Debit: A charge on an accounting statement or balance sheet (appearing on the left-hand column), the opposite of a credit. Used in bookkeeping and in preparing the closing statement in a real estate transaction.

 

Related Words

Debit: A debit is the opposite of a credit. A debit may be an account entry representing money you owe a lender or money that has been taken from your account. For example, your bank debits your ch . . . View Full Definition

Debit Balance: A debit balance is what you owe. It’s entered as accounts receivable on the books of the lender and appears on your account statement as a liability. For example, if you have a margin accoun . . . View Full Definition

Debit Card: A debit card — sometimes called a cash plus card — allows you to make point-of-sale (POS) purchases by swiping the card through the same type of machine you use to make credit card purchases . . . View Full Definition

Preauthorized Electronic Debits (PAD): Debits to a bank account in advance by the payer. The payer's bank sends payment to the payee's bank through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system.

Customers Net Debit Balance: Agreement signed by a margin customer that allows a broker to borrow margined securities up to the level of the customer's debit balance to help cover other customers' short positions.

Direct Debit: An instruction you give to your bank or building society to make regular payments from your account to a specific company. Unlike a standing order you agree that the creditor can vary this a . . . View Full Definition

Debit Spread: The amount that is owed to a broker by a margin customer for loans the customer uses to buy securities.

Adjusted Debit Balance (ADB): The account balance for a margin account that is calculated by combining the balance owed to a broker with any outstanding balance in the special miscellaneous account, and any paper profits . . . View Full Definition

Deferred Expenditure: Expenses incurred which do not apply to the current accounting period. Instead, they are debited to a 'Deferred expenditure' account in the non-current assets area of your chart of accounts . . . View Full Definition

Double-Entry Book-Keeping: A system which accounts for every aspect of a transaction - where it came from and where it went to. This from and to aspect of a transaction (called crediting and debiting) is what the term . . . View Full Definition