A core premise of accounting deals with the concept of journals, ledgers, and journal entries. The need for various journals or ledgers may depend on the size and structure of the organization. Bookkeepers must understand how each tool is developed and how they interrelate.

An accounting journal is a detailed account of all the financial transactions of a business. It is also known as the book of original entry (the first place where transactions are recorded). An accounting ledger is an account or record used to store bookkeeping entries for balance sheet and income statement transactions. Accounting ledger journal entries can include accounts like cash, accounts receivable, investments, inventory, accounts payable, accrued expenses, and customer deposits. The term accounting ledger is often used interchangeably with accounting sub-ledgers or the general ledger. A general ledger contains all the accounts for recording transactions relating to a company's assets, liabilities, owners' equity, revenue, and expenses. The general ledger is where posting to the accounts occurs.

This course examines each of these accounting tools and explains their protocols and how they are integral to the accounting process.

Whether you are a business owner or want to develop the skill of bookkeeping to begin a career, there are critical accounting and bookkeeping concepts that are important to learn.

This course has been developed by a CPA who has both small and large business accounting experience and background.

NOTE: This course is one of a series of courses developed for the Professional Bookkeeping Certification program on Illumeo. The full curriculum of courses will provide you with the ultimate foundation for a career as a bookkeeper.

Note: Information within this course comes from readily available public domain documents and is utilized by the trainer as a supplement for relaying the course content.

Learning Objectives
  • Explore the concept of accounting journals
  • Explore the concept of ledgers including:
    • General ledger, subsidiary ledgers, ledger accounts
  • Identify to evaluate, compare and contrast the purpose and substance of the various ledgers
  • Recognize processes for posting to the general ledger
Last updated/reviewed: March 15, 2024

Included In Certifications

This course is included in the following Certification Programs:

14 CoursesProfessional Bookkeeping Certification

  1. Bookkeeping: Terminology and Process Execution
  2. Bookkeeping: Debits And Credits
  3. Bookkeeping: Cash vs. Accrual
  4. Bookkeeping: Payroll And Expenses
  5. Bookkeeping: Legal Entity And Chart Of Accounts
  6. Bookkeeping: Journals, Subsidiary Ledgers and General Ledger
  7. Bookkeeping: Responsibilities
  8. Bookkeeping: Fixed assets and inventory
  9. Bookkeeping: Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable And Receipts
  10. Management Internal Control Essentials
  11. GAAP Principles, Assumptions and Considerations
  12. GAAP Presentation of Financial Statements
  13. Bookkeeping Basics – Case Study Scenario
  14. Useful Bookkeeping Tools

15 CoursesNot-For-Profit and Small Business Entities Certification

  1. Introduction to Not-for-Profit Entities
  2. Introduction to Accounting for Not-For-Profit Entities
  3. Identifying and Implementing the Proper Balance of Internal Controls
  4. Segregation of Duties for Core Business Processes
  5. Bookkeeping: Journals, Subsidiary Ledgers and General Ledger
  6. Bookkeeping: Payroll And Expenses
  7. Bookkeeping: Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable And Receipts
  8. Effectively Managing and Controlling Travel and Entertainment (T&E) Expenses
  9. Management Internal Control Essentials
  10. Financial Statement Essentials for Not-for-Profits
  11. Not-for-Profit Financial Statements Part 2
  12. Not for Profit Financials - Focus on Net Assets
  13. Cyber Risk in Small-Medium Entities
  14. Fraud in Small-Medium Entities
  15. Not-For-Profit Accountability and Responsibility
50 Reviews (216 ratings)

Reviews

4
Member's Profile
Excellent review, very thorough. Couple of slides had typographical errors. Having educational background made this course enjoyable. I will appreciate having access to slides and tools for future use. This course helped build my confidence in my skills, and I am looking forward to future classes and then to ultimately putting these skills to work.

5
Anonymous Author
The course is a great refresher on the process from journals to ledgers. The instructor does a good job drilling down on subsidiary ledgers and gives great examples on accounts receivable and how all the detailed information for customers are stored.

5
Anonymous Author
I think anyone who looks over financial statements, but doesn't do the bookkeeping work, would benefit from this course. Some micromanagers believe just because the accounting software has all the things, you should use all the things.... ;)

4
Anonymous Author
Good presentation for beginners to gain an understanding of the actual entries and thought that goes into the preparation of journal entries and impact on the ledgers since most is done behind the scenes in ERP and other accounting systems

4
Anonymous Author
This was a good course. Good overview of the GL and utilizing journals, if you aren't in the field and are interested in the basic level information. The slides/notes correspond nicely with the lecture given.

5
Member's Profile
Basic Bookkeeping is important to review from time to time, lest we forget the source of transactions. Lynn has made a wonderful presentation and revisiting these concepts was fun. Thank you Lynn, Larry

3
Member's Profile
I found this class to be a bit disjointed and presented at a very rapid pace. There are a few better introductory classes on the site that cover this information that are better and easier to follow.

5
Anonymous Author
This is an introductory course to journals and ledgers. Personally, as an Accountant, I should have chosen a different course to take. Lynn did a great job as always explaining the material.

5
Anonymous Author
I learned from this course about the journals and ledges, and the relationship and difference between them. Lynn made these concepts to be very easily understood by plentiful of examples.

