Trial balance: what it is, what it contains and how to turn it into financial statements
As at: · fastview ag, Suhr
Professionally responsible: Marco Zanetti and Reto Ackermann, fiduciaries and auditors, fastview ag
A trial balance is the list of all accounts of a set of books with their balance as at a reporting date, balance sheet and income statement accounts together. Because every entry appears in debit and in credit, the sum of all balances is zero; this shows whether the list is complete. For fiduciaries it is the handover point between the accounts and the financial statements.
Terminology: trial balance, balance list, trial balance sheet
In practice the terms are often used interchangeably. Strictly speaking, the trial balance (also balance list) shows only the closing balance per account, i.e. the difference between debit and credit. The totals balance shows per account the sum of all debit and all credit entries. A trial balance sheet is a balance or totals list drawn up before the final closing to check whether the accounts balance. For the financial statements, the trial balance after the closing entries counts.
Difference from journal, account sheet, balance sheet and income statement
| Report | What it shows | Use in the closing |
|---|---|---|
| Journal | all entries chronologically, with date, voucher, debit and credit account | tracing individual entries |
| Account sheet (general ledger) | per account: opening balance, movements and closing balance | account reconciliation, fixed asset movement schedule |
| Trial balance | per account the balance as at the reporting date, balance sheet and income statement accounts in one list | basis of the financial statements |
| Balance sheet | assets and liabilities and equity, structured by item, profit as part of equity | part of the financial statements (Art. 959a CO) |
| Income statement | income and expenses of the period, structured by item | part of the financial statements (Art. 959b CO) |
The step from the trial balance to the balance sheet and income statement is a mapping: each account is assigned to an item of the minimum structure, and the balances of the accounts of one item are added together. With the Swiss SME chart of accounts, the item follows largely from the account number: class 1 assets, 2 liabilities and equity, 3 operating income, 4 to 6 expenses, 7 and 8 ancillary operating results, non-operating and extraordinary items as well as taxes, 9 closing.
Example of a trial balance
A small trading company as at 31 December, in francs. Debit balances are on the left, credit balances on the right.
| Account | Name | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1020 | Bank | 60'000 | |
| 1100 | Trade receivables | 40'000 | |
| 1500 | Machinery and equipment | 50'000 | |
| 2000 | Trade payables | 30'000 | |
| 2800 | Share capital | 100'000 | |
| 2970 | Profit carried forward | 5'000 | |
| 3200 | Sales revenue | 400'000 | |
| 4200 | Cost of goods | 220'000 | |
| 5000 | Salary expenses | 120'000 | |
| 6000 | Premises expenses | 30'000 | |
| 6800 | Depreciation | 15'000 | |
| Total | 535'000 | 535'000 |
Debit and credit are equal; the trial balance balances. The income statement accounts result in a profit of CHF 15'000 (income 400'000 less expenses 385'000). In the balance sheet, assets of 150'000 stand against liabilities and equity of 135'000; the difference is the same profit of 15'000. This double check – assets equal to liabilities and equity, and profit per the balance sheet equal to profit per the income statement – is the test that every import of a trial balance should perform first.
Creating and exporting the trial balance
The trial balance is created by the accounting program; it is hardly ever calculated by hand any more. In the common programs it is found under reports, depending on the program as trial balance, balance list or trial balance sheet. How the export works in the individual program is described in its documentation. For the financial statements, pay attention to:
- reporting date equal to the balance sheet date, status after all closing entries
- all balance sheet and income statement accounts in one file
- per line: account number, name and balance, or debit and credit separately
- Excel or CSV if possible; a PDF with a text layer also works
- a separate file per financial year, including for the prior year
If no accounting file is available, for example with a new client whose financial statements exist only on paper, a trial balance can also be built in Excel: one line per account with account number, name and balance, debit balances positive, credit balances negative. The sum of the column must be zero. For the prior year, the trial balance from the prior year’s financial statements is often sufficient; it provides the comparative figures and the opening balances.
Typical pitfalls are group and total lines that are read as accounts, a prior-year column in the same file, signs that are presented differently by each program, and exports drawn before the last closing entries. What to look out for in exports from Abacus, Banana, Sage and bexio is described on the page Migration; two programs have their own pages: Financial statements from the Abacus trial balance and Financial statements from the bexio trial balance. If you have prepared the closing in Aumico so far: Switching from Aumico to nunia.
Import into nunia with column confirmation
In nunia you drag the trial balance into the field of the financial year. nunia reads Excel, CSV and PDF; for a PDF first the text layer, and only for a scan without a text layer is AI text recognition used. Before saving, you confirm the type and year of the file and, under “Check columns”, which column was read as account number, name and balance – for PDF exactly as for Excel.
Fixed rules then apply: nunia never counts numbers with fewer than four digits as accounts, skips lines with “Total”, and a rounding difference up to 50 centimes counts as rounding. nunia shows larger differences openly instead of smoothing them over. Each account is assigned to an item according to the SME chart of accounts or, with a different chart of accounts, by name; nunia remembers corrections per client. With the mapping approval, the basis for the financial statements is set. The process is shown in the tutorial video “Importing data”.
How things continue afterwards, from the structure through the notes to signing, is explained under Preparing financial statements; the framework with deadlines and general meeting is described in Year-end closing in Switzerland.
This page summarises the legal situation in simplified form and does not replace advice in the individual case. The law, the articles of association and current practice are authoritative.
Frequently asked questions
What is a trial balance?
The list of all accounts with their balance as at a reporting date, balance sheet and income statement accounts together. The sum of all balances is zero, because every entry appears in debit and in credit.
What is the difference between a trial balance and a balance sheet?
The trial balance lists every account individually, including the income statement accounts. The balance sheet shows only assets and liabilities and equity, structured by item, with the profit as part of equity.
Why does my trial balance not balance?
Common reasons are accounts missing from the export, group or total lines that are counted twice, an export before the closing entries, or signs that were read incorrectly. nunia shows the difference instead of smoothing it over.
In which format can I import the trial balance into nunia?
As Excel (.xlsx), CSV or PDF. Before saving, you confirm how account number, name and balance were read.
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