A ledger collects every transaction for one account in date order, with a running balance. In Indian business the word is used two ways:
- Party ledger
- the account of one customer or supplier, showing invoices, payments, credit notes and the balance. This is what a dealer sends when a customer asks for a statement.
- General ledger
- the full set of accounts behind the books: sales, purchases, each expense, each bank, GST payable and so on.
Debit and credit
For a customer, an invoice is a debit (they owe you more) and a payment is a credit (they owe you less). For a supplier it is the reverse. A positive customer balance is money to collect; a positive supplier balance is money to pay.
Balance confirmation
At the end of the financial year many businesses send each party its ledger and ask for confirmation. Auditors often ask for these. Differences usually come from payments not yet recorded, returns without credit notes, or TDS cut by the customer.
A customer's record page in MatruOS shows their documents, balance, payments and timeline together.