Adding existing investments (fixed assets) when joining Accountable

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Did you already have investments before joining Accountable? Follow these steps before contacting your tax coach so they can make any necessary adjustments right away.

💡 Why do you need to do this?

If you already own fixed assets (laptop, car, equipment…) that were purchased before you joined Accountable, they don't yet appear in your depreciation schedule. To keep your bookkeeping accurate, you'll need to add them manually, using the same dates and depreciation periods your previous accountant applied.

Complete all the steps below before reaching out to your tax coach. This way they can step in and help you right away, without having to ask for information first.

📄 Step 1: Request your depreciation table from your previous accountant

Contact your previous accountant and request the full depreciation schedule. This document should include, for each asset:

• The original purchase date

• The purchase amount excl. VAT

• The depreciation period applied (in years)

• The annual depreciation amount

• The remaining book value

🧾 Step 2: Collect all original invoices

For each asset, find the original purchase invoice. You'll need this to create the expense in Accountable in Step 4. Make sure you have:

• The exact invoice date

• The amount excl. VAT

• The supplier's name

📂 Step 3: Re-open the relevant quarters (VAT-registered users only)

You need to re-open each quarter (and year) that corresponds to the invoice dates of your assets:

1. Go to the "Taxes" page in Accountable and select the relevant year.

2. Click on "show all 202x" in the top right corner.

3. For each quarter of that year, mark the following submissions as not submitted and not paid:

   • VAT return (special VAT return for franchisee)

   • Intra-Community (IC) listing

   • Client listing

   • Income tax declaration

4. Repeat this for every quarter and year that contains an asset with a matching invoice date.

💻 Step 4: Create each asset as a separate expense

For each asset, create a separate expense in Accountable:

1. Go to the "Expenses" page.

2. Create a new expense for each asset. Use the original invoice date (not today's date).

3. Enable depreciation for this expense and select the same depreciation period your previous accountant used.

🔍 Step 5: Compare Accountable's depreciation table with your accountant's

Once all assets have been entered, compare the figures in Accountable against the table from your previous accountant:

1. Open your depreciation schedule in Accountable.

2. For each asset, check that the amounts match exactly.

✅ Everything matches exactly? Great! Head back to the "Taxes" page and mark all submissions as submitted and paid again to close the quarters. You're all done — no tax coach intervention needed.

🚨 There are differences? Contact your tax coach via the chat. Make note of exactly which assets show discrepancies so your tax coach can get to work right away.

Any questions or unsure about a step? Your tax coach is ready to help in the chat 😊

Author - Valesca Wilms

As content marketing lead at Accountable Belgium, Valesca writes about freelancing, self-employment, and taxes based on her own experience as a freelancer.

Who is Valesca ?