Asset is an item generally appearing on the business Balance Sheet. It represents an economic value that can be used by the business to produce revenue and earn a profit.

Business assets are valuable possessions that are used in business activities to produce revenues and profits. Typical assets appearing on the Balance Sheet are:

• Cash and short term investments
• Accounts receivable
• Inventory
• Equipment and machinery
• Business real estate

In addition, a number of important business assets may not appear on the company's balance sheet:

• Intangible assets, such as internally developed intellectual property
• Business goodwill

Similar to the calculation of business value, there are three ways to determine the value of a business asset:

• Cost approach
• Market approach
• Income approach