In accounting, an asset is a resource an organization controls as a result of past events, from which it expects future economic benefit. That includes cash, receivables and intangibles as well as physical things. In asset management, the word usually means a physical item that is used rather than sold: a laptop, a forklift, an MRI scanner, a desk, a drill.
Assets vs inventory vs consumables
| Item | Asset | Inventory | Consumable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Used to run the business | Held for sale or production | Used up in operations |
| Tracked as | Individual items | Quantities | Quantities or expense |
| Typical data | ID, location, custodian, value, maintenance | SKU, stock level, reorder point | Cost center |
Why it matters
Deciding what counts as a trackable asset — often using a capitalization threshold for the books and a lower, practical threshold for tracking — determines what goes into your asset register.
Example
A $1,400 laptop is capitalized and tracked. A $35 keyboard may be expensed for accounting but still tagged and tracked because it is shared and often goes missing.
In Asetavo
Each asset gets a record in the register with its category, location, custodian, value, tags, documents and full history.