Page "Bookkeeping" Paragraph 5

After a certain period, typically a month, the columns in each journal are each totaled to give a summary for the period.

Using the rules of double entry, these journal summaries are then transferred to their respective accounts in the ledger, or book of accounts.

For example the entries in the Sales Journal are taken and a debit entry is made in each customer's account ( showing that the customer now owes us money ) and a credit entry might be made in the account for " Sale of class 2 widgets " ( showing that this activity has generated revenue for us ).

This process of transferring summaries or individual transactions to the ledger is called posting.

Once the posting process is complete, accounts kept using the " T " format undergo balancing, which is simply a process to arrive at the balance of the account.