A subledger holds the detail behind a general ledger balance: each open bill (AP), each open invoice (AR), each retainage amount held, each job cost line. The general ledger holds the total in a control account. Construction adds subledgers most businesses don’t have: retainage receivable, retainage payable and job cost by project, cost code and cost type.
Why it matters
A subledger that doesn’t tie to the GL means one of them is wrong. Tie-outs (AP aging = AP account, job cost by job = job cost accounts by job) are how controllers and auditors prove the books are complete.
Worked example
After the Summit Mechanical requisition posts (sample data), the AP aging shows $225,000 current and $25,000 retainage for Summit; the GL shows the same amounts in 2000 Accounts Payable and 2010 Retainage Payable.
Common mistakes
- Fixing a tie-out difference with a plug entry instead of finding the document.
- Keeping job cost in a separate system with its own cut-off.
How os.construction handles it
In the accounting preview, subledger documents post through the same posting engine as manual entries, and the subledger reconciliation report compares each subledger with its control account when you run it, without adjusting anything. See Financial reports.