You are looking at the terms debit and credit based on their popular usage, not their accounting usage. In accounting, debits go on the left and credits on the right.
The popular meaning of credit, adding something, has come about because of how banks treat customer accounts. Consider the accounting equation Assets = Liabilities + Equity. Now assume you give the bank $100 dollars to deposit it in your account. The bank now debits their cash account, which is an asset, because they now have $100 more in cash, but they now owe you $100. Since this is a liability for them, they credit your account for $100. When you withdraw that $100, it works in reverse. The bank debits the money in your account, which reduces their liability to you since they now owe your $100 less than before. Then they credit their cash account, because they now have less cash since they gave you the $100.
The catch is, you only see the change in your account, and not in the bank's accounts. As a result, over time, people have come to take debit as meaning a reduction and credit as an increase, when in reality, they just mean left and right. Assets are increased when they are debited and liabilities and equity when they are credited.
debit just means left and credit means right side of accounting equation. Assets = Liabilities + Equity
So Assets = Debits Liabilities = Credits Equity = Credits
Revenues increase equity so Credit Revenue to increase it
Cash
Revenue
or
Accounts Receivable
Revenue
I majored in accounting and passed Hons. I always start with bank and you just need to remember that when company receives funds, debit bank, and payments are credits to bank. The other account is then the opposite.
So, revenue you would debit bank as cash increases, then opposite is credit Revenue. Easy :)
The easiest way I can explain how to understand is to see how it affects cash. Since cash is a debit account, making money means a credit in whatever the other account may be. On the other hand, if you spend or lose money, you debit the other account since a decrease in cash is a credit.
The expanded equation is
Assets = Liabilities + Capital + Revenue – Expenses – Drawings
Debits means on the left side of the equation, Credit means on the right side of the equation.
Revenue is a credit
If money is coming to you it is a credit. If it is going away it is a debit.
I was taught this acronym (DEAD Accounts) "Debits increase Expenses Assets and Dividends" Draws/Distributions depending if it is a corp/sole proprietorship/partnership/S corp, et al.
The other accounts Credits increase the accounts.
rule of revenue accounts :debit all expenses and losses, credit all gains and incomes
Sales revenue doesn't directly affect cash.
"Revenue is the gross amount recorded for the sale of goods or services."
Normally, "revenue" means you're making money. But it's really just documenting the sale itself. No MONEY has been collected yet. You have to look at it from the accounting perspective.
debit means it goes in the left hand column (side). Credit is the right hand column.
Do not overthink it.
