Accountant here. This article is just wrong. You could memorize debit/credit rules but when dealing with non-finance persons, I avoid mentioning debit/credit as

Accountant here. This article is just wrong. You could memorize debit/credit rules but when dealing with non-finance persons, I avoid mentioning debit/credit as it gets confusing and generally its not needed anyway. Here's how I would explain basic accounting (income statement is ignored for simplicity). Every transaction has two legs: what it is and whose it is. That is the basis of the accounting equation: assets (what) = equity (mine) + liabilities (someone else's). An increase in assets must be balanced with an increase in either equity or liabilities, and vice versa.