Double-Entry Accounting — Plain English

You don't need to be a CA to understand this. Every rupee tells two stories — Lekhya tracks both.

The Core Idea

Every transaction affects at least two accounts.

Money always comes from somewhere and goes somewhere else.

Example: You sell goods worth ₹10,000 to a customer

Debit (Money coming in or asset increasing)

Accounts Receivable ₹10,000

Customer now owes you ₹10,000

Credit (Revenue being recognized)

Sales Revenue ₹10,000

You earned ₹10,000 in revenue

Debit = Credit ✓ (₹10,000 = ₹10,000) — the equation is always balanced

Debits & Credits — The Simple Rule

Forget the confusing textbook definitions. Here's how to think about it in practice:

Account Type Debit does... Credit does...
Assets (cash, receivables, equipment) Increases ↑ Decreases ↓
Liabilities (loans, payables) Decreases ↓ Increases ↑
Capital / Equity (owner's investment) Decreases ↓ Increases ↑
Revenue / Income (sales, interest) Decreases ↓ Increases ↑
Expenses (rent, salary, purchases) Increases ↑ Decreases ↓

3 Real-World Examples

You pay ₹5,000 rent by bank transfer

DR Rent Expense ₹5,000
CR Bank Account ₹5,000

Rent expense goes up. Your bank balance goes down.

You buy goods worth ₹20,000 on credit from a supplier

DR Stock / Purchases ₹20,000
CR Accounts Payable (Supplier) ₹20,000

Your stock goes up. You now owe the supplier.

You receive ₹10,000 cash from the customer who owed you

DR Cash / Bank ₹10,000
CR Accounts Receivable ₹10,000

Cash goes up. The customer's debt is cleared.

How Lekhya Handles This For You

You don't have to think about debits and credits when creating invoices. Lekhya's journal engine does it automatically:

When you post an invoice

Lekhya debits Accounts Receivable and credits Sales Revenue + GST payable accounts automatically.

When you record a payment received

Lekhya debits Bank and credits Accounts Receivable — the receivable is cleared.

When you record a purchase

Lekhya debits Purchases/Stock and credits Accounts Payable.

Corrections are always via reversal

Lekhya never edits a posted entry. To fix a mistake, it creates a reversing entry and a corrected new one — just like a CA would.

P&L vs Balance Sheet — What's the Difference?

Profit & Loss (P&L)

Shows income and expenses over a period (e.g. this financial year). Tells you if you made a profit or loss.

  • → Sales, Service Revenue
  • → Cost of Goods Sold
  • → Operating Expenses (rent, salary, etc.)
  • → GST, taxes
  • = Net Profit or Loss

Balance Sheet

Shows what you own and owe at a point in time. Always balanced: Assets = Liabilities + Capital.

  • → Assets: Cash, Bank, Receivables, Stock, Equipment
  • → Liabilities: Loans, Payables, GST payable
  • → Capital: Owner's equity + retained profits
  • = Always balanced

In Lekhya: go to Accounting → Reports → Profit & Loss or Balance Sheet to see these for any date range.