Automated Xero workflows for Australia
| Capability | Xero Fixed Assets | AssetAccountant | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFRS & Accounting Standards | |||
| Revaluations (AASB 116 / IAS 16) | Not supported. Long-standing community request - undelivered as at 2025. | Supported, including bulk revaluations. Revaluation reserve journaled automatically. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Impairments (AASB 136 / IAS 36) | Not supported. No impairment write-down functionality. | Supported, including bulk impairments. | ✓ AA Leads |
| GAAP vs IFRS book option | Single accounting book only. No cost/revaluation model switch. | Explicit GAAP vs IFRS option on accounting books. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Partial disposals | Not supported. Long-standing community request - undelivered as at 2025. | Supported - partial disposal of assets and partial write-offs. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Prior period adjustments | Depreciation rollback/rerun available. Limited adjustment capability. | Supported. | ~ Comparable |
| ATO Tax Depreciation | |||
| Tax depreciation book | Tax value book available per asset, separate from book value. Pools run in tax book - correct treatment; tax depreciation does not post to GL. | Tax book per asset, separate from accounting book. Tax depreciation does not post to Xero GL - accounting book journals to Xero. Same correct treatment. | ~ Comparable |
| Division 40 - ATO effective life rates | Not pre-loaded. User must manually enter the rate for each asset type. No ATO rate lookup built in. | Full ATO effective life content pre-loaded and maintained annually. Built-in rate lookup by asset description. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Division 43 - capital works (2.5%/4%) | Not supported. No Division 43 content. | Supported - Division 43 capital works deductions. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Small Business Pool (15%/30%) | Supported - correct ATO rates applied. Pool summary report available. | Supported - correct ATO rates applied. Pool summary report available. | ~ Comparable |
| Low Value Pool (18.75%/37.5%) | Supported - correct first-year 18.75% and subsequent 37.5% rates applied. | Supported - correct first-year 18.75% and subsequent 37.5% rates applied. | ~ Comparable |
| Instant asset write-off (IAWO) | Not automated. Manual determination and entry required. | Automated - eligibility determined and write-off applied based on asset cost and ATO thresholds. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Luxury car depreciation cap | Not automated. User must manually apply ATO car cost limit. | Automatically applied to passenger vehicles above the ATO threshold. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Depreciation Methods | |||
| Standard methods (SL, DV) | Straight-line and diminishing value - confirmed. | DV, SL, immediate, intangible amortisation - confirmed. | ~ Comparable |
| Units-of-use / activity-based | Not available. | Supported. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Non-monthly periods | Monthly depreciation runs. Not explicitly flexible for other periods. | Supported. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Multi-book depreciation | Not available - single book only. | Supported - different cost bases, rates and dates per book. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Asset Record & Data Model | |||
| Asset register size | Soft cap of approximately 500 assets. Performance degrades above this. | Unlimited assets. Current clients include registers of up to 50,000 assets. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Custom fields | Not available. No user-defined fields per asset. | Unlimited custom fields per asset (serial number, location, etc.). | ✓ AA Leads |
| Components (sub-assets) | Not supported. | Assets can be marked as components of other assets. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Attachments | Not supported in the fixed asset module. | Unlimited attachments per asset. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Asset classifications / tracking categories | Tracking categories limited to two per organisation - a platform-wide constraint. Fixed asset types with GL mapping. | Syncs with Xero's tracking categories. Unlimited classifications within AssetAccountant - profit centres, locations, cost centres, custom categories. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Auto-draft from transactions | Bills and bank transactions auto-create draft assets - a genuine strength of the Xero platform. | Transactions from Xero GL accounts of Fixed Asset type automatically generate draft assets in AssetAccountant - equivalent workflow. | ~ Comparable |
| Core asset fields | Purchase date, price, type - confirmed. | Equivalent core fields. | ~ Comparable |
| Audit trail | Xero's platform audit log. Depreciation run history. | Full audit trail of all changes. | ~ Comparable |
| AASB 16 Lease Accounting | |||
| AASB 16 / IFRS 16 compliance | No native module. Requires third-party add-on (e.g. Cradle, Soft4Lessee). Not built into Xero. | AASB 16 / IFRS 16 compliant lease accounting - built into the same platform as fixed assets, as a separately priced add-on. | ✓ AA Leads |
| ROU asset & lease liability | Not available natively. Add-on required. | Automated ROU asset and lease liability with current/non-current split. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Payment schedules | Not available natively. | Built-in interest calculator; automated principal/interest split. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Refinancing & termination | Not available natively. | Supported. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Asset finance loans (hire purchase) | Not available natively. | Supported natively - automated payment schedule. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Fixed assets + leases | Separate tools required. Fixed assets in Xero; leases in a third-party add-on. | Both in one platform, one subscription, shared GL mapping. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Reporting & Forecasting | |||
| Depreciation schedule report | Available - shows depreciation by asset. | Asset summary, group summary, acquisitions, disposals - purpose-built FA reports. | ~ Comparable |
| Tax audit report | Not available. | Dedicated tax audit report. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Fixed asset reconciliation | Available - reconciles FAR against balance sheet accounts. | Full reconciliation reporting. | ~ Comparable |
| Portfolio-level forecasting | Not available. | 100-year portfolio-level depreciation forecasting. | ✓ AA Leads |
| User-defined reporting | Xero Reports - integrated with P&L and balance sheet. A genuine strength of the platform. | User-defined report writer in development. | ● Xero Leads |
| Integration & Platform | |||
| Accounting system integration | Fully native - fixed assets are part of Xero. Automatic GL posting. | Dedicated Xero integration - sync-based. One-click journal posting to Xero GL. | ● Xero Leads |
| Multi-entity / multi-org | Separate Xero orgs per entity. No consolidated register. | Multi-entity supported with consolidated reporting across entities. | ✓ AA Leads |
| Single sign-on with Xero | Not applicable - built into Xero. | Xero SSO supported - sign into AssetAccountant with Xero credentials. | ~ Comparable |
| Outcome | # Areas | % of Total | What this covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| ✓ AssetAccountant Leads | 21 | 62% | AASB 16 leasing, IFRS revaluations, Division 40/43, IAWO, luxury car cap, asset size, partial disposals, custom fields, forecasting, classifications |
| ~ Broadly Comparable | 11 | 32% | Tax book structure, SBP, LVP, standard depreciation methods, core asset fields, audit trail, reconciliation, auto-draft, Xero SSO |
| ● Xero Leads | 2 | 6% | Native Xero GL integration, Xero reporting suite |
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
From Big 4 firms to solo accountants, public company CFOs to corporate finance teams;
— here’s what they say about our fixed asset depreciation and lease accounting software:
“Up until 2021 we had been using Excel spreadsheets to calculate and manage fixed asset tax depreciation for the group’s registers, which was not sustainable. To address this and to implement automation of the process, we researched solutions offered in the market, including by the large accounting firms and specialist software providers. After thoroughly vetting AssetAccountant as a vendor, testing the software and its calculations, and reviewing the company’s data security, we committed to implement the software for all tax fixed asset registers for the Whitehaven Coal group. Since implementation we have been very satisfied with the decision. The software is intuitive, robust, easy to use, and accurate. AssetAccountant’s commitment to ongoing development of the product’s features has also been impressive.”
