Module 7 · Advanced · 9 min read

The Trial Balance and correcting errors

You will be able to: Read a Trial Balance and check that debits equal credits; Use Data health to find problems the Trial Balance cannot show; Choose the right way to correct a posted entry.

  • Read not done yet
  • Self-check: not taken not done yet
  • Lesson complete not done yet

The Trial Balance (TB) lists every account with a balance on a date, each on its natural side as a debit (Dr) or credit (Cr). Because every Zeyto entry has equal debits and credits, the two Closing totals must be equal. It is the first statement to check, because the Profit & Loss and the Balance Sheet are built from the same numbers.

Reading it

  • Open the Trial Balance from Reports (Financial). Set As on to the month end and press Run. For the month's movement, set Opening as of to the first day and turn on the Opening columns.
  • Closing Dr and Closing Cr in the TOTAL row must be equal. The Difference tile shows total debit less total credit and should be 0.00.
  • The Opening balance difference tile appears when the opening balances were entered on one side only.
  • Rows do not open. For the entries behind a balance use General Ledger or Account Statement.
  • Cancelled and amended documents count at their net effect. Drafts count for nothing.
The Trial Balance report with opening, period debit, period credit and closing columns for each account and the totals row.

Reports, Trial Balance: total debit equals total credit.

Reports, Trial Balance: total debit equals total credit.
A small Trial Balance at 31 October (AED)Debit balances: cash and bank 60,000; trade receivables 45,000; inventory 30,000; fixed assets at cost 60,000; prepaid expenses 22,000; VAT input 3,000; cost of sales 90,000; salaries 20,000; rent 12,000; depreciation 900. Total debits = 342,900. Credit balances: accumulated depreciation 900; trade payables 28,000; VAT output 6,000; accrued expenses 5,000; share capital 100,000; sales 203,000. Total credits = 342,900. The Difference is 0.00. The next two lessons use these figures.
Watch outA balanced Trial Balance does not prove the books are right. A bill coded to the wrong expense account, or a missing invoice, still balances. It only proves that no one-sided entry exists. Aging, stock and VAT checks cover what the TB cannot.

Data health

Reports, Data health runs checks over the whole company and only reads. On the Analysis tab, Trial balance should say In balance and Must be fixed should be 0. The checks include documents where debit does not equal credit, party balances against the control account, bills settled for more than their value, opening balances missing or one-sided, duplicate document numbers, entries posted into a locked period, negative stock, stock value against the Inventory account, and the VAT ledger against the VAT accounts. A check that finds nothing appears as a green tag at the bottom. Press Open on a finding to go to the document behind it.

The Books Integrity screen listing the data health checks with their status.

Reports, Books Integrity: the checks behind Data health.

Reports, Books Integrity: the checks behind Data health.

Correcting a posted entry

  • Amend the document. Zeyto reverses the original entry and posts the corrected version under the same number with /A1 added. This is the first choice for a wrong invoice, voucher or journal.
  • Cancel the document. Zeyto posts a reversing entry and the status becomes Cancelled. It cannot be undone.
  • Post a Journal Voucher for an entry no document covers, such as an accrual or a reclassification. It needs a Narration, equal debits and credits and a date inside an open fiscal year and after any lock.
  • Accounting, Adjustment Journal settles customer or supplier open items against each other (a credit note against an invoice, an advance against an invoice). It is not a general correction journal.
The Journals register with the filters and the list of posted journal vouchers with the Cancel option on a posted entry.

Correct a posted entry with a journal or by Amend or Cancel, not by editing.

Correct a posted entry with a journal or by Amend or Cancel, not by editing.

Nothing is ever deleted: Amend and Cancel add reversing rows, and the Posting Trail report shows them. Amend and Cancel are refused while another live document depends on the entry, for example a receipt settled against the invoice, so cancel the dependent document first.

TipFix errors in the month they belong to while it is still open. Once you have locked the books, correcting an old month means reopening the lock.

Try it in the demo

  1. Open the Trial Balance from the Reports search. Set As on to the last day of last month and press Run.
  2. Find the TOTAL row and compare Closing Dr with Closing Cr. What does the Difference tile say?
  3. Open Data health and let the checks finish. Read Must be fixed, Worth checking and the green tags.
  4. Open Accounting, Journals, click any journal and look at Amend and Cancel Voucher. Do not press either in the shared demo.
Open the live demo

Public demo company, sign in as admin / demoAdmin123. Data refreshes nightly.

Key takeaways
  • The two Closing totals of the Trial Balance must be equal; it proves entries balance, not that they are right.
  • Data health checks balances, parties, stock, VAT and numbering without changing anything.
  • Correct by Amend or Cancel first; a Journal Voucher covers entries no document produces.
  • Nothing is deleted: every correction adds a reversing entry.

Check yourself

3 questions on this lesson. Not timed, not the exam, and you can try again. Score 60% or more, and read the lesson, to complete it.

1. In a correct Trial Balance, which two totals are equal?

2. What is the first choice for correcting a wrong posted invoice in Zeyto?

3. Which problems can a balanced Trial Balance still hide?

Select all that apply.

Previous: Fixed assets and depreciationNext: Profit & Loss and the Balance Sheet

Practice questions for this module · Printable study sheet