Trial Balance is a list of closing balances of ledger accounts on a certain date and is the first step towards the preparation of financial statements. It is usually prepared at the end of an accounting period to assist in the drafting of financial statements. Ledger balances are segregated into debit balances and credit balances. Asset and expense accounts appear on the debit side of the trial balance whereas liabilities, capital and income accounts appear on the credit side. If all accounting entries are recorded correctly and all the ledger balances are accurately extracted, the total of all debit balances appearing in the trial balance must equal to the sum of all credit balances.
This is quite easily our most boring report. The Trial Balance screen constsists of two columns:
Profit & Loss
On the left you’ll see the profit and loss report. This is a less interactive version of the less boring Profit & Loss Report
Balance Sheet
The balance sheet on the right shows
- Valuations of your assets (remember these are estimated either by you or by depreciation rates you can set)
- Current Assets: Money in your bank accounts and stock valuation, as well money owed to you by debtors (customers)
- Liabilities: Money you owe to creditiors (suppliers & HMRC), loans, credit cards, VAT not yet submitted
- Capital and Reserves: Money put into the business (introduced capital), profit from Profit & Loss on the left, and money taken out of the business (drawings).