How to Find the Best Fixed Assets Solution for Your Tax Department
Today, tax teams are under increasing pressure to deliver accurate reporting, stay on top of compliance across multiple jurisdictions, and contribute strategic insight while managing large volumes of asset data.
Enter fixed asset software. The right solution streamlines operations, reduces audit risk, and supports long-term tax planning. But with multiple approaches and products on the market, how do you identify the best fit for your organization?
This article covers three critical areas to guide your decision:
- Whether to buy software or outsource asset management
- Types of fixed asset solutions on the market
- Questions to ask when evaluating potential software vendors
For a complete guide on trends in the fixed assets software market, how to evaluate the right solution for you, and tips for developing a compelling business case, download our Buyer’s Guide to Fixed Assets Software.
Buy vs. outsource: What’s right for your organization?
Choosing between purchasing fixed assets software and outsourcing fixed assets management depends on cost, control, compliance, and operational efficiency.
Arguments for purchasing fixed assets software include:
- Cost savings over time. While there’s an upfront investment, software can be more cost-effective in the long run compared to ongoing outsourcing fees.
- Greater control and customization. Owning the software allows you to customize it to your specific asset tracking and depreciation schedules.
- Data security and compliance. Keeping asset management in-house ensures sensitive financial data stays within your organization, which is critical for regulatory compliance.
- Real-time access to data. Software provides immediate insights into asset value, location, and maintenance needs, reducing delays in decision-making.
- Cost-effective scalability. Software can accommodate more assets as your business grows without significantly increasing costs.
- Integration with other systems. Look for fixed asset software that integrates with ERP, accounting, and tax compliance tools for streamlined operations.
Potential risks associated with outsourcing fixed assets management
Outsourcing can lead to losing control over real-time asset updates and reliance on third parties, which may result in delays or inaccuracies in asset records.
Sharing sensitive financial data with external providers creates risks of breaches and confidentiality issues.
While outsourcing may reduce initial costs, long-term expenses such as updates or additional fees can outweigh in-house solutions. Businesses may also face vendor lock-in, making switching providers or reverting to internal processes costly and complicated.
Issues, such as poor responsiveness, lack of customization, or limited integration with existing systems, can disrupt operations and lower overall efficiency. And finally, disruptions may arise if a service provider experiences financial instability.
To learn more about how the right fixed assets software can lead to valuable tax savings opportunities, new efficiencies, and improved bottom lines, download our report, How to Save Your Company From Common Fixed Assets Challenges.
Types of fixed assets software: What are your options?
The fixed assets software market consists of three main solution categories. Understanding their differences helps you narrow options and find the solution that aligns with your organization’s needs.
Here’s a breakdown of the three main categories:
1. Stand-alone fixed assets software
These products are purpose-built for managing fixed assets and typically include:
- Tax-specific features such as unlimited books and state-specific depreciation
- Automated tax law updates
- High-volume processing capabilities
- Cloud-native architecture for remote access and scalability
- Strategic tax planning capabilities such as depreciation modeling
These solutions are best for organizations that need flexible, tax-focused depreciation management and full control over fixed asset workflows. However, ensuring the solution you choose integrates with your existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is crucial.
2. ERP fixed assets modules
These tools are bundled into broader ERP platforms. These fixed asset modules offer a centralized environment for all accounting functions, but have limitations. They:
- May lack real-time tax law updates
- Often require IT support to modify tax law changes and other updates
- Provide limited flexibility for tax-specific requirements
This option is best for companies with minimal fixed asset complexity that prioritize centralized financial data management.
3. Fixed asset modules in tax compliance systems
These modules are part of tax software used to prepare returns. They simplify some compliance workflows but aren’t built for detailed asset tracking.
Limitations may include:
- Limited support for high-volume processing and state-level depreciation
- Poor integration with ERPs
- Inadequate handling of modifications, adjustments, or retroactive changes
This option is best for small businesses focused only on filing compliance and those with simple, low-volume asset portfolios.
[Download our Buyer’s Guide to Fixed Assets Software for expert tips and information on evaluating fixed assets software and finding the right solution for your organization.]
How to evaluate fixed assets software solutions
Finding the right fixed assets software solution for your organization is critical to achieving accurate, efficient, and scalable asset management. To ensure you’re selecting the best solution for your needs, here are a few questions to ask during the evaluation process and what to look for in vendor responses.
How does the software handle federal and state tax law changes?
Staying compliant with evolving tax legislation can impact the accuracy of fixed asset calculations.
