How to Prepare a Trial Balance: Balance Sheet & Ledger

A balance trial helps to verify accuracy in record accounting before proceeding to prepare financial statements like the balance sheet. The preparation of a trial balance requires accountants to list all general ledger accounts, either with debit or credit balances. This process ensures that the books are balanced and all accounting entries are correct. In this article, we will discuss the concept of a trial balance, how to prepare one, the methods involved, and how it plays a crucial role in the preparation of the balance sheet.

What is a Trial Balance?

A trial balance is a report of the balances of all ledger accounts within an organization so that debits equal credits. It is a part of the double-entry bookkeeping system that gives a basis to financial statements’ accuracy.

The first objective for preparing a trial balance is to detect mathematical errors made when recording financial transactions. It will not guarantee the absence of any accounting errors but will, however, identify differences. Thus, if the trial balance is not balanced, one would suspect mistakes in posting, such as transpositions, wrong amounts, and misclassifications.

Key components of a trial balance include:

Debit Balances: Accounts that typically carry a debit balance, such as assets and expenses.
Credit Balances: Accounts that typically carry a credit balance, such as liabilities, equity, and income.

Preparing a trial balance ensures that the accounting equation holds: Assets = Liabilities + Equity, which is crucial because one can be assured of getting correct accounting records before finalizing statements.

How to Prepare a Trial Balance?

Preparing a trial balance requires keen attention to detail to ensure that the ledger entries are recorded and tallied correctly. The following steps then compose the process of preparing a trial balance:

Step 1: Calculate the Account Balances for Your Ledger Accounts

The first thing to do when preparing a trial balance is to calculate the balances of all the ledger accounts. All transactions of a company are recorded in a general ledger. For every account in the ledger, you should find out if the account has a debit or credit balance.

Asset accounts (e.g., cash, accounts receivable) generally have debit balances.
Liability accounts (e.g., accounts payable, loans payable) generally have credit balances.
Equity accounts (e.g., capital, retained earnings) have credit balances.
Expense accounts (e.g., wages, rent, utilities) usually carry debit balances.
Revenue accounts (e.g., sales, service revenue) carry credit balances.

The balance of an account can be determined simply by summing up the debits and credits within that account for a given period. The amount resulting from this sum will indicate whether the account has a debit or credit balance.

Step 2: Record Credit and Debit Balances on Your Trial Balance

Now that you’ve calculated the balance of every account, you need to record these in the trial balance. You need to prepare the accounts into two columns: debit balances and credit balances.

For example:

In the debit column, you would record asset and expense accounts with their balances.
In the credit column, you would record liabilities, equity, and revenue accounts with their balances.

The trial balance should have all the ledger accounts and their respective balances. This step helps organize the data before proceeding to the final calculation steps.

Step 3: Calculate the Total in Your Credit Column

After recording all the account balances in their respective columns, the total for the credit column should be calculated. This is achieved by adding up all the amounts on the credit side. For accuracy, check the sums before proceeding. The total in the credit column should represent all liabilities, equity, and revenue.

Step 4: Calculate the Total in Your Debit Column

Similarly, calculate the total in your debit column by adding up all the debit balances. The total should be all the assets and expenses. It would normally appear from a trial balance whether the totals of debits and credits are equal, thus making it possible to verify your accounting records as correct.

Step 5: Compare Your Debit and Credit Totals

The next thing in preparing a trial balance is to compare the total debits with the total credits. Ideally, these two totals should match. If this is the case, this would mean that your books are balanced, meaning no obvious mathematical errors in the accounting system.

However, if the debits and credits do not match, you need to perform further investigation to identify and correct any errors, such as:

Transactions were recorded in the wrong account.
Incorrect addition or subtraction of amounts.
Errors in posting the transaction to the wrong side (debit instead of credit, or vice versa).

Step 6: Look for Errors

If the totals in the debit and credit columns do not match, you will need to investigate and correct the errors. Common mistakes include:

Posting errors: This occurs when the wrong amounts are entered into accounts.
Transposition errors: Occurs when digits are reversed (e.g., 540 vs. 450).
Omissions: Sometimes, transactions are missed or forgotten.

