A fixed asset register (FAR) is nothing more than a list of
fixed assets that belong to an
entity. Traditionally the fixed asset register was maintained in written form by a
bookkeeper using a book that was set aside specifically for that purpose. Nowadays, it is more often held in electronic format in an
accounting system.
The main purpose of a fixed asset register is ''to keep track'' of the
book value
In accounting, book value is the value of an asset according to its balance sheet account balance. For assets, the value is based on the original cost of the asset less any depreciation, amortization or impairment costs made against the asset. T ...
of the assets and determine
depreciation to be calculated and recorded for management and taxation purposes. A secondary purpose is to allow for the easy identification of an asset by assigning each asset a unique
ID which may be printed on labels in the form of a
barcode
A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly referred to as linear or on ...
.
Fixed asset
Financial accounting