Use the accounting equation and normal balances together on a fresh set of events. A label on a bank statement is not enough to classify a transaction. Ask whether the amount came from a customer, a lender or the owner, and whether a payment belongs to the business or the owner personally. Those distinctions change profit even when the same amount moves through cash.
Work each task independently. Some ask for a calculation and others require a balanced entry. Keep asset swaps out of revenue and expenses. When a balance is negative, preserve its sign rather than forcing the equation to look familiar. Review any account you cannot explain in a sentence.