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“After being introduced to AssetAccountant in 2020 by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, I carefully reviewed the software’s functionality to suit our complex fixed asset depreciation and lease accounting requirements. For example Buildsafe acquires, disposes and writes off thousands of assets including partial transactions. We also need flexible reporting and detailed journals. I have found the software to be enterprise standard, robust and precise. The software is a very elegant blend of beauty and smarts. The ongoing support, product development and assistance has been responsive and reliable. An amazing team and product. Thank you.”
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“AssetAccountant (AA) has produced the ultimate Fixed Asset Management System. AA integrates seamlessly with Xero and produces reports that satisfies any auditor with easy to trace transactions that are verifiable. The real hidden gem is their Lease Accounting facility which takes all the heartache and time consuming issues out of AASB16. Fantastic product — has literally saved me hours of work.”
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“We love using AssetAccountant. The time savings for every client’s depreciation entries means not only is profit increased on every job, but our additional team capacity can be directed to more valuable work. There is literally no risk in the investment of AssetAccountant fixed asset depreciation software.”
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“Big Boy Jocks On…. Ever wanted the big company fixed asset system without all the clunkiness and overthinking on the part of the software developers (I’m looking at you Thomson Reuters…)? Well then you need AssetAccountant. It provides just the right mix of complex depreciation calculations and beautiful user interface. It’s a system designed by accountants and executed perfectly by developers. The integration is seamless with Xero (you can sign into AA with Xero credentials which is awesome if you are already running Xero on your browser) and journaling synchs are very flexible between the two applications. Then there is the price. I challenge you to find a more robust fixed asset system at these price points. Well done AssetAccountant. You get me. I now have my big boy jocks back on for fixed asset management….and they fit!”
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“From the initial contact with the team at AssetAccountant to the final implementation, we have received prompt and positive responses. The effective support service and continuous improvement makes AssetAccountant a product highly recommended to a wide variety of industries as well as to accounting firms.”
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“It’s amazing we calculated this year’s depreciation in just a matter of minutes!”
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“Our organisation was looking for a standalone cloud-based fixed asset register that could calculate depreciation for multiple companies. AssetAccountant was a perfect solution that removed the need for tracking assets and calculating depreciation through spreadsheets. The team at AssetAccountant were very responsive throughout the implementation process. The system is straightforward to use and has various options for both asset tracking and depreciation to make it suitable for most organisations.”
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“Now that AssetAccountant is in our app store, our customers and sales team have a cloud option for fixed asset depreciation which has a strong integration with QuickBooks Online.”
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“After years of ‘paying a premium’ for our Asset Management, we decided to go in-house. More than impressed with the ease and capability of the software, and the staff were a pleasure to deal with from go to whoa. Fabulous to have monthly reporting, as opposed to annual as well.”
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“I have seen a lot of niche products come and go but the one constant has been the lack of a decent fixed asset register. I was recently invited to see the latest incarnation and it did not disappoint. I am confident that both accounting firms and corporate clients will be lining up to use it — I have already been extolling the solutions’ virtues.”
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“We initially came across AssetAccountant when researching potential replacements for the Xero asset register. AssetAccountant sparked our interest due to its ability to easily and transparently forecast depreciation, transfer assets between sites, revalue assets and asset part disposals. The AA team have been extremely helpful which has provided us with confidence in the product, we look forward to exploring additional features to find more efficiencies in our processes.”
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“We highly recommend the use of AssetAccountant. Our clients benefit immensely from accurate asset register records, making spreadsheet accounting (and typical errors) a thing of the past. We can easily maintain tax and accounting registers providing our clients with accurate and meaningful information. AssetAccountant is a breeze to use, and we love that it integrates with QBO and Xero.”
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We undertake detailed modelling of fixed asset depreciation and lease calculation rules for both accounting and tax.
We monitor changes to ATO tax rulings and accounting standards like IAS 16 and IFRS 16 so you don’t have to.
And, of course, we are ISO27001 certified.
Ask me anything about AssetAccountant and if my answer isn't what you need, send my humans an email: support@asset.accountant NB: Additional content will appear under 'References' below
