QBO Monday Minute - Accountant Tools Mini Series Part 3 of 4 – Trial Balance in QBOA

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This article is designed to outline the possibilities available using the QuickBooks Online Trail Balance Tool. There are other articles and videos that can give you a more in-depth look at what is possible. Sometimes just being familiar with a tool empowers you to go on and do more.

The idea that Inuit had is if the client’s bookkeeping integrates with the client’s taxes the tax preparer will save time and have consistency thought-out the Tax Return and bookkeeping. When you make an adjusting entry it will “stick” in both places and there is no longer a need to enter data twice.    

Trail Balance Highlighted features:

  • Even if you are not the tax accountant you can see “what if” or do a trial run
  • Track your progress with the Activity timeline
  • Leave notes - If you are the internal accountant/bookkeeper you can leave notes for the tax accountant
  • Make Adjusting Journal  entries
  • Attach and save worksheets and tax source documents (great for year-end review of returning clients since these worksheets can be used and updated year after year)
  • Export to Excel, CSV or Intuit tax software  

To get started select Trail Balance from the Accountant Tools in QuickBooks Online

Part 1: "Working Trial Balance" - adjustments to the account balances using bank statements, loan payoffs, payroll liabilities or other tax documents to report totals.

Part 2: "Tax Mapping" – each line represents an account which pulls directly from your chart of account within QBO. For some account names Trial balance will auto select a corresponding tax account. Remember you can edit these. Before you can tax map you must first select a tax form from the drop down menu found inside the edit pencil.

Each line represents an account which pulls directly from your chart of account within QBO. If you have un-mapped accounts they are grouped together until you select which line on the tax form they match. For accounts to specific for trail balance to map these can be mapped manually.

Once all mapping has been confirmed correct the fun can start by seeing the results of your work. There are several options for exporting your tax mapping: View tax return, the newly added Export to Excel feature, and export to CSV. 

Your tax return is ready for review and verification if you export to Intuit Tax Online.

Or your spreadsheet is ready to review and prepare for import into your favorite tax software.

Learning something new is time consuming the first go around but the Trail Balance feature creates bookkeeping and tax returns that match plus allows for easy exporting to create a tax worksheet in excel or take advantage of the synergy of using Intuit tax products. 

Since the focus of these 'QBO Monday Minutes' article is 'short and sweet', I can give you all the best advice and tips in this overview articles but I can refer you to my some articles and videos that will cover this topic in greater detail:

Here is another Insightful Accountant Article authored our own 'Murph'; and here is a deeper dive YouTube Video created by, and referenced by permission of, Hector Garcia.