What is a credit balance? What is the trade balance in accounting and how to calculate it? Balance collapsed and expanded

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. People far from economic activity(including accounting departments), having heard the word “balance”, will never guess what it means.

Therefore, today, in order to be “in the know,” we will understand what a balance is, where it is used and how it is calculated.

Definition - what is it?

“Balance” in Italian is translated as “ remainder" As you can see, everything is very simple. You can say: “The balance of my pocket money is zero.” Not quite Russian, but beautiful and intriguing.

Let's explain with an example: let's say that you received a receipt for paying for electricity. It contains a lot of sums:

1. your debt at the beginning of the month is the unpaid balance at the end of last month, which is also the opening balance for the current month. It is called the opening balance;
2. electricity charges for the billing period;
3. the total amount consisting of the following terms: opening balance + accruals – possible adjustments – amounts paid in the current period = closing balance. This is the final amount you need to pay.

Balance is the difference (account balance) between receipts and expenses for a specific time interval.

This term is used in economics and accounting, i.e. where it is necessary to calculate the final result in numerical terms:

Types of balances in accounting

In accounting, “balance” is a term that carries a specific functional load. It is calculated by the debit and credit of a specific account, therefore it is distinguished:

1. debit balance- this is the total amount calculated on the debit side, which exceeds the amount calculated on the credit side. Displays the status of the company's assets. If we talk in simple language, then this is the state of the account in which the amount of receipts exceeds the amount of expenses (costs);
2. credit balance- this is said when the sum of the credit indicators is greater than the debit amount, i.e. there is a negative balance due to the excess of expenses over receipts (in monetary terms).

If at the end of the billing period the debit and credit are equal, then this balance is called zero, and the account for which it = 0 is closed.

This indicator expresses the state of the account at different time intervals, so it is divided into 2 types:

1. initial– the total balance at the end of the previous period, respectively, it is the starting amount for the current period;
2. final– the result of activity in monetary terms at the end of the current period.

Formula for calculating the balance on an active account:

Now let's look at all this with an example:

The example shows how they are formed:

1. debit turnover: all receipts are summed up;
2. loan turnover: all expenses are summed up;
3. final balance: initial sum + debit turnover – credit turnover.

Look what it looks like turnover balance sheet on various accounts of a particular enterprise separately for each account and as a result:

*clicking on the picture will open it in full size in a new window

The role of balances in accounting

Balance calculation is the basis for analysis economic activity enterprises.

What does this indicate? numerical indicator:

1. about the level of profitability of the entire enterprise or a separate area of ​​its business. activities;
2. about the stability of the economic situation of the enterprise, or, on the contrary, about its proximity to bankruptcy.

In addition, analysis of balances for different periods allows draw conclusions about successes or mistakes economic management of the company and adjust the further course of its economic activities.

Brief conclusion

Knowledge of economic terms allows you to navigate not only the news modern life, but also apply the acquired knowledge in everyday situations. If you want to be “on the wave”, then read our blog! You will learn a lot of new and useful things!

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

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Balance is a term that denotes the difference between receipts Money and their expenditure over a certain period of time. Although we can talk about what a balance is in many different ways, we will highlight 2 aspects (areas of application) from the perspective of which we will evaluate the meaning of this term: accounting and trade relations with foreign countries.

Balance in accounting

The term “balance” used in accounting means the balance of an accounting account, calculated as the difference between the amounts of the debit and credit entries of the accounts. When recording, it is transferred to new page and is calculated every month on the first day.

1. In the case when the debit is greater than the credit, we speak of a debit balance - it is recorded in the asset (let me remind you that you can read about it at the link provided) and reflects the state and funds of the organization in the current account on a specific date.
2. A credit balance occurs when credit exceeds debit. It is recorded in the liability side and reflects the state of the sources of economic funds.

If an accounting account has a balance equal to zero (in other words, it has no balance), then it is considered closed. But it also happens that for some accounts two types of accounts are formed at the same time - both debit and credit.

When we analyze an accounting account, we should be primarily interested in the period of time closest to us, e.g. last month during which the count was kept. Based on this position, we will primarily be interested in data such as:

• The opening balance (or it is also called the opening balance) is what was formed when analyzing movements in the account for the last analyzed period (usually a month) and at the beginning of the period (in our case, a month) is the account balance.
• Balance for a period is the result of adding up all transactions in an accounting account for a specific period of time.
• Debit and credit turnover for a period are indicators that calculate changes in funds recorded in the corresponding parts of the accounting account for a certain period.
• The ending balance (or it is also called the outgoing balance) - in the case of active accounts, is calculated as the sum of the debit balance at the beginning of the month and the debit turnover minus the credit one. In the case of a passive account, the calculation technology is constructed as follows: the credit turnover is added to the credit balance, and then the debit turnover is subtracted.

