AR subledger
The customer-by-customer record of open invoices, credits and payments that rolls up to the accounts receivable balance in the general ledger.
Where the general ledger holds one accounts receivable balance, the subledger holds every line behind it: which customer owes what, on which invoice, due when. Aging reports, statements of account and collections worklists are all built from it.
Keeping it accurate depends on applying cash promptly and correctly. Payments left unapplied, or applied to the wrong invoice, make the subledger and every report built on it wrong.
Related terms
- General ledger (GL)The master record of every financial transaction a company posts, organized by account, from which its financial statements are produced.
- AR aging reportThe report that lists each customer's open balance by age: current, then 1–30, 31–60, 61–90 and more than 90 days past due.
- Cash applicationMatching incoming payments to the open invoices they pay and posting them in the ERP, so receivables and cash stay accurate.
- Unapplied cashPayments received but not yet matched to specific invoices, left sitting on the customer's account or in a suspense account.