Free template
Trial balance template
A trial balance worksheet: list each account's unadjusted balance, add the period's adjusting entries, and the adjusted trial balance calculates. Each pair of columns is checked for balance.
Download the template
Download the trial balance template .xlsx
What’s in the workbook
- Up to 60 accounts with number, name and type
- Unadjusted debit and credit, adjustment debit and credit, and the adjusted balance
- Totals and a difference check for the unadjusted, adjustment and adjusted columns
Blue cells are inputs. Formulas recalculate in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice. The sample data below is already filled in so you can see how it works; replace it with your own.
What the sample looks like
| No. | Account | Unadj. Dr | Unadj. Cr | Adj. Dr | Adj. Cr | Adjusted Dr | Adjusted Cr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 | Cash | 40,900.00 | – | – | – | 40,900.00 | – |
| 1200 | Accounts receivable | 14,200.00 | – | – | – | 14,200.00 | – |
| 1300 | Prepaid insurance | 3,600.00 | – | – | 300.00 | 3,300.00 | – |
| 1500 | Equipment | 24,000.00 | – | – | – | 24,000.00 | – |
| 1590 | Accumulated depreciation | – | 4,800.00 | – | 400.00 | – | 5,200.00 |
| 2000 | Accounts payable | – | 6,100.00 | – | – | – | 6,100.00 |
| 2100 | Accrued liabilities | – | – | – | 1,850.00 | – | 1,850.00 |
| 2500 | Notes payable | – | 20,000.00 | – | – | – | 20,000.00 |
| 3000 | Owner's equity | – | 45,000.00 | – | – | – | 45,000.00 |
| 4000 | Service revenue | – | 62,300.00 | – | – | – | 62,300.00 |
| 6100 | Wages expense | 38,000.00 | – | 1,850.00 | – | 39,850.00 | – |
| 6300 | Rent expense | 14,400.00 | – | – | – | 14,400.00 | – |
| 6400 | Insurance expense | 1,800.00 | – | 300.00 | – | 2,100.00 | – |
| 6500 | Depreciation expense | – | – | 400.00 | – | 400.00 | – |
| 6900 | Utilities expense | 1,300.00 | – | – | – | 1,300.00 | – |
| Totals | 138,200.00 | 138,200.00 | 2,550.00 | 2,550.00 | 140,450.00 | 140,450.00 |
How to use it
Enter the unadjusted balances
From the ledger, put each account's balance in the debit or credit column. The totals should agree before you go further.
Add the adjusting entries
In the sample: $300 of prepaid insurance used up, $400 of depreciation, and $1,850 of wages earned but not paid. Each adjustment has a debit and an equal credit.
Read the adjusted trial balance
The template nets each account. The adjusted columns are what the income statement and balance sheet are built from.
If the columns don't balance, look for an amount entered on the wrong side, a transposed figure (the difference is divisible by 9 when two digits are swapped), or an account left out.
Trial balance template: questions
- What is a trial balance?
- A list of each general ledger account's balance at a date, with debit balances in one column and credit balances in the other. If the books are in balance, the two columns total the same.
- Does a balanced trial balance mean the books are right?
- No. It proves debits equal credits, not that amounts are in the right accounts or the right period. An entry posted to the wrong expense account, or left out entirely, still balances.
- What's the difference between an unadjusted and an adjusted trial balance?
- The unadjusted trial balance is taken before period-end adjusting entries; the adjusted one includes accruals, deferrals, depreciation and corrections. Financial statements come from the adjusted balances.
- Where do the balances come from?
- From the general ledger. The general ledger template builds a trial balance from its own entries if you keep the ledger in Excel too.