[GNC] report cutoffs - Trial Balance opening date

[Michael or Penny Novack]

On 5/18/2023 11:56 PM, David T. via gnucash-user wrote:
> Per the documentation:
>
>
> 10.3.5.11. Trial Balance
>
>
> Trial Balance lists the ending balances in all accounts as of a particular date. It is typically run at the end of an accounting period and is primarily used to ensure that the total of all debits equals the total of all credits.
>
>
> By definition, that means there *isn't* a start date.
>
> ⁣David T. ​


Also do note --- the trial balance was an important tool in the old days 
of pen and ink on paper bookkeeping. All sorts of errors while entering 
numbers or transcribing them during posting could lead to a condition of 
total debits not equaling total credits. In other words, this was your 
warning that there was an error somewhere, and that this error has a 
date in between the previous date a trial balance was run and found 
correct and this one.

You did not proceed with other reports, closing the books, etc. until 
the error was found and corrected and the trial balance "clean".

Might I point out that computerized accounting software like gnucash 
will NOT allow entry of an out of balance transaction nor will a 
transcription error be made. When I say won't allow I am including the 
special accounts orphan and imbalance. In other words, you CAN enter a 
transaction not in balance as far as the intended accounts are 
concerned; but the out of balance amount will be a debit or credit in 
imbalance. So ......

A non-zero balance in the special account imbalance is just like a trial 
balance not being in balance. I have never run a trial balance using 
gnucash, just confirmed that the balance of imbalance was zero.

Michael D Novack

PS --- a clean trial balance does NOT mean the books are free of error. 
Just that free of certain kinds of error. There are many other sorts of 
errors possible (like putting something in the wrong account) that will 
not throw a trial balance out of balance.