Trial balance out of balance. Why?

I can help you with checking the trial balance, @ClementBR. 

The error you're having with your Trial Balance report can be caused by the piled-up cache in your regular browser. It stores temporary internet files from your browsing history. As it collects too many files, it can cause performance issues in your account.

I've got some steps to help fix this issue. First, sign in to your QBO account using a private browser. This helps isolate the issue since it doesn’t store data in the cache. Here are the following keyboard shortcuts: 

• Safari: Command + Shift + N
• Mozilla Firefox: CTRL + Shift + P
• Google Chrome: CTRL + Shift + N
• Microsoft Edge: CTRL + Shift + N

If it works, here's how to clear cache and cookies to fix issues when using QuickBooks Online. Restart your browser right after. Then, run your report once again. 

Here's also how you can run an Adjusted Trial Balance report to review your adjusting journal entries. This report lists all account balances in the general ledger before and after you make adjusting journal entries. It also lists the total adjusting entries: 

• Run reports in QuickBooks Online
• Customize reports in QuickBooks Online

Feel free to message again if you have additional concerns with your Trial Balance report. I'm always around to help. Have a great rest of the day!

No, it's not a browser or caching issue.

I repeat my question. What can cause debits and credits to be out of balance.

When creating journal entries, QBO won't let us save unless the debits and credits balance.

Is this a bug in QBO?

I appreciate you for coming back to the thread and clarifying your concern with debits and credits in the Trial report in QuickBooks Online. With this, I'll be sharing details on how those accounting works in Journal entry in QuickBooks. Also, provide steps to ensure that your report displays the balance.

When constructing a JE in QBO, credit and debits need to be equal to maintain a company's finances balanced. Debits increase the value of assets, and expense, and decrease liability accounts. Meanwhile, credits do the reverse. I recommend working with an accountant to help you manage your JE. They will be able to give you advice on how to correctly handle your credit and debit, particularly on the category or account to use for this. 

On the other hand, debits and credits ought to be the same in your Trial balance report. To resolve the out-of-balance issue, I recommend pulling up the report with the correct date period to refresh the data and ensure the amount displays correctly. This is also to verify if this is a bug in QuickBooks and help investigate the root cause of the issue.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Business overview menu and select Reports.
2. Use the Find report by name search bar to search Trial balance.
3. Select the report to open it.
4. Go to the Report period drop-down arrow and choose a specific period.
5. Click Run report.

Lastly, refer to this article if you need steps on how you can print, email, and export different reports in QBO: Run reports in QuickBooks Online.

If there's anything else that I can help you with aside from managing reports in QuickBooks, please let me know in the comments below. I'll be here ready to lend a helping hand, ClementBR. Have a good one!

Yes, I am familiar with journal entries work, and how debits and credits must balance.

And that's my point. They must balance.

So, how is it possible that QBO got into a situation where they don't balance?

If it is something that must be fixed manually, how can we identify the rogue unbalanced transactions that made it through?

Thank you for getting back to us, ClementBR.

Normally, the steps provided by my colleagues above should identify the unbalanced transactions and will be able to fix entirely the issue. However, since you're still experiencing a problem, I recommend reaching out to our support team so they can further look into this matter. Most importantly, aside from the tools that they have, they'll be able to check through the remote on what is happening and how you entered your entries. To contact them, follow the steps outlined below:

1. Sign in to your QuickBooks Online company.
2. Select Help (?).
3. Select either tab to get started:
   • Assistant: Get quick, personalized answers. Select a suggested option, or type a question or topic you need help with. If you decide you need further help, you can still Talk to a human.
   • Search: Search the QuickBooks Online knowledge base directly, or select Contact Us and choose a way to connect with us:
     • Start a chat with a support expert.
     • Get a callback from the next available expert.

On top of that, QuickBooks offers a variety of reports that will show you the different areas of your business. Learn what are the list of reports that is included in your subscription. Go through this article for more information: Reports Included In Your QuickBooks Online Subscription.

Feel free to let us know if you have any other concerns with Trial Balance. The Community is always here to help you any time. Have a nice day ahead!

@ClementBR 

You can locate the offending entries by running a TB report as of the end of each previous month to find the month, then by week, and then by day.  Once you have found the day, you should be able to identify what entry is causing the issue.  QB suggests dating the transaction 20 years in the future (make a note of the original date), then re-run the TB and see if it balances.  If it does, change the date back to the original date and see if it balances.  If it does, you're all set.  If it doesn't, try deleting and re-entering the transaction.   

Thanks @Rainflurry  for providing a practical way here.

We used your technique to narrow it down to a specific day.

What we found is that QBO can get out of balance in the home currency when there are transactions done in another currency.

In this specific case, the home currency is GBP.

There is a EUR invoice on which a EUR credit note is applied.

However, for some reason, the FX rate used for the invoice is different to the FX rate on the credit note.

(presumably because the rate moved between the time the invoice was created and the time the credit note was applied)

As a result, the debits and credits for GBP do not match.

Isn't QBO supposed to post an automatic FX gain/loss entry to account for the difference?

@ClementBR 

Isn't QBO supposed to post an automatic FX gain/loss entry to account for the difference?

Unfortunately, I can't help with that.  Hopefully, someone else here can assist.   

@MariaSoledadG  @ChristieAnn   any ideas?