Columnar trial balance (kolommenbalans)
A columnar trial balance shows the movement from the turnover trial balance through adjustments to final balance sheet and result items.
What does columnar trial balance mean?
A columnar trial balance shows the movement from the turnover trial balance through adjustments to final balance sheet and result items.
The exact form differs per accounting system. The overview helps to show which year-end entries change the result and equity.
How does it work?
The columnar trial balance is a worksheet that takes every ledger account on one line from the turnover trial balance to the annual accounts. The classic layout has four double columns, each with a debit and a credit side: turnover trial balance (totals of all entries), trial balance (the balance per account), profit and loss account and balance sheet. Between them there is often a column for the preceding journal entries: the adjustments at the year-end close.
The check is in the closing. The difference between debit and credit in the profit and loss account column is the result; the same amount must appear as a balancing item in the balance sheet column. No law prescribes this worksheet. It does show that the balance sheet and statement of income and expenses that the board must prepare follow from the records (art. 2:10(2) DCC).
Example
Line Inventory: turnover trial balance debit € 310.000, credit € 268.000; trial balance debit € 42.000. At the count on 31 December the inventory turns out to be € 40.000. Preceding journal entry: debit Cost of sales € 2.000, credit Inventory € 2.000. In the balance sheet column Inventory now stands at € 40.000 and the costs are € 2.000 higher. If income adds up to € 480.000 and costs to € 455.000, the profit is € 25.000. The balance sheet column only balances if the same € 25.000 is credited there.
In the annual accounts
Working document before the annual accounts; not prescribed for publication.
Difference from the trial balance
The trial balance (saldibalans) is one of the columns: the list with the balance per account. The columnar trial balance also shows where that balance comes from, which adjustments have been made and where it ends: in the balance sheet or in the profit and loss account.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the adjustment column
- Taking over closing balances without reconciliation
What to watch for
- Every adjustment in the intermediate column must also appear as a journal entry in the records. Otherwise annual accounts and bookkeeping diverge the following year.
- Check per column that debit and credit are equal before you move on to the next; otherwise a counting error carries along.
- The final columns follow the formats of the Decree on annual accounts formats: A or B and E or F, for small entities also C or D and I or J. That decree does not apply to micro entities.
Legal basis and source
art. 2:10 DCC
Frequently asked questions
Is a columnar trial balance mandatory?
No. The law does not prescribe a worksheet; it is a tool to make the reconciliation between bookkeeping and annual accounts visible.
How does the turnover trial balance relate to the trial balance?
The turnover trial balance (proefbalans) shows per account the total of all debit and all credit entries. The trial balance (saldibalans) shows only the difference between them. € 310.000 debit and € 268.000 credit give a balance of € 42.000 debit.
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Preparing Dutch annual accounts?
Your first set of annual accounts is free, for every size class. Create an account and prepare the annual accounts of your Dutch company under Title 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code.
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