A trial balance lists every G/L account with its debit and credit movement and closing balance for a period, with total debits equal to total credits.
A trial balance lists all G/L accounts with the debit and credit movement of a period and the resulting balance, and the totals of both sides agree. In Business Central it is a report over G/L entries rather than a stored document, so the figures are recalculated from the ledger every time. Variants compare the period with the previous year or with a budget.
Press Alt+Q and search for Trial Balance. Most localisations also ship related reports, such as a detail trial balance that lists the individual entries behind each account, and a version with budget comparison. The same figures are visible on screen on the Chart of Accounts page, where the net change and balance columns follow the date filter you set, and a financial report layout can be used for a custom presentation.
Closing July 2026, you run the report with the date filter 01.07.2026..31.07.2026. Account 6100 shows a net change of 1,250.00 on the debit side and a balance of 8,750.00, while account 2000 shows a payables balance of 45,320.55 on the credit side. You then compare the payables balance with the aged accounts payable report at 31.07.2026, and any difference points at a direct posting made to the payables account outside the vendor sub-ledger.
Most apparent imbalances are filtering issues, not accounting issues. A dimension filter hides every entry without that dimension value, so the two sides no longer meet. Closing entries carry a closing date that sits between 31 December and 1 January, so a filter ending on 31.12 excludes them while a filter ending on 01.01 includes them, which explains why an income statement sometimes refuses to end at zero. Comparing a trial balance at one date with a sub-ledger report at another date is the third classic mistake.
Once the month end layout is agreed, save it as a financial report or schedule the report so the same figures come out every month without manual filtering. Zentriq Agent can also answer balance questions directly over Business Central data, for example the movement on an expense account in July, which is often quicker than opening a report when someone needs a single number.
Business Central only posts balanced transactions, so the ledger itself is in balance. Check the filters first: a dimension filter, a date range that cuts through closing entries, or an account filter will make the totals differ.
The trial balance shows one line per account with movement and balance. The detail trial balance lists each individual entry behind those amounts, which is what you use to trace a specific posting.
Zentriq's AI tools automate many of the manual processes around trial balance in Business Central. Learn about the Zentriq Agent or try Zentriq PunchOut to see how AI simplifies procurement in BC.