Accounting for depreciation can be a helpful accounting trick when businesses make a major purchase. Depreciation has several different meanings, depending on the context in which it’s being used.

In accrual basis accounting, when your business purchases a long-lived asset, such as a vehicle, a building or a piece of equipment, you don't immediately write off the full cost as an expense. Rather ...

When your company purchases a fixed asset with an estimated lifetime exceeding one year, you cannot deduct the entire cost in the year of purchase. Rather, you must depreciate the asset by expensing a ...