All 25 Trial Balance questions
More in Trial Balance
What is the purpose of a trial balance? Which balances go on the debit side and which on the credit side of the trial balance? What is a suspense account and when is it opened? If a trial balance balances, does it mean the accounts are correct? When is a trial balance prepared? What is a balance brought down and carried down? How do you balance a ledger account? Where do drawings appear in the trial balance and financial statements? What is the total of the trial balance meant to demonstrate? What comes after the trial balance in the accounting cycle?
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Bookkeeping › Trial Balance

What is a trial balance?

Beginner

Answer

A trial balance is a list of all the ledger account balances at a point in time, with debit balances in one column and credit balances in another. Because of double entry, the total debits should equal the total credits. It's prepared to check arithmetical accuracy and as the starting point for the financial statements.
Trial Balance (extract):
  Account        Dr      Cr
  Sales                  50,000
  Purchases     30,000
  Debtors        8,000
  Totals must be equal.
Real-world example At period end the bookkeeper lists every account balance in a trial balance to confirm debits equal credits.

Common follow-ups: Why should the two columns be equal? | What is the trial balance used for next?

Control Accounts Correcting Errors Trial Balance
All 25 Trial Balance questions