Key takeaways
- A post-closing trial balance lists only balance sheet accounts after the year-end closing entries, and it's the last of three versions that show your books before adjustments, after adjustments, and after closing.
- In the worked example below, a company with $80.3 million in revenue goes from a $116.4 million adjusted trial balance to a $40.8 million post-closing trial balance, because closing moves $4.7 million of net income into retained earnings and zeroes every revenue and expense account.
- Each month's close stops at the adjusted trial balance, the post-closing trial balance follows the year-end close, and some ERPs, such as NetSuite, don't post a closing entry at all.
A post-closing trial balance is the list of your balance sheet accounts after the year-end closing entries, totaled to confirm that debits still equal credits. Getting the unadjusted, adjusted, and post-closing versions right gives you complete financial statements, catches posting errors before sign-off, and keeps next year's opening balances clean. This guide covers the three types, one company's numbers through all three, how often you prepare each, and what to check when one won't balance.
What is a trial balance?
A trial balance is a list of every general ledger account with its ending debit or credit balance, totaled to confirm that debits equal credits. Knowing which version you're looking at tells you which numbers are final.
- Unadjusted trial balanceThe ledger after the period's transactions are posted, before adjusting entries
- Adjusted trial balanceThe ledger after accruals, deferrals, depreciation, and other adjusting entries, and the source of your financial statements
- Post-closing trial balanceThe ledger after closing entries move revenue, expense, and dividend balances into retained earnings, leaving only balance sheet accounts
A balanced trial balance doesn't prove your books are accurate. An accrual that was never recorded, or an expense posted to the wrong account, still leaves debits and credits equal.
What are the three types of trial balances?
The three types are the unadjusted, adjusted, and post-closing trial balance, and each one is a snapshot of the same ledger at a different point in the close. Comparing them side by side shows you when each one is useful.
| Aspect | Unadjusted | Adjusted | Post-closing |
|---|---|---|---|
| When you run it | After transactions are posted, before adjusting entries | After adjusting entries | After the year-end closing entries |
| Revenue and expense accounts | Balances to date | Final balances for the period | Zero |
| Retained earnings | Opening balance for the year | Opening balance for the year | Includes the year's net income |
| What you use it for | Finding missing entries and starting reconciliations | Preparing the financial statements | Confirming next year's opening balances |
| How often | Every month | Every month | Once a year |
Post-closing trial balance example: One company through all three types
Taking one set of numbers through all three versions shows you exactly what adjusting entries and closing entries change.
Example
A software company with about $80 million in annual revenue closes its fiscal year on December 31, 2026. All amounts are illustrative and shown in thousands of dollars ($000). The unadjusted trial balance balances at $113,480 on each side. The team then posts five adjusting entries:
- Accrued salariesDecember salaries of $2,480 are earned but paid in January, so debit salaries expense and credit accrued salaries
- Insurance$80 of prepaid insurance is used up in December, so debit insurance expense and credit prepaid insurance
- DepreciationDecember depreciation is $120, so debit depreciation expense and credit accumulated depreciation
- Deferred revenue$1,280 of subscriptions billed in advance is earned in December, so debit deferred revenue and credit revenue
- Hosting accrualThe December hosting bill of $360 hasn't arrived, so debit software and hosting expense and credit accrued expenses
December hosting accrual · bill not yet received
- Dr 61400 · Software and hosting360,000.00
- Cr 21500 · Accrued expenses360,000.00
Hosting accrual workpaper, December 2026
| Account ($000) | Unadjusted | Adjustments | Adjusted | Post-closing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | 20,160 Dr | 0 | 20,160 Dr | 20,160 Dr |
| Accounts receivable | 12,600 Dr | 0 | 12,600 Dr | 12,600 Dr |
| Prepaid insurance | 960 Dr | 80 Cr | 880 Dr | 880 Dr |
| Equipment | 7,200 Dr | 0 | 7,200 Dr | 7,200 Dr |
| Accumulated depreciation | 2,160 Cr | 120 Cr | 2,280 Cr | 2,280 Cr |
| Accounts payable | 4,880 Cr | 0 | 4,880 Cr | 4,880 Cr |
| Accrued salaries | 0 | 2,480 Cr | 2,480 Cr | 2,480 Cr |
| Accrued expenses | 0 | 360 Cr | 360 Cr | 360 Cr |
| Deferred revenue | 7,840 Cr | 1,280 Dr | 6,560 Cr | 6,560 Cr |
| Common stock | 8,000 Cr | 0 | 8,000 Cr | 8,000 Cr |
| Retained earnings | 11,600 Cr | 0 | 11,600 Cr | 16,280 Cr |
| Revenue | 79,000 Cr | 1,280 Cr | 80,280 Cr | 0 |
| Salaries expense | 46,200 Dr | 2,480 Dr | 48,680 Dr | 0 |
| Rent expense | 5,760 Dr | 0 | 5,760 Dr | 0 |
| Software and hosting expense | 18,400 Dr | 360 Dr | 18,760 Dr | 0 |
| Insurance expense | 880 Dr | 80 Dr | 960 Dr | 0 |
| Depreciation expense | 1,320 Dr | 120 Dr | 1,440 Dr | 0 |
| Total, each side | 113,480 | 4,320 | 116,440 | 40,840 |
The closing entries then move the year's results into retained earnings:
- Net income$80,280 revenue − $75,600 expenses ($48,680 + $5,760 + $18,760 + $960 + $1,440) = $4,680
- Closing entryDebit revenue $80,280, credit each expense account for its balance ($75,600 in total), and credit retained earnings $4,680
- Retained earnings$11,600 opening + $4,680 net income = $16,280
The post-closing total of $40,840 is much smaller than the adjusted total because every revenue and expense account is now zero. It still balances: $20,160 + $12,600 + $880 + $7,200 = $40,840 of debits, and $2,280 + $4,880 + $2,480 + $360 + $6,560 + $8,000 + $16,280 = $40,840 of credits.
