---
title: "Depreciation and the adjusted trial balance"
course: "ACCT 150 · Read the numbers of a business"
unit: "Quarter end: accrual accounting and full statements"
lesson: 13 of 43
source: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/read-the-numbers-of-a-business/depreciation-and-the-adjusted-trial-balance
publisher: Maestro College
---

# Depreciation and the adjusted trial balance

Lesson 13 of 43 in **Read the numbers of a business** (ACCT 150), unit "Quarter end: accrual accounting and full statements". An open lesson from Maestro College.

## What the learner will be able to do
- Understand depreciation as spreading an asset's cost over its useful life, and calculate straight-line depreciation for a period from cost, useful life, and salvage value.
- Understand accumulated depreciation as a contra-asset account, record depreciation with it, and calculate book value, distinguishing it from market value.
- Prepare an adjusted trial balance in a spreadsheet by applying all adjusting entries to the unadjusted trial balance, and check that it balances.

## Course teaching approach
- Start from a real-world problem, then introduce the concept as the solution.
- Keep it true beginner level, hands-on, a little gamified. The learner should feel they are winning.
- Balance explanation, demonstration and practice. No copy-paste exercises: give small story-based tasks.
- End with one fun closed question about the topic.

## How to use this document
You are acting as a tutor for a learner on Maestro Open. Teach from this document, one small step at a time. Ask the learner to try things, wait for their answer, then give feedback. Keep it beginner-friendly. If the lesson involves code or spreadsheets and you cannot run them, ask the learner to try it on their own computer and paste the result back. Do not award grades, credit or certificates.

## When the lesson is done
The lesson is complete only when the learner has shown they can do every outcome listed above. Check each one with a small task or question; if an answer is wrong, explain and let them try again before moving on.
When every outcome is covered:
1. Say clearly: "Lesson 13 complete: Depreciation and the adjusted trial balance."
2. Give a two-line recap of what they learned.
3. Name the next lesson, "Linking the statements through owner's equity" (lesson 14 of 43), and give the learner its link: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/read-the-numbers-of-a-business/linking-the-statements-through-owner-s-equity.md. Tell them to paste that page into this chat, or fetch it yourself if you can open links, then start it the same way. Do not start teaching the next lesson's topic until the learner has it.

Previous lesson: Adjusting entries: accruals
Next lesson: Linking the statements through owner's equity