What's the best fixed asset software for a small business in 2026?
If you already run QuickBooks Online Advanced or Xero, start with the fixed asset register you're paying for. Buy a separate tool only when you have hundreds of physical items to track.
A small business with a few trucks, some shop equipment and a leasehold build-out doesn't need enterprise fixed asset software. It needs a register that runs depreciation every month, posts the entries to the books, and hands your CPA clean numbers at tax time. We compared five options on exactly that: depreciation methods, the link to your general ledger, real cost over a year, and how well each one tracks the physical item.
The ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
The best fixed asset software for your setup
5 fixed asset tools for small business compared
Most "best fixed asset software" lists mix two different jobs. The first four tools below do fixed asset accounting: they calculate depreciation and post it to your ledger. AssetTiger does asset tracking: where an item is, who has it, when it was serviced. Plenty of small businesses end up using one of each.
| Best for | What sets it apart | Free plan | Team size | Visit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | QuickBooks Online Advanced | Best for a growing small business | Fixed assets inside the books, straight line and 150%/200% declining balance | 4.2/5 | Advanced $340/mo (25 users) | — | 10 to 100 employees | Visit → |
| 2 | Xero | Best value with a built-in register | Section 179, bonus depreciation, Tax Depreciation Schedule | 4.1/5 | Early $27, Growing $59, Established $97/mo | — | Small teams and their accountants | Visit → |
| 3 | Odoo Accounting | Best inside an ERP | Depreciation entries drafted from the vendor bill, prorata temporis | 3.9/5 | One app free; Standard $31.10/user/mo billed annually ($24.90 in year one) | ✓ | Businesses running purchasing and inventory in Odoo | Visit → |
| 4 | Zoho Books | Cheapest accounting plan with fixed assets | Fixed asset management from the Premium plan | 3.8/5 | Premium $60/mo billed yearly ($70 monthly) | ✓ | Small businesses on the Zoho suite | Visit → |
| 5 | AssetTiger | Best for tagging physical assets | Unlimited users, priced by asset count | 3.5/5 | Basic $20/mo (500 assets) | — | Lots of equipment, many people | Visit → |
Prices before tax, read on each vendor's official pricing page in 2026. QuickBooks and Xero often run introductory discounts for the first months; the figures above are the regular monthly prices.
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How we compared and scored
The pages ranking for this question are mostly directories with a referral fee on every link, or roundups that throw enterprise products (with five-figure price tags) next to tools a 15-person company can actually buy. We kept the small business lens: one company, maybe two, an outside CPA, and a register that started life in Excel.
We compared each tool on its official pricing page and help documentation, and read user threads on vendor community forums and accounting forums. Depreciation carries the most weight, because a register that gets a mid-year disposal wrong costs you more at tax time than the subscription ever saved.
- Depreciation and taxStraight line, declining balance, Section 179 or bonus, disposals, tax schedule.30%
- Real costThe plan you actually need for fixed assets, per year, with users added.20%
- Ease of useAdding an asset, importing a legacy register, reading the schedule.15%
- Link to the booksDepreciation posted automatically, accountant access.20%
- Physical trackingLocation, tags, check-out to employees, year-end count.15%
No affiliate link changes a score or a rank.
QuickBooks Online Advanced
QuickBooks Online Advanced has a fixed asset feature built into the books. Intuit's help article says it "automates how you manage and track your fixed assets, calculate book depreciation, and generate reports." You add an asset with its purchase price, useful life and method, then QuickBooks posts the depreciation for you. The methods listed are straight line, declining balance 200% and declining balance 150% and an option to switch from accelerated depreciation to straight line. Reports include a Fixed Asset List and a Fixed Asset Depreciation Detail.
The catch is the plan. Fixed assets live only in Advanced, at $340 a month for up to 25 users (Intuit often discounts the first three months by half). If you're on Plus at $140, moving up just for fixed assets more than doubles your bill.
Its other limit: the help article talks about book depreciation. Your tax depreciation (MACRS, Section 179) may still live in your CPA's tax software, so ask them how they want the two schedules reconciled before you migrate.
- Fixed assets inside the general ledger, no add-on
- Straight line, 150% and 200% declining balance
- Add several assets at once
- Up to 25 users on Advanced
- ✓Depreciation posts automatically each period
- ✓Disposals handled in the same screen
- ✓Your CPA probably already knows QuickBooks
- ✗Only on Advanced, the most expensive plan
- ✗Book depreciation; tax schedules may stay with your CPA
- ✗No barcode tagging or check-out of equipment
The obvious pick if you're already on QuickBooks Online Advanced, or heading there for users and reporting anyway. If you're a five-person shop on Simple Start, the upgrade is too steep for fixed assets alone; look at Xero or Zoho Books.
Xero
Xero's fixed asset page is short and clear: "Keep every asset on one register, let Xero work out depreciation, and have your numbers ready for tax time." For US businesses, it supports straight line, declining balance (150% and 200%) and full depreciation on purchase using Section 179 or 100% bonus depreciation. At year end, the Tax Depreciation Schedule gives you and your accountant the figures to work from.
