The Balance Sheet is a statement of all Assets and Liabilities of a business at a particular time. It has three main components, i.e. Assets, Liabilities and Capital. This report will reflect the owners’ interest in the business, as well as all Liabilities and Assets.

- The balancing figure is the Net Profit or Loss. A Net Profit is displayed, when the Income account balances are more than the Expense account balances. A Net Loss is displayed, when the Expense account balances are more than the Income account balances.

The Balance Sheet will list all the balances of your accounts which are not created as Income / Expense types in the Edit→Accounts→General Ledger menu option.

The Reporting Account Groups (on the Account Group 1 tab in the Setup→System Parameters→Groups menu option) should be linked to the Assets, Capital and Liabilities Financial Categories (in the Setup→System Parameters→Financial Categories menu option), before this report is generated.

To Generate a Balance Sheet:

1. Click on the Reports→General Ledger→Balance Sheet menu option.
   - Keyboard Access: Press the Ctrl+B keys on your keyboard. Alternatively, press the Alt+R+G+L keys on your keyboard.
   The Balance Sheet Options screen is displayed:
   
   
2. Send Report To - Select the output method (screen, printer, file, e-mail or fax).
3. Select the following options:
   1. Sequence - You may select the selected accounts to be listed or displayed, according to Account Group 1 or 2 (Reporting Group 1 or 2).
      - The description of Account Group 1 or 2 you have entered on the Reporting Group Name field on the Account Groups tab on the Setup→System Parameters→Groups menu option, may be reflected in this drop-down list.
   2. Show Decimal - Leave blank to view the amounts rounded off to the nearest currency unit (e.g. Rands, Pounds, Dollars etc.).
   3. From ... To - Select the start and end periods from which and until when you wish to include the balances.
   4. Show Sub-Accounts - Tick this option to view the balances of your sub-accounts. If this option is not ticked no, sub-accounts will be displayed, and a summary of the net values for the main account will be displayed.
   5. Include Zero Balances - If this field is left blank, all selected accounts with transactions and balances will be displayed.
      If this field is left blank, all selected accounts with transactions and balances will be displayed.
4. Click on the OK button to send the Balance Sheet to the medium selected in the Send Report To field.
   - TurboCASH will ask you to confirm whether you would like to include opening balances.
   
   
5. Click on the Yes button to include Opening Balances from the previous financial period or financial year. If you click on the No button, the Balance Sheet will list the value of your debit and credit transactions for the selected period.

- If the Balance Sheet does not display correctly or in the required sequence:

1. Click on the Setup→System Parameters→Financial Categories menu option. The Financial Categories screen will be displayed.
2. Check that your Account Groups are correctly linked to the Assets, Capital and Liabilities Financial Categories.
3. Select the Print Capital before Liabilities or Print Liabilities before Capital.
4. Close or exit the Financial Categories screen and generate the Balance Sheet.

The following is an example of Balance Sheet generated with comparative figures for last Year:

The Balance Sheet will list the Asset accounts which are linked to the Assets Financial Category, and then the Capital accounts which are linked to the Capital Financial Category. Finally the Liability accounts which are linked to the Liability Financial Category in the Setup→System Parameters→Financial Categories menu option.
- You may also select to print the Liabilities before Capital on the Financial Categories screen.

The information on the Balance Sheet is displayed in three columns as follows:

1. Account - The Balance Sheet account numbers and the name of the accounts will be listed, and a total for Asset accounts will be displayed. The Assets are grouped in a further classification (Fixed Assets, etc.) as created in the Setup→System Parameters→Groups (Account Groups tab) menu option, and linked to the accounts in the Edit→Accounts - General Ledger, Bank Account and Tax Account menu options.
   
   A total will be displayed for each of the Assets account groups. The Capital and Liabilities are also grouped according to the account groups, and a total will be displayed for each account group. A total will also be displayed for the Capital and Liabilities, and it should be equal to the total of the Assets.
2. This Year - The Asset account balances will usually be listed as Debit balances, and the Capital and Liability account balances will usually be listed as Credit balances. These account balances are the closing balances of the accounts as is updated when batches (journals) are posted and when documents are updated.
3. Last Year - The Asset, Capital and Liability account balances will only be listed, if the financial year is closed in the Tools→Global Processes→Do-Year End menu option, or if any transactions in batches and / or documents have been posted to Last Year. This will allow you to compare This Year’s balances with that of the same accounting periods in the previous (Last Year) balances.

- The Net Profit figure will be displayed at the end of Capital and Liabilities. This figure is displayed if the Income Account balances are more than the Expense Account balances. Should the Expense Account balances exceed the Income Account balances the Net Profit description will be displayed as Net Loss. When the financial year is closed, the Net Profit or Net loss will be transferred to the Retained Earnings or Retained Income account.

- The credit balances for the accumulative Depreciation account is listed on the Balance Sheet in the Assets section, which should reflect debit balances. The accumulated depreciation is a fixed asset contra account which will reflect the book value of each fixed asset in the balance sheet. Should you generate the balance sheet, and you do not select the sub-accounts option on the report options screen only the net value (book value) (a debit balance) will be reflected.

- The Provision for bad debts should also reflect a credit balance on the Balance Sheet in the Assets section, which should reflect debit balances. The provision for Bad Debts is a current asset contra account, which will reflect the net value of the good book debtors.

- Individual Debtor Account balances are summarised and a total of all the Debtor Account balances are displayed in the Debtors Control Account in the trial balance. To view a list of the individual Debtor Account balances, you need to generate a Debtor Age Analysis report.

- Individual Creditor Account balances are summarised, and a total of all the Creditor Account balances are displayed in the Creditors Control Account in the trial balance. To view a list of the individual Creditor Account balances, you need to generate a Creditor Age Analysis report.