As noted earlier, first of all, the accountant is interested in the incoming or outgoing indicators over a period of time of one month.

Concept used in the analysis of indicators in foreign trade

When analyzing or assessing the scale foreign trade activities countries, the concept of “balance” has become widespread.

In this area it is appropriate to talk about such definitions as:

1. Trade balance - is applicable when assessing the difference between the volumes of exports and imports and is calculated, in fact, as the difference between the value of the first and second. The foreign trade balance is an indicator that evaluates the ratio of the value of exported and imported goods over a certain period of time (usually a year). If a certain country has more revenue from selling goods abroad than its costs for purchasing goods from abroad, then it is said that c-do is positive. In the opposite case, when a country purchases goods at a large amount than sells, we should talk about a negative trade balance. Of course, a positive trade balance is the more preferable option, since a negative trade balance creates an oversupply of imported goods in the country, which constitute significant competition for domestic producers. This parameter is relevant, for example, when analyzing a country’s creditworthiness and identifying the level of its reliability for investors. For example, it is assessed by the International Monetary Fund when making a decision to issue a loan to a particular country. But, in general, this parameter cannot fully assess Current state economy in the country. An example is the United States, a country whose trade balance has been in deficit since 1976, despite the fact that the standard of living in the country remains one of the highest in the world.
2. There is one more parameter that you need to know when analyzing a country's foreign trade - the balance of payments - calculated by subtracting payments given abroad from receipts into the country from abroad. It is worth recalling that the balance of payments itself is a statement in which the movements of funds from one country to another are clearly recorded. Accordingly, a positive c-do is a sign of an excess of payments received from abroad over outgoing ones, and a negative one is a sign that more payments go abroad than enter the country. It is worth noting the fact that international payments take place in the most convertible currencies, such as the US dollar or euro. Consequently, countries with a negative balance of payments, for the most part, gradually lose their foreign exchange reserves. However, this does not fully apply to all countries, since some countries may pay foreign suppliers with their own country's currency, and then simply conduct additional payments. For example, the United States can simply print the required number of dollars. Although this is not even the only option– there are methods of so-called “indirect” emission that involve the creation of “credit” money with the help of a bank multiplier.

It is worth noting that Russia sells goods going abroad for foreign currency, and therefore there is no need to buy Russian currency from foreign partners receiving the goods.

The last meaning, in which the concept being studied is least often used, has the following meaning: this word is used when committing acts that are well known to us from the articles of this project in exchange transactions, debt arising from the client to the brokerage firm or, conversely, from the broker to the client.

There is a special offer for visitors to our website - you can get advice from a professional lawyer completely free of charge by simply leaving your question in the form below.

In this article, we learned what a balance is, understood the essence of various areas and gave a qualitative definition. In the next issues, look forward to new articles from the “accounting” section.

IN Italian balance- this is a calculation or remainder. This term refers to the difference between total cash receipts and total cash expenditures in a particular time period. If we talk about the positioning of this term in accounting, then this will be the name for the difference in the total amounts of credit and debit turnover.

Types of balances

The balance can be beginning or ending. In this case, the debit balance is positive, and the credit balance is negative.

To determine the ending balance, it is added to the credit or debit turnover. If we take into account international trade and payment settlements, then the balance will be understood as the difference in the total amounts between imports and exports, as well as between receipts in a particular country financial resources and payments abroad.

Debit and credit balance

If the debit is greater than the credit, then we are talking about a debit balance. It is capable of reflecting the state of affairs of a particular type of economic means in a specific time period. The debit balance is shown in the asset balance.

In the credit balance, the credit will be slightly greater than the debit. It can reflect the state of different sources of economic funds. In this case, the credit balance is shown not in the asset, but in the liability of the balance sheet.

Provided that the account has no balance, the balance indicator will be equivalent to zero. This account will be closed. In accounting practice, there have been cases when accounts simultaneously have a credit and debit balance.

If we take into account the practical part of the analysis of accounting, then not its entire history is studied, but only the time period of interest. In this context, the following types of balances can be distinguished:

• opening balance;
• debit turnover for the period;
• credit turnover for the period;
• balance for the period;
• opening balance.

Initial or opening balance shows the account balance at the start of the transaction. The basis for the calculation is the operations that were carried out previously.

Final or opening balance determines the account balance at the end of the specified period. Most often, the final result of the calculation is the arithmetic sum of the opening balance and turnover for the entire period.

Basis for calculation debit and credit turnover are operations carried out in a certain time period.

Balance for the period is the result of operations at a specific time.