Look carefully through the entries for what the problem might be. Run through all accounts and checks to see whether everything adds up. Then, if it does not, there may be nothing to do but look up the original ledger or journal entry.

Step 7: Close Your Trial Balance

You’re done balancing your debits and credits. Now, let’s get ready to close the trial balance. To close your trial balance, you need to prepare it for future use in creating the balance sheet and other financial statements. If you’ve found no errors, then your trial balance is ready for further use in the accounting cycle.

What Are the Methods of Preparing Trial Balance?

There are two main methods used to prepare a trial balance: the Total Method and the Balance Method. Let’s explore each one in detail.

1. Total Method

All ledger balances are posted directly in the total method into the trial balance. For instance, the sum of all debit entries and credit entries is calculated separately, and the trial balance is generated by just listing them.

The total of the debit column is compared to the total of the credit column to verify the books are balanced.
The total method is more straightforward but may not detect errors where the balances are mixed up or wrong.

2. Balance Method

The balance method, on the other hand, focuses on determining the individual balance of each account (rather than the total sum) and recording it in the trial balance.

Each ledger account is checked to ensure that it is balanced.
The balance method is more precise and ensures accuracy because the balances of individual accounts are checked and verified before being recorded.

How Do You Match a Trial Balance?

To balance a trial balance, you must ensure that the sums of debits equal the sum of credits. This becomes a critical step in how the financial data is maintained: when the two sides cannot match, you must start by checking for errors in any of the ledger entries entered and ensuring that every debit account has a corresponding credit one.

Review individual account balances and verify their totals.
Check for common mistakes, such as transposed numbers or omitted entries.
Ensure every transaction is accounted for, and verify the trial balance is complete.

If everything checks out, the trial balance is considered “matched” and is ready for further use in preparing financial statements.

How to Prepare a Balance Sheet from Trial Balance?

A balance sheet is a statement of the finances summarizing the assets, liabilities, and equity of a business. Once prepared with a trial balance, it is the basis upon which to build the balance sheet.

Assets: List all the assets from the trial balance, including current and non-current assets.
Liabilities: List all the liabilities, separating current liabilities from long-term liabilities.
Equity: Include owner’s equity or shareholders’ equity, which is the difference between assets and liabilities.

The balance sheet should balance, with assets equal to liabilities plus equity.

How to Prepare a Trial Balance from Ledger with Example

To prepare a trial balance from the ledger, follow these steps:

Step 1: Review each ledger account and identify its balance (either debit or credit).
Step 2: Record each balance in the appropriate column of the trial balance (debit or credit).
Step 3: Calculate the total debits and credits.
Step 4: Ensure the totals are equal; if not, investigate the errors.

Example: If the ledger has the following balances:

Cash: $1,000 (debit)
Accounts Payable: $500 (credit)
Revenue: $800 (credit)
Expenses: $400 (debit)

The trial balance would look like this:

Account	Debit	Credit
Cash	1,000
Accounts Payable		500
Revenue		800
Expenses	400
Total	1,400	1,300

How to Prepare a Trial Balance FAQs

What is the purpose of a trial balance?

The purpose of a trial balance is to ensure that all debit and credit entries are balanced and to detect any mathematical or accounting errors.

How do you correct errors in the trial balance?

If the trial balance doesn’t balance, check for errors such as transposition mistakes, missing entries, or incorrect postings. After identifying the errors, correct them in the respective ledger accounts.

What is the difference between the total method and the balance method?

The total method adds up all the debits and credits to prepare the trial balance, while the balance method focuses on ensuring that each account balance is correct before recording it in the trial balance.

How is a trial balance prepared from a ledger?

To prepare a trial balance from a ledger, determine the balance of each account, classify them as debit or credit, and then sum up the debits and credits. Ensure the totals are equal to verify the accuracy of the accounting records.

Can a trial balance still be incorrect even if debits and credits match?

Yes, a trial balance can still be incorrect if there are errors in classification, omitted transactions, or incorrect account balances. Matching totals only ensures arithmetic accuracy, not necessarily correctness in posting.