How to Keep Your Debits and Credits Straight with QuickBooks 2009

In any accounting system, including QuickBooks, the natural balance for asset accounts is on the left (debit), and the natural balance for liability and owner’s equity accounts is on the right (credit). The exceptions are contra accounts and expense accounts that add or deduct from other accounts to form a net amount. The following table lists common accounts and what you put in their debit and credit columns.

Account Type	Debits	Credits
Assets	Increase asset accounts	Decrease asset accounts
Liabilities	Decrease liability accounts	Increase liability accounts
Owner’s equity	Decrease owner’s equity accounts	Increase owner’s equity accounts
Income	Decrease income accounts	Increase income accounts
Expenses	Increase expense accounts	Decrease expense accounts

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