What is the general ledger?

A general ledger is a grouping of all of the accounts that a law firm uses to categorize and track the firm’s business transactions.^[1][2] The information found in the general ledger accounts is used to generate the firm’s balance sheet and profit and loss statement.^[2] In the past, the general ledger was a book in which each account had its own page.

The listing of available general ledger accounts is called the “chart of accounts”. Different industries have different types of business transactions so each industry should have a different chart of accounts.^[3] The following is a sample chart of accounts for a law firm:

References

1. What is General Ledger
2. General Ledger Accounting
3. Chart of Accounts for Small Law Firms