How to read and check the Trial Balance

It is a list of every account with a balance, with one Debit column and one Credit column. The two totals must be equal. This is the oldest self-check in bookkeeping. If the columns disagree, something was written down with only one side, and you must look for it before going further.

1. In the sidebar, under Reports, press Trial Balance.
2. Read the year printed under the title. This screen always shows the fiscal year you are currently in, for the whole year.
3. Read the four columns: Kod (the account code), the account name, Debit, and Credit.
4. Notice that each account appears on one side only. The screen nets an account's debits against its credits first, then prints whichever side is left over.
5. Notice that accounts with nothing in them are not listed at all. A short table just means a quiet year, not a missing account.

1. Look at the badge at the top right. Balanced in green means the Debit total equals the Credit total. Not balanced in red means they differ.
2. Look at the total row at the bottom. It is shaded green when it tallies and red when it does not.
3. Read the two totals as a pair, not as a size. They are meant to be equal, so the number itself tells you nothing useful.

1. Scan the account names for anything that should be there and is not. An empty Trade Debtors row on a business that sells on credit is the classic one.
2. Scan for anything on the wrong side. Sales sitting in the Debit column, or Cash & Bank in the Credit column, usually means an entry went in backwards.
3. Note the account code of anything that looks wrong, then open General Ledger from the sidebar under Books and pick that account.
4. Fix the problem in the module that created it, not here. A wrong cash row is fixed in Cash In & Out, a wrong accrual in Debtor and Creditor, a wrong journal in Journal Entries.

1. Press Export CSV at the top right.
2. The file carries the same rows you see, plus the total row, and opens in Excel or Google Sheets.
3. Nothing is saved or changed by exporting. It is a copy of what is already on screen.

1. Do not try to fix it on this screen. Nothing on this screen can be typed into.
2. Work out the difference between the two totals. That amount is the size of the side that went missing.
3. Open Settings, then Categories, and check that every category still points at an active account. A posting to an account that is no longer active drops out of this table while its other side stays.
4. If the categories are fine, open Journal Entries and check the most recent entries, then Opening Balances.
5. If it is still red after that, stop and ask your trainer or your accountant.