Representatives of these companies state that a considerable saving has been effected in meter reading and clerical expenses, but are not prepared to say what effect the change will have upon bad debts, uncollectible bills, or customers' complaints. No consideration was given to interest on necessary working capital due to deferred billing.

Respectfully submitted,

HC SCHLEGEL, Chairman

R F BONSALL

A E DICKSON

E J FOWLER

AS HALL

IS HALL

HT HUGHES

J D JACOBUS

CHAIRMAN MCDOUGALL: This report is now open for discussion, and I will ask any one who cares to speak on it, to confine his remarks to five minutes, as the time left for the balance of our program is limited.

E. J. FOWLER, Chicago: In the way of emphasizing the importance of this paper, I want to say that I do not think the gentlemen here present fully realize the serious effect complaints may have upon the attitude of the public toward the company, and the standing of the company's securities. The data on page 116, as I understand it, give an analysis of complaints on bills only. As these comprise from two-thirds to three-quarters of all the complaints, including repair, service and lamp complaints, I think the accounting men have a great responsibility in this matter of securing good bookkeeping and good billing. To my mind good service means a simple, readable and correct bill. I do not think any of us should be satisfied, under present conditions, with handwritten bills, when we consider that there are several types of machines available for this work, and that the machine method, if properly worked out, costs less money than the handwritten bill.

In Chicago, we are just finishing the installation of machines. We now have about 350,000 out of a total of 400,000 accounts made on machines, and expect to finish our installation this summer. There is absolutely no question in our mind as to the value of the machine method of making the bill and ledger and recap sheet, all at one time on one machine. There are fewer errors, the bills are very much more presentable, the ledger is better looking, and we know it is costing us less money.

Referring to pages 128 and 129, under the caption "Modern Billing Methods," the Detroit Company has a somewhat similar system. It has developed a most excellent use of the recap or revenue sheet, using it as a trial balance, and I think it would be interesting to many here if Mr. Jacobus would describe that development.

Mr. Jones, our Chairman, among many of his recommendations, called for closer cooperation with the Executive Committee in the settlement of some of our questions. Mr. Bonsall read an excellent paper yesterday before the Commercial Section covering the subject of meter reading, complaints, collections, etc., and had a most excellent discussion, which I think everybody here should have heard.

I think this is a question which should be taken up with the Executive Committee as to whether these subjects, meter reading, etc., should be handled in the Accounting Section or in the Commercial Section, but they should not be handled in both Sections.

There were many other suggestions for next year's work brought up in Mr. Jones' address which I think should be taken up at an early meeting of the Executive Committee and put into operation.

CHAIRMAN MCDOUGALL: Is there any further discussion on this very interesting paper? If not, we will have the Report of Committee on Purchasing and Storeroom Accounting, Mr. W. F. Stevens, of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Boston, Chairman, and I will call on Mr. Stevens to present the report.

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