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Read the General Ledger

The General Ledger is every posted journal line in a date range, one account at a time. Each account opens at its Beginning balance, each line under it runs that account's own Balance, and the account closes at its own total.

It is the report you open when a number on another report needs proof.

Open the General Ledger

Open All pages in the left sidebar, then under Reports click General ledger.
The page title is General Ledger.
Set Report period.
Switch Accounting basis between Accrual and Cash.

General Ledger grouped by account, with Beginning balance, Name, Source, Debit, Credit, and Balance

How each account reads

The account's code and name sit on their own row, with Beginning balance.
For an asset, liability, or equity account, that figure is as of the day before the range. For income and expense, it is this fiscal year's total so far: $0.00 on a full-year report, January through February on a March report. Earlier years sit on Retained Earnings, same as the Balance Sheet.
Every line under that row belongs to that account. Balance is that account's balance after the line.
Total {account} closes the account at the same figure the Balance Sheet (or Profit & loss) prints for it.

Keep your place while you scroll

The column headings stay at the top as you scroll down.
The account you are reading stays pinned under them, with its Beginning balance, until the next account's heading takes over.
On a phone or a narrow window, the ledger scrolls sideways in its own box. The account name stays on the left. A faint shading at an edge means more columns that way.

An account with no lines this period

An account that carried a balance in and had no activity still prints: its heading, its Beginning balance, and its Total, with no lines between them. That is the ordinary shape of Retained Earnings.

Retained Earnings with Beginning balance and Total, and no lines between them

This is not a missing section. The account carried a balance in and did nothing, so there is nothing to list.

The columns

Date is the posting date used by the selected basis.
Name is who the money moved with. It is blank when nothing names one.
Source says what created the line, in words: Bank, Invoice, Bill, Journal, Opening. A bank row nobody has filed yet reads Bank, not reviewed. Inventory lines read Opening inventory, Inventory purchase, Cost of goods sold, Landed cost, or Inventory cost update.
Description is the line's memo.
Debit and Credit show the money as posted. The empty side shows a dash.
Balance is this account's running balance. A credit card you owe $581.79 on prints $581.79, not ($581.79), so the column ties to the Balance Sheet.

Read one account

Open Account balances. See "Account balances, income by customer, and purchases by vendor".
Click the account's name.
The General Ledger opens with a Filtered to account banner naming it.

When a total is not final

An amber line under the title names money the report cannot see.

Amber line that 4 transactions worth $2,480.00 are not in these numbers yet

The line reads N transactions worth $X are not in these numbers yet.
Those are bank rows with no journal entry, so they sit in no account.
Click the line to open To review.

This is not the N not reviewed chip on Profit & loss. That chip is money already in Uncategorized. This line is money that is not in the books at all.

Good to know

Export this report downloads Excel or CSV. Print or save as PDF gives you a copy.
For one account's rows with receipts and reconciliation marks, use its register instead. See "Open an account register".

Lines are read-only here. To fix one, post the correction where it came from, or post an adjusting entry. See "Post an adjusting journal entry".

Updated on: 24/09/2026

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