# Compensating error

> Compensating error — Two unrelated errors of equal size on opposite sides that cancel, so the trial balance agrees and both survive.

Source: https://lopifi.com/glossary/compensating-error
Part of: Lopifi — US GAAP books on autopilot, checked by a CPA (https://lopifi.com)

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**What is compensating error?** In accounting, compensating error means two unrelated errors of equal size on opposite sides that cancel, so the trial balance agrees and both survive.

## Words this system refuses for it

- offsetting entry (which is deliberate)

- **Category:** Core ledger
- **Specified in:** [Lexicon](https://lopifi.com/md/docs/domain/11-lexicon)
- **Related:** trial-balance