General ledger

[Michael Hendry]

> On 13 Dec 2015, at 23:12, Randy Williamson <ac7nj at arrl.net> wrote:
> 
> How do I make the ledger show a balance I'm a total newby
> 
> Than you in advance
> 
> Randy ac7nj

Welcome to GnuCash, Randy.

I think you might need to do a little reading about double-entry bookkeeping, the whole essence of which is that every transaction involves money being moved from one account to another, and that these figures are equal and opposite.

This means that if you have a non-zero balance in your general ledger you’ve made a mistake somewhere.

For example, if you pay your utility bill by direct debit each month, you’ll find that the General Ledger has an entry in the "Tot Funds In" column for "Expenses:Heat, Light and Power" account of £X and a "Tot Funds Out” entry for the same amount against "Assets:Current Assets:Bank Account”.

When you look at the two accounts involved you’ll find that the balance in "Expenses:Heat, Light and Power"  has increased and that in "Assets:Current Assets:Bank Account” has decreased.


A lot of the queries raised on this forum can be resolved by answering the question “How would I have done this in the old days of paper and pencil?”, or by breaking complex transactions down into their component parts.

Feel free to tell me if you find my answer patronising!

Michael