It’s important to look for software that automatically updates federal and state tax laws to ensure precise calculations and maintain compliance without requiring manual intervention. Bloomberg Tax Fixed Assets software is a cloud-based fixed assets subledger that automatically and accurately calculates depreciation so you can maximize tax savings.
How does this solution support tax strategy and cash flow optimization?
Choose a solution that demonstrates the value of your tax team while improving financial outcomes.
What to look for:
- Depreciation modeling for strategic tax planning, which allows you to analyze the impacts of capital expenditures and adjust bonus elections
- Cost segregation tools that provide control over your deduction timing, empowering the tax department to meet target business outcomes and access strategic insights beyond the capabilities of Excel or ERP systems
How does it reconcile data across book/financial and tax systems?
Managing discrepancies between fixed assets software and external ERP/general ledger systems can become overwhelming without automated tools.
What to look for:
- Integration capabilities for seamless data synchronization
- Dashboard-based reconciliation tools that highlight, filter, and group asset-level variances for quick identification and resolution
- Exportable reports for proof and detailed investigation into discrepancies
Can the solution scale as my company grows and acquires more assets?
It’s important to be able to scale your solution to handle an increasing volume of assets and entities over time.
What to look for:
- A cloud-based platform that supports large volumes of assets, ensuring flexibility for business growth
- Features such as 24/7 accessibility, automatic updates, and reduced reliance on IT for maintenance
Bloomberg Tax Fixed Assets offers unlimited assets and entities and up to 99 books – fully customizable to help meet business needs for additional jurisdictions, planning, or scenario modeling.
Does the solution integrate with my broader tech stack?
Aim to avoid manual data imports and ensure clean, accurate data transfers across tax and ERP systems.
What to look for:
- Seamless integration with systems, including ERPs and tax compliance software
- Automation capabilities, such as workflows that run sequentially (e.g., importing data followed by automated reporting)
- Compatibility with SFTP setup and tools such as Bloomberg Tax Workpapers for data transformation and mapping
How does the solution handle adjustments, trailing transactions, or retroactive changes that impact calculations?
Make sure it handles changes across periods and provides the visibility that the calculations are handled correctly.
What to look for:
- Full asset visibility and control by offering a holistic view of an asset’s entire lifecycle
- The ability to make changes to an asset’s fact patterns at any point across its life while preserving historical reporting integrity
How does the solution handle reporting, and is it flexible enough to meet my needs?
Transforming raw data into useful, clean formats tailored for various stakeholders is essential.
What to look for:
- A robust library of out-of-the-box reports for common needs
- Customizable reporting options that allow you to tailor information to your team’s or stakeholders’ specific requirements
How does the solution maintain strong internal controls to support audits?
Ensure adequate safeguards are in place to avoid errors that could lead to material restatements or compliance issues.
What to look for:
- User permission controls to restrict access and protect data integrity
- A visible history log to track changes to fixed asset data
- Period close functionality to lock critical historic values for accurate reporting and audit compliance
What level of training and support does the vendor offer?
Ensure that your team feels confident and well-equipped to adopt a new software solution.
What to look for:
- Access to 24/7 support for troubleshooting and ongoing guidance
- Professional services for seamless implementation, including data conversion and tailored training sessions
[Download our Buyer’s Guide to Fixed Assets Software for expert tips and information on evaluating fixed assets software and finding the right solution for your organization.]
Take the next step toward smarter fixed asset management
Choosing the right fixed asset solution means balancing compliance needs, workflow efficiency, and strategic insight.
Bloomberg Tax Fixed Assets is a best-in-breed solution that lets you handle even the most demanding tax, accounting, and reporting requirements. Our flexible fixed assets software with automation empowers you to effectively manage and control your fixed assets depreciation throughout the fixed assets lifecycle.
Key features:
- Out-of-the-box compliance, with built-in tax code and validation, enforces federal tax regulations and GAAP rules, with automatic updates whenever tax laws change.
- Audit trail provides full visibility and control of your fixed asset data. The Open Timeline (a Bloomberg Tax exclusive) keeps a thorough and secure historical record of all changes.
- Comprehensive reporting eliminates time-consuming manual consolidation across companies, divisions, and locations, and reduces closing time. Plus, our fixed assets software comes with a full suite of standard and custom reports, including fileable tax forms and supporting worksheets.
- Integration with other tax and accounting systems removes the need for manual data entry and manipulation to keep your fixed assets data synchronized, up to date, and accurate for all companies and entities.
- Depreciation modeling to confidently model and analyze impacts of bonus elections and upcoming tax regulations, and incorporate planned capex for cash tax forecasting.
Request a demo to see how our software can help you manage your biggest fixed assets challenges.