trial balance

American  

noun

Bookkeeping.

• trial balances
  plural

1. a statement of all the open debit and credit items, made preliminary to balancing a double-entry ledger.

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trial balance British  

noun

1. accounting a statement of all the debit and credit balances in the ledger of a double-entry system, drawn up to test their equality

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• trial balances
  plural

Etymology

Origin of trial balance

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trial balance

This was not a matter of trial balance.

From Stubble by George Looms

As he said, he wanted to settle his accounts and take his trial balance, and the presence of another person might be disturbing to that process.

From Atlantis by Adele Szold Seltzer

Such a list is called a trial balance, an example of which is given below.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 2 "Bohemia" to "Borgia, Francis" by Various

"We don't take a trial balance but once a year."

From Desk and Debit or, The Catastrophes of a Clerk by Oliver Optic

I even thought I comprehended the nature of Mr. Whippleton's sudden illness when I showed him my trial balance.

From Desk and Debit or, The Catastrophes of a Clerk by Oliver Optic