This trainer gives you nine fictional transactions for a small business. For each one you choose the account to debit, the account to credit and the amount. When you are right, the entry is posted to T-account ledgers and the accounting equation updates.
It uses fictional data only. Nothing is saved or sent.
How do I use it?
- Read the transaction above, for example “The owner invests 1000 in cash.”
- Choose the account to debit. Each account is labelled with its type: asset, liability, equity, income or expense.
- Choose the account to credit.
- Type the amount. The first transaction starts with 1000.
- Press Check and post. If it is right, the tool explains the entry and its effect on assets, liabilities and equity.
- Press Next transaction, which appears after a correct post. The debit and credit boxes reset to Cash and Capital, and the amount clears. Reset starts again at transaction 1.
Example walk-through
Transaction 1: the owner invests 1000 in cash. Cash, an asset, rises, so debit Cash 1000. Capital, equity, rises, so credit Capital 1000. The tool notes that assets rise by 1000, liabilities show no change and equity rises by 1000.
Transaction 2: buys equipment for 400 in cash. Equipment rises, so debit it. Cash falls, so credit it. The equation check shows assets change by nothing overall, because one asset rose and another fell.
If you put Cash on the debit side for transaction 2 and Equipment on the credit side, the tool says the two sides are the wrong way round and repeats the rule.
Transaction 3: buys goods for 300 on credit. Debit Inventory, credit Payables. Assets rise 300 and liabilities rise 300.
After all nine, the ledgers show Cash with a debit balance of 500, Equipment 400 and Inventory 300.
Capital is 1000 and Sales 400. Rent and wages show debits of 80 and 120.
Assets are 1200, liabilities are 0, and equity is 1000 + 400 − 80 − 120 = 1200. Total debits and credits are both 2750.
How do I read the result?
- Message after posting: names the debit and credit accounts with their types.
- Effect line: how assets, liabilities and equity each rise, fall or stay the same.
- Ledger accounts: each used account as a T-account with debit and credit columns and a balance.
- Equation line: assets, liabilities and equity with a tick when they agree.
- Totals line: total debits and total credits from the posted transactions.
What are the limits?
This is a teaching model with fixed fictional transactions and nine accounts. Sales entries ignore the cost of the goods sold.
It is not bookkeeping software and gives no real bookkeeping, tax or investment advice. Check your syllabus on the Cambridge subject page for layouts and terms your course expects.
Which lessons explain the output?
Start with selecting debit and credit from account type, then recording a cash and credit sale distinctly and posting ledger entries with clear references.
For the balances, read balancing an account and explaining the brought-down side. The equation side is in explaining the accounting equation through a transaction and interpreting a dual effect without cash movement.
The topic page is double-entry foundations, with a mixed practice set. See the tools page for related tools.
If you can post the examples but hesitate when a new transaction appears, our team can work through fresh ones with you. See online one-to-one Accounting tuition.