Hi everyone.

I was just wondering if baking tools like spatulas, cake pans, rolling pins, and other tools/implements used daily, are assets or expenses? Would the way they are treated or categorized be different if you have a large amount of them? Any insight would be appreciated.

ALet's see if I still have my accounting right. They're both. Here's how: Your equipment are considered assets. As you use them, they depreciate over their useful life. That depreciation becomes an expense (accumulated depreciation expense). It is how much it has cost you to use that equipment to make your cakes. Supplies like foil paper are also assets. You use them up in the process of making your cakes. As they're used up, they also become an expense (supplies expense) that is how much it cost you to use them up in making your cakes. So basically, assets as they are used up become expenses. For tax purposes, large assets are typically depreciated over a number of years i.e. expensed out over a period of time. Smaller assets are usually not, they'd be expensed out during that accounting period.

I expect Jason to be here any minute. He'll fix whatever I got wrong.

AHahahaha! Funny because its true!

Such an interesting, academic question. Why have you asked?

AFor the items you mentioned it's probably easier to treat them as expenses instead of assets, so upon purchase you would credit cash (decreasing the cash asset account) and debit an expense account like Supplies. This is a shortcut for recording the asset and immediately depreciating it (credit cash and debit asset, then credit asset and debit depreciation expense). This is true even if the small items add up to a large amount in aggregate.

If you sold the items for any amount, your cost basis for the item is zero so you would recognize a net gain by debiting cash and crediting an income account like "Gain on disposal of assets". This income would be taxable.

For a single large capital asset (a commercial mixer, fixtures/tables, etc.) you would depreciate as usual based on the schedule for the asset.

OK here I am your accountant baker lol well im not a CPA but I have been doing accounting for over 20 yrs.

Large Mixers, ovens, etc are an asset which you and your account will decide if you expense it over time or all at once. Usually this is decided around tax time lol

Spatulas, knives, tips etc would be expenses and deducted at the time of purchase because they can break, be lost, etc

Pans are both asset and expense. You usually expense it when you buy it because you generally don't pay a lot at the time of purchase but for "Value of Business" they should be included in assets for Loan purposes or sale of business purposes.

Does any of this help ?

lol Jason said it better. Im better with the program at my finger tips than I am at explaining it :)