Trial Balance

What this does

Reports → Trial Balance lists every account with a balance as of a date, in one Debit column and one Credit column, with totals that must be equal. It's the working tool behind the statements: an accountant reads it to find an account that's on the wrong side, a balance that shouldn't exist, or a suspense account that needs clearing.

Before you start

reports.view. Most useful at period end, before the P&L and Balance Sheet are handed to anyone.

Steps

Set the date, Run Report. Columns: Code, Account, Type, Debit, Credit; Totals at the bottom. Export CSV for the accountant.

How to read it

Assets and expenses normally carry debit balances; liabilities, equity, and revenue carry credit balances. An account on the unexpected side is worth a look: a credit balance in a bank account means it's overdrawn in the books (or a deposit was never posted); a debit balance in Accounts Payable means a bill was paid twice or a payment was recorded against no bill; a debit in Sales Tax Payable means you remitted more than you collected.

Common problems

The totals don't match. They can't, if every entry posted through the app: the database refuses an unbalanced entry. If you see it, something was written outside the app; run the nightly checks and contact support.

Uncategorized Expense has a balance. Transactions were posted to the holding account. Work them off with the Uncategorized Expenses report.

An account I deactivated still shows. It still has a balance. Move it with a journal entry, then it drops off.