As a business, you have a variety of factors that contribute to your value. Each of these is important and each can have different totals and importance. Some are tangible, some are intangible, some are sellable, others are not. But how do you go about figuring which are worth considering as company assets and how can you quantify them?
Property
Any property you or your business owns is considered an asset of the business. This can be your headquarters, offices, or even warehouses. It can also include land where any of your business operations take place. In some cases, it can even include a commercial rental property with long-term contracts which also, technically have a value.
When it comes to property, you need to stay up to date with its current market value. Much like when you own a house and you want to know ‘how much is my house worth’, you take steps to ascertain this regularly. Typically property owners will stay abreast of market values to understand what the asset is worth, and also if it’s an opportune time to sell or invest in an additional nearby property.
The same factors will apply somewhat for commercial property, such as looking at the sales of other properties in the area to get a general sense of your property’s worth Equally, it is always advisable to get multiple valuations from local agents to pinpoint your true value.
Staff
Your staff is one of your most valuable assets in terms of what they bring to the business. It’s difficult to quantify what your staff is work. After all, you don’t own them, rather you benefit from the financial gain they bring to your company. This can be worked out by looking at how much you spend on your staff; wages, insurance, tax, holiday, sick, benefits, etc, and comparing it against what they bring in in terms of sales, business development, and happy customers.
Building a team around a positive metric that brings in more than they cost, means you have exceptionally valuable staff assets. Remember, without good staff, your business will struggle to survive.
Movable objects
Depending on the type of business you have, you may have a lot of value tied up in movable assets. For example, company vehicles, computers, equipment, uniforms, and even mobile phones- all of these are assets.
You should be regularly conducting audits that ascertain what you have and what it would be worth if you were to sell it. This can be handy when downsizing or restructuring as you can sell off certain movable assets to free up equity.
Products
If you are a company that manufactures a product, that product is an asset. For example, the product you have in storage, what is currently being produced, and your production capacity could all be considered assets of value. Furthermore, patents and copyrights related to your product all have value and can be considered assets.
Like with movable property, you should have an up-to-date inventory of your product, everything that is used to make the product, and items such as patents. You can also take into consideration any contracts with clients that are currently being fulfilled. Each of these has value to your company right now and in the future.
