The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1899-12-15
"THE STORE"
Sensible, Accurate and Practical Stock
keeping System.

Sensible. Accurate and Practical Stock
keeping System.
written for Grocer's Criterion by MIR. Max
Slime, Denison, Iowa.)
In answer to the question, what is
bookkeeping? the merchant of today
will readily reply that it is the art of
keeping accounts, and will refer for
practical demonstration to his day book,
cash book, income book, Journal and
ledger. Bookkeeping is \ science and
an art and is indispensable in a business
of any size or prominence.
What is stockkeepingp And the mer
chant of today, with very few excep.
tions, will say that it is the act OF re
ceiving, preparing and arranging stock
and the subsequent care of "details
in merchandising that have been ac-
quired by practical experience. He
has no conception or idea of stockkeep-
ing as a science or an art as compared
to bookkeeping, and yet the stock is the
| life of business.
AS we will now use the word ''stock.
keeping" we drop the popular accep
tation of the word, re- errlng to the
physical labor required to condition
stock and keep it SO, and use the word
strictly to refer to some method or
means whereby an accurate knowledge
of the stock may be had at any time for
the purpose of buving, replenshing or
for any other purpose or benefits that
may be derived from the same Refer
ring again to bookkeeping for COM
parlson, the merchant will say that it
Is absolutely necessary in his business,
and yet none of the book, employed in
the system result in any direct or daily
benefit to the success of the business
10 Illustrate: The ledger. as to ac-
counts. is condensation of the busl-
ness and is compiled from the other
books OF the system as accessories to
show the amount the business owes
and the amount owed the business-the
other books furnish the detailed infor-
nation and explanations that go to
make up the data on the face of the
ledger and furnish an easy means of
making comparisons with business of
former years.
All merchants keep books in some
form or other, and yet only one now
and then can be found who employees
any metho' whatever in bookkeeping.
Thus is fact, although every mer-
chant will aim toget at some knowledge
of stock-he will do Utmost all do-by
personal inspection, and depend upon
memory and his daily walk through the
store to furnish him the necessary de
tailed data to successfully manipulate
his stock.
| Overbuying has caused more failures
than any other cause, excepting incom
potency and lack of capital. Such be
| ing the fact, then this crude method OF
personal inspection and mental jotting
4 that should give way to facts and
Il figures, is a failure as a stockkeeper.
The danger of overbuying can ONLY
be avoided by reducing bookkeeping tc
science, and making it a feature that
should rank before bookkeeping in
point OF Importance.
Careful buying is next in Importance
and takes up the desirability of goods
rather than the bulk that indicates
overbuying. "iioods we'll bought arr
half sold" and careful, correct buyine
is the foundation of business success
Correct buying means right styles, right
prices and quantity that no more
than meets the demand of the season
goods carried over depreciate in value
referring as we do to merchandls,
whose styles are changed each season
and soon become dear at any price
A business is profitable only in pro
portion to the number of times it's stool
is turned each year. Stock will turf
itself in profitable way only provid
ing it is correctly bought; hence moderl
business success revolves on the plan O
buying carefully sparinely and often
This multiplies the detail OF stockkeep
ing and makes it all the more necessar,
to employ some systematic metho,
whereby all the important !ata upol
which successful buying depends ma,
be as reliably collected as are the fact
shown on the face of the ledger in tn,
bookkeeping system.
Systemtlc bookkeeping deals ais,
with the output, and facts as to tn,
movements of stock are necessary il
governing the replenishing and subse
quent buying.
All goods are bought for the purpos,
OF realizing profit on them-a none,
profit or benefit in some other direc
ton. The fact that every merchant
buys some goods which are sold at cos,
or at loss does not alter the case, fol
reason that competition forces these
latter conditions upon the merchant.
| The output or selling takes in the en-
tire field Of advertising, publicity, cor