Fixed assets are physical items such as desks, computers, cars, and machinery which you acquire to run your business. South African Company Law requires that you keep a register of your business’ fixed assets as part of its accounting records.
Managing your fixed assets includes the following tasks:
- Tracking each asset’s value, both from a tax and an accounting point of view
- Depreciating assets correctly using an appropriate depreciation rate and method
- Updating the replacement values of your fixed assets for insurance purposes
- Maintaining an accurate fixed asset register which records information such as: date of purchase; date of disposal; purchase price; accumulated depreciation and net book value
- The Fixed Assets software module automates all these processes for you
Once you provide the initial information, the fixed asset management system takes over and manages your assets for you. One of the realities of fixed assets processing is that companies frequently change depreciation rules as legislation allows and as company policy changes. Some changes are retroactive to when you purchased the asset. Sage Evolution Fixed Assets calculates its values dynamically from the start of each asset’s life, which makes retroactive changes simple. Imagine the time required to accurately program all this yourself into a spreadsheet.
