Trial balance template: 6-column format with a worked example
A trial balance template lists every account with its balance so you can prove total debits equal total credits. The 6-column format shows the opening balance, the debits and credits posted in the period, and the closing balance for each account. This free Excel and CSV file includes a 17-account example that balances.
How the six columns work
Each account appears once. Its closing balance equals the opening balance plus period debits minus period credits, shown on the debit side if positive and on the credit side if negative.
Three column pairs must each balance: total opening debits equal total opening credits, total period debits equal total period credits, and total closing debits equal total closing credits. If the period pair does not balance, an entry was posted unbalanced; if only the closing pair is off, a closing balance was calculated wrongly.
| Column pair | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Opening balance | 228,000 | 228,000 |
| Period movement | 437,750 | 437,750 |
| Closing balance | 335,750 | 335,750 |
What the sample shows
The example is one month of a small trading company: 100,000 of credit sales with 5% VAT, purchases of 61,000 plus input VAT, customer receipts, supplier payments, salaries, rent, advertising, a VAT payment and depreciation. Income and expense accounts start the year at zero, so they only have period movement.
Read the closing columns as the raw material for the statements: asset and expense accounts carry debit balances, liability, equity and revenue accounts carry credit balances. A balance on the unexpected side, such as a credit balance on a bank account, is worth a second look. See normal balance.
What a balanced trial balance does not prove
A trial balance that balances only proves that every entry had equal debits and credits. It does not catch:
- An entry posted to the wrong account (for example rent posted to utilities).
- A transaction left out entirely, or posted twice.
- Two errors of the same amount on opposite sides that cancel each other.
- Missing period-end adjustments such as accruals and depreciation. Use the month-end close checklist to cover them.
2, 4 and 6 columns in the product
Building a trial balance by hand means copying balances from every ledger and hoping nothing was missed. Ledgeriano produces the trial balance from posted entries in 2, 4 or 6 columns for any date range, with print and CSV export, so this template is most useful for learning the format, reviewing a client's books or preparing an opening balance before you move them into a ledger.
Preview
The first rows of the downloadable sheet.
| Code | Account | Opening debit | Opening credit | Period debit | Period credit | Closing debit | Closing credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1103 | Bank: main operating account | 50,000 | 109,500 | 85,300 | 74,200 | ||
| 1111 | Trade receivables | 36,000 | 105,000 | 109,500 | 31,500 | ||
| 1124 | Merchandise inventory | 52,000 | 61,000 | 58,400 | 54,600 | ||
| 1134 | VAT receivable (input VAT) | 3,050 | 3,050 | ||||
| 1213 | Machinery and equipment | 90,000 | 90,000 | ||||
| 1222 | Accumulated depreciation: machinery and equipment | 27,000 | 1,500 | 28,500 | |||
| 2111 | Trade payables | 41,000 | 58,000 | 64,050 | 47,050 | ||
| 2122 | Salaries and wages payable | 14,000 | 14,000 | ||||
| 2131 | VAT payable (output VAT) | 4,800 | 4,800 | 5,000 | 5,000 | ||
| 3111 | Ordinary share capital | 100,000 | 100,000 | ||||
| 3201 | Retained earnings | 55,200 | 55,200 | ||||
| 4101 | Sales of goods | 100,000 | 100,000 | ||||
| 5101 | Cost of goods sold | 58,400 | 58,400 | ||||
| 6102 | Advertising and marketing | 2,500 | 2,500 | ||||
| 6201 | Salaries and wages | 14,000 | 14,000 |
Download the template
Free, no signup. The Excel file keeps account codes as text so leading digits survive.
How to prepare a 6-column trial balance
- 1
List the accounts
Write every posting account from your chart of accounts that has an opening balance or movement in the period.
- 2
Enter opening balances
Copy each balance at the start of the period to the opening debit or credit column.
- 3
Enter the period movement
Total the debits and credits posted to each account during the period.
- 4
Compute closing balances
Opening plus debits minus credits; show a positive result as a debit and a negative one as a credit.
- 5
Check the three totals
Each pair of columns must have equal totals; investigate any difference before preparing statements.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a 2-column and a 6-column trial balance?
A 2-column trial balance shows only the closing debit or credit balance of each account. The 6-column version adds the opening balance and the period's debits and credits, so you can see how each balance was reached.
Does a trial balance include income and expense accounts?
Yes. Before year-end closing, revenue and expense accounts carry balances and appear in the trial balance. After the closing entry they are zero and their net result sits in retained earnings.
Why does my trial balance not balance?
Usually an entry was posted with unequal debits and credits, a balance was copied to the wrong column, or an account was left off. A difference divisible by 9 often points to transposed digits, and half the difference may be an amount posted on the wrong side.
Is a trial balance a financial statement?
No. It is an internal working report used to check the ledger and to prepare the balance sheet and income statement, which are the published statements.
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Skip the spreadsheet
In Ledgeriano you install a chart of accounts when you open a fiscal year, post balanced entries against it and get the trial balance, statements and budget variances without copying anything between files.