Track 2 · Recording and posting
The unadjusted trial balance
Prepare an unadjusted trial balance and learn which errors it catches — and the many it doesn't.
You will be able to
- Prepare a trial balance from ledger balances.
- Use the difference to locate errors.
- Name errors a balancing trial balance can't detect.
Builds on
A trial balance lists every ledger account with its balance in a debit or credit column, usually in chart-of-accounts order: assets, liabilities, equity, income, expenses. If every entry was balanced and posted correctly, the two columns total the same. The trial balance taken before period-end adjustments is the unadjusted trial balance; it is the starting point for adjustments and, eventually, the financial statements.
To prepare one: take each account's closing balance from the ledger, put it in the column of its balance (normally its normal side), total both columns and compare. Watch the accounts whose side surprises beginners — accumulated depreciation (credit), sales returns (debit), dividends declared (debit), and any account with a balance on its unusual side, which goes in the column it actually sits in.
When the totals don't agree, the difference is a clue: - Halve it. A debit posted as a credit (or vice versa) creates a difference of twice the amount. Look for an amount equal to half the difference. - Look for the difference itself. A line posted to only one account, or a balance left out of the list, creates a difference equal to the amount. - Divide by 9. A difference divisible by 9 often means a transposition (3,410 written as 3,140) or a slide (540 written as 5,400) on one side only. - Check the columns. A balance listed in the wrong column, or a mis-added column, is surprisingly common.
When they do agree, that proves only that debits equal credits. These errors leave the trial balance balanced: - Omission — a transaction never recorded. - Commission — the right type of account but the wrong one (electricity debited to Rent expense). - Principle — the wrong type of account (a repair debited to Equipment). - Original entry — the wrong amount on both lines (540 entered as 450 throughout). - Complete reversal — debit and credit swapped. - Compensating errors — two mistakes that cancel out.
That is why the trial balance is a check on arithmetic and posting, not on whether the accounting is right. Reviews, reconciliations and analytics catch the rest.
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 1000 Cash at bank | 9,240 | |
| 1100 Accounts receivable | 1,880 | |
| 1200 Inventory | 3,150 | |
| 1500 Equipment | 12,400 | |
| 1510 Accumulated depreciation — equipment | 2,480 | |
| 2000 Accounts payable | 2,310 | |
| 2500 Bank loan | 8,000 | |
| 3000 Share capital | 6,000 | |
| 3100 Retained earnings | 3,080 | |
| 4000 Sales revenue | 2,860 | |
| 4100 Service revenue | 9,640 | |
| 5000 Cost of sales | 1,720 | |
| 6000 Salaries expense | 4,100 | |
| 6100 Rent expense | 1,500 | |
| 6300 Utilities expense | 380 | |
| Total | 34,370 | 34,370 |
Produced by the ledger from the posted balances. Accumulated depreciation sits with the assets in the chart but in the credit column, because it reduces them.
Interactive
Trace a trial balance difference to its cause
Trace a trial balance difference to its cause and correct it.
Quill & Fern Stationers · May 2026
The trial balance extracted at month end doesn't agree, so the difference has been put in a suspense account. Use the diagnostics, trace journals to the ledger and vouch them to source documents, then post a correcting entry for each error you find.
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 1000Cash at bank | 8,770.00 | |
| 1100Accounts receivable | 5,760.00 | |
| 1200Inventory | 8,300.00 | |
| 1350Supplies | 150.00 | |
| 1500Equipment | 15,000.00 | |
| 1510Accumulated depreciation — equipment | 3,000.00 | |
| 2000Accounts payable | 5,650.00 | |
| 2500Bank loan | 9,500.00 | |
| 3000Share capital | 15,000.00 | |
| 3100Retained earnings | 9,200.00 | |
| 4000Sales revenue | 9,490.00 | |
| 5000Cost of sales | 5,200.00 | |
| 6000Salaries expense | 4,100.00 | |
| 6300Utilities expense | 1,420.00 | |
| 7000Interest expense | 60.00 | |
| Totals | 48,610.00 | 51,990.00 |
| 1990Suspense account | 3,380.00 | |
| Totals including suspense | 51,990.00 | 51,990.00 |
Difference: credits exceed debits by 3,380.00. 3 posting errors still affect the trial balance.
