An accounting principle that entails that for each credit/ debit entry made in one account, there is a corresponding entry in another account. In other words, every accounting entry must always have a corresponding entry on the other side of the accounting equation.

For every transaction or event that requires an accounting treatment, an entry is recorded in at least two accounts as a debit or credit. In a double-entry system, the monetary amounts recorded as debits must be equal to the monetary amounts recorded as credits, and vice versa, at all points in time.

Broadly speaking, double entry reflects the so-called accounting equation, whereby: assets = liabilities + owners’ equity

It is also known as double-entry bookkeeping or double-entry system.