Why is there an expense if no money left my account?

The money left when you bought the asset. Depreciation does not record a payment; it records the fact that the thing you bought is a year closer to being used up. The cash and the cost happen at different times, and this is what keeps them straight.

How is this different from 1510 Accumulated Depreciation?

This account holds one period at a time and resets in effect each year on the profit and loss. 1510 holds the running total for the life of the asset and sits on the balance sheet reducing what the equipment is carried at. Every depreciation entry touches both.

How much should I depreciate?

It depends on the asset, the method, and whether you are recording for tax or for your own reporting, and those can differ. Ask your accountant for the schedule and then record it here — this is not a number to invent.

6800expenseNormal balance: Debitbusiness

6800 — Depreciation Expense

When you buy a $6,000 machine you have not spent $6,000 on this year. You have converted $6,000 of cash into $6,000 of equipment, and you will use that equipment up over several years. Depreciation is how the books record that using-up: a slice of the cost becomes an expense each year, so the profit and loss shows what the machine actually cost you during the period rather than a single spike in the month you bought it.

This account is one half of that entry. Each time you record depreciation you debit Depreciation Expense, which is a real cost hitting this year, and credit 1510 Accumulated Depreciation, which quietly reduces the equipment on your balance sheet. No cash moves. Nothing leaves your bank account. It is the one routine entry in small-business bookkeeping that is purely a matter of recording rather than transacting.

Because no money moves, nothing prompts you to make the entry — no statement line, no charge to categorize. Depreciation is something you or your accountant decide to record, usually once a year at close, and it is the entry most often forgotten by people keeping their own books.

How much to record depends on the method and the useful life, and for tax purposes it may differ from what you would record for your own management accounts. That is genuinely a question for your accountant rather than something to guess at from a schedule you found online.

What belongs here

this year's depreciation on equipment, vehicles, or fixtures
depreciation recorded at year-end close as an adjusting entry
amortization of a long-lived intangible, if you have one
the expense half of any entry that credits 1510 Accumulated Depreciation

What does not belong here

the purchase price of the asset itself, which goes to 1500 Equipment
repairs that keep an asset running, which are 6350 Repairs & Maintenance
small tools and equipment cheap enough to expense immediately, usually 6450 Supplies
the accumulated total to date, which lives in 1510 Accumulated Depreciation

Where it shows up

Depreciation Expense appears on your profit and loss like any other expense and reduces your net income, even though your bank balance is untouched. This is the usual reason a profitable-looking business has less cash than expected, or a business with poor profit still has money — depreciation is the largest routine gap between profit and cash.

Common questions

Why is there an expense if no money left my account?: The money left when you bought the asset. Depreciation does not record a payment; it records the fact that the thing you bought is a year closer to being used up. The cash and the cost happen at different times, and this is what keeps them straight.
How is this different from 1510 Accumulated Depreciation?: This account holds one period at a time and resets in effect each year on the profit and loss. 1510 holds the running total for the life of the asset and sits on the balance sheet reducing what the equipment is carried at. Every depreciation entry touches both.
How much should I depreciate?: It depends on the asset, the method, and whether you are recording for tax or for your own reporting, and those can differ. Ask your accountant for the schedule and then record it here — this is not a number to invent.