Posting to the General Ledger
Organizing Account Information
After journal entries are recorded, each transaction is posted to the appropriate ledger accounts. The general ledger accumulates all activity affecting each account and provides current account balances.
- Each account has its own ledger.
- Posting updates running balances.
- Ledger balances support financial statement preparation.
- Errors become easier to identify during posting.
Tip
Think of the journal as a chronological record and the ledger as an account-by-account summary.
Summary
Posting transfers journal information into organized account balances used throughout the accounting cycle.