In addition to the mastery of the details of the practical work, the hospital housekeeper must know how to give an account of her stewardship to those who have a right to demand it. The business side of hospital work, that which has to do with dollars and cents, is one of her many duties that has special importance. It is one of the corner-stones in the hospital foundation, and however much the housekeeper may dislike the tedious work of adding and subtracting, and reckoning, and itemizing, if she is a faithful steward of trust funds, she will give it due attention. The weak point in a great many hospitals is the looseness of methods of accounting. Frequently the board of managers are not sufficiently impressed with their responsibility to plan and demand a system of bookkeeping that will furnish plain facts in a shape that will be easily grasped; and it is not to be wondered at that the housekeeper is, if not _careless_, then _not sufficiently careful_ for her books to be of any value as institutional records. The busy housekeeper needs a simple method of accounting that is at once comprehensive and easy to handle. A simple, convenient form for a general expense book is here shown. One page can be devoted to each week’s or month’s expenditures and the use of such method makes the annual financial statement an easy matter to arrange. It is not claimed that this is the best method for a general expense account; it is one method—a simple, workable method. In addition to this the use of a small day book will be necessary, which will show on the left-hand page the money received and on the other side the disbursements for the day. For this an ordinary blank book that has spaces ruled for dates, items, dollars and cents, will be sufficient. In this each day will be recorded the article purchased, the date and the cost. Periodically this itemized account is gone over, the articles grouped under the several heads and copied in the general expense book. GENERAL HOSPITAL Receipts and Expenditures from _________ to _________