Overview
Assets are valuable resources owned and controlled by a business. They can be tangible, such as cash, inventory, receivables, furniture and fixtures, equipment, investments, and prepayments, or intangible, such as goodwill, intellectual property, customer lists, and databases.
Assets play a pivotal role in financial reporting and are used to assess the financial health of a business.
Among these asset types, fixed assets are long-term tangible resources held for use in the production or supply of goods and services. These assets are not intended for resale and typically include items such as machinery, vehicles, buildings, and office equipment.
A fixed asset record shows:
What the asset is
When and for how much it was acquired
How it depreciates over time
Its current book value
Who is responsible for it
ℹ️ Note: Fixed assets are used to track long-term resources and their depreciation over the useful life of the asset.
What do fixed assets represent in a business?
In a business, a fixed asset represents:
A long-term resource used in operations, not held for resale
A cost that is spread over its useful life through depreciation
The basis for tracking asset value and accumulated depreciation
A fixed asset is a record of a resource a business owns and the schedule by which its value reduces over time.
How to create a fixed asset manually
In addition to creating fixed assets with Adam, fixed assets can be created manually by filling in a structured form.
Step 1: Go to Fixed Assets
From the top navigation bar, click More.
From the dropdown, select Fixed Assets.
Step 2: Enter the asset details
On the Fixed Assets page, click Create Fixed Assets, then select Fill in form from the dropdown.
A Create Fixed Asset form opens.
Asset details
Asset label: a unique reference code for the asset.
Asset name: the name of the asset.
Acquisition date: the date the asset was acquired.
Acquisition amount: the cost of the asset at acquisition.
Supplier: the vendor the asset was purchased from, selected from the dropdown.
Tax: applicable tax on the asset, selected from the dropdown.
Currency: the currency of the acquisition amount.
Description: additional detail about the asset, such as specifications or intended use.
Asset depreciation
Depreciation period: how often depreciation is calculated, either monthly or yearly.
Depreciation duration: the number of periods over which the asset depreciates.
Salvage value: the estimated residual value of the asset at the end of its useful life.
Depreciation start date: the date depreciation begins.
Add payment information: record payment details for the asset, where applicable.
Entry accounts
Asset account: the account the asset value is recorded against.
Depreciation account: the expense account depreciation is posted to.
Accumulated depreciation account: the account that tracks total depreciation recorded against the asset.
Classification
Branch: the branch associated with the asset.
Custodian: the employee responsible for the asset.
Department: the department associated with the asset.
Project: the project associated with the asset.
Attachments
Add file: a file, such as a receipt or warranty document, added to the asset record for future reference.
Step 3: Save and review
Click Save as and select one of the following:
Draft: saves the asset without posting it to the general ledger. A draft asset can be published later.
Active: saves the asset and posts it to the general ledger, and depreciation begins according to the schedule set.
Regardless of the option selected, the asset appears in the Fixed Assets table once saved.
How to manage fixed assets
Each entry in the Fixed Assets table includes: Acquisition Date, Depreciation Start Date, Asset Name, Acquisition Cost, Balance, Status, Depreciation Period, Duration, Depreciation, and Book Value.
At the top of the table, entries can be filtered by date, status (Draft, Depreciated, Disposed, Depreciating), and branch. Columns can also be customized using Edit columns.
Clicking the three-dot icon beside an entry opens the following actions:
Open: opens the asset record, showing its Overview, Schedule, and Payments tabs. The Schedule tab lists each depreciation entry by date, amount, cumulative depreciation, and resulting book value.
Edit: allows changes to the asset details before or after publishing.
Duplicate: creates a copy of the asset record.
Publish: posts a draft asset to the general ledger. Once published, the asset status changes to Depreciating.
Delete: removes the asset record.