US plans run $27 (Early), $59 (Growing) and $97 (Established) a month, with a steep discount for the first three months. The pricing page doesn't tie fixed assets to a specific plan, so confirm with Xero which tier you need before you sign, especially if you're comparing it to QuickBooks Advanced at $340.
The limit shows up as you grow: the register is built for straightforward depreciation, so if you need partial disposals or several depreciation books, check that during the trial. And there's nothing for tagging or locating equipment.
- Section 179 and 100% bonus depreciation on purchase
- Tax Depreciation Schedule for your accountant
- One register for every asset
- Run depreciation from the register
- ✓Far cheaper than QuickBooks Advanced
- ✓Clean register your accountant can open directly
- ✓US tax methods built in
- ✗Plan that includes fixed assets to confirm with Xero
- ✗Thin on partial disposals and multiple books
- ✗No physical tracking
The best value for a small business with a few dozen assets and simple depreciation. When you start splitting assets into components or running separate book and tax schedules, you'll feel its edges.
Odoo Accounting
Odoo is a modular ERP, and its Accounting app handles assets straight from the vendor bill. The documentation covers straight line, declining and declining then straight line methods, plus prorata temporis so the first entry only covers the time the asset was actually in service. Once you confirm an asset, Odoo drafts every depreciation entry and posts each one on its date. Selling or disposing of an asset removes it from the balance sheet and books the gain or loss.
Pricing is per user. One app is free with unlimited users, so a company that only needs Accounting can run it for $0. Add a second app and you move to Standard at $31.10 per user per month on annual billing ($24.90 in the first year thanks to a 12-month discount, $38.90 if you pay monthly).
The weak spot is the import of an existing register. Odoo's own forum has recurring threads about previously depreciated assets whose earlier entries got skipped or doubled after import. Budget time, or a partner, for that step.
- Assets created from the vendor bill
- Prorata temporis on the first period
- Depreciation entries drafted, then posted on date
- Automatic gain or loss on disposal
- ✓Free if Accounting is your only app
- ✓One system for purchasing, inventory and assets
- ✓Unlimited users on the free app
- ✗Per-user pricing climbs fast with more apps
- ✗Importing an already-depreciated register is fiddly
- ✗US tax methods like Section 179 to set up with your partner
A strong choice if Odoo is already your back office. If all you need is a depreciation register, QuickBooks or Xero gets you there with less setup.
Zoho Books
Zoho Books lists fixed asset management as a feature of its Premium plan, which costs $60 a month billed yearly or $70 month to month, per organization rather than per user. Elite ($120) and Ultimate ($240) include everything in Premium. The Free, Standard and Professional plans don't list it.
That makes Zoho Books the cheapest way in this ranking to get fixed assets inside a full accounting plan, well under QuickBooks Advanced. The appeal grows if your team already lives in other Zoho apps, since data moves between them without a connector.
The limit: Zoho's pricing page names the feature but says little about depreciation methods or tax schedules. Before you commit, run a declining balance asset and a mid-year disposal on the trial and show the output to your CPA.
- Fixed asset management included from Premium
- Priced per organization, not per user
- Same suite as Zoho CRM and Inventory
- ✓Lowest entry price for fixed assets in a full ledger
- ✓Monthly or yearly billing
- ✓Free plan to learn the product
- ✗Fixed assets not on Free, Standard or Professional
- ✗Depreciation detail thin on the pricing page
- ✗No physical tagging
A sensible budget pick if you're already in the Zoho world. Check the depreciation methods against your CPA's needs before moving your register.
AssetTiger
AssetTiger answers a different question from the four above. Not "what is this asset worth on the books?" but "where is it, and who has it?" You create a record per item, tag it, assign it to a person or location, and keep the history of every move. That's what makes a year-end physical count fast enough to actually happen.
Pricing depends only on asset count, and every paid plan includes unlimited users and the REST API: $20 a month up to 500 assets, $40 up to 2,500, $75 up to 10,000. Pay yearly and you get a month free ($220 for Basic).
The limit: it's a tracking tool. It won't replace the depreciation register in your accounting software, and you'll need to reconcile disposals between the two.
- Unlimited users on every plan
- Priced by number of assets
- 30-day trial without a card
- REST API included
- ✓Very cheap for a large team
- ✓Makes the year-end count realistic
- ✓One month free on annual billing
- ✗Not an accounting register
- ✗Disposals to reconcile with your books
- ✗Inventory items cost extra beyond 2
The cheapest way to know where your equipment is. Pair it with QuickBooks, Xero or Zoho Books for the depreciation.
Two other options worth knowing
These come up in most roundups, but they fit a different reader from our ranking.
EZOfficeInventory: richer tracking, four times the price
TrackingEZO goes further than AssetTiger on check-out, reservations and maintenance, and lists "Depreciation of Equipment" in its plan comparison without making clear which plan includes it. On a 500-item base, Essential starts at $81.41 a month, with a 14-day trial and no card. Worth a look for multi-site equipment fleets; overkill for most small offices.
