Fixed asset register template
A fixed asset register is the list of every long-term asset your company owns: what it is, its ID and serial number, where it is, who looks after it, what it cost, how much has been depreciated and what it's worth in the books now. This free Excel template has a column for each, flags assets nobody has physically checked for a year, and works out the profit or loss when something is sold or scrapped.
Running a company of 30 to 200 people? Documents like this are now worth money.
It answers "what do we own, and where is it?". The yearly depreciation charge for each asset is worked out in the depreciation schedule template, which takes its asset list from here.
What's in the template
Three sheets: a read-me, Register with room for 60 assets, and Example - Register, filled in for the fictional printer used in our depreciation schedule example. Asset IDs are numbered for you (FA001, FA002 and so on). NBV, the physical-check flag, the profit or loss on disposal and the status calculate themselves. Part of the example:
| ID | Description | Location | Cost | Depreciated to date | NBV | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FA001 | Digital printing press | Print hall | 185,000 | 42,500 | 142,500 | In use |
| FA002 | Guillotine and folding line | Finishing room | 64,000 | 12,800 | 51,200 | In use |
| FA003 | Delivery van | Yard | 34,000 | 0 | 34,000 | In use |
| FA004 | Laptops and design workstations (12) | Studio | 21,600 | 7,200 | 14,400 | In use |
| FA005 | Studio and office fit-out | First floor | 48,000 | 14,400 | 33,600 | In use |
| FA006 | Delivery van (old) | Sold | 26,000 | 19,830 | 0 | Disposed |
| FA007 | Meeting room screen and camera | Meeting room | 3,200 | 3,200 | 0 | Fully depreciated |
| FA008 | Electric forklift | Warehouse | 20,500 | 6,000 | 14,500 | In use |
| Total NBV | 290,200 |
The full sheet also records each asset's category, custodian, serial or registration number, purchase date, supplier invoice, useful life, last physical check and, for anything sold or scrapped, the disposal date and proceeds.
How to set up the register
- Decide what goes in. Set a capitalisation threshold, such as £1,000, and list everything above it that the company owns and will use for more than a year. Stock you sell and consumables stay out.
- Walk round and tag. Give each asset an ID label and note where it is, who looks after it and its serial or registration number. A photo of the serial plate settles arguments later.
- Match each asset to its purchase invoice for the date, supplier and cost. The invoice reference is your evidence of what was paid if anyone asks.
- Group only what you'll never need to trace separately. Twelve identical laptops on one invoice can share a row if you don't mind which is which; a laptop holding confidential data deserves its own.
- Enter accumulated depreciation to the last year end from your depreciation schedule. NBV works itself out.
- Reconcile the NBV total with your accounts. A difference means a missing asset, a missed disposal or a depreciation error.
- Record disposals, never delete them. Enter the date and the proceeds; the row stays as history, its NBV drops to zero and the profit or loss appears beside it.
Register or depreciation schedule?
| Fixed asset register | Depreciation schedule | |
|---|---|---|
| Answers | What do we own, where is it and who has it? | How much depreciation goes into each year's P&L? |
| One row per | Asset owned, plus disposed ones kept as history | Asset being depreciated, plus planned purchases |
| Main columns | Location, custodian, serial number, cost, NBV, last check, disposal | Method, life or rate, residual value, then opening NBV, charge and closing NBV by year |
| Updated | Whenever something is bought, moved, checked or sold | Once a year, and when you budget |
| Mostly used by | Operations, insurers and auditors | Finance, for the accounts and forecasts |
The two share asset IDs. The register's accumulated depreciation comes from the schedule, and the schedule's list of assets comes from the register.
What the record-keeping rules say
UK: every company must keep adequate accounting records, and they must contain a record of its assets and liabilities (Companies Act 2006, section 386). GOV.UK lists details of the assets a company owns among the accounting records to keep. Records normally have to be kept for 6 years from the end of the last financial year they relate to, but for longer if the company has bought something it expects to last more than 6 years, such as equipment or machinery. A register you never delete from covers both.
US: the IRS says asset records should show when and how you acquired each asset, the purchase price, the cost of improvements, the depreciation deductions taken, and when and how you disposed of it and for what price. Keep records relating to property until the period of limitations expires for the year in which you dispose of it.
Example: a fictional printer's register
The Example sheet lists eight assets of the fictional 38-person commercial printer from our depreciation schedule example, with depreciation to 31 December 2025. Three rows show the register doing its job:
- FA006, the old delivery van, was sold in February 2026 for £7,500. Its NBV was £6,170 (cost £26,000 less £19,830 of depreciation), so the register shows a £1,330 profit on disposal, and the van's NBV drops to zero.
- FA007, the meeting room screen and camera, is fully depreciated but still in use. The amber status is a prompt to ask whether four years was too short a life for that kind of kit.
- FA005, the studio fit-out, was last checked in March 2025, so its check flag shows Overdue.
The NBV total, £290,200, is what the assets the printer still owns are worth in its books before this year's depreciation.
Common mistakes
- Deleting sold or scrapped assets, which wipes out their history and the evidence for the profit or loss.
- Ghost assets: items still on the register, and so on the balance sheet, that were thrown away or lost years ago. Only a physical check finds them.
- No location or custodian, so when something goes missing nobody knows where it was meant to be.
- Capitalising small items below your threshold, which bloats the register and makes every check take days.
- Depreciation to date that disagrees with the schedule, usually because one was updated and the other wasn't.
Frequently asked questions
Is a fixed asset register a legal requirement?
Not in any set format. But UK companies must keep accounting records that include a record of their assets (Companies Act 2006, section 386), and a register is the simplest way to keep that record. It's also the first thing to reach for when an auditor, lender or insurer asks what the company owns.
What's the difference between a fixed asset and stock?
A fixed asset is something the company keeps and uses to run the business for more than a year, such as a press or a van. Stock is held to be sold, or used up in what you sell. Stock belongs in an inventory, not in the register.
How often should we check the assets physically?
At least once a year, ideally shortly before the year end so the accounts reflect what's really there, plus a check whenever a team moves or someone who looked after equipment leaves. The flag turns red once an asset hasn't been seen for more than 365 days.
What do we record when an asset is sold or scrapped?
The date, and what you received for it (0 if it was scrapped). The register sets the NBV to zero and shows proceeds minus NBV as the profit or loss. Bring accumulated depreciation up to the disposal date first, or the profit or loss will be wrong.