General Ledger Report

Available on: Patriot Accounting (Basic and Premium). Attachments on transactions are available on Patriot Accounting Premium only.

The General Ledger report shows all accounting activity for a selected time period, organized by account. You can view transaction details, edit eligible transactions, and delete or void transactions — as long as they have not been fully reconciled, (matching your accounting records against your bank statement.)

How to Run the General Ledger Report

1. Go to Reports > Accounting > Financial Reports > General Ledger.
2. Select Accounts — All accounts are selected by default. You can narrow the report to specific accounts.
3. Choose a Date Range — By default, the report shows activity from the first day of the previous month through the end of the current month.
4. Select Accounting Basis — Choose Cash/Modified Cash or Accrual.
   • Cash basis records revenue and expenses when cash is actually received or paid.
   • Accrual basis records revenue and expenses when they are earned or incurred, regardless of when cash changes hands. Accrual view shows unpaid invoices and bills that Cash basis does not.

5. (Optional) Filter by Departments — If you use Departments, select the ones you want to include.
6. Click Run Report.
7. Customize the view:
   • Toggle “Use Debits/Credits” to switch between a debit/credit column layout and a single signed amount column.
   • Use the search box to find transactions by description, activity type, or amount.
   • Note: Running balance totals will not appear when filters or search are active.
8. Click Download Spreadsheet to export the report as a comma-delimited (.CSV) file, which can be opened in Excel or imported into other software.

Viewing Transaction Details on the General Ledger

To see more information about a specific transaction in the General Ledger:

• Click the description of the transaction to open the detail view.
• In the detail view, you can:
  • Edit, void, or delete the transaction (if eligible — see rules below).
  • Add attachments to the transaction (Accounting Premium only).
  • View all line items and related activity for that entry.

Editing Transactions on the General Ledger

You can edit, void, or delete certain types of transactions directly from the General Ledger, as long as they have not been fully reconciled (reconciliation — the process of matching your Patriot Accounting records against your bank statement to confirm accuracy; once a transaction is reconciled, it cannot be changed without first removing the reconciliation).

• You can click the description of the transaction to expand the details. At the bottom of the transaction links for eligible actions (void, edit, delete) will be available.
• You can also click the gear icon next to any unexpanded transaction in the report for quick access to the same edit, void, and delete options.

Transaction types you can edit on the General Ledger

• Manual journal entries
• Deposits and withdrawals
• Beginning balances
• Imported transactions (except those linked to invoices or bills)
• Payroll accounting entries

What fields can be edited in the General Ledger

The following fields are editable on eligible transactions:

• Date — must be on or before the current reconciliation date
• Description
• Department
• Line description
• Amounts and accounts — only for line items that have not been reconciled

If a transaction has been partially reconciled, you can still edit the unreconciled line items. To edit reconciled amounts or accounts, you must first remove the reconciliation following these steps:

1. Go to Accounting > Financial Reports > Account Reconciliation.
2. Click the trash can icon next to the reconciliation you need to remove.
3. After deleting the reconciliation, return to the General Ledger to make your edits.

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