Trial balance explained
A trial balance takes the balance of every account in the general ledger at one date and lists it in a debit column or a credit column. In double-entry bookkeeping the two columns must total the same amount. If they don’t, something was posted on one side only.
Accountants use the trial balance as the starting point for financial statements and year-end work, and it’s the usual way to carry balances from one system to another: export a trial balance as of the day before you switch, and it gives the opening balance of every account.
A trial balance that balances isn’t proof the books are right. An expense posted to the wrong account, a transaction left out entirely or one recorded twice all keep the columns equal. It catches one-sided errors, not wrong-account errors.
Example: a small business trial balance at March 31
Every account with a balance, in its normal column:
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | $8,000.00 | |
| Accounts receivable | $2,500.00 | |
| Equipment | $6,000.00 | |
| Accounts payable | $1,500.00 | |
| Owner’s equity | $10,000.00 | |
| Sales | $9,000.00 | |
| Rent expense | $3,000.00 | |
| Supplies expense | $1,000.00 | |
| Total | $20,500.00 | $20,500.00 |
Debits and credits both total $20,500.00, so nothing was posted on one side only.
Where you’ll see it in fiscal50
fiscal50’s Trial Balance runs for any date range, month or fiscal year, on a cash or accrual basis, and can show periods side by side in multiple columns. Total Debit must equal Total Credit; if they ever differ, a message shows above the report.
When you move from QuickBooks, you can upload your trial balance as of the day before your fiscal50 start date. The Configuration Agent checks that its debits equal its credits and records your opening balances in one opening journal entry.