Chapter XXV - Worth Knowing Page 02
CARE OF PAPERS
While writing about the care of wills, we are struck with the recollection that wills are not the only papers of value that are apt to be mislaid or lost.
Never pay out money without taking a receipt, and never receive money without giving one.
You are not responsible for the care of the receipts you give, but you certainly are for the receipts you receive.
The trained business man has a place for everything, but there is no reason why the man not so well trained should have to turn his shop or his home upside down every time he wants a paper that proves he has paid a bill, which he must pay again if that receipt is lost.
Everything may be regarded as "lost" that cannot be found, even if you are sure "it is about somewhere."
No valuable paper should be "about." The only place for it is just where you can lay your hand on it when wanted.
In addition to keeping your papers where they can be found the instant they are wanted, see to it that every paper is self- explanatory and clear of meaning on the face of it.
CHECKS AND STUBS
It has been advised that the stub be always filled out before the check, and that the check be then copied from the stub. This course will greatly lessen the chances of disagreement between the two.
When the last check in the book has been filled and torn out, do not throw away the stubs. They contain important data and may be of use in proving payment should a question arise.
In like manner, never destroy the cancelled checks handed you by the cashier when your bank account has been balanced. Each of these checks, if drawn to order as it should be, is a receipt, a voucher, for some payment that may possibly be demanded again.
Be on the safe side.
SENDING AWAY MONEY
It may be well to repeat again, in more condensed form, just how money may be safely sent to a distance.
1. By bank draft, payable to your order and endorsed over to the person whom you wish to pay. The party receiving the draft must endorse it before he can collect, and this endorsement is a receipt for the money, as the cancelled draft must eventually come into your possession. 2. You can buy an express order up to fifty dollars, but you may send money in a package to any amount. Only banks or large dealers in money do this. Like the bank draft, the express order must be endorsed by the receiver, and the express company returns it to you, when it becomes a receipt. 3. By post office orders, up to one hundred dollars. 4. By postal notes, in small amounts. 5. By telegraph. 6. By transmitting a personal check. 7. By a trusted messenger authorized to get a receipt.
The bank draft is the very best way of transmitting money.
As has been said, drafts can be bought at any bank, and they should always be made payable to your order.
You want to pay a bill of goods to Lloyd, Smith and Company, New York, so you sign on the back of your draft for the amount:
Pay to the order of Lloyd, Smith and Company, Henry C. Robbins.
Lloyd, Smith and Company must endorse the draft before it can be cashed. The draft, after payment, is returned to you, and it becomes the best form of receipt.