Controlling Account Payable Vs the Account Payable Subsidiary Ledger

A subsidiary ledger is a list that is detailed to support a control account which appears in total or summary on the balance sheet. Accounts receivable subsidiary ledger contains an account of each customer. The returns, payments, and sales are recorded for each customer in their individual accounts and in the control receivable accounts. A subsidiary ledger does not form part of the general ledger. Instead, it is a separate ledger that documents and monitors individual transactions that support a given general ledger control account balance.

The chronological transfer of journal entries to individual accounts from journal book is called a ledger and the transfer of such entries is referred to as posting. The three available ledgers are: Accounts Payable Subsidiary Ledger, Accounts Receivable Subsidiary Ledger, and general ledger. The accounts payable subsidiary ledger records transactions of credit purchase from the purchases journals and gives the details of payments that supplies receive for a business. Also, the subsidiary ledger reflects the amounts a business owes suppliers at the end of a given period. Elsewhere, the controlling account refers to the summary of all subsidiary ledger accounts from the general ledger. In the subsidiary ledger account, the balance is summarized and posted to the control account which reflects in the general ledger.

At the end of every month, each creditor’s normal balance in the accounts payable subsidiary ledger is credited. Also, the subsidiary ledgers are totaled, done, and checked with the account payable controlling accounts and the balances should match. The sum of the accounts payable subsidiary ledger accounts and the balance of accounting payable controlling account should match during the month because the accounts payable accounts is the controlling account for all subsidiary ledgers.  However, sometimes they do not match and reconciliation is required. The scenarios where there is no matching include when there are no accounts payable aging or billing aging records and the accounting period is closed. Also, when historic aging are not enabled there is no matching and reconciliation is required. Moreover, when historic aging are accidentally deleted, there is no matching hence reconciliation required. Lastly, the balance in accounts payable account is posted from their subsidiary ledgers only.