What is a general ledger?
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
Definition
The general ledger is the main record of a business's accounts. It holds every account in the chart of accounts and the transactions posted to each one, so it shows the running balance of every asset, liability, equity, income and expense account the business uses.
Transactions reach the general ledger from journals or, in accounting software, from the invoices, bills and bank transactions entered in other screens. Detailed lists, such as each customer's or supplier's balance, add up to a single control account in the general ledger.
The balances in the general ledger are what a trial balance lists and what the financial statements are built from.
In Australia
Section 286 of the Corporations Act 2001 requires a company to keep written financial records that correctly record and explain its transactions and its financial position and performance, and to keep them for 7 years after the transactions are completed. The general ledger is where those transactions are brought together, so it is part of the records that rule covers.
For a business that is not a company, the ATO's general rule applies: keep most records for 5 years from when they were prepared or obtained, or from when the transactions were completed, whichever is later.
Related terms
Sources
- Corporations Act 2001, sections 9 and 286
Federal Register of Legislation, Office of Parliamentary Counsel. Compilation No. 149, 19 September 2026, released 19 September 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.
Based on content from the Federal Register of Legislation at 15 October 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government legislation please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au. Licence: CC BY 4.0.
- Overview of record-keeping rules for business
Australian Taxation Office. Current at 18 June 2026 (QC60718), released 18 June 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.
© Australian Taxation Office for the Commonwealth of Australia Licence: ATO website copyright notice (copy, adapt and distribute, without implying ATO endorsement).