Foreign trade relations

If we talk about foreign trade relations, then quite often we consider the amount of exports and imports for a specified time period. The resulting difference between the total value of imports and exports is called the trade balance. In this case, the balance can be negative or positive.

• In the first case, there is an excess of imports over exports.
• A positive balance will determine the excess of exports over imports, which essentially means a situation in which the country sells more goods rather than buys them.

There is also a concept called balance of payments. This is the name of the difference between foreign receipts and payments outside a single country. The balance of payments can also have a positive or negative value.

• In the first case, the excess of all payments that come into the country from abroad over payments that are made by this country is determined.
• When the balance of payments is negative, there is an excess of payments made over receipts.

International payments are most often made in the most convertible currency.

Many people have experienced misunderstandings of basic accounting terms in their lives. This article will tell you what a balance is and discuss the main points related to it.

The term is of Italian origin and refers to the balance of a specific account. The balance is the difference between the income and expense sides of the balance sheet for a certain period of time.

Depending on which side is larger, there may be a positive or negative balance. However, the corresponding economic category is reflected not only in accounting, but also in the analysis of the country's payment and trade balances, as well as when working on trade and currency exchanges.

Role in accounting

What is balance in accounting? This is either the difference between the debit and credit balances of the enterprise, or an indicator characterizing the flow of funds in the accounts of the enterprise (receipts and debits) on a certain date.

There are debit and credit balances. The first occurs provided that the debit exceeds the credit and is reflected in the active part of the balance sheet. Credit reflects the opposite situation and is reflected in the liabilities of the enterprise. An account without any balance is considered closed and has a zero balance. Some accounting accounts may have two types of balances - debit and credit.

Most often, a separate period of operation of an enterprise is analyzed, and not its entire accounting history. This period can be a month, a quarter or a year. This approach involves the use of parameters such as:

• incoming balance – account balance at the beginning of the study reporting period;
• balance for a period – the sum of all transactions within a certain period of time;
• turnover (credit and debit) – changes in account balances for the period under study;
• final balance – account balance at the end of the reporting period.

This indicator is calculated as follows.

1. For the active balance, this is the sum of the opening balance and the difference between debit and credit turnover.
2. For passive - the difference between credit and debit turnover is added to the amount of the credit balance.

Place in the balance of payments system

Now let’s figure out what a balance is in the system of foreign trade relations. This is the difference between the values ​​of exports and imports for a certain time period. There are balances of payments and trade balances.

The basis for studying a country's trade balance is to determine the difference between exports and imports, the value of which is determined in the country's trade balance, which can be either positive or negative. We will consider this concept in more detail in the following sections of the article.

What is the balance of payments? This is an economic indicator that is the difference between financial payments from abroad and deductions from our country. Positive balance is typical when inflows exceed outflows, negative – vice versa. With the latter, the state’s foreign exchange reserves decrease, which has an extremely negative impact on its economy.

How is the balance determined?

The main task of an accounting employee is to accurately record the movement of funds in the enterprise and document them. Moreover, even one penny plays a role, the lack of which can lead to serious discrepancies.

All operations are recorded continuously using accounting entries, double entry system in specially opened accounting accounts. A study of accounting accounts and the double entry method will help you better understand what a balance is in accounting.

An accounting account is a separate position (it tracks the movement of funds, as well as the sources of their formation), which contains two sides: debit and credit. Double entry displays the movement of funds on both sides without affecting the overall balance indicator. The balance is calculated by subtracting from the total the entries characterizing the receipts on one side of the expenses and on the other. A debit balance is formed in cases where the debit exceeds the credit; in other situations, it is a credit balance. An indicator equal to zero is typical for closed accounts.

According to the law of conservation of accounting, the sum of all balances on an enterprise’s accounts must be equal to zero, that is, the sums of the debit and credit totals are equal.

How to correctly calculate the opening balance?

As already mentioned, the opening balance is the difference in the debits and credits of a certain account based on previous transactions at the end of the reporting period. For example, a person went to the store on December 30, where he spent 3,000 rubles, after which in the evening he received an advance in the amount of 15,000 rubles. On January 2, purchases were also made for a total amount of 1,500 rubles. Based on the fact that the initial balance is equal to the balance of the previous period, you can calculate its value as of January 1: 15,000 – 3,000 = 12,000 rubles.

To calculate the balance at an enterprise, it is advisable to create a card for the account under study. For example, to calculate the cash balance of an enterprise, it is necessary to calculate the difference in the debit and credit of the fiftieth account for the past period. This indicator will be the opening balance.

Export and import operations

basis international trade There are two opposing mechanisms – export and import. Absolutely all modern developed countries act as both importers and exporters in the global economic system. So what is the essence of these economic processes?

Why is international trade necessary?

