Double-entry bookkeeping

Double-entry bookkeeping, also known as double-entry accounting, is a method of bookkeeping in which every financial transaction is recorded with equal and opposite entries (debits and credits) - thus "balancing the books". The purpose of double-entry bookkeeping is to maintain accuracy in financial records and allow detection of errors or fraud.

The basis of double-entry bookkeeping is the accounting equation:

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{\displaystyle \mathrm {Assets} =\mathrm {Liabilities} +\mathrm {Equity} }

Every transaction recorded will keep this equation in balance. For example, a company can buy a new piece of equipment (increasing an asset), it can spend cash (reducing an asset) or take on a loan (increasing a liability). Based upon where an account sits within the accounting equation determines its normal balance - in this example, a debit to assets increases assets, whereas a credit to liabilities increases liabilities.

The use of double-entry bookkeeping is a standard process for tracking business transactions that improves the ability of the users of financial information to read, process, and understand the financial picture of a company's operations. As the complexity and volume of transactions increases, companies use ledgers and accounting information systems to automate the tracking of individual transactions and to create financial statements.

History

The earliest extant accounting records that follow the modern double-entry system in Europe come from Amatino Manucci, a Florentine merchant at the end of the 13th century. Manucci was employed by the Farolfi firm and the firm's ledger of 1299–1300 evidences full double-entry bookkeeping. Giovannino Farolfi & Company, a firm of Florentine merchants headquartered in Nîmes, acted as moneylenders to the Archbishop of Arles, their most important customer.