What Is the Difference Between a Sales Ledger and Credit Control?

If you’re looking to secure accounting services for your business, you’ll want to know exactly what assistance you require. Part of the battle is knowing what all the terms specifically refer to. Some accounting services carry subtle differences, so you’ll want to make sure the right bases are covered and that no tasks are being duplicated. This is especially true when you’re looking to outsource some but not all of your financial functions. This guide is here to help you understand the difference between a sales ledger (also known as accounts receivable) and credit control.

Sales ledger vs credit control – What’s the difference?

These two services are similar and have a crossover. Both the sales ledger and credit control are types of accounts. They record amounts owed to your business by credit customers. The big difference is that while the control account gives the total of trade receivables as a total figure, the sales ledger goes deeper, listing the individual amounts owed by each customer.

• Credit control management typically involves chasing payments that are owed to your business.
• The sales ledger is the administrative side of credit control.
  
  Read more: What is Credit Control Outsourcing?
  What Does a Sales Ledger Manager Do?

Do you need both?

Credit control often involves chasing payments. This could include sending invoices and making outbound phone calls or other communications. The sales ledger is a way to record all the contacts and amounts owed. It’s the data that enables these essential phone calls to be made. It needs to be well maintained and managed efficiently to make sure that amounts owed don’t snowball.

Maintaining a sales ledger effectively can be time-consuming. If you don’t have the resources to manage this, it’s worth outsourcing. Often, sales ledger management and credit control go hand in hand, and it can make sense for both of these services to be outsourced at the same time to a single provider.

Not Sure Which Service Is Right for Your Business?

Read more:
5 Reasons to Regularly Review Your Sales Ledger
Sales ledger pitfalls many businesses make – but you can avoid
How Better Sales Ledger Management Can Keep You on Top of Bad Debt
Debt Recovery and Credit Control Strategies for Businesses