The Trial Balance is used to check the turnover and balances of ledger accounts for a selected period. In the ABRA Flexi web interface, you'll find it among the accounting outputs in the Accounting module. You'll mainly use this output for ongoing accounting checks, before closing a period, or when tracking down discrepancies in accounts.
Where to find the Trial Balance
Open the ABRA Flexi web interface.
In the left menu, go to the Accounting module.
Open the Accounting outputs section.
Select the Trial Balance output.
Once you open the output, a form appears where you can set the report parameters.
What the Trial Balance shows
The Trial Balance shows ledger accounts and their values for the selected period. Depending on the report settings, it typically includes:
opening account balance,
turnover on the Debit side,
turnover on the Credit side,
difference in turnover,
closing account balance.
This output helps you quickly check whether the accounting entries match the expected state of the books.
⚠️ The Trial Balance is based on posted documents. If a document isn't posted or has a different posting date, it may not appear in the output as expected.
Setting report parameters
In the form, set the range of data you want to display in the trial balance.
Field | Description |
Accounting period | Select the accounting period for which you want to create the report. |
Date from / Date to | Limits the output to a specific part of the accounting period, if this field is available in the report. |
Accounts | Allows you to enter a specific account, multiple accounts, or a range of accounts. |
Additional properties | Used to limit the output, for example, by cost center. |
Print form | Determines the layout of the resulting output. |
If you don't set any restrictions by account or additional properties, Flexi will generate the Trial Balance for the entire selected accounting period based on the available data.
Restricting by account
Use the Accounts field if you don't want to check the entire chart of accounts, but only a selected part of it.
For example, you can enter:
a single account,
several specific accounts,
a range of accounts,
a selected group of sub-accounts.
This approach is useful, for example, when checking bank accounts, cash registers, VAT, customers, suppliers, or accrual accounts.
💡 Tip: If you're looking for a discrepancy in a specific account, start by limiting the output to just that account. The output will be clearer, and you'll find the period in which the discrepancy arose more quickly.
Restricting by additional properties
In the Additional properties section, you can refine the report based on how your company structures its accounting.
For example, you can limit the output by cost center.
This restriction is mainly useful for companies that need to check their accounting separately for individual operations. If you need to check by other properties, such as activity, currency, etc., use the filtering function on the already displayed trial balance.
Generating and exporting the output
After setting the parameters, run the report generation. Flexi will display the Trial Balance according to the selected range.
You can use the output for checking directly in the web interface or export it to PDF.
💡 Tip: If you use the report as a basis for an accounting review, save the exported PDF with your internal records. This makes it easy to later document the period and parameters used for the check.
How to read the Trial Balance
When reviewing the report, focus mainly on the relationship between the opening balance, turnover, and closing balance.
Value | What it means |
Opening balance | The account balance at the start of the period reviewed. |
Debit turnover | The sum of accounting entries on the debit side for the period reviewed. |
Credit turnover | The sum of accounting entries on the credit side for the period reviewed. |
Turnover difference | The difference between debit and credit turnover. |
Closing balance | The account balance after including turnover for the period reviewed. |
For asset accounts, you'll usually monitor the balance on the Debit side; for liability accounts, on the Credit side. Income statement accounts are mainly used for reviewing costs and revenues for the period.
Practical tips
Check that documents are posted
The Trial Balance is based on the accounting records. If an amount you expect is missing from the output, check whether the related document has been posted.
Check mainly:
issued and received invoices,
bank documents,
cash documents,
internal documents,
inventory documents, if they affect the accounting.
⚠️ An unposted document will not appear as an accounting entry in the Trial Balance.
Narrow the report range if there are discrepancies
If you're looking for a discrepancy, don't immediately generate the entire Trial Balance for the whole period. Narrow down the output step by step:
Select a specific account.
Shorten the period being checked.
Limit the output by cost center or activity, if the company uses these.
Compare turnover by month or shorter intervals.
This will help you find out more quickly which period the discrepancy arose in.
Use sub-accounts
For accounts with multiple sub-accounts, check the individual sub-accounts separately. The summary account may look correct, but a discrepancy might be hidden among the sub-accounts.
It's typically worth checking the following by sub-account:
bank accounts,
cash registers,
customers,
suppliers,
VAT,
advances,
accruals,
inventory accounts.
Compare the Trial Balance with other outputs
The Trial Balance is suitable as an initial control report. For a more detailed review, compare it with other outputs.
What you're checking | Recommended follow-up output |
Balance sheet accounts | List of assets and liabilities |
Income statement accounts | List of costs and revenues |
Movements in a specific account | Account movements |
Account status in the accounting records | Account statuses |
Customers and suppliers | Balance |
💡 Tip: If the balance of a specific account doesn't match, continue with the Account movements output. This will help you trace specific accounting entries, and it can also display unposted movements.
Run the account status recalculation if the values don't match
If balances or turnover don't appear correct, you can run Account status recalculation in the web interface. This recalculation checks the accounting operations for the given period and, if necessary, recalculates the amounts in the accounts.
In the web interface, you'll find the recalculation in the Account statuses agenda. You can also open this agenda via search.
⚠️ Run the account status recalculation for a specific accounting period. If you work with multiple periods, make sure you're recalculating the correct one.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
❓ Why is a document missing from the Trial Balance?
The most common reasons are:
the document isn't posted,
the document has a different posting date,
the document falls into a different accounting period,
the report is restricted to a different account,
a filter is set by cost center, activity, or currency,
the document uses a different sub-account.
First check the report parameters, then check the specific document.
❓ Why doesn't the opening account balance match?
The opening balance usually follows on from the closing balance of the previous accounting period. If it doesn't match, check the balance carryover, period-end closing operations, and any corrections made in the previous period.
❓ Why doesn't the closing account balance match?
The closing balance is affected by the opening balance and all accounting turnover for the period reviewed. Check whether all documents are posted, whether they have a different posting date, and whether the report is restricted by a filter.
❓ What is the difference between the Trial Balance and Account movements?
The Trial Balance shows summary account values. Account movements shows the specific accounting entries that make up those summary values.
If you find a discrepancy in the Trial Balance, continue checking using Account movements.