What is the difference between debit and credit?

Debit and credit are the two sides of an entry, and neither means increase or decrease on its own. The class of the account sets the direction: assets and expenses increase on the debit side, while liabilities, equity and revenue increase on the credit side.

Why is the download button refusing the entry?

Because total debits do not equal total credits. The badge shows the difference as a figure, so look for a missing line or an amount typed into the wrong column. It may also be that the entry has only one line, and an entry needs at least two sides.

Are the account numbers in the list officially approved?

No. The list is indicative. It gathers accounts common to small businesses under a conventional numbering, and it is neither issued by any authority nor binding. Picking a code only fills in the account name, both fields stay editable, so enter your own numbers if you keep your own chart of accounts.

How many lines can one entry hold?

There is no limit. Add lines with the add-line button and delete the ones you do not need. The table never drops below two lines because an entry needs two sides.

Can the entry produced here be submitted to the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority?

A journal entry is an internal record in the business books and is not submitted on its own. What is submitted is the tax return and the financial statements built on those books. Use the entry to document the transaction in your ledger and keep the supporting document with it.

Where are entries saved after the page closes?

They are not. The tool runs in your browser and sends nothing to a server, so closing the page clears what you typed. Download the PDF before you leave. To record entries, keep them and post them to the general ledger automatically, use accounting software.

When is an entry compound?

When the transaction touches three accounts or more. A credit purchase with tax, a salary payment with a social insurance deduction, or a sale part paid in cash and part on credit are all compound entries.

Free Journal Entry Template — Debit Credit

A journal entry is the first line in the books: every transaction is recorded twice, once on the debit side and once on the credit side, for the same amount. That is the double-entry rule, and in practice it means total debits equal total credits in every entry without exception. An entry that does not balance is not incomplete, it is wrong, which is why this tool blocks the download until both sides match.

The double-entry rule

Every transaction touches at least two accounts. What comes in is posted on one side and what goes out on the other. The direction is set by the class of the account, not by preference.

Total debits = total credits

Which side increases each account class

Reversing the two sides is the most common beginner error. This table settles the direction for each class:

Account class	Increases on	Decreases on	Examples
Assets	Debit	Credit	Cash · bank · receivables · inventory
Expenses	Debit	Credit	Salaries · rent · utilities
Liabilities	Credit	Debit	Payables · loans · accrued expenses
Equity	Credit	Debit	Capital · retained earnings
Revenue	Credit	Debit	Sales · service revenue

Simple and compound entries

A simple entry has two sides: one debit account and one credit account. Paying rent in cash is the classic case.

A compound entry has more than two lines and appears whenever a transaction touches three accounts or more. The best-known example is a credit purchase with VAT: two debit lines against a single credit line.

Worked example — purchase on credit

A business buys goods for 1,000, and VAT at 15% adds 150, so 1,150 is owed to the supplier. The entry has three lines:

1301 Inventory — debit 1,000: the goods entered the warehouse, and an asset increases on the debit side.
1401 Input VAT — debit 150: recoverable input tax, an asset of the business.
2101 Accounts payable — credit 1,150: an obligation of the business, and a liability increases on the credit side.
Check: debits total 1,000 + 150 = 1,150 and credits total 1,150, so the entry balances.

Common mistakes

Reversing the sides, such as posting an expense to the credit column. Check the direction table above before you type.
Putting an amount in both the debit and credit column of one line. A line has one side, and the tool zeroes the other automatically.
Leaving out the tax line on purchases and sales, which produces a difference equal to the tax amount exactly.
Leaving the narration blank. The narration is what explains the entry months later, and without it review takes longer.
Rounding amounts by hand line by line, which creates a gap of a few halalas. Enter the amount as it is and let the tool add up.

Journal Entry Generator

Document details

Business details

Entry lines

Notes and terms

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