Goods in the shop; Money in cash; Debts abroad.

The shop will at any time show the first of these upon a small stop to
cast it up; the cash-chest and bill-box will show the second at demand;
and the ledger when posted will show the last; so that a tradesman can
at any time, at a week's notice, cast up all these three; and then,
examining his accounts, to take the balance, which is a real trying what
he is worth in the world.

It cannot be satisfactory to any tradesman to let his books go
unsettled, and uncast up, for then he knows nothing of himself, or of
his circumstances in the world; the books can tell him at any time what
his condition is, and will satisfy him what is the condition of his
debts abroad.

In order to his regular keeping his books, several things might be said
very useful for the tradesman to consider:

I. Every thing done in the whole circumference of his trade must be set
down in a book, except the retail trade; and this is clear, if the goods
are not in bulk, then the money is in cash, and so the substance will be
always found either there, or somewhere else; for if it is neither in
the shop, nor in the cash, nor in the books, it must be stolen and lost.

II. As every thing done must be set down in the books, so it should be
done at the very time of it; all goods sold must be entered in the books
before they are sent out of the house; goods sent away and not entered,
are goods lost; and he that does not keep an exact account of what goes
out and comes in, can never swear to his books, or prove his debts, if
occasion calls for it.