> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://recontrol.money/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Double-entry bookkeeping

> The accounting method that makes phantom balances impossible, and why Recontrol is built on it.

A diary of money ("spent ₹500 on groceries") keeps one end of each transaction, so its total can only be trusted, never checked. Over time it drifts from what your bank shows.

Double entry records **both sides**: every transaction has a **From** and a **To**, and what leaves one arrives at the other. Money can't appear from nowhere or vanish.

![Household's transactions on the web with one open: \$84.20 for groceries, from Joint Checking, an asset, to Groceries, an expense category.](https://mintcdn.com/recontrol/sM_LewCYsSNmvpyF/images/screens/transaction-light.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=sM_LewCYsSNmvpyF\&q=85\&s=191abb4f7ae351163c6d1f50c39272df)

```
You buy groceries for ₹500 with your debit card

  From: Checking       −₹500
    To: Groceries      +₹500
                       ─────
                           0  ✓ The books balance
```

## What it gives you

* **Balances you can check.** A hand-kept account's balance on any day is the sum of its transactions. If it disagrees with your bank, **Update Balance** records the difference openly.
* **Where it came from.** You see what you spent, and what you spent it from.
* **Paying a debt isn't spending.** A card bill moves money from Checking to the card, so it never counts against a budget; the spending was counted when you used the card.

## A worked example

Checking starts March with ₹20,000:

| Day | From | To | Amount |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 March | Salary | Checking | ₹75,000 |
| 5 March | Checking | Groceries | ₹2,300 |
| 12 March | Checking | Groceries | ₹1,800 |

Checking holds ₹90,900, Groceries spent ₹4,100, and Salary brought ₹75,000. Every rupee is accounted for.

## Debits and credits

Accountants call the two sides debit and credit. A **debit** is the **To** side; a **credit** is the **From** side. You never have to see either.


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.