What is a trial balance?

A trial balance lists the closing balance of every account at a point in time, split into debit and credit columns, and totals both. Under double entry, those two totals must be equal. If they are not, an entry is missing, duplicated or on the wrong side.

What is the difference between a trial balance and a balance sheet?

A trial balance includes every account — revenue and expenses as well as assets, liabilities and equity — and exists to prove the ledger balances. A balance sheet shows only assets, liabilities and equity at a point in time, and is a report you would actually show someone. The trial balance is a working document; the balance sheet is an output.

Which accounts have debit balances?

Assets and expenses normally carry debit balances. Liabilities, equity and revenue normally carry credit balances. An account on the unexpected side is not automatically wrong — a bank account can be overdrawn, a customer can be in credit — but it is always worth checking.

My trial balance is out. Where do I start?

Run two tests before rechecking anything. First, divide the difference by nine. If it divides evenly, you almost certainly have a transposition — two digits swapped. Second, halve the difference. If the result matches a transaction you can see, that entry is on the wrong side. Between them these find most single-entry errors in under a minute.

It balances but the numbers look wrong. What now?

A balanced trial balance only proves the arithmetic held. A transaction coded to the wrong account, entered twice, or omitted entirely will still balance. Reconcile the bank, agree the GST control account to the last lodged BAS, and check payroll liabilities against your payroll reports. Those catch what a trial balance structurally cannot.

How often should I run one?

At the end of each month before you report anything, before preparing a BAS, and at year end before the file goes to your accountant. Monthly is the useful cadence — an error found in July is minutes of work, and the same error found the following June is hours.

Do I need this if I use accounting software?

Software produces a trial balance for you and it will always balance, because the software will not let you post a one-sided entry. The value then shifts to reviewing it — scanning for accounts on the wrong side, unexpected balances and suspense accounts that should be empty. This template is useful for that review, and for rebuilding a file from source records.

FREE EXCEL TEMPLATE Last updated 28 August 2026

Trial balance template that checks itself

List every account and its closing balance, and the out-by cell tells you immediately whether the books balance. Includes the transposition test that finds most single-entry errors in seconds.

Trial balance template

Excel (.xlsx) · 70 rows · no signup

Out-by cell that must read $0.00

70 account rows with type dropdowns

Totals for debits and credits

Transposition hint built in

General information only, not tax or accounting advice.

This template is general information for Australian businesses. GST treatment, account coding, reporting obligations and deduction eligibility depend on your circumstances — confirm them with your accountant, a registered BAS agent or the ATO. It does not constitute legal, HR, or professional advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice specific to your business, workforce, or circumstances.

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What's in the trial balance template

One sheet, one job: prove that debits equal credits.

Debit and credit columns

One balance per account, on one side only. Entering both is the error the template is designed to surface.

Account type dropdown

Revenue, direct costs, expense, asset, liability or equity — so you can sanity-check normal balances.

The out-by cell

Total debits less total credits. It is a formula, and it has to read $0.00.

The transposition hint

A difference that divides evenly by nine is almost always two digits swapped. The sheet says so, next to the cell.

As-at date

A trial balance is a point in time, not a period. The header captures which.

Works standalone

No dependency on the other templates — paste balances in from any system.

Normal balances, and the one that looks wrong

Accounts sitting on the unexpected side are not always errors, but they are always worth a look.

Account	Type	Debit	Credit	Normal?
Business bank account	Asset	18,420.00		Yes
Accounts receivable	Asset	9,180.00		Yes
Accounts payable	Liability		6,240.00	Yes
GST payable	Liability		3,110.00	Yes
Sales	Revenue		84,300.00	Yes
Wages & salaries	Expense		41,600.00	Check

Wages showing a credit balance is the kind of thing a trial balance is for. It still balances — but an expense account on the credit side usually means a pay run was posted the wrong way round.

What a balanced trial balance does not prove

This is the most misunderstood report in bookkeeping. It proves arithmetic, not accuracy.

It proves double entry held

Every debit had a matching credit. The mechanics of the ledger worked.

It does not prove the coding was right

A transaction posted to the wrong account balances perfectly. So does one posted twice, and one that was never entered at all.

It does not replace reconciliation

Reconcile the bank, the GST control account and payroll liabilities separately. Those are what catch the errors a trial balance cannot see.

It is a point in time

A trial balance as at 30 June and one as at 31 July are different documents. Always date it.

The divide-by-nine test

If your trial balance is out by an amount that divides evenly by nine, you are almost certainly looking at a transposition — two digits swapped, like 5,400 entered as 4,500. The difference of 900 divides by nine.

If it is out by exactly twice a figure you can see, that amount has been entered on the wrong side. Both tests take seconds and find most single-entry errors before you start rechecking the whole ledger.

How to prepare a trial balance

Four steps, and most of the work is in step one.

1. Close off the period

Post everything for the period — accruals, depreciation, payroll journals — before you extract balances.

2. List every account

Code, name, type and closing balance. Every account in the chart, even the ones sitting at zero.

3. Put each balance on one side

Assets and expenses normally debit; liabilities, equity and revenue normally credit. One side per account.

4. Get to zero

The out-by cell must read $0.00. If it does not, run the divide-by-nine test before rechecking everything.

If you are working in the general ledger template, its trial balance sheet does all of this for you with SUMIF formulas.

When you need a trial balance

Month end, before reporting

Nothing you report is safe until the ledger balances.

Before preparing a BAS

A BAS built on unbalanced books is a BAS you will probably revise.

At handover or year end

It is the document that says what was true on the date the file changed hands.

For accountants & bookkeepers

Do you review client files at month end?

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Definitions

Plain-English explanations of the terms used on this page.

FAQ

Trial balance questions

A trial balance lists the closing balance of every account at a point in time, split into debit and credit columns, and totals both.

Under double entry, those two totals must be equal. If they are not, an entry is missing, duplicated or on the wrong side.
A trial balance includes every account — revenue and expenses as well as assets, liabilities and equity — and exists to prove the ledger balances.

A balance sheet shows only assets, liabilities and equity at a point in time, and is a report you would actually show someone. The trial balance is a working document; the balance sheet is an output.
Assets and expenses normally carry debit balances. Liabilities, equity and revenue normally carry credit balances.

An account on the unexpected side is not automatically wrong — a bank account can be overdrawn, a customer can be in credit — but it is always worth checking.

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