One-click journal posting
Tracking category support
Draft assets pull-through
AssetAccountant works with businesses that have outgrown the native depreciation features of their accounting platform. Because of its wide market penetration — and because we use it ourselves — one of the most common platforms we work alongside is Xero.
There is nothing fundamentally wrong with Xero’s depreciation and fixed asset management features. However, some businesses and accounting firms have needs that go beyond what Xero includes by default. As a result, AssetAccountant has developed a powerful integration with Xero to fill that gap.
Before diving into how the integration works, let’s look at the most common use cases and why businesses choose AssetAccountant alongside Xero.
The two main reasons businesses come to us to augment their experience using Xero:
Too many assets for Xero’s soft cap
The most straightforward reason is asset volume. Xero’s Fixed Asset solution has a soft cap of around 500 assets. Many businesses exceed this limit — sometimes significantly. Consequently, they need a more scalable solution.
More complex technical requirements
The second reason involves technical requirements that Xero does not support, as these fall outside the needs of its core user base. AssetAccountant handles these additional requirements, including:
- BBI incentives — AssetAccountant manages tax content and rule changes automatically. This includes specific support for government rule changes introduced during Covid-19.
- Partial disposals — Some businesses need to manage partial disposals or write-offs. For instance, this applies when selling part of a block of land or writing off a proportion of short-life assets.
- Revaluations and impairments — AssetAccountant automates revaluations and impairments and tracks revaluation reserves. These then journal back to Xero automatically.
- Components — Users can mark assets as components of other assets for easier management.
- Assets under construction (WIP) — AssetAccountant allows users to add multiple purchases to a single asset. This delivers a rich experience for assets built or purchased in stages.
- Adjusting private/taxable use — The taxable or private use percentage of an asset can change year to year. AssetAccountant handles this as a native feature.
So how does AssetAccountant actually integrate with Xero?
Xero provides a strong set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). These allow AssetAccountant and Xero to exchange selected data seamlessly. AssetAccountant has invested significant resources into this integration. As a result, users can take advantage of the following features:
Draft assets pull-through AssetAccountant pulls new items directly from the Xero draft fixed asset register. This keeps your asset list current without manual data entry.
Classify in AssetAccountant Once imported, users select the correct tax and accounting depreciation treatment. Alternatively, they can apply the standard method for that asset type.
Tracking category support AssetAccountant supports Xero tracking categories. Furthermore, this information is included in journals, ensuring granular reporting continues in Xero.
One-click journal posting AssetAccountant depreciates assets for both tax and accounting purposes. It then sends the required journal entries back to Xero automatically — in a single click.
