Total Assets

The sum of everything a business owns — cash, receivables, inventory, equipment, property, and investments. Found on the balance sheet.

Total Assets Definition

Total assets represents the complete value of everything a business owns or controls. It's the first major section on a balance sheet and equals liabilities plus equity (the accounting equation: Assets = Liabilities + Equity).

What's Included in Total Assets

Current assets — cash, accounts receivable, inventory, prepaid expenses (convertible to cash within 1 year)

Fixed assets — equipment, vehicles, furniture, buildings (net of depreciation)

Intangible assets — patents, trademarks, goodwill

Other assets — long-term investments, security deposits

Why Total Assets Matter

Used to calculate key financial ratios (return on assets, debt-to-asset ratio)

Lenders evaluate total assets when considering loans

Growth in total assets often signals business expansion

Declining assets may indicate cash flow problems or asset liquidation

How Total Assets Show Up in QuickBooks

Run a Balance Sheet report. Total assets appears at the top — QBO automatically sums all asset accounts. Make sure fixed assets include accumulated depreciation entries.

FAQ

Q: Is a higher total assets number always better?

A: Not necessarily. Assets funded entirely by debt aren't as healthy as equity-funded assets. Look at the debt-to-asset ratio for context.

Related Terms

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Related Terms

Break-Even Point

The break-even point is the sales level at which your total revenue exactly equals your total costs — you're not making a profit, but you're not losing money either.

Accounting Period

An accounting period is a specific span of time covered by a set of financial statements — typically a month, quarter, or fiscal year. It's the timeframe you're reporting on.

Accrued Revenue

Accrued revenue is income your business has earned by delivering goods or services but hasn't invoiced or collected yet. It's the revenue equivalent of accrued expenses — the work is done, the money is owed, but no bill has gone out. Accrued revenue appears as a current asset on your balance sheet.

Undeposited Funds

Undeposited Funds is a QuickBooks account that temporarily holds customer payments until you make a bank deposit. When you receive multiple checks or cash payments, you first record them to Undeposited Funds, then create a single bank deposit that groups them together. This matches your bank stateme

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