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Foundations

Trial balance

A trial balance lists each general-ledger account and its ending debit or credit balance.

Reviewed by the Booksmrt bookkeeping teamLast reviewed 2026-07-27

How it works in the books

It checks that total debits equal total credits and serves as an intermediate view before financial statements. It does not prove that transactions are complete or correctly classified.

Example

A reviewer can scan a trial balance for unusual negative assets, stale suspense balances, or unexpected account movements.

What can go wrong

A balanced trial balance can still contain errors that affect both sides equally.

Compare Trial balance

Trial balance vs. balance sheetThe trial balance is an internal accounting checkpoint containing balance-sheet and income-statement accounts. The balance sheet is a financial statement focused only on assets, liabilities, and equity at a date.

Sources

Educational information only. Booksmrt provides bookkeeping services, not tax, legal, audit, or investment advice. Confirm material accounting and tax decisions with the appropriate professional.