Definition: General Ledger of Accounts
Definition of a General Ledger of Accounts
What is the General Ledger of Accounts?
The General Ledger of Accounts is a copy of a business's financial Journal entries sorted first by account category and second by date. This is opposed to the Journal's entries which are sorted only by date, as in when they occurred. The following figure shows the Journal's entries being sorted into separate account categories. The collection of all the sorted accounts is the General Ledger of Accounts. The General Ledger of Accounts is often abbreviated as GL. It is important to note that the General Ledger of Accounts contains the exact same information as the Journal, the only difference is how the information is sorted.
A bookkeeping Journal is the foundation of the double-entry bookkeeping system, the method of recording financial transactions in accounting systems. The bookkeeping Journal keeps track of every financial transaction in the order that they happen. Journal entries are recorded in bookkeeping just like personal life events are recorded in a personal journal. Each Journal entry is dated and includes the details of a financial transaction.
The easiest way to learn how the Journal, General Ledger of Accounts and Chart of Accounts relate to one another is to see it happen first hand. In order to help you learn quickly, we created a simplified accounting simulator that teaches you step-by-step how journal entries are made, sorted and placed in financial statements. You can start learning for FREE right now. Start learning with our FREE high school college accounting bookkeeping prep course.
The easiest way to learn how the Journal, General Ledger of Accounts and Chart of Accounts relate to one another is to see it happen first hand. In order to help you learn quickly, we created a simplified accounting simulator that teaches you step-by-step how journal entries are made, sorted and placed in financial statements. You can start learning for FREE right now. Start learning with our FREE high school college accounting bookkeeping prep course.
Continue Learning in an Interactive Bookkeeping Textbook
Over 4+ Hours of Free Lessons
The Addictive Accounting training course has a purpose:
To help you quickly master the fundamentals of bookkeeping and accounting!
If you are a student who is planning on studying accounting, or a student who is struggling to learn the concepts, this course is for you. If you want an A grade, take this prep course! If you are business owner who wants to fully understand their personal bookkeeping, this course is also for you.
To help you quickly master the fundamentals of bookkeeping and accounting!
- Simplified - created for students and business owners
- Comprehensive - an interactive bookkeeping and accounting textbook
- Practice Make Perfect - in a hands-on bookkeeping simulator
- Learn Finance - cash, profit, equity, and balance statements
- Quiz Yourself - test your comprehension with instant feedback
- Career Boost - communicate finance with confidence
- At Your Pace - complete the course in a week or a weekend
- Teacher's Aid - can be used as an auxiliary tool to enhance learning
- CPA Exam Prep - review fundamentals to greatly improve your score
If you are a student who is planning on studying accounting, or a student who is struggling to learn the concepts, this course is for you. If you want an A grade, take this prep course! If you are business owner who wants to fully understand their personal bookkeeping, this course is also for you.
Practice the General Ledger of Accounts in an Accounting Simulator
Rather than just read about the general ledger of accounts, learn and practice using the general ledger of accounts as a bookkeeper in a hands-on accounting simulation. Learn more about our accounting simulation app or see what you can learn for free in the Addictive Accounting course.
Over 4 Hours of Free Course Content,
No Ads,
and No Personal Data Collected