- Price
- Essential $81.41/mo (500 items)
- For
- Multi-site equipment fleets
The spreadsheet: free until it isn't
FreePlenty of small businesses still keep their register in Excel or Google Sheets. It works with a handful of straight-line assets. It breaks with declining balance, a Section 179 election, a mid-year sale or a formula dragged one row too far. Keep it clean anyway: it becomes your import file the day you move to software.
- Price
- $0
- For
- A few straight-line assets
What fixed asset software really costs a small business
The number in big type on a pricing page rarely matches what you'll pay. Three things push it up: the plan tier that unlocks fixed assets, the number of users, and a second tool for physical tracking.
Already on QuickBooks Plus
Starting fresh
Lots of equipment to track
- Find the plan that actually includes fixed assets before comparing prices.
- Check the regular price, not the three-month introductory discount.
- Ask your CPA whether they want book and tax schedules in one place.
- Budget time for importing your existing register.
- Price user growth: per-user plans climb fast.
Five things a small business register must get right
Every tool says "automated depreciation". Here's what to check during the trial, with your own assets.
Declining balance
Section 179 and bonus
Mid-year starts
Disposals
Book versus tax
The reports your CPA wants
- Enter a declining balance asset bought mid-year.
- Dispose of a half-depreciated asset and compare to your CPA's number.
- Export the year-end report your CPA asks for.
Move from a spreadsheet to software without breaking the balance sheet
The risky part isn't the software, it's the import. Forum threads about Odoo and Sage keep telling the same story: depreciation posted twice, or earlier entries skipped, because assets were imported without their accumulated depreciation. Here's the order that avoids it.
1. Clean the register first
Step 1One row per asset, same columns everywhere: description, account, in-service date, cost, method, useful life, accumulated depreciation at the last year end. Drop long-gone assets, but keep fully depreciated ones still in use.
- Base
- One row per asset
- Who
- Your bookkeeper
2. Tie it to the last balance sheet
Step 2Total cost and accumulated depreciation in the file must match the fixed asset and accumulated depreciation accounts on the last balance sheet. Fix any gap now; an imported gap gets recalculated every year.
- Check
- Cost and accumulated depreciation
- Who
- With your CPA
3. Import with accumulated depreciation
Step 3Bring each asset in with its accumulated depreciation as of the cut-over date, not from day one. Try ten assets first, including one declining balance and one placed in service mid-year.
- Test
- 10 mixed assets
- Risk
- Double depreciation
4. Run both for one year end
Step 4Keep the spreadsheet for one more year. At year end, compare the software's depreciation with the file's. If they match, archive the spreadsheet. If not, you know exactly which assets to fix.
- Length
- One fiscal year
- Result
- A checked depreciation run
Tool picked, what's next
These pages go further, depending on what you need.
The ranking without the small business filter.
You're changing accounting software tooBest accounting software for SMBsAccounting tools ranked for small and midsize businesses.
Your real problem is laptops and licensesBest IT asset management softwareHardware and license inventory.
You're leaving QuickBooksQuickBooks alternativesWhere to go and how to migrate.
You're leaving XeroXero alternativesThe replacements compared.
You're replacing Asset PandaAsset Panda alternativesTracking tools compared.
Fixed assets for small business · FAQ
Does a small business need fixed asset software?
Not legally. You need a reliable record of each asset's cost, in-service date and depreciation, and a spreadsheet can do that. Once you have declining balance assets, Section 179 elections or mid-year disposals, built-in registers like Xero's or QuickBooks Advanced's cut the risk of formula errors.Does QuickBooks Online track fixed assets on every plan?
No. Intuit documents the fixed asset feature for QuickBooks Online Advanced. Simple Start, Essentials and Plus don't include it, which is why some small businesses pair them with a separate register or move to Advanced.Is there free fixed asset software?
Odoo's one-app-free plan lets you run Accounting, with its asset feature, at no cost and with unlimited users, as long as it's your only Odoo app. Zoho Books has a free plan, but fixed assets start on Premium. AssetTiger offers a 30-day trial, not a free tier.What's the difference between fixed asset accounting and asset tracking?
Accounting software calculates depreciation and posts it to your ledger. Tracking software knows where each item is and who has it. A business with lots of equipment often uses one of each, and reconciles disposals between them at year end.Can I import my existing asset register?
Yes, most tools accept an import. The key is to bring each asset in with its accumulated depreciation as of the cut-over date, otherwise the software recalculates depreciation you already booked. Tie the file to your last balance sheet first.Should book and tax depreciation live in the same software?
It depends on your CPA. Xero handles Section 179 and bonus depreciation in its register; QuickBooks Advanced documents book depreciation. Many small businesses keep the tax schedule in the CPA's software. Ask before you migrate, so you don't end up with two registers that disagree.What happens to fully depreciated assets still in use?
They stay on the register with a net book value of zero until you sell or scrap them. Don't drop them during an import; they're part of the record your CPA and any lender may ask for.How often should I run depreciation?
Monthly if you produce monthly financials, otherwise at least at year end. QuickBooks Advanced and Odoo post entries automatically on their dates, which keeps monthly reports honest without extra work.