试算平衡表用以列示分类账中的所有账户名称及其借贷方余额。在业务被记录后，企业应该在会计期间结束时编制试算平衡表。编制试算平衡表的目的是验证记录的准确性，以及为编制财务报表做好准备。试算平衡表通常是两栏式的表格，分别显示分类账中的所有会计科目及其余额。借方余额被列示在靠左的一栏里，而贷方余额则被显示在靠右的一栏里。因为每笔业务的账务处理都遵循借贷平衡的原则，所以分类账中所有科目的借方余额之和必然等于贷方余额之和。也就是说，试算平衡表中的借方栏的余额合计与贷方栏的余额合计必须相等。

GRF公司的所有业务以及它们对账户的影响如表3-4所示。试算平衡表随后被编制。

表3-4

Reading Material

The Rule of Double-Entry Accounting

We have learned that every business transaction involves at least two changes.These two changes must agree as to amount.In other words，the changes must cause the accounting equation to maintain its equality.Now that we are recording transactions directly in the ledger accounts，the concept of double-entry accounting must be applied completely.

For every debit entry，there must be a corresponding credit entry of the same amount.For a simple business transaction，such as an investment of$1，000 in the business by the proprietor，the following entries in the ledger accounts would be recorded:debit the asset cash for$1，000;credit the permanent proprietor's capital account for$1，000.

If a compound business transaction such as the purchase of supplies for$100，the purchase of equipment for$300，and the payment of$400 cash takes place，the following entries to the ledger accounts would be recorded:debit the asset supplies for$100;debit the asset equipment for$300;credit the asset cash for $400.The requirements of double-entry accounting have been met because the total debits are equal in amount to the total credits.A compound entry may represent any number of accounts being debited and credited at the same time.The important concept is that total debits must equal total credits for every business transaction.