Subsidiary Ledger
A detailed set of accounts supporting a single control account in the general ledger.
What is Subsidiary Ledger?
A subsidiary ledger contains the individual account records for every customer, vendor, employee, or asset tracked beneath a general ledger control account. For example, the accounts receivable subsidiary ledger holds a separate balance for each customer, while the accounts receivable control account in the general ledger shows only the combined total. Accountants reconcile subsidiary ledgers to their control accounts at each period-end to detect posting errors or fraud. Common subsidiary ledgers include the accounts receivable ledger, accounts payable ledger, fixed asset register, and inventory ledger.
Example
A manufacturer maintains an accounts payable subsidiary ledger with 450 individual vendor accounts. At month-end, the sum of all vendor balances — $3.2 million — ties exactly to the accounts payable control account in the general ledger, confirming no posting errors occurred during the period.
Source: FASB ASC 210 — Balance Sheet