David , I added an expanded sections on debits and credits after the Double Entry section linking the explanation directly to the accounting equation to explain why some accounts are debited to increase their balance and some are credited. It's in 2.1.3 of the v3.6 of the guide. The information was there previously but without that link. Also added a table of the effects of debits and credits on the basic account types. An OP had asked a question on the mailing list and said he found it difficult to follow and understand why some accounts are debited and credited. He got it from the explanation I gave in the reply so I thought it was worth clarifying the concepts a little bit.
I have thought of gong a bit further as the reason for the specific use of debit for an increase inan asset goes back to the latin roots as this section from the Investopedia site https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/04/072304.asp indicates: "Having Latin roots, the term debit comes from the word debitum, meaning "what is due," and credit comes from creditum, defined as "something entrusted to another or a loan." When you increase assets, the change in the account is a debit, because something must be due for that increase (the price of the asset). Conversely, an increase in liabilities is a credit because it signifies an amount that someone else has loaned to you and which you used to purchase something (the cause of the corresponding debit in the assets account)." David ----- David Cousens -- Sent from: http://gnucash.1415818.n4.nabble.com/GnuCash-User-f1415819.html _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list gnucash-user@gnucash.org To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user If you are using Nabble or Gmane, please see https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Mailing_Lists for more information. ----- Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
