Debit

Every account has two sides: debit on the left and credit on the right. For every transaction, the total debits must equal the total credits, which keeps the accounting equation in balance.

The effect of a debit depends on the type of account. For assets and expenses, a debit is an increase. For liabilities, equity and revenue, a debit is a decrease. The opposite entry, a credit, does the reverse: it increases liabilities, equity and revenue and decreases assets and expenses.

Suppose a business buys office equipment for 2,400 in cash. It debits equipment by 2,400, because that asset increases, and credits cash by 2,400, because that asset decreases. Total debits equal total credits.

"Debit" does not mean good or bad. The everyday banking use can be confusing: when your bank statement shows a debit, money has left your account. From the bank's side, your deposit is money it owes you, a liability, so a withdrawal reduces, or debits, that liability. Both uses are correct; they describe the same event from opposite sides.