Think of your college canteen maintaining two records for its samosa stock — a sticky note on the box counting how many are left (that's your Bin Card), and a register in the accounts room tracking how many came in, went out, and at what price (that's your Stores Ledger). Both track the same material, but serve different masters.
A Bin Card (also called a Stock Card or Bin Tag) lives physically near the storage bin or rack. It is maintained by the storekeeper and records only quantities — receipts, issues, and closing balance. Every time material moves, the storekeeper updates it on the spot. It is a real-time, quantity-only record used for day-to-day stock supervision. Because it stays at the bin, it helps catch pilferage or over-issue quickly.
The Stores Ledger is maintained by the Cost Accounts Department (not the storekeeper). It records both quantity and value — Rate and Amount columns appear alongside Qty. Entries are made from source documents: Goods Receipt Notes (GRNs) for receipts and Material Requisition Slips (MRSs) for issues. The Stores Ledger is the authoritative costing record and feeds directly into the cost sheet. The pricing method used — FIFO, Weighted Average, or Standard Cost — determines the value of issues and closing stock. (Note: AS 2 / Ind AS 2 prohibit LIFO for financial reporting, but ICAI cost accounting problems may still test LIFO in Stores Ledger problems — always check the question's instruction.)
The crucial exam point: because the Bin Card is updated immediately while the Stores Ledger may be updated slightly later from documents, the two records can temporarily differ. A reconciliation between them should be done periodically. If the Bin Card shows 80 units and the Stores Ledger shows 75 units, an investigation is warranted — likely a GRN hasn't been posted yet, or there's an error. This reconciliation angle is asked frequently as a 4-mark or 6-mark question, often as a difference table.
Also remember: Perpetual Inventory System uses continuous Bin Card and Stores Ledger updates, whereas Periodic Inventory System relies on physical counts at fixed intervals. CA Inter exams heavily favour problems under the Perpetual system. The Stores Ledger format — with Receipts, Issues, and Balance columns each split into Qty / Rate / Amount — is something you should be able to draw and populate blindfolded.