ledger
American Heritage Dictionary:
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ledg·er
(lĕj'ər) 
n.
n.
- A book in which the monetary transactions of a business are posted in the form of debits and credits.
- A book to which the record of accounts is transferred as final entry from original postings.
- A slab of stone laid flat over a grave.
- A horizontal timber in a scaffold, attached to the uprights and supporting the putlogs.
[Middle English legger, breviary, probably from leggen, to lay. See ledge.]
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Book in which all accounts of the business are kept. In effect, the ledger is a classification and summarization of financial transactions and the basis for the preparation of the balance sheet and income statement. The ledger also allows one to see the balance in a given account at a particular time. For example, the cash balance at the end of the month can be seen to determine whether the business has a cash problem. Also revealed in looking at the cash account are the cash receipts and cash disbursements for the period.
In a computerized environment, accounts may be stored on magnetic tape or disks instead of in a ledger binder. The accounting principles are, of course, still the same.
In a computerized environment, accounts may be stored on magnetic tape or disks instead of in a ledger binder. The accounting principles are, of course, still the same.
| Least-Squares Method, Leasehold Improvement, Leasehold | |
| Legal Capital, Legal Exchange Information Service (LEXIS), Legal Liability |
1. In formwork, a horizontal member which is supported by hangers or by upright posts and carries joists.
2. A horizontal member which is housed in the studs of balloon framing and carries joists.
3. In scaffolding, one of the horizontal members fastened to uprights which support the put-logs and which are at right angles to the wall; they carry the boards on which the workmen stand.
4. A flat slab of stone, such as that laid horizontally over a grave.
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This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.
The principal book of accounts of a business enterprise in which all the daily transactions are entered under appropriate headings to reflect the debits and credits of each account.
Information that is contained in a ledger can be admitted into evidence in a lawsuit pursuant to the business record exception of the hearsay rule.
Word Tutor:
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ledger
IN BRIEF: A book in which a record is kept of money paid out and taken in.
The accountant uses a ledger to keep track of all of the money matters.
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Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'ledger'
- Building and Machine Parts - ledger: wood strip nailed to underside of wood beam or stud for support
- Newspaper Names
- Accounting - ledger: book containing each business account on separate page, to which all journal entries are transferred
- Fishing Equipment and Tackle - ledger: Chiefly Brit. sinker designed to hold bait at bottom and allow line to run freely through it, usu. ball of lead with hole bored through it
See crossword solutions for the clue Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Ledger
For other uses, see Ledger (disambiguation).
A ledger[1] is the principal book or computer file for recording and totaling monetary transactions by account, with debits and credits in separate columns and a beginning balance and ending balance for each account. The ledger is a permanent summary of all amounts entered in supporting journals which list individual transactions by date. Every transaction flows from a journal to one or more ledgers. A company's financial statements are generated from summary totals in the ledgers.[2]
Ledgers include:
- Sales ledger, records accounts receivable. This ledger consists of the financial transactions made by customers to the company.
- Purchase ledger records money spent for purchasing by the company.
- General ledger representing the 5 main account types: assets, liabilities, income, expenses, and equity.
For every debit recorded in a ledger, there must be a corresponding credit so that the debits equal the credits in the grand totals.
Origin of the term ledger
Originally, a ledger was a large volume of scripture/service book kept in one place in church and accessible. According to Charles Wriothesley's Chronicle (1538):
| “ | The curates should provide a booke of the bible in Englishe, of the largest volume, to be a ledger in the same church for the parishioners to read on. | ” |
It is an application of this original meaning that is found in the commercial usage of the term for the principal book of account in a business house.
References
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Look up ledger in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- ^ From the English dialect forms liggen or leggen, to lie or lay; in sense adapted from the Dutch substantive legger)
- ^ Haber, Jeffry (2004). Accounting Demystified. New York: AMACOM. p. 15. ISBN 0-8144-0790-0.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ledger". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.- Business Owner's Toolkit: General Ledger. (n.d.). Business Owner's Toolkit. Retrieved March 29, 2011, from http://www.toolkit.com/small_business_guide/sbg.aspx?nid=P06_1450
- General Ledger Entries. (n.d.). NetMBA Business Knowledge Center. Retrieved March 30, 2011, from http://www.netmba.com/accounting/fin/process/ledger/
- General Ledger: Small Business Accounting . (n.d.). Starting a Small Business - BusinessTown Small Business Assistance. Retrieved March 31, 2011, from http://www.businesstown.com/accounting/basic-general.asp
See also
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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Translations:
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Ledger
Dansk (Danish)
n. - kassebog, hovedbog, stor flad sten, ridebom
v. intr. - en måde at fiske på
Nederlands (Dutch)
dwarsbalk, grootboek, platte grafsteen, deksteen
Français (French)
n. - grand livre comptable, clipot paternoster, (Constr) sommier d'échafaudage
v. intr. - pêcher avec un paternoster
Deutsch (German)
n. - (Buchhaltung) Hauptbuch, Querbalken, (liegende) Grabplatte
v. - mit einer Angelleine, mit festliegendem Köder fischen
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (οικον.) (λογιστικό) καθολικό, κατάστιχο
Italiano (Italian)
traversa, libro mastro
Português (Portuguese)
n. - livro (m) razão (Fin.), lápide (f)
Русский (Russian)
главная бухгалтерская книга, надгробная плита
Español (Spanish)
n. - libro mayor
v. intr. - anotar en el libro mayor
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - huvudbok, liggare, tvärbjälke, liggande gravsten, stenplatta
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
分类帐, 底帐, 分户总帐, 用固定底饵钓鱼
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 分類帳, 底帳, 分戶總帳
v. intr. - 用固定底餌釣魚
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 원장 , 대장, 대석
v. intr. - 대장을 만들다
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 原簿, 元帳, 台帳, 布丸太, 台石
v. - ぶっ込みで釣る
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) الدفتر الأستاذ, الجسر, الخشبه المستعرضه في صقاله البناء
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ספר ראשי (בחשבונאות), מצבה שטוחה, קורת-פיגום אופקית
v. intr. - דג באמצעות חכה
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Barron's Accounting Dictionary
Dictionary of Accounting Terms. Copyright © 2010 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.
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McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture & Construction
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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West's Encyclopedia of American Law
West's Encyclopedia of American Law. Copyright © 1998 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Ledger.
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Mentioned in
Subsidiary Ledger
(business term)
Posting
(finance term)
Liability Ledger
(in banking)
General Ledger
(business term)
» More