Differences between Single Entry and Double Entry

Differences between

Item	Single Entry	Double Entry
1. Meaning	Accounting system in which only single entry requires for every financial transaction	Accounting system in which two entries requires for every financial transaction. For every debit, there is equaling credit is posted
2. Nature	Simple	Complex
3. Preferable for	Small enterprises	Big enterprises
4. Preparation of Financial Statements ( such as P & L Account and Balance Sheet)	Difficult	Easy
5. Suitable for Tax purpose	No	Yes
6. Knowledge of Book keeping	Not required	Required
7. Existing from	Since time immemorial	Since 1494 *
8. Detection of errors	Difficult	Easy

* Double entry book keeping was developed by Luca Pacioli, an Italian mathematician.  He is referred as "Father of Accounting and Book Keeping". He described book keeping along with other accounting topics in 9th chapter (150 pages) in his book  "The Summa de arithmetica"

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