Ford Dealer Ledgers - things learned
Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2025 1:57 pm
About 25% of early Ford sales information survived in the Accounts Receivable ledger books at The Henry Ford, Benson Library. Trent Boggess tirelessly entered the data by hand (thousands of records) into a database included with Carl Pate’s (RIP) Early Ford book.
However, reviewing the actual ledger pages and entries provide additional information, car by car and dealer by dealer. Below is an example.
Charles E. Miller & Bros. was an early Ford dealer in Washington D.C.. In the advertising below we see two Ford Model B had just arrived at the dealership. We know this because the ad reads “a car of Model B,” or a train car which held 2 Model B. The newspaper is dated July 16, 1905, and reports the “B” were “just arrived.”
Next, by checking the Miller Acct. Receivable entry, we learn the following:
1. A credit (this is a Ford Motor Co. record, so a credit indicates the money has reached Ford) of $100 is dated July 2, 1905. (underlined in red at the far right top of the ledger page excerpt)
2. On July 5, Miller is debited $3,446.78 for “B 408 - 409.” This tells us much ;
a. The cars were sent 2 days after FMC received the dealer deposit. The cars were ready to ship. Supply is meeting demand in this instance. Ford had Model B on hand.
b. The dollar amount debited to the dealer tells us FMC was charging $1,723.39 per B. At 20% commission, this indicates the cars should be offered at retail at $2,153.24 each. This further means the cars (or one of the cars) had a few “extras” or options from the factory. Regular “B” retail prices were $2,000.
c. Model B production had reached into the 400’s by early July 1905. 500 B were produced, indicating about 4/5ths of the model were finished by this time (Model B followed car numbering sequentially for the most part).
3. The next and final entry in this transaction indicates a “credit” of $3,346.78 was received on July 15, 1905. This means;
a. The $100 initially credited was indeed the deposit, and was applied to the original debit of $3,446.78, making the amount owed $3,346.78.
b. That railroad time from shipping (debit date of July 5, 1905) to delivery date (credit date of July 15) was 10 days.
Not bad, the dealer ordered (deposit) two Model B on July 2nd, and in less than two weeks the cars are delivered from Detroit to Washington D.C. let’s see any carmaker and shipper beat that time today.
However, reviewing the actual ledger pages and entries provide additional information, car by car and dealer by dealer. Below is an example.
Charles E. Miller & Bros. was an early Ford dealer in Washington D.C.. In the advertising below we see two Ford Model B had just arrived at the dealership. We know this because the ad reads “a car of Model B,” or a train car which held 2 Model B. The newspaper is dated July 16, 1905, and reports the “B” were “just arrived.”
Next, by checking the Miller Acct. Receivable entry, we learn the following:
2. On July 5, Miller is debited $3,446.78 for “B 408 - 409.” This tells us much ;
a. The cars were sent 2 days after FMC received the dealer deposit. The cars were ready to ship. Supply is meeting demand in this instance. Ford had Model B on hand.
b. The dollar amount debited to the dealer tells us FMC was charging $1,723.39 per B. At 20% commission, this indicates the cars should be offered at retail at $2,153.24 each. This further means the cars (or one of the cars) had a few “extras” or options from the factory. Regular “B” retail prices were $2,000.
c. Model B production had reached into the 400’s by early July 1905. 500 B were produced, indicating about 4/5ths of the model were finished by this time (Model B followed car numbering sequentially for the most part).
3. The next and final entry in this transaction indicates a “credit” of $3,346.78 was received on July 15, 1905. This means;
a. The $100 initially credited was indeed the deposit, and was applied to the original debit of $3,446.78, making the amount owed $3,346.78.
b. That railroad time from shipping (debit date of July 5, 1905) to delivery date (credit date of July 15) was 10 days.
Not bad, the dealer ordered (deposit) two Model B on July 2nd, and in less than two weeks the cars are delivered from Detroit to Washington D.C. let’s see any carmaker and shipper beat that time today.
