A statement per account: its opening balance, every entry that hit it during a period (in date order), and the running balance after each entry. Run it for one account, for several, or for every account you keep, which gives you a full general ledger.
When to use it
To see the full history and current balance of an account: a customer, a vendor, a bank, Cash in Hand, an expense account. Leave the account blank and you get the general ledger: every account, each opening and closing on its own figures.
Before you start
- The vouchers are entered and posted.
- You know which account (ledger) you want, or leave it blank for all of them.
Where to find it
Reports > Finance > Ledger.
The fields on this screen
| Field (on screen) | What to enter | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Ledger | The accounts to report on. Pick several, or leave blank for every account | No |
| From Date | Start of the period | No (defaults apply) |
| To Date | End of the period | No (defaults apply) |
| Format | Condensed shows one line per voucher. Detailed also lists, under each voucher, its items (quantity, unit, rate, amount), the other accounts it posted to (Dr / Cr), and its narration. Print, PDF and Excel follow the format on screen. | No (Condensed) |
| Balance Basis | For an income or expense account only. Standard opens with this financial year's movement only. Since Inception opens with everything before the From Date. Period Only opens at nil on the From Date. Asset, liability and capital accounts always carry their full balance. The Trial Balance passes its own choice when you double-click through to a ledger. | No (Standard) |
Running the report
- Open Reports > Finance > Ledger.
- Choose one or more accounts in Ledger, or leave it blank for every account.
- Set From Date and To Date, then click Apply. The report opens with its filters ready and shows nothing until you do, because running every account at once is rarely what you want. When you open it by a double-click (from the Trial Balance or a voucher), it runs straight away.
- The report shows an Opening Balance line, then each entry with Date, Ref# No, Type, Narration, Debit, Credit, and a running Balance, plus a File link where a document is attached.
Open a voucher from a row
Double-click any transaction row to open that voucher's Process Chain (the full document trail, status, history and attachments). The Opening Balance line is a summary, not a voucher, so it does not open anything. You only see vouchers you have permission for.
Reading the result
- When more than one account is in scope, the report is grouped by account. Each account gets a heading, its own Opening Balance row, its entries in date order, and a Debit/Credit subtotal. The running Balance restarts at every heading. It never carries from one account into the next.
- The summary cards then cover the whole run, not the last account: Opening Balance is the sum of every account's opening, Closing Balance the sum of every closing. Run the whole general ledger for a full year and both should come to zero, because a balanced set of books does.
- A very large run is capped. If the report has more rows than it will send, it says so above the grid, and the totals cover only the rows shown. Narrow the dates or the accounts.
- At the top, summary cards show Opening Balance, Total Debit, Total Credit and Closing Balance for the chosen period.
- Below them, an account header shows the account name and, when the account is a customer or vendor, the party details: type, PAN/TIN, contact person, phone, email and address. (For non-party accounts like Cash or Sales only the account name and balances show.)
- Opening Balance is the account's balance carried in from before the From Date. For an income or expense account, Balance Basis decides how much. On Standard it is only this financial year's movement, so a Sales ledger opened mid-year shows this year's sales so far. On Period Only it is nothing, and on Since Inception it is everything ever posted. It matches the Trial Balance row you opened it from.
- Balance on each row is the opening balance plus every entry down to that row.
- The last row's Balance is the closing balance as of the To Date.
Condensed and Detailed
Switch Format to Detailed to see what each voucher was made of without opening it: under the voucher's line come its Items, its Entries (every other account it posted to, with Dr or Cr), and its Note. The account you are looking at is left out of Entries, because it is the row itself. Totals, balances and the per-account headings are the same in both formats.
Worked example
Pick Cash in Hand in Ledger, set From Date to the period start and To Date to the period end. You see the cash opening balance, each receipt (debit) and payment (credit), and the running cash balance ending at the period close.
Tips and common mistakes
- The report waits for Apply. Leave Ledger blank and click Apply only when you really want every account. It is the slowest run.
- Only posted vouchers appear, so post drafts first.
- For an all-accounts view of a day, use the Day Book. For every account's closing balance, use the Trial Balance.
Related guides
- Day Book, Trial Balance, Customer/Vendor Ledger, Financial Statement.