Trial Balance
The Trial Balance report displays the balances of all ledger and group accounts for a selected reporting period. It is used to verify that the total debit balance equals the total credit balance, helping ensure that accounting entries are mathematically accurate.
Businesses typically prepare a Trial Balance at the end of each reporting period before generating financial statements.
Tip
For every reporting period, the total value of the Debit column should always equal the total value of the Credit column.
Navigation
Report Filters
The Trial Balance report provides filters to generate account balances for a specific reporting period.
| Filter | Description |
|---|---|
| From Date | Specifies the starting date for calculating account balances. By default, this is the first day of the current fiscal year. |
| To Date | Specifies the ending date for the report. By default, this is the last day of the current fiscal year. |
| Hide Group Amounts | Displays only ledger account balances by hiding calculated balances of group accounts, making the report easier to read. |
Hide Group Amounts
The Trial Balance displays both Group Accounts (such as Current Liabilities) and Ledger Accounts (such as Creditors or Secured Loans).
Since Group Account balances are calculated from the ledger accounts beneath them and are not updated directly, enabling Hide Group Amounts shows only individual ledger accounts for a simplified report.
Folding Group Accounts
Group Account rows can be expanded or collapsed to make large reports easier to navigate.
- Click a Group Account row to collapse all accounts beneath it.
- Click it again to expand and display the child accounts.
- This helps focus on specific sections of the Trial Balance without scrolling through every account.
Understanding the Report
| Component | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Group Accounts | Summarize the balances of related ledger accounts. |
| Ledger Accounts | Display the actual recorded debit and credit balances. |
| Debit Total | Total debit balance for the selected reporting period. |
| Credit Total | Total credit balance for the selected reporting period. |
Best Practices
- Generate the Trial Balance at the end of every reporting period.
- Verify that total debit and credit balances are equal before preparing financial statements.
- Use the Hide Group Amounts option when reviewing individual ledger accounts.
- Collapse group accounts to simplify navigation in large reports.
