What is a posting in accounting? California Learning Resource Network

For example, ABC International issues 20 invoices to its customers over a one-week period, for which the totals in the sales subledger are for sales of $300,000. ABC’s controller creates a posting entry to move the total of these sales into the general ledger with a $300,000 debit to the accounts receivable account and a $300,000 credit to the revenue account. This can require a significant amount of additional research work. Posting is also used when a parent company maintains separate sets of books for each of its subsidiary companies.

Balance Sheet

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act makes accurate financial reporting even more important. Posting, the cycle’s final step, shows a company’s honesty and effort. MicroTrain’s clear final trial balance shows its commitment to openness and detailed records. This acts as a promise to stakeholders of the company’s financial integrity and rule following.

What is the Process from Journal to Ledger in Posting?

Using tools like QuickBooks helps avoid errors and meets high standards. Every entry moves from the general journal to electronic ledger posting. The use of bookkeeping software tools helps make this process more accurate and less prone to errors. When a Journal Entry is made to record a transaction, that Journal Entry is then entered (posted) in the accounts being impacted. For example, when rent is paid, in the journal entry Rent Expense is increased and Cash is decreased.

Computerized Accounting System Postings

• Yes, posting must follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
• These principles are especially crucial in managing cash and receivables.
• The ledger posting process moves journal entries to the general ledger.

However, there are a few general rules when creating an account post entry. An account post will have to be completed before the finalization of the business’s annual financial statement. However, within that timeframe, an account post can be carried out at any time of day, depending on the nature and conditions of the business. While each entry in the ledger is different general rules of posting apply in most cases. Following proper separation of duties helps the posting process work smoothly, according to University of Florida’s guidelines. This important split of financial tasks strengthens internal controls.

The Double-Entry System: Debits and Credits

This is useful for providing additional clarity to a user of the general ledger who might be researching certain transactions. An accounting posting is the transfer of entries in the subsidiary books of account or journals to the appropriate general ledger accounts and is part of the double what is posting accounting entry bookkeeping system. Posting in accounting is when the balances in subledgers and the general journal are shifted into the general ledger. Posting only transfers the total balance in a subledger into the general ledger, not the individual transactions in the subledger.

Posting refers to the process of transferring an entry from a journal to a ledger account. The posting references in a journal are normally to documents supporting the transaction and the general ledger account codes. In the General Journal, when an account has been posted to an individual account, the number assigned to that account is listed in the Post Ref column to indicate that entry has been posted. In the General Ledger, for the corresponding transaction, the page number of the General Journal is entered to signify the page where the transaction can be found. Postings can be simplified by using accounting software which can automatically update the appropriate account in the general ledger.

In this process, all adjusting entries to the various subledgers and general journal must be made, after which their contents are posted to the general ledger. It is customary at this point to set a lock-out flag in the accounting software, so that no additional changes to the subledgers and journals can be made for the accounting period being closed. Access to the subledgers and journals is then opened for the next accounting period. In accounting, a posting is a crucial step in recording financial transactions, also known as journal entries.

Following these principles builds trust in a company’s financial health. For CPAs and finance experts, closing the accounting cycle is essential. For example, MicroTrain saw a 57.73% rise in Service Revenue and a 53.55% drop in Salaries Expense. Following the cycle closely gives a true picture of a company’s finances. This sounds like a lot of work, but it’s necessary to keep an accurate record of business events.

In this case, the accounting records for each subsidiary are essentially the same as subledgers, so the account totals from the subsidiaries are posted into those of the parent company. This may also be handled on a separate spreadsheet through a manual consolidation process. An example would be if a business implements a sales invoicing module, it can use the accounting software to send out an invoice to a client through a given module. The accounting software will then automatically create an account post that would debit the client’s account in an account receivable while also issuing credit to the sales revenue account in the general ledger.

Double Entry Bookkeeping is here to provide you with free online information to help you learn and understand bookkeeping and introductory accounting. Chartered accountant Michael Brown is the founder and CEO of Double Entry Bookkeeping. He has worked as an accountant and consultant for more than 25 years and has built financial models for all types of industries. He has been the CFO or controller of both small and medium sized companies and has run small businesses of his own.

A posting, pertaining to accounting, is the transferring of entry or multiple entries from a subsidiary accounting book or journal to a suitable ledger account. Similarly, if an account in a journal entry has been credited it will be posted to the ledger account by entering the same amount on the credit side/column of the respective ledger account. An account post is usually done through a strict procedure that follows the creation of a journal entry from details of a particular transaction.