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ledger

A ledger is kind of like a diary, but for money. It's a book for keeping track of expenses, profits, and other financial matters.

A ledger is an accounting journal used to keep track of money. Businesses — or their accountants — keep careful ledgers so they know how much money is coming in and going out. If you've ever heard the expression "cook the books" — meaning cheat financially by making things up — the "books" are ledgers. If you like numbers and money, maybe you should become an accountant so you can help people with their ledgers.

DEFINITIONS OF: ledger

1

n a record in which commercial accounts are recorded

Synonyms:
account book, book, book of account, leger
Types:
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cost ledger
ledger showing the accumulated costs classified in various ways
general ledger
the ledger that contains all of the financial accounts of a business; contains offsetting debit and credit accounts (including control accounts)
subsidiary ledger
details of an account supporting the amount stated in the general ledger
daybook, journal
a ledger in which transactions have been recorded as they occurred
Type of:
record
a document that can serve as legal evidence of a transaction

n an accounting journal as a physical object

Synonyms:
daybook
Type of:
journal
a record book as a physical object
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