What is the difference between the adjusted and post-closing trial balance?
The adjusted trial balance, also called the pre-closing trial balance, includes revenue and expense accounts, and the post-closing trial balance doesn't. After closing, only balance sheet accounts remain, and retained earnings includes the year's net income. In the example, the adjusted trial balance lists 17 accounts and totals $116,440, and the post-closing trial balance lists 11 and totals $40,840.
The difference between the unadjusted and adjusted trial balance is the adjusting entries. In the example, five entries totaling $4,320 on each side change ten accounts, two of which had no balance before.
You build the income statement from the revenue and expense lines of the adjusted trial balance, and the balance sheet from its asset, liability, and equity lines plus net income. For the entries behind each adjustment, see Month-end journal entries: Examples and what to review.
Do you prepare a post-closing trial balance every month?
Not usually. Closing entries are a year-end step, so the post-closing trial balance follows the year-end close. During the year, revenue and expense accounts keep their year-to-date balances for monthly, quarterly, and year-to-date reporting. So each month's close stops at the adjusted trial balance.
Some ERPs don't post a closing entry even at year-end. “In NetSuite, an entry to close Profit or Loss to Retained Earnings is not required,” according to NetSuite partner Sikich. Instead, the balance sheet calculates retained earnings from prior years' net income. Your year-end check is that the new year's opening retained earnings equals last year's retained earnings plus net income.
Some teams use “post-close trial balance” for the final adjusted trial balance after the month is locked. If yours does, write that definition into your close policy so preparers and reviewers mean the same report.
Which accounts appear on a post-closing trial balance?
Only permanent accounts appear on a post-closing trial balance: assets, liabilities, and equity. Checking for the right accounts tells you whether the closing entries ran completely.
- AssetsCash, receivables, prepaid expenses, and fixed assets, with contra accounts such as accumulated depreciation listed separately
- LiabilitiesPayables, accrued salaries and expenses, and deferred revenue
- EquityCommon stock, additional paid-in capital, and retained earnings, now including the year's net income
When you review a post-closing trial balance, every revenue, expense, and dividend or distribution account should have a zero balance. A balance left in any of them means a closing entry is missing or incomplete.
Is the post-closing trial balance the same as the balance sheet?
No. They contain the same accounts, but a trial balance lists debit and credit balances to prove the ledger balances, while the balance sheet groups and nets them for readers. Knowing how they differ helps you explain why the two totals don't match.
In the example, the post-closing trial balance totals $40,840, but total assets on the balance sheet are $38,560. The $2,280 difference is accumulated depreciation, which the balance sheet nets against equipment: $20,160 + $12,600 + $880 + ($7,200 − $2,280) = $38,560. Liabilities of $14,280 and equity of $24,280 add up to the same $38,560.
Why doesn't my trial balance balance?
Modern accounting systems won't post a journal entry unless its debits equal its credits, so an out-of-balance trial balance usually points to report settings or data, not arithmetic. Checking these causes in order narrows the search quickly.
| What you see | What to check |
|---|---|
| Debits don't equal credits | An import or integration that loaded only one side of an entry, or a trial balance built in a spreadsheet |
| The trial balance doesn't match the balance sheet | Different periods, subsidiaries, accounting books, or account ranges in the two reports |
| Consolidated totals look wrong | Intercompany eliminations and currency translation posted only at the consolidated level |
| An expected entry is missing | Journals saved as drafts, waiting for approval, or posted to the wrong period |
| A balance that should be zero isn't | Suspense, clearing, and intercompany accounts that weren't cleared before close |
If you prepare the trial balance by hand or in a spreadsheet, the size of the difference helps. A difference divisible by 9 often means transposed digits, such as $540 entered as $450. A difference equal to twice one entry's amount often means that entry was posted to the wrong side.
How do you review the trial balance at month-end?
Review the adjusted trial balance before you lock the period, because it's the last point where you can correct a balance without reopening the month. Following the same steps each month keeps the review consistent across preparers.
- Run it for the right scopeEach subsidiary first, then consolidated, for the period you're closing
- Tie each balance sheet accountMatch every balance to an approved reconciliation with support
- Review movementsCompare each account with the prior month and the budget, and explain changes above your threshold
- Check balances that should be zeroSuspense and clearing accounts, and intercompany balances that should eliminate
- Sign off and lockLock the period after review, and at year-end confirm opening retained earnings for the new year
Prepared by Close Agent
- Suspense balance29990 Suspense · bank feed import, 30 DecIMP-20261230-04$8,240.00Needs input
- AP control-account difference20000 Accounts payable against the AP agingAP-AGING-1231$14,600.00Needs review
- Intercompany differenceUS 13100 against UK 23100IC-1231-02$3,150.00Needs review
For where this review sits in the close, see Month-end close process. For each task with its owner and reviewer, see Month-end close checklist. If you're new to the close, start with What is month-end close?
How we approach it
Our Close Agent runs the trial balance and control-account review as a task on your close checklist. It ties every control account to source, prepares the workpaper, and sends it to a named reviewer. The month can't lock until every task is signed off. If you want that review prepared before your team starts it, explore our Close Agent.
Review and sign-off
- Balance sheet reconciliationsClose AgentSigned offAWD 1
- Intercompany eliminationsClose AgentIn progressAWD 2
- Trial balance and control-account reviewClose AgentIn reviewDWD 2
- Flux reviewClose AgentIn progressDWD 3
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