Simple journal entry
In one sentenceA journal entry consisting of one debited account and one credited account for the same amount; it is the most common form of entry in daily transactions.
Simply put
Most transactions affect only two accounts: you paid cash for something, or you collected from a customer. Here one debit side and one credit side are enough.
When a transaction affects three or more accounts, such as a sale with VAT, the entry becomes compound.
Worked example
A consulting office bought office supplies for cash for 800 SAR (an example without VAT for simplicity).
Dr: Office supplies expense (debit)800
Cr: Cash (credit)800
Debits = Credits800 SAR
Don't confuse it with
Compound journal entryA compound entry has more than one account on one or both sides, such as a sale with sales and output VAT.