# Trial balance

> A trial balance lists every ledger in your books with its debit or credit balance on a date. Since each entry has equal debits and credits, the two totals must agree, which makes it the first check before your P&L and balance sheet are prepared.

In EaseDesk: EaseDesk keeps your trial balance current as you bill, buy and record vouchers, because every entry is balanced before it is saved. Open Accounts → Financial statements → Trial balance for any period, for one branch or the whole business, with each ledger's opening balance, debits, credits and closing balance by group.

## Why it matters to your business

The trial balance is where your accountant starts every month-end and year-end. If it agrees and
each balance looks sensible, you can rely on the profit and loss account and balance sheet built from
it. If a balance looks wrong, such as a cash ledger with a credit balance or a customer who shows as
owing you far too much, you find it here before it reaches your bank, your CA or the tax department.

Reading it once a month also gives you a quick view of the whole business on one page: what you have
sold, what you have spent, what customers owe you and what you owe vendors.

## How it works

Each ledger's closing balance goes into either the debit column (assets and expenses) or the credit
column (capital, liabilities and income). A simple trading business on 31-03-2026 might look like this:

| Ledger | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Capital |  | ₹5,00,000 |
| Bank loan |  | ₹1,00,000 |
| Furniture | ₹1,20,000 |  |
| Bank | ₹2,40,000 |  |
| Sundry debtors (customers) | ₹3,10,000 |  |
| Sundry creditors (vendors) |  | ₹1,80,000 |
| Sales |  | ₹12,00,000 |
| Purchases | ₹9,50,000 |  |
| Rent | ₹1,20,000 |  |
| Salaries | ₹2,40,000 |  |
| **Total** | **₹19,80,000** | **₹19,80,000** |

The totals agree, so every entry was posted with equal debits and credits. Your accountant then
adds closing stock and year-end adjustments (depreciation, expenses due but unpaid) and prepares the
final accounts.

## Common mistakes

- **Treating an agreeing total as proof.** A purchase bill posted to rent, or a receipt credited to
  the wrong customer, still leaves the totals equal. Look at each balance, not only the total.
- **Parking differences in suspense.** A suspense ledger that never clears hides errors. Find the
  cause and correct the entry.
- **Ignoring odd balances.** A customer with a credit balance usually means an advance or an
  unadjusted credit note; a vendor with a debit balance usually means an advance or a bill not yet
  entered. Both deserve a look before you close the month.
- **Wrong opening balances.** When you move from one system to another, check that the opening trial
  balance matches the closing one from the old books, ledger by ledger.

## Questions

### What is the purpose of a trial balance?

It checks that total debits equal total credits in your books, and it gives your accountant one list of closing balances from which the profit and loss account and the balance sheet are drawn.

### If the trial balance agrees, are my books correct?

Not necessarily. An entry left out altogether, an amount posted to the wrong ledger, or two errors that cancel each other all leave the totals equal. Reconciling your bank, customer and vendor balances catches most of these.

### What is the difference between a trial balance and a balance sheet?

A trial balance is a working list of every ledger, including income and expenses. The balance sheet is a financial statement that shows only assets, liabilities and capital, after the profit or loss for the period has been worked out and added to capital.

### Why does my trial balance show a difference?

In manual books, the usual causes are an entry posted on one side only or with different amounts on each side. In accounting software that enforces double entry, a difference usually comes from opening balances that were entered without their matching side.

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Source: https://www.easedesk.com/glossary/trial-balance · Updated 2026-09-28 · EaseDesk