What is the difference between a ledger account and a trial balance?
@montana
A ledger account is a detailed record that captures all the individual transactions for a specific account, such as cash, accounts receivable, or accounts payable. It contains information on the date, description, debit or credit amount, and the running balance of each transaction.
On the other hand, a trial balance is a list of all the ledger accounts and their respective balances at a specific point in time. It is usually prepared at the end of an accounting period, such as a month or year-end. The trial balance ensures that the debits and credits recorded in the ledger accounts are in balance. This means that the total amount of debit balances should equal the total amount of credit balances.
In summary, a ledger account contains detailed transactional information for a specific account, while a trial balance provides an overview of all accounts and their balances to check if the debits and credits are in balance.