General Ledger: Trial Balance Report

The Trial Balance Report contains many different options and is one of the main reports used for external accountants and/or auditors. The report supports output to My Reports and can also be used to generate a detailed listing of all journal entries that affect each general ledger account, for a specific reporting period.  

NOTE: Sometimes the Detailed Trial Balance is referred to as a "General Ledger" report by external accountants.

The Trial Balance Report appears as shown in the following screens:

Report Types 

There are five different report types to choose from in the Trial Balance:

• Detailed shows all the transaction lines for each account in a given period.  This is also commonly referred to as a "General Ledger" report as the option to include each entry description is also available, providing a complete audit train to back up account totals for the reporting period specified.
• Summarized shows one line for each general ledger account.  The account number, total debits, total credits, opening balances, and ending balances are listed.
• Summary by Source displays subtotals for all transactions, by general ledger account, for each Source.  For example, the bank general ledger account may have the Receipts Journal (RJ), Disbursements Journal (DJ), and General Journal (GJ).
• Post Closing shows the opening Trial Balance from the first day of the fiscal year.
• Accountant Copy provides a basic two column trial balance that is reflective of typical accountant needs.
  
  

Report Options

• Check for Unposted Entries will check if there are any unposted General Ledger entries. If any are found, it will be stated at the bottom of the report.
• Suppress no activity accounts will leave accounts off if there is no activity for any part of the report. This option is only available for "Summarized" and "Accountant Copy" report types.
• Include worksheet is only available when producing a summary report.  When it is selected, blank working columns appear on the report to provide space for manual figures.
• Include Descriptions displays the description that accompanies the journal entry transaction. This option is only available if the Detailed report type has been selected. This report is is particularly useful when you are viewing a transaction that has been posted from Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable. For example, an Accounts Payable posting will include the vendor name, corresponding payment or purchase number, and the affiliated unique reference number. Similarly, in Accounts Receivable, the invoice number and customers names are automatically posted to the description fields.

NOTE: When this report is printed using the Include Descriptions option on macOS, you should select Page Setup and choose the landscape option to print the report on its side, as it is too wide to print on a portrait setting.

Report Filters

• Select All Accounts or Range of Accounts and specify the range. This gives you the option of printing out the details for a single account or range by entering the account number(s) in both the From and To fields.
• Select All Profit Centers or a range of profit centers (From/To)
• Select All Departments or a range of departments (From/To)
• The date range defaults to the beginning of the first period in a companies fiscal year to the period with the current date. To change this, type over the period.