In order to ascertain the profit received, it will be necessary to find the actual cost of the merchandise and then deduct the cost from the selling price, and the remainder will be the profit. There are various ways of estimating profits, and the following may be of assistance:

Rule

Divide the gross sales by 1. (one dollar), plus the rate per cent of profit (as agreed upon), and the quotient will be present value or net cost of goods sold, then deduct net cost of goods sold from gross sales, and the remainder will be the profit.

This result may also be obtained by the use of aliquot percentages. One quantity or number is said to be an aliquot part of another when it is contained in or will divide the other an exact number of times without any remainder. An aliquot number or part is one that is not contained in or will not divide the other without a remainder.

Rule for ascertaining the divisor of aliquot parts of 100:

Rule

Add the percentages named to 100, and then divide the sum thus obtained by the percentage given, and the dividend will be the number by which to divide the amount of sales to ascertain the profit.

Rule for ascertaining profits by aliquot percentages:

Rule

Divide the total amount of sales by the divisor obtained, by the rule given above, and the quotient will be the profits on the sales; then to ascertain net cost subtract the profits from amount of sales, and the remainder will be net cost or present value.

The following table of aliquot parts of 100 has been obtained by following the rule given above, and will undoubtedly prove of assistance:

Table Of Aliquot Percentages Of 100

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1.

is the 1- 100th,,

divide by

101

1.25

is the l-80th,

divide by

81

1.5625

is the l-64th,

divide by

65

2.

is the l-50th,

divide by

51

2.0833

is the l-48th,

divide by

49

2.50

is the l-40th,

divide by

41

3.125

is the l-32nd,

divide by

33

4.

is the l-25th,

divide by

26

5.

is the l-20th,

divide by

21

6.25

is the 1-16th,

divide by

17

8.333

is the l-12th,

divide by

13

10.

is the 1-10th,

divide by

11

12.50

is the l-8th,

divide by

9

16.666

is the l-6th,

divide by

7

20.

is the l-5th

divide by

6

25.

is the l-4th,

divide by

5

33.333

is the l-3rd,

divide by

4

50.

is the l-2nd,

divide by

3

The aliquant process is similar to and is in reality nothing more or less than the old rule for ascertaining present value:

Rule

Divide the amount of sales by 1. (one dollar), plus the rate per cent expressed decimally, and the qou-tient will be the present value or cost of the merchandise; then to ascertain profits, it will be necessary to subtract the cost from the amount of sales, and the remainder will be the profits.

Aliquot Parts Of One Dollar

50 cents equal..................... 1/2 of one dollar

33 1/3 cents equal..................... 1/3 of one dollar

25 cents equal..................... 1/4 of one dollar

20 cents equal..................... 1/5 of one dollar

16% cents equal..................... 1/6 of one dollar

12 1/2 cents equal..................... 1/8 of one dollar

10 cents equal..................... 1-10 of one dollar

8 1/3 cents equal..................... 1-12 of one dollar

6 1/4 cents equal..................... 1-16 of one dollar

5 cents equal..................... 1-20 of one dollar

Aliquot Parts Of A Ton

10 cwt. equal............................ 1/2 of a ton

5 cwt. equal............................ 1/4 of a ton

4 cwt. equal............................ 1/5 of a ton

2 cwt., 2 qrs., equal..................... 1/8 of a ton

2 cwt. equal............................ 1-10 of a ton

1 cwt. equal............................ 1-20 of a ton

Aliquot Parts Of A Pound Avoirdupois

8 ounces equal........................ 1/2 of a pound

4 ounces equal........................ 1/4 of a pound

2 ounces equal........................ 1/8 of a pound

1 ounce equals....................... 1-16 of a pound

Aliquot Parts Of Time

6 months equal....................... 1/2 of a year

4 months equal....................... 1/3 of a year

3 months equal....................... 1/4 of a year

2 months equal....................... 1/6 of a year

1 1/2 months equal....................... 1/8 of a year

1 1/3 months equal....................... 1-9 of a year

1 month equals...................... 1-12 of a year

15 days equal......................... 1/2 of a month

10 days equal......................... 1/3 of a month

6 days equal......................... 1/5 of a month

3 days equal......................... 1-10 of a month

2 days equal......................... 1-15 of a month

1 day equals........................ 1-30 of a month