Asset registers: a guide for town and parish councils
01/20/2026
Keeping an accurate, up-to-date list of your buildings, land, equipment and other assets is an important responsibility for any town and parish council.
In this article, we provide some tips on creating and maintaining an asset register, in order to keep track of your assets.
What is an asset register and why is it important to keep one?
An asset register is a detailed list of everything your council owns, such as buildings, land, equipment, vehicles and furniture. It should include information about each item's value, location, condition and maintenance history.
The register serves a number of valuable purposes. Firstly, it helps when completing the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR). The financial values recorded on the register will inform the ‘total fixed assets’ section (box 9 of the ‘Accounting Statements’).
An asset register’s value goes beyond compliance. It also helps with:
- Accountability and transparency: providing a detailed record of all assets
- Financial planning and budgeting: recording changes in the value of assets, including rebuild valuations for insurance purposes
- Risk management and safeguarding: age, condition and maintenance details help highlight risks related to asset ownership
How an asset register reduces the risk of underinsurance
Having a detailed, up-to-date list of your assets and determining an accurate insurance rebuild valuation helps reduce the risk of underinsurance. Underinsurance occurs when the sums insured on an insurance policy fall short of a customer’s actual needs. For example, if the actual cost of reinstating a building following a total loss was higher than the sums insured on a policy, then in the event of a large fire or other incident, the customer would be underinsured and wouldn’t get the full payout they were expecting. See our guide to avoiding underinsurance.
A rebuild valuation is the total cost of rebuilding a property, including materials, labour, demolition, site clearance, planning and professional fees after a total loss. This may be higher or lower than the property’s current market value. You may wish to employ a professional surveyor to calculate reinstatement costs. You may want to consider employing a professional surveyor to help calculate the reinstatement costs of your property – see here.
It’s also important to remember that rebuild costs can change over time, due to factors such as inflation. You should therefore check that your sums insured still accurately reflect your needs when it’s time for renewal. One way insurers can help to reduce the risk of underinsurance is through index-linking – this is where sums insured are increased in line with inflation at renewal periods, and premiums are also adjusted accordingly.
- See our article Is your organisation insured correctly? which explains more about index-linking.
How do I go about creating an asset register?
The first step is to identify and categorise all your assets, assigning each one a unique ID, like a barcode or unique reference number, for easy tracking. Record all the information you gather on a spreadsheet or use asset management software (the following article compares some asset management software options for town and parish councils).
Suggested asset categories include:
What to record for each asset:
- A brief description of the item and its location
- Date of acquisition
- Purchase price and current market value
- Current condition
- Maintenance or repair history
- Relevant insurance information
Reviewing and updating your asset register
It’s important to review your register regularly (at least once a year) to ensure it’s up-to-date, recording any new assets, disposal/removal of existing assets, and changes in condition.
Think carefully about any training or support your staff might need to manage the register (including software training if using asset management software). It’s also a good idea to keep a back-up copy of your register and to link it to other management systems you may be using.
