Odoo automates depreciation for your fixed assets, provided the asset categories are mapped to class 2 of the PCN 2020 and to the useful lives accepted in Luxembourg. Here is the setup that holds up all the way to the annual accounts.
In short. Odoo handles fixed assets end to end: the asset record is created from the supplier invoice, depreciation is calculated, entries post automatically every month or year, and a sale or scrapping closes the asset out. What does not come out of the box is the Luxembourg setup: asset categories mapped to the right class 2 accounts of the PCN 2020, useful lives you can defend before the Luxembourg direct tax administration, and the low-value asset rule (€870) applied in the right place.
A fixed asset is something the business buys to use durably, beyond a single financial year: a machine, a vehicle, IT equipment, office fittings. In the accounts, it is not expensed at purchase: it goes on the balance sheet, then loses value each year through depreciation. That full cycle is what Odoo can automate, and it is exactly where configuration mistakes get expensive at year-end.
Where fixed assets live in the PCN 2020
Luxembourg's standard chart of accounts reserves its class 2 for formation expenses and fixed assets: intangible assets (software, licences), tangible assets (buildings, installations, equipment, furniture) and financial assets (participations, deposits and guarantees). Every asset category you create in Odoo must point to the right account in this class, plus the matching value-adjustment and depreciation-expense accounts.
This mapping is not cosmetic. The format of the annual accounts filed through eCDF follows directly from the PCN: a machine booked to a furniture account distorts the fixed asset schedule in the notes, and the gap often only surfaces when the accountant prepares the balance sheet. The foundation, chart of accounts included, is covered in our guide to setting up Luxembourg accounting in Odoo.
Which depreciation rates apply in Luxembourg?
The reference method in Luxembourg is straight-line depreciation: the acquisition cost is spread over the asset's expected useful life. Neither accounting law nor the PCN imposes a single official schedule; in practice, the administration accepts customary useful lives per asset family. As a guide, as of July 2026:
| Asset family | Customary useful life | Indicative straight-line rate |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial and administrative buildings | 20 to 25 years | 4 to 5% |
| Fittings and installations | 10 years | 10% |
| Machinery and tools | 5 years | 20% |
| Vehicles | 4 to 5 years | 20 to 25% |
| IT equipment | 3 years | 33% |
These useful lives reflect accepted practice, not an entitlement: an asset used intensively can justify a shorter life, provided you can document it. Accelerated methods also exist under conditions for certain assets. For a specific case, the chosen life should be validated with your adviser or accountant before it is locked into Odoo.
The €870 rule: do not capitalise what does not need to be
Luxembourg tax law allows depreciable assets whose acquisition price does not exceed €870 per item to be written off in full in the year of acquisition. Concretely: a €350 monitor or a €600 printer has no business living three years in your depreciation schedule. Expensing them immediately keeps the books lighter and changes nothing over time.
In Odoo, this becomes one simple instruction for whoever books supplier invoices: below the threshold, expense account; above it, fixed asset account, which triggers the creation of the asset record. Without that instruction, you end up with dozens of micro-assets to depreciate and an unreadable asset register.
How Odoo handles fixed assets in practice
Fixed asset management is part of Odoo's accounting in the Enterprise edition (version Odoo 19 is the current reference). The typical flow looks like this:
- Asset models per asset family: each model carries the asset account, the depreciation expense account, the method (straight-line), the useful life and the posting frequency.
- Asset creation from the supplier invoice: when an invoice line is coded to a fixed asset account, Odoo offers to create the matching asset record, prorated from the date the asset enters service.
- Automatic depreciation entries: the entries generate themselves, monthly or yearly, with no manual year-end journal.
- Asset disposal: a sale or scrapping closes the depreciation schedule and books the gain or loss.
The resulting fixed asset register feeds the asset movement schedule required in the notes to the annual accounts: gross values, additions, disposals, accumulated value adjustments. Data entered once, reused all the way to filing, as we detail in our article on filing annual accounts in Luxembourg.
Illustrative case (provided as an example; it does not correspond to a real client). An eight-person technical installation company moves its accounting to Odoo mid-year. Importing its existing depreciation schedule recreates each asset with its residual value and remaining life; vans depreciate over 5 years, tools over 5 years, computers over 3 years. At the next year-end, no manual depreciation entries: the schedule for the notes comes straight out of the Odoo register.
The three mistakes that cost you at year-end
First: capitalising too much by ignoring the €870 threshold, which bloats the register for nothing. Second: asset categories mapped to the wrong PCN accounts, which distorts the balance sheet and the notes. Third: forgetting the in-service date and running depreciation from the invoice date, which shifts every entry. All three are far easier to fix when caught early; that is exactly the kind of check that a combined accounting and technical review catches upfront, before history piles up.
FAQ
Can Odoo manage fixed assets and depreciation?
Yes. Odoo Enterprise accounting includes fixed asset management: asset records created from supplier invoices, straight-line depreciation schedules, automatic depreciation entries and disposal handling. Mapping the asset categories to the PCN 2020 still has to be done during implementation.
Which depreciation rates are accepted in Luxembourg?
There is no single legal schedule. In practice, customary useful lives range from 3 years for IT equipment to 20 or 25 years for buildings, with straight-line depreciation as the reference method. The chosen life must match the asset's actual use and is validated case by case.
Can a purchase under €870 be expensed immediately?
Yes. Depreciable assets with an acquisition price of up to €870 per item can be written off in full in the year of acquisition, which amounts to an immediate deduction. It is a simplification in Luxembourg tax law, useful for small equipment.
Do you need Odoo Enterprise for fixed assets?
Native fixed asset management is part of Odoo Enterprise accounting. The Community edition does not include full accounting and the fixed asset feature as standard; it is one of the criteria that drive the choice of edition.
Why Advena?
- Finance and digital under one roof: asset categories are mapped to the PCN 2020 by people who also prepare balance sheets, not just configurations.
- Compliance tested before go-live: the fixed asset register is validated on your real data, down to the schedule in the notes.
- Clear packages, no hourly billing: you know what you pay, right from the start.
- Direct access to the founders: it is the partners who work with you, not a junior.
Going further: Setting up Luxembourg accounting in Odoo: PCN, FAIA and eCDF · Filing annual accounts in Luxembourg · Odoo in Luxembourg: is it the right ERP for your SME? · How much does an Odoo implementation cost in Luxembourg? · Our Odoo integration services.
Want a fixed asset register that complies with the PCN 2020, with no manual entries at year-end?
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