Guides · Bookkeeping
The day book, explained
A day book is the diary of a business's transactions — a record kept in the order events happen, day by day. Before anything is sorted into accounts, it lands here first.
What a day book is for
A day book captures transactions chronologically as they occur, with the date, the parties, and the amount. It is the first place an entry is written, before it is posted to the proper accounts in the ledger.
Its value is completeness: recording every transaction in sequence means nothing is lost between happening and being accounted for.
How it feeds the ledger
Entries from the day book are posted to the ledger, where they are grouped by account rather than by date. The day book answers when something happened; the ledger answers how much sits in each account.
Keeping the day book current is what keeps the ledger reliable, because the ledger is only as complete as the record feeding it.
How Lekha records transactions in order
Lekha records each bill and payment as it happens, tied to the buyer or supplier and the document behind it, so the chronological record and the grouped ledger stay in step.
Lekha records what your documents say and tracks the money on both sides — what you owe and what you are owed. It records and tracks; it does not replace your accountant.
Questions
- What is a day book?
- A record of transactions kept in the order they happen, day by day — the first place an entry is written before it is posted to the ledger.
- How is a day book different from a ledger?
- A day book records transactions chronologically; a ledger groups them by account. The day book answers when, the ledger answers how much per account.
- Why keep a day book?
- For completeness — recording every transaction in sequence means nothing is lost between happening and being accounted for.