{"id":4419,"date":"2026-04-15T11:52:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T11:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/?post_type=glossar&#038;p=4419"},"modified":"2026-05-12T10:12:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T10:12:56","slug":"ledger","status":"publish","type":"glossar","link":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/glossar\/hauptbuch\/","title":{"rendered":"Ledger"},"content":{"rendered":"<nav class=\"toc\" aria-label=\"Table of Contents\">\n<h2>Table of Contents<\/h2>\n<ul>\n        <li><a href=\"#einleitung\">Brief definition<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#grundlagen\">Basics<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#recht\">Legal framework<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#einordnung\">Classification<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#tools\">Components<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#schritte\">Procedure<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#praxis\">Practice<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#fehler\">Sources of error<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#faq\">FAQ<\/a><\/li>\n        <li><a href=\"#fazit\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n<\/nav>\n\n<section id=\"einleitung\">\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n          <p><strong>Ledger<\/strong> is the central directory of all the company's general ledger accounts within the <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/double-entry-bookkeeping\/\">double-entry bookkeeping<\/a>. It forms the basis for the <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/financial-accounting\/\">Financial accounting<\/a> and the <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/jahresabschluss-vorbereiten\/\">Annual financial statements<\/a>.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"grundlagen\">\n        <h2>Basics<\/h2>\n        <p>In the general ledger, all business transactions are systematically recorded in the respective specific accounts. It contains, among other things, asset and income statement accounts.<\/p>\n        <p>The bookings are made on the basis of correctly formed <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/booking-entry\/\">Booking entries<\/a> and proper <a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/accounting-entry\/\">Account assignment<\/a>.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"recht\">\n        <h2>Legal framework<\/h2>\n        <p>For companies that draw up financial statements, keeping orderly accounting records is mandatory. The ledger is part of proper bookkeeping.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"einordnung\">\n        <h2>Systematic classification<\/h2>\n        <p>The general ledger is closely related to:<\/p>\n        <ul>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/double-entry-bookkeeping\/\">Double-entry bookkeeping<\/a><\/li>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/bilanzierung\/\">Accounting<\/a><\/li>\n          <li><a href=\"\/en\/glossary\/profit-and-loss-account\/\">Profit and Loss Account (P&amp;L)<\/a><\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n        <p>While sub-ledgers contain detailed individual information, the ledger summarises this at an account level.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"tools\">\n        <h2>Core components<\/h2>\n        <ul>\n          <li>Chart of accounts<\/li>\n          <li>Account balances<\/li>\n          <li>Success accounts<\/li>\n          <li>Content balances<\/li>\n        <\/ul>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"schritte\">\n        <h2>Typical procedure<\/h2>\n        <ol>\n          <li>Recording of the business transaction<\/li>\n          <li>Creating the accounting entry<\/li>\n          <li>Posting to the relevant nominal accounts<\/li>\n          <li>Continuous balance management<\/li>\n        <\/ol>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"praxis\">\n        <h2>Practical relevance<\/h2>\n        <p>A structured management of the main ledger is a prerequisite for correct evaluations, the preparation of the balance sheet, and the profit and loss statement.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"fehler\">\n        <h2>Typical sources of error<\/h2>\n        <div class=\"snippet warn\">\n          <ul>\n            <li>Incorrect accounting classification<\/li>\n            <li>Incomplete bookings<\/li>\n            <li>Unreconciled account balances<\/li>\n          <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"faq\">\n        <h2>FAQ<\/h2>\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n        <h3>Is the ledger legally required?<\/h3>\n        <p>It is part of proper bookkeeping for companies that prepare balance sheets.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n        <h3>What is the difference to the subsidiary ledger?<\/h3>\n        <p>Sub-ledgers contain detailed information, while the main ledger summarises the accounts.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"snippet info\">\n        <h3>What is it needed for?<\/h3>\n        <p>As a basis for evaluations and the annual financial statements.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <section id=\"fazit\">\n        <h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n        <p>The general ledger is the central element of double-entry bookkeeping. It bundles all entries on a chart of accounts basis and forms the basis for the balance sheet and profit and loss statement.<\/p>\n      <\/section>\n\n      <footer class=\"author\">\n        <strong>Author<\/strong>\n        <span>the BAS editorial team<\/span>\n        <span class=\"note\">Services pursuant to \u00a7 6 No. 3 and 4 StBerG, no tax or legal advice.<\/span>\n      <\/footer>\n\n      <p class=\"disclaimer\">\n        Brasser Accounting Solutions GmbH is a specialised accounting service provider and part of a corporate group with Quint GmbH (tax consultancy\/auditing) and Service Place \u00c5rj\u00e4ng AB (Swedish tax office). BAS exclusively performs services according to \u00a7 6 No. 3 and 4 StBerG and does not provide tax or legal advice.\n      <\/p>","protected":false},"template":"","glossar-kategorien":[20],"class_list":["post-4419","glossar","type-glossar","status-publish","hentry","glossar-kategorien-finanzbuchhaltung"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar\/4419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/glossar"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"glossar-kategorien","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brasser-accounting.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossar-kategorien?post=4419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}