Bookkeeping and Ledgers

Bookkeeping and ledger pages explain how accounting records are organized before adjustments, reporting, and analysis happen. This section is where readers should learn the language of accounts, posting, ledger structure, receivables, payables, and trial-balance checking.

These pages are especially useful when a reader knows a term from a ledger report, ERP screen, month-end checklist, or accounting course but does not yet understand how it fits into the full recording system.

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• Accounting Equation
• Chart of Accounts
• General Ledger
• Cash Book
• Source Document
• Subsidiary Ledger
• Control Account
• Accounts Receivable
• Allowance for Doubtful Accounts
• Accounts Payable
• Petty Cash Book
• Reconciliation
• Bank Reconciliation
• Trial Balance
• Adjusted Trial Balance

In this section

• Accounting Equation
  Foundational bookkeeping relationship showing that assets are financed by liabilities and equity.
• Accounts Payable
  Amounts owed to suppliers for goods or services already received, usually recorded as a current liability until paid.
• Accounts Payable Ledger
  Subsidiary ledger that tracks amounts owed to each supplier and supports the accounts payable control account.
• Accounts Receivable
  Amounts owed by customers for goods or services already delivered, usually recorded as a current asset until collected.
• Accounts Receivable Ledger
  Subsidiary ledger that tracks amounts owed by each customer and supports the accounts receivable control account.
• Adjusted Trial Balance
  Trial balance prepared after adjusting entries so statement preparation starts from period-correct balances.
• Allowance for Doubtful Accounts
  Contra-asset estimate that reduces gross receivables to the amount a business realistically expects to collect.
• Bank Reconciliation
  Comparison of the bank statement with the cash ledger to explain timing differences, record missing items, and confirm the cash balance can be trusted.
• Cash Book
  Chronological accounting record for cash and bank receipts and payments that functions as both a book of original entry and a running cash ledger.
• Chart of Accounts
  Structured list of accounts a business uses to classify transactions consistently across its ledger and financial statements.
• Control Account
  General-ledger summary account whose balance should agree with the detail total in its related subsidiary ledger.
• Deposit in Transit
  Bank-reconciliation item for cash receipts already recorded in the books but not yet shown on the bank statement at the statement date.
• General Ledger
  Master accounting record that holds the balance and activity of each account used to produce financial statements.
• Outstanding Check
  Bank-reconciliation item for a check or payment already recorded in the books but not yet cleared by the bank at the statement date.
• Petty Cash Book
  Record used to track small routine cash disbursements, usually under an imprest system with periodic replenishment and review.
• Reconciliation
  Process of comparing two related records, investigating differences, and adjusting or documenting items so accounting balances can be trusted.
• Source Document
  Original paper or electronic evidence of a transaction that supports bookkeeping entries, audit trails, and accounting review.
• Subsidiary Ledger
  Detailed ledger supporting a general-ledger control account such as receivables, payables, or inventory.
• Trial Balance
  Listing of ledger account balances in debit and credit columns, used to check posting accuracy before statements are finalized.