Posting to the

General Ledger
Posting: the process of recording
amounts as credits and debits in the
pages of the general ledger from the
General Journal.
 Posting to a T-account

Earlier we looked at ledger accounts in the form of a T.

The account name was on the top bar of the T and only the dollar
amounts were recorded—debits under the left arm of the T and
credits under the right arm of the T.
 Posting to the Ledger
• In the real world, ledgers have many more elements. Typically businesses
use a style of ledger account called the balance column account.
• The balance column account has three money columns: one for debit
amounts, one for credit amounts, and a separate one to keep a running
balance.
 Components of a Ledger

• The Account name is entered in the top left cell and the account number in the top
right. The account number comes from the “Chart of Accounts”.
• Next is the Date column. For multiple entries on same date each entry has its own
line.
• The Particulars column is usually blank except for when the balance is transferred
to a new page.
• The P.R.(Posting Reference) indicates the page number of the original journal entry
which contains the particulars for the transaction. - J4 means – General Journal
page 4.
 Components of a Ledger continued

• The Debit and Credit columns record the increases and decreases in the account.

• The Balance is calculated (using a function) after each entry.

Note: If the Balance is contrary to the type of balance expected for an account, the
balance is shown as a negative. For instance, if the Bank is overdrawn, the software
will add a ‘negative’ sign to the Balance figure.
 Posting
Posting refers to the process of
transferring information from the General
Journal to the Ledger.

Let’s post the following journal page to the

Ledger.
Sample Journal, ready to be posted.
 6 Steps in Posting
Step 1 - Turn to the proper account in the ledger.
 6 Steps in Posting
Step 2 - Record the date. Use the next
unused line in the account.
 6 Steps in Posting
Step 3 - Record the page number of the journal in the
posting reference (P.R.) column. Write the letter
J, for journal, in front of this number.
 6 Steps in Posting
Step 4 - Record the amount. Debit amounts are
entered in the debit column, credit amounts in
the credit column.
 6 Steps in Posting
Step 5 – Calculate the new account
balance in the balance column.
Use a function. Instruct Excel
to start with the previous
balance, add the current row’s
debits, and subtract the current
row’s credits.
One of many ways to write the
formula:
in F4 type
‘=F3 + D4 – E4’
Next use the fill handle to copy
your formula to the cells below.
Confused? Go to Excel’s help menu
and search for:
‘calculate a running balance’
 6 Steps in Posting

Step 6 – Record the account number from the ledger.

Enter this in the posting reference (P.R.) column
on the same line as the amount being posted.
 Ledger
As you post the transactions, if you correctly copied the
formula in the balance column then the Bank account
recalculates itself to keep a running balance.
 General Journal
The P.R. on journal page indicates that the amount in that row
has been posted to the appropriate ledger.
 Why cross reference?
Cross-referencing is the recording of the journal page
number in the account and the recording of the account
number in the journal.

Reasons for cross-referencing:

 Entries in the accounts can easily be traced back to

their source in the General Journal.
 Entries in the General Journal can be followed through
to the accounts in the Ledger where they have been
posted.
 If the posting process is interrupted, it is easy to tell
where to begin again. Journal amounts that have been
posted will have the account number entered.