Workbook Learning Path (Spreadsheet + LedgerLoom)

This is the main path for the workbook: you do the accounting in your spreadsheet, then use LedgerLoom to verify it and produce clean CSV artifacts you can compare.

The loop you will repeat

Draft in Sheets/Excel (transactions + adjustments + optional closing).
Export CSVs using the workbook template headers.

Run:

ledgerloom check --project .
ledgerloom build --project . --run-id run1

Reconcile: compare your spreadsheet totals to LedgerLoom outputs. Fix mistakes, re-run.

Where to start

If you are brand new, do this in order:

Student Quick Start (Linux, Windows, macOS) (install + your first run)
Ch01A — Startup (a runnable, known-good project)
Ch02 — Journal to trial balance (journal → TB)
Ch03 — Adjusting entries (accrual adjustments → adjusted TB)
Ch04 — Closing + post-close trial balance (closing → post-close TB)

If you want to learn the accounting cycle without any tooling first, use the Spreadsheet-First track: Spreadsheet-First Track (No LedgerLoom Yet).

What “success” looks like

ledgerloom check produces a review package under outputs/check/<period>/.
ledgerloom build --run-id run1 produces a full run folder under outputs/run1/.
Your spreadsheet and LedgerLoom artifacts should agree on totals (trial balance and post-close TB).

Next: learn the output files

Before you go deeper, skim:

Workbook Artifacts Reference — what each CSV output means
Workbook Troubleshooting — common mistakes and how to recover quickly