What are capital assets?

A capital asset is something you buy to keep and use in the business - a laptop, a van, office furniture. Unlike an everyday expense, its cost is not used up straight away: it sits on your Balance Sheet and loses value gradually through depreciation.

The asset register

Go to Reports and choose Capital Assets. The register lists every asset with its Purchased on date, Asset name, Asset type, Depreciation method, Tax treatment, Purchase price, and current Net book value, with a Total row at the bottom.

Filter it by Date, by Asset state (All capital assets, Current capital assets, or Disposed capital assets), or by Asset type. Export report downloads the register as a CSV file.

How assets get onto the register

You never create an asset directly. When you record a purchase against a capital asset category - such as Computer Equipment, Fixtures and Fittings, or Motor Vehicle - Kontala adds the asset to the register automatically.

The asset page

Click an asset's name to open it. The Asset timeline lists its ledger events with the running Net book value, and the Asset details panel shows everything recorded about it, including the Purchase transaction it came from.

Choose Edit asset details to rename the asset or change its Depreciation method or Tax treatment. The purchase price, useful life, and values are set when you record the purchase and cannot be edited here.