School Finance · SwiftPlus
The General Ledger and Trial Balance Explained
Updated 16 September 2026
What are the general ledger and trial balance?
The general ledger is the master record of every financial transaction the school makes, organized by account (fees income, salaries, utilities, and so on). The trial balance is a summary that lists each account's total debits and credits - produced from the ledger to check that the books are in balance.
Why schools need a real ledger
How transactions reach the ledger
What a trial balance tells you
From trial balance to financial statements
How SwiftPlus produces them
Frequently asked questions
The ledger holds the transactions; the trial balance summarizes the ledger's accounts to check the books balance.
Related resources
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