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Debits and credits are a system of notation used in accounting to keep
track of money movements (transactions) into and out of an account:
money paid into an account is a debit, money taken out of an account is
a credit. Traditionally, an account's transactions are recorded in two
columns of numbers: debits in the left hand column, credits in the
right. Keeping the debits and credits in separate columns allows each to
be added up independently so that the total debits and credits can be
calculated; the smaller of the two totals is then subtracted from the
larger to get the account balance. If an account has a debit balance
then it owes money (to someone) because more money has been paid into it
than has been drawn out, if it has a credit balance then it is owed
money. Some accounts would normally have a credit balance because money
usually only ever comes out of them (a salary account for instance),
some normally a debit balance (a weekly shopping expense account, car
fuel account).
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