商贸英语实用对话 Unit14:Business at the Office

（14）Business at the Office
Business discussions around the office I
◆ Accountant： Did you send out an invoice to the Sun Electronics Company?
◆ Clerk ： Yes. It's also time to send them a statement now。
◆ Accountant ： What's the total due on their account?
◆ Clerk ： They owe $350,000.
◆ Accountant： Let's get all the invoices and statements out this afternoon, if we can.
◆ Clerk ： I think we can. I've already started on them, How often do you send them?
◆ Accountant : We send them monthly.
Business discussions around the office II
◆ Accountant : Here's our accounts department, Mr. Chen.
◆ Clerk : My job will be preparing the monthly statements for customers?
◆ Accountant : Yes, A big part of your job will also be to collect delinquent accounts. We often end up with bad debts.
◆ Clerk : How do you collect them?
◆ Accountant : We generally have to keep sending reminders. If they still don't pay, we threaten to put the matter in the hands of our lawyer.
Business discussions around the office III
◆ Accountant : These are our account folders.
◆ Clerk : Will these files be part of my work?
◆ Accountant : Yes, you'll need to write new clients' names on the projecting tab of a folder, then file them alphabetically. And make sure you adjust the file drawers so that the folders are held upright.
◆ Clerk : What do the different colors indicate?
◆ Accountant ： These indicate which products are sold to each client. Each of our products is color-coded.
◆ Clerk : So I'll find the cards for a given client together, color coded to show what products they've purchased?
◆ Accountant ： Right.
◆ Clerk ： That sounds like a good system.
◆ Accountant： Each product, indicated by a different color, is numbered in a separate series. For example, our ampliphones, represented by red, would be numbered 1-500. Our portaphones, represented by yellow, would be numbered 501-1001, and so on.
◆ Clerk ： That must avoid a lot of mix-ups.
◆ Accountant ： Yes, it does. And over here's our computer system. It's sophisticated, but quite easy to use.
◆ Clerk ： Are these computers used for data entry or billing?
◆ Accountant : We use them mainly for billing.