=2. Purchase Ledger.= The purchase ledger contains only accounts with those from whom we are making purchases. The balances of the accounts in this ledger will be on the credit side and represent a liability. The total balance of the purchase ledger is the amount we owe on open accounts. If, for example, our purchases on account during a stated period amount to $964.50, and the amount paid on account by us is $320.30, we still owe $644.20. If the work is correct the combined balances of all open accounts in the purchase ledger will exactly equal this amount. =3. Sales Ledger.= The sales ledger contains only accounts with customers to whom goods are sold on account. The balances of the accounts in the sales ledger will be on the debit side and represent an asset. The total balance of the sales ledger is the amount that our customers owe us on open accounts. Suppose that a business is started with no open accounts receivable—during a stated period the sales on account amount to $1,427.75, and the total payments received on account are $965.50—the amount still outstanding is $462.25, and this amount should exactly equal the combined balances of all the open accounts in the sales ledger. The sales ledger is sometimes subdivided into two or more parts. The divisions may be City and Country or they may be according to the letters of the alphabet—as A-K, L-Z, etc. =4. Accounts in Both Ledgers.= Occasionally one from whom we are purchasing goods will also be a customer. For reasons which will appear later, accounts should, in these cases, be opened in both the purchase ledger and the sales ledger. When settlement of such an account is made, the necessary adjusting entries are made through the journal. =5. General Ledger.= The general ledger contains the investment accounts of the proprietor or partners, and all real, representative, and nominal accounts. Accounts with the purchase and sales ledgers are also kept in this ledger. These are _controlling accounts_ which represent at all times the total balances of the purchase and sales ledgers. When statements of the other ledgers have been made and proved correct, a trial balance of the general ledger is made. CONTROLLING ACCOUNTS =6.= A controlling account is one which exhibits a summary of all of the accounts in a ledger, or of all accounts of the same class. The sales account, with which the student has been made acquainted, exhibits net sales, while a _sales controlling account_ exhibits a summary of all accounts in the sales ledger. The _debits_ to the sales controlling account represent the total debits to customers' accounts as shown by the sales book or the journal. The _credits_ to the sales controlling account represent the total credits to customers as shown by the cash book and the journal. This account is variously styled Sales Ledger Account, Accounts Receivable Account, or Sales Controlling Account.