LEDGER :

In the Journal, each transaction is dealt with separately. Therefore, it is not possible to know at a glance, the net result of many transactions. So, in order to ascertain the net effect of all the transactions relating to a particular account are collected at one place in the Ledger.

A Ledger is a book which contains all the accounts whether personal, real or nominal, which are first entered in journal or special purpose subsidiary books.

According to L.C. Cropper, ‘the book which contains a classified and permanent record of all the transactions of a business is called the Ledger’.

The ledger that is normally used in a majority of business concern is a bound note book. This can be preserved for a long time. Its pages are consequently numbered. Each account in the ledger is opened preferably on a separate page. If one page is completed, the account will be continued in the next or some other page. But in bigger concerns, it is not practical to keep the ledger as a bound note book, Loose-leaf ledger now takes the place of a bound note book. In a loose-leaf ledger, appropriate ruled sheets of thick paper are introduced and fixed up with the help of a binder. Whenever necessary additional pages may be inserted, completed accounts can be removed and the accounts may be arranged and rearranged in the desired order. Therefore, this type of ledger is known as Loose-leaf Ledger.