Drake Trial Balance Items That Do Not Import

The gap between imported and finished

An import that reports success is not the same as a return with the trial balance in it. Drake's own documentation is explicit that not all items import, and the ones that do not are mostly Schedule L detail lines.

Those go on screen SCH2 afterwards. The practical consequence is that you cannot treat the import as the end of the balance sheet work, and a preparer who does will find the difference later, usually when Schedule L does not tie.

What to check after every import

Work from the trial balance, not from the return. For each account, confirm the amount reached the return somewhere:

• Other current assets and other liabilities, which are the usual non importing lines
• Anything that needed a detail worksheet, since those only work with macros enabled
• Beginning balances, particularly beginning accumulated depreciation, which is not on the current year trial balance at all
• Partner or shareholder equity detail, which is entered on the K1 screens rather than the balance sheet

Detail worksheets cut both ways

Drake's instructions say to remove unnecessary detail worksheets before importing. A worksheet left in place where the return does not need one can stop the import.

The ones that are needed, like the Schedule A cost of goods sold detail, depend on macros being enabled in Excel. If the button does nothing when clicked, the macro setting is the reason rather than the template.

Why depreciation is deliberately excluded

Drake computes depreciation from the asset detail on screen 4562 and produces Form 4562 from it. Importing the client's book depreciation as a deduction on top of that deducts the same expense twice.

Book and tax depreciation are different numbers by design, and the difference belongs on Schedule M-1 rather than being reconciled away. Enter the assets once and let the software compute.