AWRA OpsHub Search

Double-Entry Bookkeeping

Recording every transaction as equal and opposite debits and credits.

Area
Accounting
In this area
51 terms of 259

Double-entry records each transaction twice — as a debit to one account and a credit to another of equal value. Receiving stock debits inventory and credits payables; nothing appears from nowhere.

The self-balancing structure is what makes accounting checkable. If total debits do not equal total credits, there is definitely an error, and the system can say so before anyone reads a report.

How it is calculated

Assets = Liabilities + Equity

The accounting equation the double-entry system keeps in balance at all times.

Related terms

Journal Entry

A single balanced record of debits and credits posted to the ledger.

General Ledger

GL

The master record of every financial transaction, organised by account.

Trial Balance

A listing of all account balances used to check the ledger is in balance.

Balance Sheet

A snapshot of what the business owns and owes at a point in time.

More in Accounting

Accounts Payable (AP) Accounts Receivable (AR) Accrual Accounting Accrued Expense Aging Report Bad Debt Provision Bank Reconciliation Break-Even Point

Double-Entry Bookkeeping is not just a definition here

Accounting runs on this vocabulary every day in AWRA OpsHub — 51 of our 259 glossary terms describe things the platform actually does.

Take the product tour Book a demo