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Understanding the Trial Balance Report in QuickBooks Online

Have you ever wanted to see a snapshot of ALL your financial accounts?
 
That’s what the Trial Balance is for. It combines both the Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet into one report.

The Trial Balance in QuickBooks Online

To find the Trial Balance in QuickBooks Online, click Reports in the left-hand menu. Then, search for Trial Balance.

searching for Trial Balance from the reports screen in QBO.

You have a few options for this report. You can

  • Pick a date range
  • Display columns by month, or Total only
  • Show non-zero or active-only rows/columns
  • Select Cash or Accrual Accounting methods

For this example, I’m selecting the date range All Dates and then clicking Run report.

Selecting a date range for the Trial Balance report from the Report period drop-down in QBO

The report shows all of the accounts on the Balance Sheet. Followed by all of the accounts on the Profit and Loss. 

Trial Balance versus Balance Sheet

Here’s a side-by-side of the Trial Balance and Balance Sheet, both with All Dates selected.

Side-by-side of the Trial Balance and Balance Sheet in QBO showing that they have the accounts.

Trial Balance versus Profit and Loss

Here is a side-by-side of the Trial Balance and the Profit and Loss report.

Side-by-side of the Trial Balance and Profit and Loss reports in QBO

You may notice that the Profit and Loss report has indented sub-accounts that you can hide if needed.

The Trial Balance lists ALL accounts in one column, including sub-accounts. Sub-account names have colons separating the different account levels in their name.

Example of sub-accounts listed on the Trial Balance report.

Everything from the Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss appears on the Trial Balance except the Net Income.

That’s because Net Income is the difference between income and expenses. Net Income doesn’t appear on the Trial Balance because, mathematically, it’s already there.

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Below is a video if you prefer to watch a walkthrough.

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