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Understanding the SACCO trial balance

The trial balance is the first report an accountant or auditor asks for. It lists every account’s balance and checks that total debits equal total credits.

By the SaccoMonitor team · Updated · 6 min read

An example SACCO trial balance

Trial balance as at 30 June (UGX)
AccountDebitCredit
Cash on hand12,400,000
Bank30,000,000
Loans receivable85,600,000
Members’ savings98,000,000
Share capital24,000,000
Loan interest income9,500,000
Fee income2,500,000
Interest on members’ savings1,200,000
Salaries4,800,000
Totals134,000,000134,000,000

How to read it

  • Assets and expenses normally show debit balances; liabilities, equity and income show credit balances. A balance on the “wrong” side deserves a question.
  • Cash on hand should match the cash counted; bank should match the bank statement.
  • Members’ savings should equal the total of all member savings accounts; loans receivable the total principal owed.
  • Income less expenses is the surplus so far — here 9,500,000 + 2,500,000 − 1,200,000 − 4,800,000 = 6,000,000.

What a trial balance does not prove

A deposit posted to the wrong member, a repayment recorded twice, or a transaction left out all leave the trial balance balanced. That is why reconciliations and an audit trail still matter.

In SaccoMonitor the trial balance is available for any date and branch, and a separate check compares savings, shares and loans with the ledger.

Frequently asked questions

A list of every general-ledger account with its closing debit or credit balance at a date, used to check that total debits equal total credits before financial statements are prepared.

No. It proves every entry had equal debits and credits, but not that entries went to the right accounts or that nothing was left out.

Related pages

SACCO accounting software

An always-current trial balance.

Double-entry for SACCOs

Why the books balance.

SACCO financial reports

From trial balance to statements.

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