Business assets such as cars, laptops, machinery, or other equipment often represent a significant investment in your company. But what happens when such an asset is stolen or damaged beyond repair? How do you record this correctly in Accountable? And how do you handle an insurance payout?
In this article, we walk you through the entire process step by step: how to register the loss, how depreciation is affected, how to record the insurance payout, and what the fiscal impact may be. Clear examples are included throughout.
The first step is to mark the asset as lost or broken in Accountable. You do this by following these steps:
Click on Amortization:
Click on the asset and mark it as "lost or broken":
Select the date the asset was lost or broken:
You cannot directly link the documents to the asset entry, but you must store them in your document archive:
The official police report (in case of theft)
Photos or repair declarations
Any additional supporting evidence
These documents are crucial, especially if the tax authorities request clarification during an audit. They prove that the asset is no longer available for business use.
Your company car is stolen on 12 November 2025.
You mark the car as “lost” with this date and store the police report in your documentation.
No, depreciation stops on the date the asset is stolen or becomes unusable.
A business asset must be available for economic use in order to depreciate it. Once it is lost, this requirement is no longer met.
Your company car is being depreciated over 5 years.
The theft occurs on 12 November 2025.
Depreciation up to 12/11/2025: allowed
Depreciation after that date: no longer allowed
This rule applies regardless of how long the insurance company takes to handle the claim.
Yes, it matters. The payout date determines the financial year in which the income has to be recorded.
Insurance pays in 2025 → income in 2025
Insurance pays in 2026 → income in 2026
This affects your profit for the relevant year.
The insured residual value of the stolen vehicle is €28,000.
Payment on 29 December 2025 → recorded in 2025
Payment on 15 January 2026 → recorded in 2026
The theft date does not determine the year of recognition; the payment date does.
An insurance payout for a stolen or lost asset is not sales revenue. It is a non-invoice revenue item.
In the app, you add:
➡️ Non-invoice revenue
➡️ Category: Insurance payouts → Insurance payout for lost asset
The insurance document confirming the reimbursed amount (e.g., €28000) serves as your proof.
You receive the insurance payment of €28,000 on 15 January 2026.
Upload the insurance statement
Create a non-invoice revenue entry
Select: Insurance > Insurance payout for lost investment
Enter €28,000
The payout is then properly reflected in your accounts.
⚠️ Mixed-use assets: adjust the amount before recording it If the asset was used for both professional and private purposes (i.e. not 100% professional use), you cannot enter the full amount received from the insurance company as-is. You need to adjust it manually before recording it as revenue:
ℹ️ Amount to record = |
Let’s bring all steps together in one complete scenario.
You purchase a business vehicle in 2023 for €40,000.
In 2025, the vehicle is stolen.
The insurer reimburses €28,000.
Loss date: 12/11/2025
Store the police report in your documents
Depreciation stops as of the loss date.
Payment date: 15/01/2026
Amount: €28,000
➡️ Recorded in 2026.
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 ?Thank you for your feedback!
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