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

A trial balance is thus no very adequate safeguard against fraud, nor does it bring to light mistakes in the monetary value attaching to the various transactions recorded.

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

Taking the trial balance shown above, the following represent the trading account, profit and loss account, Balance sheet. and balance sheet compiled therefrom.

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

When I obtained the invoices I could tell whether I had made a failure or not in the act of taking a trial balance.

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

This is as if a merchant should never balance his books, or, taking a trial balance, should be heedless of the result.

From Sunday-School Success A Book of Practical Methods for Sunday-School Teachers and Officers by Amos R. Wells

The entries appearing therein are such as would be necessary to prepare the trading and profit and loss accounts from the trial balance shown above, and to bring the capital account up to date.

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