This book is used the same as any other loose-leaf ledger with the exception that there is much more detail entered in these ledger accounts than is usual in a mercantile business.
Not more than one account should be entered on one leaf, for the reason that it is impossible to maintain a perfect alphabetical arrangement unless each account is absolutely independent.
After the names have been entered, the ledger sheets should be arranged alphabetically under each leather tabbed indexed subdivision. This arrangement should be carried, if necessary, to the fifth or sixth letter and when names are the same, like _Smith_, they are indexed alphabetically by initials. The brokerage business is one where there should be no loss of time in referring to accounts, hence the more perfect the indexing the more easily the account is located. Ledgers can be balanced daily by the aid of an adding machine without writing off the amounts of the balances.
The binders to use for this ledger are a current binder for active accounts and a transfer binder for closed accounts.
Postings should be made from the daily record sheet to the ledger as soon as possible after the consummation of the deal, and the postings from the cash book must also necessarily be kept up to date. At any moment the statement of the customer may be required, and it would be quite inconvenient for the broker if, on account of delayed posting, the statement were incomplete or incorrect. The number of customers' ledgers that should be kept depends entirely upon the number of customers. One loose-leaf ledger binder will accommodate at least five hundred accounts, and if the number exceeds this, two current binders should be used. By keeping the ledgers well gleaned and transferring closed accounts to a transfer ledger, the active accounts only remain in the current binder, which facilitates posting, statement making, and reference.
Fig. 14. Conventional Balance Form for General Ledger ]
Some firms use the vertical filing drawer for transferred accounts instead of placing them in another binder, as it is much easier to secure these accounts for replacement in the current binder in case the account is reopened.
=30. General Ledger.= A general ledger should be kept for the personal accounts of members of the firm, controlling accounts of subsidiary ledgers, controlling account of bills receivable and bills payable, and all impersonal accounts. This book may be in loose leaf if desired, although many firms prefer to use a bound ledger for this purpose. The best form is the regular four-column ledger, debit, credit, debit balance, and credit balance, as in Fig. 14.