Chapter 5
Checking Your Accuracy
IN THIS CHAPTER
Checking your math with a trial balance
Finding and correcting errors
Preparing a worksheet
Generating reports from your computerized system
After you close all your journals and do your best to catch any and all errors (flip to Book 3, Chapter 4 for instructions), the time comes to test your work. If you’ve entered all double-entry transactions into the books correctly, the books balance out, and your trial’s a success!
Unfortunately, few bookkeepers get their books to balance on the first try, or the books balance as the result of errors.
This chapter explains how you do a trial balance of your books and gives tips on finding any errors that may be lurking. You also find out how to take your first step toward developing financial reports by creating a worksheet.
Working with a Trial Balance
When you start entering transactions in a dual-entry accounting system, you may think, “This is a lot of work, and I don’t know how I’m ever going to use all this information.” You enter all your transactions, using debits and credits, without ...
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