# From the DATEV, BMD or RZL trial balance to the databook

A trial balance lists every account of the books with its balance at a date. In Germany and Austria it is the Summen- und Saldenliste (SuSa) or Saldenliste. Unlike the annual accounts, it shows each account, not only the statement lines.

## What a trial balance shows

Each row is an account: its number, its name, and usually the opening balance, the period's debits and credits and the closing balance. The account numbers follow a chart of accounts: in Germany mostly DATEV's SKR03 or SKR04, in Austria the Einheitskontenrahmen (EKR). The chart tells which statement line an account belongs to, though some accounts belong to one line or another depending on their balance.

## What to ask the tax adviser for

- The trial balance at each year-end you analyse, as Excel or CSV, not only as PDF.
- Monthly trial balances for the last two or three years: for the trend by month, the last twelve months (LTM) and the working capital at each month-end.
- The annual accounts, to reconcile the trial balance to them.
- For revenue and customer analyses, the booking exports (DATEV Buchungsstapel, Debitoren, Kreditoren).

How to export each file, step by step: [Which files sakto reads, and how to export them](https://sakto.ai/supported-files)

## From accounts to statements

To get from accounts to statements, each account is mapped to a line of the P&L or the balance sheet. Then come the checks: the balance sheet balances, the trial balance sums to zero, each year's opening balances match the prior year's closing balances, and the equity rolls forward from one year to the next.

A year-end trial balance gives one figure per year. Monthly trial balances show the seasons, the last twelve months at the latest month-end, and the working capital at every month-end, which the buyer needs to set the peg.

## What sakto reads and checks

sakto reads trial balances exported from DATEV and RZL, BMD's account-grid export, and most trial balances as Excel or CSV: monthly DATEV trial balances, a column or a tab per year. A folder of monthly files can be dropped at once. A file sakto can't read is refused with the reason.

sakto detects the chart of accounts (SKR03, SKR04 or the Austrian EKR) and asks you to confirm when it is unsure. On SKR03, SKR04 and EKR most accounts land on their line by default, so your time goes into reviewing the mapping and the adjustments. A trial balance reads in under a second, five years of monthly trial balances in seconds.

The final databook exports only once every check passes: balance sheet, trial balance, opening balances, equity roll-forward and five tie-outs. With monthly trial balances it holds the P&L, NWC, net debt and the trial balance by year and month.

## Questions

### What is the difference between a SuSa and a BWA?

The SuSa lists every account with its balance. The BWA (betriebswirtschaftliche Auswertung) is DATEV's management report built from the same bookings: statement lines and ratios, without the single accounts. For a due diligence the SuSa is the fuller source; the BWA helps to cross-check it.

### Which charts of accounts does sakto support?

sakto detects the chart of accounts (SKR03, SKR04 or the Austrian EKR) and asks you to confirm when it is unsure. Any other trial balance with an account number, an account name and a balance is read too.

## Read next

- [What is a financial due diligence databook?](https://sakto.ai/financial-due-diligence-databook)
- [Quality of earnings: adjusted EBITDA and the EBITDA bridge](https://sakto.ai/quality-of-earnings)
- [Glossary of financial due diligence terms](https://sakto.ai/glossary)

[Try the demo](https://sakto.ai/sign-in) [Book a call](https://calendar.app.google/vyAZpz4ZWm96JFfi9)