复式记账法是以资产与权益平衡关系作为记账基础，对于每一笔经济业务，都要以相等的金额在两个或两个以上相互联系的账户中进行登记，系统地反映资金运动变化结果的一种记账方法。借方项目通常记在左边，贷方则记在右边，空白账簿看起来像个T字，故账户也被称为T字帐。

例如，如果A企业向B企业销售商品，B企业用即期支票向A企业支付货款，那么A企业的会计就应该在贷方记为“销售收入”，在借方记为“现金”。相反地，B企业的会计应该在借方记为“进货”，并在贷方记为“银行存款”。

其英文为“double-entry bookkeeping”，释义如下：

Double-entry bookkeeping is a method of recording transactions where for every business transaction, an entry is recorded in at least two accounts as a debit or credit. In a double-entry system, the amounts recorded as debits must be equal to the amounts recorded as credits

与复式记账法对应的是单式记账法：

单式记账法

单式记账是一种比较简单的记账方法，它是指在会计核算中，对每一项经济业务只进行单方面的、不完整的记账，也就是只在一个帐户中记一笔账。

Single-entry bookkeeping is a simple and straightforward method of bookkeeping in which each transaction is recorded as a single-entry in a journal. This is a cash-based bookkeeping method that tracks incoming and outgoing cash in a journal.

以下为相关双语示例，供参考：

每项基金是一个单独的财务和会计实体，编有一套单独的自平衡复式簿记账本。

Each fund is maintained as a distinct financial and accounting entity, with a separate self-balancing double-entry group of accounts.

The key feature of this system is that the debits and credits should always match for error-free transactions. The double-entry bookkeeping system works on the basic accounting equation, which is as follows: Assets = Liabilities + Owner’s equity (Assets: The money that the company owns; Liabilities: Anything that the business owes; Owner’s equity: Owner’s investment in the company; Income: Money the business earns by selling its products; Expense: Money the company spends to run the business) You should always remember that each side of the equation must balance out. This is how we arrive at the term “balancing the books.”

复式记账法的主要特点是其借项和贷项总是相匹配的，从而确保交易无误。复式记账法遵循如下基本等式：资产=负债+所有者权益（资产：公司拥有的金钱；负债：企业所欠的任何东西；所有者权益：所有者在公司的投资；收益：企业出售产品所赚取的金钱；支出：经营企业所花费的金钱）请时刻谨记等式两边必须相等。只要这样才能确保“账簿平衡”。