/assets
The asset register holds the things you own that have a useful life: generators, lifts, pumps,
vehicles, boreholes, plant, furniture. It serves two purposes at once — an accounting record that
depreciates, and an operational record that gets maintained.
What an asset record holds
Parent asset lets you model a component hierarchy — a lift’s controller as a child of the lift
— so costs and maintenance roll up sensibly.
Registering an asset
1
Create the asset
Name, code, type and category. Codes should be stable and printed on the physical asset where
practical.
2
Record the acquisition
Cost, currency, acquisition date, manufacturer and model. The cost is the depreciation base.
3
Set the location and assignment
Where it physically is, and who is responsible for it.
4
Configure depreciation
Method, start date, number of periods, and the ledger accounts depreciation posts to.
5
Attach documents
Invoice, warranty, manuals, compliance certificates.
Depreciation
Depreciation posts to the ledger accounts configured on the asset, so it appears in the profit &
loss as an expense and reduces the asset’s carrying value on the balance sheet.
Maintenance
Assets carry an operational side as well:
This is what turns the register from a depreciation schedule into something operations actually
uses: a due-maintenance list that a technician can work from, with history attached to the asset
rather than to a person’s memory.
Asset categories
Categories group assets for reporting and for setting consistent depreciation treatment. Define them before bulk-registering assets — retro-fitting categories across a populated register is tedious.Reviewing the register
1
Verify existence annually
Walk the register against the physical estate. Assets disposed of but not retired inflate the
balance sheet.
2
Check depreciation is running
An asset with a start date in the past and no depreciation history is not posting.
3
Check maintenance is due, not overdue
Next-due dates in the past mean the schedule is decorative.
4
Reconcile to the balance sheet
Total book value should agree with the asset accounts.