What fixed-asset depreciation is
Fixed-asset depreciation is the accounting method used to spread the cost of a long-lived asset, such as plant, equipment or a vehicle, over the period it is expected to be useful. Rather than recording the full cost as an expense in the year of purchase, depreciation recognises a portion of that cost in each accounting period and reduces the asset's carrying value, also called its net book value, over time.
Depreciation matters because it keeps the accounts honest about what an asset is worth and how much of its value has been used up. The figures need to post to the general ledger so the reducing value and the expense appear in the financial statements, rather than only in a side spreadsheet that someone has to reconcile.
For an operator that both maintains and accounts for its assets, there is a natural link between the two: the same asset that is serviced under a maintenance schedule is the asset being depreciated in the books.
Fixed-asset depreciation in the Cohiva platform
Cohiva Control is a CMMS that manages assets, work orders and preventive maintenance, and it includes native fixed-asset depreciation that posts to the ledger. That keeps the maintenance and finance sides of an asset connected in one system.
Cohiva Crunch then consolidates that finance across multiple entities in real time. To see how the asset side works, explore Control.