Viewing the trial balance

This guide shows you how to view the trial balance — the summary of movements and balances across all your accounts — then how to verify its equilibrium, interpret the key balances and export it. A balanced trial balance (ΣDebit balances = ΣCredit balances) confirms the integrity of your accounting.

Accessing the trial balance

From the navigation bar: Financial Statements → Trial Balance.

The trial balance: movements and balances of all accounts, with balanced totals.

Choosing the right view

GENERAL

Displays all accounts in the chart of accounts that have had at least one movement in the period. This is the reference view for a comprehensive check before a VAT return or year-end closing.

Typical use: monthly full review, balance sheet preparation, ΣD=ΣC verification.

THIRD PARTIES

Displays only third-party accounts: customers (411xxx), suppliers (401xxx), employees (422xxx). Each third-party sub-account appears on a separate line.

Typical use: check overall customer receivables, identify unsettled credit suppliers.

AUXILIARY

Detailed view of auxiliary accounts linked to each named third party. Shows the same data as THIRD PARTIES with the addition of the third-party name and code.

Typical use: submission to external accountant, customer portfolio verification.

PERIOD

Displays movements month by month for each account. Enables detection of a spike in expenses or revenue in a specific month.

Typical use: seasonal analysis, month-end adjustment checks.

Reading the trial balance columns

Column	Description
Account	SYSCOHADA account number (e.g. 411001)
Label	Account description (e.g. Trade receivables — SARL ABC)
Debit movements	Total cumulative debits for the period in XAF
Credit movements	Total cumulative credits for the period in XAF
Debit balance	Net balance if debit > credit (asset accounts, expenses)
Credit balance	Net balance if credit > debit (liability accounts, income)

The TOTALS line at the bottom of the page must show identical amounts in the Debit Balance and Credit Balance columns. This is the fundamental rule of double-entry bookkeeping.

Verifying the equilibrium ΣD = ΣC

Tip

Fundamental rule: the sum of all debit balances must always equal the sum of all credit balances. If the two totals differ, there is an unbalanced accounting document in your fiscal year — this is a data entry error that must be corrected immediately.

SynkriaOps blocks the posting of an unbalanced document (Debit ≠ Credit). If your trial balance is not in equilibrium, this usually means a manual import or data recovery has bypassed this control.

Interpreting balances

Account 471001 with a balance — pending bank transactions

Account 471001 (Bank transfer accounts / Liaison accounts) shows a non-zero balance in the trial balance? This indicates bank transactions that have been imported but not yet posted to a document. Each line on this account represents a banking operation waiting to be matched to an accounting document (invoice, expense claim, etc.).

Action: open the general ledger of account 471001 and post each outstanding entry.

Account 4431 credit balance — VAT due to tax authorities

If account 4431 (VAT collected) shows a credit balance of, for example, 1,475,000 XAF, this represents the VAT you have charged to your customers and must remit to the tax authority at your next return. An abnormally low or zero balance after a busy invoicing month warrants investigation.

Accounts 401xxx credit balances — amounts payable to suppliers

A credit balance on a supplier account (e.g. 401005 — Supplier BROSSARD SARL — 850,000 XAF) means you still owe them this amount. Cross-reference with the payment schedule to anticipate cash outflows.

Accounts 411xxx debit balances — amounts receivable from customers

A debit balance on a customer account (e.g. 411003 — ENTREPRISE MVONDO — 2,360,000 XAF) represents the amount still owed by that customer. Use the THIRD PARTIES view to identify overdue accounts.

Reading an example trial balance

Account	Label	Debit mvt	Credit mvt	Debit balance	Credit balance
101000	Share capital	—	10,000,000	—	10,000,000
401001	Supplier IMPORT-TECH	3,200,000	4,800,000	—	1,600,000
411001	SARL ABC	4,720,000	3,540,000	1,180,000	—
521001	BICEC bank	18,500,000	15,200,000	3,300,000	—
601000	Merchandise purchases	12,400,000	—	12,400,000	—
701000	Merchandise sales	—	28,300,000	—	28,300,000
TOTALS		38,820,000	51,840,000	16,880,000	39,900,000

Caution

In this simplified example, the Debit and Credit totals of the Movements columns differ because not all accounts are shown. In a complete trial balance, ΣDebit movements = ΣCredit movements AND ΣDebit balances = ΣCredit balances.

Exporting the trial balance

1. Select the desired view (GENERAL, THIRD PARTIES, AUXILIARY, PERIOD).

2. Adjust the period filter (start date / end date).

3. Click Export → Excel for an .xlsx file or Export → PDF for a printable report.

4. The export includes your company header, the selected period, and the totals line.

Using the trial balance at month-end

Before a monthly VAT return:

1. Open the trial balance in GENERAL view.
2. Check accounts 4431 (VAT collected), 4452 (deductible VAT on purchases), 4451 (deductible VAT on capital assets).
3. Net VAT payable = 4431 credit − (4452 + 4451) debit.

Before year-end closing:

1. Verify that ΣDebit balances = ΣCredit balances (TOTALS line).
2. Confirm that all 471xxx suspense accounts have a zero balance.
3. Verify that account 12 (Net result) is zero (it will be calculated automatically at closing).

Fixing common errors

Error	Likely cause	Solution
Unbalanced totals	Manual entry or incorrect import	Open the general ledger of the affected accounts to find the erroneous line
Account 471001 with persistent balance	Unreconciled bank transactions	Post each movement from the bank transaction list
Empty trial balance	No posted documents in the period	Check the status of your documents (DRAFT vs. POSTED)
THIRD PARTIES view empty	No third-party sub-accounts created	Check third-party setup and their accounting sub-accounts

See also

• Viewing the general ledger — Zoom into the entries of a specific account to find the source of a discrepancy.
• Calculating the SYSCOHADA balance sheet — Turn your balanced trial balance into official financial statements.
• Exporting the FEC — Generate the regulatory file for tax audit or external accountant submission.