5
Member's Profile
Understood various types of General ledgers and Journals modules. The course outlines what a Journal looks like and how it helps the Bookkeeper in developing a full scale accounting cycle

5
Anonymous Author
As always this class is informative and you can see how the foundation is needed in order to have a good set of books and knowledge to be effective in money management

5
Member's Profile
A very nice overview of journals, subsidiary ledgers and general ledger. This was a good refresher for understanding the purpose and use of journals, ledgers and GL.

4
Member's Profile
Overall it was a good course, not dragged, brief and to the point. I liked clear examples with screen shots and comments (would be great if they'd be less blurry).

5
Anonymous Author
The ledger used to store bookkeeping transactions for the BS and the IS is the General Ledger.The BS uses numbers from account ledgers within the general ledger

5
Member's Profile
In the first lecture of this course ... all looks like a bit confusing but more you adve Ance in the training the clearer it became to become crystal clear..

5
Anonymous Author
The illustrations are really good for this course. The ideas of general ledgers vs. journal entries are confusing but the instructor explained it very well.

5
Anonymous Author
It was a shorter lesson, which I did enjoy because I was able to write really in depth notes and I was able to saturate my brain with the information given.

5
Anonymous Author
I thought this course was very interesting and helpful. I thought the instructor explained the topic very well. I would recommend this course to others.

5
Anonymous Author
This course explains the differences between the Journal and general ledgers very simply and easy to understand. Provides examples too. Would recommend.

5
Anonymous Author
This was a good refresher course for me. The instructor did a good job of explaining the concepts behind journals, sub ledgers and general ledgers.

5
Anonymous Author
This course was a really good overview of understanding the purpose and differences between the journal, sub-ledger(s), and the general ledger.

5
Member's Profile
Quick and easy course. Now I'm going to write a couple more sentences to get to the limit. I've been downloading the pdf's to use for later.

5
Anonymous Author
Concise review of journals, ledgers and GL. Good use of examples. The PDF’s are extremely helpful as I listened to the recording.

5
Member's Profile
Great lesson on General Ledgers vs Journal Entries. As always Lynn does a wonderful at explaining concise information.

5
Member's Profile
It's a good basic course for refresh memory. This course explains basic concepts in details and gives clear examples.

4
Anonymous Author
This course has helped me understand the difference between Ledgers vs. Journals and how they are used in a business

4
Member's Profile
Any bookkeeper, new business owner will find this valuable is setting up journals and ledgers. great information!

4
Member's Profile
The PowerPoint that was used the illustration that was in the presentation was different than the ones in the PDF

4
Member's Profile
Enjoyed, great overview of Booking and Accounting Basics and how JE's, Journals, GL, and Sub-Ledger inter-relate

4
Anonymous Author
This course was a good refresher. This course is ideal for people not as familiar with accounting. Thank you.

3
Anonymous Author
I think the examples should be given first before the explanation so you can see what you are looking at.

5
Anonymous Author
This course provides a good description of the different logs used in recording business transactions.

5
Member's Profile
This course is very informative. Lynn gives good examples and explains the information in detail.

5
Member's Profile
This is a good refresher for all accountants.I liked the detailed explanation of books of accounts

5
Member's Profile
Lots of good reveiw information in this course. Good slides also. Would recommend to others.

4
Anonymous Author
At least this time there were more examples. I think in every lesson many examples are needed.

5
Anonymous Author
Useful information about basic bookkeeping and the difference between journal vs ledger, etc.

4
Anonymous Author
Good explanations on the difference between journals, subsidiary ledgers and general ledger.

5
Member's Profile
Great descriptions are used in this course to define General Ledger and General Journals.

5
Member's Profile
nice overview of some bookkeeping fundamentals. another good course, much appreciated.

5
Anonymous Author
Good lecture and overview of the important differences between the tools discussed.

4
Anonymous Author
This module was very helpful in understanding general ledgers and journals.

5
Anonymous Author
A good, basic refresher course. I've enjoyed Lynn Fountain's trainings.

3
Anonymous Author
I think there should have been more information about Journal entries

5
Member's Profile
Course gives a clear description between the journals and ledgers.

4
Anonymous Author
I liked the way it was explained and the summary was very helpful

5
Anonymous Author
Easy to understand, simple and helpful.Completely comprehensive.

5
Anonymous Author
A very detailed course, well defined and straight to the point.

5
Member's Profile
Good explanation of journals and ledgers. Very informative.

5
Anonymous Author
Very entry level course. I would recommend for beginners.

Prerequisites
Course Complexity: Intermediate

No Advanced Preparation or Prerequisites are needed for this course. However, it is recommended to take the other courses in the series prior to completing this one.

Education Provider Information
Company: Illumeo, Inc., 75 East Santa Clara St., Suite 1215, San Jose, CA 95113
Contact: For more information regarding this course, including complaint and cancellation policies, please contact our offices at (408) 400- 3993 or send an e-mail to .
Instructor for this course
Course Syllabus
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
  Introduction to Bookkeeping Basics – Utilizing Journals, Subsidiary Ledgers and the General Ledger3:57
  Accounting Journals5:48
  General Ledger and Sub-Ledgers16:09
  Illustrations7:24
  Comparisons1:41
  Summary3:55
CONTINUOUS PLAY
  Bookkeeping Basics – Utilizing Journals, Subsidiary Ledgers and the General Ledger 38:55
SUPPORTING MATERIALS
  Slides: Utilizing Journals, Subsidiary Ledgers and the General LedgerPDF
  Utilizing Journals, Subsidiary Ledgers and the General Ledger Glossary/IndexPDF
REVIEW AND TEST
  REVIEW QUESTIONSquiz
 FINAL EXAMexam