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General Ledger Report: Step-by-Step Guide

Updated over 2 months ago

Overview

The General Ledger (Philippines) report shows all movements for each account in your books for a selected date range and location.

For every account, the report displays:

  • The opening balance

  • Every debit and credit movement with date, description, and reference number

  • The running balance after each movement

  • The closing balance at the end of the period

This module sits under:

Financials → Books of Original Entry → General Ledger

It is part of the Philippines Books of Original Entry group, together with: General Journal, Sales Journal, Purchase Journal, Cash Receipt Book, and Cash Disbursement Book.

Key Features

  1. Date-range filter

    • Choose a start date and end date to define the reporting period.

    • The system checks that the start date is not later than the end date and shows an “Invalid date range” message if it is.

  2. Location filter

    • View the ledger for all locations or for a specific branch/location.

  3. Per-account ledger cards

    • For each account, you see a card with:

      • Account number and name in the header

      • A line showing Opening Balance and Closing Balance for that account

  4. Detailed movements table
    Inside each account card is a table with:

    • An Opening Balance row

    • One row per movement with: Date, Description, Reference #, Debit, Credit, Running Balance

    • A Closing Balance row at the bottom

    • If an account has no movements, you see the message “No ledger movements for this account.”

  5. Running balance is calculated by starting from the opening balance and adding debits and subtracting credits for each movement.

  6. Accurate balances from backend ledger service

    • The backend gathers all ledger entries for the selected business and date range, then groups them by account/category.

    • For each group it keeps the opening balance, builds the list of movements, and calculates the closing balance based on the final running balance.

  7. CSV and PDF export

    • The page includes Download CSV and Download PDF buttons.

    • CSV export includes:

      • Account Number, Account Name, Date, Description, Reference, Debit, Credit, Running Balance, plus “Opening Balance” and “Closing Balance” rows for each account.

  8. Shared experience with other Philippine books

    • The same page and filters are reused for General Journal, Sales Journal, Purchase Journal, Cash Receipts Journal, and Cash Disbursements Journal, so the workflow is consistent across all Books of Original Entry.

Getting Started

Follow these steps before using the General Ledger:

  1. Record transactions in other modules

    • Post entries in:

      • General Journal (e.g., manual journal entries)

      • Sales Journal and Purchase Journal

      • Cash Receipt Book and Cash Disbursement Book

    • These modules create the ledger entries that appear in the General Ledger.

  2. Set up accounts and opening balances

    • Define your accounts in Chart of Accounts so each ledger line can be linked to an account number and name.

    • Enter starting balances using Manage Opening Balance so the opening balances in the ledger are correct. (Opening balances are used as the starting running balance for each account.)

  3. Open the General Ledger module

    • From the left menu go to Financials → Books of Original Entry → General Ledger.

    • The page title “General Ledger” will appear, with the date and location filters at the top.

How to Use

1. Set your filters

  1. Choose the date range

    • In the Date field at the top, select the start date.

    • Select the end date.

    • Make sure the start date is on or before the end date to avoid an “Invalid date range” message.

  2. Choose the location

    • In the Location dropdown, choose All to see all branches, or pick a specific location.

  3. Refresh the report

    • Click Refresh to load the ledger for your chosen period and location.

2. Read the ledger for an account

For each account card:

  1. Check the header

    • At the top you’ll see:

      • Account number and name (for example, 2310 · Accrued Utilities)

      • A line that shows Opening Balance and Closing Balance for the selected period.

  2. Understand the table rows

    The table inside each card is organised as:

    • Opening Balance row

      • Date

      • Description: Opening Balance

      • Running Balance: starting balance for that account.

    • Movement rows – one row per transaction:

      • Date – accounting date of the movement

      • Description – memo or notes

      • Reference # – journal number or other reference

      • Debit – amount posted as a debit

      • Credit – amount posted as a credit

      • Running Balance – balance after this transaction

    • Closing Balance row

      • Shows the final balance based on the last running balance.

  3. Accounts with no movements

    • If the account has only an opening balance and no transactions in the selected period, you’ll see the message:
      “No ledger movements for this account.”

3. Export the report

  1. Download as CSV (spreadsheet)

    • Click the CSV/download icon near the top of the page.

    • The exported file contains:

      • Account Number, Account Name

      • Date, Description, Reference

      • Debit, Credit, Running Balance

      • Extra rows for Opening Balance and Closing Balance for each account.

  2. Download as PDF

    • Click the PDF icon to generate a PDF version of the report layout using the same date and location filters.

4. Use with other modules

  • General Journal – detailed journal lines that ultimately feed into the ledger entries.

  • Sales & Purchase Journals – sales and purchase transactions that affect revenue, expense, and tax accounts.

  • Cash Receipt & Cash Disbursement Books – cash in and cash out movements, grouped by account category.

Transactions posted and properly categorised in these modules will appear in the General Ledger report for the matching accounts and period.

Troubleshooting

1. “Invalid date range”

What you see:

A yellow message box saying “Invalid date range – Start date must be on or before the end date.”

What to do:

  1. Re-open the date picker.

  2. Make sure the start date is earlier than or the same as the end date.

  3. Click Refresh again.

2. “Unable to load report”

What you see:

A red message saying “Unable to load report. Please adjust your filters or try again in a few moments.”

What to do:

  1. Check your internet connection.

  2. Try a shorter date range or choose All locations.

  3. Click Refresh again.

  4. If it still fails, try signing out and signing back in before reloading.

3. No accounts or movements showing

Possible reasons:

  • There are no ledger entries in the selected period and location. The backend only returns ledgers when there are entries for that date range.

  • Transactions have not been posted yet in the related modules (General Journal, Sales/Purchase Journals, Cash Books).

What to do:

  1. Expand the date range.

  2. Change Location to All.

  3. Check that journal entries and cash transactions have been posted for the accounts you expect.

4. CSV or PDF is empty or missing data

If your exported file is empty or has only headings:

  1. Make sure the report on screen already shows ledger data before you click the export buttons.

  2. Check that your filters are not too narrow (for example, a single day with no activity).

  3. Try adjusting the date range or location and export again.


By following this guide, you can use the General Ledger (Philippines) module to review detailed account movements, verify balances, and export BIR-aligned ledger reports whenever you need them.

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