Fixed Asset Tracking

Record capital purchases, automatically calculate depreciation over their useful life, and keep your balance sheet accurate without manual journal entries.

Registering an Asset

When your business acquires equipment, furniture, vehicles, or other long-lived property, you register the item in BizBooks Pro so it can be tracked and depreciated correctly.

1. Open Fixed Assets from the sidebar menu
2. Click Add Asset
3. Enter the Asset Name (e.g., "2024 Delivery Van" or "Office Laptop Fleet")
4. Set the Purchase Date and Original Cost
5. Enter the Salvage Value — the amount you expect the asset to be worth at the end of its useful life
6. Choose a Useful Life in years
7. Select a Depreciation Method (straight-line, double-declining balance, or sum-of-years-digits)
8. Pick the appropriate Category (see next section)
9. Click Save

BizBooks Pro creates the depreciation schedule immediately after you save, so you can review every future period's expense before a single entry hits the ledger.

Choosing a Category

Categories group assets by type and tie them to the correct general-ledger accounts. BizBooks Pro ships with common categories:

You can modify default useful-life values or create entirely new categories under Settings → Asset Categories if your business has specialized equipment.

Depreciation Schedule Generation

As soon as an asset is saved, BizBooks Pro builds a period-by-period depreciation schedule. The schedule shows:

• Period — each month or year in the asset's useful life
• Depreciation Expense — the amount to be recorded that period
• Accumulated Depreciation — the running total of all depreciation taken so far
• Net Book Value — original cost minus accumulated depreciation

You can preview the entire schedule from the asset detail page before any entries are posted, giving you full visibility into future expenses.

How Each Method Works

Straight-Line Depreciation

The simplest and most widely used approach. The same amount is expensed every period across the asset's useful life.

Formula: Annual Expense = (Cost − Salvage Value) ÷ Useful Life

Example: A $10,000 asset with a $1,000 salvage value and a 5-year life produces $1,800 of depreciation each year.

Double-Declining Balance (DDB)

An accelerated method that front-loads larger expenses in the early years. Assets lose value faster at the start, which may better reflect reality for technology or vehicles.

Formula: Annual Expense = Book Value at Start of Year × (2 ÷ Useful Life)

The rate is double the straight-line percentage. BizBooks Pro automatically switches to straight-line in the final years to ensure the asset reaches its salvage value exactly at the end of its life.

Sum-of-the-Years-Digits (SYD)

Another accelerated method that allocates higher depreciation in earlier years, but with a smoother decline than DDB.

Formula: Annual Expense = (Cost − Salvage Value) × (Remaining Life ÷ Sum of All Years)

For a 5-year asset, the sum of the years is 1+2+3+4+5 = 15. Year one uses the fraction 5/15, year two uses 4/15, and so on.

Posting Depreciation to the Books

Depreciation entries can be posted manually or automatically:

Manual Posting

1. Open the asset and go to its Depreciation Schedule
2. Review the current period's pending entry
3. Click Post Entry to create the journal entry

Automatic Posting

Enable Auto-Post Depreciation in Settings to have BizBooks Pro create journal entries at the end of each month without manual intervention. The system debits Depreciation Expense and credits Accumulated Depreciation for every active asset on the scheduled date.

Each posted entry follows standard double-entry rules:

Tracking Book Value

The Fixed Assets dashboard gives you a real-time snapshot of your capital investments:

• Total Original Cost — the combined purchase price of all active assets
• Total Accumulated Depreciation — how much value has been expensed to date
• Total Net Book Value — the remaining value on your balance sheet

Click any individual asset to see its full history, remaining schedule, and current book value. You can also export the entire asset register as a CSV for your accountant or auditor.

Asset Disposal

When you sell, scrap, or otherwise dispose of an asset, record the disposal so your books reflect the change:

1. Open the asset record
2. Click Dispose Asset
3. Enter the Disposal Date and the Sale Proceeds (enter $0 if the asset was scrapped)
4. BizBooks Pro calculates any gain or loss on disposal automatically
5. Confirm and the system posts the necessary journal entries

The disposal entry removes the asset's original cost and accumulated depreciation from your books and records any gain or loss to the appropriate income or expense account.