debetkolumnen

Debetkolumnen, or the debit column, is a fundamental element of traditional two-column bookkeeping used in Swedish accounting and other ledger-based systems. It represents the side of a transaction used to record debit entries in a standard ledger.

In double-entry bookkeeping, every financial event is recorded with at least one debit and one credit of equal value. The debit column is used to record increases in assets and expenses, and decreases in liabilities, equity, and revenue. Conversely, the credit column records increases in liabilities, equity, and revenue, and decreases in assets and expenses. The two columns balance each other, so the sum of debits equals the sum of credits for every transaction.

Common practices illustrate the rules: purchasing office supplies with cash would involve debiting the Office Supplies (an asset or expense) account and crediting Cash (an asset) to reflect the outflow of cash. If a company takes on a liability, such as a loan, the liability account is credited and the corresponding asset or expense is debited.

Historically, ledgers displayed these two columns side by side, with “debet” and “kredit” labeled in the local language. Today, many accounting systems use digital formats, but the underlying principle remains the same: debits increase assets and expenses and decrease liabilities, equity, and revenue, while credits have the opposite effect.

See also: double-entry bookkeeping, kreditkolumnen, debet, kredit.