Ledger (Trading Account)

## What it is In a trading account, the ledger is the chronological statement of every money movement between you and your broker. It records credits (funds you add, sale proceeds, dividends, refunds) and debits (purchases, brokerage, taxes, charges) and shows your running cash balance after each entry. Think of it as your trading account's bank passbook — the single source of truth for how much money you actually have with the broker.

## What you'll see in it A typical ledger line item includes the date, a narration (e.g. "NSE Equity settlement," "brokerage," "STT," "DP charges," "funds added via UPI"), the debit or credit amount, and the resulting balance. It captures all the deductions that eat into trading returns — brokerage, STT/CTT, exchange transaction charges, GST, SEBI turnover fees, stamp duty, and DP charges — which is why reading your ledger is the honest way to know your *net* cost of trading, far more than the headline P&L screen.

## SEBI rules that shape your ledger Indian regulation has tightened around client money:

- Quarterly/monthly settlement of running accounts: SEBI requires brokers to return your unused funds to your bank account periodically (the "running account settlement"), so idle money doesn't sit indefinitely with the broker. Your ledger will show these payouts. - Upstreaming and ASBA-like (UPI-block) trading: client funds must be parked and reported transparently, with end-of-day reconciliation to a clearing corporation, reducing misuse of client money. - Brokers must provide a monthly ledger/statement of accounts.

## Why you should read it Many traders look only at the P&L tile and ignore the ledger, then wonder where their capital went. The ledger reveals:

- The true charges dragging on small, frequent trades (death by a thousand cuts in intraday/F&O). - Any wrong debits — verify and dispute promptly. - Whether unused funds were settled back to you as required.

Tip: download your ledger at least quarterly, reconcile it against your contract notes and bank statement, and use it (not the live P&L) as the basis for computing realised gains for tax filing.