Export and import are two opposing processes, thanks to which we can talk about the degree economic development states. These are the two most important mechanisms of both the internal and external economy of the country.

Import is the import of foreign goods by the importing country into the territory of our state, and export is the opposite economic category, which means the export of national goods abroad and their subsequent sale. A product can be either a final product, raw materials, semi-finished products, or even services. Products that are produced within the national economy are called national goods.

What is the trade balance?

All world countries are importers. The only difference between them is that some are dominated by imports, while others are dominated by exports. The total value of imports and exports can be calculated by summing up all commodity items imported and exported from the country. The difference between these two economic categories is called the “trade balance.”

What the country's balance will be (positive or negative) is determined by subtracting the sum of the values ​​of exported products and goods imported. If the export of goods from the country predominates, the balance will be positive (active), but if more is imported, then it will be negative (passive).

A positive balance indicates that all products produced in the country cannot be consumed, as well as the presence of demand for them abroad.

A negative balance is an indicator of poor trends in the national economy and dependence on imports. The result of such an imbalance is the infringement of domestic producers and their lack of competitiveness in the international market. Also, a negative balance leads to monetary depreciation.

But some countries know how to accumulate positives from a negative trade balance. Thus, the USA and Great Britain, using this method, transfer labor-intensive production to countries with inexpensive labor force, thus restraining inflationary processes.

What do developed countries trade?

Export developed countries has a clear focus on manufacturing products, which are most often represented by machinery and equipment. The orientation of their trade is aimed at the same highly developed countries with high level separation of labor processes. These countries include the USA, Japan, Canada, Australia, and countries in the European Union zone.

Export structure of developing countries

Developing countries export mainly products from the extractive industries and tropical agriculture. A large share of raw material exports slows down the economic development of these countries and makes them dependent on market price fluctuations in the world market. Such countries include Russia, the countries of the Middle East, China, etc., however, it should be remembered that this division is conditional, and a single accepted classification does not exist today.

The word is of Italian origin, its translation sounds approximately like “calculation” or “remainder”. Since the 19th century, the concept began to be applied to accounting balances. Fundamentally, the semantic load of the word has not changed and has acquired an additional meaning - use in a figurative sense, use in the description of foreign economic activity. Asking the question, what is balance? in simple words, we expect to hear something unusual. However, the term has not lost its origins and is still associated primarily with accounting.

What is balance in simple words

Balance- this is the difference between the debit and credit values ​​of accounts. In the most general of the meanings, balance implies a certain balance on a certain day, a difference. We will dwell on the types of balances a little later, but now we will look at examples of the meanings of this word in different areas.

In foreign trade is the difference between country exports and imports. Using the analysis of the balance of payments, you can analyze floating and determine the pressure on the exchange rate of the national currency.

In payments - the difference between the amounts paid and received from counterparties. In receipts for payment for housing and communal services, this is the balance (that is, overpayment from the previous month) personal account apartments.

What is a balance in accounting in simple words

As mentioned above, for accounting this concept is almost sacred meaning. Reflecting the difference between the debit and credit of accounts, a balance can be on both the left and right side of the account. Let us recall that the right side is a credit, showing receipts to the account when it is passive and expenses when the account is active. Left-hand side– this is a debit, where, on the contrary, receipts are displayed when the account is active, and expenses when the account is passive.

Each time the amounts move through the account, the difference between the right and left sides changes. Thus, the account balance changes.

Let's consider simplest example calculation of the balance in the accounting account in the table below.

Suppose we have a company whose account is used to consider the movement of raw materials. Such an account will be active (raw materials are a resource, an asset), so at the beginning of the month we have a debit balance - raw materials in stock for 10,000 rubles. RF. As the month progressed, raw materials were sold (for 5 and 1 thousand rubles of the Russian Federation, respectively), and therefore were written off from the account. The purchase went to an asset by debit of 3 thousand rubles. RF.

By the end of the accounting period, having summed up the debit and credit turnovers, we calculate the final debit balance (at the end of the month) – 10,000 + 3,000 – 6,000 = 7,000 rubles. RF. This amount is also the answer to the question: what does the account balance mean?

If the balance is zero, then such an account is usually called closed.

Types of balances, their characteristics

Above we touched on most types of balances in one way or another, but in this section we offer a more detailed and structured description of them.

• Debit balance – account balance reflected by debit. Characteristic of this condition – debit exceeds credit. This balance reflects the state of the organization's assets as of the required date.
• Credit balance is a certain account balance. Its specific feature is the fact that the loan exceeds the debit. The state of liabilities (aka sources of funds) reflects the credit balance.
• A surplus occurs when the valuation of funds received by an organization is higher than its expenses.
• A passive balance is exactly the opposite situation. Formed when expenses are higher than the active part.