Understanding Double Entry Accounting: Principles and Benefits

The double-entry system has two equal and corresponding sides known as debit and credit. A transaction in double-entry bookkeeping always affects at least two accounts, always includes at least one debit and one credit, and always has total debits and total credits that are equal. The purpose of double-entry bookkeeping is to allow the detection of financial errors and fraud. In single-entry accounting, when a business completes a transaction, it records that transaction in only one account. For example, if a business sells a good, the expenses of the good are recorded when it is purchased the good, and the revenue is recorded when the good is sold.

All entries in the other assistant books are classified and recorded permanently in the ledger, which is the main book of accounts.
If you’ve previously used a single-entry system, you may be wondering how to go about switching to a double-entry system.
In accounting, a debit refers to an entry on the left side of an account ledger, and credit refers to an entry on the right side of an account ledger.
When you deposit $15,000 into your checking account, your cash increases by $15,000, and your equity increases by $15,000.
For example, an e-commerce company buys $1,000 worth of inventory on credit.

That’s a win because financial statements can help you make better decisions about what to spend money on in the future. While you can certainly create a chart of accounts manually, accounting software applications typically do this for you. Once you have your chart of accounts in place, you can start using double-entry accounting. It’s possible to manually create multiple ledger accounts, but if you’re making the move to double-entry accounting, you’ll likely want to make the switch to accounting software, too. In double-entry accounting, you still record the $5.50 in your cash account, but you also record that $5.50 as an expense. Using this system reduces errors and makes it easier to produce accurate financial statements.

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By using double-entry accounting, you can be sure all of your transactions are following the rules of the accounting equation. Double-entry bookkeeping can appear complicated at first, but it’s easy to understand and use once the basic concepts have been learned. If you debit a cash account for $100, it means you add the money to the account, and if you credit it for $100, it means you subtract that money from the account.

The inventor of double-entry bookkeeping is not known with certainty, and is frequently attributed to either Amatino Manucci, a Florentine merchant, or Luca Pacioli, a Venetian friar. Double-entry accounting has been in use for hundreds, if not thousands, of years; it was 5 hidden ways to boost your tax refund first documented in a book by Luca Pacioli in Italy in 1494. Over 1.8 million professionals use CFI to learn accounting, financial analysis, modeling and more. Start with a free account to explore 20+ always-free courses and hundreds of finance templates and cheat sheets.

Bookkeeping and accounting are ways of measuring, recording, and communicating a firm’s financial information.
An event between two economic entities like between customer and business, or vendor and business-like known as a transaction.
Double-entry accounting can help improve accuracy in a business’s financial record keeping.
The Double Entry System is the most dependable, scientific, comprehensive, and self-contained accounting system.
Of course, an experienced accountant is required to keep accounts in this manner.

The closest example of this basic accounting is the bank account ledger you use to keep track of your spending. While this may have been sufficient in the beginning, if you plan on growing your business, you should probably move to using accounting software and double-entry accounting. If you’ve previously used a single-entry system, you may be wondering how to go about switching to a double-entry system. Most modern accounting software has double-entry concepts already built in.

What is double-entry accounting?

This system of accounting is named the double-entry system because every transaction has two aspects, both of which are recorded. Using Nav to find the right accounting software is the simplest way to get the right option for your business. For more on how to choose accounting software, don’t miss this guide from Nav’s experts. An accounting software or service can help you avoid costly mistakes and get a clear picture of your overall finances. Very small, new businesses may be able to make do with single-entry bookkeeping. So, if assets increase, liabilities must also increase so that both sides of the equation balance.

Types of Accounts

As a result, multiple sectors of the same account are impacted at the same time. As a result, the organization’s employees and officers are aware of the account manipulation. This means that the trader can easily determine how much money is owed to the debtor related to him and how much money is owed to the creditor using this method. Read the entire article to find out how double-entry accounting works and much more. Get instant access to video lessons taught by experienced investment bankers. Learn financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel shortcuts.

Single Entry System Meaning

Because the full details of each account cannot be recorded unless a separate book is kept. In the case of a double-entry system, the error is more likely to be due to systemic complexity and a lack of skilled personnel, as it is necessary to keep the books according to each accounting sector. In the double-entry system, all types of income and expenditure accounts are properly maintained so that income tax and VAT returns can be prepared and submitted to the tax authorities. In the double-entry accounting system, each account of each transaction in the business is classified separately. You’ll also learn about the fundamental principles or characteristics of double-entry accounting, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of using it.

This system is similar to tracking your expenses using pen and paper or Excel. For example, a copywriter buys a new laptop computer for her business for $1,000. She credits her technology expense account for $1,000 and debits her cash account for $1,000.

Furniture costing $2,500 is purchased on credit from Fine Furniture. The following show the two entries resulting from the payment of the insurance premium. She uses the skills she learned from her master’s degree in writing to provide guidance to small businesses trying to navigate the ins-and-outs of financing.

The term “bookkeeping” refers to a business’s record-keeping process. A bookkeeper reviews source documents—like receipts, invoices, and bank statements—and uses those documents to post accounting transactions. If a business ships a product to a customer, for example, the bookkeeper will use the customer invoice to record revenue for the sale and to post an accounts receivable entry for the amount owed. Double-entry bookkeeping is an important concept that drives every accounting transaction in a company’s financial reporting.

If at any point this equation is out of balance, that means the bookkeeper has made a mistake somewhere along the way. This then gives you and your investors or bank manager a good picture of the financial health of your business. Even the smallest business can benefit from double-entry accounting.