
The balance sheet shows the balances for all the business' accounts and represents the formula Assets = Liabilities + Owner's Equity. Cash for example, increases with a debit. Careful, as banks refer to debit cards, credit cards, account debits, and account credits differently than the accounting system. It is comprised monthly and annually, but can be completely quarterly as well. The debit and credit rules used to increase and decrease accounts were established hundreds of years ago and do not correspond with banking terminology. The Income Statement shows total sales, total expenses and the net profit or loss of the business. These two financial statements are a picture of your business' financial health. Then a $50 debit will be added to the cash account and a $50 credit would be added to the sales account in the general ledger.Įxamine the Income Statement and Balance Sheet. For example, if a customer spends $50 in cash, the general journal entry would be a debit to cash and a credit to sales. The general ledger holds the account balances for every account, such as accounts payable, equipment and accounts receivable. The general journal is where daily transactions are recorded. When the business makes a payment on the account, the accounts payable account is debited.ĭistinguish between the General Journal and the General Ledger. When a business gets a loan for a new piece of equipment, the account accounts payable is credited. For liabilities, the process is reversed when a liability is increased it is credited when it is decreased, it is debited. When that customer comes back and pays off his account, the asset accounts receivable is credited. For example, if a customer makes a $100 purchase on account, the asset accounts receivable is debited.

When an asset is increased, it is debited when an asset is decreased, it is credited. Debits and credits are used to represent money that comes in and goes out of a business.

Understand the difference between debits and credits.
