The Trial Balance

Every time we post a transaction to the two relevant accounts we post a debit side and a credit side.

Therefore the
Sum of the Debits should equal the Sum of the Credits.

If we calculate the balance in each account and Sum the Debit balances and the Credit balances they should total to the same amount.

This is a good way to check the arithmetical accuracy of our postings, and whether we have calculated the Account Balances correctly.

We can make a list of the accounts showing those with Debit balances in one column and those with Credit balances in the other column.

This report is called a TRIAL BALANCE.

The Trial Balance serves two purposes
1 It proves the arithmetical accuracy of our Accounting.

2 It forms the basis for the preparation of the Profit & Loss Statement and Balance Sheet.

Oh No! It doesn't Balance !

From time to time your Trial balance may not balance.

To find the error try the following set of steps.

They are listed in order from quickest to slowest.

1 Add the trial balance again, your addition may be faulty.
2 Check the balance of each account and ensure it has been placed in the correct debit or credit column.
3 Check the calculation of the balances in each account.
4 Check that each transaction has been posted correctly.

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