Asset Tracking: Spreadsheet vs Software — When It’s Time to Switch
Every business starts tracking assets in a spreadsheet. You create a tab, add some columns — asset name, purchase date, purchase price — and you're done.
For a while, it works fine.
Then one day you need to check depreciation values for your accountant, and you realise three formulas are broken. Or someone saves over the file and now half your assets are missing. Or you're trying to do a stocktake across two locations and you're printing off spreadsheets and walking around with a clipboard.
That's the moment most businesses start wondering if there's a better way.
There is — but it doesn't mean spreadsheets are wrong. They're just a tool, and like every tool, they have limits.
When Spreadsheets Work
A spreadsheet is perfectly fine when:
- You have fewer than 30 assets. Small enough to scroll through, simple enough to manage.
- One person manages the register. No version control issues, no conflicting updates.
- Your depreciation is straightforward. Same method for everything, no partial-year complications.
- You update it once or twice a year. Set it and forget it between EOFY reviews.
- Your accountant handles the hard stuff. You just send them the file and they do the rest.
If this sounds like your business, keep using the spreadsheet. Seriously. Don't fix what isn't broken.
(If you need a good one, we have a free asset register template designed for Australian small businesses.)
When Spreadsheets Start Failing
Here's where cracks appear:
Multiple People Need Access
You email the spreadsheet to your operations manager so they can add the new equipment. They make changes. You make changes to your copy. Now you have two versions and no idea which is current.
Google Sheets helps, but you still get issues — overwritten cells, accidental deletions, no audit trail of who changed what.
Assets Move Between Locations
Construction companies, trades, hospitality groups, field service businesses — if your assets physically move, a spreadsheet has no way to track that reliably. You end up with location data that's weeks out of date.
Depreciation Gets Messy
When you have assets bought on different dates, using different depreciation methods (diminishing value vs. prime cost), with different effective lives, and some qualifying for instant write-off — the formulas become fragile. One wrong cell reference and your entire depreciation schedule is off.
Your Accountant Keeps Asking for Reports
Pulling depreciation schedules, balance sheet summaries, and disposal records from a spreadsheet means manual formatting every time. If your accountant asks you to "just send the asset report," you shouldn't need 45 minutes to prepare it.
Stocktakes Are Painful
Walking around with a printed spreadsheet, checking off assets, scribbling notes, then going back to manually update the file. There's no barcode scanning, no confirmation system, no way to flag assets that can't be found.
You've Lost Data
Someone accidentally deleted rows. A formula broke and you didn't notice for months. The file got corrupted. If any of these have happened to you, your register isn't trustworthy — which defeats the purpose.
What Asset Tracking Software Does Differently
Purpose-built software addresses every issue above. Here's what matters most:
Automatic Depreciation Calculations
Enter the asset's purchase price, date, effective life, and method. The software calculates everything — including partial-year adjustments, disposals, and EOFY summaries. No formulas to build or break.
Role-Based Team Access
Your operations manager sees their location's assets. Your accountant sees financial reports. Nobody accidentally overwrites data because permissions control who can edit what.
Audit Trail
Every change is recorded — who changed it, when, and what the previous value was. If a number looks wrong, you can trace it back to the source.
Maintenance Scheduling
Most spreadsheets don't track when assets are due for service. Asset management software can schedule and remind you — which matters for compliance, warranty, and keeping equipment running.
Reports on Demand
Depreciation schedules, asset summaries by location, insurance valuations, disposal reports — generated in seconds rather than manually assembled.
Mobile Access
Update the register from a job site, scan asset barcodes during stocktake, or check an asset's details from your phone. None of this is possible with a spreadsheet.
The Real Cost of Spreadsheets
The spreadsheet is "free," but the hidden costs add up:
| Hidden Cost | What It Looks Like |
|---|---|
| Time | Hours spent on EOFY prep, formula fixes, data entry |
| Errors | Wrong depreciation claims, missing assets, compliance risk |
| Lost assets | Equipment you can't find because the register is outdated |
| Insurance gaps | Underinsured because your asset values are inaccurate |
| Accountant fees | Extra time your accountant spends cleaning up your data |
A business with 50 assets might spend 20+ hours a year maintaining a spreadsheet-based register. At even a modest hourly rate, that's more than the cost of software.
What to Look for in Asset Tracking Software
If you're ready to switch, here's what matters:
Must-Haves
- ✅ Automatic depreciation (both ATO methods)
- ✅ Simple data import from your existing spreadsheet
- ✅ Multi-user access with permissions
- ✅ Reporting (depreciation schedules, balance sheet, disposals)
- ✅ Australian tax compliance (ATO effective lives, EOFY alignment)
Nice-to-Haves
- ✅ Maintenance scheduling
- ✅ Mobile access for stocktakes
- ✅ Barcode/QR code scanning
- ✅ Location tracking
- ✅ Accountant/bookkeeper access
What to Avoid
- ❌ Enterprise software priced per-user (designed for 500+ employee companies)
- ❌ Tools that require weeks of setup or training
- ❌ Software that charges per-asset (gets expensive fast)
- ❌ Anything that can't import your existing spreadsheet data
Making the Switch
If you've decided to move from spreadsheets to software, the process is straightforward:
- Export your current spreadsheet as CSV
- Import into the new system — most tools support CSV import
- Verify the data — spot-check a few assets to confirm everything transferred correctly
- Set up depreciation rules — the software should auto-calculate from your existing data
- Add team members — give access to whoever needs it
- Do a stocktake — use the switch as an opportunity to verify all assets physically exist
Asset Shark: Built for This Transition
Asset Shark was built specifically for Australian small businesses who've outgrown spreadsheets.
- Import your existing spreadsheet in minutes
- Automatic ATO-compliant depreciation calculations
- Team access without the version control headaches
- Reports your accountant will love
- No per-user or per-asset pricing traps
You probably don't need enterprise asset management. You need something that works like your spreadsheet, but doesn't break.