The Definition of Fixed Assets

A fixed asset is any tangible item not consumed within one accounting cycle (typically a year) and providing long term utility. Traditional images of fixed assets include manufacturing equipment, tools, transportation vehicles, buildings and utility related systems (sewage systems, power grids, power plants and dams). In accounting, these assets are recorded to the balance sheet as ‘Fixed Assets’.

Tangible and Intangible – Business Definitions and Use

Phase II - Financial Analysis / By / 01/23/2022
Tangible and Intangible Meaning

Tangible and intangible are terms with several different meanings. A lot of well educated folks have a difficult time providing an all inclusive definition. Someone once described tangible as ‘something that can be burned’. Well, land is tangible and yet, you can’t burn it.  Actually, in Boy Scouts, we teach the boys to use dirt to put out fires! But the best overall definition for these terms that I heard was a synonymous statement made by a Supreme Court Justice when trying to define pornography in relation to art. He said something along the line of ‘I don’t have a definition, but I just know it when I see it’. Basically the gray area for the definition is vast. This is true for these two terms because there are various levels of definitions related to their respective use.  

There is the classic college textbook definition.  It is straight forward, but it doesn’t really begin to get involved in the gray area definitions.  Then there is the more extended definition as used in accounting and customarily in the traditional business setting.  Really getting into higher thinking and use of the terms comes into play when discussing value.  Finally, there is the relationship to each other with regards to economics and the evolving concept of wealth.  They are similar to the theory of the Yin and the Yang of life itself.  

Lease or Buy

Finance / By / 02/24/2022
Lease or Buy

Fixed assets are normal in business operations. However, financing those assets is the critical issue. If you buy the asset outright, you tie up capital that can be used to expand operations or keep overall costs low in operating the company. You can buy the asset paying a down payment and borrowing funds from a lending institution and make payments over time. This is still a form of purchasing the asset. However, there is another option, leasing.

Capital Expenditures – IRS Definition

Income Taxes / By / 03/01/2022
Capital Expenditures

The Internal Revenue Service uses a complex definition to identify capital expenditures (assets). A capital expenditure is not deductible as an expense in the tax year purchased; the taxpayer or entity must use depreciation, amortization or depletion to obtain deductible value on the entity’s return.

How to Purchase Equipment for a Restaurant – Planning Phase

Food Service Industry / By / 02/27/2022
Planning Phase

Equipment costs for a restaurant can easily consume the gross profit of your business. The key is to keep the costs low in order to spread the costs appropriately over time. Purchasing equipment for a restaurant requires planning, researching and using finesse to acquire equipment at the lowest cost possible. This article is dedicated to teaching the owner how to purchase the equipment for a restaurant at the lowest cost possible.

Small Business Model Series Entry #4 – Basic Research

Small Business Model / By / 02/27/2022

I spent a lot of time on the internet researching the industry as a whole. There are about 220,000 machines in the US that are owned by non-banking companies and individuals. My first thought is that this is about 1 machine per 1,000 individuals (there’s about 220 million adults in the US/220 thousand machines and you get 1,000 adults per machine).

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