> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.lerian.studio/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Who owns what: holders, accounts & aliases

> Holders, accounts, and aliases untangled — what the ledger actually owns, who stands behind it in the real world, and the friendly names that point to it.

You've seen accounts hold balances and movements flow between them. But who *owns* those accounts? And why do banking systems keep tossing around words like "alias" and "alias account" as if they were obviously different things? This page untangles all of it.

Imagine a row of numbered safe-deposit boxes in a vault. The box itself just holds what's inside it — it doesn't know or care who you are. To make that vault useful, you also need a record of *who* the box belongs to, and a friendlier way to refer to it than a long number. Those are three separate jobs, and core banking keeps them separate on purpose.

## The account is the truth

***

An **account** is the balance container — the truth that lives inside the Ledger. It records exactly how much of an asset it holds, built up from every movement in and out. That's all it does, and that's deliberate: the account stays clean and reliable because it carries no messy real-world identity data.

In the vault, the account is the numbered box. It holds value; it doesn't hold your name, your documents, or your phone number.

## The holder is the person or company

***

A **holder** is the real-world owner standing behind the account — **the person or company you register**. This is the customer record: name, document number, contact details. Registering these owners is its own job, often called *cadastro de pessoas* — keeping track of the people and companies your business deals with.

Why keep the holder separate from the account? Two reasons:

* One owner can hold **many accounts**. The owner is registered once; the accounts attach to them.
* The Ledger stays trustworthy. Identity data changes often and is sometimes sensitive — you don't want it tangled into the records that prove your balances.

In the vault, the holder is the person named on the contract. One person can rent several boxes.

## Aliases: friendly names for accounts

***

Accounts are identified by long, unique IDs — accurate, but no fun to type or remember. So you give them friendlier names. Here's where two similar-sounding terms get confused — they do different things:

* An **alias** is a human-friendly handle for an account — a nickname like `marketing-fund` so you don't juggle a long ID.
* An **alias account** is a record that ties an owner's real-world banking details (bank, branch, account number) to an underlying Ledger account.

So an *alias* is just a convenient label pointing at one of your own accounts. An *alias account* is a bridge — it connects outside banking details to the right account inside your Ledger.

<Note>
  Back to the vault. The **alias** is the nickname sticker on the box ("Marketing fund") so staff don't need the box number. The **alias account** is the front-desk index card that links a customer's external bank details to which box is theirs.
</Note>

```mermaid mermaid theme={null}
flowchart LR
  H["Holder<br/>(registered person/company)"] --> AA["Alias account<br/>(real banking details)"]
  AA --> ACC["Account<br/>(balance in the Ledger)"]
  AL["Alias<br/>(friendly nickname)"] -.points to.-> ACC
  classDef bal fill:#fff8e1,stroke:#f4b400,color:#333;
  class ACC bal;
```

## Why bother with all this separation

***

Splitting these roles apart looks like extra work, but it buys you real flexibility:

* One holder, **many accounts**, without duplicating the owner each time.
* Friendly **aliases** so people and systems reference accounts without long IDs.
* **Alias accounts** that connect to multiple banks and external systems — without ever polluting the Ledger's clean record of value.

The Ledger keeps the truth. Everything else points at it.

## In short

***

* An **account** is the balance container — the truth inside the Ledger, free of identity data.
* A **holder** is the real-world owner you register — the person or company (*cadastro de pessoas*). One holder can own many accounts.
* An **alias** is a friendly nickname pointing at one of your accounts.
* An **alias account** is a record linking real-world banking details to a Ledger account.
* Keeping these separate buys flexibility while keeping the Ledger clean.

<Note>
  **See it in Lerian**

  See these ideas in practice: [Accounts](/en/midaz/accounts) and [Alias accounts](/en/midaz/crm/alias-accounts).
</Note>