Why you should switch from spreadsheets to fixed asset management software

If you’ve managed fixed assets for a business manually, you know how taxing the process can be.  

The risk of human error, the repetitive manual tasks, and the disjointed data across spreadsheets are enough to make any accountant feel burnt out.  

That’s why transitioning from spreadsheets to fixed asset management software is not just a technology trend — it’s a shift that will transform your processes with improved efficiency, accuracy, and growth.

This post will outline why moving fixed asset management to specialized software is critical for optimizing financial processes, improving reporting, and ensuring compliance.  

Challenges of managing fixed assets in spreadsheets

Tracking fixed assets in spreadsheets brings a host of challenges for accounting teams, including:  

• Risk of human error: Manual data entry can lead to mistakes and inconsistencies. Even the most detail-oriented accountants can accidentally enter a wrong number in a wrong cell, throwing off calculations. This can lead to incorrect financial reports and time-consuming efforts to trace the source of the error.  

• Time-consuming processes: Spreadsheets require constant manual updates, leading to inefficiency in tracking, depreciation, and compliance. And the more fixed assets your business has, the more unwieldly the spreadsheets can get, leading to longer work hours for accountants.  

• Compliance issues: Inconsistencies and human error can result in incorrect reporting and non-compliance with accounting standards, which can become an issue during annual audits. Every accounting team wants their audit to be as seamless as possible, but spreadsheet-based processes can often get in the way.  

• Increasing complexity as you scale: As a company grows, tracking hundreds or thousands of assets in spreadsheets becomes too complicated and can require a larger team to manage, which is challenging in the current accountant shortage.  

• Decentralized data: There are differences in how fixed assets are depreciated and accounted for in financial reporting versus tax purposes. This discrepancy can cause confusion, particularly when fixed asset data is spread across disconnected financial reporting systems and tax systems. This issue is compounded when you track fixed assets across multiple business units or subsidiaries.

How fixed asset management software transforms the process

Fixed asset management software not only helps teams overcome these challenges, but it can also transform fixed asset accounting processes. The benefits of software include:  

Efficiency through automation

Automation can significantly reduce accountants’ workload by handling the most time-consuming tasks, like creating and modifying depreciation schedules and generating journal entries.  

Fixed asset management software can automatically apply your preferred depreciation methods, ensuring accurate depreciation and tax reporting. Plus, it frees up time for accounting teams, allowing them to focus on value-added work rather than monotonous data entry.  

Advanced calculations

Software gives you the ability to conduct construction-in-progress (CIP) build-ups, depreciation and amortization schedules, and reports such as advanced roll forwards and waterfall reports — all done automatically. This means you don’t have to manually create complex formulas in spreadsheets and hope they don’t break.

AI assistance

AI-powered tools can further speed up fixed asset management processes. For example, AI tools can handle asset creation in bulk, saving accountants the time it would take to do this manually. Additionally, AI chatbots can help you navigate your fixed asset management software, get the most out of its features, and quickly find answers to common fixed asset accounting questions.  

Integration

Fixed asset management software can integrate with enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms, accounting systems, and tax software to provide a seamless flow of data across financial operations. This reduces context switching between platforms, so you can stay in your flow and complete tasks faster.  

Real-time data and reporting

Thanks to integration, fixed asset software provides real-time data and asset tracking, offering an accurate snapshot of your fixed asset portfolio. With this comprehensive view of your assets, software eliminates the risk of making decisions based on outdated information.

Centralized data

Fixed asset management software gives you a centralized, cloud-based platform to store all your data, accessible by multiple stakeholders. This gets rid of the confusing version conflicts inherent in sending spreadsheets back and forth, making it easier to keep track of financial reports and tax-specific reports. Some software solutions also provide external auditor access, so auditors can easily find all the data they need.  

Clear audit trails  

Software provides a clear audit trail for compliance, simplifying the process of financial reviews and helping determine where errors may have occurred. This makes it easier to collaborate with your external accounting firms when undergoing your annual audit.  

Regulatory compliance

Fixed asset software can help ensure compliance with local and international standards, such as U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).  

Software simplifies the process of documenting fixed asset financial records on your balance sheet and income statement while adhering to accounting standards. It can also auto-populate required tax forms based on your applicable tax year.

Growth-ready scalability

As businesses grow and acquire more fixed assets, spreadsheets can quickly get too difficult to manage. Fixed asset software, on the other hand, scales easily to accommodate new assets, departments, or locations. This allows businesses of all sizes to manage their assets with ease.  

Simplify fixed asset management with NetAsset, compatible with any ERP

Switching from spreadsheets to fixed asset management software isn’t just about getting a new platform. It’s about transforming the way accounting teams work.  

The benefits of fixed asset software — like efficiency, accuracy, compliance, and scalability — can help accountants evolve their role from number crunchers to strategic advisors for their companies.  

That’s what NetAsset was designed for.  

NetAsset eliminates the stress that comes with managing your portfolio of fixed assets. This user-friendly fixed asset management solution is crafted to streamline and optimize your company’s entire fixed asset lifecycle, from inception to tax compliance.  

NetAsset saves valuable time by simplifying complex calculations and minimizing manual errors, empowering your team with confidence in your financial data.  

Discover how NetAsset can transform your fixed asset management processes with a self-guided demo, or get started with a free account.  

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