Why is the aged debtors total different to the balance on the debtors account?

The aged debtors report displays the outstanding balances for clients/files and breaks down the amounts owing according to their age. The total amount owing/owed appears in the Total column. The sum of the values in this column is displayed at the bottom of the report.

This figure is not the same as the balance on the debtors controlled account, which may include other non-file transactions such as general journals. The aged debtors report is only affected by transactions posted to a file. It also handles cancelled cheques slightly differently, with the cancellation taking effect on the transaction date (instead of the bank notification date).

While the two figures may be equal at certain points in time, they do not represent the same thing.