How To Build a Business General Ledger

A general ledger is a master accounting document used to record every accounting transaction during the lifetime of your business.

A business’s bookkeeper or accountant records financial transactions in the ledger using the double-entry accounting method. This means that for every debit transaction (which increases assets or expenses, decreases revenue or liability), on the left side of the ledger, there is a corresponding credit entry (which does the exact opposite) on the right side—hence the term “balancing the books.” 

The general ledger contains all the information you need to create financial statements (i.e. balance sheet, cash flow statement, and income statement), which enable you to evaluate the profitability, liquidity, and overall financial health of your business. Below, we’ll take a closer look at what a general ledger is and how to build one. 

What Is a Business General Ledger?

The business general ledger organizes and summarizes all business transactions, which are used to create financial statements such as a balance sheet and income statement. The money your business earns and spends is organized into subledgers, which allow you to differentiate between various types of business transactions as they occur. Examples of common subledgers include accounts receivable (money owed to your business), accounts payable (money your business owes), cash (liquid assets your company owns), and inventory (sales or purchases affecting your inventory). 

General Journal vs. General Ledger

The general journal is where a business keeps a record of unique, infrequent transactions not specified in other accounting journals, such as checks or invoices. Other examples of general journal entries include:

• Depreciation
• Sales of company assets
• Interest income and expenses

Transactions in the general journal are recorded in a chronologically ordered list. These figures are raw and unbalanced until they are moved to the general ledger to make formal calculations. 

Business General Ledger Components

A general ledger categorizes and summarizes transactions into different accounts. Some of the most commonly used accounts include:

• Assets: Tangible or intangible items that add value to your business. Examples include cash, property, trademarks, and patents. 
• Liabilities: Current or future debts your business owes to another business, vendor, or employee. Current liabilities include items like employee salaries and rent, while future liabilities include bank loans or lines of credit. 
• Revenue: Business income derived from the sale of products and services. Other sources of revenue include the sale of an asset, interest, royalties, or any other fees your business collects from other individuals or businesses. 
• Expenses: Money paid by the business in exchange for a product or service. Examples of expenses include rent, utilities, insurance, travel, and meals. 

How To Build a Business General Ledger

There are a few crucial steps to follow in order to build a proper business ledger, which are outlined below. 

Create the General Ledger Accounts

Each account should have its own page to make it easier for you to add or delete accounts. Create a table for each account with the following column headings:

• Date
• Reference number
• Description 
• Debit or credit (expressed as a positive or negative number)

Then, assign a value to each account. 

Transfer the Transactions From the General Journal

Transfer the financial transactions from the general journal to the appropriate accounts on the general ledger with all detail. These transactions are usually recorded on a daily basis, and, as with general ledgers, you’ll have a credit and a debit for each entry. 

Number the Transactions

Under the reference number column, put the number of the journal transaction on the general ledger account. Any important transactional data in the account should be transferred to a sub-ledger, such as accounts payable or accounts receivable. Sub-ledgers within each account provide transaction-specific details behind the entries documented in account ledgers, such as if they are debited or credited by cash, accounts payable, or accounts receivable. They may also contain information about transaction dates, descriptions, as well as amounts billed, paid or received. 

Use the following equation to make sure you’re balancing the books correctly:

Assets = Liabilities + Owner’s Equity (the amount remaining after liabilities are deducted from assets as well as the amount the owner’s invested into the business)

If the assets you recorded don’t equal the value of your liabilities plus equity, your account balances need to be analyzed and corrected to avoid inaccuracies in your financial statements. Every account in the general ledger has either a debit or credit balance. When these are all added together, the end result should be zero because they are meant to offset each other. 

When revenue is received, cash is debited; when an expense is paid, cash is credited. For example, say you purchased office furniture for your business at an expense of $1,000, paid from your checking account. You would debit the expense account and credit the checking account as follows:

[Debit] Office furniture expense $1,000

[Credit] Checking account ($1,000)

Why Businesses Need a General Ledger

A general ledger is an essential accounting document because it forms the basis for your financial statements, which draw on data compiled in the ledger. Having a list of expenses and income in one place also makes it easier to file taxes. 

Additionally, when you apply for a business loan, lenders will invariably ask for financial records to assess your credit risk. The general ledger gives lenders an idea of your debt-to-equity ratio and other important metrics. In the event that you are audited by the IRS, the general ledger makes it easy for you to prepare for the audit since you have your financial records in one place. 

Finally, general ledgers contain more information than your financial statements. In the event that expenses spike or profitability drops unexpectedly, consulting the general ledger and going through journal entries can help you root out fraud, accounting errors, or other discrepancies. 

Example of a Business General Ledger

When you record a transaction from the general journal in the general ledger, each journal entry is composed of two parts: a debit and a credit. Any debit amounts should be listed on the debit (left) side of the respective account, and credit should be recorded in the credits (right) side of the respective account, hence why it appears twice in the general ledger. Here is a quick example.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)