Business value is now significantly influenced by intangible assets, particularly in knowledge-based and innovative markets, such as the Philippines. These assets, which range from brand reputation to intellectual property and trademarks, often hold higher value than conventional tangible resources.
For Filipino companies to remain competitive in both domestic and international markets, it is too dangerous to analyse, oversee, and protect assets using manual methods.
Curious how to prevent potential problems on managing assets? Magpatuloy sa pagbabasa ng artikulong ito dahil tatalakayin natin ang the definition, types, and examples of intangible assets in the Phillipines business sector.
Key Takeaways
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Table of Contents
What are Intangible Assets?
In the Philippines, a non-physical asset that gives a company or organisation an advantage or long-term value is referred to as an intangible asset. These resources have economic worth even though they cannot be seen or touched.
To maintain compliance and support company decision-making, intangible assets must be accurately identified, valued, and reported following Philippine tax and accounting standards.
Types of Intangible Assets
In the Philippines, intangible assets are essential to the success of businesses, particularly those in the media, retail, technology, and service industries. Generally speaking, these assets divide into several categories:
- Intellectual Property (IP) – Includes patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. These grant legal rights and protection to creators and inventors.
- Brand recognition and goodwill – The value of a company’s reputation, customer loyalty, and market presence.
- Franchise rights – Legal rights granted to operate a business using the brand, system, and support of a franchisor.
- Licenses and permits – Intangible value attached to government-issued permissions or exclusive rights, often required for regulated industries.
- Software and technology – Custom-developed software, proprietary systems, and algorithms that improve efficiency or create competitive advantage.
- Customer relationships and contracts – The value of long-term agreements, client databases, and established customer loyalty.
Intangible Assets Examples
With various types of intangible assets, it’s challenging to obtain a clear picture of actual intangible assets. Here is an example of a HashMicro-related intangible asset from the Philippines that illustrates how a cloud ERP provider, such as HashMicro, may own or assist companies in managing intangible assets.
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Proprietary ERP software system
HashMicro’s cloud-based ERP system is a proprietary software product—an intangible asset that provides advanced automation and efficiency to clients across industries.
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Brand reputation and market trust
In the Philippines, HashMicro is recognised for its reliable ERP solutions and strong after-sales support, which contribute to its brand value.
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Client database and relationships
The company has developed a strong base of loyal clients in sectors like retail, manufacturing, and services, considered a valuable intangible business resource.
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Exclusive implementation methods and customisation tools
HashMicro’s implementation frameworks and customisable modules are not only innovative but also unique to its services, giving it a competitive edge.
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Franchise and partnership agreements
Strategic partnerships and regional franchise rights in the Philippines enhance HashMicro’s market presence, adding to its intangible business value.
How Businesses Acquire Intangible Assets
Businesses in the Philippines employ a range of strategic methods to acquire intangible assets, tailored to their size, industry, and growth objectives. These include:
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Internal development
Many companies create intangible assets internally. This includes creating distinctive company procedures, creating proprietary software, or creating an iconic brand. Valuable intangible resources are often generated through investments in marketing, staff training, and research and development (R&D).
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Purchase or licensing
Businesses can acquire intangible assets through licensing rights or by buying them from other parties. Purchasing software licenses, copyrights, trademarks, or patented technology from outside vendors is a typical example.
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Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)
Businesses frequently acquire several types of intangible assets via business acquisitions, including unique technologies, customer relationships, goodwill, and brand recognition. Usually, these assets are evaluated and documented throughout the purchase procedure.
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Government grants and exclusive rights
Businesses in regulated sectors, such as mining, utilities, and telecommunications, may be able to acquire intangible assets from the government in the form of licenses, permits, or concessions that can be valuable in the long run.
Tangible vs. Intangible Assets
Assets are often divided into two categories in the Philippine corporate environment: tangible and intangible. Here are the simple differences between the two of them:
| Tangible Assets | Intangible Assets |
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Valuing Intangible Assets
In the Philippines, valuing intangible assets involves asset calculation, which generates long-term financial gains, such as software, trademarks, customer databases, brand recognition, or intellectual property.
These assets must be recognisable, non-monetary, and capable of being isolated from the company or deriving from contractual rights, following Philippine Accounting Standards (PAS 38).
Once the asset is identified, businesses must choose an appropriate valuation method—typically the cost approach, which estimates the cost to recreate the asset, the market approach compares it with similar assets sold, or the income approach, which projects future economic benefits and discounts them to their present value.
Manage Your Intangible Assets With HashMicro Smart Asset Management
Since intangible assets lack a physical form, managing them can be challenging and requires thorough analysis, ongoing monitoring, and prompt adjustments to ensure alignment. Businesses may suffer from inefficiencies, inaccurate reporting, and lost investment opportunities if they lack the right technology.
By automating asset allocation, enhancing risk management, and providing real-time insights, HashMicro’s asset management software is your best option for streamlining this process.
Managing assets is made easier with HashMicro’s innovative features, which are customised for companies of various sizes. The key features of HashMicro’s software are as follows:
- Effortless asset tracking: Even for assets like software licenses, digital subscriptions, or intellectual property rights, you can use barcodes or serial numbers to tag and track license keys, expiration dates, or usage rights within a centralised asset management system, ensuring accurate documentation and streamlined auditing.
- Calculate asset value accurately: Businesses can automatically calculate ROI, track associated costs, determine asset valuation, and apply amortisation schedules, ensuring accurate and reliable financial insights through an integrated asset management system.
- Improve asset operation and maintenance: The Company can receive automated reminders to track usage rights, monitor expiration dates, and ensure timely renewals, helping avoid service disruptions and compliance issues.
- Maximise asset control: Maximise control over assets by managing ownership details, licensing contracts, renewal dates, usage history, and intellectual property documentation—all in one centralised platform for better visibility and compliance.
Conclusion
For Philippine businesses, intangible assets are crucial for fostering innovation, generating long-term value, and achieving a competitive advantage. To guarantee operational effectiveness and regulatory compliance, these non-physical resources—from software and trademarks to licensing contracts and digital content—must be appropriately recorded, valued, and managed.
Here’s where HashMicro Asset Management Software can be handy. Businesses can automate the tracking of assets, compute amortisation, receive timely reminders for renewals, and maintain thorough records with its powerful asset management system—all from a single platform.
Take advantage of a free demo upang makita ang lahat ng mga benepisyo para sa iyong sarili and start managing your assets more effectively right now.
FAQ About Intangible Assets
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What are examples of intangible assets?
Intangible assets lack physical form. Instead, they derive their value from ideas, knowledge, innovation, and reputation. Examples include intellectual property rights, such as patents, trademarks, designs, copyrights, and trade secrets, as well as related assets, including software and brands.
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Can a product be intangible?
An intangible good is a good that does not have a physical nature, as opposed to a bodily good (an object). Digital goods, such as downloadable music, mobile apps, or virtual goods used in virtual economies, are proposed as examples of intangible goods.
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How to identify intangible assets?
Identifiable intangible assets are those that can be separated from other assets and can even be sold by the company. They are assets such as intellectual property, patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade names.
