Finance → Accounting → Assets → /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
| Section | Fields |
|---|---|
| Basic information | Asset name, asset code, description, status |
| Asset classification | Asset type, asset category, parent asset |
| Acquisition details | Cost, currency, acquired date, manufacturer, model |
| Depreciation & accounting | Depreciation method, depreciation start, depreciation periods, current book value, ledger account settings |
| Location information | Location, organisation and branch |
| Assignment | Who the asset is assigned to |
| Lease information | Where the asset is attached to a leased unit |
| Attributes / technical details | Specification data |
| Notes and metadata | Free text and system fields |
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
Create the asset
Name, code, type and category. Codes should be stable and printed on the physical asset where practical.
Record the acquisition
Cost, currency, acquisition date, manufacturer and model. The cost is the depreciation base.
Set the location and assignment
Where it physically is, and who is responsible for it.
Configure depreciation
Method, start date, number of periods, and the ledger accounts depreciation posts to.
Attach documents
Invoice, warranty, manuals, compliance certificates.
Depreciation
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Depreciation method | How the charge is calculated each period. |
| Depreciation start | When depreciation begins — often later than acquisition. |
| Depreciation periods | The asset's depreciable life in periods. |
| Opening / closing value | Book value at the start and end of a period. |
| Current book value | Cost less accumulated depreciation to date. |
| Accumulated depreciation | The total charged so far. |
| Depreciation history | Every period's charge, with the journal it posted. |
| Auto post | Whether the periodic charge posts automatically. |
| Journal ID | The posted journal for a period's charge. |
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:
| Feature | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Maintenance schedule | Cadence, next due date, last completed, estimated cost, priority. |
| Checklist / instructions | What the maintenance task involves. |
| Work orders | The jobs raised against the asset. |
| Meter readings | Readings against metered assets, with reading details. |
| Costs | What has been spent on the asset. |
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
Verify existence annually
Walk the register against the physical estate. Assets disposed of but not retired inflate the balance sheet.
Check depreciation is running
An asset with a start date in the past and no depreciation history is not posting.
Check maintenance is due, not overdue
Next-due dates in the past mean the schedule is decorative.
Reconcile to the balance sheet
Total book value should agree with the asset accounts.
Common problems
| Symptom | Cause |
|---|---|
| Asset shows no depreciation | Depreciation start not set, periods not configured, or auto-post off. |
| Book value does not match the balance sheet | Ledger account settings point at the wrong accounts, or manual journals were posted to the asset accounts. |
| Maintenance never appears as due | No cadence set on the schedule. |
| Duplicate assets | Registered at acquisition and again at a stock take. Retire one; do not delete an asset with depreciation history. |