Introduction to Debits and Credits

[Monirul Islam]

If the words "debits" and "credits" sound like a foreign language to you, you are more perceptive than you realize—"debits" and "credits" are words that have been traced back five hundred years to a document describing today's double-entry accounting system.

Under the double-entry system every business transaction is recorded in at least two accounts. One account will receive a "debit" entry, meaning the amount will be entered on the left side of that account. Another account will receive a "credit" entry, meaning the amount will be entered on the right side of that account. The initial challenge with double-entry is to know which account should be debited and which account should be credited.

Before we explain and illustrate the debits and credits in accounting and bookkeeping, we will discuss the accounts in which the debits and credits will be entered or posted.

Source: https://www.accountingcoach.com/debits-and-credits/explanation