What is Debit Balance?

A debit balance is an amount that states that the total amount of debit entries in a general ledger is more than the total amount of the credit entries.

It is different from debit entry. A debitDebitDebit represents either an increase in a company’s expenses or a decline in its revenue. read more entry is made to record a transaction in the general ledger, e.g., when we purchase an asset, we debit the asset account recording the purchase and credit bank account showing an outflow of money. At the same time, a debit balance is a net amount (Debit minus Credit) in a general ledger after recording all the transactions.

Examples

It is generally found in the assets and expenses ledgers; a few examples are stated below,

  • Fixed assets A/c’s – When a fixed assetFixed AssetFixed assets are assets that are held for the long term and are not expected to be converted into cash in a short period of time. Plant and machinery, land and buildings, furniture, computers, copyright, and vehicles are all examples.read more is purchased, it will be recorded as a debit transaction, and later credit entries are made for charging depreciation to the asset. It will leave a net debit balance in the fixed asset account.Expense A/c’s – The expense and loss accounts like rent, salary, repair, and maintenance, interest expenseInterest ExpenseInterest expense is the amount of interest payable on any borrowings, such as loans, bonds, or other lines of credit, and the costs associated with it are shown on the income statement as interest expense.read more, electricity, etc., will always carry a debit balance.Investments – Similar to fixed assets, investment purchased will have a debit entry, and later debit balance will be reflected in the investment account.

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Debit vs. Credit Balance

In accounting general ledgerAccounting General LedgerA general ledger is an accounting record that compiles every financial transaction of a firm to provide accurate entries for financial statements. The double-entry bookkeeping requires the balance sheet to ensure that the sum of its debit side is equal to the credit side total. A general ledger helps to achieve this goal by compiling journal entries and allowing accounting calculations. read more we can find two types of balances. To find out what balance a ledger reflects, we need to calculate which side of the ledger has a higher balance, i.e., if the debit total is greater than the credit, the ledger has a Debit balance. Similarly, if the credit total is higher than the debit total, it will have a credit balanceCredit BalanceCredit Balance is the capital amount that a company owes to its customers & it is reflected on the right side of the General Ledger Account. Usually, Liability accounts, Revenue accounts, Equity Accounts, Contra-Expense & Contra-Asset accounts tend to have the credit balance. read more.

To understand in a better way, we can consider the following illustration,

Cash A/c

Here we can see that the debit total is more than the credit total, i.e., the inflow of cash is more than the outflow; therefore, the cash account gives a debit balance of 3,000.

Loan A/c

Conclusion

Here we can understand that after repayment of the installment of the loan, the credit total is higher than the debit total; therefore, the loan a/c gives a credit of Rs. 360,000.

From the above explanation, we can understand that these balances are commonly used terms in accounting. While reading andFinancial statements are written reports prepared by a company’s management to present the company’s financial affairs over a given period (quarter, six monthly or yearly). These statements, which include the Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flows, and Shareholders Equity Statement, must be prepared in accordance with prescribed and standardized accounting standards to ensure uniformity in reporting at all levels.read more understanding financial statementsUnderstanding Financial StatementsFinancial statements are written reports prepared by a company’s management to present the company’s financial affairs over a given period (quarter, six monthly or yearly). These statements, which include the Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flows, and Shareholders Equity Statement, must be prepared in accordance with prescribed and standardized accounting standards to ensure uniformity in reporting at all levels.read more, therefore, it is important to understand the term’s meaning, which can be concluded, i.e.,

if Debit total > Credit Total = Debit Balance andif Credit total > Debit Total = Credit Balance.

This article has been a guide to what debit balance is and its definition. Here we discuss examples of debit balances along with their difference from a credit balance. You can learn more about financing from the following articles –

  • Debt ReliefFull Form of GLIs Accounts Payable Credit or Debit?Journal Entries for Purchase Credit