If the total debits equal the total credits, the trial balance is considered to be balanced, and there should be no mathematical errors in the ledgers. However, this does not mean there are no errors in a company's accounting system.

Key to preparing a trial balance is making sure that all the account balances are listed under the correct column. The appropriate columns are as follows:

Assets        = Debit balance
Liabilities  = Credit balance
Expenses  = Debit Balance
Equity       = Credit balance
Revenue   = Credit balance

A trial balance will not balance if both sides do not equal, and the reason has to be explored and corrected.