Where is the total value of trade payables recorded in the general ledger?

Where is the total value of trade payables recorded in the general ledger?

• A. Payables ledger control account
• B. Subsidiary payables ledger
• C. Cash book
• D. Purchases ledger

Answer: (A)

In a double-entry system, the total value of trade payables is shown in the general ledger as the Payables Ledger Control Account. The subsidiary payables ledger holds the individual supplier balances; the combined total of those balances is posted to this control account in the general ledger. This arrangement allows the business to see both the overall amount owed (in the control account) and the detailed supplier balances (in the subsidiary ledger), and to reconcile that the control account equals the sum of the individual supplier balances. The cash book records cash transactions, not payables, and the purchases ledger is simply another term for the supplier subsidiary ledger, not where the overall total is kept in the general ledger.

In a double-entry system, the total value of trade payables is shown in the general ledger as the Payables Ledger Control Account. The subsidiary payables ledger holds the individual supplier balances; the combined total of those balances is posted to this control account in the general ledger. This arrangement allows the business to see both the overall amount owed (in the control account) and the detailed supplier balances (in the subsidiary ledger), and to reconcile that the control account equals the sum of the individual supplier balances. The cash book records cash transactions, not payables, and the purchases ledger is simply another term for the supplier subsidiary ledger, not where the overall total is kept in the general ledger.