A trial balance is a summary of all ledger balances, and helps in checking whether the transactions are correct and balanced. If journal entries are error-free and posted correctly to the general ledger, the total of all debit balances should be equal the total of all credit balances.
* Trial balance ensures that for every debit entry recorded, a corresponding credit entry has been recorded in the books in accordance with the double entry concept of accounting. If the totals of the trial balance do not agree, the differences may be investigated and resolved before financial statements are prepared.
* Trail balance assists in the identification and rectification of errors.
* Trial balance displays the transactions details of account groups. The details displayed are:
* Account group name
* Opening balance - The opening balance is the first entry in a company accounts either when they are first starting up or at the start of a new financial year. The opening balance can be found on the credit or debit side of the ledger. The Opening Balance of a month will be the same as the Closing Balance for the previous month.
* Closing balance - A closing balance is the amount remaining in an account within your chart of accounts, positive or negative, at the end of an accounting period or year end.
