Trial Balance: Format, Errors, Objectives and How to Prepare?

The unadjusted trial balance is prepared on the fly, before adjusting journal entries are completed. It is a record of day-to-day transactions and can be used to balance a ledger by adjusting entries. A trial balance includes a list of all general ledger account totals. Each account should include an account number, description of the account, and its final debit/credit balance. In addition, it should state the final date of the accounting period for which the report is created. In a trial balance, debit and credit balances are posted in separate columns.

A what is a trial balance plays a central part in this time-tested system. It’s a report that allows a company to quickly gauge its financial health, and spot red flags before they become huge problems. Accounting is the process of recording, summarizing, and reporting financial transactions to oversight agencies, regulators, and the IRS. Another example is a liability account, such as Accounts Payable, which increases on the credit side and decreases on the debit side. If there were a $4,000 credit and a $2,500 debit, the difference between the two is $1,500. The credit is the larger of the two sides ($4,000 on the credit side as opposed to $2,500 on the debit side), so the Accounts Payable account has a credit balance of $1,500.

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For example, QE Food Stores might purchase food items in one large quantity at the beginning of each month, payable by the end of the month. Therefore, it might only have a few accounts payable and inventory journal entries each month. Larger grocery chains might have multiple deliveries a week, and multiple entries for purchases from a variety of suppliers on their accounts payable weekly. These financial statements can only be prepared if the accountant follows the double-entry system of accounting.

The trial balance is a source of locating errors in a company’s ledger. The trial balance is so named because it is used as a test to determine if the debits and credits are in balance. If they are not in balance, it indicates that an error has been made.

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A trial balance is a listing of all accounts and their balances at a specific point in time. Asset accounts are usually listed first, followed by liability accounts, equity accounts and then revenue, expense and dividend accounts. A trial balance is prepared at the end of the period and is done so to assist in the preparation of the financial statements and to check the accuracy of the ledger or journal entries. It is important to note that the trial balance is unable to detect all recording errors. For example, if an expense paid of $500 is incorrectly recorded as $5000 both in the expense and cash accounts, both sides of the trial balance will still be equal.

The data to be filled being the balance of the ledger account with a credit balance. This column has data to be filled only in case of accounts with a debit balance. The data to be filled being the balance of the ledger account with a debit balance.

Format of a Trial Balance

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• More detailed definitions can be found in accounting textbooks or from an accounting professional.
• If accounts have been kept correctly, the total debit balance should match the total credit balance.
• Trial balances are used to prepare balance sheets and other financial statements and are an important document for auditors.
• If there were a $4,000 credit and a $2,500 debit, the difference between the two is $1,500.