Trial Balance

List of all accounts with their debit or credit balances. Used to verify your books are mathematically correct.

Overview

The Trial Balance lists every account in your Chart of Accounts with its current balance, showing whether each account has a debit or credit balance.

Fundamental principle

In double-entry accounting:

Total Debits = Total Credits

If they don’t match, there’s an error in your accounting records.

Report columns

Account type balances

Different account types have different “normal” balances:

Generating the report

Step 1: Select as-at date

Choose the date you want balances for:

• Today (current position)
• Month-end
• Quarter-end
• Financial year-end

Step 2: Include zero balances (optional)

Toggle to show or hide accounts with zero balance:

• Show — All accounts in your chart
• Hide — Only accounts with activity

Step 3: Click Generate Report

The report displays all accounts with their balances.

Understanding the layout

Report table

Code   Account Name           Type       Debit       Credit
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
1000   Bank Accounts          Asset      $12,500
1100   Accounts Receivable    Asset       $8,200
1200   Inventory              Asset       $3,500
1500   Equipment              Asset      $15,000
1510   Accum. Depreciation    Asset                 -$3,000
2000   Accounts Payable       Liability            $4,500
2100   GST Payable            Liability            $1,200
2200   Credit Cards           Liability              $800
2500   Business Loan          Liability           $10,000
3000   Owner Capital          Equity               $5,000
3100   Retained Earnings      Equity              $14,700
4000   Sales Revenue          Revenue             $26,050
5000   Rent                   Expense     $5,000
5010   Utilities              Expense     $1,200
6000   Office Supplies        Expense       $350
7000   Interest Expense       Expense     $2,000
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
       TOTALS                            $47,750     $47,750

Total validation

At the bottom:

• Total Debits — Sum of all debit balances
• Total Credits — Sum of all credit balances
• Status — “Balanced” or shows difference if unequal

Balanced = Debits equal Credits (mathematically correct)

When to use Trial Balance

Monthly reconciliation

• Generate at month-end
• Verify Total Debits = Total Credits
• Check for unusual balances (e.g., negative bank balance)

Before generating other reports

• Quick check that data integrity is good
• If Trial Balance doesn’t balance, other reports may be wrong
• Contact support if unbalanced

For accountants

• Accountants often request Trial Balance first
• Provides complete list of accounts and balances
• Easier to review than detailed transaction reports

Year-end

• Generate as-at financial year-end
• Export for tax agent/accountant
• Use as starting point for tax return

Common issues and checks

Negative bank balance

• Normal if using credit facilities
• Check if unexpected (unreconciled transactions?)
• Verify against bank statements

Accounts Receivable credit balance

• Unusual — means customers owe you negative (you owe them)
• Check for overpayments or credit notes
• May indicate misclassified transactions

Accounts Payable debit balance

• Unusual — means you owe suppliers negative (they owe you)
• Check for overpayments or supplier credits
• May indicate misclassified transactions

GST accounts wrong sign

• GST Collected (Payable) should be credit = you owe the tax office
• GST Paid (Receivable) should be debit = tax office owes you
• Wrong sign may indicate incorrect tax coding

Exporting

CSV export

1. Generate the report
2. Click Export → CSV
3. File downloads as Trial_Balance_YYYY-MM-DD.csv

CSV includes: account code, name, type, debit balance, credit balance.

Relationship to other reports

Trial Balance vs Balance Sheet

Balance Sheet totals come from Trial Balance account balances.

Trial Balance vs General Ledger

Best practices

Regular checks

• Run Trial Balance monthly
• Verify it always balances
• Review any unusual account balances

Zero balance accounts

• Hide zero balances for cleaner view
• Show zero balances when reviewing complete chart of accounts
• Archived accounts with zero balance won’t appear

Before major decisions

• Check Trial Balance before:
  • Lodging BAS
  • Paying dividends/drawings
  • Applying for loans
  • End of financial year

AU-specific notes

BAS verification

Before lodging BAS:

• Check GST Payable balance matches your calculation
• Verify GST Paid (if separate account) shows expected amount
• Net GST = GST Payable - GST Paid

Tax return preparation

Your accountant may ask for:

• Trial Balance as-at June 30
• General Ledger detail for certain accounts
• Both reports available in Reports module

Superannuation check

Trial Balance shows:

• Superannuation Payable (liability) — should be paid quarterly
• Superannuation Expense — check it matches payments

Troubleshooting

Trial Balance won’t balance

This indicates a serious data issue. Contact support immediately.

Possible causes:

• Incomplete transaction posting
• Data corruption
• System bug

Do not proceed with tax lodgment until resolved.

Account missing from Trial Balance

• Check account is active (not archived)
• Verify account has transactions in the period
• Toggle “Include zero balances” to show all

Unexpected account balance

• Compare to prior period Trial Balance
• Check General Ledger for that account
• Look for unbalanced journal entries

Can’t understand an account balance

• Click through to General Ledger for detail
• Review source transactions (invoices, bills, bank)
• Check if account type is correct

Related pages

• Balance Sheet — Financial position summary
• General Ledger — Transaction detail by account
• Profit & Loss — Revenue and expenses

Last updated: February 24, 2026