Diagnostics on the current difference
- Difference
- 3,380.00
- Difference ÷ 2
- 1,690.00
- Divisible by 9?
- No — a transposition alone is unlikely to explain it.
- Equal to a journal line
- None.
Several errors combine into one difference, so these tests sharpen as you correct errors.
| Journal | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Cash sales for the week | 3,850.00 | |
| Credit sale to Corvo Ltd | 5,640.00 | |
| Rent for May paid | 2,300.00 | |
| Office supplies bought on credit from Papyra | 450.00 | |
| Receipts from credit customers | 3,900.00 | |
| Electricity bill paid | 1,420.00 | |
| Inventory bought on credit | 4,000.00 | |
| Salaries for May paid | 4,100.00 | |
| Supplier Papyra paid | 2,600.00 | |
| Loan instalment and interest paid | 560.00 | |
| Cost of goods sold for May | 5,200.00 |
JNL-101 · Cash sales for the week
Till Z-report 0502 · 2 May 2026| Date | Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 May | 1000Cash at bank | 3,850.00 | |
| 4000Sales revenue | 3,850.00 | ||
| Cash sales for the week (Till Z-report 0502) | |||
What a balanced trial balance can't detect
A trial balance only proves that total debits equal total credits. These errors leave it in balance:
- Original entry — the wrong amount on both sides, as in JNL-106 (1,420 recorded for a 1,240 bill).
- Omission — a transaction not recorded at all.
- Commission — the right type of account but the wrong one (one customer's receipt credited to another customer).
- Principle — the wrong type of account, such as capitalising a repair as equipment.
- Complete reversal — debit and credit accounts swapped.
- Compensating errors — two errors of equal amount that cancel out.
These are found by reconciliations (bank, receivables and payables control accounts, supplier statements), analytical review and vouching to source documents.
Practice
Practising as a guest — attempts aren't saved.
Exercise 1 · Calculate
Lumen's ledger balances at 31 May, before May's adjusting entries: Cash at bank 29,430; Accounts receivable 8,150; Prepaid insurance 2,200; Prepaid rent 1,600; Supplies 1,200; Equipment 12,720; Accumulated depreciation — equipment 175; Accounts payable 3,390; Unearned revenue 7,300; Bank loan 18,000; Share capital 20,000; Retained earnings 3,545; Service revenue 10,150; Interest income 20; Salaries expense 6,300; Utilities expense 285; Advertising expense 530; Interest expense 120; Bank charges 45. Retained earnings is April's profit, closed at 30 April. What is the total of the debit column?
Exercise 2 · Worksheet
Prepare Thistle Bakery's trial balance at 31 March. Put each balance in the correct column and enter 0 in the other column. Balances: Sales revenue 18,450 · Equipment 15,600 · Bank loan 9,000 · Cost of sales 7,380 · Salaries expense 4,920 · Cash 4,350 · Accumulated depreciation 3,900 · Share capital 3,000 · Inventory 2,240 · Accounts payable 1,720 · Dividends declared 1,000 · Accounts receivable 960 · Retained earnings 610 · Sales returns and allowances 230.
Exercise 3 · Concept check
A trial balance has credits exceeding debits by 180. Which error would explain it?
Exercise 4 · Calculate
A trial balance shows debits of 41,260 and credits of 40,720. The bookkeeper believes one amount was posted to the wrong side of an account. What amount should she look for?
Exercise 5 · Concept check
A trial balance shows debits of 52,370 and credits of 52,640. The difference, 270, is divisible by 9. Which error is the most likely cause?
Exercise 6 · Classify
Would each error make the trial balance disagree?
Exercise 7 · Worksheet
Challenge: Wren Garden Supplies' trial balance shows debits of 63,480 and credits of 63,030. The review finds four problems. For each, enter the change to each column total once it is fixed (use negatives for decreases, 0 for no change), then the corrected totals.
Key points
- A trial balance lists every ledger balance in its debit or credit column; the totals should agree.
- Halve the difference for a wrong-side posting; look for the difference itself for a one-sided posting; divide by 9 for transpositions.
- Omission, commission, principle, original entry, reversal and compensating errors all leave it balanced.
- A balanced trial balance proves arithmetic, not correctness.
Content review: answers and figures are checked by automated tests against the accounting engine, and the text has had an internal review against the standards; independent review by a qualified accountant is pending.