Trial Balance

The Trial Balance is your first check to ensure accounting accuracy. It lists all accounts with their balances and verifies that total debits equal total credits.

Purpose

The Trial Balance answers: “Are my books in balance?”

A balanced trial balance means:

✅ Debits = Credits
✅ No mathematical errors in entries
✅ Ready to prepare financial statements

Accessing the Trial Balance

Navigate to Reports → Trial Balance
Select the “As of” date
The report generates automatically

Reading the Report

GL Code | Account Name           | Debit        | Credit
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        | ASSETS                 |              |
1000    | Cash                   | 500,000.00   |
1100    | Accounts Receivable    | 150,000.00   |
        | Subtotal - Assets      | 650,000.00   |
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        | LIABILITIES            |              |
2000    | Accounts Payable       |              | 75,000.00
        | Subtotal - Liabilities |              | 75,000.00
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        | EQUITY                 |              |
3000    | Owner's Capital        |              | 400,000.00
3100    | Retained Earnings      |              | 25,000.00
        | Subtotal - Equity      |              | 425,000.00
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        | REVENUE                |              |
4000    | Sales Revenue          |              | 200,000.00
        | Subtotal - Revenue     |              | 200,000.00
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
        | EXPENSES               |              |
6000    | Salaries & Wages       | 40,000.00    |
6100    | Rent Expense           | 10,000.00    |
        | Subtotal - Expenses    | 50,000.00    |
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
        | TOTALS                 | 700,000.00   | 700,000.00
                                       ✓ Balanced

Key Elements

Element	Description
Account Type Grouping	Accounts organized by type (Assets, Liabilities, etc.)
Subtotals	Sum for each account type
Balance Indicator	”✓ Balanced” when debits = credits
As-of Date	Point-in-time balances

Using the Date Filter

The Trial Balance shows balances as of a specific date:

Select today for current balances
Select a past date to see historical state
Useful for month-end reconciliation

What to Do If Not Balanced

If the Trial Balance shows an imbalance:

Check recent entries - Look for entries missing debit or credit
Review journal entries - Ensure each entry has debits = credits
Look for single-sided entries - Every transaction needs two sides
Check for errors - Typos in amounts

Best Practices

Practice	Frequency
Review Trial Balance	Weekly
Check before closing period	Monthly
Provide to accountant	Quarterly
Archive for audit	Annually