Record a business asset

The laptop you work on, the bakkie that carries your stock, the espresso machine behind the counter — the expensive gear your business owns is part of what it's worth. Record it as an asset and it takes its place on your Balance Sheet instead of disappearing into Expenses, and stub can quietly write its value down month by month while you get on with the work.

A rough test: did it cost real money, and will you still be using it next year? The R180,000 bakkie qualifies. The R400 toolbox is just an expense.

Add an asset

1. Click Assets in the sidebar. (Or press 7.)
2. Click Asset. (Or press N.)
3. Pick the account the asset belongs to — the category on your Balance Sheet it should sit under, such as Motor vehicles or Office equipment.
4. Enter the Name.
5. Enter a Reference Number — a serial number, registration or asset tag.
6. Click the edit button next to Purchase price. The Add purchase window opens.
7. Record what you paid: link an Existing expense if the purchase is already in your books — say it came in through your bank — or create a New one with the amount and the date you bought it.
8. Save.

That's the whole job. The asset page then shows its Current value and its Age in months, so you can see at a glance what it is worth today.

Add the details

Click the buttons at the bottom of the window to add:

• Notes — warranty details, where it lives, who uses it.
• Tag — to include it in a branch or project report.
• File — the invoice, the warranty, a photo.

Tip: Attach the purchase invoice. When you sell the asset or an auditor asks about it, everything is in one place.

Write it down over time

"Depreciation" is just the bookkeeping word for wear and tear — spreading the cost of gear over the years you actually use it. Turn on Add depreciation and stub handles the monthly maths for you. See Calculate & record depreciation.

Import your existing assets

Already keeping a register somewhere else? Bring it across in one go: on the Assets page, click the ··· menu next to the Asset button, choose Import and drop your file in.

See what you own

Click Assets in the sidebar. The footer of the list shows how many assets you have and what they are worth in total. Use the filter and sort controls to narrow it down — see Review your assets for the full tour.

Note: Which account you pick decides where the asset appears on your Balance Sheet. If the right category doesn't exist yet, add it first under Settings → Finance → Chart of accounts.