Terms and Definitions

What is a general ledger?

Updated: May 21, 2024

General ledger meaning and purpose

A general ledger contains all the financial statement accounts of a business. It contains offsetting debit and credit accounts. Certain accounts in the general ledger, termed control accounts, summarize the details booked on separate subsidiary ledgers.

 

More about general ledgers and why they are important

A general ledger keeps records of every company financial transaction and stores account information that is needed to prepare the company’s financial statements, such as assets, liabilities, owners’ equity, revenues, and expenses.

Using general ledger in a sentence

“As the bookkeeper at our company, I keep all expenses up to date in a general ledger so there are no questions about financial transactions.”

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