| Overview |
The Extended Trial Balance (ETB) is the central data entry screen for Year End Accounts in BrightTax. All financial figures flow from the ETB into the financial statements — the profit and loss account, balance sheet, and supporting notes. This article explains how to navigate the ETB, enter figures, and understand the columns shown.
| Accessing the Extended Trial Balance |
- Open the Year End Accounts task.
- Switch to Edit mode using the toggle in the bottom-left corner.
- In the Table of Contents on the left, navigate to Extended Trial Balance.
| ETB Column Structure |
| Column | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Account Name | The fixed trial balance line — mapped to the relevant financial statement line |
| Opening Balance | The brought forward balance from the prior year — auto-populated from the prior year YEA task if one exists |
| Movements | Entries made during the year — enter the current year figures here |
| Closing Balance | Calculated automatically: Opening Balance plus Movements |
| Final Rounded Trial Balance | The closing balance rounded to the nearest pound — this is what feeds into the financial statements |
| Entering Trial Balance Figures |
- Navigate to the Extended Trial Balance.
- Switch to Edit mode.
- Enter the current year figures in the Movements column for each relevant account line.
- Grey cells cannot be edited — these are calculated automatically.
- Click Save regularly as you work through the trial balance.
| ✔ Tip: Enter figures as the movement for the year, not the closing balance. The Closing Balance column calculates automatically from Opening Balance plus Movements. If the opening balance is correct from the prior year roll, you only need to enter the year's movement. |
| Rounding in BrightTax |
BrightTax rounds trial balance figures automatically based on standard rounding rules:
- Figures of 50p or above round up to the nearest pound
- Figures below 50p round down to the nearest pound
The Final Rounded Trial Balance column shows the rounded figures that feed into the financial statements. If a small rounding difference appears in the balance sheet, check the Final Rounded Trial Balance to identify which line is causing it.
| ✔ Tip: Rounding differences of £1 in the balance sheet are almost always caused by a single trial balance line rounding in an unexpected direction. Check the Final Rounded Trial Balance column against the Closing Balance column line by line to identify the difference. |
| Prior Period Column Showing as Not Defined |
If you are using BrightTax for a client for the first time, the prior period (comparative) column in the Extended Trial Balance will show as 'Not Defined'. This is because no prior year accounts exist in the system to populate the comparative figures.
To resolve this:
- Create a Year End Accounts task for the prior accounting period.
- From the task Summary tab, assign the correct Accounts Production template.
- On the top toolbar, click Actions > Complete.
- Click Yes on the first confirmation prompt.
- Click Skip on the second prompt.
- Return to the current year accounts — the prior period column will now be defined and the comparative figures will be available.
| ⚠ Important: You do not need to enter any data in the prior year task — the steps above simply mark it as complete so BrightTax can define the prior period. The actual comparative figures should be entered in the current year ETB as the Opening Balance column. |
| Trial Balance Variance Report |
BrightTax can produce a detailed trial balance report showing balances for the current period, which can be compared against the prior year:
- From within the Year End Accounts task, click Print on the toolbar.
- Select Detailed Trial Balance from the print options.
- This generates a report showing all trial balance balances for the task.
- Run the same report for the prior year task to compare balances across periods.
| Frequently Asked Questions |
Q: Can I import trial balance figures from my bookkeeping software?
A: Direct import from third-party bookkeeping software is not available in BrightTax Accounts Production. Figures must be entered manually in the ETB, or use BrightAP which supports trial balance import from a wider range of sources.
Q: The closing balance does not match what I expect — how do I check it?
A: Review the Opening Balance and Movements columns for the relevant line. The Closing Balance is calculated as Opening plus Movements — if either input is wrong, the closing balance will be affected.
Q: Can I see a formatted balance sheet before generating iXBRL?
A: Yes. Navigate to the Balance Sheet page in the Table of Contents to see how the figures are presenting. Note that the accounts are in Uncollapsed state until you run Check and Generate — some lines may appear differently once collapsed.
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