Accounting cycle · Trial balance

The trial balance, single source of truth for the file's balances

The TB is the center of the file : the single source that master worksheets, groupings, financial statements, and GIFI all depend on. Each account is a row, with N and N-1 balances, bank operations and manual adjusting entries kept separate, and an adjusted balance that feeds everything downstream.

About 6 min Heart of the file Balance indicators for N and N-1

The page at a glance

At the top : a title bar with a subtitle « Single source of balances, used by all master worksheets ». Then the toolbar : Display, Print, Import, Tools, Add a row, and two green badges « Balanced » (one per year) at the right. Below the toolbar : a wide table with all accounts.

The columns that matter

Account #

The number used by the client. Editable, must be unique in the TB.

Description

Account name. Comes from the client, never translated by Ledger.

Grouping

Standard code (A1, B1, U46…) that ties the account to a FS line and a GIFI code.

Dec 31 YYYY (N)

Debit and Credit balances at fiscal year end, pulled from the client (import).

Dec 31 YYYY (N-1)

Debit and Credit balances at prior year end, used as comparative.

Operation

Impact of operation entries (bookkeeping). Read-only, comes from Bank transactions.

Reg.

Impact of manual adjusting entries you posted in the file.

Adjusted balance

The final balance used by worksheets, FS, and GIFI. The only number that matters downstream.

Variance

Difference N vs N-1, in dollars and percent. To spot anomalies at a glance.

Operation and Reg. are separate on purpose

Operation aggregates automatic entries from bookkeeping (Bank transactions). Reg. aggregates the manual adjusting entries you posted. Keeping them separate lets you see instantly, at review, where each movement on an account came from.

The balance indicators

Top-right of the toolbar, two badges show the TB balance for each year :

Green « Balanced » : sum of debits equals sum of credits, after operations and adjusting entries.
Red « Unbalanced » : there's a gap. Click the badge to see the amount and a hypothesis on its origin (missing account, account on wrong side, etc.).

Quick debug tricks

Gap = 2 × X : an account with balance X is probably on the wrong side (debit or credit reversed). Ledger highlights the likely culprit.
Gap matches a recent entry : an adjusting entry to an account not in the TB. The account picker is strict now, but old imports may have left orphans.

The action bar

Display : pick visible columns (Operation, Reg., Variance can be hidden if you want a lighter view). Saved per user.
Print : three print modes (flat, by grouping, comparative N-1 vs N) plus the two Excel exports. Opens in a separate tab ready to print.
Import : three routes : Excel/CSV, QuickBooks, paste text. See the dedicated articles.
Tools : clear all accounts (start fresh before a re-import) and detach the TB into its own window.
Add a row : opens the account-creation dialog. Enter the name, then the number while seeing which nearby numbers are already taken in the chart (yours shows green when free, red when occupied), then the grouping by search (word, grouping code or GIFI code, labels in the app language). The account is born classified : grouping, type and GIFI set on the first pass, at zero balance.

What you can do on a row

Each account row offers three actions on the left edge :

Mark as reviewed (green check) : a preparation state, useful at review to indicate « I looked at this account, it's correct ». The button Mark all X accounts as verified at the top ticks them all in one pass after a global review.
Attached documents : paperclip icon, click to attach a PDF or image (contract, statement, invoice). Drag-and-drop works too. The number shows how many pieces are attached.
Entries touching this account : « # entries » icon, click to see the list of adjusting entries and operation entries impacting this account, in a separate dialog.
Note on the account : bubble icon (amber when a note exists). Free text per account, plus an optional short reference (« n/m », « sch. 1 T2 »...) shown as a token on the row, Caseware style. Notes stay internal : they never print on the financial statements, and they follow the account if it is renumbered.

You can also edit cells directly : Account #, Description, Grouping, and N/N-1 balances. Sort by account number (ascending / descending / none) via the header button.

Column widths : drag the right edge of the Account #, Description or Grouping headers to widen or narrow them ; double-click the handle to return to the default width. The setting is remembered on your workstation. The same handle exists on the chart reconciliation page.

Renumbering an account in use : if journal entries, bank transactions or reconciliations refer to the account, changing its number opens a confirmation listing those items. On confirm, everything follows the new number automatically (entries, transactions, reconciliations, bank rules, tax codes, worksheets, attachments), then the page reloads. Nothing is lost and nothing becomes orphaned.

Deleting an account in use : refused. The trash icon first checks whether the account holds engagement data ; if so, a dialog lists what is holding it (entries, transactions, reconciliations). Reclassify or remove those items, then try again. A truly empty account deletes as before (with a confirmation if it carries a balance).

Export the TB to Excel

Print button → Export to Excel. The .xlsx mirrors the print PDF exactly : same columns, same groupings, same totals. Handy to send to a reviewer or to archive outside Ledger.

The comparative trial balance (banks and third parties)

Also under the Print button, the comparative trial balance shows both fiscal years side by side : account number, description, grouping, prior year (debit/credit), current year (debit/credit), then the variance in $ and in %. It's the document you hand to a bank or a third party who wants to see the year-over-year evolution.

Comparative (N-1 vs N) : the printable version. From the preview tab you can print or save as PDF, in French or English.
Export comparative to Excel : the same document as an editable .xlsx.

The current year is shown at the adjusted balance (working balance + adjustments) : the final figure, the one on the financial statements. An account with no balance this year but active last year stays visible with its variance, and the % variance stays empty when there is no comparison base (new account).

Three classic opening-balance pitfalls

Grouping zone : a mis-grouped account isn't just misclassified on FS, it can drop out of the year-to-year GL continuity. Fix the grouping, not just the balance.
Effective sign : in the « Adjusted balance » column, sign follows grouping convention (liabilities may show negative in some reports). Don't « fix » a sign without understanding where it comes from.
Opening = N balance, not N-1 : at rollover, the new engagement's opening is the fiscal year-end N balance, not the N-1 comparative. If a number looks off, check that rollover used the right mode.

What the TB feeds

Worksheets : Capital assets, LTD, Income taxes, sales taxes, etc. pull their balances from the TB to build their summaries.
Groupings and GIFI : the aggregated view by grouping code, ready to export to T2.
Financial statements : balance sheet, income statement, retained earnings, cash flows, notes take their numbers from the adjusted balance.
N-1 comparative : any page showing variance starts from the TB's N-1 balances.

If you want a number correct on the FS, fix it at source, on the TB (or via an adjusting entry), not downstream.