Journals record individual document line details with no summarization so that full details are recorded. Those details enable very detailed reporting and reporting on an ’as of day’ basis. Ledgers on the other hand contain some level of summarization. At a minimum, document identification and line numbering details are removed. Other summarization is also likely on a time basis, Chart of Account information, and a limited amount of accounting details.
Two types of journals exist in the application, with each being populated by document processing. Most journals are populated by the Posting Lines, individual debits and credits created for each accounting line. However, there are some that are populated by document components that do not contain accounting information and are not built from posting lines. Only this first type of 'accounting’ journal can be summarized into a ledger.