Any organization with an inflow and outflow of funds (debits and credits)-income, donations, depreciation, or expenses-needs to record and track these transactions. The goal is to prepare the company's financial statements and hence, gain insight into the financial status.

A general ledger, more commonly known as a GL, is a recordkeeping system that tracks this financial data, a process that can be significantly streamlined with the use of the right accounting software.
GL accounts and why companies need them