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M
Monica Brislawn
September 21, 2023
Solved

Report credits in Trial balance as negative numbers

  • September 21, 2023
  • 1 reply
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Hello QBO Community,

I have gone into the Reports / Trial balance and customized the report so that accounts with credit balances should have brackets/parentheses around the figures. The brackets are not appearing in the report. Any suggestions? Thank you. Kind regards, Monica

Best answer by JamaicaA

MichS, 3rd time trying to write you back... i do have the (100) selected... and i am not getting brackets around my GL balances in the credit position.  does this mean the (100) really means something different...that if, the GL balance only shows up negative if an account has a balance that is not in it's natural position? for example an accrued liability account with a debit balance will be in a minus position.... thoughts? thank you very much!


I appreciate your patience in getting back and forth here to get clarifications regarding this report, @Monica Brislawn. I'll provide more information about the two sides of General Ledger values displayed on your Trial Balance.

 

A trial balance is a worksheet used in bookkeeping that compiles the balances of all ledgers into equal column totals for debit and credit accounts. Asset and expense accounts are included in debit balances, while liability, capital, and income accounts are in credit balances. 

 

Additionally, Accounts Payable is a liability account because you owe payments to creditors. Therefore, it should have a credit balance.

 

Since the amount is inside parentheses or brackets (-100), it indicates a negative balance and should be recorded as 100 under the Credit section. This is because the Credit reflects outgoing money. 

 

Otherwise, you'll want to consider pulling up the Balance Sheet report to view negative amounts displayed with parentheses or brackets for assets, liabilities, or equity. For income or expenses, use the Profit & Loss report. You can open these links for the complete steps:

 

 

I hope this sheds light on your confusion. For any other account concerns, add your comment below. Stay safe.

1 reply

R
RCV
September 22, 2023

I'll share more insights on how the Trial Balance report works in QuickBooks Online (QBO), Monica Brislawn.

The brackets/parentheses around the figures will only show if there are negative numbers/values when running the report. If none, then it will only show the positive amounts in the Credit side. See the screenshot for your reference:

 

 

 

 

Also, a trial balance is a financial report that shows the closing balances of all general ledger accounts, as well as totals all debits and credits. If you need to show the opening balance, I suggest going to the Chart of Accounts page and clicking each account so you'll be routed to the Bank register page. Then, you can view the net activity and opening balance from there. Here's how:

 

  1. Go to the Accounting menu on the left panel.
  2. Choose the Chart of accounts and choose a specific account.
  3. Click the Account history link under the Action column.
  4. Locate the opening balance.

 

I'm adding this article if you need help printing, emailing, and exporting different reports in QuickBooks: Run reports in QuickBooks Online.

 

If you need further assistance or have additional questions about your Trial balance, add a comment below. I'm always here to help. 

M
Monica BrislawnAuthor
September 22, 2023

Hello RCV, 

you are very kind to reply so promptly.  In your explanation you indicate the negative numbers will only appear if there are negative numbers in the period for which the report was run. You then reference your screen shot. But I do not see the brackets in the screen shot?  

 

And yes, I do understand the Trial balance are for the ending amounts; are you indicating if one selects opening balances that somehow the figures with credit balances will then show up in brackets?

 

So glad to have this dialogue with you. Thank you in advance for more you can teach myself and the community. thank you. Cheers!

M
Mich_S
September 22, 2023

Hi there, Monica. Thanks for coming back. I'm here to clarify things for you.

 

The Trial Balance report on the screenshot provided by my colleague RCV shows the total of all debit-value balances equals the total of all credit-amount balances. Therefore, there wouldn't be any negative numbers displayed on it. I'll share another sample report that shows your desired information:

 

 

Moving forward, make sure to personalize your reports for them to reflect the brackets/parenthesis around the figures. Here's how:

 

  1. Run the report you want to edit from the Reports menu.
  2. Click on the Customize button.                                                                                                         
  3. From the General section, go to Negative numbers.
  4. Select (100) from the drop-down.
  5. Once done, click on Run report.

 

If you're all set, read this guide to learn more about how to fix any discrepancies with your account balances: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.

 

Don't hesitate to reply if you have other questions about reports or need help in managing your QuickBooks company. I'll be around to back you and your business. Have a good one!

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