Fixed assets
Follow fixed assets from acquisition to carrying value.
Each asset keeps its recorded cost, dates and supporting references. Depreciation is posted from the asset's own settings, and the register is reconciled with the fixed-asset accounts in the financial position.
Fixed-asset example
Fixed-asset example
From recorded cost to carrying value.
One fictional group at one date: what its assets cost, the depreciation recorded so far and the carrying value that remains.
- Recorded cost
- £2,020,000
- Less accumulated depreciation
- − £786,570
- Carrying value
- £1,233,430
Year to 31 December 2026: additions £501,300 and depreciation charged £243,900. Both are already included in the closing figures above — they are not further amounts to add or subtract.
- Land & buildings
- £464,000
- Plant & machinery
- £506,230
- Vehicles
- £179,000
- IT equipment
- £84,200
- Carrying value
- £1,233,430
How to read these figures
Fictional example: Harwell Engineering Group, four UK companies, all in GBP, financial year 1 January – 31 December 2026. Not customer data.
Carrying value is recorded cost less accumulated depreciation. It is an accounting figure, not a market valuation — SynqLedger does not value assets at market prices.
In SynqLedger the asset register is read for the selected company at a chosen date, with totals by asset class and filters for location. The combined group total here is an illustrative calculation, not a single screen in the product.
Worked asset
One machine, calculated step by step.
- Recorded acquisition cost
- £412,000
- Acquired 12 December 2023.
- Less residual value
- − £12,000
- Depreciable amount
- £400,000
- Depreciation: £400,000 ÷ 10 years
- £40,000 a year
- Straight line, from the in-service date of 1 January 2024.
- Accumulated depreciation: 3 years (2024–2026)
- − £120,000
- Carrying value at 31 December 2026
- £292,000
Its £292,000 carrying value is part of the £506,230 plant & machinery carrying value and of Harwell UK Operations Ltd's £476,400.
Assumptions
Useful life 10 years, residual value £12,000, straight-line method, reporting date 31 December 2026.
Acquisition and the start of depreciation are separate dates: the machine was bought in December 2023 and depreciation starts when it is put into service.
Depreciation allocates the depreciable cost over the useful life. It does not measure what the machine would sell for. SynqLedger also supports reducing-balance and units-of-production methods.
Asset journey
Acquisition, capitalisation, use and depreciation.
Which steps create accounting entries, and which only record, decide or check.
- Step 1
Acquisition
A supplier invoice or purchase line is recorded. On its own it does not create an asset.
Recorded, no asset yet - Step 2
Capitalisation
A person reviews the candidate against the asset-class policy and decides to capitalise it, expense it or reject it.
Entry when capitalised - Step 3
In service
Cost, acquisition date, in-service date, class, useful life, residual value, method and location are held on the asset.
Record, no entry - Step 4
Depreciation
A depreciation run calculates each charge and posts it in the same step. There is no separate approval stage.
Entry per charge - Step 5
Reconciliation
The register is compared with the fixed-asset accounts in the ledger, and any difference is shown.
Check, no entry
Supporting records
Trace an asset to its accounting entries.
- Asset register at a chosen date
- per company
- Asset record
- cost, dates, life, method
- Cost lines and lifecycle events
- with their journals
- Journal lines in the general ledger
- posted entries
How asset records and the ledger relate
The register is built from each asset's recorded events. The accounting for those events is posted to the ledger as journals, and a reconciliation compares the register with the fixed-asset accounts.
The asset record keeps a reference to its supporting purchase evidence. Opening the original purchase document from the asset is not something we claim here.
Several companies
Company registers, read together.
| Company | Cost | Carrying value |
|---|---|---|
| Harwell UK Operations Ltd | £698,500 | £476,400 |
| Harwell Europe Trading Ltd | £298,300 | £29,830 |
| Harwell Distribution Ltd | £854,800 | £643,000 |
| Harwell Group Services Ltd | £168,400 | £84,200 |
| Illustrative group total | £2,020,000 | £1,233,430 |
Each company keeps its own register
Every company in this example reports in GBP, so no currency translation is involved.
Each company's register and ledger stay its own. Group reporting reads company results together without rewriting company ledgers.
Migration
Start from a checked opening position.
What can be brought across
For each asset: description, class, location, acquisition and in-service dates, opening cost, opening accumulated depreciation and remaining useful life. Opening balances are checked against the ledger before go-live.
What that opening position is
A starting position at the cutover date, from which depreciation continues. It is not a full transaction and document history from the previous system.
Intelligence
Ask about the asset position.
Questions the Intelligence preview can answer
- "What do we own, and what is its carrying value?"
- "How much depreciation have we charged?"
- "Does the asset register agree with the ledger?"
It explains and suggests; it cannot post journals, approve actions, move money or change records.
About IntelligenceQuestions to investigate in the register
- Which assets were added this year, and in which class?
- Which assets are fully depreciated but still in use?
- Which locations hold the most carrying value?
- Why is this period's depreciation different from the last?
These are answered by reading the register and its movement schedule, not by the Intelligence preview.
Benefits
What finance teams get.
Know what is recorded
Each asset with its cost, dates, class and location.
See how cost becomes carrying value
Depreciation posted run by run from the asset's own settings.
Open the entries behind an asset
Cost lines and events, with the journals they posted.
Check the register against the ledger
A reconciliation that shows any difference.
Connected across the platform
Related areas.
- Procurement & SpendSupplier invoices that may become capital candidates.
- ManufacturingThe plant and equipment production runs on.
- Finance & AccountingThe ledger the asset journals post to.
- Management AccountingBudgets, forecasts and capital appraisal.
- Cash & TreasuryWhen suppliers are paid — separate from when an asset is recognised.
- Working CapitalSupplier balances and other operating balances.
- Group & Multi-entityCompany results read together; company ledgers unchanged.
- Implementation & MigrationBringing opening asset balances across.
- IntelligenceThe read-only preview and what it can answer.
See fixed assets in action
A guided walkthrough of capitalisation, depreciation, the asset register and its reconciliation in a sandbox company.