Accounting machine
Open-knowledge reference entry
An accounting machine, or bookkeeping machine or recording-adder, was generally a calculator and printer combination tailored for a specific commercial activity such as billing, payroll, or ledger. Accounting machines were widespread from the early 1900s to 1980s, but were rendered obsolete by the availability of low-cost computers such as the IBM PC.
This type of machine is generally distinct from unit record equipment (some unit record tabulating machines were also called "accounting machines").
List of vendors/accounting machines
Burroughs Corporation:
Burroughs Sensimatic
Burroughs Sensitronic
Burroughs B80
Burroughs E103
Burroughs Computer F2000
Burroughs L500
Burroughs E1400 Electronic Computing/Accounting Machine with Magnetic Striped Ledger
Dalton Adding Machine Company
Electronics Corporation of America:
Magnefile-B
Magnefile-D
Elliott-Fisher
Federal Adding Machines
IBM:
IBM 632
IBM 858 Cardatype Accounting Machine
IBM 6400 Series
Laboratory for Electronics:
The Inventory Machine II (TIM-II)
Monroe Calculator Company:
Model 200
Synchro-Monroe President
Monrobot IX
NCR Corporation:
Post-Tronic Bookkeeping Machine - Class 29
Compu-Tronic Accounting Machine
Accounting Machine - Class 33
Window Posting Machine - Class 42
Olivetti:
General Bookkeeping Machine (GBM)
J. B. Rea Company:
READIX, c.
The public source identifies “Accounting machine” as open-knowledge reference entry. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Accounting, machine and Open-knowledge.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Accounting machine”, the useful work is to connect “open-knowledge reference entry” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q999152. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Accounting machine”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Accounting machine primary sources, Accounting machine archive and Accounting research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Accounting machine”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Accounting machine” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.