Ledgers (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Accounting)

The Ledger

What is the ledger?

• The ledger is a collection of all the accounts for a business

  • It could be a book where each account is on a new page

  • It could be a spreadsheet file where each account is on a new sheet

• The accounts in the ledger are referred to as ledger accounts

• The ledger is divided into three separate ledgers

  • The sales ledger

  • The purchases ledger

  • The nominal (general) ledger

Sales, Purchases & Nominal Ledgers

What is the sales ledger?

• The sales ledger is a collection of the accounts for all of the credit customers

  •  These are the trade receivables accounts

• The sales account itself does not go into the sales ledger

  • It goes in the nominal ledger

What is the purchases ledger?

• The purchases ledger is a collection of the accounts for all of the credit suppliers

  •  These are the trade payables accounts

• The purchases account itself does not go into the purchases ledger

  • It goes in the nominal ledger

What is the nominal (general) ledger?

• The nominal ledger is a collection of all accounts of a business except for the accounts for credit customers and credit suppliers

  • It is also known as the general ledger

• The sales account and the purchases account are kept in the nominal ledger