Fixed Assets and depreciation
PeakBooks tracks capital assets (vehicles, equipment, buildings, software) and posts straight-line depreciation to your books on demand. Bonus depreciation under IRC §168(k) is built in, and there's a clean way to bring prior depreciation in when you're migrating from another system.
What counts as a fixed asset
Anything you own with a useful life beyond a year that you'd capitalize rather than expense in the month of purchase: vehicles, machinery, computers, office furniture, buildings, leasehold improvements, software licenses. PeakBooks ships with eight categories: Equipment, Furniture, Vehicles, Buildings, Land, Software, Leasehold Improvements, Other.
Land is special: it doesn't depreciate. Set its method to None when adding the asset and PeakBooks won't generate any depreciation entries for it.
Add an asset
- Click Fixed Assets in the sidebar, then + New Asset.
- Fill in: Name, Category, Purchase date, Cost basis, optional Salvage value, and Useful life (months). Common lives are pre-filled in the helper text: Vehicles 60, Furniture 84, Computers 36, Buildings 468 (39 years).
- Pick a Method. Straight-line is the default and covers ~95% of cases. Land or other non-depreciating items use None.
- Optionally set a Bonus depreciation % (see below).
- Click Add asset. PeakBooks creates the asset and immediately opens its depreciation schedule.
Post depreciation
PeakBooks doesn't auto-post depreciation. You decide when it hits the books. This is deliberate: it lets you reconcile your monthly close before the JEs land.
- From the Fixed Assets list, click 📅 next to the asset (or use the schedule that opens after adding a new asset).
- The schedule shows every month from purchase through end of useful life. Already-posted months are tinted green with a ✓.
- At the bottom: Post depreciation through [date]. Defaults to the current month-end.
- Click 📤 Post depreciation. PeakBooks posts one journal entry per unposted month up to the date you picked.
What lands on the books
Each posted month creates a paired journal entry:
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Depreciation Expense (P&L) | $xxx.xx | — |
| Accumulated Depreciation (contra-asset on BS) | — | $xxx.xx |
The expense increases P&L depreciation. Accumulated Depreciation accumulates on the Balance Sheet as a negative under Assets, so Net Book Value = Cost − Accumulated.
Bonus depreciation (§168(k))
Bonus depreciation lets you immediately expense a percentage of cost in the first period, on top of regular straight-line on the remaining base. The federal phase-down:
- 2023 — 80% · 2024 — 60% · 2025 — 40% · 2026 — 20% · 2027+ — 0%
On the New Asset form, set Bonus depreciation % to your applicable rate (quick-select chips at 0/20/40/60/80/100 are right there). The live preview shows two lines:
- Bonus depreciation (40%): $4,000, posted once, in the purchase month.
- Monthly depreciation: $100, straight-line on the reduced base (cost − bonus − salvage), spread over the full useful life.
Worked example for $10,000 equipment, 60-month life, 40% bonus, $0 salvage:
| Period | Amount | Accumulated | NBV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase month (bonus) | $4,000.00 | $4,000.00 | $6,000.00 |
| Month 1 (straight-line) | $100.00 | $4,100.00 | $5,900.00 |
| Month 12 | $100.00 | $5,200.00 | $4,800.00 |
| Month 60 | $100.00 | $10,000.00 | $0.00 |
On the schedule modal, the bonus row is the first row with an amber ⚡ BONUS tag so it's clear it isn't a regular monthly entry. On the assets list, the row gets a ⚡ Bonus 40% chip next to the name.
Migrating from another system — prior depreciation
When you're onboarding an established company to PeakBooks, the asset already has accumulated depreciation on the old books. You don't want PeakBooks to re-post months that have already been recorded.
On the New Asset form, expand the Prior depreciation (migrating from another system) section and fill in:
- Amount already booked: total depreciation recorded on the old system for this asset
- Through date: last day of the most recent month already covered by that amount
What happens on save:
- The asset's accumulated depreciation starts at the prior amount
- Future Post depreciation picks up from the next unposted month forward, never duplicating the prior period
- The schedule modal shows a grey 🪙 PRIOR row at the top so it's visible where the seed amount came from
- The asset's row on the list gets a 🪙 Prior $X chip
- Bonus depreciation is treated as already included in the prior amount; no separate bonus entry will post
Create opening balance JE (checkbox)
By default, PeakBooks also posts a single seed journal entry dated as of the through-date so your Balance Sheet immediately shows the Accumulated Depreciation contra-asset at the right amount:
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Balance Equity (equity) | $X | — |
| Accumulated Depreciation (contra-asset) | — | $X |
This uses QuickBooks's standard Opening Balance Equity convention, a holding account you reclassify to Retained Earnings during your year-end close. PeakBooks auto-creates the category the first time you use it.
If you'd rather enter opening balances another way (a manual journal entry, a single combined opening JE, or via the Edit Opening Balance flow on bank accounts), uncheck the box. The asset's prior accum still tracks correctly for the schedule and future posts; only the BS-side seed JE is skipped.
The badges on the assets list
Each asset row can carry up to three chips next to its name:
- ⚡ Bonus 40% (amber): bonus depreciation is set on this asset
- 🪙 Prior $X (gray): prior depreciation seeded from a migration
- Fully Depreciated (blue) or Disposed (gray): status when accumulated reaches the depreciable base or the asset is sold
Plan limits
The number of assets you can track depends on your subscription:
- Starter: 1 fixed asset
- Standard: 7 fixed assets
- Pro: unlimited
Disposed assets don't count toward the cap. Once an asset is sold and marked disposed, the slot frees up. The "Active Assets" tile shows your current usage (e.g., "Standard plan · 3 of 7 used"), and the + New Asset button greys out when you hit your limit.
For accountants viewing client books
Everything on this page applies when you're viewing a client's books too. Assets, depreciation entries, posted JEs, and auto-created categories (Depreciation Expense, Accumulated Depreciation, Opening Balance Equity) all land on the client's books, not on yours. The plan limit also gates on the client's subscription tier, so an accountant on Pro viewing a Starter client is still limited to 1 asset for that client.