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Accounting
Trial Balance
A list of every account in the general ledger with its debit or credit balance to check that total debits equal total credits.
The trial balance is prepared before adjusting entries. If it doesn't balance, you know there's a math error somewhere. It doesn't catch every mistake, but it's the first big safety check in the accounting cycle.It's like weighing both sides of a giant scale to make sure the whole accounting system is perfectly balanced before you move forward.
Real world: At the end of the month a bookkeeper lists Cash $12,400 (debit), Accounts Payable $3,200 (credit), and every other account — the two columns must add up to the exact same number.
💡 A balanced trial balance doesn't mean everything is perfect, but an unbalanced one always means something is wrong — it's your quick 'does this add up?' test.