---
name: al-256-build-a-loan-amortization-or-depreciation-workbook-with-r
description: "Loan schedules, depreciation tables and balloon payment calculations eat hours of careful spreadsheet work and are easy to get wrong. An AI agent that can write and run code can read the loan agreement and build a spreadsheet with live formulas, a documented assumptions tab and notes for anything to follow up, ready for you to review instead of type. Accounting Today reported on Oct 22, 2026 that Thomson Reuters' new CoCounsel for Tax, Audit and Accounting built a full amortization table, balloon payment calculation and follow-up notes for a $5 million commercial real estate loan from the loan agreement and a template during a demo. Use when the user wants help with accounting calculation workbooks (finance) for a small business."
---

# Build a loan amortization or depreciation workbook with real formulas and a clear assumptions tab

Loan schedules, depreciation tables and balloon payment calculations eat hours of careful spreadsheet work and are easy to get wrong. An AI agent that can write and run code can read the loan agreement and build a spreadsheet with live formulas, a documented assumptions tab and notes for anything to follow up, ready for you to review instead of type. Accounting Today reported on Oct 22, 2026 that Thomson Reuters' new CoCounsel for Tax, Audit and Accounting built a full amortization table, balloon payment calculation and follow-up notes for a $5 million commercial real estate loan from the loan agreement and a template during a demo.

## Inputs to collect first
Ask the user for anything below that they haven't already given you. Don't guess missing facts.

- Loan amortization / asset depreciation / lease schedule

## Instructions

Do the task below with the user's inputs in place of each [bracket].

Build me a spreadsheet for this calculation and show your work. Type: [loan amortization / asset depreciation / lease schedule]. Source document: [paste or upload the loan agreement, asset invoice or lease, or list the terms: amount, rate, start date, term, payment frequency, balloon or residual, depreciation method]. Do this: 1) Pull every term you need from the document and list it on an "Assumptions" tab, quoting where each came from. If something is missing or unclear, list it as a question instead of guessing. 2) Build the schedule on its own tab with live formulas (not typed numbers): period, date, opening balance, payment, interest, principal, closing balance (or for depreciation: cost, expense, accumulated, book value). 3) Add a summary tab: total interest, total paid, balloon amount and final payment date (or total depreciation by year). 4) Add a "Check" row showing the schedule ties out to zero or to the residual value. 5) Write 3-5 follow-up notes for me to confirm. Give me the file as an .xlsx I can open in Excel or Google Sheets.

## Safety checks (share these with the user)

- Check every figure, price and total against your own records before anything is sent, posted or booked. A person approves refunds, discounts, payments and price changes.
- Anything legal, tax or compliance-related is a first draft for a qualified person to check. It is not professional advice, and clause references and deadlines must be checked against the source.
- Read and edit the draft before it reaches a customer or goes public. If you later automate this prompt, start with "draft and notify me", not "send automatically".
- Check names, dates, numbers and any claim against your own source material before you use the answer. AI can misread or invent details.
- Say clearly which parts need a person to review or approve before anything is sent, paid, posted or filed.

## About this skill

- Works with: Thomson Reuters CoCounsel, ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Excel, Google Sheets
- Based on this real-world example: https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/thomson-reuters-debuts-new-cocounsel-for-tax-audit-and-accounting-pros
- Free prompt from AgentPlaybook Real Estate: https://agentic-library.netlify.app/prompt/al-256-build-a-loan-amortization-or-depreciation-workbook-with-real/
- To install in an agent that supports Agent Skills, save this file as SKILL.md in a folder with the same name as `name` above (for example in your skills directory). Install steps for Claude.ai, Claude Code, Cursor and Codex: https://agentic-library.netlify.app/skills/