 A General Ledger identifies each account individually and includes posted transactions and balances. ◦ Posting is the process of transferring original entries from the journal to the ledger  Includes details of all transactions for each account.  Grouped by account. ◦ There is a general ledger account for each account that is part of the Chart of Accounts  See blank General Ledger excel file

 Create the General Ledger Accounts ◦ General Ledger forms provided  Beginning balances should be recorded for those accounts that have them.  Sample case: Three accounts have beginning balance: ◦ Cash (debit) $10,000 ◦ Supplies (debit) $500 ◦ Owners Name, Capital (credit) $10,500. ◦ All other accounts begin with a zero balance.  See provided solution: Beginning Balance Sheet

 The Multicolumn Journal is used for original entry into the accounting system.  Every transaction must be recorded in the journal as the first step in recording transactions.  All transaction records originate in the Journal, from which they are posted to the General Ledger and advanced through the Accounting Cycle.  Each transaction has a Debit and a Credit entry that will always equal each other ◦ Debit means “left” and Credit means “right”  Nothing more, nothing less  See provided blank Multicolumn Journal

 Efficient way of recording frequently occurring transactions.  Only the totals of the special columns need to be posted. ◦ Significantly decreases the amount of time required to post the Journal entries to the General Ledger.  Some transactions do not make use of a special column and must be listed individually in the GENERAL columns.  See provided blank Multicolumn Journal