what is a ledger balance

A ledger balance is the opening balance in a bank account at the beginning of a given day, and it remains the same throughout the day. It is calculated by a bank at the end of each business day and includes all withdrawals and deposits to calculate the total amount of money in a bank account. The ledger balance is also often referred to as the current balance and is different from the available balance in an account. The available balance is the aggregate amount of funds accessible for withdrawal at any one point during the day. The ledger balance differs from the customers available balance because it does not include real-time transaction updates and therefore remains the same throughout the day. If you log into your online banking, you may see your current balance—the balance at the beginning of the day—and the available balance. You can only spend your available balance and not your ledger balance. If the ledger balance is greater than the available balance, you can only spend up to the available balance. In accounting, the ledger balance is used in the reconciliation of book balances.