Trial balances

Hi. Is there a way to extract monthly trial balances on Sage Evolution?

Parents Reply
  • 0 in reply to Bennie Pienaar

    Hi. Just a normal monthly trial balance. The current option on Evolution doesn't allow for a monthly TB. A normal monthly TB should have cumulative balance sheet items and monthly income statement items. Currently on evolution we can either get all cumulative or all monthly, not a combination of both. 

    Hope I'm making sense?

Children
  • 0 in reply to Samvee

    Hi Samvee

    I just want to make sure:

    So you want to be able to add a date range in your report filets e.g. Feb 2021 to February 2021, or Aug 2020 to Aug 2020?

    Correct?

    Bennie 

  • 0 in reply to Samvee

    Thanks Samvee

    Well, I'm not  an accountant but I believe why you want can't be regarded a Trial Balance

    A Trial Balance broad definition MUST/SHOULD always consider the balance of all GL accounts from the start of the current financial year until the selected TO period that you run the report for.

    The Evolution TB will always apply the above principle and you cannot select any FROM Period besides the start of the current financial year. 

    The only other advise in this case if to run the GL Account Transaction report in which a running balance is included 

    I hope that makes sense Slight smile

    Bennie 

  • 0 in reply to Bennie Pienaar

    Hi. No, balance sheet items are cumulative however income statement items are for the required period only. So for example the August 2020 to August 2020 Trial balance will have income statement items showing the August amount only whereas the balance sheet items will be cumulative. This is not a problem when extracting a trial balance for the full financial year however it becomes a problem when monthly TB's need to be extracted.

  • 0 in reply to Samvee

    Hi. It seems like I am not the only one experiencing this problem.

    Please see the below screenshot. She is correct, revenue and expenses (income statement items) should not be cumulative. It should only reflect the amounts for the selected month.

    I hope I am making more sense now.

  • 0 in reply to Samvee

    Hi Samvee

    I hope I fully understand you now, so please excuse me if I don't Slight smile

    You stated the following:

    No, balance sheet items are cumulative however income statement items are for the required period only

    Please consider the following arguments: :

    1. Yes, I agree: Balance Sheet GL accounts (items) are cumulative

    But Income Statement Accounts also carry a cumulative debit or credit balance as measured over  a certain period in the accounting year. And for that reason they can and MUT also be included in the Trial  Balance. 

    2. Please open the following link that describe in detail the meaning and contents of a Trial Balance, as understood according to all accountants worldwide:

    https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/trial_balance.asp

    3. In this site, notice especially the following: 

    What Is a Trial Balance?

    A trial balance is a bookkeeping worksheet in which the balance of all ledgers are compiled into debit and credit account column totals that are equal. A company prepares a trial balance periodically, usually at the end of every reporting period. The general purpose of producing a trial balance is to ensure the entries in a company's bookkeeping system are mathematically correct.

    KEY TAKEAWAYS

    • A trial balance is a worksheet with two columns, one for debits and one for credits, that ensures a company’s bookkeeping is mathematically correct. 
    • The debits and credits include all business transactions for a company over a certain period, including the sum of such accounts as assets, expenses, liabilities, and revenues.

    4. From the above, its clear that a Trial Balance should include ALL GL ACCOUNTS: Expenses, Incomes (Revenues), Assets and Liabilities. 

    5. Therefore, as with any accounting package in the world Sage Evolution applies the same principles  on its standard Trial Balance report layout and structure. 

    6. Can you perhaps refer me to the GAAP (General Accounting Accepted Practice)  clause / point which states that a Trial Balance should not include revenue and expenses (income statement items) accounts?

    Again, sorry if  I don't follow your query. 

    Kind regards

    Bennie